#and also kept being forcibly reminded that all of these characters?

[inkandarsenic]

I didn’t know I needed incredibly high stakes Candy Land in my life until I watched A Crown of Candy but now that I’ve finished it? I need more of it. I need more political intrigue high stakes d20 seasons in general, Brennan, @quiddie

[uummi]

Written for @dicktimweek 2023

Day 7: Batman!Dick and Robin!Tim | Incest Kink | Mutual Pining

Words Count: 1585

Title: The loss

Pairing: Dick Grayson & Tim Drake| Dick Grayson/Tim Drake

Warnings: Implied Murder| Character Death| Age Reverse With Damian and Tim| Implied Court of Owls Members Janet and Jack Drake| Implied Baby Stalker Tim Drake

Part 1/3

Loneliness is sometimes more than not having bodies ready to spend time with you. That feeling would take over your heart and bury its seeds in it, even when you were listening to someone you loved talking and you were sitting next to them and intervening when necessary, and then the vines that formed would wrap around your heart and squeeze it as much as possible

Some people liked this feeling because after a certain time flowers would bloom on their vines depending on their wishes about this situation and pleasant smells would take the place of pain

It's called healing

Dick was a person who was forcibly accustomed to loneliness by life

Considering that he opened his eyes in a circus where the sounds of laughter and applause constantly rose, the light never went out, all kinds of people spent time with him there and taught him new things, maybe he had met more people in the first years of life than most people have met in their entire lives, but he lost everything in just one night because of wild animals that got into their cage, which was a place where they could spread their wings and fly freely

The smiling faces, the curled-up lips that asked how his day was going, every touch that stroked his hair or played with them by taking the slightly wavy strands between their hands disappeared

His soul was torn to pieces and it was gifted to the cold and damp existence of the earth together with his parents

His heart was trying to cut the vines that were trying to cling with their sharp edges, and maybe this was an even worse scenario

Because getting used to it meant not trying anything to fix it...

When he first started staying with Bruce after the death of his family, he slowly realized how he could feel lonely even though he was around people. The huge manor had become unable to afford to do anything but carry the souls of the ancients, and had adopted the structure of its owner who continued to suffer

It didn't want anyone new, maybe it wasn't firing him with its words and behavior like a socialite does, but it does not fail to show to his eye of the pale walls and empty rooms

The manor was trying to remind Dick of everything he had lost...

Being Robin helped in a way. It was preventing him forgetting of his parents with constant remembering about their memories, and increasing the small touches that given into his body from Bruce and Alfred, that is, from his new guardians, and the conversations that could pass between them

The fact that it created an area where he could float in the sky again was also another reason, of course

Only once, during one of the fights that occurred early in his relationship with Bruce, did he try to escape to the Haley's Circus, which he knew was coming to Gotham for a few days

He was not even allowed in the door and he was told that he could not perform his show alone and that it was impossible for them to take care of him because he was too small

This was not actually a situation caused by the circus people not wanting him, but they were unlikely to take the child without the permission of his foster family before he was old enough to make his own decisions. But this was not a situation that Dick knew at the age of 11, so another one of the pieces in his heart has been torn off with betrayal...

When he returned to the mansion that night, he put his head on Bruce's chest and swore that he would never leave again

And he kept his promise...

When a few young heroes close to his own age started forming their own teams and going on missions, Dick's own cage began to feel so comfortable to him that he refused to go out and Bruce's sentences saying that he could join if he wanted to

A few days after Jason tried to steal parts of the Batmobile and Bruce being brought him home, he gave Robin to the boy he considered his younger brother

He started to build a small family for himself...

Everything disappeared from his hands during the days when they were looking for Jason's real mother and gradually turned into dust

Batman was trapped inside the exploding building while trying to save Robin from the Joker

Alfred had a heart attack upon this news, and after a few days in the hospital, his heartbeat became a straight line on the machine

After Jason's wounds healed, he disappeared while trying to get revenge by acting without Dick's knowledge, and he was never heard from again

And Dick suddenly became the sole owner of the mansion, which did not welcome him on his first arrival...

Talia came to visit only once with a little boy behind her. She checked the condition of Bruce's body and disappeared again, wishing her condolences

After this visit, Dick also mourned about a younger brother he would probably never have known

As the years passed, the light in his eyes became dimmer and dimmer. He became Batman in order to fulfill people's last wishes, even though he accepted Barbara's help for him, he began to turn into a callous person who worked alone and kicked even Bruce's old friends out of the city when they tried to help

This situation was solved by an incident in which Batman found every Robin

A small person and some coincidence...

Timothy Jackson Drake knocked on the door of the mansion the morning after the night Dick turned 24 years old. He shed tears remembering his old ones with a drink bottle in his hand alone in his birthday

When Dick first opened the door because he was hungover, he looked around with straight eyes and when he couldn't see anything, he was about to get ready to go in, then he paused at the sound of 'Mr. Grayson-Wayne' coming from underneath. After that he had to bend his neck slightly and look down

He was one of the tiniest children he had ever seen in his life. A small boy with a thick collection of files that he was clearly having trouble carrying in his arms and a bag with the Batman logo on his back was shaking his head from side to side because his straight hair constantly fell in front of him, and this made Dick smile

How old was this kid, like, four? Dick knew that he was tall for the average, but he couldn't help feeling like a giant in front of this tiny baby, who was now just above the level of his kneecap

And where were his parents, especially in a place like Gotham, it would be dangerous for him to walk around alone

Something could have happened to him...

With a protective instinct that flared up inside him, he took his belongings from the boy and opened the door of the mansion a little more and pointed inside with his head

The ice-blue but still full of life eyes sparkled a little more upon his movement, and a smile appeared that tended to destroy Dick's heart of loveliness due to the lack of a teeth in front

Of course, after a certain point, his heart reached the level of extinction due to stress but that was a separate matter

The little baby who introduced himself as Tim mentioned that he followed Dick at nights, realized that he was Batman after a few investigations with flight videos of the Graysons that came across to him, and that his own parents were important members of a group called the Court of Owls, which they were trying to get him involved in this as well

Dick had heard of the organization called the Court of Owls before. One of the case files Bruce left before he died contained opinions stating that they were dangerous in just a few sentences, and now this little boy was presenting him with documents containing a lot of information, including secret hiding places

However, the main thing that stuck in his head was how he didn't notice a tiny shadow walking behind him every night. Was he had forgotten about being watched by someone? Had all his memories disappeared along with the demonstrative spirit that had been his nature since he was born?

He watched Tim playing with his fingers in front of him for a few seconds. He used to remember that one of the nights when Bruce thought Dick had fallen asleep, had said that Robin was the best thing that had ever happened to Batman

'Do you want to help me catch them?'

The little baby's ice blue eyes opened in surprise and his head was tilted towards his shoulder like a puppy dog

Right, Gotham didn't talk about her Robins, and Tim was too young to remember

He smiled slightly and took the hand that could not cover half of his palm with his thin fingers and led the way to the cave

He wonder if he should have added trousers while improving the costume a little

The 9-year-old boy, who was watching the whole place with excitement grimaced when he noticed the shorts and with that Dick smiled at himself

He had gotten his answer...

[chippedaxe]

Could you do hcs of the characters fucking ur throat? And could I be 🕶 anon? <3 tysm

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

Title: Throat fucking hc's

Warnings: NSFW (Minors DNI), Sub reader, gagging, praise, degrading, hair pulling, bit of rope bunny content, degrading names like slut are used. (Unedited)

Pronouns: They/Them, non specified genitalia.

Synopsis: The mcyt's fuck your throat.

Word count: 1.3k

Note: Hi anons! I hope that its alright that I put both of your asks together, it's just that they were so similar and it was easier to just do it like this <3

* Also welcome 🕶 anon !!

|| sorry I didn’t update for like 2 days or smth, I was tired and didn’t feel like writing at the time||

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

c! Dream

- Your hands groped at his thighs as you pushed your head onto his throbbing cock, you gagged a little bit as the tip of his penis touched the back of your throat. You tried to move your head but he was just too big for you, Dream looked down at your face and bucked his hips.

- You gagged hard to the point where it made your eyes well up with tears, Dream smirked as he looked down at you "Too much for you?" you try to shake your head but can't "Oh that's right, can't talk with your mouth full, can you?" Dream shrugs and puts one of his hands on the back of your head.

- He grabs your head and starts to fuck your face with his cock, it hurt your throat a lot and you knew talking would be hard over the next couple of days "fuck.. So good.." you felt the praise go down to your core, your throat being abused like this really made you feel something new.. You dug your nails into his thighs as you felt yourself cum just from getting used, Dream pulled out and released most of his cum onto your face "What- what happened, baby? Your nails hurt like hell, should I tone it down next time?" Dream comforted you.

- "N- nh..." you shook your head and gestured towards your crotch "I came" you were barely able to get the words out "Really? Shit, you're really a dirty whore.. Just for me, huh?" Dream caressed your face.

c! Sapnap

- "Oh fuck.." Sapnap hissed as your mouth felt amazing around his cock, you closed your eyes and was planning to just give him the regular head that he was used to by now but he felt indifferent as his hand came up to tug on your hair.

- You were sure that his actions weren't intentional, he must just be lost in the pleasure to realize what he's doing to you. You choked a bit as the tip of his penis hit the back of your throat "God.." he bucked his hips up and you had to stop yourself from throwing up, your hands tapped his leg to get him to be more gentle but he looked down at you "You can take it, can't you?" Sapnap pouted.

- You glanced away before looking back at him and showing him a thumbs up "I knew you could do it.." he continued back up, your jaw was hurting and your throat felt all hot and irritated. You suddenly felt yourself tingle down there and your eyes widened, were you seriously getting off to this?!?

- You came as you were sucking on his cock, your eyes rolling into the back of your head which Sapnap instantly knew was a sign that you were having an orgasm. He groaned at the sight before cumming down your throat and making you spit it up "That was the hottest fucking thing I've ever seen, cumming from getting face fucked?" Sapnap grinned.

- Your throat did not find his words very amusing.

c! George

- He didn’t mean to do what he did, it just felt too good for him.. his head was tilted all the way back and his hips kept moving up to thrust inside your mouth, you hollowed your cheeks and tried to pin his hips to the bed but he just jerked up.

- You gasped and your eyes widened when his sudden jerk made his cock go even deeper into your mouth, it stung your throat and it felt as if you had just swallowed a fork or something. It didn’t bother you but it did make your throat feel uncomfortable as he was fucking your face.

- Your hands were basically bruising his hips to keep them strained down against the bed, the way he was desperately fucking your mouth and not even noticing your pain made you feel a little bit hornier. You felt him throb in your mouth, your jaw was slack and there was so much drool dripping down your chin.

- You gagged when you suddenly came, George came right after and you had to quickly spit out his cum “s-sorry!!” George apologised, “j-just.. came” your voice sounded a bit coarse “you came just from that??” George was surprised “yeah, you just looked too hot like that, couldn’t help myself” you teased.

c! Eret

- Eret had you between her legs while she sat on the throne, his hands were entangled in your hair as your head bobbed up and down “that feels so good, baby..” Eret cooed. Your mouth forcibly opened up even wider so that Eret’s penis could fit inside.

- Your own spit started to leak down your chin, Eret noticed and smirked, their hand reached down to wipe the spit. You loved the sight above you as you gave this man head, they grunted and then placed her arms on your shoulders. You didn’t expect what came next but it’s not like it worried you.

- He held you still and started to fuck into your mouth, her cock sliding in and out. It started to hit against the back of your throat, the way she praised you while straining your throat was honestly really arousing. You clenched your thighs together and let out a small choked moan as you just happened to have a small orgasm.

- Eret pulled out just enough so you were able to speak “Honey, is that what I thought it was? Did my baby just cum from sucking my dick?”

c! Karl

- Karl had started to roll his hips against your mouth, his cock sliding against your tongue. He had normally always been such a sweet whiny boy while given head but I guess he was just a little too impatient today.

- He hated how slow you were going so he just started to take control, he grabbed the back of your head and just started to fuck your face without much thought to it. Unexpectedly you got off faster than he did just from that, he had never taken such charge so it was a big change and it affected you a lot.

- You came, your hand going down to palm yourself as you had a surprise orgasm. Karl came quickly after, you swallowed down what you could and let the rest of it just drip down your face. “I can’t believe I just came from that” you spoke out loud “you did??”

c! Punz

- He had you tied up with your hands bound so you had to use your mouth, you knelt down and opened your mouth up for him “go on. Suck.” He beckoned you closer but you didn’t both to move. You weren’t sure what was going through your head at the time but you sure as hell knew that it’s consequences were high.

- He started to immediately rail your mouth, his hands gripping at your hair and using your hair to move your head. You were choking and gagging on his cock but he didn’t care, tears streamed down your face from the feeling of his huge penis just destroying your throat.

- you felt shameful as you came right there and then from him destroying your mouth, you closed your eyes and hoped he wouldn’t notice “you’re such a little slut, think I wouldn’t notice? You know the rules baby, you’re not allowed to cum without permission..” Punz reminded you.

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

[dorimena]

I seriously love Bakugou and Todoroki. Especially Bakugou in his tight winter costume in S5. And I love Dom reader and femdom more than a sub. Can I pleaseee request Todoroki or Bakugou where the reader is recording them playing with a vibrator or dildo but get overstimulated because they can't cum from the cock ring because it's their punishments since they forgot their anniversary so reader also forget to stop the toys even if they beg reader to stop in the camera.if you don't mind the request

I don’t mind~ May your sin be forgiven with this prayer (˘⌣˘人) This sounds really, really sexy, so I had a blast imagining and putting this into words.

𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔞𝔠𝔱𝔢𝔯; bakugou katsuki & todoroki shoto

𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔡 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔱; 2.1k

𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰; fem!reader, sex toys (dildo, vibrators, cockring), overstimulation, cam sex (recording), exhibitionism, semi-public, dom!reader, sub!character

𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔞𝔤𝔰; balcony sex (?), threesome, whiny Bakugou, weeping Todoroki, punishment, orgasm denial, aged-up characters, Bakugou and Todoroki are both 20+

𝔰𝔦𝔡𝔢𝔫𝔬𝔱𝔢; Unravel Me by Sabrina Claudio and Fuck Love by XXXTENTACION ft. Trippie Reid somehow helped me piece this together. Sorry if there are any typos! It’s not proofread.

𝕯𝖔𝖚𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝕿𝖗𝖔𝖚𝖇𝖑𝖊

“I-I-”

“W-we! We-”

You watch as both men struggle to speak, trying to ask for forgiveness, once again. It’s the fourth time this hour, the way Bakugou tries to open his mouth wide enough to not slur his words and Todoroki tries to correct Bakugou while keeping himself coherent.

It’s cute how the smartest guys in your life seem to fail miserably in having a decent human conversation

Well, you can’t blame them either, not with the way you keep toying around with the intensity of the vibrators taped to their dicks, cum drying on the toy enough to show anyone who looks up on the balcony that these two men, with such stature and muscles, are easily falling apart.

“Speak better, sweethearts. Can’t have you guys sounding so dumb on camera, right?”

Oh yeah, and you’re even recording them, in case anyone else would want to watch the rising proheros break.

You’re not actually going to show them to the public, but maybe to their friends. Maybe Kirishima would like to watch? Kaminari? Sero? Or maybe Iida? Midoriya?

Heck, the girls might even ask some day.

But you know what makes you curious about showing this video to their friends?

The way both Bakugou and Todoroki are presenting themselves beautifully, as if they’re pro porn stars saving the wanks rather than proheros saving the day.

It’s cute, how Bakugou’s puffing his muscular chest in the air as if they were the juiciest tits ever, which they are, and how Todoroki is somehow sensually humping the air with every buzz against his furious red tip.

Your eyes stay on the screen, making sure the lighting is entering nice enough to make it seem like they’re glowing, other than their post-orgasm glow.

How many times have they come by now?

“Babes, how many times have you cum?”

They both shake their heads.

Of course they wouldn’t know. They just take what they’re receiving. They’re making up for their mistake.

You still pout, tapping the touchable screen to even out the weird lighting as another cloud covers the sun, again.

Maybe giving their punishment out on the balcony wasn’t such a good idea.

As you look down to the floor below them, seeing the once growing puddle of cum slowly be pushed by the wind to trail off towards the side of the balcony, seeping through the small opening and probably dripping feets below is what keeps you positive, happy knowing people will eventually look up and wonder ‘what the fuck is going on?’

Well, either the drying cum gives away your dirty activities or it’s Todoroki’s wailing as an orgasm is ripped out of him forcibly.

Pity nothing comes from his tip, not since some time ago.

They both thought they deserve to cum and be satisfied?

Maybe you should’ve put the cock rings on them before making them come the first two times, but their reactions and frustration with how little some cum leaves or how their body reacts with the dry convulsions makes you giggle in pride.

Pretty babes.

“Todoroki, shut up. You’ll make the neighbors look over- oh! Oh, that’s what you want? I understand.”

And poor Todoroki is just shaking his head way too fast, enough to give him whiplash, but you just snicker as you reach over to a white box.

An unfamiliar white box.

Bakugou’s eyeing Todoroki in pity, wondering what the other will have to endure as he keeps trying to fight off his orgasm.

How he’s doing it, he has no clue. But god his dick hurts.

He’s been wanting to cum for the past 30 minutes, but with the way he resents this stupid cock ring, he’d rather not humilliate himself in front of you and figure out how else to please you.

Maybe he should offer to eat you out?

The way his body is super tense and his breathing is shallow doesn’t escape your attention, less how much pity is showing itself on his face as he shakes his face in disapproval with Todoroki’s recent dry orgasm.

Good thing you invested in this double dildo.

Neither of the boys take notice with how you’re lubing the dildo that looks like it’d belong to you. It’s quite pretty, long and thick enough to hopefully please your boys.

Even if they won’t get to cum.

“Bakugou,” you start, smiling as you watch his once bright eyes suddenly darken as shock takes over his face.

What the

“Fuck is that?!” He yells out, accidentally letting his body relax as it finally submits to the vibrations of the toy, his yell turning into an unbroken series of high-pitched moans, his hips losing control with how incredibly close he is.

“A double dildo, baby. Look! It even looks like if I’d be fucking you two, isn’t that fun?”

Bakugou shakes his head, gasping ‘no, no, no!’ before he falls forward, balancing himself with his palms as he sobs through his first dry orgasm. Maybe he shouldn’t have held back for so long, not with the way his body unforgivably goes through waves of pure unsatisfied pleasure.

Todoroki, meanwhile, is nodding eagerly, eyes welling up in happy tears at the idea of getting fucked, in getting more pleasure and love from you, even if this is meant to be punishment.

But, why are you exposing them like this?

They forgot your anniversary.

Your 3rd anniversary as a throuple, the anniversary Bakugou swallowed his bite and pride to confess to you how much he loves you and how he’s falling in love with Todoroki too; the anniversary Todoroki finally let loose the dam of emotions and even if a bit tipsy, agreed he too was falling in love with both you and Bakugou, how he hasn’t ever felt so understood, so loved, so safe.

So, yeah, how dare they forget?

But if they wanna be dumb, you’ll help with that.

It’s been a while now since you’ve turned off the vibrators and since you’ve prepped them well enough to take the dildo together.

The scene in front of you is gorgeous, ethereal, sublime.

You just want to ruin them like this everyday.

“Aagh! Ugh! F-fuck! Sl-slow do-own! Haaah~”

“S-sorry! ‘m s-sorry! Ca-an’t! Nnah…”

It’s cute watching them argue a bit, how Bakugou can’t take how fast Todoroki is fucking himself back on the dildo while also pushing the toy deeper into Bakugou. And Todoroki doesn’t actually look sorry, not with how his eyes keep crossing everytime he manages to get the toy to hit his sweet spot.

He’s trying so hard to win your forgiveness by putting up with this, but it’s kind of sad knowing you’re not going to stop anytime soon, or take off the cockrings.

Not like they know anyways.

Bakugou might’ve known, might’ve noticed, with the way he’s trying to keep this dragging as slow and steady as possible; with the way his precum is struggling to escape the confines the cockring gives; with how much his red and miserably hard dick keeps jumping with every push Todoroki’s ass gives him.

You’re lounging about, resisting the urge to get off to the scene in front of you, or else they’d start begging to let them please you as apologies, and knowing how sentimental this day is for you, you know you’d immediately give in.

But this is punishment for their forgetfulness.

So, as the cherry on top of this cum covered balcony sex sundae, you’ll also forget about them.

It lasted for a while as you got bored with how neither of them seemed to be reaching another orgasm.

If only the dildo had a vibration option.

But the vibrators still taped on their dicks will have to do.

So you turn them back on, and oh would you look at that! The cockrings could also vibrate.

The pleasure-filled scream coming from Bakugou and the cute, drawled whine of your name Todoroki lets out makes you feel grateful for thinking ahead, kinda.

Now both boys are writhing against each other, different ways to let out their desperations and dying need to properly cum manifesting in either rapid fucking on the dildo to simply submitting to the minstruations of the other party.

To put it in better, shorter words, Bakugou took the reigns in fucking the dildo in such rigor and strength that made Todoroki lay on his chest, ass still up as he simply took everything Bakugou kept pushing into him, mouth opened as hiccups and drool escaped. His eyes settle onto your form, watering as more tears gather on his waterline before dropping to the ground his face is resting on.

It feels so good, so, so good he can’t believe this is punishment. Even if he hasn’t been able to properly cum for some time now, he still thinks you’re being nice with them. Must be because of the anniversary that you sadly reminded them of.

He’s trying his best to push back on the dildo, wanting Bakugou to feel just as good as him, just as fucked as him.

And everytime the toy hits him just right, Todoroki sees stars, feels an all too familiar tingly sensation as he tries to grab his dick, but when you turn the vibrator up even more, his hands just lay on the ground, nails raking as he tries gripping on something, anything.

He really, really, really needs to cum. He wants to cum.

Keep being a good boy for you.

But all he gets is a choked sob of your name leaving his mouth as his eyes roll to the back of his head, eyebrows furrowed upwards as the strongest orgasm takes over his body, he’d be convinced there’s an earthquake happening. Small whimpers of how much it hurts leaves his mouth soon after, his dick twitching pathetically as it slowly becomes purple, barely a dribble of cum managing to escape.

Bakugou is in no good shape either, loudly moaning and crying out how good you’re fucking him, how he’s taking your cock, how good he is being, to please, please, please let him cum.

But actually cum, to let him contaminate the floor even more with his sperm, to let him taste it even, if that would make you happy and forgive him.

He’s close to wailing by now, hips going impossible faster as he forgets all about poor Todoroki riding out his high.

And the moment you turn on the vibrators intensity, he gets dizzy, breath getting stuck in his throat as his brain tries to process the spiraling of his warm, hot orgasm growing too much, burning him everywhere as if it were lava.

Small sparks sound on his fingertips as he howls and gets hurled into his own orgasm, back arching and head thrown back as his eyes roll to the back of his head.

He didn’t even notice the tears rolling down his cheeks, not with how his mind only cares about how good yet bad this orgasm feels.

Not even how loud his high-pitched wails of how good it feels, how much it hurts, is enough to alarm anyone near the radius of this defiling act.

Both boys are left shuddering or twitching through their intense dry orgasm, the way their bodies react with the built up cum in their dicks, with how hot and how wreckless they’re becoming with their quirks.

Still connected with the dildo, neither move, unless it’s some pathetic hump to help drag the orgasm a little more before they try to even remember what letter your name begins with.

Bakugou’s whimpering.

Todoroki’s crying silently.

Both blinking the haze out of their vision as they remember about the buzzing, about the relentless feeling on their really, really sensitive dicks.

Bakugou’s crying now.

Todoroki’s just busy mewling like a slut by now.

And when they both turn to look at you, they gasp so loudly one of them begins choking on air and the other with saliva.

Where’d you go?!

Come back!

And ‘come back’ and ‘forgive us’ is the only thing anyone could possibly hear for the next few hours as they fuck the dildo and let the vibrators do their job in milking more and more orgasms out of them.

If only they’d look closer, they would’ve seen a post-it note stuck on the tripod of the camera telling them you went to the kitchen and that they better come crawling.

Oh well, you’re enjoying the view anyways as you sip on some liquor of your liking, turning off the vibrators as you slowly walk to the balcony.

The sun’s beginning to set. You’re not that cruel in letting them fuck each other in the cold.

The bedroom is much better, and comfier.

Perfect for you to finish the job and let them finally, finally, get their deserving orgasms.

You’ll be sure to milk out

Every.

Single.

Drop.

[amphxtrite]

cedric diggory x fem!reader

part two: Dreamiest Boy in School.

warnings: smut, shower sex, swearing, oral (female receiving), masturbation.

If you are not comfortable please do not read.

summary: Cedric’s been in love with you for years. What will he do when he catches the reader moaning his name after a quidditch game in the prefect’s bathroom. Fluff at the end.

a/n: characters are 18+ and it is fully consensual.

word count: 4.2k

enjoy<3

__________________________________________

Cedric first met you in his fifth year when he’d first been appointed captain of the hufflepuff team, it was your first time trying out despite also being in your fifth, but it was no secret that it wasn’t your first time on the pitch. You were a natural, blocking quaffles with ease, letting none enter the goal. Your movements were smooth, elegant, but forceful, effectively getting the job done, but truly showing off the art of flying. Cedric had to forcibly pinch himself after you touched down. 

Today was a rough game against gryffindor, It went on much longer than it needed to with Ms. Pink Toad calling random people from the pitch and ‘hem hemming’ every time someone managed to score a goal. When Cedric had eventually caught the snitch, he had to deal with a ten minute long speech from Umbridge speaking of his bravery and strength, he cut it short after she began to run her hands over his face.

Now came Cedric’s favourite part of the game, his friends had already congratulated him on the win, but he was close by you and your friends as you touched down from the goal post. You were distributing high-fives to everyone, even throwing Cedric a quick thumbs up before running to your gym bag and taking a long sip from your water bottle. Here it comes, your pupils glance from side to side, scanning the area before grabbing the hem of your jersey to dab at the sweat running down your face. No one on the team cared you did this, but you still felt weird randomly pulling your jersey up to clean off your face. You did this after every practice and game, and although he didn’t mean to intrude Cedric found himself gazing at you often.

Cedric takes his bottom lip into his teeth as he looks to the grass beneath him, his thoughts running wild. He pictures what it would be like if he was the one pulling at your shirt, slowly pushing it up your gorgeous body as you beg him to take it off, rolling your hips desperately against his. The seeker’s pants were starting to get a little more constricting at the thought.

Ever since his first time seeing you at the pitch, he’d find himself thinking of you this way a lot. His name spilling from your lips, mouth agape, legs quivering. It kept him awake often, thinking about you. Imagining the feeling of your lips pressed to his as he rocked his hips in and out of you. He didn’t appreciate the sinful thoughts encasing his mind every time he saw you, it drove him insane. Any time you licked your lips, shook out your hair, smirked or even simply laughed, he’d have to excuse himself to rid of the heat from his face.

It was even worse the two of you had become close friends in the last two years, you were the person to help and train him for the triwizard tournament, working out with him often and supporting him through his challenges, also being his unofficial ‘date’ to the ball. You pushed him well, preparing him for the physical challenges that lay ahead in the contest, but only having his crush grow as you worked by his side and hugged him good luck. After he won, you were one of the first people he went to after his father. You had jumped into his arms and held him tight as he recounted the story of how Voldemort had stunned him and Harry had saved his life. Upon finishing  the story, you had kissed him on the cheek and whispered.

“I’m so glad you’re okay. I don’t know what I’d do if you were gone.”

He knew then that he was never going to let you go.

Cedric did his best to put your friendship first, reminding himself of your platonic status and your great history. He couldn’t jeopardize it all, even if he fancied you. Running himself a cold shower after stripping down his robes in the prefect’s bathroom, he tries to place his thoughts in a different headspace. He ignores his surroundings as he tries to rid himself of the dirty images, letting the cold water stream onto his face. It was practically useless, his mind drifted back to your lips pulled between your teeth or how your lips felt against his cheek after each hit of cold water. With one small thought, his arousal and need grows.

Sighing quietly and shutting the tap off, the hufflepuff head boy wraps a towel around his waist as he picks up his bag to begin getting changed. Halfway to zip open his bag, he can hear a shaky voice calling, not to far away.

“Oh f-fuck Ced.” 

Body immediately going rigid, the wide-eyed boy regains his train of thought and remembering where he is, glancing around the showers. The voice was so familiar, close.

So... dream-like. Sifting through his memories to match the voice, he thinks of people close to him that were also prefects or head girls, the only person to came to mind was you, but that was impossible. What were you doing saying his name so beautifully.

“Faster, please.” The voice rang out again in a softer mewl. The brunette’s cheeks light on fire as the voice finally registers in his ears, no doubt it was your soft cry. Despite his better judgment, Cedric needed to check this out. To make sure he wasn’t just imagining your voice begging for him.

As he approaches the shower he hears the voice from, he can hear a heavy pant and a shower getting louder. Standing before the closed curtain. His hand hovering over top the thin material, he mentally debates this, perhaps he was wrong. He might’ve misheard, and the he’d be barging in on a random girl. Pulling his hand away he turn to leave, but another moan perks his attention.

“F-fuck Cedric, I-I’m gonna c-cum.” A quivering whimper, cries his name again.

He’d heard you say his name about a million times, cheering him on, talking to him, laughing out his name. That was you inside, about to cum to his image.

Not able to take it anymore and he rips open the shower curtain, his cock springing up under the towel and pure desire taking over his senses. There you were, damp hair streaming down your shoulders, leaning against a wall with one hand on your breast and the other deep between your legs, pushing in and out at a rapid pace, practically sobbing for release.

“Are you masturbating?”

You barely register the soft question, but as your eyes open they instantly flash with horror and you immediately pull your hands away from your body, meeting gazes with a wide-eyed Cedric. A flood of embarrassment consumes you, he must have heard you. Merlin, you felt disgusting.

“Oh my gosh Cedric I’m so sorry!” You apologize frantically, rushing to grab your towel and cover yourself as tears of self-consciousness begin to well in your eyes. “I didn’t- I’m so sorry.” You try and push him out of your way, but Cedric will not let you pass, his grey eyes still staring holes into you. Agonizing seconds pass as he simply looks you down, your head swiveling around to look anywhere but his stoic gaze. 

Finally smirks in amusement, Cedric reaches over and takes your chin in between his fingers, forcing your head up to meet his eyes, you ready yourself for a lecture, or maybe screams, but it doesn’t come.

“I like the way you said my name.” Cedric teases, pushing you back into the running shower.

“Hands between your thighs and on your breast, were you thinking about this?” Cedric purrs, pushing you against the smooth wall and pressing his chest against yours, slowly rocking his hard on against your sensitive clit with the rough towel around his waist. 

“Imagining me taking you in the shower, fucking you against the wall and whispering dirty thoughts into your ear?” He continues in a low voice, continuing the gentle rock of his hips.

Your mouth drops open at Cedric’s reaction and the waves of pleasure clouding your senses. “Answer me.” Cedric growls, pushing harder against you and encasing you in his arms, his elbows by your head and his forearms against the wall. “Y-yes, I-I was.” your soft voice breathes out. “Yes, who?” Cedric grins, his eyes growing dark with lust as he watches you writhe beneath him. “Yes Cedric.” You moan as the toned hufflepuff continues to roll his hips slowly, an approving smirk spreading on his lips. 

 “You don’t know how long I’ve wished to do this love.” Cedric begins to nip at your neck, sucking and kissing around until he finds the spot that makes your breath hitch. You bite your lip to suppress the upcoming moan.

“Stop.” Cedric’s needy voice growls at you. “The only one who’ll be biting those lips is me.” He states, desire lacing every word.

Roughly pushing his lips against yours in a heated kiss, his warm tongue swirls around your mouth, drinking in your intoxicating taste and gliding his rough fingertips up and down your body, memorizing every curve before coming to rest on your hips. Your teeth clash, pleasure and heat travel to your core, fueling your arousal as a hard member prods at you from under Cedric’s dangerously low towel. 

“Besides, I want the whole castle to know you’re mine.” The grey-eyed hufflepuff bucks his hips into yours again making you squirm. “C-Cedric!” You cry out, wrapping your arms around his muscular shoulders and digging your nails into your champion’s back, the steam in the shower clouds your perception even more, all you could sense was Cedric’s body against yours, every muscle every scar. Cedric’s teasing lips pull up again as you begin to ramble.

“I-I need you.” you beg nervously, grinding your hips against the soaked material of Cedric’s towel.

“Would you like my fingers or my tongue love.” Cedric’s cool digits brush the inside of your thighs, you nearly jump at the feeling. “Both.” You manage to whimper out as Cedric’s hard stare bores into you.

“Dirty girl.” He smirks teasingly, his voice smooth as satin and dark as sin. “Beg for it.”

You could feel your arousal growing at Cedric’s words. You’d never seen him as the type to wish his partner to beg, but Merlin you weren’t complaining.

“Please Cedric, I need you. You make me feel so fucking good, please don’t stop, let the whole castle know who I belong to.” 

Your champion’s eyes go from a piercing grey to almost black as lust and arousal course through his veins. He slowly lowers himself to the ground, pressing kisses all the way down to where you needed him most. Cedric takes his time spreading your legs apart and kissing up your inner thighs and blowing on your clit, sending shockwaves up your trembling form. He looks back up at you as he leans forwards and licks a stripe through your folds and begins to swirl his tongue around your clit. Your thoughts run cold, all that consumes your mind was the ecstasy running through your veins, Cedric flicking his tongue around your sex, fucking you with his tongue and lapping hungrily at your sweet juices.

“Oh fuck Cedric, please don’t stop.” Your mewling voice begs needlingly, breathing heavily to keep yourself from falling over. 

Cedric smiles into you and slowly teases his fingers around your entrance, tracing along the edge of your slit before sinking two long digits into your wetness. spots flash in front of your eyes as your head falls back against the wall. Cedric pulls and pushes his fingers in and out of you at a quick pace, twisting them around and bending slightly as your walls grow tighter around him. He uses his body to keep your legs from doubling over in pleasure and continues to ravage you with both his tongue and fingers. flicking and sucking at your bundle of nerves while thrusting his fingers in and out of your core. A familiar knot begins to form and you dig your hand into Cedric’s damp hair, pulling him closer to you and desperately rocking your hips against his face, desperate for any more friction he could give you. Cedric chuckles at your moaning form. Sending even more delicious vibrations to your sensitive clit, as moans mix with longing cries of your lover’s name. Cedric pulls his mouth away, bringing himself to a standing position, still burying his fingers in you, replacing his tongue with his calloused thumb to massage your throbbing bundle of nerves.

“You don’t know what you do to me darling. How does it make you feel that you give me a hard-on every time you lift that shirt up to wipe your face? Every time you bite that gorgeous lip, or flip your hair you’d have me wanting to bend you over and fuck you senseless.”

You try and respond, but the pleasure Cedric was giving to you was all your mind could take. The sound of his fingers pounding into your wet core and Cedric’s deep pants were driving you insane. You can only moan in response and crash your lips against his again. You can taste yourself as Cedric dips his tongue against yours, nibbling on your lip and picking up his pace with his fingers. A familiar knot forms in your abdomen and you have to pull away from Cedric’s lips to moan and arch your back even more, you can feel your walls clenching tighter against the rough fingers pounding in and out of you.

All at once the knot snaps and waves upon waves of euphoria washes over you and consuming your vision in white. Crying out Cedric’s name over and over again, the brunette helps you ride out your high, continuing to pulse his fingers in your clenching hole and kneeling down again to lap up your juices as you moan out and rock your hips gently, Cedric’s cock begins to twitch like mad watching he waves of cum spill from your core, but he takes his time, savoring every drop of your sex.

Cedric is practically beaming with pride as he stands again, holding the back of your head in his large hand. 

“So sweet love.” He smirks, wiping a drop of your cum off of his bottom lip with his thumb and licking it off slowly, keeping direct eye contact with you. Your face was red, your legs quivering, and deep breaths sounding from your lips.

“I’m not done with you yet darling.” Cedric drops the towel from his waist and boxes you in his arms again.

“You won’t be able to walk when I’m through with you.” The toned seeker teases in a dark voice.

Feeling his length against your stomach you bite back a moan, fuck he was big. You were unsure what to do, but taking his twitching cock into your hand, you pump his length experimentally, receiving a soft moan in return. Picking up the pace, you spread the precum on his tip as a lubricant. Working your hand against him, he reconnects your lips, a soft whimper flowing from Cedric’s lips. You keep using your hand to pleasure your champion, but Cedric can’t take it anymore.

“I need to be inside of you darling.” Cedric rasps, reluctantly pulling your hand from his throbbing tip and wrapping his arms around you.

“jump.”

Without hesitation you leap up and wrap your legs around Cedric’s hips and he presses you against the wall for support.

“Ready Love?” Cedric smirks, his hands squeezing your ass and cock teasing your soft folds.

“Shut up and take me Diggory.”

Cedric wastes no time sinking into you, slowly at first, letting you adjust to his thick shaft, small grunts sounding from your lips as Cedric sink deeper.

“You’re taking me so well darling, f-fuck.” Cedric groans, sticking his head in the crook of your neck, nibbling on your sensitive skin and squeezing your hips.

Tears prick in your eyes as Cedric bottoms out in you, burying your hand in his wet brown curls you whimper at the feeling of being so full.

After a couple moments the pain turns to pleasure and you shimmy around motioning to Cedric it’s okay to move. The brunette begins to thrust in and out of you, slow at first, but soon finding a rhythm, pulling in and out of you in a quick pace, thrusting out to almost his tip before burying himself to the hilt inside you once again.

“Faster Cedric.” your pleading voice gasps and pleads.

Cedric obliges, snapping his hips back and forth to the point you see spots in your vision and you’re dragging your nails down your champions back. Cedric frantically presses his lips against yours again as he groans loudly. You swallow the moan in the kiss and cup your hands around Cedric’s defined jawline, pulling him closer and clenching your core in surprise as he pushes his thumb to your clit.

Your reaction pulls another breathy moan from Cedric, but his thrusts don’t stop. He continues to pound into you, his desire out weighing any tiredness that should’ve been.

Your loud moans only egg him on further. Your sinful, desperate pleas for more drive him insane. Arching your back and rolling your hips, Cedric pounds even further into you.

“Fuck Cedric, right there.” Your loud beg cries out and Cedric smirks, slamming his hips into your spot over and over again. Screams of pleasure and sighs of satisfaction fill the air. Wet sounds of skin on skin ring throughout the large bathroom as Cedric sinks deep into you with each needy thrust.

Parting your lips, another choked moan is pulled from your lips and your vision goes blank once again as your coil snaps and your grip tightens on Cedric. Your champion doesn’t stop, his thrusts are still merciless and needy, but as your slit clenches his cock in a tight hold, his thrust becomes lazier and he can feel his release coming soon.

“You make me feel so good Ced, I’ve had my hand in between my legs thinking about this for so long, o-oh fuck.” You moan in a teasing voice against the brunettes ear. You can feel Cedric’s upper body go rigid as he uses the last of his strength to snap his hips into yours like his life depended on it. Your dirty talk making him imagine your naked body lying on your bed, moaning out his name, probably only a hallway away from him. Years of lust and love fuel his next thrusts. Every time he’d painfully gotten hard because of you, every time he imagined you underneath him and making you scream his name in ecstasy was all coming true and groaning your name into the crook of your neck he snaps his hips in a desperate thrust one more time before releasing all over your tight walls, his body pulsing in euphoria sending shockwaves of pleasure through his entire being.

Your eyes roll back and your legs jolt at his powerful stream, thanking Merlin you had taken the potion to help with cramps not too long ago. You begin to roll your hips lazily to help Cedric ride out his orgasm, your core practically numb with pleasure and your entire body exhausted. Cedric is panting heavily, his hand buried in your hair and his other still supports your body. He gives your bum a small squeeze, your body still against the wall and his still pressed to yours in support, letting the warm water from the tap relax your tired muscles and wash the proof of your pleasures off of your legs, while still intimately connected.

Cedric smiles as he looks deep into your eyes, still panting heavily, but now with nervousness and a slight anxiety. He couldn’t keep his true feelings from you any longer.

“You know I love you right?” The hufflepuff head boy confesses, running a hand down the side of your face.

“I’d hope so, considering you just fucked me senseless.” You giggle and wrap your arms around Cedric’s toned shoulders. 

Your giggle dies down to a grin and a pink blush makes it’s way onto your face as you look down to see the two of you still connected

“I love you too.” You smile earnestly, a smile playing on your lips and you press a kiss to Cedric’s pink cheek. “I’ve loved you since those days in fifth year when I trained with you, you don’t know how relieved I was you survived, and with Umbridge around I thought I might never get the chance to confess.” Your emotions come through and Cedric has to blink the pure happiness from his eyes to respond.

“I’ve loved you since the moment you came rushing into my arms after the maze, I had a crush on you before, but i’ll never forget when you said those words, I knew I’d never let you go.” Cedric’s smile falters a bit as your stare drops to his lips.

“C-can I kiss you?” His face grows closer to yours.

“Didn’t ask for permission while you were cumming in me.” You tease, peppering kisses all around Cedric’s handsome features as his face grows hot in embarrassment.

“I-Is that a yes?” He murmurs hopefully, your soft lips trailing down his jawline.

You smile and press a kiss to the corner of Cedric’s mouth.

“As long as I can be your girl.” You giggle.

Cedric immediately pushes his lips to yours in a more delicate, but wanting kiss. Taking his time now to show you his adoration and care for you. The sounds of your lips molding together sounding through the large shower. Cedric runs his tongue through your mouth again, slowly this time, sighing at the taste of your after-game drink and the light taste of strawberry chap stick that remained on the inside your lips, begging to be found and appreciated.

As Cedric continues to ravage your mouth you run your hands up and down his chest and abs, taking deep breaths of his autumn like scent. Campfire, vanilla and honey were the most prominent, while his aftershave also offered a sharp, wood like smell.

“I love you y/n, so much. It would be an honor to have you as my girl.” Cedric sighs against your lips, placing one final peck before pulling away and grinning like a little kid. A smile begins to form on your face.

“Hey, did you think you could, you know.” You awkwardly motion down towards where you were still intertwined. “My legs are kid of sore.” Cedric’s eyes widen in realization and he nods frantically, apologies spilling from his lips as he slowly pulls out of you with a small ‘pop.’ Cedric lowers your feet to the ground and begins to back up, but the sudden weight removed from your body made your legs forget how to move and you crash into Cedric’s chest again.

Your legs felt numb and you couldn’t get them to move properly without falling. Cedric does his best to hide his pride as your lips pull into a frown, but a small smirk emerges as he bites his lip to stop it. He glances down and also notices the small purple love bites littering your neck and he almost beams.

“I hope you’re happy with yourself Ced, I can’t walk.” You roll your eyes at his useless attempt to stop his smile.

“I am, and I must say you look absolutely ravishing sporting my love bites darling.” He grins darkly, but a light chuckle breaks free.

“Alright let’s get you dressed, come on.” Cedric turns the tap off before leaning over again and catching your legs in his arms, carrying you bridal style out of shower, grabbing your towel and gym bag on the way out.

Placing you down on a bench, he grabs his own fluffy, white towel from his bag. Using it to pat your hair and body dry, making sure to get every inch of your body, and being careful around your intimate parts as you winced often. Grabbing another school-provided towel, he pats his upper-body dry before tying the cloth around his waist. Shaking out his damp hair, he grabs your bag and places it next to you.

“Do you think you can do it yourself darling?” His voice is filled with concern, but you nod and zip open your bag. Cedric turns to his own clothes and after tugging on a pair of boxers and sweatpants, wipes his hair dry before throwing on a t-shirt.

He turns to see you in a black sports bra, tugging on a pair of black tights, but unable to get them up your bum. Cedric smirks, walking over to you and pulling you up, holding you against him as a support while you finally get the leggings on. He sits you back down before pulling a jumper out of his bag and slipping it over your head.

The sweater seems to swallow you whole and it takes a moment to find the holes for your arms. You thank Cedric and sigh at being engulfed in Cedric’s sweet scent, pulling the jumper over your nose and smiling in content.

“You look better in my clothes than I do.” Cedric smirks happily, pulling you up again and interlocking your hands.

“Well in that case I guess I’ll keep it.” You grin, slipping on your sneakers and following Cedric out the prefect bathroom to the best of your abilities, having to stop often due to the aftershock of Cedric’s desperate pounding. Finally resorting to Cedric carrying you once again. Thankfully Dolores and her goons seemed to be missing from the scene.

Finally making it back to the hufflepuff common room, Cedric sneaks you into his dorm and closes the canopy around his four poster bed. Breathing out in content, The head boy cuddles you into his chest and wraps his arms around your torso.

“Can’t believe you’re actually here on my bed with me, I’ve only dreamt of this.” Cedric murmurs giddily, leaning down to press a quick kiss to your nose.

You snake your arms around Cedric’s broad chest and cuddle closer to him.

“I’m never letting you go, you know that.” Your champion teases, kissing your hairline.

“I’m not going anywhere.” You reassure, closing your eyes tiredly and slowly drifting off, exhaustion from the day's activities getting to you.

Cedric peers down at you a happy smile resting on his lips as he too yawns and relaxes into his pillow. This day couldn’t have gone any better. He won the game, fucked you in the shower and now he’s cuddling you in his bed. His blush reappears onto his cheeks as your breathy moans engrave themselves into his brain, but pride takes over as he reminds himself it was him who made you moan like that. Peppering kisses on your forehead he finally closes his eyes and replays your evening with a small smirk.

This is my first time writing smut so tips would be appreciated!

[randomposterofstuff]

An in-depth analysis of Mikasa’s character development in relation to Eren and Levi

Author's Note: Hi, all! As I was re-reading and going over my previous post/analysis titled "On the change of dynamics of Mikasa's relationships with Eren and Levi," I realized that there were some points that I should've/could've included. Lol. I also came up with other points of analysis as well as arrived at other realizations concerning Mikasa's connections with Eren and Levi. So, I've decided to post them here. This post can be considered a continuation of the previous analysis since it supplements and further expounds on the last post's points. But this can still stand on its own since it also talks about additional issues. Haha. If you want to read the previous post, the link is up there. Hehehe.

Fair Warning: This is a very long post. Lol.

This post will analyze the following:

1.  How Mikasa's connection to Eren is rooted in their shared history. This was already touched upon in the previous post, but this post will expound more on this.

2.  How Mikasa's character development is affected by Eren's own character development. How her development as a character is affected by this will also be discussed. This segment will also analyze how Mikasa's connection to Eren became strained because of the latter's drastic change in the latter part of the series.

3.  How "Chapter 138: A Really Long Dream" is about Mikasa finally letting go of and "waking up" from her dream. This post shall also analyze how Chapter 138 is actually the climax and turning point of Mikasa's character development concerning Eren.

4.  How Eren represents Mikasa's dream, while Levi represents her reality. This will be further expounded on later.

From the foregoing topics, it’s clear that this is a primarily Mikasa-centered analysis. Haha. I just had so many thoughts running through my mind about her development that I was eager to make this post. Lol.

So, anyway, we now delve in:

1.    Mikasa's connection to Eren is rooted in their shared history.

In the series, most of Mikasa's actions and reactions tend to either revolve around or be connected to Eren. About this, it is necessary to take into account their relationship and shared history.

Before Mikasa met Eren, she was a young girl who lived a relatively peaceful and quiet life with her loving parents. But then, all that changed when human traffickers killed her parents in front of her eyes and kidnapped her to sell her as a sex slave.

During this time, she was just an innocent young girl who hadn't experienced much of the world yet. So, one can only imagine the pain, shock, and trauma that she must have felt during her brief period of captivity. Being so young at the time, she was understandably shaken and scared – having had her family and her innocence forcibly and violently taken away from her.

However, hope came in the form of a young Eren who had gone looking for her on his own when he and his father discovered her parents' bodies. When he found her, he wasted no time taking action and immediately killed two of her captors before freeing her. When the third captor arrived and tried to strangle Eren, he told her to fight. At first, she was scared to do so, as evidenced by her shaking when she held the knife Eren used to cut her binds. While he kept telling her to fight, memories suddenly flashed in her mind, and they made her realize that they lived in a cruel but beautiful world. During this time, her dormant "Ackerman powers" awakened and thus gave her the strength and courage to actually fight and deliver the killing blow – thereby freeing both herself and Eren. As we all know, in the aftermath, the Yeagers took Mikasa in, and Eren gave her his scarf when she said that she felt cold.

As mentioned before, Mikasa and Eren's shared history is important. This is because it defined the early dynamics of their relationship. Eren was literally and figuratively her savior. He saved her from captivity and from a potential future of abuse. He also saved her from loneliness and despair. When she lost her biological parents, she found a new family in Eren, Grisha, and Carla. The Yeager parents treated her warmly and kindly, and Eren was her constant companion (apart from Armin, of course). Having experienced the severe trauma of violently losing her parents, she never wanted to lose anyone precious to her ever again. This is evidenced by the following situations in the series:

a)  When she and Eren desperately wanted to save Carla from the Smiling Titan in Season 1. Neither she nor Eren wanted to leave her behind. So, when Hans carried them away to safety, Mikasa was visibly crying and heartbroken.

b)  When she attacked Levi with tears in her eyes when he initially declared that he would use the Titan serum on Erwin instead of Armin. Armin, alongside Eren, was one of the most precious people left in her life. As such, the idea of losing him was painful. When Levi eventually decided to save Armin instead, Mikasa wept tears of joy when Armin fully recovered after eating Bertolt.

c)  When Mikasa cried upon seeing Sasha's dead body. While the development of their friendship wasn't fully shown, it was clear that Sasha meant a great deal to Mikasa as the former's death affected her deeply.

About Mikasa not wanting to lose anyone close to her, it is evident and apparent that Eren was the most special person in her life. This is not surprising since Eren was the one who literally saved her, and there's also the fact that he was the only one left of her adoptive family. Apart from these, I think that the following reasons are also possible and probable causes as to why Eren was the most special:

a)  Eren was her source of hope and strength. When she fell into despair when she was kidnapped, Eren gave her hope when he came to her rescue. It was also during the struggle against her captors that she awakened her inner Ackerman power. So, she might have attributed her then new-found strength to him. 

[Side note: I'm aware that Eren was lying when he commented that Mikasa had responded to his "command" to fight back then because she mistakenly thought that he was a "royal host." In the “Attack on Titan ANSWERS” guidebook, Isayama-sensei himself stated that "[Mikasa, Levi, and Kenny] are all part of the same Ackerman bloodline. However, their reasons for protecting their respective counterparts do not have anything to do with the bloodline itself—it is just their nature." When I said that Mikasa attributed her then new-found strength to him, I was talking in figurative and emotional terms. Lol.]

Screenshots taken from Season 1, Episode 6 of the “Attack on Titan” anime

b)    In her eyes, Eren represented the good in their cruel world. Because of Eren, Mikasa realized that the world is cruel but is also beautiful – meaning that there's also good in it

Screenshots taken from Season 1, Episode 7 of the “Attack on Titan” anime

My take is that all of these things shaped and formed the beginnings of Mikasa's connection to Eren. Their shared history influenced Mikasa's overly protective nature towards him and her affection for him. Eren was the foundation of her strength and a constant reminder that there was still good in the cruel world they lived in. As such, she would have done anything to protect him and all that he meant to her.

This is particularly important as we proceed to the second point of this analysis, which is how Mikasa's character development is affected by Eren's.

-----

2.    Mikasa's character development is affected by Eren's.

For the most part of the series, Mikasa has been characterized by her strong urge to protect Eren. The reasons behind this protective nature of hers have already been expounded earlier. At this juncture, I shall now discuss how Mikasa was affected by the kind of person Eren used to be.

Specifically, this portion of the analysis will be divided into two (2) parts: the first will be about their character developments during the pre-Marley arc. The second will be about their developments during the Marley arc and going onwards.

a)    Pre-Marley Arc

As previously mentioned, Eren was her literal savior. And she saw firsthand how he would willingly place himself in danger to protect others. She appreciated Eren's good-nature. And she likely saw him as a sort of embodiment of the things that make the cruel world they live in more bearable and more beautiful.

It is essential to consider the kind of person that Eren used to be before the Marley arc. Before the truth of the world and the Titans was revealed, Eren was a mischievous and stubborn child. Still, at the same time, he was also good-natured, determined, selfless, and courageous. His resolve, courage, and desire to protect others were further amplified when the Warriors of Marley attacked his hometown of Shiganshina and when the Smiling Titan ate his mother.

The early stages of Eren's development are relevant to Mikasa's own development. Due to his well-meaning nature and their shared history, Mikasa felt strongly inclined to side with him and protect him at all times. While this is understandable on her part, it has also proven to be problematic.

Her disposition towards Eren impaired her judgment

For instance, it has been shown on more than one occasion that Mikasa's affection for Eren has impaired her judgment. This has been exemplified in the following cases:

a)    Back in Season 1, when both she and Armin thought that Eren had been killed, Mikasa went on a reckless rampage on her own against the Titans which invaded Trost. To be fair, she was grief-stricken under the circumstances. Nonetheless, her actions were still irresponsible, and she nearly lost her own life because of them.

b)    When she recklessly went after Annie in her Female Titan form after the latter had captured Eren in the Forest of Giant Trees outside the Walls. Mikasa would have probably been killed had Levi not arrived. Furthermore, because of her rage towards Annie during this time, Mikasa disobeyed Levi's order not to engage Annie in battle. Her decision endangered her; it also resulted in Levi's injury, which rendered him unable to fight for some time.

It also narrowed her priorities and way of thinking

As mentioned in my previous post, Mikasa is not cruel or heartless towards others. It has been shown that she has empathy for innocent and helpless people. This is likely because of her own experiences with being powerless. The following instances exemplify this:

a)    When she saved Louise and her mother from one of the Titans that had invaded Trost.

b)    When she threatened Dimo Reeves with her sword when he refused to allow the district's defenseless citizens to pass through the pathway leading to the protected areas until all of his merchandise and goods were carried through. She only relented her threatening demeanor and actions when he had this cart moved to the side to make way for the citizens to pass.

However, because of the extent of her concern and devotion to Eren, Mikasa seemed to disregard nearly everything else whenever he was in danger.

An example of this was during the Struggle for Trost and Eren's military trial in Season 1. When Eren transformed to begin the mission to seal the Wall, he initially lost control and attacked Mikasa and the others. It is worth noting that it was unintentional on his part. However, that does not change the fact that his loss of control nearly jeopardized the mission and placed his comrades in danger.

While the mission was ultimately successful, Eren's loss of control was still a serious source of concern. Because of this, he was temporarily imprisoned. It was also decided that there would be a trial to see if he was either a threat or an asset to humanity within the Walls.

During this time, Mikasa was understandable apprehensive, and worried about Eren. It is worth noting that, as mentioned in my previous post, she was more concerned about him than the fact that he was still a potential threat at the time. It should be remembered that during this time, the inhabitants of Paradis (save for a select few such as the royal family and their followers) were ignorant of the truth about Titans and the world. As such, the fear directed towards Eren was valid and understandable. Yet, despite this, Mikasa was still singularly focused on him.

This is evidenced by the following:

a)    Her glaring at Rico when it was revealed that the latter had mentioned Eren's loss of control in the report that they had submitted. When Rico responded with, "Did you expect me to lie in a report?" Mikasa simply continued to glare at the Garrison soldier. On this, Rico was clearly in the right for telling the truth since Eren's powers were still a mystery and still potentially harmful to others. Yet, Mikasa was probably too worried about Eren to realize this.

b)    When she attempted to attack Levi when the latter began to physically beat Eren. She would've undoubtedly intervened had Armin not stopped her. I had already expounded on this in my previous post, but I will just add the pertinent excerpts here:

"The display was necessary to emphasize and prove that Levi, who is widely known as "Humanity's Strongest Soldier," was best suited to subdue Eren should he lose control of his abilities. Because of this, the Scouts were able to convince the Military Police and Premier Zackly that they should be given custody over Eren. At the time, Mikasa was gravely concerned about Eren's well-being and was perhaps too furious at Levi to think about anything else. Because of this, she probably did not immediately realize that Levi had effectively secured Eren's relative safety at the end of the day. "

"During the trial, the MPs spoke of planning to dissect him, among others. Conversely, the Scouts proposed that he participate in an upcoming scouting expedition to determine whether he is a threat or not. They also suggested that Eren be placed under Levi's direct supervision so that he could be subdued in the event of an incident. While the latter proposal still entailed some degree of violence, it was far less hostile and more beneficial to Eren than the MP's proposal."

To conclude this part, I think that Mikasa focused more on the fact that Eren never meant any harm. And she probably thought that Eren should not be punished because of this. Again, all of this shows how Mikasa was inclined to always side with Eren (even though his actions may sometimes do more harm than good) because of his good and well-meaning nature and their shared history.

b)   Marley arc until the present time

The second part of this segment shall now discuss how Eren's drastic and dark development affected Mikasa.

As mentioned before, Mikasa always sided with Eren because of their past and his good nature.

However, when Eren began changing for the worse, their relationship began to deteriorate. As mentioned in my previous post, they slowly but surely drifted apart until they lost their common ground.

At the start of the Marley arc (which is the beginning of the fourth season in the anime), Eren's personality had noticeably become darker. This is evidenced by his horrible actions, which endangered and cost lives, such as the following:

a)    When he executed his and Zeke's plan to raid Liberio so that they could both escape to Paradis Island. As a result of this plan, countless innocent civilians and children were killed in the process. Furthermore, several of his comrades from the Survey Corps/Scouting Regiment lost their lives, including Sasha.

b)    When he initiated the Rumbling with the intention to destroy all of humanity not residing within Paradis Island. This plan and course of action would eliminate both their enemies who were actively plotting to attack Paradis and millions of innocent civilians and bystanders.

At this point in time, Eren had changed from a good-natured and compassionate soldier dedicated to protecting innocents to a depressed and violent extremist. This change was triggered by the revelation of the truth about the world and his gaining access to the memories of the past and future inheritors of his Attack Titan.

With regard to how his terrible change affected Mikasa, it is clear that she was clearly disturbed by it.

Mikasa had begun to acknowledge that Eren was no longer the "good" in their cruel world.

During the raid on Liberio, she was visibly distraught and affected by Eren's destructive actions. It seemed that she was in disbelief – she even asked him if he was aware that he did things that cannot be undone. As mentioned in the previous post, Mikasa was even more distressed because Eren consciously caused the destruction and did not appear to show any remorse.

It is worth noting that Mikasa's empathy for innocent and defenseless people, especially children, was highlighted in this scene. When she asked Eren if he was aware of his actions' consequences, there were tears in her eyes.

Screenshots taken from Season 4, Episode 6 of the “Attack on Titan” anime

At that point in time, Mikasa had begun to realize that the Eren she once knew was no longer with them. She had started to see that Eren no longer represented the good in the world; and that he had become a source of what makes it cruel.

Mikasa felt conflicted because she was in denial.

Throughout the Marley arc events up until the Rumbling arc, Mikasa still held on to the hope that Eren could still change for the better. It is true that she believed (or maybe desperately wanted to believe) that Zeke was manipulating him, but does not change the fact that Eren was acting on his own accord.

On several occasions, Mikasa had expressed her desire to talk to Eren and kept insisting that sense could still be talked into him. I think that this is an indicator that she was in a state of "pseudo-denial."

I used the term "pseudo-denial" because, from how I see it, Mikasa was already aware that Eren was no longer the same person who saved her.  That he was no longer the same person who insisted that Historia eat him so that humanity can be saved. That he was no longer the same person who would jump right into battle to protect innocent people; that he had turned into someone who had harmed and would continue to harm innocent people. However, it appears that Mikasa did not want to accept this fact. This is why she kept insisting on talking to Eren in the slim chance that he could still be persuaded to abandon his plan of initiating the Rumbling. She was torn between reality and her personal sentiments. In short, she still hoped that the kind person who stood up for the helpless and who saved her from bondage was still in there somewhere. This exemplified by this scene from Episode 14 of Season 4:

Screenshots taken from Season 4, Episode 14 of the “Attack on Titan” anime

This pseudo-denial placed her odds with her allies and comrades. The others, such Armin, Annie, and Levi, had already accepted that Eren needed to be killed in the worst-case scenario. On this, it's apparent that Mikasa knew that they were right considering the circumstances. But she still felt conflicted because she still hoped that Eren could be convinced to not go through with his plans. However, that hope was dashed when Eren himself told them that the only way to stop him was to kill him. Yet, even then, she was still hesitant and conflicted.

Mikasa had matured because of their strained connection and had begun outgrowing her bond with Eren.

In a way, Mikasa was still holding onto the past. On this, Eren's dark character development is what caused their relationship to deteriorate. As previously discussed, Mikasa's connection to Eren is rooted in their shared history and the type of person he used to be. In the past, Eren was her savior, her family, and her source of strength and hope. But when he stopped being those things to her, the foundation for their bond was lost.

While it is tragic and drastic for Mikasa, this caused her to become more keenly aware of other priorities. She became more cognizant of the stakes involved rather than just focusing on Eren. Although she still cared greatly for him, she was no longer singularly focused on him. She became wise and mature enough to not turn a blind eye to the danger and threat that he posed. This in sharp contrast to how she acted in the past. Before, she would always place Eren's welfare first before nearly anything else. But because of recent developments, she finally began to realize and understand that there were other things more important than Eren. And I think that this is a significant turning point for her since he had affected and influenced her for most of her life.

Before Chapter 138, Mikasa was still in a state of "pseudo-denial" because of her hope for a more peaceful solution in dealing with Eren. But I think that the fact that she started feeling conflicted was the start of her process of outgrowing her bond with Eren. This is because she knew that she could no longer just turn a blind eye to his actions and their devastating effects.

The significance of her process of outgrowing her connection with Eren will be further expounded in the next point of analysis below.

-----

3.    "Chapter 138: A Long Dream" is about Mikasa finally letting go of and "waking up" from her own dream.

It has already been established that Mikasa had dreamed of living a peaceful life for the longest time. She dreams of one that is similar to the kind she once had with her parents. In particular, Mikasa wanted to live such a life with her loved ones, particularly Eren. The "dream" she had during this chapter is evidence of this.

It is unclear whether what Mikasa saw was a dream, a hallucination, a vision, or, as some fans speculate, a memory from an alternate reality. In any case, it was not the reality that she lived in.

I've already stated earlier that her process of outgrowing Eren and their bond was significant. Concerning this, I think that the said process was part of a slow build-up towards her decision to finally let Eren go and kill him.

As previously mentioned, Mikasa seemed to have difficulty accepting that the Eren of her past had turned into the Eren who wished to destroy all of humanity outside of Paradis. She had struggled to fully acknowledge and accept this fact because it was too painful for her. However, as the situation started to become more drastic and desperate, she realized that she had no other choice but to face reality.

But even though she knew this, she still felt conflicted. Even when Eren told them that the only way to stop him was to kill him, she was still hesitant. She knew what needed to be done but could not accept it because of her attachment to Eren.

On this, I think that the "dream" or vision (or whatever it really was) that she had during the battle is representative of the kind of life she wishes and dreams for. When she, Levi, and the remaining Titan shifters were the only ones left to fight, she started having another headache. And when Levi told her that they were the only ones left who could kill Eren, her head pain intensified until the dream/vision started playing in her mind.

This is my take on this moment: the headache represented Mikasa's conflicted feelings. She knew that Eren needed to be stopped to save humanity. She knew that the rest of the world did not deserve to suffer from the cruel fate that Eren wished to bestow upon it. But her emotional attachments held her back from taking action. As for the dream/vision, I think it was her way of arriving at an epiphany and decision. And on this, maybe it was this dream/vision that gave Mikasa the resolve and courage to finally accept the reality. I will expound further.

In the dream/vision, Mikasa was crying. She said that she "shouldn't be there." And then dream-Eren spoke about their decision to run away from the Marleyan-Paradis conflict so that they could live in isolation and in peace during the last few years of his life. Dream-Eren then apologized for "bringing up the past."

Screenshots taken from Chapter 138 of the “Shingeki no Kyojin” manga

I personally think that this was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. During this dream/vision, Mikasa finally realized that her wish and dream to live a peaceful life with Eren could no longer come true. Her dream was born in the past, and if there was any chance of it happening, it had already passed by. Mikasa finally realized that attaining her dream was already impossible at that point.

I also think that when dream-Eren told her to forget about him after he dies, this could be interpreted as Mikasa realizing that if she were to finally have a quiet and peaceful life, then Eren would not be a part of it.

Screenshots taken from Chapter 138 of the “Shingeki no Kyojin” manga

Furthermore, Mikasa saying that she "had a long dream" could mean that she finally let go of her life-long wish/dream so that she can wake up to the reality she needed to face. It could be interpreted as her choosing to give up on Eren for good to make the world a less cruel place. On this, her decision to kill Eren herself was likely her way of letting him go and saying goodbye. It was the climactic resolution and outcome of her internal conflict where she struggled to choose between doing the right thing (saving humanity) and holding on to the most special thing in her life (Eren). In the end, she chose humanity over him because she knew that if she chose him, then their already cruel world would become darker and crueler.

Screenshot taken from Chapter 138 of the “Shingeki no Kyojin” manga

A quick note on Mikasa saying that she can’t forget Eren:

Some people might say that Mikasa’s declaration that she can’t forget Eren means that she decided not to let him go. I personally disagree with this. It is completely possible to move on from someone and let them go without forgetting them. In Mikasa’s case, I think that by saying that she won’t forget Eren, she meant that she will always remember the peaceful, good, and happy times that they had together. I also think that it means that she will fondly remember Eren as the good person he used to be.

I think that it’s understandable and fair that Mikasa chooses to remember the good times and the good things. Because, for better or for worse, Eren was still a huge and influential part of her life. The old Eren and the good times they had together were very much real, and the happiness she felt during those times was also genuine and valid. I also think that her decision to wear the scarf around her neck before delivering the killing blow was her way of saying, “I’m letting you go. But I will always value the good moments we had together. Goodbye.”

Screenshot taken from Chapter 138 of the “Shingeki no Kyojin” manga

-----

4. Eren represents Mikasa's dream, while Levi represents her reality.

This is a personal take and interpretation of the possible symbolisms connecting Mikasa and Levi in Chapter 138.

During the final battle against Eren, only Levi, Mikasa, and the titan-shifters were left to fight. And during this battle, Mikasa started to have her dream/vision. While dealing with her conflicted emotions, she began to drift to her "dream" about Eren and away from reality. And while she was drifting away, Levi kept telling her to "stay with [him there]."

Screenshot taken from Chapter 138 of the “Shingeki no Kyojin” manga

This could be interpreted as Levi being the voice calling out to her to stay in the current reality and not get lost in her distant and impossible dream. It is interesting to note that before she began "dreaming," an image of Eren as a child was shown, followed by a panel of a close-up of Levi's mouth with no dialogue. Meaning that everything around her had already faded away before she was immersed in her dream during that time.

Screenshots taken from Chapter 138 of the “Shingeki no Kyojin” manga

This could symbolize the inner conflict and turmoil that Mikasa was experiencing. She was torn between holding on to the past and accepting the present.

When she woke-up, both literally and figuratively, Mikasa had decided to let go of her dream and of Eren. She finally accepted the reality and returned to it. She returned to Levi's side and faced reality alongside him.

Screenshot taken from Chapter 138 of the “Shingeki no Kyojin” manga

Following this line of thought, this symbolic moment could foreshadow the kind of relationship they would have in the future. Considering that this final stand against Eren might very well be the most important battle of their lives, it would be reasonable to assume that they might form a deeper connection and relationship in its aftermath. They finished it together, so perhaps (and hopefully) it means that whatever the future might bring, they would also face it together.

Going back to how Eren and Levi are symbols, Eren represents her dream. Eren is not only a part of it; it is also linked to her past. Mikasa knew that her dream was impossible to achieve at that point and that it was necessary to finally let it go.

Levi, on the other hand, represents her reality. The reality she currently lives in is cruel and harsh. However, she can control what she does in it and what she makes of her life in the said reality. In other words, her reality is full of possibilities and various choices. This is in contrast to her dream of a life with Eren, which was impossible to attain. Furthermore, she only had two (2) choices as to what to do with the dream. It was either to keep holding on to it despite its impossibility or to let it go completely.

Thus, it can be said that Eren represents and symbolizes “what could have been”. Whereas, Levi represents “what could be”. Prescinding from this, there really is a good chance of Mikasa and Levi growing closer in the future.

-----

Author’s Note: Well, that’s all for now. Lol. I know that this post is very, very lengthy. Hahahaha. So, I really appreciate you guys for taking the time to read it. I tried my best to make it as organized and as clear as possible. I hope that it makes sense. Haha. I might post more analyses in the future. Hehehe. Let me know your thoughts and opinions!

[lokifantasies]

The Trial PART 1

Summary: The long awaited trial against Evan Nichols has started, and the foundation of the case against him has been laid out.

WARNING: GRAPHIC TORTURE AND SEXUAL ABUSE EXPLAINED.

Character(s): Loki, Thor, Jade, & Evan

Read the Mischievous Life series here!

Follow Jade, Loki, and Reader!

Join the Discord here!

Taglist! (click here to join a taglist!)

Strikethrough means I can’t tag you for some reason.

@1marvelnerd3000 @agentkinghorn @angeldarkness95 @arypesanchez @chaotic-neutral-queen @donttouchmylaevateinn @emerald-alone @eyesbluelikethetitanic @fa-me @ferriswheel97 @geeky-politics-46 @holdmytesseract @iris-shihabi @itsybitchylittlewitchy @jeongadelarinia @lokistoriesblog @lougy @melianisnothere @mqrvelbvnch @mm2305 @mortallythoughtfulgurl @nms224 @prettysbliss @shraddhadeveshvikram @xoxoloverb @you-will-find-peace-someday

The trial is here. It's the day that your family has been waiting for since this whole nightmare started. Unfortunately, Loki and Jade are both adamant that you remain on bed rest for the sake of the growing baby, and you ultimately end up losing the argument when you try to force them to let you come. Loki assures you that he'll be by her side for the both of you – supporting her the entire time.

In the back of your mind, you know the stress of hearing and seeing the evidence would be too much for you, and no one wants to see anything happen to your baby. Thankfully, Thor also appears to support his niece and brother – sitting on Jade's right as Loki sits on her left.

"I don't wanna see him," Jade mutters – looking down to the floor when Evan walks into the courtroom with his parents.

The teenager looks like he's injured – his leg has a slight limp, and his eye is swollen and dark. However, the seventeen-year-old has a smug smile on his face – his ego being stroked when he sees the television cameras on him. He takes his seat in between his lawyers, and they group together to discuss something quietly. Loki, Thor, and Jade try their hardest to hear what they're saying, but they're speaking far too quietly.

"I don't understand how he could have a defense," Thor says to you and Loki. "How can anyone deny that he did what he did?"

You shrug. "I don't know, Uncle Thor. I just want this to be over with."

The prosecution begins their opening statement by laying out all the facts of the case and making it clear what Evan Nichols is being tried for. His charges are as follows:

- 1st degree aggravated kidnapping

- 1st degree sexual assault (with forcible penetration)

- 1st degree sodomy

- Conspiracy to commit a kidnapping

- Conspiracy to commit a felony

- Felony stalking

- Harassment

- Attempted murder

- False imprisonment

- Assault with a deadly weapon

The first few witnesses to testify are the first responders who saved Jade from the small space she was being held in.

"Could you please state your name for the court and how you became involved in this case?" the prosecutor, Mr. Jeff Bards, began to question the officer.

"Brian David Wilson. I'm an NYPD SWAT officer who responded to the 911 call to 4892 E Graves Road," the witness explains.

"What happened upon arriving at the address?"

The officer took a deep breath before speaking. "We, the SWAT team, forced our way inside the house, and we started searching. I began to hear some muffled pleas for help, and when I followed them, I came across the fake wall in the home's basement. After removing the fake wall, I discovered that there was a small crawl-space type room."

"Can you confirm what the photo on the screen is?" Mr. Bards asks – a photo of the tiny, dark space where Jade had been held showing up on the screen.

"Yes, that is the crawl-space," he confirms

"And where was Ms. Lokisdottir located?"

"She was located in the back corner of the crawl space. She came out from hiding when she saw me, and I pulled her out of the space," officer Wilson stops to take a deep breath and gather his thoughts – trying to push his feeling aside. "Afterward, I carried her out of the house and to the ambulance that was waiting outside."

There's silence as the officer exits the witness stand – looking towards Jade and Loki as he goes to take his seat in the rows. The other officers testify – stating similar things to what the first one did. Then, everyone hears the fateful words.

"The prosecution calls Jade Pandora Lokisdottir to the stand, please."

Loki and Thor wrap their arms around the shaking sixteen-year-old – remind her that they're right there, and if she needs to, just look at them and they'll help her.

"You can do this, my love," Loki says softly. "Just pretend you're having a conversation."

"Okay," Jade nervously breathes out.

Thor hugs his niece close before she stands up. "You are so strong, Jade...just like your parents. You got this."

Jade exhales and nods – trying to walk up to the witness stand without falling. On the way, she refuses to look at the defense's side of the courtroom – disgusted as to how anyone could defend Evan.

Oh well, everyone has a right to a defense.

For a moment, Jade looks towards Evan. A smirk appears on her face when she sees his injuries – wondering who she needs to thank for the revenge. Before Jade turns her attention away, Evan takes the chance to blow a kiss towards her – excited to watch the goddess relive the nightmare he put her through.

"Could you please state your name for the court?" the prosecutor asks – looking directly at Jade.

"Um," Jade's voice is soft against the microphone. "Jade...Pandora Lokis-Lokisdottir."

"And can you tell the court how you came to know the defendant?"

Jade takes a deep breath and exhales – looking towards Loki and Thor for support. "Ye-yes. Um, we met at the mall when my parents took me shopping before the school year started. That weekend, we went out on a date, and then we started dating."

"Were you and the defendant ever sexual?

"Not...really," Jade answers. "Um, we only ever had oral sex, but that's it. I wa-wasn't comfortable with ever going any further than that."

"So, there was never any consensual sexual intercourse?"

"No."

"How long were you and the defendant dating?"

"Four months."

"During that time, did the defendant act inappropriately towards you in any sort of way?"

Jade exhales. "Yes. The last night we hung out together, he tried to force himself on me, but he ran away and drove off when I yelled for my dad."

"Ms. Lokisdottir, can you walks us through the day of September 3rd?"

Jade shakes her head and exhales nervously – looking towards Loki and Thor for their support. This is the first time she's ever spoken about what happened to her, and hopefully, it'll be the last.

"I was...at school, and Evan told me he wanted to speak with me privately, so I followed him out into the parking lot to smoke marijuana and talk in his car. When we got to his car, though, he locked the doors, and he took off from the parking lot." Jade swallows hard before continuing. "Um...I begged for him to stop and turn around – just let me go back to school, and I wouldn't tell anyone. But he didn't. He kept driving – pulling a knife from under his driver's seat and holding it to my throat. I tried to do as he said – hoping that he'd let me go, but he never calmed down. When we arrived at his house, no one was home. H-he led me into the basement and pulled a dresser away from the wall. It was a secret room behind the wall, and he made me...uh...he made me take all of my clothes off, so I was completely nude. He put a collar around my neck, and he connected it to a bolt in the floor so that I couldn't move much. He left for, I guess a couple hours, and he left me in the dark room. I remember how cold it was. It was freezing...especially since I didn't have any clothes. When he came back, he started to...do things."

"Could you explain what things were done to you by the defendant?"

Jade's eyes begin to tear up – her breathing becoming staggered as she thinks about how to word the horrific abuse she had been put through. The looks of support from Loki and Thor, however, give her a strength that she didn't know she had.

"There was...a metal bar," Jade begins quietly – biting her bottom lip to keep her thoughts going. "He had a long lighter with him, and he started to heat the bar up. He was laughing when he pressed the hot metal to my thigh – smiling at me while I screamed in pain as my skin started to burn. There's still a burn scar on my left thigh. When the bar finally cooled down, he threw it to the side. He grabbed me by the chain leash and forced me down to my knees. With his other hand, he...took his penis out of his pants and pried by mouth open. He grabbed the back of my head and used my mouth to get himself off. No matter how much I cried, and begged, and pleaded, he didn't stop. He found it entertaining. It turned him on." Jade looks out to see Loki and Thor becoming angrier by the second, but they're trying their best to remain calm for Jade's sake – knowing that they need to be her support. "After he was...finished, he uh, forced me to lie on the dirty floor. I tried to keep my legs closed, but he punched me in the face, which caused me to jump. Before I could try to close my legs again, Evan had them spread, and he began to...force his mouth...on me. I felt his teeth bite me, and I knew I was bleeding, but it seemed to turn him on even more. H-h-he reached over and grabbed the metal rod again, and h...I'm sorry...can I just...a moment?"

"Take your time," the prosecutor assures Jade – maintaining a professional composure.

Jade exhales deeply – closing her eyes and trying to gather her courage to continue.

"H-he began to use the metal rod to...assault me. He shoved it inside me – giving me cuts and bruises. I was bleeding, but he continued to thrust it in and out of me until he was satisfied. I thought he would finally be done, and I thought he'd take me home, but then I felt him begin to...insert himself...his...penis...into me. I tried to kick him off, but he held my legs as tight as he could to stop me from moving. It...I'm pretty sure he was trying to cause me pain. Finally, I stopped fighting – wanting him to just hurry up and let me go. I tried to stop crying because I didn't want him to be anymore satisfied with himself, but when I felt his fingers start to go into...the other side, I started fighting again. He pulled me up by the chain, and he forced me to look into his eyes. I remember he said that I was now his slut, and he was going to break me until I learned to love it. After a couple of minutes...he...ejaculated into me, which later resulted in a pregnancy. Evan was still wanting more though, so he turned me over and held my face to the floor as he entered my backside. Again, ignoring my cries and screams for him to stop. I lost track of how many times he did this...I think I may have blacked out or something, or maybe my brain made me forget in order to protect me from the memory, but the next thing I remember was being alone, redressed, and I heard the police officers calling out for me."

"Thank you, Ms. Lokisdottir," the prosecutor says with a proud smile.

[firelxdykatara]

Re: your excellent recent metas on stanning Mako and semi-comparing/contrasting him with Katara, do you think Mako should have ever gotten his own TSR-style arc of seeking revenge on his parents’ killer? It’s something I’ve been thinking about ever since re-entering the ATLA/LOK fandom last year. Just, UGH, the wasted potential to use such an arc to really dig into Mako’s psyche and all the hardship he’s endured, and also make said hardship more front-and-center to his audience of antis who unfairly reduce him to a standoffish, philandering asshole. I understand not wanting to re-do TSR in LOK, but Mako deserved SOMETHING of that calibur for a character arc. What are your thoughts?

Oooooh this is a really good question, and it's something I hadn't really thought of before--which, I think, is part of the issue with LoK as a whole. If you'll forgive a bit of a tangent--in atla, we are constantly reminded about the losses that Sokka and Katara have suffered--not in any kind of heavy-handed way (no matter how much the Katara haters will whine about her mentioning their mother, even though they usually won't say boo about Sokka despite him mentioning their father at least as often)--because the narrative makes it very clear that it's something on their minds through everything else that happens. It shapes who they are, and informs a lot of the decisions they make. You can see this with Zuko, too, and the abuse he suffered from his father--even before it is revealed in The Storm, you know that something happened, and that maybe it's not such a great thing that he is desperate to 'regain' his honor and return home. And even Aang, though he only rarely is shown to actually grapple with it on screen, is a constant reminder to the world, as well as to the audience, of the consequences of the war, simply by virtue of being an airbender and the last living remnant of the Air Nomads.

By contrast, LoK doesn't do much with the traumas any of the main cast suffered, particularly not anything that happened prior to the start of the series. Mako has a deeply emotional conversation early on in the show about what happened to his parents, and what he witnessed as a small child, but nothing is ever made of this information. It provides a bit of context, and it allows fans like me who are dissatisfied with the way the show and fandom proceeded to treat him to dig deep and realize just how much he suffered and how much better he deserved--but as far as the show itself is concerned, that conversation was essentially flavortext. It doesn't mean much, the show doesn't seem interested in having Mako or Bolin reflect on their lives or even be shown to visibly mourn their parents (who never show up in so much as a single flashback). Even when they meet their paternal grandmother in book 3, nothing much is made of the connection (and when Bolin has to forcibly evacuate Yin from Ba Sing Se, she makes him wait for her to grab..... the picture of the dead Earth Queen, rather than the picture of her son and his family), other than Yin telling them why their father severed connection with his family and Mako choosing to give her his one memento of his parents.

And like... I get that was meant to be an emotional moment, but... his father chose to cut off all contact with his family. Whatever the reasons might have been, whether he might have changed his mind had he lived, the fact was that what he wanted from his life was to look to the future--to his wife (who he never bothered taking home to meet his parents) and to his children. I really don't think he would have wanted his mother to have his scarf instead of his son--especially not when she had memories of his entire life (adult memories!) to hold onto, while Mako only had the hazy memories of childhood and one physical token to cling to when those might not be enough.

Bolin is glad to suddenly have a huge family, when they meet their grandmother, but again... nothing really comes of this. At some point Bolin mentions that he used to dig through literal garbage for food, and this is played for laughs rather than taken as any kind of serious examination of his life before things changed. The show just doesn't care about the krew as individual characters, not really--they are moved about as needed for the Plot, jokes are occasionally made about their backgrounds, sometimes something is pulled out for an emotional tearjerker moment before never being referenced again (I mean, really, Grandma Yin is around for multiple episodes in book 3 and book 4, and neither Mako nor Bolin spend an episode just begging to hear about their father's childhood?), and... that's about it.

All of which is a very long-winded way of saying yes, I absolutely think that Mako should've gotten his own TSR-like episode. Obviously it shouldn't have been just a carbon-copy, or even necessarily occupy a similar niche in the show--while TSR is very much a Katara episode, it is also a Zuko and Katara episode, because whether you ship them or not, the episode is explicitly about not only Katara gaining closure for here mother's murder, but also about Katara working through her feelings regarding Zuko and choosing to forgive him. However, I absolutely believe that Mako should have been given a chance to confront his parents' murderer, and I think it's a crying shame that this never actually happened.

And the thing is, they wouldn't have even had to 'redo' TSR, any more than you consider Mako as a character to be a 'redo' of Katara just because they have similar childhood traumas--but what they very easily could have done is shown how that trauma lingers. Show Mako's complicated relationship with firebending (he really has no thoughts about his own element, when it is what killed his parents???) and with the Triads that he had to do work for to make ends meet as a teenager so that he could keep Bolin fed. Maybe he knows exactly which of the Triads was responsible for his parents' death--maybe the man's face is burned into his mind, appearing in his own nightmares so frequently he couldn't forget it if he tried.

Maybe he had to do a job for the man who killed his parents, and only the thought of Bolin going hungry or worse if Mako never came home kept him from attacking. Maybe that night, when he got home, after he made sure Bolin had something to eat and went to sleep, he threw up until there was nothing left in his stomach and then he kept retching, throat raw and eyes stinging, because every time he closed his eyes he saw that man's face and felt the hand that killed his parents clapping him on the back for a job well done.

Maybe the man who killed his parents is one of Amon's Triad victims, loses his bending and is pathetic and weak, and Mako struggles against the urge to roast him alive without a second thought. Maybe Korra is there, slowly putting the pieces together, wanting to speak up but knowing that this is Mako's pain and it's something she could never fully understand, believing with all her heart that he'll make the right choice... but still sighing with relief when Mako's shoulders slump, the fire goes out of his hands, and the man who killed his parents runs away.

Maybe, at the end of the book when she is restoring everyone's powers, the man who killed Mako's parents gets to the head of the line... and she refuses. Maybe that's ultimately his punishment. And maybe Mako is standing there, fists clenched against the still-simmering rage in his gut, teeth clenched against the urge to vomit, relaxing only when the man leaves--dejected, rejected and powerless--and smiling, because he can finally begin to heal and move on from the scars left behind by his parents' deaths, but the man who killed them will have to remember every single day for the rest of his life exactly why he's powerless.

Idk, I just think... it would really be neat if Mako had been allowed to get closure for what happened to his parents. It would be... neat. I'm not crying at all shut up.

[greensaplinggrace]

who from Shadow and Bone do you think is most like Mother Gothel?

anon: which characters from sab are like tangled?

---

Well I'm writing a Rapunzel AU where Baghra/the Ravkan Monarchy are Mother Gothel and the Darkling is Rapunzel and Mal/Alina are Flynn. And I really do have to say that character wise, Baghra about fits Mother Gothel to a T. Although if you're going for paralleling story structures, it could be argued that it's the Darkling, but that would ignore about 80% of his character and his motivations, as well as the fundamental connection he has to Alina and her powers.

Mother Gothel wouldn't be Mal or Alina, and it definitely wouldn't be Genya or Zoya. So it's either the Darkling or Baghra. And since the Darkling may on the surface appear to be the most like her, there are some very crucial parts of his character you would have to ignore to make that happen, and a lot of false parallels. So Baghra most fits.

Alina would be Rapunzel. Especially since I can see how the ending of Ruin and Rising would remind a lot of people of Tangled in particular. Except that it would again be a false equivalence, since Grisha powers in the Grishaverse are akin to not only a crucial part of their bodies and being, but also their status as a persecuted minority. So Alina having her powers stripped from her forcibly against her will as a sacrifice someone else makes to save Ravka while Rapunzel willingly sacrifices her powers so save those she loves are two inherently different scenes. But the rest of her story lines up with Rapunzel pretty well.

Although again... Rapunzel had her entire life with her powers and Alina had scant few. So there are a lot of false parallels again. Alina also needs her powers to survive and adores her powers for herself. Because she has finally discovered the missing piece of her that had kept her head under water for so long. So Rapunzel's feelings towards her powers as something only Mother Gothel uses vs Alina's feelings towards her powers as a liberation and a relief and the realization that she's finally found herself are two entirely separate things.

But again, if you're just going by the most surface level paralleling of story structures, Alina would most fit Rapunzel. And then I guess that leaves Mal or Nikolai as Flynn. Tbh, if the Darkling isn't Mother Gothel (because it's pretty much Baghra), then he probably wouldn't be in the story at all.

So yeah, I mean I like making references to Tangled in regards to SaB because I like talking about my Rapunzel!Darkling AU lol, but it's difficult to fully compare the two pieces of media when the fundamental aspects of Grisha powers, character motivations, and character arcs would have to be cast aside for surface interpretations of the basic archetypes each character represents.

[catboymingi]

movie night

navi/masterlist

pairing: yunho x reader

genre: fluff; requested by @yunhoiseyecandy​​ !

word count: 2.3k

warnings: none!

a/n: the amount of time this took me to write just because i kept napping… i’m ashamed

imagine this: me, yunho, cuddles + kithes + movies :3

“yunho, what are you doing?”, you laughed out after the third time your boyfriend had found it completely necessary to start kissing all over your face during a lovey scene in the movie you were currently watching, completely without warning or explanation.

“kissing you”, he just replied, lips still forcibly attached to your face as if it was impossible to remove them even just to answer you.

“i can see that”, or rather, feel, “but i don’t really get why you’re suddenly so lovey.”

“do you want me to stop?”, and now it did seem possible to bring just a few centimetres of distance between his lips and your skin.

“no, love, it’s cute, it’s just hard to focus on the movie when you’re being so cute”, you told him, and then, as realisation hit you: “you just don’t want to watch a romcom! you could’ve just told me, i would’ve put something else on!”

“no no!”, he was quick to reassure, “the movie is cute! you’re just cuter. it’s impossible to not kiss you when you smile so cutely whenever something lovey happens.”

now it was you pressing a kiss to his lips as you turned your head to look at him, and another one, and, just because you could, a third one as well, before you focused back on the movie.

yunho didn’t like this, though, wanted your attention on him only now that he’d gotten some of it, but he knew that you really wanted to watch the movie, so he tried to let you focus.

keyword: tried.

he really was trying to not be too in-your-face with his affection, small kisses pressed to your shoulder, neck, jaw, picking up your hands to kiss your knuckles, but what he hoped to be lowkey left you wanting more, more kisses, a tighter hug, just more love. it was impossible to resist him when he was all over you smothering you with affection. so you decided to pause the movie, and once that was done you turned in yunho’s lap some more, now in the perfect position to get all his love and kisses.

“but the movie-?”, your boyfriend asked, but you just shook your head.

“it’s impossible to not kiss you when you’re being so adorable”, you repeated what he’d offered you as an explanation a little earlier, though slightly tweaked to fit the new situation, and he smiled.

“i guess.”

then, even though you’d told him that it was impossible for you not to kiss him, he leaned in again to kiss you, happy that this time you wouldn’t be complaining about missing out on the plot.

“you taste like chips”, because that’s what you’d been eating, the only option for a portion-sized, grabbable snack in the house, and also the reason why there were subtitles on the movie, because your crunching made it difficult to understand the characters at times.

“and you taste like you’ve inhaled a whole bottle of sprite since we started”, you replied to him, both of you smiling against the other.

“together we’re the perfect meal for a movie date”, he joked, playfully licking your lips to mix the tastes.

“yup. perfect meal”, he assessed his little experiment, and you couldn’t help but laugh.

“my turn”, doing the same as he’d done, making it his turn to laugh as you tried to taste some of the sprite off his lips.

“can you even taste it?”, because he didn’t assume his lips tasted a lot like the drink. if anything, his tongue probably tasted more like it.

and his suspicion was confirmed when you grinned at him.

“nope”, you let him know, “but it’s fun to tease you back.”

you shouldn’t have said this, though, because what had started off as innocent teasing resulted in you near falling off the couch as he tickled your sides with one hand, holding your hands together so you were entirely helpless with the other.

“mercy! please! spare me!”, you laughed out as his hands mercilessly attacked you, making you near pee your pants because he just would not stop.

“what do i get if i stop?”, yunho asked, stopping now so you’d be able to form a coherent sentence, something he knew would be impossible if he kept torturing you.

“whatever you want! whatever you want!”, without thinking much about it - you were desperate for a break and you were desperate for the bathroom, your laughter having caused something that would become a problem if he wouldn’t let you go pee right now.

“hmm…”, he thought out loud, considering what he’d bribe out of you, leaving you still unable to move as he was holding your hands together.

“please just let me pee, yunho”, you whined out, and finally you were released, sprinting to the bathroom to grant your bladder the desired relief as he mused on.

“you said i get whatever i want”, you were greeted by your boyfriend as you returned from the bathroom, much less hurried than you’d been when you left, and the reminder of that already had you fear whatever he was going to ask of you.

“i want to go to mcdonald’s and get a happy meal”, he continued, “and a mcflurry. and a big milkshake. and you pay.”

at least it could have been worse. even though it was currently nearing 11pm and you really weren’t excited about going out in the merciless cold he at least hadn’t asked you for a trip to universal studios or something equally impossible. really, you were lucky you got out of this with just a mcdonald’s meal.

“get your jacket and let’s go”, you just told him, and he seemed a little surprised that you just accepted it. he wasn’t going to complain, though.

that was how you found yourself in mcdonald’s as one of the only customers roughly twenty minutes later, you in yunho’s lap as he fed you some of his fries. you’d just gotten an - already devoured - mcflurry for yourself while his wish had been fulfilled, but the fact that he had two drinks meant he left you to choose the happy meal’s drink, which was assigned your drink as he happily sipped his milkshake.

“thank you, angel”, he told you, but you just rolled your eyes at him, making it a point to turn your head so he could most definitely see it, too.

“as if you’d let me go if i hadn’t offered you literally anything you wanted. and i needed to pee.”

“fair point”, feeding you another fry - by now you’d probably eaten more fries than him, but he didn’t mind -, “but i still want to say thank you. i have manners, you know.”

he was most definitely teasing, but you had a good counter argument, as he found out when you without a single second for thought told him: “didn’t seem like it when you tickled me half to death.”

“you started it!”, he tried defending himself, but not with you.

“you were the one to lick my lip just to get some taste of the chips! i just repaid you, that doesn’t make me the one who started!”

yunho couldn’t argue with that, so he just grumbled, deciding to speed up his fry feeding tempo so you wouldn’t be able to say any more, keeping your mouth constantly occupied with chewing.

this plan, however, stopped working as soon as he was out of fries, and your teasing immediately continued.

“don’t think i didn’t know what you were doing”, you told him, “you just can’t stand hearing the truth.”

“can’t i want my love to be well fed? does that make me a bad boyfriend? if so, give me the worst boyfriend in the world award, because i’ll always make sure you have enough food.”

“dork”, but you were smiling, enjoying the moment and how normal it felt. it felt like this was how it should be, your boyfriend and you at mcdonald’s, you in his lap as he tried to navigate his spoon to his mouth without accidentally hitting you in the chest with it, the time close to midnight so you were two of the only people there, just being goofy and relaxed. it felt like the hectic world full of assignments and work and random due dates couldn’t reach you in this moment.

“but i’m your dork”, yunho informed you as he pressed a soft kiss to your cheek, something that still made your heart flutter. you literally lived with him, you’d spent the last three years of your life with him, yet whenever he confirmed that he was yours and you were his you felt like you had on your very first date.

“and it looks like my dork finished his happy meal. do you want to go back home? i’m a little tired.”

‘a little’ was an understatement, but you weren’t about to tell him that it was near impossible to not fall asleep in this lousy mcdonald’s just because he was enveloping you in his warmth with his arms around you and chest against your back. that would be a reason for more teasing than you were willing to accept.

“let’s go”, and you left hand in hand after you’d thrown away the remnants of your late night adventure, the only thing keeping you from freezing on the walk back home the fact that he’d wrapped an arm around you as soon as he realised you were cold, trying to give as much of his warmth to you as he could.

though that had helped you were glad when you were back home, taking off your shoes and the sorry excuse of a jacket that hadn’t done its job and immediately moving towards the bedroom, hiding underneath not only your but also his blanket, and you were absolutely willing to fight him if he dared to demand even just one of the blankets for himself.

he didn’t, though, laying down on his back next to you as he watched your incredibly tiny-looking face peek out from the blanket cocoon you’d built for yourself.

“come sleep here and you can keep them both”, he offered, patting his stomach to let you know where ‘here’ was - on top of him.

he didn’t need to tell you twice, the cocoon that was more blanket than girlfriend shuffling its way on top of him and only changing its cocoon conditions to also cover him in the blankets rather than having them folded in underneath your stomach. his body heat was a good substitute for the warmth you now lacked from the blankets, though, and his arms holding you tightly had you decide that this was better than just a blanket cocoon.

“you’re hot”, you told him, nuzzling into him for more comfort, but of course yunho couldn’t help but comment on your word choice.

“i am? i thought you wanted to sleep, but if you have different plans…”

“shut up or you’re sleeping on the couch”, a threat both of you knew you wouldn’t actually make a reality, but it did its job.

“okay”, he chuckled, “we’ll just sleep.”

“mhm”, you hummed, rubbing your cheek against the soft fabric of his shirt that still smelled a little bit of fast food, but it was okay.

“goodnight, love. and thanks for the happy meal, again.”

“night. and this was a one-time thing.”

it really wouldn’t be, but it couldn’t hurt to try. though you didn’t actually know if he replied anything to that, sleep dragging you into the land of dreams at a speed of 200 kilometres per second. all you were able to still, half subconsciously, perceive were his warmth and his soft, strong arms around you.

the next morning you were still in the same position, his breath steady and even underneath you, although his arms were wrapped a little less tightly around you, only his hands still on your back as the rest of his arms had almost entirely slid off while both of you were asleep. you really didn’t want to wake him up, but he looked so peaceful asleep like that that you couldn’t keep yourself from kissing him, and as if he was an action doll and kissing him was the little power button his eyes fluttered open, looking at you with sleep still evident in them, but the sleepy pout on his lips turned into a smile anyway.

“morning.”

“morning, sleepyhead”, acting as if you hadn’t woken up maybe two minutes before him. he didn’t need to know that, though.

“slept well?”, you asked him then.

“mhm. you? warm enough?”

“yes”, you told him, kissing him again right after, “thank you.”

“no problem.”

his arms moved back fully around you as he held you close for a little more, until his body had fully realised that it was time to be awake, at which point he asked you if you wanted to go get breakfast.

you hummed in approval of his idea and both of you attempted to free you from the blanket cocoon, and once that was done you made your way to the kitchen, though the tv in the living room caught your attention first.

“we forgot to turn it off last night”, yunho said, surprised, as he remembered that you had in fact never cared to turn the tv off, thinking you’d continue the movie after going to mcdonald’s - something that obviously hadn’t happened.

“we did”, you replied just as surprised, but then surprise turned into content as you smiled at the memories of the previous night, all the cute kisses and hugs and teasing that always made you so happy, even when you were exasperated in the moment.

“do you think we’ll ever be able to finish an entire romcom?”, you asked him then, still smiling.

“probably not.”

[hersheykise]

Jonathan Joestar’s Spotify Playlist

Hello and welcome to the beginning of a series (or projected to be ahaha) that has to do with Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure characters and their own personalized playlists! I’ll be listing the track list and then will be going more in depth as to why I chose these particular songs for Jonathan’s playlist. The top part will not have spoilers, but be aware that the second part will so read at your own will! For the first playlist, we have none other than Jonathan Joestar, the original Jojo!

💿✨Track list✨💿

01. Jojo (Sono Chi no Sadame), Hiroaki Tommy Tominaga

02. BREATHE, AB6IX

03. breathin, Ariana Grande

04. We Belong, Ong Seong Wu

05. My Heart Will Go On, Céline Dion

06. Silence, Marshmello ft. Khalid

07. Dollhouse, Melanie Martinez

08. London Boy, Taylor Swift

09. Needed Me, Rihanna

10. Line Without a Hook, Ricky Montgomery

11. Glorious, Macklemore ft. Skylar Grey

12. Fighter, Christina Aguilera

13. Classic, MKTO

14. Win, CIX

15. Blue Hour, TOMORROW X TOGETHER

In Depth (spoiler free)

🔹 Jojo (Sono Chi no Sadame), Hiroaki Tommy Tominaga

Sono Chi no Sadame is the first opening of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure and is truly what sets up the stage for the rest of the series. Jonathan Joestar, being the first Jojo, begins the Jojo legacy in Phantom Blood. The song lyrics heavily foreshadow the future of the Jojo series and describes Jonathan as someone who has honor and always does what is right. Sono Chi no Sadame is a spectacular opening act to the unique concept of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. *side note* Muscially speaking wow this song is incredibly good the crescendoes and frequent tempo changes as well as the instrumentals amaze me- this is easily my favorite Jojo opening.

🔹BREATHE, AB6IX

Hamon (also known as Ripple or Sendo) is a technique that heavily focuses on controlled breathing. Jonathan learned and mastered Hamon in a very short amount of time. BREATHE also has a very light feeling to it, making the song easy to listen to which connects to Jojo as he is a lighthearted and easy going guy.

🔹breathin, Ariana Grande

Likewise as BREATHE by AB6IX, breathin correlates to the Hamon technique that Jonathan used to fight. Adding onto that, Jonathan lived in a grand mansion and was very well off financially. This song has an elegant sound to it. Despite the wealth that he had, Jojo did not have the easiest childhood. Ever since Dio Brando began to live with him, Jonathan saw many mishaps occur with his relationships, reputation, and self esteem. But, Jonathan Joestar never gave up on his morals and values, and he always kept “breathin and breathin and breathin” no matter what, making sure he would always do the right thing.

🔹Silence, Marshmello ft. Khalid

Silence explains and describes Jonathan’s teenage years very well along with his relationship with Dio. Dio coming to live with Jonathan messed him up as Jonathan felt inferior to Dio who was taking the spotlight by being an amazing athlete and intelligent student. This prompted lots of praise from Jonathan’s father and comparing him to Dio constantly, which made Jonathan feel like he wasn’t worth as much. “I found peace in your violence” is a very meaningful line that contributes to Jonathan’s and Dio’s relationship because of the fact that Dio was... an extremely violent person ever since he was a kid and has done crazy evil things to Jonathan, yet Jonathan didn’t really hate Dio because of Jojo’s noble personality- Dio was Jonathan’s “brother,” therefore Jonathan couldn’t hate him. Jojo felt like he had to be silent over Dio’s actions because he didn’t want to spoil the love that his father gave to Dio, again proving how big of a heart Jonathan had.

🔹Dollhouse, Melanie Martinez

Dollhouse is a rather dark song, but is perfect to show off the darker side of Jonathan’s character. As we know, Jonathan is a young man who presents himself as well... perfect. He’s smart, incredibly kind and noble, rich, popular, and athletic. After Dio appeared and started to really turn things around for Jonathan, he had to continue to present the same image of himself even though his home life was becoming a wreck. His own father constantly scolded him and loved Dio to a great extent. “Pose with your brother won’t you be a good sister?” Jonathan knew that Dio’s actions were evil and he had ill intent at such a young age but Jojo had to go along with the act that Dio put on, faking the close brotherly relationship between them.

🔹London Boy, Taylor Swift

Sometimes I forget that Jonathan Joestar is in fact British. London Boy is a song for Jonathan not just because he lives in/by London, but also because the song describes a man who is just so sweet and has a beautiful laugh. The overall song is just so positive and loving towards this English boy. Every time I listen to this song I now think of Jonathan, and a smile always plasters on my face. Taylor Swift also has a lyric talking about watching rugby which reminded me of the iconic Jonathan and Dio rugby scene early in the story. Jonathan is such a respectful gentleman whom everyone just can’t help but fall in love with his lovely English charm.

🔷Line Without a Hook, Ricky Montgomery

After upon listening to this song, I felt like it really gave off Jonathan vibes because of the light but a tinge of melancholy sound to it. Thing song is quite reflective of Jonathan and Erina with the lyrics “I broke all my bones that day I found you crying at the lake” because it reminded me of when Jonathan first met Erina, who was being bullied by a couple of boys but Jonathan risked getting beaten up to stop the bullies from harming Erina. Later, Jonathan was laying on a hill with his dog Danny, feeling quite down because of none other than Dio, but Erina came and dropped off some grapes and his handkerchief and that was what really started off their relationship. The iconic line “she’s a, she’s a lady, and I am just a line without a hook” explains that Erina was Jonathan’s sole happiness in his life.

🔹Fighter, Christina Aguilera

Honestly, Dio really sucked (I still love him *sigh*). He wanted to completely destroy Jonathan’s life and make it absolutely miserable... for what? Well, despite the horrific actions that Dio performed to ruin Jonathan’s reputation and will, that ultimately backfired as Jonathan rose stronger than ever. Of course Jonathan was mad at Dio for his unspeakable actions, but because of him, he was able to have a certain drive where he gained immense strength in a short amount of time. William Zeppeli describes Jonathan as a Hamon prodigy because of how quickly Jojo was able to master it. Jojo was a natural, but again, he had that determination to defeat Dio once and for all. Despite the hardships Jonathan went through as a result of Dio’s decisions, Jonathan did not resent him in the end- Jojo became an extremely powerful individual because of his past.

🔹Classic, MKTO

In order to create a playlist for our favorite gentleman, it’s only necessary that we add a classic gentlemanly song to it! There’s not much of a deep gloomy reason why this song correlates with Jonathan, in fact it’s the complete opposite. Classic is a song that talks about being a classy and polite man, and to put it simply, Jonathan is exactly that.

🔹Win, CIX

From the God of High School soundtrack, Win is a song about fighting and training together as a team. This upbeat song greatly reminds me of the mini team of Jonathan Joestar, Speedwagon, and William Zeppeli all fighting against Dio and his minions together. Jonathan Joestar was not able to fight Dio without a hamon teacher, William, and an incredibly loyal friend, Speedwagon. This trio had great camaraderie and were overall an incredibly adorable and high morale team.

🔹Blue Hour, TXT

Ok so does this song really have a deep meaning or correlation to Jonathan Joestar? Nahhh not really, I just added it as a bit of a bonus. Blue Hour has an almost fairytale like vibe to it and I just thought it would be something that resonated with Jonathan, especially when he was a child. So, enjoy this little serotonin bonus boost!

⚠️Part 1 Spoilers⚠️

🔹We Belong, Ong Seong Wu

Jonathan’s and Erina’s relationship was very short... but sweet. We Belong is an emotional love song explaining how this one guy meets someone who is their entire world, like when Jonathan met Erina. Through Jojo’s darkest times when he felt like he lost everything, Erina was by his side no matter what. Even though their marriage was abruptly ended with the death of Jonathan, it doesn’t disregard the fact that Erina completely loved Jonathan and supported the Joestar family for the future generations to come. Jonathan and Erina truly belonged together.

🔹My Heart Will Go On, Céline Dion

My apologies, I’m absolutely in love with Jonathan’s and Erina’s relationship. My Heart Will Go On automatically reminds me of the last moments of Jonathan. Since the song was a part of the Titanic soundtrack where there’s a romance story and people die on a sinking ship, it really correlates to Erina and Jonathan going on their honeymoon but Jonathan ending up dead on the ship. Everytime I think of either the song or Jonathan’s and Erina’s last moments together, my heart feels heavy. Both the song and the scene are extremely high in emotions and both suit each other quite well.

🔹Needed Me, Rihanna

Dio killed Jonathan so that he could merge with Jojo’s body, and ultimately use it for evil and for power. “Never told you, you could have it,” symbolizes that Dio forcibly took everything Jonathan had, again including his own body. Although Jonathan would probably never say the lyrics of this song to Dio because he’s so noble, externally everyone knows that without Jonathan, Dio would have been absolutely nothing in Part 3.

🔹Glorious, Macklemore ft. Skylar Grey

The song Glorious questions oneself’s purpose in life, the answer being ‘give back to the people.’ Jonathan has proven that he has countlessly sacrificed himself for others, as was seen when he died on the ship and told Erina to take care of the orphaned baby and to “live a happy life.” Jonathan struggled greatly in his short life, but he always had the passion of helping others since he was born to do so.

🌟Conclusion🌟

Thank you for reading through my first ever blog on Tumblr! I hope you enjoyed the playlist and descriptions! Hopefully this playlist blog series will continue with majority of the main Jojo characters- that’s the plan. Have a good day and/or night💓!

[theravennest]

More thoughts about Coulson, PhiLMD, and May...

*Spoilers for all of AoS/S7.

How many times does Phil Coulson have to say “Don’t bring me back to life if I die” before people respect his choice and his personal autonomy?

Ever since the first season of this show he has been adamant that people not forcibly bring him back to life when he dies. He literally chewed out Fury for doing it.

We were front row seat to his agony throughout S1, S5, and S7 about how the other characters won’t respect his wishes and about him feeling wrong/out of place when they kept forcing him back to life.

It took everything in PhiLMD this season to finally separate Coulson’s feelings of wanting to rest from the anger at his/Coulson’s wishes being ignored and from his (PhiLMD) own new feelings as an individual being. He finally settles on trying to figure out who he is at the end of the season while still being open to having relationships with the others. This was such a healthy and positive change for him. And it was even healthier to have all the people he/Coulson loved actually respect his choice on whether to deactivate or not instead of trying force to him to be with them.

May will be fine. She has always had a will to keep living and keep moving forward that Coulson, frankly, did not share after he was killed by Loki. And Coulson’s desire to finally rest only grew stronger the more times he was killed and resurrected.

May has a life outside of Coulson that she values. She has a desire to nurture her own future as a mentor and as a teacher. She is not unhappy or miserable. She has reconciled with Bahrain and her title as the Cavalry. She has reconnected to her emotions in a real and tangible way. She is finding fulfillment in her new career and her new empathy power. She is at peace for the first time in over a decade. She has been launched into a fresh, new stage of her life with so much to discover about herself and the way she fits into the world.

Would she be happier with PhiLMD? Maybe. I actually don’t know. PhiLMD is not Coulson. He’s not a build-a-boyfriend for her to have instead of the actual man she loved. May expressed real frustration earlier this season over the back and forth with him dying and not dying. That was painful for her and she very clearly stated that she does not want to go through that any more. PhiLMD has parts of Coulson and I honestly think she could really fall for this version of him too but there would always be this painful reminder that her Coulson is still dead. I don’t want that for her, at all.

I love Philinda, I really do...but I love May, Coulson, and now PhiLMD as individuals more. I’m okay with an open ending for them where they are both happy and finding peace with themselves as their own persons while also being open to each other if they so choose. There is a real emotional truth to that.

The reality is that May and PhiLMD’s story is far too complicated and messed up to just go, “Why can’t they kiss and be in love?” Like, it’s...not that simple???? A hopeful open ending for them is the best that they could have done without completely disrespecting the journeys all three characters have been on this season and long before.

[brindaneer]

“Brinda: I love Superhero films. Marvel, DC and of course, our very own Krrish!

Neer: umm…I really can’t watch anything from the entire genre except Krrish!”

This is an appropriate example of a typical conversation regarding ‘superhero’ ventures between us. Shocked? What?! We already told you that our opinions varied at times! Oh! Ok! Shocked about the fact that Neer does not like the Marvel and DC universe? Well, yeah! Neer can be a bit ‘weird’ about certain things 😝! Don’t worry! Brinda loves them all❤️... However, what really matters is that both of us absolutely adore our first Indian superhero, Krrish; the reason for that is not Hrithik Roshan alone although he obviously is the primary source of our attraction.

MR. Rakesh Roshan! What a man! The sheer courage that must have been required to even dream of making a film about an Indian Superhero, all those years ago, is rare to find; it makes us salute the possessor, Mr. Rakesh Roshan again and again. At some point, fed up with relentless struggle, many among us have probably thought of giving up on our dreams. Let us take a lesson from this man and aspire for great things without worrying about the results. Only then can we achieve that which is largely perceived to be unattainable.

Technically superb with high quality VFX and cinematographically fabulous, Krrish possessed all ingredients that are usually required to make a commercially successful superhero venture. Yet, in a hypothetical SWOT analysis of the film, its numero uno strength would definitely have to be the script. We realize this must remind you of the blog on Koi Mil Gaya but please excuse us for sounding repetitive. It is not our fault that Mr. Rakesh Roshan places utmost importance on the script of a film. No, we are not saying it is his either. In fact, it is quite the reverse. Mr. Roshan’s astuteness in coming up with a crisp script with the help of a very talented team of writers is undoubtedly his best quality and that, in turn, enhances his abilities as a director, thereby making the end product not only saleable but also worthy of critical acclaim. Therefore, not surprisingly, Krrish had a sound and very believable storyline, which ultimately is the most essential element of any film. So, lets just delve into it right away!

Krrish is all about Krishna, Rohit’s son, who has inherited special powers from his father, the very ones that Jaadoo had gifted lovingly to Rohit years back in ‘Koi Mil Gaya’. Unfortunately, Rohit and Nisha are no longer alive, having died a few years after we had last seen them (😭😭). Scared of exposing her super heroic grandson to the world, Sonia Mehra leaves Kasauli and retires to an obscure but beautiful little place somewhere in the Himalayan countryside. Krishna’s face is an exact replica of Rohit’s but otherwise he is quite different from what his father used to be at this age. Krishna has superpowers that allow him to leap across mountains, fall into a gorge from the top of a high peak and yet escape unhurt, climb mountains faster than any other living being, and run faster than a horse! He is also a lonely young boy, desperate for companionship and exposure to the vast exciting world he has been kept away from. Despite harbouring a grievance towards his ‘Daadi’ for this confinement, Krishna loves her too much to be really offended. Her world revolves around him and he is very aware of it. Yet, he cannot let go of his boredom in the sleepy little hamlet he has been forced to dwell in! What a tragic irony! The very powers that had once enabled Rohit to be largely accepted within the so-called mainstream society have now chained his son, keeping him forcibly hidden from the rest of the world.

However, destiny obviously has other plans, and Krishna meets Priya (Priyanka Chopra) who is visiting India with her friend Honey from Singapore and are in his neighbourhood with an adventure group. For him, it is love at first sight. For Priya, he is initially a mystery and eventually a friend. The parallel between Krishna and Priya’s story and that of Rohit and Nisha is worth mentioning in this context. Nisha had also considered Rohit just a friend for a long time until she fell in love with him.

Despite his grandmother’s restrictions, Krishna’s powers are revealed (somewhat deliberately by the man himself) in front of Priya and Honey, who are naturally awestruck. The scenes where they and their companions mistake the superhuman Krishna as supernatural and are convinced that he is the ghost of Ramcharan provide some very effective comedy to keep the audience engaged.

After spending some lovely moments together, and getting acquainted with Krishna’s grandmother, Priya leaves, much to Krishna’s disappointment. Having grown up far from the madding crowd, away from the complexities of urbanism, Krishna is still innocent to a degree that is rare to find in the contemporary world. Priya is aware of his feelings but she does not reciprocate them despite genuinely liking him. However, that does not deter her from luring him to Singapore with false proclamations of love just so that Honey and she may save their jobs by showing off his unique skills in a television show. Quite a diabolical plan! Naturally, we were developing acrimonious feelings for Priya at this point when we first watched the film, and we are sure, so were you! However, keeping aside our concern for the ever-lovable Krishna for a while, how refreshing was it to see a flawed heroine for a change? We are definitely not suggesting that this was the first portrayal of such a female in Hindi cinema, but Bollywood had most diligently followed the tradition of glorifying female lead characters up to a very long time, and it was not completely out of fashion in the late 2000s. In fact, it is still frequently observed in television shows that are highly influenced by obsolete Bollywood themes. How many heroines can you name off the top of your head who were selfish and unsympathetic in mainstream commercial films during that decade? Yes, definitely more than what used to be in the 60s, 70s and 80s, but still not too many. Just close your eyes for a moment and think of the number of films where the ‘hero’ has faked love for the heroine due to selfish reasons (to win a bet with friends, to satisfy his own ego, for the sake of his job, etc). If you can think of such films far more easily than the ones where heroines have made similar mistakes, we have made our point. Please do not get us wrong; we are definitely not advocating such behaviour. However, our society has normalized the concept of a ‘virtuous’ female to such a massive extent that sometimes people forget we are human beings, made of the same flesh and blood as men, and capable of making similar mistakes and sins. We do not intend this blog to be a discourse on feminism by any means; yet somehow this discussion seems very relevant here.

Moving on, Krishna is elated to find that his feelings are reciprocated and wants to go to Singapore at the earliest to get permission from Priya’s mom for their marriage. However, his daadi has severe objections in this regard. The scene where Krishna lashes out in anger and accuses her of selfishly wanting to keep him to herself is one of the best enacted scenes of the movie. But more on that later. Heartbroken by her grandson’s accusations, Sonia Mehra finally reveals the reason for her apparently irrational fear, and in the process, we get to see our very own Rohit once again, although in flashback.

After Jadoo had given Rohit his powers back, he became widely known in the scientific community due to his research works, eventually attracting the attention of internationally renowned scientist, Dr. Siddhanth Arya (Naseeruddin Shah). Dr. Arya wanted to collaborate with Rohit and build a computer that could predict the future, thereby saving the world from catastrophes. To that end, Rohit moved temporarily to Singapore and worked day and night in Dr. Arya’s research laboratory. Nisha, who was pregnant at the time, was being taken care of by Rohit’s mother. The day Nisha was hospitalized for delivering the baby, Sonia Mehra called Rohit who anxiously told her that he was coming back because his powers had been used for wrong purposes. The next day, she received news of his death in a lab accident. Nisha could not bear this shock and passed away a few days later, leaving little Krishna as Sonia’s only reason for existence.

Convinced that Rohit’s death was not a mere accident, Sonia decided to keep her gifted grandchild away from prying eyes so that the same people did not try and use his powers for evil as well.

This revelation naturally mellows the agitated Krishna down and he feels guilty for having hurled harsh allegations at the person who is actually his protector and saviour; more so because she not only agrees to let him travel to Singapore but also ushers the best possible blessing upon him by giving him Rohit’s coat. On his part, Krishna promises that he is going to keep his powers hidden from all. However, that’s easier said than done, as he soon finds out. Although he manages to ruin Priya and Honey’s attempts to showcase his skills for a show, it becomes impossible for him to keep quiet when a circus tent catches fire in front of his eyes and children are trapped inside. As he dons a common mask and wears his father’s coat inside out as a cape, Krishna becomes Krrish, a superhero who does not think twice before jumping into fire to save the entrapped. The name is a shortened version of his real one and he uses it as a pseudonym so that he may keep his promise to his grandmother. However, when has truth remained hidden? As they say in Bollywood, ‘sach ko to ek na ek din saamne aana hee hoga’! Priya, who has now actually fallen for Krishna (who wouldn’t?) comes face to face with him as he emerges out of the burning tent, carrying a child in his arms. Since he is all masked up, and the surrounding is filled with smoke, she only sees his intense greenish grey eyes, and quite logically draws the conclusion that he is none other than her very own Krishna. Smart girl! Who else has those gorgeous pair of eyes in the world? Nevertheless, Krishna’s promise to his grandmother is worth more to him than admitting the truth to Priya, and he ruins all her attempts to make him confess including getting deliberately beaten up by goons to prove that he is not the superhero she thinks him to be. He also gives his identity willingly to Christian, a young man in need of money for his wheelchair-bound little sister; a pair he had already helped before by collecting money through a stunt show on the streets (a particularly touching scene).

Just when everything seems rosy in Krishna and Priya’s life, he gets to know about Priya’s lie after a chance conversation with her supposedly sick mother on phone. Priya had hitherto avoided their meeting on the pretext of her mother being sick but the latter herself exposes that lie unknowingly and Krishna is stunned by the disclosure. Hurt and angry with Priya’s betrayal, Krishna decides to leave Singapore immediately. Meanwhile, Priya comes across a clip in her own video recording of that night at the circus and realizes that her initial intuition about Krishna being Krrish was right all along. Elated, she tells the truth to Honey and also confesses her true love for him, all the while unaware that her past lies are about to haunt her soon. She also gives the tape to Honey to show it to their boss, this time not for the sake of their jobs but also for Krishna’s fame. When she comes to meet Krishna and reveals what she has discovered and then done, he lashes out at her in probably one of the best scenes of the film. His every word is justified, and she is repentant. However, Priya crosses the line when she rebukes his grandmother and throws the same allegations at her that Krishna himself had once. Furious, Krishna reveals the reason behind Sonia’s overprotectiveness to her and starts for the airport, leaving an utterly ashamed and heart broken Priya behind.

We are now in the last leg of the film. Reenter Dr. Arya, who is definitely not what he seemed like! He too is wearing a mask like Krishna, the only difference being in their intentions. Krishna has put the mask on to save the innocent while Dr. Arya wants to destroy them. He is a power-crazed egomaniac who has already rebuilt that computer from Rohit’s lab notes so that he can effectively play the role of God. And surprise surprise! To fulfill his purpose, he has kept Rohit alive. Well, barely alive at least! What actually happened all those years back was that Rohit had successfully built the computer that could foresee the future. During his time in the laboratory, he had formed a deep camaraderie with Dr. Arya’s head of security and after Rohit had finished building the computer, his friend wanted him to foresee the gender of his unborn child through it. The computer correctly predicted Krishna’s birth but it also foresaw Rohit’s death on the very day his son was born. After further exploration, Rohit realized that Dr. Arya was going to kill him so that no one else knew how to operate that computer. Shocked and distraught, he understood that he had been used. That was when he had received the call from his mother and informed her about his decision of coming back. Before leaving Singapore forever, Rohit decided to ruin Dr. Arya’s evil plans by destroying the computer he had toiled over for months., and he was partly successful. Although he managed to destroy the computer, Dr. Arya caught him before he could leave. But for the Chief Security Officer, Rohit would surely have been killed. That honest man who had genuinely become fond of Rohit saved him by reminding Dr. Arya about the password to the computer- Rohit’s handprint and retina. Dr. Arya who had already hatched the plan of rebuilding the computer kept the latter’s heart beating. But just that. This story is narrated in the present times by Dr. Arya’s Chief Security Officer to Priya who brings him to the airport and stops Krishna from leaving. Meanwhile Dr. Arya has already seen his own future in the computer. Any guesses? He has seen his death at the hands of a masked man! Of course, the man is none other than Krishna or Krrish himself. Eager to destroy every threat to his existence, Dr. Arya promptly kills Christian, the guy who had taken up Krrish’s identity at Krishna’s behest. However, when has anyone ever escaped destiny? Even Dr. Arya doesn’t! Krishna in complete superhero mode leaps across tall buildings and finally defeats his nemesis (The insanely dedicated Hrithik Roshan who performed every stunt by himself escaped a near fatal experience when a cable snapped during a stunt! As fans we are both amazed and concerned about this man’s immense humility and absolute submission to his craft. We just hope and pray that he takes care of his health since it is more important than anything else). Before dying, Dr Arya asks why Krrish wants his death. In a terrific cinematic moment, Krishna takes off his mask and reveals his face. The shock and realization on Dr. Arya’s face is evident as he breathes his last. Finally, everything turns out fine as Krishna comes home to his daadi with not just Priya but Rohit (who has now recovered sufficiently and is back to his old self) too. The film ends on a positive note with Jaadoo’s spacecraft peeping through the clouds once again as Rohit plays that same old tune which had beckoned the former and his companions to earth in the first place.

Now that we have recounted the story, a few much needed words about the actors- Rekha ji was once again at her best in the film, effortlessly slipping into the role of Krishna’s grandmother. Hrithik and her chemistry was as fabulous here as it was in ‘Koi Mil Gaya’. Priyanka was her charming self as usual. Undoubtedly, she is one of the most natural actors in Bollywood, and this film was no exception. The easy, playful chemistry that Hrithik and she shared was one of the major highlights of ‘Krrish’. What do we say about Naseeruddin Shah? Well, probably it is better to say nothing because it might be redundant. Finally, praising Hrithik Roshan is also becoming repetitive in these blogs. So, we have decided to stop it henceforth! Just kidding! At least in this life, it is utterly impossible! Brilliant in every frame, Hrithik aced the role of a superhero like only he could, his body language being as flawless as his expressions; actions as perfect as emotions. The moment when Krishna met Rohit was a proof of this man’s immense versatility and talent. Who would think that someone that perfect as Rohit could also be equally superlative as a superhero or vice versa? The scenes where Krishna lost his temper with his daadi and Priya were also among the best moments in the film. Hrithik is always so natural at portraying rage, but he never goes overboard with it. But then, isn’t that true for every emotion in the book?

Krrish 3, the third project in the franchise continued Krrish’s saga and Rohit’s story with a vitality that characterized both its predecessors. The film featured Hrithik in a full-fledged double role and pitched him against Vivek Oberoi as Kaal who was a far tougher villain to destroy than Dr. Arya. Kaal was the quintessential supervillain, at times even more ‘powerful’ than the hero himself but ultimately destined to lose as good always triumphed over evil. In fact, this is the message that pervaded throughout all the three films- ‘Koi Mil Gaya’, ‘Krrish’ and ‘Krrish 3’. It was only natural that Hrithik’s terrific performance simultaneously as Rohit and Krrish grabbed a lot of eyeballs and went a long way in making the film a massive box-office success. It broke major box-office records and set new ones. However, Vivek Oberoi also deserves special mention in this context. His portrayal of Kaal with an optimal mix of cunning, intelligence, and cruelty earned major brownie points from the audience and definitely contributed to the mammoth success of the film. We finally lost Rohit forever in Krrish 3 and as tragic as the moment was, Hrithik’s performance was so good that we still watch it frequently despite the pain involved. Then again, Hrithik usually has that kind of impact on the audience every time he performs. Krrish was able to destroy Kaal at the end, thereby proving yet again that no matter how challenging times were, with goodness in heart and genuineness in intentions, any evil could be defeated. The assertion ‘Hum sab mein Krrish hai’ has never seemed more important than the present times. Let us all truly believe in it. We can and we will defeat this virus by our individual as well as collective efforts. So please #MaskUpIndia and #GetVaccinated. How uncanny that the plot of Krrish 3 actually revolved around a virus and vaccines! Just like Rohit and Krrish were able to defeat that virus, let us have faith in our real-life superheroes too.

P.S: At the end, Krishna and Priya had a son who also seemed to have inherited his dad’s superheroic powers. So, is there any chance of daddy Krrish in the fourth venture? Fingers crossed for that 😊😊

[broken-academia]

I find it interesting that when white supremacists quote the scripture and use it as justification, Christians tend to act like these white supremacists "somehow" got the wrong message, or "somehow" crept into Christian communities.

Yet the very ways they "somehow" got the message wrong keep happening over and over again, which suggest that it's not a simple misinterpretation, because it keeps happening.

The church laid the foundation for the enslavement of Africans and Native Americans, and even before that, the church layer the foundation for centuries of brutal colonization done worldwide.

If we even focus on just America for a bit, the Puritans came and based their ideology on the "New world", Catholic missonarie and preachers forcibly converted people to Catholicism and forced them to abandon their own beliefs.

These people talked about the equality of all men on God's eyes, yet kept child slaves.

Frederick Douglass, in the first of his three autobiographies, wrote what became of his master when he became a Christian believer. What Douglass hoped would happen is that his master became more "Humane". This did not happen.

Douglass wrote, “If it had any effect on his character, it made him more cruel and hateful in all his ways.” Auld was ostentatious about his piety—praying “morning, noon, and night,” participating in revivals, and opening his home to travelling preachers—but he used his faith as license to inflict pain and suffering upon his slaves. “I have seen him tie up a lame young woman, and whip her with a heavy cowskin upon her naked shoulders, causing the warm red blood to drip; and, in justification of the bloody deed, he would quote this passage of Scripture—‘He that knoweth his master’s will, and doeth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes,’ ” 

In the book, “White Too Long” (Simon & Schuster), Robert P. Jones, the head of the Public Religion Research Institute, a nonpartisan polling and research organization, marshals this and other data to lay out a startling case that “the more racist attitudes a person holds, the more likely he or she is to identify as a white Christian" and that "more than six in ten white Christians disagreed with the statement that “generations of slavery and discrimination have created conditions that make it difficult for blacks to work their way out of the lower class.”

So what does this say then? Because this is just a small small portion of white Christians making the same "misinterpretating the bible to justify racism" mistake.

I find it interesting the way you phrase this rebuttal. It doesn’t make a differentiation between Christian sects, which is extremely important when considering the theological ramifications of a religion on a culture. it also makes generalizations, which I won’t fault you for any more than simply pointing them out. 

so just a reminder: I’m a Christian Catholic. I don’t speak for protestants, and especially not Puritans (ew). 

I find it interesting that when white supremacists quote the scripture and use it as justification, Christians tend to act like these white supremacists "somehow" got the wrong message, or "somehow" crept into Christian communities.

“Christian” here is a very broad term, and I think it’s important to mention that Protestantism would be the correct term here. Ignoring the differences leads to generalizations that ignore the immense prejudice faced by Irish Catholics especially that only started to alleviate in the 1940s. The Nativism movement is a prime example of this prejudice. In studies of prejudice, you must separate Protestant sects and Catholicism, at the cost of academic integrity.

 Take for example The Five Points: 

“The Five Points was named after the intersection of five streets, and it was the one of the first black settlements post-emancipation years. Located within the Sixth Ward, it played a unique role in the interracial tensions, due to the high rate of prostitution and crime that occurred there.

After the mid-1840s, the Sixth Ward itself became known as the ‘Irish ward’ because of the high number of Irish immigrants who settled in Five Points. Because they too were outcasts of society, they went to the same residences the black New Yorkers did, changing what were previously exclusively black social spaces. Irish experienced a form of prejudice similar, but not entirely alike, to the black New Yorkers, being called derogatory names and being given the worst of the labor. It was with these connections that black New Yorkers and Irish settlers shared geographic, social, economic, and cultural space during the 1840s and 1850s in New York City.” - precis of ‘In the Shadow of Slavery’ by Leslie Harris

so in New York at least, the prejudice doesn’t seem to lessen when everyone’s ‘Christian’. 

“In 1848, the Ladies’ Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church moved to Five Points to create a new city mission. Carroll Smith-Rosenberg, a historian, shows that the hiring of Louis M. Pease led their first mission. Both this effort and that of the Home itself were relatively popular in Five Points. The effect was not always positive, with missionaries removing children often the influence of ‘immoral’ parents forcefully.” (ibid)

That’s Episcopalian, right? What does the Catholic church say about that?

“The family must be helped and defended by appropriate social measures. Where families cannot fulfill their responsibilities, other social bodies have the duty of helping them and of supporting the institution of the family. Following the principle of subsidiarity, larger communities should take care not to usurp the family's prerogatives or interfere in its life. “ - CCC 2209 

When Catholic missionaries unjustly took children from Native American families, that was wrong. To say it isn’t is to deny Church teachings. 

Yet the very ways they "somehow" got the message wrong keep happening over and over again, which suggest that it's not a simple misinterpretation, because it keeps happening.

Very big generalization here, and your conclusions does’t follow your inference. First, ‘the very ways’ is extremely vague, but I’ll leave that alone, because this is Tumblr. Not every sentence or argument is perfect. “it keeps happening” can be blamed not on Church teachings themselves, but rather human nature. Also, ‘misinterpretation’ is the entire point of Protestantism even existing, which, in combination with your other generalizations, tell me that you don’t really know the way Catholic interpretation of Scripture works. One of the main reasons Protestantism even happened was because of the personal interpretation of Church teachings and Scripture. 

The church laid the foundation for the enslavement of Africans and Native Americans, and even before that, the church layer the foundation for centuries of brutal colonization done worldwide.

If we even focus on just America for a bit, the Puritans came and based their ideology on the "New world", Catholic missionaries and preachers forcibly converted people to Catholicism and forced them to abandon their own beliefs.

You didn’t read my response if you’re replying with that about African slavery, because it simply historically wrong. In regards to the wrongs done against the Native Americans, I agree it was wrong, and it’s been condemned by the Church. It’s infantilizing an entire culture to presume such simplicity, but that’s beside the point. “Forced them to abandon their own beliefs” really doesn’t take into account the reason why Catholicism is so appealing to different cultures. Forceful baptisms don’t even work, and we don’t condone forceful conversions. Invalid and illicit according to church theology. Protestantism differs, because we’re different things.

These people talked about the equality of all men on God's eyes, yet kept child slaves.

Frederick Douglass, in the first of his three autobiographies, wrote what became of his master when he became a Christian believer. What Douglass hoped would happen is that his master became more "Humane". This did not happen.

Protestantism was an important part of the culture in the Douglass’ time, and obviously the master was a terrible man. I’ve read Frederick Douglass (minor in African-American studies does that to a person) and I know the kind of man his master was. He was thoroughly not a Christian, and if he’d even been a Catholic, he would have been automatically excommunicated. Because the Pope had put an immediate excommunication on any slave-owners. And Protestantism and Catholicism are different.

“the more racist attitudes a person holds, the more likely he or she is to identify as a white Christian" and that "more than six in ten white Christians disagreed with the statement that “generations of slavery and discrimination have created conditions that make it difficult for blacks to work their way out of the lower class.”

and 30% of ‘practising’ Catholics believe in transubstantiation. The question here is not what the members of the faith believe, but what Divine theology says. Catholicism has repeatedly disavowed racism, bigotry, and prejudice. An action to the contrary is against Church teachings.

So what does this say then? Because this is just a small portion of white Christians making the same "misinterpretating the bible to justify racism" mistake.

“white Christians” jeez, the sheer academic dishonesty. An important part of history is understanding how prejudice originates. so many historians talk about this (I personally like Morgan’s theory of the ‘visible outsider’ for the cause of racism but) and to ignore class, culture divide, socio-economic status, and substantiate an entire claim based upon race is very fundamentalist (the irony).

I could say so much more about this, but honestly, we both know neither of us are going to change our minds. You have something to prove, so I’m sorry history disagrees with you. if you want to believe Catholicism upholds white supremacy, nothing I can say will change your mind. I won’t be responding to anymore of your anons.

[letitrainathousandflames-archive]

I Have To Find The Will To Carry On

Fandom: The Clone Wars (2008) | SPOILERS FROM SEASON 7

Characters: ARC-0408 | Echo, CT-7567 | Rex, Clone Trooper Hunter, ARC-5555 | Fives (mentioned)

Tags: hurt/comfort, grief, PTSD, survivor’s guilt, echo needs a hug

Warnings:  dehumanization, grieving, suicide ideation, depression/, gore m/, torture m/, medical torture m/, explosions m/, death m/

Set shortly after the ending of the last Bad Bath Arc episode, with a flashback set shortly before said ending. Be mindful of the tags. There ARE spoilers of the new season in this fic.

-

“You, uh. You just tell us if you need anything else, okay, Echo?”

Echo looked around one more time before sitting down in his bunk with a sigh.

“I don’t think I will, Hunter. This is...” he ran his flesh hand over the soft, clean sheets “This is much more than I’ve had in a long time.”

Hunter shifted awkwardly, scratching the back of his head, and Echo offered him a small smile.

“Please don’t look at me like that. The worst thing you can do is treat me like I’m some fragile thing. It’ll take me some time to adjust, of course. But I can manage just fine.”

Hunter squared his shoulders, setting his jaw.

“Right. I would ask the same, if I was in your place.” and he offered him a salute “I welcome you again to Clone Force 99, corporal. It’s great to have you on board.”

“Glad to be here, sir.”

And with a small nod, Hunter left, closing the door behind him.

Echo looked around the small quarters. The first day in the barracks always feels weird, and Echo felt the small pang of anxiety that dragged him back in time, to his first day at the 501st’s barracks.

Their first day.

Fives had taken the upper bed and would hang upside-down every ten minutes or so to interrupt Echo’s reading of the reg manuals just to show off his recently painted helmet with a rishi eel drawn in blue over the white plastoid. They would giggle quietly to themselves, looking at their new armors and even when they bickered Echo knew he couldn’t possibly have asked for a better person to have by his side through the war, and he alwaysbelieved that Fives felt the same way about him.

-

When Echo decided to leave with the Bad Batch, Rex had asked him if he could spare him a minute before leaving, and so they had walked to the Captain’s barracks. Rex let the doors slide shut behind him, turning on a single dim yellow light that kept his face partially shadowed as the Captain turned to face him.

Echo didn’t quite know what to say. All the time they’ve spent apart… Everything he had missed… He wondered if Rex meant to fill him in on all of it before sending him away with the Bad Batch.

But Rex didn’t speak. Echo could notice the tension in his jaw, the way his hands were curled into fists, how he seemed to be swallowing down once or twice, eyes staring right into Echoe’s.

The silence was deafening. Echo took a small breath and opened his mouth.

“I-”

He fell silent again, wetting his lips for a second to then purse them tightly. He could feel a shiver creeping up his spine. He knew why he was there. Rex also knew. Still he had to ask.

He had to, had to, had to ask, had to know, had to-

“Where is Fives, sir?”

The sharp, shaky intake of air from Rex should have been enough of an answer. Rex shifted his gaze away from Echo, his entire face becoming twisted with something- something Echo had never seemed in his captain face before. It looked like pain for a moment soon it turned into anger, sheer unrestrained anger that shifted into pain as the captain bared his teeth and lowered his eyes.

The low light wasn’t low enough to keep the tears brimming in the captain’s eyes from glisten some, before he blinked them away. Rex lifted his gaze to Echo, wet trail drawn over his cheek.

“I’m so sorry.”

The period Echo had spent in cryostasis had been so cold. The invasive, forced surgeries performed by the separatists’ medical droids under General Grievous’ supervision had been so painful. For a moment throughout the process in whish Echo had been turned into something more machine than human, he had thought he had lost his humanity. His ability to feel anything other than the numb state of sedation and cold.

He had never hated to be wrong so much as he did now.

The pain seemed to cut through the circuits welded on his chest and into the soft, weaker flesh beneath.

“No.” he heard his own mouth say while his mind felt distant, detached from his body that wasn’t his anymore, hadn’t been since the explosion “No, no, it- It can’t be.”

Echo looked back and forth, brain trying to understand what Rex was saying. No. That was impossible. Fives was… Was the best of them. He couldn’t- he wouldn’t-

“No, no, no, it can’t be, it can’t be!” he speaks louder, like he can convince Rex to change what he had just said “No! He would wait for me! He wouldn’t just- He can’t have just-“

Echo reached forward, grabbing Rex’s chest plate and yanking him closer despite his weakened joints.

“Rex, it can’t be, Rex-“ a sob cut off his words, and Echo felt his eyes hot with tears that blurred his sight like the ice in the cyostasis chamber would and he almost felt like he was back in the cursed thing, trapped, breathless, freezing from the inside out “Rex, please, I’m begging you…!”

Rex wrapped his arms over Echoe’s, pulling his brother into a hug and Echo just slumped against him, shaking his head over and over. It was like the last shred of sanity he had been clinging on to – his brothers, his family, his home, his only sense of normalcy in this chaotic, wretched universe – had been torn from him.

“He died as a soldier, Echo.” Rex said, voice half-choked

Back in the Citadel, the impact of the blast aimed at Echo had knocked him back into the shuttle with such violence that his helmet slipped out of his head; his body had hit the back wall so hard all the air left his lungs as the explosion made everything turn into a spiral of scorching heat, and roaring fire. The concussion had been enough to make him barely feel the charred stumps of his right arm and left leg or the weight of the durasteel cargo crate that had crushed his right leg. The last couple of breaths he had taken before losing consciousness ached, both because of the smoke-filled air and his two broken ribs. Fainting had been almost a blessing.

Not much later the droids had forcibly amputated what was left of his three limbs after the explosion with no anesthesia, and Echo had trashed against the binds that kept him secured over a table, screamed himself hoarse, lost control of his bladder, begged for death over a thousand times. He then had wires and tubes connected to his spine, heart and lungs before the ice engulfed him and his mind was ravished, invaded, and every ounce of resistance was met with punishing agony

All that pain, all that torture, and cruelty and still, still-

This was the most painful moment of his life.

“Why?!” he sobbed, feeling Rex’s cheek wet with tears against his jaw “He had no right… He couldn’t leave me..!”

Echo wondered for a moment if he was upset at Fives for dying or if he was just jealous of him. The entire time he was away, his only wish had been that the separatists had let him die. And now he would have to live without his dearest brother.

“Isn’t fair… We should’ve gone together… Side by side, I would’ve… Would’ve been glad to march away with him…”

Rex ran a gloved hand clumsily over the back of Echo’s hair. It reminded him of the way older cadets would soothe their younger brothers when they would confess to be afraid to go to battle.

“I know you would. I know, Echo.” Rex swallowed down, not letting go of Echo “He loved you so much, brother. Never was the same after he lost you. Kept searching for meaning in all of this, kept trying to make sense of it all. Made sure to ensure all regs were being kept like he… Like he was trying to bring some of you with him wherever he’d go.”

Echo sobbed harder at that, clutching Rex like a lifeline. His legs whirred, weakened by the overwhelming feelings in his brain, and Rex kept him standing still. He would always carry his men whenever they’d need him.

“We all missed and mourned you at the base, Echo. We felt your loss, but the scar it left on Fives never healed. He fought and bled and struggled to protect everyone, you knew him. And this wish to protect us ended up costing his life.” Rex paused for a moment “It was all my fault. I’m so sorry.”

Echo pulled back some, trying his best to keep his legs working still, despite how much he wanted to just sink to his knees and rip the circuits off his chest to make sure his heart would finally cease to beat for good.

“You always said that, captain.” Echo sniffled, rubbing his eyes “I’m sure you blamed yourself over what happened to me, too. It wasn’t your fault. None of it is.

Rex raised his eyes to the ceiling, clearly trying to hide his tears as he drew a long breath and let it out sharply to then look back at Echo. His eyes were bloodshot and tired, so tired. Echo knew he wasn’t looking good at all after everything the separatists had done to him, but the captain seemed to have aged so much since the last time he’d seen him.

Was it their fate, all of them clones? To wither away, to be tortured and mutilated, to die in pain? Who could say the ones of them that survived were the lucky ones?

Rex opened one of the pouches on his belt, retrieving a small comm device from it and offering it up to Echo.

“Here. I’ll reach you through it soon.”

Echo looked at the thing with curiosity before placing it in his own pouch.

“That’s… nonstandard.”

“That’s because it won’t be used for standard communication. I need an outside line to you. Its signal is scrambled, and the communications through it must be kept short to avoid us being heard, understood?”

Echo gave Rex a tiny smile.

“Ah, yes. Breaking the rules. Now it feels like home. Fives would-“

Echo stopped himself. He couldn’t say his name. Not yet. Rex swallowed down, reaching for the same pouch again.

“Oh, and this is for you.” he held his hand up closed in a fist “Fives used to keep it on him always, but he left… his equipment behind before his last mission. I managed to retrieve it and kept it with me, and when I thought that we might finally meet again, I brought it with me so that you could have it.”

The captain opened his fingers, and in his palm there was a small piece of durasteel. Echo took it with his flesh hand, holding it close to inspect it. It was slightly blackened, and the shape of it made it look like it had been cracked off from a larger piece rather than crafted to be of that exact size, although it did look like someone had smoothened the edges of it some to make them blunt.

“What is it?”

Rex gave him a bittersweet smile.

“No one knew. He only told me what it was right before we… lost you. This is a piece of the Rishi Moon outpost, after Hevy blew it up. I figure it must’ve been a part of one of the reinforced windows.”

Echo looked back at the memento in awe, sight going blurry with tears again.

“Rishi Moon… it feels like forever ago.”

“Yeah…”

The two of them shared a moment of silence, and as Echo stared at the piece of durasteel, he thought of Fives. Of his funny quips, his chaotically improvised plans, of his laugh and his particular way to annoy Echo as a display his affection. And he knew Rex did the same.

Remembering a fallen warrior was the way to keep him marching beyond. If it was up to Echo, he would make sure that the memory of Fives would never fade away.

-

Echo laid down on his bunk, reaching for the crook of his neck and feeling the small silver chain to then tug gently at it until he managed to pull the small durasteel pendant from under his black shirt and over his chest – where it clanged softly against the plate over his sternum.

He shifted on the bed, still unused to the weight and lack of mobility of his prosthetic legs, thinking of the comm that Rex had given him, hidden under a few bundled wires of a compartment in his. Skywalker had made him a new prosthetic arm that lighter and more efficient, with actual jointed fingers and sensors over the digits and palm. What was it that Rex wanted to talk about, hidden even from their superiors?

Echo ran his fingers over the piece of durasteel hanging from his necklace.

“What am I gonna do without you, brother?”

The haunting silence that followed never answered his question.

[mrlnsfrt]

Love and Joy

Context

In this post, I will be taking a closer look at John 15:9-17, but I find that the following points highlighted by G. L. Borchert are helpful in giving us an idea of some of the key themes John has been developing throughout the book.

The Circle of Love in the Gospel according to John:

the Father loves the Son (cf. 3:35; 17:23),

and the Son obediently loves the Father (cf. 10:17; 14:31);

the Son loves his followers, and they are to love and obey him (cf. 13:34; 14:15, 23);

loving and obeying the Son means being loved by the Father (cf. 14:21, 23; 17:23);

being loved by the Son also implies loving one another (cf. 13:34; 15:12, 17);

God not only loves the disciples but loves the world and gave his Son for its people (cf. 3:16);

but many in the world love darkness and do not do the will of God (cf. 3:19; 14:24).

 (Borchert, G. L. (2002). John 12–21 (Vol. 25B, p. 146). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)

Love a cheap gospel?

Some may have a kneejerk reaction to someone summarizing the gospel as loving as Jesus did as watering down or cheapening the gospel. I agree that when we fail to properly understand love, the gospel is cheapened and watered down by a shallow and weak definition of love. However, I find that when I come to the Bible and allow it to define and describe God’s love, it is the purest and most powerful understanding of the gospel available to us.

For example, a study of 1 John makes it clear that true disciples of Jesus must not love in words only but in actual deeds of love (cf. 1 John 3:18) and that hating one’s brother is actually an indication of not loving God (cf. 1 John 3:15) because love is the sign of knowing God (cf. 1 John 4:7). (Borchert, p. 146) Therefore, I would argue that instead of avoiding defining the gospel as loving as Jesus loved, we should invest more time and study into learning what the Bible teaches us about God’s love.

In my previous post, I studied the first 8 verses of John 15 and how it is vital that we focus on abiding in Jesus. After all, bearing fruit means loving others as God loves them and giving witness to the world and such fruit bearing is possible only by abiding in Jesus, the Vine. (Borchert, p. 146)

Let’s dive into the text and see what we can learn.

Abide

“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. - John 15:9 NKJV

Here Jesus reveals to us that He loves us just like the Father loves Him. He tells us to remain in His love. This is interesting since a request or command for us to remain in His love implies that we can leave His love. But how can I reconcile this with the words of Paul in Romans 8?

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:38-39 NKJV

How can Paul say that absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God while John records Jesus telling us to abide in His love?

In my mind, these two verses do not contradict each other. Paul is stating that no force or situation or condition in the universe outside of myself is able to forcibly separate me from the love of God. God will never stop loving me and nothing can make Him stop loving me, (the same way God loves you and everyone else on earth). Meanwhile, Jesus understands that even though His love for us is constant we have the freedom to walk away from a loving relationship with Him. His love does not stop, but I can choose to disregard it. That is why Jesus tells us to not leave, to not give up, to not rebel against His love, but rather to remain, stay, live in His love.

Love and Commandment Keeping

If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. - John 15:10 NKJV

I can imagine this verse making many uncomfortable. It seems like Jesus is basing His love on our actions, like we have to earn His love, which causes His love to not seem very loving. Let’s compare this verse to a similar one from the previous chapter in John.

“If you love Me, keep My commandments. - John 14:15 NKJV

Some translate this verse as

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. - John 14:15 NASB

(To see different translations of this verse check out BibleHub.) When we compare these two verses we see that Jesus is teaching us that the keeping of the commandments is an outward sign that we love Him, that we are abiding in His love. The keeping of the commandments then does not cause the abiding, but rather is a manifestation of our abiding in Jesus. In other words, you cannot have one without the other. Loving Jesus, abiding in His love, and keeping His commandments go hand in hand.

Also, keep in mind that our relationship to Jesus in terms of obedience and love is modeled on the relationship of the Son to the Father. Jesus is not asking us to do anything that He was not willing to do while He walked the earth as one of us. He is our perfect example, and we are to love as He loved and obey Him as He obeyed the Father.

Joy!

“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. - John 15:11 NKJV

Between my last post and this one, I have been discussing obedience, love, fruit bearing, being pruned... All this could be viewed as rather painful and demanding ideas that scarcely suggest excitement or desirability. But the purpose of abiding in the vine is to provide a sense of delight to those who are authentic disciples of Jesus, even though they will face pain or persecution (and sometimes both at the same time). But the words of Jesus, especially His promises, are meant to bring us joy not take it away. Jesus wants us to experience His joy! That is how our joy can be full.

Besides this present verse, all the uses of the noun and the verb concerning the theme of joy in the Farewell Cycle are directly focused on Jesus’ departure from the world and his desire to provide his beloved followers with a sense that they must not fear the future but rejoice in what is being done through him. They must look beyond their anxieties.

- Borchert, G. L. (2002). John 12–21 (Vol. 25B, p. 147). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

When we obey Jesus, as we abide in His love, we do not live a life that is less than, but rather we experience joy. Jesus is not a killjoy, rather He is guiding us to a fuller and greater joy than we would be able to experience as a result of selfish pursuits. If you are interested in experiencing true joy, give keeping the commandments a try. Rebellion against the explicit will of God as revealed in the Bible will never lead to true joy.

Joy is the second of the graces of the Spirit listed by Paul (Gal. 5:22). True joy is not found in noisy laughter or in giddy excitement caused by the world’s shallow pleasures. The Christian finds his joy in resting in the love of Christ, in victories won, and in unselfish service for humanity. Joy will reach its highest realization in the world to come, but a high degree of joy may be experienced here and now by those who abide in Christ.

- Nichol, F. D. (Ed.). (1980). The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary (Vol. 5, p. 1043). Review and Herald Publishing Association.

Being a follower of Jesus is not just about experiencing joy in heaven, but also about experiencing greater joy right now as we live and struggle on this sinful planet.

Love one another

This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. - John 15:12 NKJV

Loving one another keeps coming up as the mark of an authentic disciple of Christ.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” - John 13:34-35 NKJV

Jesus gives us the correct understanding and application of the commandments of God. God’s character and His law are all about love. This is how Jesus puts it.

Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”

Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” - Mark 12:28-31 NKJV (bold mine)

Despite what some might think, Jesus is not changing the commandments or giving new ones, rather He is helping us have a proper understanding of them. Jesus is actually quoting the Old Testament here.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. - Deuteronomy 6:4-5 NKJV

You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. - Leviticus 19:18 NKJV

Jesus is not updating or changing God’s requirements. Jesus is actually helping us understand what God has revealed to us through the scriptures. We were always called to love God, God always wanted us to love each other, love is merely a reflection of God’s character and His desire for our lives. So many times I have heard it said that Jesus did away or changed God’s requirements but I simply do not see evidence for that in the biblical text. Jesus is reminding us, and we need this reminder, that obedience must flow out of love. Love must be our core motivator in all we do. Our love for God is expressed in our lives as we live a life of obedience. Our obedience does not purchase God’s love, rather it reveals our love for Him.

My obedience/good deeds are a response to God’s love. Not the cause of it.

Greater Love

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. - John 15:13 NKJV

John 15 begins with a great emphasis on the importance of a vibrant relationship with Jesus. As the chapter progresses we see a natural shift to obedience, especially as it is expressed in love for one another.

Love is one of those words that you can say and have people understand it as a wildly different thing than what you had in mind. John has a specific understanding of love, based on his relationship with Jesus.

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. - 1 John 3:16 NKJV

John strongly believes in sacrificial love, and in obedience, and it is all wrapped up in Jesus and the example He left us. I may not be at that level yet, but at least I know what to aim for. My goal is to reflect the character of Christ, to reveal the heart of the Father, and as I remain in Jesus and He abides in me He continues that process in my heart. My interactions with the world around me are an overflow of what God is doing in me and for me. Jesus set the bar high, it would take a miracle for me to reach it, and that is the way it should be. This keeps me humble, and it keeps me relying on Jesus. There is no room for pride when I am trying to live and love as Jesus did. A life of perfect obedience, total dedication, and radical acceptance. Jesus mingled with and embraced the sinner, but never left the sinner the way He found them. Jesus forgave, healed, and strengthened according to their needs, and He also invited them to follow Him and live a new life.

Friendship Defined

You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. - John 15:14 NKJV

At first glimpse, this seems a bit harsh. This is not how friendships work on a human level. This seems manipulative. What makes it even more challenging for us is that these are the words of Jesus, recorded by John, the bible writer who mentions love more than any other. How can John give us such beautiful verses as John 3:15, but also give us John 15:14? Can I pick and choose which verses are true and which are false, which are inspired and which are not? I believe we have to accept the whole Bible as inspired, so the only option must be to properly interpret the words of Jesus as recorded in this passage.

The concept of being a friend of God is applied in the Old Testament to Abraham (2 Chr 20:7; Isa 41:8; cf. Jas 2:23) and implicitly to Moses (Exod 33:11). Likewise, Jesus can refer to Lazarus as “our friend Lazarus” (John 11:11). (Borchert, G. L. p. 149) But nowhere in scripture do we see a blanket statement about Jesus being a friend of humanity. Jesus loves all of us, but John has a different approach to friendship and here he continues to highlight Jesus’ divinity. Jesus is the Vine and is not to be confused with a branch. We are to obey Jesus because He is God, He knows what’s best for us, He died for us, why would we not want to obey His every command?

When I find myself struggling to obey Jesus, I need to be challenged by the implications of my rebellion. Do I not desire to be a friend of a God who has done (and continues to do) so much for me? Once again I wish to highlight that I do not obey by my own strength, it is something that God does in me (John 15:5). But when I reject, refuse, and rebel against the will of God, I am also removing myself from His circle of friends. God still loves me and wants to save me, but I am willfully and intentionally choosing to distance myself from His loving will for my life.

Friends vs Servants

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. - John 15:15 NKJV

Maybe you’re beginning to feel like all this talk of obedience is beginning to feel more like slavery or servitude than friendship. I can see how it might feel that way. But here Jesus clarifies the difference. He shares plans, He reveals His will to us, and invites us to participate. We are not in this blind. We know exactly how everything will end, we know what following Jesus entails. We may not know exactly the day of the hour but we know that He is coming again.

We may not always have an easy day but we know that God loves us and wants what is best for us. All we have to do is think of the cross and the sacrifice made at Calvary. God has revealed His will to us, we are His friends, we are invited to participate, to join the winning team. Imagine that, we get to face life and all its troubles already knowing we will be victorious. Not because of ourselves, but because of what God does for us!

When we neglect the study of the Bible we are neglecting the revelation from God that makes us His friends as opposed to simply servants. God wants us to be more than just servants, He wants us to be friends, to be aware of what He is doing. Do we care about what God has revealed to us? Do we take time to read, study and familiarize ourselves with His words?

Chosen

You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. - John 15:16 NKJV

Jesus had chosen His disciples, and I believe that you have also been chosen. This means that you do not bear fruit or remain in the love of Jesus because of anything you did or do, but rather because He chose you. As we mentioned earlier, this does not mean that you have no choice in the matter, that’s why Jesus invites His disciples to abide/remain in His love (John 15:9). Keep in mind that the “choosing” and “appointing” of the disciples is not merely for some privilege of being selected to an elite group but for the specific purpose of bearing fruit. When you say “yes” to being a follower of Jesus you are also given a mission, to make disciples in other words to bear fruit.

It is absolutely crucial whenever one discusses the subject of election to realize that election is not about privilege but purpose.

 - Borchert, G. L. (2002). John 12–21 (Vol. 25B, p. 150). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Jesus makes that purpose very clear in Matthew 28.

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. - Matthew 28:19-20 NKJV

When you want to bear fruit that is also what God wants for you, so whatever you ask the Father in the name of Jesus for this purpose will be given to you. I discuss this in more detail in my post The One Thing. The main idea for me is that when we pray in accordance with God’s will it is His pleasure to give us what we ask for, and God clearly wants us to bear fruit and that our fruit remain. This is not to be a brief mountaintop experience but rather a lifestyle.

Focus on Love

These things I command you, that you love one another. - John 15:17 NKJV

All this talk of bearing fruit and making disciples and obeying God can become a bit confusing and even overwhelming. So Jesus keeps coming back to a simple and practical way to remember everything He is teaching us. Love one another! If you ever find yourself unsure what to do, choose love. As we grow and mature in our faith we gain a better understanding of what it means to love as Jesus does. So prayer and growth and study and obedience are all extremely important. but the final product should always be a deeper and greater understanding of God’s love as revealed in Jesus.

With all that said, I strongly belie that we must resist the temptation to water Christianity down to the point that we don’t even need God to be Christian anymore. The love Jesus calls for is a sacrificial love, the kind of love that can only exist when we are abiding in Jesus and He is abiding in us. It is a supernatural kind of love that cannot be forced, humanly fabricated, or coerced in any way. This love must freely flow from a life of obedience and dedication to God. This only happens as we allow God to come in and shape us daily.

Practical Application

Would you like to join me in praying this prayer? Feel free to modify it

“Father God, thank you for choosing me to bear fruit. Please cause me to do so today for your honor and glory. I invite you into my heart and give you permission to mold it according to your will that my life may more closely resemble Christ’s.”