#and honestly think so highly of the other for what they don't see in themselves | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jasmineoolongtea · 4 months

Note

hii!! i recently just started following you and i don’t wanna overload you with anything so i stress that i urge you to take your time and if you feel like you need to tweak anything then you can since i noticed you barely opened requests :)) i was just wondering if you could write something ( whether it be headcanons or a fic ) about gojo having a jujutsu sorcerer for a girlfriend / partner and his students don’t know so they’re all shocked when they just see this badass person next to gojo and he just casually introduces them as his partner lol. just a thought!! make sure to take care of yourself 💕

a/n: thank you smmmm for the kind words <333 yes omg i love this idea and honestly, i imagine gojo pretending to be chill on the outside but on the inside he's fangirling the same way his students are over his partner cause he's just so whipped and down bad for them jdjsndnsbd

"Shhhh! Quiet down, you two or you're gonna get us all caught." Nobara hisses through her teeth at Megumi and Yuji, trying her best to be quiet. It was quite a comical sight actually, the three students were all stacked on top of each other as they all attempted to crane their necks into the doorway as discretely as they possibly could.

"I still don't understand why we can't just ask like normal people." Megumi sighs, clearly exasperated at his friend's antics.

"You're such a buzzkill, Fushiguro." Nobara scolds him over her shoulder. It was like he didn't even understand the gravity of this situation.

This wasn't a situation where they could just waltz in and chat it up like regular unless they were intent on embarrassing themselves. This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet the current rising star of the jujutsu world: the newly minted special-grade sorcerer L/N Y/N who was famed for being highly elusive, never being in one place for too long to be tied down to somewhere.

Rumours and stories were constantly swirling about you ranging from the more serious ones about your incredible feats of jujutsu and how you managed to exorcise a grade 1 curse for one of your very first missions without breaking a single sweat to more silly ones like that you only wash your face with the purest spring water that was imported from the Swiss Alps and that allegedly you and Gojo Satoru were seeing each other. She thought the last one was particularly dumb as she was sure that a person of your calibre would have better taste than to date their man-child of a teacher, even if he was the strongest. Whatever it was, Nobara was not going to let those two ruin her chances of possibly being able to talk with you face to face.

Above her, Yuji groans out in pain as he feels an elbow jam into his stomach.

"Hey! That hurts!" Yuji complains loudly, his grip tightening around the wooden door frame.

"Can't you be in pain more quietly?" Nobara asks and with that, the two of them were sent into a bickering spat as they traded harsh whispers and snappy comments. However, this would prove to be their end as Megumi eventually loses his balance from all of the commotion above him and tumbles onto the floor with the other two following suit as they land in what can only be described as a failed human pretzel.

Unfortunately, their crash was not as quiet as Nobara was hoping for as one of the office's inhabitants stood up from his seat, seemingly made aware of their presence. "Oh? It seems like we have some eavesdroppers in our midst."

You hum to yourself, your back still facing the doorway as you turn to your white-haired companion. "Is that true?"

"Yes, I think I might know who they are as well. If only they would be so brave enough to reveal themselves." Gojo sighs dramatically, even bringing a hand to his chest as if to feign sympathy. You can't help but giggle softly at his behaviour.

The three of them take that as their cue to stand up, dusting themselves off as they slowly make their way into the office in a single file line. When Nobara sees you, she can't even let herself fully fangirl because the amount of embarrassment she has at getting caught trying to eavesdrop is far outweighing it right now.

Gojo makes his way towards his students as they stand lined up, his hands rubbing together and a devious grin on his face as he puts on his best menacing voice. "Now now now, what do we have here?"

"Satoru, take it easy on them. I'm sure they meant no harm by it." You place a hand on his shoulder as you stroll up to his side. His arms immediately fall to his side as he melts under your touch.

An adorable pout graces his features, his bottom lip jutted out in an attempt to put on his best puppy dog look as he whines at you, "Awww, but you're ruining my funnn. I don't get that many opportunities to do this."

"Sensei, they know you by your first name?" Yuji questions, his head tilted slightly to the side as he tries to figure out what relationship you two could possibly have.

A sly snicker is heard from Gojo as he quirks his eyebrows towards you. "They know me in a lot more ways than just that" he quips back, his tone bordering on being an outright innuendo.

You roll your eyes affectionately at him, clearly used to his playful nature by this point, and give him a light shove on the shoulder to which he pretends to exaggeratedly nurse in pain.

"Sorry for not introducing myself properly, my name is L/N Y/N and I'm a special-grade sorcerer here on a visit to Tokyo Jujustu High." You smile warmly at your boyfriend's students, your hands clasped in front of you as you greet them.

Nobara could feel her breath hitch in her throat as a million thoughts ran through her mind. Oh my god, you, her idol, were actually right in front of her and were acknowledging her. She swears she could die happy right this instance but that would mean that she wouldn't get to take full advantage of the chance to talk to you fully. With that, she snaps out of her star-struck daze and politely inquires, "If you don't mind me asking L/N-san, what are you here for?"

"Oh, they're here to visit yours truly, me!" Gojo chimes in, a megawatt grin on his face with a sense of pride radiating off of him as he motions to himself.

A tsk sound escapes Nobara, clearly distrustful of her teacher's statement. "Yeah right, they have way more important things to be doing than that."

"But it's true though! My lovely partner is here to pay a surprise visit to me!"

"There's no way that that's true. You and them?" As if to punctuate her point, she points at you and Gojo standing side by side and firmly shakes her head. "Nuh uh. They wouldn't date the likes of you."

A soft smack is heard as Gojo theatrically clutches his chest, stumbling back from where he stands to drape himself over you. "It wounds me to hear you say that Kugisaki." He claims, his expression twisted into one of faux pain. When he turns to face you, his demeanour suddenly switches as he leans in towards your ear, a roughish smile on his face with a faintly seductive lilt to his voice. "Maybe we should kiss to prove that it's true."

"Don't be crude, Satoru, they're your students and they're right in front of us." You try to brush him off of you in an attempt to spare his students from becoming witnesses to their teacher's love for PDA but he doesn't let go of his grip, instead choosing to nuzzle his face in the crook of your neck as if trying to coax you to stay with him in his embrace. Like always, you relent to his touch with your fingers carding through his snowy locks, a soft sigh of approval leaving his lips.

There's a beat of silence as Nobara and Yuji try to process what they've just learned and the fact that they've just seen a visual confirmation of it before that peace is shattered and they erupt into a thousand questions. You field all of their burning questions ranging from ones about you to about your relationship with Gojo with grace, amused and endeared by their excitement and insatiable curiosity. Secretly, it warms your heart deeply that Gojo and his students are so comfortable with each other and that he can be himself around them without the pressure of the greater Jujutsu world on his back.

You turn to look at the clock and sigh at how fast time has gone by. "Alright, I'll see you at home Satoru and Megumi." You comment, packing up your belongings as you get ready to leave to attend to some business. Gojo leans down to your height as you place a lingering kiss against his cheek and wave him and his students goodbye.

Unblinking, Yuji and Nobara turn to each other and then to Megumi before they exclaim simultaneously. "You all live together!?"

Oh boy, Megumi knows he's going to be in for an earful with that.

#*ੈ✩‧₊🍵 asks #dividers by cafekitsune #jjk fluff #jjk x reader #jjk x you #jjk drabbles #jjk headcanons #jujutsu kaisen drabbles #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen x you #gojo x reader #gojo x you #gojo satoru x reader #satoru gojo x reader #gojo satoru x you #‧₊˚ ⋅ 🍵 writes

246 notes · View notes

ckret2 · 4 months

Note

This is the first time I see someone saying that Filbrick kicked out Stan as primarily a protective measure. To me, honestly, he sees his children as investing to make money and found the perfect excuse to throw away the son he never wanted on the streets when a convenient excuse appeared. After all, he already had a bag full of clothes when he throwed Stan in the streets.

It's a cartoon episode that had 22 minute to pack in the entirety of Ford & Stan's backstory. He flung a duffel bag at Stan as a way to tell the viewers "he's serious about kicking Stan out" and we didn't see him pack it because that would've cost 30 seconds to animate a boring scene that's unnecessary to the flow of the story, and where else in the episode would that 30 seconds have come from?

The show takes tons of visual & narrative shortcuts to tell its story. We don't question how a digital clock appears on Stan's desk between one shot and the next in Boss Mabel. We don't question where Soos's Burrito Bites went before and after traveling into Stan's mind in Dreamscaperers. We don't question where the remains of Quentin Trembley's ripped pants vanish to in the crate after he tosses them aside. The only reason we question the duffel bag is because there's a way to weave it into the narrative to make a bad character look even worse; but I think it ignores the spirit and intent of the scene to treat that, and that alone, like it's indicative of Filbrick's character rather than indicative of the restraints of the cartoon medium.

I don't think he saw his kids as investments. I think, prior to discovering Ford could be worth a fortune, he saw his kids as his responsibility. It was his duty to get them to adulthood and make them into proper men. What we know about their upbringing is:

When he thought they were wusses, he sent them to boxing to toughen them up.

When he thinks Stan stole a gold chain from the pawn shop, he also berates him for stealing from other people, starting a crab-fighting ring, and "pickpocketing and monkeyshining." He's opposed to Stan committing illegal or dishonest acts even if they're profitable.

And when he kicks Stan out, yeah, he says Ford "was gonna be our ticket out of this dump," but he also says "All you ever do is lie and cheat, and ride on your brother's coattails."

Before Ford is revealed to be a genius, we have no evidence that Filbrick saw them as future moneymakers. And in fact, given how the show emphasizes how hard he is to impress and how newly impressed he is at Ford's genius, it seems like he DIDN'T previously see any such potential in his kids. This was a new development. Before that, we only know of two things he wanted out of his kids:

For them to be tough enough to protect themselves

For them to be honest, law-abiding, and hard-working

His dreams of making money off one of his kids lasted a few days tops—high school science fairs don't exactly last long. If he was hotheaded enough to kick out one of his kids for dashing some pie-in-the-sky dream that was only a few days old, then either they woulda been kicked out long before then, or they woulda almost been kicked out enough times that that would be their dominant impression of their dad that they'd report 40 years later, not "hard to impress." Yeah, he was mad he could've made a fortune and then didn't, but that alone wasn't the main motivation behind disowning Stan. He was taking out years of frustration with Stan all in one moment.

"All you ever do is lie and cheat" "This time you cost our family potential millions!"

You've been a bad kid and a troublemaker for a long time; this time, your behavior has impacted someone other than yourself—it's harmed your brother and your family—and I won't let you do it again.

(And this is pure headcanon/conjecture, so I'm keeping it as an aside—but I think there's something to his relationship with Caryn in all this. We know from how he treats Stan's lying that Filbrick highly values honesty. We know that Caryn is a pathological liar—it's one of the only things we know about her. We know from out-of-show interviews that Stan's "—the girl snuggles up next to you, next thing you know you gotta raise a kid, your life falls apart—" is him repeating something his father said. We know Filbrick sees their current living situation as a "dump," but lacks the financial means to get out of it. We know now the baby WAS intended to be Shermie, which makes a nearly 18 year gap before the Pines decided to have another kid. I think the twins were an accident, that Filbrick married Caryn out of a sense of duty to his sons and their mother, that he does love his family but still feels trapped; I think he hates that Caryn is such a liar, that it would have been a dealbreaker if there weren't kids involved, and that now he doesn't feel like there's much he can do about it because that's his wife; and I think that's a major motivating factor in his demanding honesty out of his sons—because he doesn't want them to turn out like their mother.)

To be clear—I don't think Filbrick is a good father. But in interpreting him as a bad father, I want to interpret him as the bad father he ACTUALLY IS, not make up some new, different bad father and paste it on top of his characterization. Sometimes fandom has a tendency to take a bad parent and stick entirely new bad parent traits on top of them, in a way that makes it seem like some fans think "well, if they're a bad parent, they MUST do THESE THINGS too, because ALL bad parents do that (and therefore, if they're not doing these things, they must not really be a bad parent)."

And at times I think it's important to hold the line. Based on what we know of him, Filbrick is bad enough to be a Bad Father even if he doesn't do XYZ that fandom assumes all bad fathers must do. Filbrick is bad enough to be a Bad Father even if he didn't see his kids as a way to make money.

I think he raised his boys the way he did because he thought that was the best thing for their future happiness—and he was wrong, and his ideas about manhood are outdated and toxic, and he was a bad father.

I think he saw them as his responsibility rather than as profit machines, and that he cared about their well-being—and his decision to express his caring through emotionally distant tough love was harmful and neglectful, and when he got angry he was verbally abusive, and he was a bad father.

I think he was devastated at the loss of potential millions not because his primary motive as a person is greed, but because his primary motive is being a good caretaker for his family, and his family was in a tough financial spot and that kind of money would turn all their lives around—and even though pinning his financial hopes on his son was a recent development, it was still an awful position to put his kid in, and he never should have done it, and he was a bad father.

I think he cared about his family MORE THAN their finances—but he still prioritized their finances too much, and in a moment of anger prioritized their finances more than one of his own sons, and he was a bad father.

I think kicking Stan out wasn't a consequence of thwarted greed, but of years of anger at Stan's delinquency, and that the issue wasn't the lost money but rather the fact that he thinks Stan deliberately harmed his brother for selfish reasons—and it was still a cruel thing to do and the man seriously needed some anger management classes, and he was a bad father.

He's a bad father even if his intentions are good. He's a bad father even if he cared about his sons. And that's why I'm insistent on maintaining his characterization that way—because it's worth remembering that a parent with good, caring intentions can still be bad, and their intentions don't excuse their actions.

#filbrick pines #gravity falls #(i've half written this essay half a dozen times in the notes of other posts and in various discord servers)#(now that i've WRITTEN written it i can just link this rather than keep trying to repeat it lmao)#meta #anonymous #ask

200 notes · View notes

witchofthesouls · 4 months

Text

I like thinking about humans-into-Cybertronians because of the weird, alien fuckery along with ex-humans making connections to certain things because it's the closest approximation they have.

Imagine if 'running on fumes' is a literal statement among Cybertronians. As their tanks run near empty, there's a petroleum-like taste that lingers in their sinuses and, if left long enough, cycles out of their vents. That's why Cybertronians typically don't like hanging around gas stations because it's a really stark reminder of long-term starvation. Meanwhile, you got an ex-human going like, "Man, I'm starting to taste gas, so I need gas. Huh, y'all have built-in reminders to feed yourself outside of hunger pains? That's neat."

As well as the ex-humans misdiagnosing themselves. Let's take Cybertronian carriage. Humans are used to a pregnancy that completes its course in a designated organ (aka womb), so finding out a mecha had straight up knocked them up that bypassed the initial spark-to-spark teether formation wouldn't freak them out in the ways that a lot of Cybertronians would be really concerned about. Especially the medics and said partner(s).

Ex-human crying over the sonogram because they got told it's a very high-risk pregnancy and all they see is the coming baby is very deformed since it's only a ball within a ball of green soup and silver tendrils. Partner is highly confused yet attempts comforting in varying levels of success.

Cybertronian medic needs to explain that the sparklet is healthy, but ex-human really needs to watch themselves because the entire process will be done within the gestational chamber and goes deep into explaining the complications that can happen.

Partner is absolutely riveted by all the gravity of the matter since the strain of having a full-carriage that initialized in the chamber can put the carrier in danger as there can be coding conflicting with priorities that rends said carrier unconscious or wrecks health complications, especially since there's a high-chance of the newspark not fully detaching from their carrier's spark as the dropping process ensures.

Ex-human that comes from a species where a pregnancy is like getting into a moderate crash, so damage varies each time is happy that they haven't fucked up badly yet and can plan a baby shower. "By the way, when's the due date?"

Medic: "Hard to say with the carriage combined, but it's more in the primary initialization stage. The sparklet's still has a visible, if a bit thin, teether to your spark, and a solid mass hasn't formed yet."

Ex-human: "Okay, so how long?"Medic says incomprehensible length of time for an Earth child and how it can vary.

*Confused ex-human noises over the several human lifetimes is the equivalent of a span to a Cybertronian carriage. And how multiple factors can impact the timeframe.*

*Confused Medic noises out of sheer concern over ex-human's family history, especially over the fact they have extremely and highly dangerously short carriages.*

*Confused partner noises on why their love wants to plan a bathtime for the newspark at this moment, and wonders if ex-human knows that water and infant Cybertronians do not mix.*

Or, another thing. What if the dropping process where the sparklet detaches from the carrier's spark to descend into the gestational chamber below to build its frame has very 'classic'** heart symptoms in a human body?

(** Quick heads up, much of human biology and modern medical understanding derives from male biology. Unfortunately, women usually see atypical symptoms that are more subtle, moderate rather than severe pain/discomfort, or pain in other other locations rather than the chest.)

Ex-human has sudden, excruciatingly chest pain, insides literally quivering and shifting in sync with the bursts. Meanwhile, everyone around them is calm, trying to soothe them, and they think they're honestly dying so fast because there's no rush to the nearby hospital, and everyone is pushing comfort-it's okay-we got you at them.

#transformers #humans into cybertronians #humanformers #cybertronian biology #cybertronian culture #pregnancy #bitlets #sparklings #medical complications #culture clash #cultural misunderstandings #tf headcanons #my writing #my thoughts #i like thinking how humans and Cybertronians are cousins #but in the sense of “someone fucked a bonafide monster and it produced said cousin”#are there similarities? yes. are there major differences? we should explore that more lol #rip that poor medic and robo partner and ex-human's sanity #maccadam

227 notes · View notes

threepandas · 2 months

Text

Bad End: Out In The Cold

"What's this? A cold little mouse in my castle?"

Thick hair that wasn't mine spilled over my shoulder. As a familiar hand, warm and calloused, wrapped itself around my throat. I hadn't realized how cold the room had gotten, until her hand was there, skin warm against my skin. It had taken a while to get used to this.

I was grateful, in a way. For the the day she had done more then just scoff at my scarf. Telling me I would freeze. The way she had gotten worried. Pulled off her gloves, grumbling all the while, too fuss over me like some great mother bear. Hands warm but gentle, as the tucked themselves around my throat. Too better warm my blood, she had said.

It had been like a dam breaking.

And honestly? She WAS right. It was warm.

Now, whenever she so much as SUSPECTED I was cold? Her hand would sneak out to press against my pulse. Though, half the time, I suspected it was an excuse. She'd not had many chances for closeness in her life, I suspect. Calysta was the... ah, it was hard to translate, but... the CLOSEST translation? Was something like "Child of The Mountain Gods".

Or was it "Child of the Mountains AND the Gods"?

I was supposed to be writing a treatise on the subject. Gods knows no one ELSE would. Cowards. Bigots too. "Nothing but savages" my silk clad ASS. And they dare call themselves academics!? Ha! HA, I say! Both my professors and I would SPIT! (If it weren't WILDLY rude. I never COULD master that skill. I did try.)

Unfortunately, my professors, were too old to make the journey this far North. It hadn't stopped them from TRYING, when we had finally gotten permission. But... well. They barely made it too Wuntersgreen before the strain and cold became too much. They cried.

As the youngest? I was loaded down with their notes, questions, hopes and dreams, and sent on ahead. No one was impressed by me. The scrawny academic with her soft, soft hands. Never a day's fight in her. Didn't know how to do "anything". But? That had given their word to host me. So they did.

It's been AMAZING.

And I like to think I'm getting better!

Adapting. Learning how to do things and help around the castle. I even helped start a fire for the fireplace the other day! Before THAT? I learned how to set hunting traps... rather badly. I have yet to catch anything. But still! Progress, is it not?

Where was I? Ah, yes.

Calysta. Her rank is something between a Warlord and a King, as far as I can tell? It holds the respected sovereignty of a ruling monarch yet? Can be seized. Should she grow "weak". Is not NECESSARILY passed too one's children. They, presumably, have an ADVANTAGE... but? It goes too "the Chosen child of..." that word I'm still having some difficulty getting a good translation off.

And if I remember correctly, Calysta's brother's did NOT appreciate that. As they had been favored by her father. Showered with praise most of their lives. One of them ASSUMED to be the next leader.

They challenged her.

Did not back down.

Now? Now she has neither Father nor brothers. Not that it seems she had much of either to begin with. Frankly? I am GLAD she won. She is good for the North. Strong, steady, highly tactical. A wry wit. And a FEIRCE love for her people and culture. NO ONE will take it from her. Destroy these beautiful peoples.

I'm tugged back lightly, away from my desk to sit up properly against the back of my chair. The hand on my neck shifting softly, ever so slightly up, to cup the underside of my jaw. Tilting my head up so I can not see my work but must instead meet the eyes of my dear friend.

"Enough, little mouse." There is a fondness to the edge of her mouth, she is not one for great grins and wild expressions. It has taken me months to learn how to read her so well. "Your papers will still be there AFTER you warm up. Should be easier to right, don't you think, when you can actually feel your fingers again?"

I huff a laugh.

Honestly... where would I be with out her? Frozen to death, probably. I get entirely to fixated on my work. Food, drink, keeping the fire running. I notice none of it. Probably shrivel up and die. The fact she even takes the time to check on me? Dispite being as important as she is? Let NO ONE say Calysta does not CARE. She is a good person.

My legs feel numb and prickly, stiff, in that distinctly asleep and too cold sort of way, as I try to stand. Calysta has to wrap her arm around my waste and let me lean against her. She feels almost too hot against me. Another sure sign I have, indeed, allowed myself to get too cold. Oh dear.

With an exasperated snort, once it becomes clear my legs will probably not be recovering fast enough for her liking, Calysta decides she will speed things along. My legs are swept out from under me effortlessly. I don't even squeek anymore, this has happened so often. But I USED too.

It is how I became "mouse".

Now I just allow Calysta her way. She'll put me down when she wants to put me down. And honestly? It's kinda fun to be carried like a child. I feel tall. Weightless and somewhat decadent, it makes my heart beat a faster. And on somedays? All I want to do is go boneless. Allow myself to be HELD. Not that I'll ever tell. So Shhhhh, a secret to our graves, okay? It would make things awkward for her.

She strolls down the hall with me, too her office. No one so much as blinking an eye. We've become so common in our shenanigans, I imagine, it's become mundane. And... ah~ Calysta was RIGHT. I WAS cold. The fireplace in her office is full with logs burning away merrily. The windows we passed in the hall showed snow. It seems the storm's finally hit..

Instead of putting me down, Calysta heads for the couch. Turning and with a huff, flopping down, making both of us bounce a bit. Leaning back with me less in her arms now, so much as in her lap. The room is quiet. Hushed almost. The crackle of fire, the distant howl of wind, far away chatter of life, elsewhere in the castle.

Calysta has leaned back against the back of her office's couch. Head rested against the fur blanket draped against the back of it. The fur mixes with her riotous man of hair to create almost a halo, lit in golds by the fire's light. Her eyes are closed as she takes her moment. The fire light makes her face softer.

But never soft.

No force in all the world could make Calysta anything but the Queen she is. Dangerous and powerful. First into battle and last to leave. She is breath taking in the way all deadly things are, I think. Like blades and poison held up to the light. Predators and fires that burn.

"You're staring, little mouse." She says, voice nearly a whisper in the softness of the room. It is a rumble like mountains and the sweet call of dangerous things. She's always had such a commanding voice. I envy it. "Is my face so entrancing?"

She's smirking. Teasing me. I laugh and rest my head against her shoulder. Let myself drift as the chill in my bones fades away. The arm loosely around my waist to keep me from falling off, has taken to lightly stroking my back. Almost absent-mindedly. Occasionally, fingers playing with the ends of my hair.

A servant has come-by. Removed our shoes for us. Brought Calysta missives and responses. General updates. She shifts us. Tucking me against her as she lays down, tucking me between her body and the couch. Fuzzy blanket over me, arm wrapped around me. I... I feel boneless.

Safe.

Everything warm and quiet and far away.

Trusting, I doze off. Cuddling close and utterly content.

Calysta presses a kiss to the crown of my sleeping head. Let's her hand roam, just a bit, simply to feel the perfect way her little mouse fits right up against her. She was MADE for her. Born to be here. Still... she has to be... be GENTLE. Soft.

It's hard. She hasn't had much practice in that.

But good things are worth the struggle for them. True love is WORTH the time, the effort, to learn how the South romance. Figuring out how to woo her lil mouse as she deserves. Making sure she never leaves.

Speaking off...

She diges out the ridiculous fancy paper envelope at the bottom of the stack. Hidden, as per her instructions, so her little Mouse wouldn't see it. Another one, it seems, from that damn "House" of hers. Southern Clans were pretty damn presumptuous, weren't they? Had some fucking gall.

What did THIS one say?

Let's she... "come back at once" blah blah blah "how dare you ignore all our letters" blah blah "you WILL honor the engagement we've found for you, or ELSE" oh? Threats now, huh? Ah~? "Keep ignoring our letters and you'll be cast from House-" well, well~!

That's convenient.

One flick of the wrist, and the letter is in the fireplace. Burning away. Just like all before it. Oops. How difficult it is, to get news from the South. Her little mouse really SHOULD just forget about them. THIS is her home now. THEY are her people.

Her girl doesn't need anyone else.

"Don't worry, little love. I won't leave you out in the cold. You're gonna stay with me. Forever. I Promise."

100 notes · View notes

suuuupernovaaa · 1 year

Text

Clean, Part 2

Hobie Brown x f! Reader. Jealousy. Misunderstanding. Making up.

Based on this request. Y/N goes backstage at Hobie's show, and sees something she shouldn't. Hobie shows up to her apartment, and misunderstands what he sees at first. Everyone is angry.

Mature, 18+

You fiddle with the drink in your hands, made much too strong, staring at the rings on your fingers and trying to blink the tears out of your eyes.

"Are you sure something was, uh, going on?" your brother asks, sitting across from you at your small kitchen table. You called him crying 30 minutes ago, and he rushed over to you.

A protective brother never really grows out of the protective thing, really, and your brother takes it to the next level - but he means well. Up until this point, he even seemed to approve of your new boyfriend, Hobie Brown. They hadn't met, but you spoke so highly of him, Grant was inclined to say the guy was half decent.

That might all be ruined now, though.

"Well," you say, wiping a stray tear from your red cheek, "she was like, pressed up on him. And, listen, women should wear whatever they want, but she was really not wearing a whole lot of anything, and it was just, uh, a real picture."

"Okay - what was he doing, though?" Grant asks, and you blink rapidly, trying to remember.

You rounded the corner and saw him, and your eyes lit up the way they always do when you see Hobie, your heart started pounding in your chest with excitement, and before he noticed you, she approached.

She squealed and threw her arms around him, and the way she moved... it was not just a hug. At least, it wasn't the way you'd hugged anyone. Not in public. It was something else, two people pressed so tightly together, absolutely no room for Jesus, and the way she moved her body. Ugh. It was like she was trying to get a fire started right there in the hallway.

But what had Hobie done? You'd turned and dashed out of there before you could really see. You remembered he wasn't hugging her back but, he wasn't shoving her away either. But had he, after you left?

You put your face in his hands. "I don't know. Even if he threw her off, how often are women throwing themselves at him like that? I don't know if I can stand that, Grant."

Grant reaches out, grabbing your forearm, and you look up at him. He shrugs at you. "You don't have to, Y/N. You can choose to break up with him if it's too much. But honestly, I think that'd be kind of stupid."

"You do?" You sit back in your chair, crossing your arms.

Grant stands up, crossing the kitchen to open the cupboard where you keep your snacks. He sighs when he finds it bare minus a bag of blue tortilla chips and some old vanilla wafers. "Yeah. You've never been this happy. Like, it's obvious. Maybe don't throw it away because someone hugged your boyfriend. That's, uh, pretty insecure."

You widen your eyes and gasp. "Grant!"

He turns around, shrugging again, and you resist the urge to throw your gin and tonic at him. "Well, it's true! Do you trust the guy?"

Instead of throwing the drink, you take a sip, and gag a little. Grant loves gin so you keep it around for him, but you truly detest it. It tastes like pine needles.

"Yeah. I do."

"Okay, then get over it and talk to him about-" Your older brother is cut off from what you're sure would be another hurtful rant by a pounding on the door.

"Y/N!" Hobie's voice calls from the other side of the door. "Are you in there? You're ignoring my calls! Where did you go after the show?"

You're stuck, frozen in your chair, your cheeks and nose still red and wet with tears. You and your brother stare at each other for a long moment, and then Hobie pounds on the door again.

"Y/N!"

Grant walks to the door, and pulls it open. You sit across the kitchen, out of view from anyone standing in the doorway.

"Who the fuck are you?" Hobie asks as soon as Grant opens the door. You've talked about your brother, even shown pictures, but Grant looks different in person. He's just a hair shorter than Hobie, making them both very tall men, and while Hobie is extremely strong, he's lean and lanky. Grant is sturdy, built, with wide shoulders and an intimidating brow. "Where's Y/N?"

Grant steps aside without saying a word, and Hobie brushes past him. He scans the apartment for just a second, before spotting you at the kitchen table.

"Y/N!" He rushes over, and you stand up. "What's - hey!" He reaches up to your cheeks. "You've been crying? Who the hell is this guy?" He looks equally angry and concerned.

"It's Grant. My brother."

Hobie's face relaxes, and he gives an exaggerated nod, leaning backwards as he does it. "Grant!" He turns, arm extended for a hand shake. "Sorry about that, mate. Didn't expect to see a strange man in my girl's flat. Not that she can't have friends over, just, you know. Went missing, been crying, strange man here. Not my favorite combination of events."

Grant shakes his hand. "No worries. I better uh, get going. I'll see you around."

He steps around Hobie, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and pulling you to him. "Love you. Call me tomorrow," he whispers, and you nod.

You stand with Hobie, quietly and awkwardly, as Grant puts on his coat and shoes, and finally makes an exit.

Hobie turns to you, arms outstretched. "Okay, what the hell, Y/N?"

You sigh and sit down, and take another drink of the disgusting gin and tonic. Making a face, you push the drink away. Hobie sits across from you and picks it up.

"I'm sorry I disappeared. I... had a, like, meltdown."

Hobie furrows his brow and leans forward. "What happened?"

You feel embarrassed now, and you know your already red cheeks are growing even hotter, probably your chest to match. It was childish and immature to assume the worst and run away, and Grant was right - you let your insecurities get the best of you. You let that become bigger than the trust you had in Hobie.

"It's stupid, but, I came backstage and saw some very beautiful girl kind of, rubbing all over you and I, I just freaked out and ran away. I called Grant. I'm really sorry. It was so dumb. Shit. I'm really sorry."

You're crying again now, and that only serves to add to the embarrassment. Surely Hobie is going to realize that you're more trouble than you're worth, that he could find someone who wouldn't put him through so much over the smallest things, and he'll leave. You wouldn't blame him.

Hobie shakes his head, letting out a little 'tsk, tsk, tsk' with each turn of his chin. "Y/N, that is pretty stupid. You've kicked ass for me before, and you couldn't do it tonight? I don't exactly like when people I don't know press themselves all over my front!"

His words sound harsh, but there's a teasing smile creeping across his lips, and you cal feel the tension slipping from your neck and shoulders.

"I can't just fight every woman who throws herself at you, Hobie."

His smirk turns into a full on grin, and he leans forward, grabbing your hand. "Sure you can. What's the point of having a girlfriend then?"

You throw your head back, laughing, feeling less silly with every joke he makes. When you look at him again, he pulls you up out of your chair, and leads you to your living room, kicking off his shoes and jacket as you go.

"Come on then, let me hold you for a moment," he whispers. He lays down on the couch, and pulls you down on top of him. Your head rests perfectly on his chest, his arms around your back, and your legs between his. Through his shirt, you can feel the steady, melodious sound of his strong heart beating. You rise and fall with his even breaths. You close your eyes, and allow yourself to feel safe and calm as he holds you.

"I really am sorry," you whisper, finally looking up at Hobie. He stares down at you with his soft, beautiful brown eyes.

"Maybe you need a reminder of how much I care about you."

You raise your eyebrow. "Maybe."

He puts two fingers under your chin, beckoning you to crawl up to him. "Kiss me, Y/N," he says in a quiet, demanding voice, and you don't hesitate. Your lips find his immediately and the kiss is explosive. You're both letting out all the tension, confusion, anger and sadness of the ruined evening. His hands find his way into your hair, crushing you to him, pulling just a little, and you moan into his mouth.

Hobie's lips move slowly down to your neck, leaving a trail of hot kisses. "You need to know how I feel about you," he whispers between kisses. "How you're all I think about. I'm obsessed with you."

He pulls down on the collar of your shirt, and you thank the gods it's stretchy when his lips make their way to your chest, sucking, biting and kissing.

"You're perfect. You're mine."

With surprising agility and speed, Hobie flips the two of you over, leaving you gasping underneath him. He reaches down, grabbing you behind your knee, pulling your leg up along his side, and stares down at you.

"Too many clothes," you say, and he nods in response. He pulls his t-shirt over his head, and then reaches underneath you to undo your bra. He pulls that and your t-shirt swiftly off of you, and then undoes the buttons on your jean shorts.

Suddenly, he stands up. Bending over, he lifts you up bridal style. "Bedroom, I think," he says, holding you to his bare chest. It's a small apartment, and only a few steps before Hobie is tossing you onto your bed, leaving you in a fit of giggles.

As he undoes his belt and pulls his jeans off, you remove your shorts, as well, both of you left in just your underwear.

You lay back, propped up on your elbows, watching as he crawls up to you. You feel his breath on your thighs, your waist, and he's kissing your stomach.

His hand grazes over your ass, over your thigh, and as his mouth finds your breast, his fingers brush over your panties, just between your thighs, and you have to lay back on the bed and close your eyes.

"Hobie," you whisper, your voice just a breath. He pulls your panties to the side, and finds the immense wetness already gathered there.

"Fuck, you're wet," he moans with your nipple in his mouth, and begins toying with your clit. He rubs it in circles, up and down, and then his fingers dip down to your entrance, just teasing, before he's back at your clit.

You throw your arm over your face and let out a long, low moan. "Oh, god," you say, chest heaving.

His fingers leave your clit again, and he pushes them slowly into you, the metal of his rings creating a shocking, cold sensation.

"So fucking tight and wet," he moans, and brings his mouth to yours for another intense kiss as his fingers pump slowly in and out. He curves them upwards, finding that perfect spot, and you spread your legs as wide apart as you can underneath him, thrusting back up to meet him for every perfect stroke. "I want you to cum for me. I want you to be loud. Scream my name," he demands.

His fingers leave you, returning to your clit, using the perfect amount of pressure, swirling around, and you feel the coil forming.

"Oh, god, oh, fuck, Hobie, please," you pant into his mouth. His other hand is on your nipple, twisting and pulling gently, and it's an overwhelming combination of sensations.

He plunges his fingers into you again unexpectedly, and it sends you over the edge. Your pussy clenches around his fingers, over and over, and he moans almost as loudly as you into your mouth at the sensation of it.

"Yes, fucking cum on my hand," he whispers, not letting up until you reach down and move his hand away.

He collapses next to you, staring at you while you gasp for breath, a light sheen of sweat over both of you.

He never even took your panties off.

Finally, you look over at him, and he smiles softly at you. "That doesn't even begin to fucking cover how I feel about you, love."

You reach out, placing your hand gently on his cheek. "Can I show you how I feel now?"

He raises his eyebrows. "Oh, if you must, my love," he says, and winks.

#Hobie brown smut #Hobie brown x reader #Hobie brown fic #Hobie brown x you #hobie brown

496 notes · View notes

guywrestlingaddiction · 23 days

Text

Everything Great About a Match: Tanner Von v Dio Characi (bgeast.com)

Everything Great About a Match: +6

Tanner Von v Dio Characi (bgeast.com)

SPOILER ALERT: I highly recommend viewing this match in its entirety before reading this post.

So let's begin: +1: For our two studs admiring each other. The match is missing all of the usual macho 'I'm going to beat you' attitude we've come to expect and it's refreshing honestly. They not only want to win physically, they also want this match to mean something.

Dio is thinking 'damn I get to wrestling this' while Tanner sizes him up

Tanner: This is what actually counts. *Flex* Dio: Okay, you might be right. You have big muscles.

Dio: You think your abs are better than mine?! Well, let me check.

+1: Laying your opponent up on the turnbuckle. Is this move the apex of making your opponent feel vulnerable? Is this not the perfect way to humble a big man? If there is a better way show this let me know cause I need to see it.

+1: For all the worship. This match has it all. We got muscle worship, we got crotch worship, bicep worship, and who could miss all that pec worship. Our two studs take turns to please each other and really get into each other's heads, confusing pain with ecstasy.

Dio giving Tanner his reward for a sweaty beat down.

Dio again tries to fight off giving into the domination

That look on Dio's face says it all. The man has lost, but what a way to go!

+1: For all the face smothering. These guys play to win. Watching Tanner shove himself in his opponent's face or Dio's impressive pitt smother is definitely worth a point. I mean why simply pin the other guy when you can choke them out in the sexiest way possible.

Tanner: How's that chest?! huh? Dio: *Muffle* *Muffle*

Struggle all you want Tanner, you know what's coming.

Dio: Take it, you want it?! Tanner: AHHHH *Muffle*

+1: All that humiliation. Our guys don't just want to pin their opponent, they want to win through humiliation and domination. Like I said early, the theme for this match is really about getting into your opponent's head. Our men use what they have and while we might quibble over their techniques, no one can argue that Dio/Tanner got skills in seduction.

Tanner: You're liking that a little too much.

+1: These guys are leveling up! It's a thing of beauty to watch our guys grow over time and I love that gay pro wrestling allows fresh talent to level themselves up. Tanner and Dio may not be a Jonny firestorm caliber wrestler but they are both miles away from where they started their careers. By now most of that rookie awkwardness has faded away revealing the sweaty, skilled wrestling aggression underneath.

First Tanner enjoying squeezing the life out of his poor opponent.

Then Dio softening up the big man. Where has this Dio been?

Tanner: AHHHHH! We all knew that Dio could use those muscles against his opponent.

------- Everything Great About this Match: +6

So there you have it. I love the combo of Dio and Tanner, two wrestlers historically on the losing end of the match have been given the opportunity to shine. They know where they stand in terms of wrestling skills and really push the limits of the erotic in this match. This was never about some knock down, drag out, but rather the perfect libation of pain and seduction. Getting in each other's head is the goal here and I'd say they succeeded cause in the end one fighter is left dizzy and overwhelmed by lust for his dominator.

#gay wrestling #bgeast.com #Tanner Von #Dio Characi

67 notes · View notes

lemotmo · 2 months

Note

one thing i'm a bit worried about as we got into season 8 is that there are a lot of fans talking about buddie like it's an inevitability and saying things like "buddie canon confirmed" because of the bts stuff we've seen.

it feels like people are setting themselves up for being disappointed and mad if buddie doesn't end up going canon (and honestly, it's kind of their fault for reading so much into fun little posts from the cast when the only way they'd ever confirm buddie is in an episode).

i really want buddie to be canon, but I'm keeping my expectations low because I don't want to be disappointed and it feels like people should be prepared for that potential outcome.

All right Nonny, here's the thing...

I get it. I completely understand what you are saying. I have been in the 911 fandom since season 1 (not so much on Tumblr) and when season 2 happened I hopped onto the Buddie train (on Tumblr).

I have been there, season after season after season. I saw people building up a lot of hope only for that hope to end up in disappointment. And I felt some of that disappointment as well. Although I have to admit I was always on the sidelines. I never really thought it would ever go canon. I hoped for it, but I had very low expectations.

After all, both men were canonically straight. Even though we could all see the queer-coding, fundamentally nothing ever changed. Buddie got closer than ever, but they still had girlfriends and relationships.

So yeah, I didn't have high expectations and I was happy just chilling in my little Buddie corner, speculating and reading/writing fan fic. Just genuinly having a good time.

But then season 7 happened. The show got cancelled by FOX at the end of season 6 and ABC picked it up. The first thing ABC did was put Ryan and Oliver front and center, having them freely talk about Buddie. I couldn't believe my eyes when these interviews happened. Articles were written, not just by smaller click bait sites, but actual reputable magazine sites. I watched all of this with wide eyes, not sure what to think of it. 'Would they? Could they?'

Then another bomb went off when 7x04 happened and Buck came out as bisexual. I was floored. For the first time in 6 seasons, I started entertaining the idea that the show might just go there. If they made Buck bisexual, surely they wouldn't ignore the highly popular Buddie aspect of it? Would they?

Let's not get into the whole Tommy debacle that happened afterwards. Because in the end it's not important for this answer. Tommy has been set up as a narrative device to help Buck out of the closet. He isn't even a factor in the overspanning Buddie arc we've seen progressing over 6 seasons.

I also want to add that it's crazy that we know for sure that it was actually supposed to be Eddie who would come out of the closet (first).

The end of season 7 gave us an Eddie who told Kim that he is broken and he can't be fixed. Chris left and now he's all alone. No more Chris, Marisol or any other distractions. He is on his own now. Lots of time to reflect upon his life and relationships. His arc will be built around his emotional journey and his personal growth. And we all know who will be by his side for all of it. It's a given at this point.

Then we have Ryan doing these interviews, saying things like:

“The character has been established now, we kind of know what to expect with the vibe. Now it’s just kind of falling back in old rhythm. The only thing different now is where the character’s head is at and where he is going.”

Next to that we have new looks for both Ryan and Oliver. A new beginning perhaps? That moustache has some clear queer symbolism attached to it as well. Something we cannot ignore, because the show knows that its fans aren't stupid and they also know that they have a solid queer fanbase.

And yes, Ryan and Oliver seem happy and relaxed on set these days, while especially Oliver didn't seem all that happy at the end of season 7. In fact, Oliver has completely ignored the Tommy aspect of his new 'canon' relationship. He speaks more about Buck's bi journey and ignores the Tommy factor as much as possible.

So Nonny, if you read all of the above information (and I'm sure I forgot a bunch of stuff) how can you not become more hopeful and a lot more positive that there is a high chance of Buddie happening in season 8?

I'm all for protecting yourself from possible disappointment, but when you are constantly wrapping yourself into a protective cocoon so you don't get hurt in the process, you might just miss the best (and most fun) part of being a shipper: the experience of your slow-burn ship finally becoming canon.

I admit it! I too strongly believe Buddie might just happen in season 8. I'm almost completely sure.

And yes, if Buddie doesn't happen, there will be disappointment and there will be people who choose to express that disappointment through anger. But honestly?

They would kinda have a point.

Because no, it wouldn't be the fans' own fault for getting their hopes up if Buddie doesn't happen. During previous seasons I would have said 'yes', but not now. Not anymore. Now I would definitely say that they are right. It's the show itself that has gotten our hopes up by the consistent Buddie promo, the many Buddie scenes, the whole Eddie being in every part of the BT arc thing, the bts and all the other things they've thrown at us. They know exactly what they are doing. They are hyping Buddie up to the max.

I don't actually believe there will be disappointment though. This is truly the first season where I have been pretty confident that Buddie is in the works. I've never had that feeling before and I've been here forever.

Now that being said, complete certainty doesn't exist for a shipper. if, for some reason, Buddie doesn't happen? There will be disappointment (for me as well) and anger (for me not so much), but in the end that emotion will fade and Buddie will become just another great fandom experience with a bad ending. We've all been there before. It happens.

That is just the nature of being in fandom: 'You win some, you lose some.'

However... this time? With Buddie?

I really think we're about to win big. Sorry Nonny!

¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

#nonnies galore #buddie #buddie speculation #There is no right or wrong way to be in fandom #but if you never let yourself believe that things might actually go our way this time?#You're losing out on a great fandom experience.#So don't be afraid to be positive and spread some of that positivity.#Let's have some fun with this!

74 notes · View notes

dr-zeddy · 2 months

Note

Miquella is a deeply tragic character and saying he's a villain just because he used someone, who was probably way worse than him to create an order lead by kindness, makes you come off as pretty short-sighted imo Miq was as much of a victim as Mohg. He had good intentions, he truly believed he could make the he could make the world a better place.

*exhales deeply* Are you the person, I think you are? nonetheless....

I'm going to shed my opinion on Miquella now because I seriously can not tell if this is bait or not from things we see and know in the base game and DLC and want to clarify my thoughts on him and why I believe rendering him as a victim is extremely problematic, also outside of the entire Mohg situation.

Is it so hard to internalize that the things Miquella did were actually highly morally questionable? I got to admit, he is a way more interesting character to me after the DLC because of the things he did (and I enjoy villains, so yeah.) I guess the »villain« term is as much accurate as some of you folks justify brainwashing to be ethical , when it is done with good intentions and keeps the peace, with which I personally do not agree with at all.

I don't see Miquella as tragic because honestly we have nothing to suggest that this guy suffered in any way before he decided to rip himself off of his personality. And that is the point, he decided to do that himself. No one forced him to this. Miquella had a choice, unlike Mohg. Yeah sure, you could argue that he suffered through his immense »empathy« but honestly, Miquella's empathy for the weak and shunned always came off as superficial. Why does he not care for the Albinaurics being tortured in Castle Sol, which is clearly allied with him? Where are the Misbegotten and other creatures in Elphael? Where are the Albinaurics? And the Omens? The Nomads?? Miquella claims to want to create a perfect world where everyone is equal but honestly except for words we hear, we do not see any fucking action or effort to truly include them in his world order.

And that's the thing, Miquella reeks for me at best of naivity and at worst of white saviour complex. He grew up as a fucking empyrean, he had a good relationship with at least one of his parents, he was a golden child. From the things we see and hear in the base game, and now the DLC, it feels like Miquella does not seem to grasp the complexity of the situation when it comes to subjugation. If that is due to his child-like thinking, infused by his curse or actually just his personality, is up for debate. Can you truly care for the subjugated as someone more privileged? Absolutely. But only if you truly educate yourself on the matter and actually listen to the needs of the excluded and shunned.

What does Miquella do instead? He rips everyone off of their autonomy to make decisions themselves if they refuse or challenge his beliefs. That is textbook tyranny. You can not save someone, who refuses to be saved by someone like you. Doing so anyway is extremely ignorant. In the end, Miquella actually puts his needs & beliefs before that of those he claims to desire to save. He is so convinced of his own agenda that he loses track of the moral dilemma, his approach to worldpeace poses. That is not tragic. These are the thoughts of a megalomaniac. If Miquella's selflessness was truly genuine there would be no need of compelling affection. However, he bewitches people. Over and over.

Of course, there are his efforts of curing Malenia still. But even that is, in the big sight of things, not really a selfless act because Malenia is a.) close family and b.) he gets and actual use out of Malenia's talent as a skilled swordswoman. I do not think Miquella bewitched her, I truly believe Malenia followed him by his own will and I also do believe he really did want to help her! However true kindness lays in how you treat those who can do nothing for you. Bewitching those who can do nothing for you and refuse to follow you, is not exactly a very pretty picture of his character.

And in comes Mohg to this occasion. The game is so fucking obvious about the fact that Mohg was the exploited one and I seriously do not understand why people still insist he isn't and exploited Miquella?? He is the only demigod we know for certain of, who was brainwashed. With Radahn and Malenia we do not know for sure but with Mohg we do. The fact that Mohg was bewitched implies that Miquella could not be sure that Mohg would have agreed to a deal and that would have been a way safer route than to bewitch him and his closest consult. I mean, Miquella almost DIED because he underestimated Ansbach's knowledge on how Mohg behaves. Why the fuck risk that if you could have just openly made a deal with Mohg, if he was as power hungry and crazy as the game implied?

In contrast to Miquella, Mohg is actually one of the most tragic characters in the game. This motherfucker was told his mere existence is a crime, grew up in the sewers locked away for years, he had no one except this one Outer God who seemed to care for him and showed him maternal love, something he was deprived off his entire life. Not getting into the speculation on how the cult operated before Miquella took over but it's very clear that he ruined Mohg's life. Mohg just wanted to get away from the toxicity he grew up with and created his own haven, from which he too thought, was the right thing to do. However he never forced anyone to join him. He never mind controlled people. People followed him by their own accounts.

The cult in itself is probably morally questionable too but we also have no idea how the Mohgwyn Dynasty worked before Miquella essentially took over. But by that standard, everyone is in the Lands Between is a twisted bastard with their different agendas ….

The point is that Ansbach is still right though when he says that »Mohg deserved better«. NO ONE who is genuinely interested in helping the shunned and subjugated, would chose one of the most excluded and tormented souls as their pawn. NOBODY deserves to be treated like this but the fact that Mohg is a product of extreme racism and social exclusion makes it so much worse and makes Miquella look so much more hypocritical. It suits the stuff we see in Castle Sol and the Haligtree … Miquella wants to be seen as the world's saviour so badly but seems to have no understanding on what suffering actually means. Because he never experienced it. His empathy is superficial and short sighted. The fact he is convinced he is doing everyone a favour in bewitching them, and does everything in his power to achieve his dream, makes him a truly terrifying villain. And that is something I like Miquella for. Is that really so hard to accept for people like you?

Sure, you can still live out the fantasy in your head that the mindcontrolling intermitted in Mohg to "grape" Miquella (even tho the game also never confirmed this????) if that pleases you, but for the love of God stop acting like it is a fact that Miquella was used by Mohg because he wasn't. I guess a lot of personal feelings from my side bubble up regarding this topic and I'm sorry of if I come off as passive aggressive but as a survivor of abuse as a minor by someone "popular", and nobody believed me, and Mohg being one of my comfort characters, that shit hits different. Just not a fan of turning victim-abuser dynamics upside down, sorry.

#text #ask #elden ring #miquella #mohg

103 notes · View notes

caligvlasaqvarivm · 4 months

Note

How do you analyze so good I'm really impressed and honestly wonder if I can learn from you

It's a skill, so the good news is, you can practice and get better at it!

Read A Lot/Gain Context

Analysis often means making comparisons or drawing from external context - one of the best things you can do if you want to be better at analysis is to try to cram your head with as much knowledge as possible. The time period, culture of origin, and where the author slots into those are usually major influences on a work (in Homestuck's case, much of it is a direct commentary on the internet culture it emerged from, and missing that part of it can drastically influence how the story reads).

Also important are the works the author themselves are inspired by. You've likely heard some variation of "nothing is original." We're actually really lucky with Homestuck in that regard, as the work is highly referential, and you can glean a lot by looking at what it references (for example, if you watch Serendipity, one of Karkat's favorite movies, which is titledropped during the troll romance explanation, you will understand Karkat so much better). This applies to things like mythological allusions - you'll hardly know why it matters that Karkat is a Christ figure if you don't know what the general outline of the Christ story is, nor will you pick up on the Rapture elements of Gamzee's religion or the fact that Doc Scratch is The Devil, etc. The key to picking up a lot of symbolism is being aware that the symbols exist.

And last, it helps to read a lot of media and media analysis so you can get a better understanding of how media "works" - how tropes are used, what effect language has, what other entries into the genre/works with similar themes/etc. have already done to explore the same things as the piece being analyzed is doing - and what other people have already gleaned and interpreted. I've mentioned before that many people seem to find Homestuck's storytelling bizarre and unique when it's actually quite standard for postmodernism, the genre it belongs to. But you're not going to know that if you've never read anything postmodern, y'know? I also often prepare for long character essays by reading other peoples' character essays - sometimes people pick up on things I miss, and sometimes people have interpretations I vehemently disagree with; both of these help me to refine my take on the matter.

Try to Discard Biases/Meet the Work Where It Is

Many will carry into reading media an expectation of what they want to get out of it. For example, one generally goes into a standard hetero romance book expecting a female lead, a male love interest, romance (of course), and a happy ending for the happy couple. If the book fails to deliver these things, a reader will often walk away thinking it was a bad book, even if the story told instead is objectively good and interesting. We actually see this a lot with Wuthering Heights, which receives very polarizing reviews because people go into it expecting a gothic romance, when it's really more like a gossip Youtube video spilling the tea on some shitty rich people (and it's really good at being that).

There's nothing necessarily wrong with this when reading for pleasure and personal enjoyment, but it presents a problem when attempting to analyze something. There's a concept called the "Procrustean bed," named after a mythological bandit who used to stretch people or cut off their limbs to fit them to a bed, that describes "an arbitrary standard to which exact conformity is forced." Going into a media reading with expectations and biases often results in a very Procrustean reading - I'm sure we've all seen posts complaining about how fanfic often forces canon characters to fit certain archetypes while discarding their actual character traits, etc.

Therefore, when reading for analysis, it's generally a good idea to try and discard as much bias and expectation as possible (obviously, we are never fully free of bias, but the effort counts) - or, perhaps even better, to compartmentalize those biases for comparison while reading. For example, Hussie talks at length about what they INTENDED Homestuck to be, and, while reading, I like to keep Hussie's words to the side while I try to experience the comic fresh, seeing what choices were made in accordance with Hussie's intentions, or where I think Hussie may have fumbled the messaging. At the same time, I try to let the work stand on its own, set in its proper context.

I'd say this is the number-one problem in fandom analysis. For example, people hear from the fandom that Eridan is an incel or a nice guy, so they interpret everything he says and does to fit that belief, or ignore any contradictory evidence. Or they fall for the character's façade that's meant to be dismantled by the viewer. Some works are fairly shallow and accessible, wearing all their meaning on their sleeve (or are Not That Deep, if you prefer meme-talk), and problems arise when a work is, in fact, That Deep, because someone biased towards the former will discard evidence that a work is the latter. This isn't exclusive to HS - it's happened in basically all of my fandoms - which is a statement to how easy it is to fall into this way of thinking.

Even without knowing that Hussie had coming-of-age themes in mind, for example, characters will talk about being kids and growing up. Knowing that Hussie has explicitly said that that's one of HS's themes serves as extra evidence for that interpretation, but the work itself tells you what it's about - if you're willing to listen to it.

Even If the Curtains are Just Blue, That Still Means Something

This is the next biggest fandom stumbling block - thr insinuation that when things in a work are put into the work without more explicit symbolism, that that means they're a discardable detail. This one is more about making a mindset shift - details aren't discardable, even if they don't appear to have been made with the explicit intention to mean something. Everything kind of means something.

First of all, whether or not the curtains are Just Blue is often highly dependent on the work. For example, in something made in large quantities with little time, staff, and budget - say, for example, one of the entries into the MCU's TV shows - there likely isn't too much meaning behind a choice of blue curtains in a shot (although you'd be surprised how often choices in these constrained environments are still very deliberately made). In a work like Homestuck, however, so terribly dense with symbolism and allegory, chances are, the blue curtains DO hold some special meaning, even if it's not readily apparent.

However, even in cases where a choice is made arbitrarily, it still usually ends up revealing something about the work's creative process. Going back to our MCU example, perhaps the blue curtains were chosen because the shot is cool-toned and they fit the color grading. Perhaps they were chosen because the director really likes blue. Perhaps the shot was filmed at an actual location and the blue curtains were already there. Or, even, perhaps the blue curtains were just what they had on hand, and the show was made too quickly and cheaply to bother sourcing something that would fit the tone or lend extra meaning. These all, to varying degrees, say something about the work - maybe not anything so significant that it would come up in an analysis, but they still contribute to a greater understanding of what the work is, what it's trying to say, and how successful it is at saying it.

And this applies to things with much higher stakes. For example, Hussie being a white US citizen likely had an effect on the B1 kids being mostly US citizens, and there was discourse surrounding how, even though they were ostensibly aracial, references were made to Dave's pale skin. Do I think these were deliberate choices made to push some sort of US superiority; no, obviously not. But they still end up revealing things about the creation of the work - that Hussie had certain biases as a result of being who they were.

Your Brain is Designed to Recognize Patterns, So Put That to Use

So with "establish context" and "discard expectations" out of the way, we can start getting into the nitty-gritty of what should be jumping out at you when attempting to understand a work. One of the most prominent things that you should be looking for is PATTERNS.

Writing is a highly conscious effort, which draws from highly unconscious places. Naturally, whether these patterns are intentional or unintentional is dependent on the author (see again why reading up on a work's context is so important), but you can generally bet that anything that IS a pattern is something that holds significance.

For example, Karkat consistently shows that he's very distraught when any of his friends get hurt, that he misses his friends, even the murderous assholes, that he's willing to sit them down and intervene on their behalf, despite all his grandstanding to the contrary. We are supposed to notice that Karkat actually loves his friends, and that he's lying when he says he doesn't care about them.

Homestuck is very carefully and deliberately crafted; if something comes up more than once, it's a safe bet to assume that you're supposed to notice, or at least feel, it. Don't take my word for it:

Basically, [reusing elements is] about building an extremely dense interior vocabulary to tell a story with, and continue to build and expand that vocabulary by revisiting its components often, combining them, extending them and so on. A vocabulary can be (and usually is) simple, consisting of single words, but in this case it extends to entire sentences and paragraph structures and visual forms and even entire scenes like the one linked above. Sometimes the purpose for reiteration is clear, and sometimes there really is no purpose other than to hit a familiar note, and for me that's all that needs to happen for it to be worthwhile. Triggering recognition is a powerful tool for a storyteller to use. Recognition is a powerful experience for a reader. It promotes alertness, at the very least. And in a lot of cases here, I think it promotes levity (humor! this is mostly a work of comedy, remember.) Controlling a reader's recognition faculty is one way to manipulate the reader's reactions as desired to advance the creative agenda.

But this applies to less deliberately-crafted work, too; for example, if an author consistently writes women as shallow, cruel, and manipulative, then we can glean that the author probably has some sort of issue with women. Villains often being queer-coded suggests that the culture they come from has problems with the gays. Etc. etc.

This is how I reached my conclusion that Pale EriKar is heavily foreshadowed - the two are CONSTANTLY kind to each other, sharing secrets, providing emotional support, etc. etc. It's why that part of my Eridan essay is structured the way that it is - by showing you first how consistently the two interact in suspiciously pale-coded ways, the fact that a crab is shown in both Eridan's first appearance AND his appearance on the moirallegiance "hatched for each other" page becomes the cincher of a PATTERN of the two being set up to shoosh-pap each other.

A work will tell you about itself if you listen. If it tells you something over and over, then it's basically begging you to pay attention.

Contrast is Important, Too

Patterns are also significant when they're broken. For example, say a villain is constantly beating up the protagonist. Here's our pattern: the hero is physically weaker than the villain. In a straight fight, the hero will always lose.

And then, at the mid-season two-parter, the hero WINS. Since we've set up this long pattern of the hero always losing to this villain, the fact that this pattern was disrupted means that this moment is extremely important for the work. Let's say the hero wins using guile - in this case, we walk away with the message that the work is saying that insurmountable obstacles may have workarounds, and adaptability and flexibility are good, heroic traits. Now let's say the hero won using physical strength, after a whole season of training and practicing - in this case, we say that the work says hard work and effort are heroic, and will pay off in the end.

In Homestuck, as an example, we set up a long pattern of Vriska being an awful, manipulative bitch, and a fairly remorseless killer. And then, after killing Tavros, she talks to John and admits that she's freaking out because she feels really bad about it. This vulnerability is hinted at by some of her earlier actions/dialogue, which is itself a pattern to notice, but it's not really explicit until it's set up to be in direct contrast to the ultimate spider8itch move of killing Tavros. This contrast is intended to draw our attention, to point out something significant - hey, Vriska feels bad! She's a product of her terrible society and awful lusus! While it's shitty that she killed Tavros, she's also meant to be tragic and sympathetic herself!

Hussie even talks about how patterns and surprises are used in tandem:

Prior to Eridan's entrance into the room, and even during, the deaths were completely unguessable. After Feferi's death, Kanaya's becomes considerably more so, but still quite uncertain. After her death, all bets are off. Not only do all deaths thereafter become guessable, but in some cases, "predictable". That's because it was the line between a series of shocking events, and the establishment of an actual story pattern. The new pattern serves a purpose, as a sort of announcement that the story is shifting gears, that we're drifting into these mock-survival horror, mock-crime drama segments, driven by suspense more than usual. The suspense has more authority because of all the collateral of unpredictability built up over time, as well as all the typical stuff that helps like long term characterization. But now that the pattern is out in the open, following through with more deaths no longer qualifies as unpredictability. Just the opposite, it would now be playing into expectations, which as I said, can be important too. This gear we've switched to is the new normal, and any unpredictability to arise thereafter will necessarily be a departure from whatever current patterns would indicate.

Patterns are important because they tell you what baselines the work is setting - what's normal, what's standard, what this or that generally "means." Contrast is important because it means something has changed, or some significant point is being made. They work in tandem to provide the reader with points of focus in the story, things to keep in mind as they read, consciously or unconsciously.

Theme

I'm talking about this stuff in pretty broad and open terms because stories are so malleable, and so myriad, and can say so many things. There are stories where horrible cruelties are painted as good things - propoganda is the big one, but consider all the discourse around romance books that paint abusive/toxic relationships as ideal. There are stories where the protagonist is actually the villain, and their actions are not aspirational, and works where everyone sucks and nobody is aspirational, and works where everybody is essentially a good person, if sometimes misguided.

This is, again, why outside context is so important, and biases need to be left at the door. For example, generally speaking, one can assume that the protagonist of a children's cartoon is going to be an aspirational hero, or at least a conflicted character who must learn to do the right thing. However, there are even exceptions to this! Invader Zim, for example, features an outright villain protagonist - a proud servant of a fascist empire - and for a lower-stakes example, the Eds of Ed, Edd, n' Eddy are the neighborhood scammers, constantly causing problems for the other characters with their schemes.

Thus, how do we determine what any particular narrative's stance on a given topic is? It's a difficult question to answer because every narrative is different. If I say something like, "the things that bring the protagonists success in their goals are what the narrative says are good," then we run into the issue of villain/gray morality protagonists. To use moral terms like "hero" and "villain" instead runs into the problem of defining morality within a narrative in the first place. But you have to draw the line somewhere.

So that brings us to themes.

Now, as with a lot of artistic terms, "theme" isn't necessarily well-defined (this isn't helped by the way the word is used colloquially to mean things like aesthetic, moral of the story, or symbolism). Wikipedia says: "In contemporary literary studies, a theme is a central topic, subject, or message within a narrative," but this is still very broad and hard to work with, so I'll give it a shot.

A theme is what a work says, beyond the literal series of events. Sometimes a theme is obvious - the theme of Boy Who Cried Wolf is that if you become famous for lying, you won't be believed when you tell the truth. Sometimes a theme is one of many - for example, Disney's Cinderalla says that kindness and virtue will eventually be recognized and rewarded, and that cruelty is interlinked with ugliness. Sometimes a theme is unintentional - for example, how Disney's body of work tends to villainize queer-coded characters. Sometimes context and the passage of time changes the theme - for example, Snow White originally held a message of hope for wartime families that domestic normalcy would one day return, but is now seen as anti-feminist as it appears to insinuate that a woman's place is in the kitchen, and her happiness is in marriage to a man. And sometimes a theme is not something you agree with.

In any case, a theme is a meaning to be gleaned from the text, more broad and universally applicable than the text itself. After all, we humans have traditionally always used story to impart meaning; our oldest epic, The Epic of Gilgamesh, contains within it several themes, most famously that of accepting one's mortality. It's startling, really, how applicable the story is to this day, even if specific details have become obtuse or unsavory to a modern reader.

This is, again, why it's so important to engage with a text on its own terms, in its own context, with as little bias as possible. A story's themes are not necessarily apparent, and commonly implied rather than stated outright, and approaching the story with expectations can easily lead to a Procrustean twisting of the facts to fit those expectations. A theme should emerge to the analyzer out of the reading, not the other way around.

Identifying theme gets easier with practice, and largely comes down to identifying patterns within the narrative (alongside looking at context and symbolism, of course). What does the narrative consistently touch base on? Are there any references; is there any symbolism? What does the story deem "normal," "good," or "bad"? How are ideas developed, and why? Why did these events happen, and are those motivations echoed anywhere else?

Homestuck is very complex and tackles many topics at once, and explaining why it's a coming-of-age would basically require a whole second essay, so I'll use a simpler and more popular example (like I've been trying to do) - let's say, Shrek.

The most obvious theme of Shrek is that beauty does not equate goodness, that one mustn't judge a book by its cover. The opening sequence is LITERALLY Shrek ripping out pages of a fairy tale book to use as toilet paper, and the movie ends with Fiona finding that her happiest, truest self IS as an ugly ogre. Shrek's main character conflict is that people immediately judge him as cruel and evil because he's ugly, and the characters' lowest points occur because Fiona is similarly insecure about her ogre half, considering it unlovable.

But there's other stuff in there, too. For example, if you know that Dreamworks and Shrek were founded after a falling out with Disney, then the beautiful, sanitized city of Dulac, with its switchback queue and singing animatronics add to this theme of a direct refutation of traditional Disney fairytale values, mocking them as manufactured, inhuman, and even cruel in the way that they marginalize those who don't fit an ideal of beauty. Again we see the opening sequence - defacing a fairytale - as support for this, but also the way that Dulac is displacing fairytale creatures. There's a moment where Gepetto literally sells Pinocchio, which can easily be read as a commentary on the crass commercialization and exploitation of fairy tales Disney likes to do.

And then, of course, there are lesser, supplementary themes. Love being a powerful positive force is one - Donkey is able to rally Shrek after he truly reciprocates Dragon's love for him (which echoes the theme of not equating goodness with beauty, as Dragon is still big and scary), and it's true love's kiss that grants Fiona her happy ending.

And then there's stuff that's unintentional. There's all this work done about how beauty =/= goodness, but then they made the villain incredibly short, which is a traditionally unattractive physical feature. So, does that mean that ugly things can be beautiful unless that ugliness is specifically height?

Sometimes, authorial intent does not match up with result - but in those instances, I think the most is revealed about the author. Modern Disney products tend to be very cowardly about going anti-corporation and pro-weirdness, despite their usual feel-good tones and uplifting themes - and that says a lot about Disney, doesn't it. That's why I think it's still important to keep authorial intent in mind, if possible, even if they fumble what they say they've set out to do.

Obviously, Lord Fuckwad being short doesn't REALLY detract from the overall message - but it's still a weird hitch in the themes, which I think is interesting to talk about, so you can see where personal judgement and biases DO have to be applied. There are two options here, more or less - either one believes that Shrek is making an exception for short people, who are of the Devil, or one believes that the filmmakers did a bit of an oopsie. Barring an outright statement from the filmmakers, there's no way to know for sure.

We can say a work has very complex themes when it intentionally explores multiple ideas very deeply. We can say a work has shallow themes when it doesn't have much intentional meaning, and/or that meaning is explored very lightly. The labyrinthine storytelling of Homestuck, with its forays into mortality, morality, and growing up, chock full of symbolism and pastiche and allusions, is a work with complex themes - especially as compared to the average newspaper comic strip, although they ostensibly share a genre.

We can say a work has very unified themes when these themes serve to compliment each other - the refutation of Disney-esque values, and love as a positive driving force, compliment the main theme in Shrek of not judging books by their covers, of beauty not equating to goodness. Ugly things are worthy of love, and those who push standards of beauty are evil and suck.

Similarly, we can say a work has unfocused or messy themes when the themes it includes - intentionally or not - contradict, distract, and/or detract from each other. Beauty has no correlation to goodness... unless you're short, in which case, you are closer to Hell and therefore of evil blood. To get a little controversial, this is actually why I didn't like Last Wish very much - there are approximately three separate storylines, with three separate thematic arcs, going on in the same movie, none of which particularly compliment each other - so the experience was very messy to me, story-wise, even though it was pretty and the wolf was hot. This is why we feel weird about Disney pushing anti-corporate messages, when they're a big corporate machine, or why it's easy to assume Homestuck was written poorly if you don't like Hussie - we want themes to be coherent, we want context to be unified with output.

Tone

Tone is somehow even harder to define than theme. It's like, the "vibe" of a work. For example, you generally don't expect something lighthearted to deal with the realistic, brutal tragedies of war. Maybe it'll touch on them in light, optimistic ways, but it isn't about to go All Quiet on the Western Front on the reader. By the same token, you don't expect fully happy endings out of the melodrama of opera, or frivolous slice of life from something grimdark.

Tone, too, is something people often wind up Procrusteanizing, which makes discussion difficult if two people disagree. If I read Homestuck as unwaveringly optimistic, with its downer ending the result of an author fumble, I'm pretty much going to irreconcileably disagree with somebody who reads Homestuck as though it's always been a kind of tragedy where things don't work out for the characters. Since it's even more difficult to define than theme, I'm not even really going to bother; I just felt like I had to bring it up because, despite its nebulosity, it's vital to how one reads and interprets a text. Sometimes I don't have a better answer for why I dislike a certain interpretation other than that it doesn't suit the work's tone. I generally try to avoid saying that, though, because it winds up smacking of subjective preference.

In summary... analysis is about keeping everything in mind all the time! But i swear, it gets easier the more you do it. Happy reading!

#homestuck #literary analysis #critical thinking

111 notes · View notes

dunmeshistash · 2 months

Note

I can’t find it now, but you had a post about Kabru being high-masking, and you said you didn’t think he was, which is completely fair! I had a different opinion as someone who is high-masking AuDHD and wanted to share (but of course now I can’t find the post 9_9)

Personally, I read Kabru as being high masking autistic, with one critical difference between us: he’s an extrovert. I’m actually more like Milsiril than Kabru - I collect/make dolls, I’d rather be at home than anywhere else, I’ve been called creepy and weird and gloomy for all of those things, but I also learned how to mask relatively early on, so most people don’t ever get to see that side of me. For me it’s a lot of work and energy- most of the time. If I’m around people I like, it’s less so, but people in general take a lot of my energy. Kabru, on the other hand, is very extroverted. He gets a lot of energy from interacting with people, and for the most part his personality and interests are acceptable to the society he lives in. BUT his interest in dissecting people’s motivations and how they communicate and interact and how to move them in the direction he wants them to go, that’s considered overly intense and creepy even by his party. Kabru keeps a lot of his thoughts and honest reactions internal because he’s aware of how people interact and what is or isn’t acceptable. I do the same thing, and I engage in a fair bit of “manipulation” (neutral) as part of my masking - I know that asking people for advice, showing interest in their lives, complaining together about things, etc, will cause them to view me more favorably and I use that to keep myself “safe”, along with basically never talking about my interests. I’m friendly and open and helpful and I almost never fight back against anything, so people “like” me. It’s not all *fake*, but it’s not the whole truth either. I’d rather not engage in conversation at all, because I can’t talk honestly about my interests without being considered creepy- but if Kabru’s special interest is people and how they interact, to some degree he can talk about his interests without it seeming weird.

Anyways, that’s my perspective :D also thank you for being a Milsiril defender, it’s… really painful to see people calling her manipulative and superior. I know a lot of it is bc ppl DO NOT understand anyone who likes dolls as an adult but like….. liking dolls has less than nothing to do with “needing to feel superior” or in control -_-

Hello!! I collect dolls too!!! Proud to be nº1 Milsiril defender.

That's an interesting perspective! As far as I understand (I'm autistic too so I don't have personal experience to how allistic people work) everyone does some amount of masking, as in everyone has a version of themselves they use to interact with others and that "mask" usually falls when you're with people who know and understand you better

As I understand that type of mask is expected in society? Like you wont act at work the same way you do with your college friends (usually). But as some tumblr post said "we are the mask and the wearer" as in those masks are still a part of who they are.

That's why I said I didn't think Kabru was high masking, I hadn't heard that term before so I was confused

Maybe I don't fully get it but keeping some parts of yourself inside and not expressing it to people who wont understand is common among allistic and autistic people but masking is this but in a way more stressful way? Since you aren't just hiding facets of who you are you're making an active effort to hide the whole thing basically.

Kabru's mask seems to come easily to him and it doesn't seem like he makes an conscious effort to go against his nature to hide who he is that's why I said he probably doesn't do high masking in that sense. But in another sense he IS highly adaptable to the people around him and studies how people act so I understand that perspective! It's more of a personal interpretation tbh.

#ask #dunmeshi thoughts

67 notes · View notes

mariaace · 5 months

Note

Heyy it's me!! How r u?? Can I request a Rindou fic?? rindou introducing the reader to the tenjiku members? but the reader doesn't want it since she is shy and introverted?? thank you!!!

-anon🌷

A/n: Heyy 🌷nonniee!! I'm good hbu?? Again my boy Rindou <33

Warnings:Ran has a gf? Lmao i added that Genre:fluff Type:one-shot

Anime:Tokyo Revengers Pairing:Rindou

"Are you sure about this? I don't really think I'll fit there." You kept asking Rindou that, who is standing in front of you trying to convince you to meet the Tenjiku boys.

"You've already met Ran. The others are not nearly half as bad." "You're saying that, because he is your brother" "No I'm not! Plus it won't be that bad i promise! I'll be there too"

After i little (a lot) of convincing you finally agreed. When Rindou was going to the next meeting of the gang you came along with him. And when you stepped in? Oh boy.

Everyone looked at you confidence for a second, then smiled. "Ahh here you are!! Rindou told me you're coming. You can sit with my girlfriend while we finish meeting?" You heard Ran saying and turned to him.

The other guys greeted you and introduced themselves. You recognised most of them, because of what your boyfriend have been telling you about them. Yeah, some looked scary, but don't all of them actually do?

Well time for the meeting. You quickly sat beside Ran's girlfriend and you two started a talk pretty easily. The meeting wasn't long, or at least it didn't felt like it. You talked to Kokonoi and Kakucho mostly after it and it felt okay. Not anxiety or being to shy to answer them. It felt normal. You couldn't tell if it was because Rindou was there with you ot there were just nice, but it was like this.

While you were leaving Rindou asked you. "So, how was it?" He raised an eyebrow. You smiled "Honestly, couldn't have been better." "Planning to come to the next meeting then?" He jokes (or maybe not) "That, I'll see about"

Reblogs are highly appreciated!

#mariaace 🪼#x reader #tokyo revengers rindou #tokyo rev x you #tokyo rev fluff #tokyo rev x reader #tokyo revengers fluff #tokyo revengers #tokyo revengers x reader #rindou haitani x reader #rindou haitani #haitani rindou #rindou x reader #tr rindou #haitani rindou x reader #rindou x you #tokrev rindou #rindou fluff

94 notes · View notes

alicent-vi-britannia · 7 months

Text

What was C.C.'s wish? And what kind of relationship does C.C. with Lelouch?

Today I'm going to get into swampy water because for the first time on this page I'm going to address CC's wish and I'm going to take her relationship with Lelouch very seriously. Lelouch and C.C.'s relationship is one of the most misunderstood in the series. Honestly, I think very few fans understand all the relationships in Code Geass. What sets Lelouch and CC apart is that their relationship is highly idealized for the wrong reasons. In other words, fans love the idea they have of Lelouch and CC's relationship, rather than what it is. This time I'm not going to talk about the headcanons of the shippers, I'm going to talk about the canon and in order not to go on too long, I'll limit myself to talking about the core of the relationship and to do so, I have to explain what C.C.'s wish is.

So what was C.C.'s true wish? She longed for love in its purest form. An unconditional love because deep down she wanted to be recognized as human and that is the cornerstone on which the relationship between Lelouch and C.C. is built. C.C.'s past shows us that she was dehumanized at an early age: by her condition as a slave that defined her as an inferior being before her masters, by the people on whom she used her Geass who reduced her to an object of desire, by the nun who used her as a tool for her own purposes and for the code that turned her into the Immortal Witch we know. This human degradation in combination with deep emotional deficiencies from childhood and the traumatic experiences we saw in episode 15 of R1 led to the development of low self-esteem and the appearance of suicidal tendencies.

C.C.'s death wish, in fact, is a manifestation that C.C. has no self-love. I have read some opinions that suggest that C.C. is self-deprecating, but I disagreed with them because C.C. didn't love herself long before she met the nun and beyond feeling guilty for giving Geass to Lelouch and the children of the Geass Cult, she never reproaches herself nor do we see her devalue herself as they have made other characters with themselves (Suzaku, Nina, Euphemia…). So I don't think she had an opinion of herself until she assumed her condition as selfish Immortal Witch (which is a stage in her life when she had morality removed from her). And you can't hate yourself if you didn't love yourself at some point.

It isn't so simple to see that C.C. has low self-esteem since her arc has a philosophical approach and in that sense it differs from Rolo's arc, which also starts from the theme of "love" and the thesis that "love humanizes you"; but the message reaches us much more directly because it doesn't have a sieve. C.C. justifies her suicidal plan by appealing to passive nihilism. "Life is absurd and has no meaning because there is no love, there is pain and if life has no end it means that the pain is eternal." Faced with this terrible conclusion, C.C. thinks it is better to take her own life. But death doesn't represent a solution. In reality, just as it is for Suzaku, death is an escape from the suffering that C.C. feels and, at the same time, it is a way of becoming aware of her humanity by recognizing the existence of death; because, as Martin's character said in the anime Monster, "nobody really wants to die."

This is one reason why C.C. refused to give her code to Charles at the last minute and didn't force Mao and Lelouch to take her code, preferring to abandon them. The other reason is that C.C. isn't so petty as to condemn them against their will to an immortal life since she felt affection for them and in turn, Lelouch and Mao wouldn't be able to take the code, knowing that C.C. wanted to end her life. The problem is that C.C. doesn't know what she wants and she has no idea what love is. She had no parents or friends. She only knew conceptually what love is, but Geass offered her a distorted vision of her wish and, as she herself said, she forgot what it is (and that's why it's ridiculous when CluClu fanboys deny C.C.'s words about her feelings for Lelouch, when she tells Kallen that she doesn't know if she loves him in episode 24 of R2, and insist on emphatically stating that C.C. was in love with Lelouch). Furthermore, she was so immersed in her own suffering that she couldn't realize that she already had what she always wanted.

Ironically, C.C. decided to cut connections for fear of suffering again and being despised. People tend to project themselves onto others and those who suffer from low self-esteem think that no one can love them because if they themselves can't do it, neither can others. Hence she distances herself emotionally from her contractors, how? Through contracts (it is C.C.'s favorite barrier). By defining her relationships strictly in contractual terms, she already creates a distance. In psychology, there is a term for it and it is "attachment." Broadly speaking, the relationship that an individual and his or her caregivers had in childhood will determine their relationships in adulthood. Clearly C.C. manifests an avoidant attachment. "Avoidant attachment is characterized by the tendency to avoid emotional intimacy and dependency in a relationship. People with this type of attachment tend to maintain emotional distance and may be reluctant to express their feelings. This may be due to past experiences of rejection , abandonment or emotional wounds that have led to the creation of an emotional shell as a protection mechanism."

Initially, Lelouch also dehumanized C.C. considering her an Immortal Witch. Like Clovis and Code R, he intended to study her is not until after he hears C.C. call her own name in her dreams in the cave in Narita that he begins to treat her like a human. That moment in the cave is important for both of them. On Lelouch's side, because C.C. enter the circle of his loved ones. And, on C.C.'s side, because Lelouch thus became the first person to treat her as a human. So the first emotional bonds are forged that become stronger as time goes by and thus we arrive at the favorite episode of CluClu fans: "C's World", from the second season.

Episode 15 of R2 is a sample that Lelouch really is a good person: even though he just discovered that C.C. used him to transfer a curse to him and that she was dishonest with him about her relationship with his father, Lelouch shows compassion and empathy for C.C. because he wants his loved ones to be happy (and he has seen C.C.'s unfortunate past recently). Therefore, he asks C.C. that she dies with a smile, which, at the same time, is a tight synthesis of Agathonism, which is the philosophy that refutes passive nihilism and whose maximum postulate is "enjoy life and help live a pleasant life." This noble request constitutes a turning point in the relationship between them since in this way the contract between partners of Lelouch and C.C. becomes a promise between two humans (words from the official Code Geass guide, not mine). Why? Because in that moment when Lelouch promises to make her smile, C.C. see his love. The Greeks divided love into several types and one of them is agape. Agape is the highest form of love and charity and essentially refers to unconditional love (in fact, Christians later adopted the term to precisely describe the love that God feels toward humanity). This is the love that Lelouch professes for C.C.

The following episodes only emphasize what it already demonstrated before. Even when C.C. lost her memory, even when her association with his enemy and her participation in the Ragnarök Connection came to light, even when she withheld pertinent information from him, even when she gave him the Geass that would change his life forever, even when Lelouch had to sacrifice himself to atone for his sins and bring peace to the world, Lelouch never held a grudge against C.C. On the contrary, he always treated her with kindness and offered her empathy and gratitude. In the end, Lelouch managed to save C.C. of her self-destruction by accepting her and recognizing her as his equal. This is what restores C.C.'s will to live and gives her the motivation she needs to find love and acceptance for herself.

In addition to the fact that Zero Requiem gives a new perspective to C.C. since not only does she witness Lelouch's love for humanity, she also sees Lelouch's persistence despite difficulties. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is being human. She understands then what it is to be human and what life means. It's about survival. And, similarly, C.C. understand what love is. It's about sacrifice. Thanks to Zero Requiem and Lelouch, C.C. finds meaning in life and is more than ready to embrace it and love. Thus Lelouch honored his promise to C.C. and it only remains for her to live and be happy as he desired.

Indeed, Larry. C.C. has a love story, not with Lelouch, but with herself and interpreting Lelouch and C.C.'s relationship. as a romantic relationship would strip away the powerful character of C.C.'s arc. and it would take away from the uniqueness of her relationship with Lelouch (which I confess I didn't find at all special at first, compared to Lelouch's other relationships that featured much more complex, nuanced, rich, and interesting dynamics and developments). Besides that's the point of their relationship. When C.C. tells Lelouch in episode 24 of R2 that he is not like any man she has ever known, she meant that she had met contractors and people who had hated and loved her, in what sense? Exactly like Mao. That's why the official Code Geass guide explicitly notes that Lelouch never saw her as his lover or mother. Therefore, if he had expressed romantic love or erotic love or filial love (storge is the Greek term), Lelouch wouldn't be different from Mao. He loved her in a way no one else had. And that is agape love. The one who only pursues the well-being of the other, putting it before his own, without expecting anything in return, even if that love isn't reciprocated, which has nothing to do with romantic love or sexual desire. In agape love there is no jealousy, envy, distrust, betrayal or anger towards the other for their failures or actions, because, simply, you love the person, accepting them as they are. That's the relationship Lelouch and C.C. have.

PS: enough of believing that self-esteem problems are solved thanks to romantic love, Julia. That only happens in novels of dubious quality.

#code geass #code geass: lelouch of the rebellion #lelouch lamperouge #lelouch vi britannia #lelouch #c.c. (code geass)#cluclu #lelouch x c.c.

72 notes · View notes