#and now he LIVES HERE because he IMMIGRATED to MARRY HER

[blujayonthewing]

thinking about how my mom met her now-husband who was visiting from england because we decided to go to an exhibition at the local art center on a whim (we have never done this before or since) where his dad was one of the artists in the show displaying paintings of airplanes (does not particularly interest either of us)

[vivwritesfics]

POV: Oscar saves reader

An NNTA AU

Just before she is due to marry Carlos, Oscar takes her away

For this, i'm pretending all the US immigration stuff doesn't exist, like, I know its seriously difficult to get a visa to live and work in the US, but i've ignored that here

Series Masterlist

It was the night before the wedding and Y/N was crying into her pillow

You know how the story goes, what happens when she marries Carlos

And, in a way, she knew it too

She knew what was going to happen to her, the impending tragedy she could feel coming

No amount of consoling from Oscar had any effect

In our original story, Oscar disappears to get some beers and let her have one last fun night

But, in this story, Oscar didn't do that

While she had been sleeping, Oscar was wide awake, putting things in place to get her away from Carlos's house

The hardest part had been getting a car and stashing it outside of the gates

If it was still there when they went to escape, he would have been incredibly surprised

"Pack your bags," said Oscar as he gently pulled her away from the pillow and wiped the tears from beneath her eyes

"Osc," she began, but he threw a bag onto the bed and pulled an already packed one from beneath it

Wordlessly, she got on with it, packing her things into the bag

The bag was tiny, not nearly big enough to pack all of her things

But she did what she could

"What're we doing?"

Oscar took her hand and kissed the back of it

He pulled open her bedroom door, keeping his hand on his gun as she looked up and down the corridor

When he saw nothing, he walked out, Y/N trailing behind him

He went to the stairs, kept his gun pointed down as he looked for any of Carlos's men

They had a clear run to the stairs

Oscar kept a tight hold of Y/N as they ran towards the front door

Outside would be a different story - there would be cameras everywhere and probably some men too

"When we're out there, run like hell," he said and waited for Y/N to nod before he opened the door

They did just like that, ran like hell

The gates weren't the most sophisticated and Oscar easily got them open

He took Y/N's hand and pulled her towards the car that was still stashed away

Within seconds they were driving towards the airport, and nobody even knew they had left

"Where are we going, Osc?" Y/N asked as she leaned her head against the window

Finally, he answered her, "The Sargeants have offered us a place to stay in the United States," he said as they drove on the highway

The flight from Spain to the US was long and Y/N slept through most of it

Oscar didn't, though

He kept his arms wrapped around her, alert and protective

When they touched down in Florida, Logan and two other men in suits were there to greet them

"I'm putting my ass on the line for you, mate," (because I love the way logan says mate) he said as he pulled Oscar in close

Oscar looked at the girl behind him

"She's worth it," he said

The Sargeants had multiple safehouses

That was where Oscar and Y/N found themselves, in one of the Sargeant's safehouses

It was their perfect little haven

It was hard for Y/N not to fall in love with Oscar

If she wasn't already in love with him when she lived in Carlos's house, she certainly was now

The safehouse had one bed (because I love that trope)

At first Oscar refused to sleep in the same bed as her

He took a couple of pillows and slept on the floor

But then Y/N insisted that he sleep in the bed with her

They fell into a domestic sort of bliss, and that was how they got together

They didn't think about it the first time they kissed, laying in the bed they now shared

It had become normal for Oscar to hold her close while they slept, still protective

For a full year, their life was normal

Y/N wanted to get a job, she wanted that sort of normality, so she did

She went by her middle name, calling herself Piastri instead of Norris

That made Oscar wear his polite cat smile

Oscar got a job too, working for the Sargeant family

It was really nice, working with his best friend

They went karting together, taking Oscar back to the days before he began working for Webber, when his Formula One dreams were close to being a reality

After a year of peace, Lando found them

It had been a solo mission, something he hadn't told anybody about

His men didn't know, the man that should have been his brother in law didn't know

Lando made the trip to Florida alone, letting Sargeant know that he was on his way

The Sargeants pulled Y/N and Oscar in

Oscar was immediately protective when Lando walked into the room, but the Brit held his hands up defensively

"Relax, nobody knows I'm here," he said, looking at his sister (who had been pushed behind Oscar)

"I'm proud of you," he said, "both of you"

"Both of us?" Asked Oscar, unable to stop the face he was pulling

Lando nodded his head

"You got my little sister away from a marriage that i never wanted to happen"

Y/N stepped forward. "Why are you here, Lando?"

Truth was that Lando wasn't going to come, not until he found out that she was going by Piastri

That gave a certain idea (that they were together) and Lando couldn't not check it out

He was right, it seemed

The way Oscar was protectively in front of her told Lando everything he needed to know

The way Y/N was holding the back of Oscars white button up shirt told him

"I'm here giving my blessing"

"I don't need it," Y/N replied quickly

"I don't care, you've got it"

Taglist (CLOSED): @biancathecool @multi-universe21 @formulas-bitch @gills-lounge @weasleyswizarding-wheezes @carlossainzwho @f1lov3r @samaib11 @charli123456789 @queenofmanydreams @ironmaiden1313 @vellicora @glitterf1 @80sloverry @lightdragonrayne @moonayu @bellsalabanccini @topguncultleader @handsupforamiracle @cmleitora @jenniferrvsesi @barcelonaloverf1life @sbella13 @nicolettecallednikki @darleneslane @thehufflepuffavenger1 @champagneproblems17 @aespie @yukheizcigarettes @rewmuslupin @hollie911 @ashy-kit @ririgy @stqrgir1 @zaynzierulez @minkyungseokie @rafaaoli @carolinesainz @ashies-ln4op81aa22 @measimp @mizelophsun11 @eviethetheatrefreak @andydrysdalerogers @chonkybonky @shobaes @celesteblack08 @watermelonworries @gracielukey @cassie0sstuff @goldenharrysworld @venusesworld @sparklyperfectionstranger @evans-dejong @graciewrote @formulaal

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

I’m confused. Why would he get deported? He’s married to (presumably) a US citizen already. Not sure if I missed something?

Well, the simplest explanation is that everyone who immigrates/emigrates to the US has to fill out paperwork to stay here. Doesn't matter who you are, who your family is, who you're married to, where you're from, what money you have. Everyone fills out the paperwork.

Being married to a US citizen only affects the type of visa (Spouse of US Citizen) you get and which application (Form I-130, the Petition for Alien Relative) your sponsor fills out to start the process.

The longer/more detailed explanation of the process, and the background for the lawsuit about Harry's visa application, is this:

(Apologies for how small the text is. I didn't want it to be a multi-page thing.) I'll describe it below the jump.

But essentially, Harry's process to become a legal permanent resident through his marriage to a US citizen is:

Sponsor/Meghan submits Form I-130 to the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), requesting approval to bring her spouse to live with her in the US.

USCIS reviews the form and will approve (left green circle) or deny (left red circle) the application. If they deny it, that ends the process. They can try again later. If they approve it, then:

Sponsor/Meghan pays a bunch of fees and a visa case is opened.

(The big giant square text) More paperwork and documents are submitted. Meghan and Harry do this together. (I'll explain this in a bit.)

The Spouse/Harry has his immigration interview.

USCIS will review the visa case file and make a decision on whether to approve or deny the visa request. If they deny the visa, then depending on the justification for denial, the Spouse/Harry may request a waiver or he can submit additional documentation for further consideration. If the visa is approved, then the Spouse/Harry is given approval to travel to the US and once he's here, he gets permanent residency - aka "the green card."

Now, getting back to the giant text block and the "more paperwork" requirement. In this phase of the process for a spousal visa, the couple must provide:

An affadavit of support from the Sponsor/Meghan (this basically says that she has enough income to support Harry and they won't need government assistance)

Supporting financial documents (probably tax declarations)

Harry's passport

Additional photographs of Harry

Form DS-260, the Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration Application from Harry (this is Harry's application for residency)

Harry's birth certificate

Their marriage certificate

Harry's military records (the US requires anyone with military service in any country to submit)

Harry's police certificate (information about whether he has been arrested or charged with crimes/what kinds)

Harry's Medical Examination form (which sometimes is done after the interview)

Form DS-260 is the big one. It basically asks the immigrant (Harry, in this case) about everything in his life: his childhood, his work history, his social media accounts, where he's lived, his family of origin, his children, previous travel to the US, medical and health details (including history of substance abuse. communicable diseases, and vaccination record), criminal history, security and background details, and social security.

If you're found to have lied about anything on this form - for instance, something pops on the background check that isn't disclosed or your answers in the interview are inconsistent with what's reported on the form or your social media tells a totally different story - it's grounds for your application to be denied and, if you're already here in the US, you to be deported.

This is what the DHS/Homeland Security lawsuit is about. The DS-260 has a question about drug use. The Heritage Foundation (the plaintiff in the case) is suing DHS to find out what Harry reported about his drug use on the form and in his medical history because historically, the US does not allow people with drug addictions or past drug use into the country. After Harry's admissions in Spare that he's basically a functioning addict, the Heritage Foundation assumed that Harry said "no" on the drug use question (which would be a lie) and they want to find out if he was given special treatment because of being Queen Elizabeth's grandson. (I also suspect the Heritage Foundation wants to find out if Harry has a regular passport or is traveling/living in the US on a diplomatic passport as well.)

So going back to your original question, yes, Harry can still be deported even if he is the spouse of a US citizen and even if he is a permanent resident. All the marriage to a US citizen means is what forms get filled out and what supporting documentation is submitted. That's all; there aren't any other protections involved in being married to a US citizen.

But there is a benefit to immigrating via a "green card marriage" - if you come to the US on any other kind of visa, the requirements are much stricter and the waiting period for eligibility can sometimes take much longer. Particularly on the latter, the US actually has requirements on how many people per country can immigrate/travel in a given a year, even if you're sponsored by a business or a friend or a family member (eg a brother or uncle). So some people end up waiting years to move to the US; that's just the demand on the system. But with a "green card marriage," you get to jump most of the queues and your waiting period for eligibility disappears in an instant. You can literally begin your application to move to the US the day you get engaged to a US citizen or the day you get married.

But you still have to go through all the hoops and fill out all the paperwork anyway. No way around that. No matter who your grandmother is.

Now for the part that makes all of this even more complicated: COVID.

A lot of rules government-wide were relaxed because of the COVID national emergency. One of the areas in which a lot of rules, standards, and regulations were relaxed is immigration, which caused an enormous backlog of paperwork and cases. Why? Because we're the goverment, y'all, and we move at slower-than-glacial-pace. In March 2020, we still processed a million things by hand on actual physical paper. (Remember, I'm a fed. I've got horror stories for days about this.) So part of the issue with everyone going home is that the paperwork didn't come home with us. It just kept stacking up and stacking up and stacking up in the office because we were still using paper systems and there hadn't been enough time to automate processes or digitize systems when we were ordered to work from home on March 16th. (Particularly in the DC area, talks/plans to send us all home started literally the week before, on March 9th. That was zero time to do anything but scale up the VPN and give everyone a laptop so whole entire agencies can work from home - because remember, before March 2020, it wasn't a thing for us in government to work from home.) So in June/July 2020 when the local stay-at-home orders were finally lifted, we all went back to the office to huge backlogs of paperwork and casework. Backlogs that were still growing by the day, and backlogs that needed to be handled quickly. As a result, there were a lot of decisions made to just "rubber-stamp" everything as quickly as possible. In DHS/USCIS, that meant citizenship and visa applications weren't as closely reviewed as they may have been in the past because the bosses were telling us "just get it done" because the Trump Administration was breathing down everyone's necks to deliver results that they could use in his re-election campaign.

So there's speculation now that Harry's visa/immigration application is one of those cases that got "rubber stamped" to get through the backlog. And part of that speculation is an attempt to understand when exactly did the visa paperwork get processed and whether there was undue special treatment in doing so. Was he part of the backlog that was grandfathered/rubber-stamped into the US? Or was his application processed before that?

Because if his application was processed before he moved here in March 2020, well, then the Sussexes aren't telling the truth about where they lived or what they were doing. Reason being that typically on a spousal visa, you usually can't already be living here in the US when you apply for it. You apply from your home country and come to the US only once your visa request has been granted.

So did the Sussexes apply for Harry's visa when they were living in Canada, starting the process as early as November 2019 when the BRF forced them into a vacation and panicking in February 2020 when COVID started closing borders? In that case, did the Sussexes apply diplomatic pressure to expedite DHS's review of Harry's case so they could be in the US before borders closed? Or did they say "screw it" and moved to the US without waiting for a decision and then applied diplomatic pressure to have Harry's case approved retroactively?

Or did the Sussexes apply for Harry's visa much earlier, when they were still living in the UK/working as full-time royals? And if that's the case, then did they really go to Canada like they said they did, or did they just hide out in the US for a bit so Harry could pick up his green card, and then they traveled to Vancouver/Canada for New Year's?

Or - perhaps the more tinhatty scenario - did the Sussexes apply for Harry's visa right after the marriage, at the earliest opportunity Meghan could've filed the paperwork? In which case, their secret honeymoon could really potentially have been a trip to the US so Harry could claim his green card.

Option 3 is incredibly farfetched. We know the Sussexes can't keep their stories straight so I feel like if that's what had actually happened, there would've been holes poked into their "fleeing to Canada" narrative already.

I probably lean towards Option 1 (they exploited COVID to move here) but Option 2 is pretty plausible too.

Anyway, that's a ton more than you/anon probably expected. (It's a whole lot more than I expected to write about too.) But hopefully this clears up some confusion about what exactly is happening with Harry's immigration status, why it's possible he can still be deported, and sheds a little light on the Homeland Security lawsuit.

Edit: added some clarification (see bolded part under the flowchart)

[strangesickness]

okay this started off as a bit but then it just kept getting longer. so uh. the losers as canadians, I GUESS????

for my non-canadian friends: being canadian is basically just like being american (so either imagine the US if you're american, or imagine some random high school movie) there's just less billboards and if you're french you can buy alcohol while still in high school, but i was thinking about it, if anything would be notably different about the losers if they were canadian.

and then it struck me! they're french immersion students!

derry is now derry, ontario, a rural township 30 minutes from vankleek hill and about an hour from the quebec border. they have one k-8 school and one 9-13 school that sit side by side on a river. the town has a pretty strong francophone foundation, but in recent years english speakers have been moving up from southern ontario, and the town is now pretty evenly split french/english.

but thats not what we're here for!! so: losers!

bill, eddie, stanley, and richie have been in the same class every year since they were four on account of being french immersion students (schools will typically only have enough french immersion students for one or two classes, and with derry being a small town with a growing english population i think even families who spoke french at home would begin putting their children in the english stream)

when they were five stan started crying trying to color the northwest territories with a crayon on a map of canada assignment, bill lent him his color pencils which is how they became friends

richie could not spell saskatchewan to save his life, and fits "scasckatchawan" into the space on the map in horrible squished letters, stan is aghast at this, and richie realizes his opportunity to get a rise out of stan, so he does an even worse job than normal, this is how they become friends

eddie can't spell saskatchewan either but is embarrassed to admit it because he doesn't want to be grouped in with a dumbass like richie, he announces that he thinks the assignment is stupid, and richie immediately dares him to spell it. a friendgroup is born.

eddie, ben, beverly, and mike all have english as a first language, richie and stan learned both simultaneously, and bill has french as a first language

eddie's paternal grandparents immigrated from poland, and since they wanted frank to speak both polish and english, they decided not to bother with french, sonia met frank at an english university and moved up to derry with him when they got married, they speak english at home, and sonia never learned polish. the plan was to have frank teach eddie polish but he died before he could, so sonia puts eddie in french immersion so he'll still be bilingual

ben is from labrador and had to move to derry to live with his aunt. ben had been in french immersion when he was living in labrador, because arlene figured it would give him more opportunities, so he continued with it in derry

beverly's mom was from a french speaking part of quebec, but her dad never learned french. he puts her in french immersion since he can't teach her french himself.

mike speaks english at home but the only nearby catholic school was a french school closer to the quebec border, so he's the most fluent of the four. theres no catholic high school nearby so he ends up going to derry high with the rest of the losers where he takes advanced french

maggie and went are both quebecois, but went is from montreal and grew up speaking english, whereas maggie is from a small town north of quebec city and grew up speaking french. they're both french/english bilingual and speak both at home.

richie has grown fond of speaking in an unholy sort of "franglais" that mostly consists of english words with a godawful quebec accent, french swears, and incorrect verb conjugation he picked up from eddie

maggie is an angry ex-catholic who swears a lot (most french canadian swears are religion based and lowkey sacrilegious in nature) and has a pretty strong quebec accent. richie, does not, except for when he's swearing in french (or stressed or angry), this isn't even a bit on his part, he just emulated the way his mom said the words. his friends point out that he sounds like a very angry lumberjack when he says "tabarnak" and he bases an entire Voice on it

stan's parents both grew up in derry when it was a mainly french speaking community, but wanted to make sure stanley would fit in with his peers who were becoming more and more english, so he learns both from birth

bill's parents both immigrated from france and only speak french, bill is french french and is frequently confused by the differences between quebec french and france french. he starts speaking in a pretty distinctly french canadian way because of richie, and starts swearing like a french canadian (like a sailor), also because of richie, his parents are horrified.

when they're in high school richie won't stop making fun of bill for being french and bill's like??? you're french too??? and richie's like. no. i'm french canadian, you're actually french. eddie points out that richie's thing is worse.

richie uses pretty much exclusively french-canadian swears (of which there are many) because of maggie, his friends will sometimes say these things because he says them so frequently, but none of them have quebec accents, so it sounds horrible and awkward and richie mocks them relentlessly whenever this happens

every time one of the losers turn 18 they drive up to quebec so they can get a drink lol. even for the losers who don't want to drink they drive up to quebec, and make the birthday boy/girl show the bartender their ID and ask for like. an apple juice. it is very funny.

[keeksybee]

Rick and Spanish:

I’ve always wondered why he never speaks Spanish, Sanchez is obviously a Spanish name and while I get not using it with the kids or Beth because he actually cares about them understanding him, it’s totally in his character to use it with other Ricks or to piss Jerry off knowing it would drive him crazy to be talked about and have no idea what he was saying.

My main premise to this is I honestly don’t believe Rick is a no sabo kid (nothing wrong with being one BTW) I’ve done the math and if we assume Beth is 34 at the beginning of the series in 2013 (Summer must have been born 1996 when Beth was 17 and Morty would’ve come 3 years later in ‘99) that makes her birth year 1979 and presuming Rick had a slightly more planetary mindset when she was born that makes him 23-26 as was average for having kids back then, making his birth year 1953-1956.

Historically I get Beth not being taught Spanish to avoid discrimination, maybe it wouldn’t have been as bad when she was growing up but If Rick’s parents immigrated during WW2 , just before or after Rick was born or when Rick was a very young child that makes him a first gen immigrants child and while northern states were better, they weren’t great either, he would have very much been subjected to some pretty intense racism that he wouldn’t have wanted for his daughter no matter how much it hurt him to not know part of her own culture.

However I also believe Rick’s defiance streak is probably genetic and like hell he would give up his first language just to assimilate like many children of that generation may have been forced to, it was a thing in immigrant homes in America, particularly South American ones ( I’m not sure where the name Sanchez would be from specifically) where the children were banned from speaking their own languages. He however, was Rick Sanchez and would steadfastly refuse to be ashamed of himself or where he came from. It would have been a massive scandal when he married Dianne in their small town, she was most likely pretty, popular and white, he would have been heavily targeted as the schools wouldn’t have been non segregated for very long by the time he was in high school. Marrying Dianne was probably a very satisfying “Fuck you” to people who’d tormented him.

Which leads to the question why do we never hear him use Spanish. Six seasons and 40 years of heavy drinking and drug use and we never hear him slip once, and it’s not like he doesn’t screw up in other areas, language would be a simpler one. He never switches, never even swears in it, but there has to be something that triggers it.

I always imagined it would be Morty getting mortally wounded in a way that he can’t seemingly fix with what’s available to him. His June-bug is bleeding out in front of him and he can’t do shit, another person he couldn’t save. He breaks down, clutching the limp body his grandson, begging a god he doesn’t believe for the first time since his teens in a desperate mix of Spanish and English to do something, and illogically, when he thinks Morty has died, giving him what he remembers of his last rights knowing that if there’s a God the fact it’s him administering his rights is probably not doing any favours for his Grandson’s eternal soul, but then Morty miraculously coughs up blood.

He coughs up blood, not good but it means he’s alive, he can think now, he can do something, so he does.

Morty survives. Barely. He erases the memory, even he considers it too traumatic for Morty to recall, but he has to live with it, it haunts him, it haunts him in a way he hasn’t felt since his Dianne and Beth were killed in his dimension. That’s when he starts speaking to Morty in Spanish, the occasional “mijo” here, the rarer story about his upbringing there and openly conversing in Spanish with other Ricks in Morty’s presence.

Morty learns almost fluent Spanish in four months just to try and spite him. That’s his June-bug, guess Beth did pass down that competitive spirit, and some of his smarts too. It’s nice talking regularly in his mother tongue again even if he’d never tell Morty that, and it’s adorable when his grandson can’t pronounce something properly, messes up the tense of a word or stumbles in Spanish when he’s pissed off, it reminds him of a little kid. He gently corrects the tense errors under his guise of grumpy, codgery old man, Morty doesn’t even know how much better he gets.

Jerry’s pissed that he now doesn’t understand his father in law or his son, but that’s okay, it’s Jerry.

[freefolkfightorflight]

Brain Dump

I started my adhd meds again for the first time in 2 years and my brain is like hey. We got a lot of thinking to do so here you go. My current fixation as I sit on the bed telling myself to clean and wash my damn sheets im covered in.

——-

Me: I just feel so ugly

Him: you are beautiful and good. You just have one defect and you know what it is. (I’m kind of a ho who lies when I think imma be in trouble😩)

Me: you too. You are handsome and good. You just have one defect and you know what it is. (He’s insecure and jealous)

Him: do you want to marry me?

Me: yes

Him: ok good

Me: ok…😍😂 wtf, Alej

———

I think we are both broken children just trying to make it through life and it’s sad and ugly sometimes. But a lot of times it’s really passionate and beautiful.

I don’t know why I’m posting this. This isn’t new news. We’ve talked about marriage before. I’m there. He’s there. I have a ring. he called it a pre engagement ring. And I’m like so a promise ring? And he’s like no. PRE! Lol. but it’s NOT an engagement ring. I don’t care but he does.

Speaking of. He’s more traditional than I’m willing to ever be again. I will never cook every single night. I will never commit to do things like that on a forever basis again. Sometimes I’m scared he will be disappointed in that. But I haven’t faked it these past 2 years. He’s gotta know exactly what he’s getting with me.

It’s just challenging because he’s an immigrant who still has a wife in Mexico. They married super young. they’ve been separated 25 years. She lives with her ‘fiance’/boyfriend etc. but she refuses to sign the divorce papers. Every few months she dangles signing the divorce papers in front of him, asks for money, he pays her, she disappears til the next time she needs money. Currently she’s saying she will sign the papers and he’s just done being used. I keep thinking maybe she means it this time. But he knows her better. He wants to go back to Mexico to sort it out but *I* don’t want him to bc it’s so fucking dangerous coming back. He’s got 3 kids and his mom here. Please don’t leave me to care for them all if you die. Lands alive.

That’s another obstacle. The mom doesn’t want to live with me. SAME😳 but I’d at least attempt it for the good of the whole family. She said absolutely not. He said absolutely not. She wants/needs her own place when me and him get married. Have you seen rent now a days? How will we afford a place for 5 kids, and then at least 2 bedrooms for her? (For when she has his girls). Lol. He doesn’t seem concerned about this part, but I am.

I have an evil ex who put in the child custody agreement that I’m not allowed to live with a significant other unless we are married 🙄bc yes let’s do this again. otherwise I wouldn’t care so much. Like we are two years in. I’d rather just live together. Test the waters. and fuck marriage prior to that just bc of how bad it’s been in my history. But I do see myself being with him forever. So it’s fine. Whatever. Except we can’t bc his ‘ex’. Brah

I just feel chatty and already talked his ear off🙈

I texted every girlfriend I know and they’ve all stopped responding bc I’m talking too much. Send help

[iangallagherisadeadman]

i hate the plot of svetlana and her father/husband, but i saw it as an opportunity to reflect upon her character, her little milkovich child, her relationship with fatherhood, mickey and his involvement in yevgenys life.

obs. I'm NOT saying in any way that I believe Mickey has the obligation to raise Yevgeny as he didn't choose to engage in the sexual relation that led to Yev's conception.

svetlana and fatherhood

what was all of that about stevlana and her dad? i finished shameless and i still dont totally get it. was she really married? i believe so cause none of her other marriages were legal. how did that happened? what is her dad like? when she married her russian husband? just everything seemed rushed and i wish he had more info about it.

either way, I remember she said once to mickey that she named their kid after her father and hes like "didnt the bastard fucking sold you as a sex slave for like 300 dollars" (which I think is really nice cause that means she shared with him that information voluntarily) to which she responded something like "yes but still he had some good in him". later she says to kev that she supported her father and all that cause she owned him for taking care of her until she was like idk nine years old and could take care of herself and i remember seeing someone here saying it is probably because in russia is really common for the father to abandon his children so the fact he stuck around means a lot to her.

it all makes me believe that the image of a father is of importance for svetlana. doesn't that means that she would want mickey to be involved in their childrens life then? i mean he was for a while as she forced him to until his boyfriend kidnapped her children and babys father went to jail and then she held back and i understand it i totally do but now that they have all growned up and gallavich is a somewhat resonable couple with somewhat legal jobs and somewhat living an honest life wouldn't she want them in her and more specifically her childrens life again?

svetlana and mickey

noel once said in an interview for s5 that he believes that in some ways Svetlana is perfect for Mickey cause shes strong where hes not and she complements him, and i believe that too. at the beginning every time shes onscreen she looks scared as shit truly frightened but as the episodes go on and they interact more it seems like she can perceive how small and frightened mickey is under all that bad boy facade and she grows upon him and then they get in a fighting-friendly-respect-disrespect relation in which they recognize each other somehow, and than that went sideways after the whole yev kidnap. mickey probably thought he was wrong thinking he could ever play family, that he could ever be any different and be something other than a fucked up in the kids life, that hes not up to being a parent and that theyre better off without him and make them go away; he chooses to take care of ian instead of his family by s5 end when he said svetlana could leave if she wasn't accepting ian coming back to their house after kidnap episode.

fact is svetlana and mickey found themselves in challenging situations simultaneously. svet was an undocumented immigrant who resorted to prostitution as her only means of survival, while mickey grappled with complex issues involving his love life, sexuality, and the pressure to conform to his fathers expectations, leading a life he didnt desire. despite these difficulties they shared the experience of becoming parents at a young age which significantly altered the course of their lives and their relationship. they were both the source of pain and the potential for each other's salvation. their relationship was fraught with difficulties as mickey treated svet poorly, refusing to acknowledge her as his wife despite her longing for the american dream through marriage and family, which she quite fought for at the beginning when she seemed to hope he would eventually love her (she was gentle and submissive and played perfect little wife). instead, he agreed to fulfill a fatherly role, and they supported each other superficially, lacking a deeper connection. for mickey, lana was an instrument to appease his father while simultaneously being a painful remark of everything he wasnt and didnt want to be, all while introducing complications into his relationship with Ian.

even with all the differences they faced, they had a lot in common, as they both were young and trying to survive, living lifes they didnt choose, the whole respect for their piece of shit fathers that they shared, the fact theyre both queer, how they dont trust others and try not to rely on no one and solve things with their hands and they both have bad manners and dirty mouths and take aggressive approaches to solve their problems and are always scheming and find hard to change their nature. they have a lot in common and they got to find that out while living together and fighting each other, trying with effort to shape one another so they would comply to play the role and accommodate to the life each was expecting to build. svetlana made mickey take off the nazi posters he had as is stated in s3 finale and would threaten and blackmail him into doing what she wanted during s4, and he would do his best to fight her by trying to scare her with threats and make her submissive holding her in an inferior place by diminishing her and calling her names in s4 until they grow to a somewhat peaceful relation in s5 even including ian.

them as a throuple happy family worked for a while and i mean i doubt she has anyone even as close as a colleage in her life right now she doesnt trust easily and v and kev are out of scene and she is married to that rich guy etc. so having a friendly relation with mick again seems like doable? desirable even maybe for her? at that time by s5 they were both dealing with illegal jobs and svet was raising her kid barely by herself and mick was using A LOT of drugs like pills and drinking and cocaine and crack i think and still they made it work for a while so only imagine what they could do now that theyre both at their best.

after s11

also, she is married to that rich dude but its a fact that hes not going to live longer and i know my girl is smart svet did her thing secured that bag stole and gained and got what she could but the plot said that the marriage was under the regime of separation of property meaning she isnt going to get any goods after her hushbands death and probably is not going to have contact with her husbands family cause theyre not close so not only she will have freedom but she will be lonely right. until she finds her a wife at least.

I know the importance of family isnt for the milkovichs what it is for the gallaghers and that yev came as result of an abuse relation, but mick didnt seem to take that on the child once he was born and he was taking care of him, he didnt seem to resent him or hate him or see terry and be hurt by it. i mean he does process trauma in such unexpected unexplained ways that i cant really vision how he trully feels about yev, other than how he rejected fatherhood in s4 and his comments with ian in s11 about not believing he can be a good parent, but s5 in the police station theres a lot of "hes a good kid" from the officer and mickey holding and kissing yev only to take care of ian as debbie hold yev on the passager seat in the way home that was made on purpose and i perceive it as he likes yev but hes afraid to break him. idk if there could ever be the same feeling that lip has with fred, of wanting to be a better father for him than he ever had. thats probably not micks thing. but i can see him at some point wanting to know about yev, and who he became, what is he like, and bonding with him, even more so cause hes not bad with kids they would hit it right away. probably a more friendly bond than father son tho. as for ian, there is that deleted scene of him visioning him mick svet and yev as a happy family and even thought he was maniac i think that came from the heart hes good with kids and he wants a family with mick and he lived a nice life with svetlana and he said to fiona he loves yev.

headcanons

there is the fact that svetlana probably never talk about mick and never went to see him anymore onscreen cause mick might probably not be babys dad but i like to think yev really is a milkovich just because they reproduce like fucking rabbits and i think thats really funny. also the beggining of s6 makes it clear he had done jobs from inside jail before so that he could get commissary money and svet could raise yev with her share, so s6e1 states they somewhat worked together which leads to suppose svetlana and mickey hold a friendly relationship even after they fight cause ian kidnapped yev and mick kind of kicked her out their house, AND since she asks ian to accompany her in the visit shes ok with him too it seems. ALSO not only i think is reasonable to assume they kept in contact for a while when he was inside and only got some distance as she was building her life with her relationship with kev and v and the allibi and he started getting involved in dangerous stuff with the mexicans (since in theory she visited him with divorce papers), i truly believe they only cut off contact completely when he told her he was leaving for mexico cause i mean he told terry i truly believe he told her too.

like i know a lot of people want galladads but i just see it as unresonable they came out of jail theyre traumatized and never done therapy ian fucking stole a baby and that baby was under micks supervision they fucking suck thats the true!! and i would kind like to see them taking responsibility for yev and bonding somewhat. just imagine what kind of parenting that kid would have hes probably unhinged since his parents are freaks. also i think that the more your parents control a kid the more they want to be a rebel (karen-like) and since he was raised by horrible people he is probably the opposite, really calm and mature for his age etc kind of like liam. hes also probably smart since he had a good education and speaks a lot of languages like svet, and aggressive but not fist like? i can vision it, mick telling him about what he was up to when he had yevs age and them playing videogames and mick like spitting on the floor or idk trying to teach him how to fillet a fish and yev totally disgusted by it cause hes a rich little motherfucker and then yev enthusiastically trying to explain the last robotic ethics article he read and is really excited about and making science fiction comparisons so that mick can understand it. OH ALSO also i believe yev is really into the fact hes half russian and knows a lot about its culture and all and wants mick to know more about ukraines and eat their food and know their history and learn their langague and that makes mick PISSED i just know it.

#!: ☆ other posts of mine include: shameless hot takes ; shameless x arctic monkeys ; gallavich x this velvet glove ; shameless moodboards ; shameless playlists ; saddest character ending: karen

[trashlie]

what r ur stalkyoo predictions

Oh man Nonny this is such a broad question lmao and it doesn't help that my "predictions" are constantly changing week to week. I'm going to do my best to write what I currently anticipate but... honestly just know that a week or three from now maybe it will change lmao but here's what I anticipate

(this DOES include FP spoilers up to 235)

At this stage, I think we're moving towards Stalkyoo both acknowledging/admitting their feelings, but perhaps not entering a relationship given, yknow... extenuating factors.

I think Dieter will talk to Nol and confront him on how he pushes everyone away and how it especially hurts Shinae, that he knows what he saw that morning and he knows that they both like each other, and what good is it to hurt her pushing her away just because she doesn't return Dieter's feelings? I think this conversation is important not just because Nol feels guilt towards Dieter, but because Nol needs to see and understand an earlier point Shinae made, that he cannot keep making decisions on their behalf. Just like pushing Shinae away in order to "mitigate her risk of harm", pushing away someone who reciprocates his feelings in order to not hurt someone else benefits no one.

Something crucial for Nol to understand is that a. there are some feelings you can't keep squashing down and b. what happens when you continue to do so. Not so much a prediction as much as I hope, I really hope Nol will look at the letters in the Bible from his father, so that he can better understand his mother and father's relationship, and how they ended up in the positions they did.

As much as Nol, Shinae, and Alyssa parallel Rand, Nessa, and Yui, the most important difference is that they are not yet in as deep. In leaving Yui for Nessa Rand stood to lose much more than Nol does - not just his life's work (the company), but he was already married and he had a child with Yui. I think Rand probably stayed to try to protect Kousuke the best he could, to try to counteract what he could. It wasn't as easy for him to leave. But Nol isn't in that predicament. He has all the opportunity to leave, to put himself first and to put his own needs and happiness first.

But it's still important for Nol to stand in Rand's shoes for a moment so that he can understand. Even though Nol has never really come out and said it himself, I think it's easy to see that he probably resents Rand for all of that - for being married and having an affair with his mom, leaving her a single mother to raise Nol all on her own, for everything that happened after they moved to Korea. It sounds like they lived in secret, undocumented immigrants hiding in the country put up by Rand but still unable to be part of his family. And I think that made him resent his mom a little, too. He asked Shinae what if you mistreated the cow from which your burger came and it lends some ideas to the guilt that Nol carries. What if before losing her, Nol fought with his mom? Fought about her relationship with a married man, hiding in a country where they had no one. He was alone, lonely. He had no friends.

It's so easy for Nol to point fingers and admonish blame. He was married, he shouldn't have done that! She shouldn't have done that!

But what kind of rules and arguments do you apply to a marriage that was never based on love, but rather was an arrangement? It's not confirmed, but it's always felt like Yui and Rand are an arrangement, rather than two people who married for love, much like Nol and Alyssa are. For Nol to stand in his father's shoes - to essentially have a responsibility (used very, very loosely here) to someone else but to know that his heart and happiness lie with someone else, to be torn between what is right and what he wants, perhaps he could better understand his parents, and how they ended up living the ways they did. Why Nessa clung to someone like Rand despite everything.

But also, just as importantly, I think it would give him more understanding of the choice Rand couldn't - didn't - make, and what could happen to Nol if he doesn't. It's not just his happiness that is in jeopardy but also Shinae's. Knowing what his mother was like, and how Shinae, too, is so relentless, unwilling to give up on him, might give him more of the resolve needed to make the choice that his parents were unable to.

Now, I'm uncertain of the order I think things from here will progress. Will Nol get a chance to talk to Alyssa and break up with her before he gets to talk to Shinae? Is Alyssa going to have to contend with dating rumors involving convicted felon Nol? At some point, whether it's a mutual choice or not, one of them is going to pull the plug on that fake relationship. The moment Alyssa's benefits are jeopardized by Nol's reputation, it's all going to fall apart. We know that much. Minhyuk has kind of hinted at it - Alyssa doesn't keep people around when their reputations bring her down and the moment it does, she's going to have to make the call, whether or not she wants to.

At some point, though, Nol and Shinae will talk. They both have very pointedly (on the same day!!!!) come to realize the nature of their feelings towards each other, to understand just what they mean to each other! And Shinae is SO feral about it! I FULLY think she's going to have a spicy dream about Nol lmao the smut in Maya's books was too heavy handed for it to not come back into play in Shinae's subconscious, further illuminating something she's just become aware of. It's not enough to want to hang on to his friendship - it's EVERYTHING she doesn't want to lose, it's what he he means to her, and what SHE means to him. Nol's been given a 3 day extension before has to go to prison and I don't think quimchee would deliberately write that if not to leave room for this to happen. Notably, this extension brings us to Christmas Eve; it just feels TOO pointed to ignore.

Maybe it won't happen until the final day, but I think Nol and Shinae WILL talk and it will set us up for their post-time skip dynamics. Whether or not they actually enter a relationship at this time, I think what is more important is that Nol and Shinae will very likely resolve a lot of this - what they mean to each other, how they feel about each other, but also understanding that they are better off together. It's so easy for Nol and Shinae to be used by Yui against one and other if they are isolated, if Nol is pushing her away, if they are not a united front. Nol needs to start taking steps to forming his alliances so that in the future he isn't left so vulnerable. A talk about their feelings is more than just about relationships; it will set them up for the future where they are both playing this game.

But for the sake of my predictions, I think Shinae WILL go see Nol, whether it's because she wants to demand her belongings back or because she suddenly gets shy and can't face him. I really don't think we're leaning towards that any more, but rather "fine if you won't me have you" (SCREAMS), some kind of high tension moment that will inadvertently bring their feelings out into the open lol. As much as I'd like her to go straight back to him after waking, I'm not totally certain if I think she will or if she'll wait until the next day. Maybe Nol needs to sit with his feelings, too, after his talk with Dieter to be a little pathetic about her and really drive home how much this is something he can't just keep repressing lol.

And while I'm not sure they'll actually enter a relationship at this time, I think what we'll probably see is how this brings them into the timeskip. My friends and I have been talking lately about Nol taking his own path - moving forward not as a Hirahara but as a Lochlain, not attending Oxford but perhaps some other school abroad, becoming a self-made man his own way, while Shinae remains in Korea and probably takes Yui up on her offer. My guess is that Shinae will basically "trade herself" for her father - make a deal that you leave my father be and fine, I'll do this, I'll let you cover my schooling. I just... I DON'T want her to lose Simhan, I DON'T want him to die to force Shiane's hand. I'd much rather see her be proactive and take action against Yui, because as much as it still means she's being "forced" into taking up Yui's offer, it's still more or less on her own terms, it's not nearly as dire as what happened at the formal.

I think it will lead us to something where Shinae is the one playing the game the most openly - she's the one employed at the company, she's the one who is the direct adversary to Yui, who will be trying to no avail to try to break her, to get her to play the game her way, to try to convert her to her side. Meanwhile, I think Nol will operate from the shadows. They know of their own relationship, they know of their importance to each other, but perhaps others may not see it up front. Quimchee has a lot of Patreon art of Nol and Shinae that, quite frankly lmao, feels very much like it's Shinae in charge and Nol is here to do her bidding because he really doesn't care about anything else besides her LMAOOOOO idk maybe he WILL want revenge, especially if/when he learns that what happened to his mother may not have been simply her taking her own life. But I think their future dynamics will very much put Shinae at the forefront with Nol operating from the shadows, perhaps Shinae feeding him information so that he can work out of sight from people like Yui. That's not to say I think their relationship will be a secret or anything as much as just.... those who matter will probably know. There are a lot of benefits to them pointedly not revealing it to other people, right?

Something I think has been emphasized a lot in a lot of ILY art is that even if Nol and Shinae aren't directly connected, they're very often connected in SOME way - the earbuds binding them together, holding on to each other's fingers, Shinae's gaze on him. I think Stalkyoo will prove that they have a connection and understanding that goes deeper than a lot of people expect, and as such, they have confidence in each other, that they don't NEED to proudly display their relationship, and thus it will work to their advantage because we know Yui WILL try to divide them so it's better to keep things in the shadows, right?

My head is still really stuffy so this is not my BEST explanation, but hopefully this suffices! For now this is how I see things going down but, as always, we will possibly see this change with the coming episodes haha!

[corujalesbica]

Ok so I just made a drawing of blasian transfem todoroki and I wanna talk about that because now I have a whole au for it.

(Btw I'm Brazilian and I'm gonna make this about me )

Ok so au in which Endeavor can't find a woman with ice powers in Japan so he travels all over the world looking for one. As you may or may not know 55% of Brazils population is black so yeah he finds someone with ice powers here and she agrees to marry him and move to Japan. There they have four kids until she gets super tired of his bullshit and with help from her parents moves back to Brazil. Then canonish stuff happens, Fuyumi and Natsuo have shitty powers, Toya runs away and that leaves Endeavor to train "Shoto". Throughout the years the mental and physical abuse gets worse and worse, until middle school when Todoroki finds out the meaning of the word 'transgender' by making searches about feeling like a girl in the school computer. She decides on the name Saori and because she has 0 clue of social cues she tells Endeavor right away. Then he gets super mad and basically calls her a bunch of stuff and throws boiling water at her (in this au, that's how she gets the scar). Fuyumi finds out about this and manages to put up a legal fight against her father along with Natsuo. With enough proof that Enji was a piece of shit (after all, who would attack the number two heroes daughter ? Who would risk that but the number two hero himself ? ) they take away legal guardian of Saori from him and he also pays some fines thought he's not arrested cause he's a cishet man and the world is unfair. Unfortunately, Fuyumi is in no mental state to take care of her sister and Natsuo is a college student. So Saori Todoroki goes to live with her mom in Brazil, a woman she had little to no contact with throughout her life.

She promptly informs her mom she still wants to be a hero, that was a dream of hers and had nothing to do with her dad. So her mom puts her in a Brazilian hero school called Construindo o Futuro (building the future ). There, she meets Japanese descendent Izumi Midoryia. Izumis grandpa came from Japan during world War two (that actually happened, Brazil got a lot of Asian immigrants during the world wars .) Midoryias family has lots of consideration for their Japanese roots so she speaks a bit of Japanese, which helps a lot with Todorokis adaptation to the school seemed shes still struggling with her Portuguese.

So Izumi and Saori become besties and we get a Brazilian class 1A of heroes.

For this au I'm also thinking t4t Kiribaku, black Mina Ashido, petista Ochaco Uraraka and autistic tododeku!

If you read all of that, THANK U SO MUCH I'm literally so excited about this idea kskdjdhdbdbebdbdjdj

[gothcowboy-sso]

Hey, idk if you are still going to answer any of this, buuuut 🛩 [PLANE], 📚 [BOOK STACK], 🛸 [U.F.O] Have a nice day ^^

Hey thank you so much for the ask!

🛩 [PLANE] -> Was your Original Character born on Jorvik or did they come here from somewhere else? If so, what was their reason to come to Jorvik?

Andrew was born in Canada. It's his great-grandparents that were both born and lived in Jorvik (and surrounding Swedish areas). It wasn't until his great-grandparents decided to move to Canada and live there during the first big waves of immigration back in the early 1900s. Down to a couple more lines of the family tree, his mum was born. Eventually she'd grow up and meet and marry Andrew's father, and sub sequentially, have Andrew. It wasn't until the economy forced them to move to Jorvik (since Andrew's mom had ties to Jorvik due to family) and settle in Valedale. He was around 17 when they immigrated to Jorvik.

📚 [BOOK STACK] -> What is your Original Character's story? Not just in SSO's canon main story - what is your Character's deal in general?

Andrew was born in Canada; his parents migrated back to Jorvik and decided to settle in the quiet town of Valedale, following his mother's ancient roots. His father pursued scaffolding jobs here and there (mostly GED) while his mother stayed at home to care for her son. The young man fell in love with horses at a young age, and pursued an equestrian career ever since. He longed to learn dressage, but would constantly be halted by his father, as this sport wasn't particularly "masculine" in his words. When he came of age, he moved out and found solace in Starshine Ranch. He learned the ropes of Western riding and horsemanship, earning coin as a ranch hand, saving up enough to get his own horse: a beautiful black coated Dutch Warmblood named Chaos. Self taught, he continued pursuing dressage in a Western world. His love for dressage only amplified when he met the legendary Anne Von Blyssen; their friendship blossomed shortly after, finding comfort and trust in each other, and their passion for the discipline only made them grow closer.

🛸 [U.F.O] -> What is your Original Character's opinion on Pandoria and the 'travel' through time and space taking place across some places in Jorvik?What about other legends and myths of Jorvik that they got to meet in person (e.g. Jon Jarl)?

It's a little hard to comprehend for him. Not because he doesn't understand the innings and workings of Pandorian magic, but it's quite the concept to grasp for a human. Being there physically, helping Soul Riders, experiencing all these "magical" things in real time, when merely a couple years ago he was just a guy that happened to like horses. There's multiple legends and myths in Jorvik, and he has lots of differing opinions on all of them. We'd have to be specific if I was to type that out lol. He's a firm believer that time travel should be done for information and nothing else; you shouldn't tamper with events, needless to say that Concorde quest left a sour taste in his mouth and it was a massive conflict for him. He wanted his (best) friend Anne to have her beloved Concorde back, but the means of doing this were a little too dire and dangerous. With how the quest unfolds later, and chaotic magic being involved, it all falls into place and they both rebuild that friendship that was a little dented over that conflict.

As for Pandoria, he's taken aback at the fact that such a place exists, but is not surprised. Logically, he knows we're not alone in this universe, and the idea of multiverses does cross his mind every now and then. HC: he knows a couple of half-Pandorians and Pandorians besides Ydris, and is actually dating one (Daine). He's cautious with Pandorians, but not in an extreme and distrustful way. He knows what powers they possess, what they're capable of, but understands that they too are living beings that deserve a chance to be understood.

Cheers! Hope this answers your questions.

[wyiicb]

I've been thinking of starting a Peanuts acc with my own hcs too but I haven't worked up the courage >.< What's some of your headcanons?

SO GLAD YOU ASKED ME!! <33

the list is endless, but here are a couple of them im super passionate about:

• Charlie Brown taught Sally sign language (ASL) all throughout her childhood. She can ‘speak’ full sentences fluently and DEFINITELY uses it to her advantage (signs curses when the teacher isn’t looking /jj). The signs come in handy when Charlie Brown goes non-verbal (selective mutism)

• Lucy has terrible hearing and has had to wear hearing aides since she was like 5. Charlie Brown keeps stressing that she should learn ASL in case of emergency, but she always refuses (“I’d rather DIE than have to learn English again.” /j)

• Schroeder and Patty are cousins; his dad and her mom are German/Polish. Schroeder’s mom is black (Somalian) and Indian, and Patty’s dad is Swedish and Kazakhstanian. Patty bonds over Schroeders love for German history and loves teaching him about their family heritage (schroeder zones out until beethoven is mentioned)

• Lucy has a separate birth dad (Balkan) than Rerun and Linus’ dad (Irish). All three of them have the same mom, who I think is a Chinese immigrant who moved to America (along with their “blanket hating Grandmother”). Linus and Rerun are both “Rainbow children”, due to their mother losing a baby before Linus was born

• I saw somebody on tik tok say that Snoopy was Filipino-American, and honestly i cant unsee it /hj

• Marcie was born in Korea and was adopted by French immigrants in America. She grew up primarily learning French and a little bit of English due to the books in her house. When she met P. Patty at the summer camp, she was taught the ins and outs of American culture and still relies on her every once in a while (marcie calls her “sir” solely because she didn’t know the feminine English pronouns for an authoritative figure)

• Frieda and Heather (the little red haired girl) are half siblings. They share the red hair and the sharp nose trait (i think theyre both roman-italian bcs of it). Heather has the coveted “nAtuRAllY CuRLy HaiR” trait as well, she just burns it straight every single morning (i like drawing it frizzy asl)

• Violet is of Native American descent (mother’s side) and Black Irish (father’s side). When she first moved in in the comic (1951), she lived with both parents, but around late 1951, she moved AGAIN, so that makes me think her parents got a divorce between those two moves. Her mom quickly married a British person (ew /j) who hated all the tom-boyish crap violet was always seen doing, so he started to push his uppity customs onto her. This, I think, is why she’s so upset at Pig Pen all the time for him being messy, despite her literally being OBSESSED with mud-pie making in her first set of comics. She just has a random change there, and a different (british) influence is the only explanation /j

• Franklin LOVESSS space and science. He aspires to be an astronaut when he grows up. He often gets in arguments with Lucy about the validity of aliens existing, and it’s one of the few things that REALLYYY tick him off. Lucy revels to see him so stressed out, but she also likes getting the last word in.

• Peggy Jean (who? /jj) and Schroeder are besties, i think. They bond over talking crap about the other peasants and Peggy loves pissing him off. They have a kind of sibling relationship, where they outwardly insult each other and wish the lather were dead, but lets be real, they would die for each other.

• Peppermint Patty is originally from Australia and met Roy through a foreign-exchange program (Roy is originally from India). They were besties at camp and when P. Patty’s dad decided to live there, she offered to let Roy stay with them. They lived together for a long time until Roy moved out with his parents (now in America) and they kinda drifted away. It’s just whenever I recall that one scene in “He’s your dog, Charlie Brown” when Roy is in P. Patty’s house for some reason, im always confused, so this is canon now/jj

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ASKING AGAIN!!! i love spreading my opinions out there and i salute you if you read up to this point (also yes all of these are canon to my AU /gen)

[felizusnavidad]

hii

in the heights/hamilton characters as different aesthetics (preppy, goth, etc.)

this is such a great question! ok, let's think about it. so i decided to pair them up (one ith + one (or two) hamilton character(s) with similar vibes i may also drop some quotes to prove my point) and here's how i see it:

usnavi/alexander (it's all about the legacy they left with me, it's destiny/what is a legacy? it's planting seeds in a garden you never get to see + both the caribbean immigrants + both orphans + both can't shut up sometimes i could write a whole essay about it actually): 90s (i don't have any explanation for this one, i just want to see it cause it's a vibe)

vanessa/angelica (if i'm in the mood, it will not be with some dude who is whistling cause he has nothing to say/i'm looking for a mind at work + so this is what it feels like to match wits with someone at your level you see what i did here, right?): DARK ACADEMIA (oh i love this one, i could even make them a moodboard lol)

nina/eliza: (hey guys, it's me! the biggest disappointment you know BUT nina please believe that when you find your way again you're gonna change the world/i'm erasing myself from the narrative BUT i live another 50 years, it's not enough + and when my time is up, have i done enough? cause in the end they both have done so much, ok? you know what i'm trying to say also this post is a mess): PREPPY (idk i just think it's their vibe)

benny/mulligan (idk, for some reason i was just thinking about how benny was showing off his skills in benny's dispatch and mulligan was showing off... his pants also yes that is the only reason lol): SKATER (do i even need to explain?)

sonny/laurens/philip (they all just have the same young energy for me and i'm not gonna give you any quotes here, it's just something you can see with your own eyes when you watch them on the stage): KIDCORE (i literally had no idea something like this exists but you can google it and it's a perfect choice for them)

kevin/jefferson (ok so look, kevin and camila are married to each other and jefferson and madison are also like a married couple in my head i don't know what else i can say): NORMCORE (just how i see it)

camila/madison (look up): LIGHT ACADEMIA (idk it's just the vibe bro)

daniela/lafayette (mostly because they are both iconic and come on we all love them so much also daniela works in the salon and layafette has majestic hair but it's unimportant): ART HOE (it's just perfect for them, ok?)

carla/peggy (like can't you just see it? carla clearly doesn't have much to say and peggy... and peggy. they are both cute tho! and they are both there just for fun!): SOFT GIRL (cause like i said they are just cute!)

piragua guy/king george (hey, pana! i run this town!/soon you'll see, you'll remember you belong to me! come on they are basically the same person, piragua guy is the king of washington heights): BADDIE (i'm literally crying right now, it's too damn funny)

abuela claudia/george washington (that was abuela, she's not really my abuela but she practically raised me, this corner is her escuela/your wife needs you alive, son, i need you alive + daddy's calling parent vibes lol): COTTAGECORE (it is what it is)

graffiti pete/burr (listen, i don't even have any quotes here, it's just the fact that usnavi hates graffiti pete and hammy and burr are enemies lol you see what i did here): GOTH (just because this is so fucking funny in my head lol imagine aaron burr as goth)

maria reynolds (i don't have a pair for her oops): EARLY 2000s (because of course)

[vix-vibes]

Okay, so, Trisha Elric. Ishvalan AU. Let's go.

So I'm getting back into FMA (Fullmetal Alchemist, for those who don't know - though I don't understand why you're here) and among the tags of Ao3, I have stumbled across and greatly enjoyed the Ishvalan Trisha Elric/Ishvalan Elrics AUs. But I had a thought.

In all of these fanfics (that I've read so far), Ed and Al get to learn Ishvalan culture from their mother, the language and the festivals and the behaviors and everything else that makes an Ishvalan an Ishvalan. They often spend time with Ishvalan refugees and act (mostly, given they are alchemists, military, etc) just like Ishvalan people. Because their mother taught them her heritage.

But not all immigrants are like that.

I'm a grandchild of immigrants, and I never heard them talk about Holland. They would talk about the flower shop & nursery they started when they got here. They would talk about stories from AFTER they emigrated. They. Did. Not. Talk. About. Holland.

My mother has told me how she tried to learn Dutch culture from them, the Dutch language. They wouldn't teach her, just say "We live in America. We are American now." Mom had to go out and try to learn on her own, or from the other Dutch families in the town they lived in. But many of those families took the same stance.

So what if Trisha Elric hadn't taught the boys anything? Especially when you consider that she was likely an immigrant, not a refugee.

The Ishvalan Civil War, going by the wiki, started in 1901. Edward and Alphonse Elric were born in Amestris in 1899 and 1900, respectively. So Trisha was settled, married, and had 2 sons before the war ever started. So, likeliness of her being a willing immigrant? High.

Refugees did not want to leave Ishval, so they would still practice their culture, their language, etc. Trisha Elric could've left Ishval under her own power, her own choice, without being forced. Leaving her culture behind willingly.

So what if Trisha, like my grandparents, hadn't taught her sons Ishvalan culture?

And what if Ed and Al, like my mother, wanted to learn?

I wanna see that story.

Show me two boys with Amestrian names and Amestrian faces trying to learn about the people that their mother belonged to. Show me a State Alchemist that wants to be Ishvalan almost as much as he wants to save his brother. Show me two boys, denied their mother's culture, trying to learn it from the mangled scraps of whatever's left.

That would be a bookmark for sure.

[just-a-music-and-poetry-lover]

I'm scared. So fucking terrified that I can't express it right.

I'm from Portugal. Our government was dissolved by the president recently because our Prime Minister of the last 8 years resigned after his name was brought up in a criminal affair regarding very high patent government members. You might have heard of it if you follow international news. If you do, you probably know more about it than me, but this is the issue in a nutshell.

In the last elections, the Prime Minister's party had the "absolute majority" in Parliament (I don't know the name in English, that's how it's called in Portuguese), which basically means that more than half of the government's members belonged to that particular party, meaning they could pass whatever laws they wanted if they all voted the same. This meant that, for the first time in forever, real change could have happened for the better here if they had done that, since they call themselves a "center-left" party.

The problem is that some major problems happened during this government's time in power, as well as some others that had little to change happening to them. People are frustrated. Everyone is. Everyone was already tired of that party being in power during the last elections, but because there was the threat of the rising far-right parties, people got scared and mainly voted for the same party, afraid that we'd have another far-right government, not even 50 years after we freed ourselves from a fascist dictatorship. So he and his party got the absolute majority in parliament. And things got worse.

Yes, it is time for another party to be in power, but the far-right is NOT the answer, and that's what many people, and alarmingly, many young, about-to-vote-for-the-first-time impressionable people, are failing to understand.

The far-right claims to be a people's party, they claim they defend the people's interests, but THEY DON'T. They're racist, xenophobic, misogynistic, queerphobic in general, they're pro-marginalizing already marginalized communities. Did I already mention they plan to end universal healthcare, public education and social services? Well, they do.

The problem is that many people who are advocating for that party right now, when the new elections are a month from tomorrow, will absolutely lose rights if they get to power.

But they don't listen. They just think that, because a leftist party messed up (and they did mess up pretty badly, don't get me wrong. I'm in the left but I can recognize that), that the far-right is the solution to everyone's problems, when they will only make them worse.

I think of myself, a transgender man, who will absolutely lose my rights to transition as I wish if the far-right gets to power.

I think of my little sister, who is about to celebrate one month dating her girlfriend and who will not be able to get married to her if she wishes to do so if the far-right gets to power.

I think of my grandmother, who was recently very sick and would not have survived if Portugal didn't have universal healthcare, who have died otherwise because the family would not have been able to pay for her treatments in the privatized healthcare the far-right idealizes.

I think of all the immigrant friends I've made over the years and how they would all be deported to their countries of origin if the far-right got to power.

I think of every child, myself included, who would not have gotten even the most basic of education if there weren't public schools in my country.

I think of the scholarship I got to study at university because my family is low-income, which I would definitely not have received if the far-right was in power.

If you're from Portugal and are old enough to vote, please do so with conscience. Lives will depend on your vote on March 10th. Lives will be sacrificed for an illusion of freedom that will immediately disappear or lives will be spared. Please, vote, but don't vote for a party that would take away the rights of more than half of the population. Even if it seems like those measures wouldn't affect you, they definitely would. We're all in the same boat. Some of us won't even get on the boat if my concerns turn out to be true. The majority of us will drown.

[theelectronicstranger]

Past Lives is Still My Favorite Movie of 2023

          So, I recently rewatched Past Lives again and I want to talk about how much I love it as a doomed romance film because it gives us these small moments of heartbreaking romance between the two main characters that in a typical romantic film would 100% mean that they’re going to get together at the end. The film even teases us with that outcome throughout most of it and specifically at the beginning of the film where we’re hearing two random people talk about Nora, Hae Song, and Arthur’s relationships. I want to talk about how they built up that doomed romance and why I was really happy with how it ended. I also want to talk about this film as an immigrant. I feel like there are a lot of scenes in this film that really resonated with me as an immigrant that I want to talk about. While I try to talk about these ideas, I’m also just going to gush about the stuff I really loved about this film, so if you’re reading this then be prepared for that because I might switch over to another topic as I’m talking about another point because of this. I’m going to cut this discussion up to three eras: their childhood, which was 24 years ago; their first reconnection, which was 12 years ago; and their present time.

24 Years Ago (Their Childhood):

          The first scene of them we see during this time is Nora (still known as Na Young) quietly crying as her and Hae Song walk home. Hae Song is trying his best to comfort Nora because he just got the top grades in their class, beating Nora for the first time. Even at a young age, these two cared about each other. We could also tell that they liked each other even at that age. In fact, when Nora’s mother asks Nora who she likes at school, Nora immediately replies that she likes Hae Song. She even goes on to say that she believed that she would probably marry Hae Song. After hearing this, Nora’s mother, knowing that their family will leave Korea soon, sets up a date between Nora and Hae Song. This would be one of the last times they ever got to truly spend time with one another and the scenes where they were playing around in the park as their mothers watched them was really charming and sweet. I felt this childhood connection within them that was pure and innocent; like they didn’t care about the world and the only thing that mattered at that moment was the time they spent with each other. As much as I love this scene, I think it’s also bittersweet because we know that Nora and her family are leaving soon, so Hae Song and Nora’s bond is going to be severed as it is growing.

          During this play date scene, there was a moment between the mothers of Nora and Hae Song that I really liked. That scene is when Hae Song’s Mother asks Nora’s Mother why they’re immigrating. The reason she asks this is because they were leaving a lot behind. Nora’s mother was a successful artist and Nora’s Father is a successful film director, so they were losing a lot by moving. Nora’s Mother replies to this question with:

“If you leave something behind you gain something, too.”

and that’s it. That’s all she says. I found that very profound because I feel like a lot of immigrants leave something behind to hopefully gain something better wherever they’re going. When I first immigrated here, I didn’t truly understand that. I just felt like I lost all my friends and family by moving to America. Now that I’m older, I understand why my mother immigrated all of us here. It’s so that we can hopefully have a better life and more opportunities than we did before.

At the end of this Play Date Day, we see Nora and Hae Song holding each other’s hands on the car ride home. Nora sleeping on Hae Song’s shoulder, while Hae Song is awake staring at the horizon. They look peaceful together, but once we see Hae Song awake, I felt like he knows it’ll be their last great day together because Nora is leaving. There’s a sort of sadness in his eyes as he looks towards the horizon. The next scene we see after this is Nora talking about how she’s moving to America with her family in class; we see Hae Song is visibly upset because she doesn’t want Nora (Na Young) to go. They walk home in silence together and when they finally have to part ways Hae Song stops Nora and manages to say “Bye”. I really love this scene of their last interaction because we can see Hae Song trying hard not to be upset with Nora leaving but he’s failing. He’s trying not to show how much he’s going to miss her, but the only thing it truly does is make it seem like he didn’t care about her. The more he tried to hide his emotions, the less time he got to spend with her (I think this comes back to bite him later, but I’ll talk about that when we get to it).  

There’s nothing Hae Song can really do to stop Nora (Na Young) from leaving; he just kind of had to let go even if he didn’t want to. I liked these scenes of them when they were younger. It shows the bond that they already had and how strong those bonds were. I think it’s the biggest reason why we want these two to meet up again because we feel like there is unfinished business here and we, as the audience, want to see it unfold.

          Theres a scene that I really love in their childhood scenes, it’s when Nora’s family is already in the US, and we see Nora (Na Young) just standing with her back against the wall watching the other kids play. It’s a very big contrast to what her life was like in Korea. In Korea, she had all these friends that she played with, and she even had this boy she liked that always walked home with her. In the US, she was just alone, and she was afraid to interact with anybody. I think this scene perfectly encapsulates how lonely it could be for immigrants after they first immigrate to another country; specifically, for children. When I first immigrated here to the US, I remember being the same way, I just didn’t talk to anybody. I was afraid to interact with anybody because I had this fear that I was going to say something wrong, and the other kids would make fun of me. I felt like I couldn’t speak in English that well and whenever I did there was someone that pointed out my accent. I was really self-conscious at the time. I remember eating lunch alone because I didn’t have any friends. The few months before I attended school here, I was surrounded by all these friends that I hung out with a lot and celebrated with me when they found out I was leaving to go to the US.  I never felt so alone until I got here.

12 Years Ago (When They First Tried to Reconnect):

          I really loved how the main reason Hae Song wanted to reconnect with Nora is because she was the only person he could think about while he was in military service. I also love how Hae Song’s military service scenes immediately follows their childhood scenes together; it shows that that even though it’s been 12 years, Hae Song still looks fondly on their time when they were younger and still feels some sort of connection to Nora.

I thought that the scene where Nora and Hae Song were first talking through Skype was really magical. It’s these two long lost childhood sweethearts that haven’t seen each other in 12 years and suddenly technology caught up to where they could see each other face to face for the first time even though it was just through a screen. The way they acted when they first saw each other through that Skype screen was so fun to watch. I loved how both Nora and Hae Song both lit up after seeing one another; you can see it in their smiles that they were just so happy to be talking to one another. Sure, there was an awkward start when they first called but as the call progressed you can see them start to get back into the groove of things again; they actually talked for so long that Nora missed out on eating dinner, and it went from afternoon to midnight on her side of the world. After the first call, we see both of them start to get really happy and look forward to these Skype Calls. I love that because it’s two people that are trying to make and hold on to a connection even with there is this massive distance between them. I think these Skype moments with them really sold me on the idea that I want to see both of them together.

Unfortunately, that’s not how it really goes. At first their interactions were going really well but because of their time difference, it was getting harder and harder to talk to one another. Korea (Seoul where Hae Song is) and the US (New York where Nora is) has a 13-hour time difference, basically half a day, so when one of them was sleeping, the other one was awake and ready to talk. After some point, they both just started to drift apart because their lives couldn’t handle a relationship that could only happen at a certain time window. This part of the movie really resonated with me as well because I really tried my hardest to stay in touch with my friends back in the Philippines. When I first moved here my parents told me to forget my friends back home and focus on my life here in the US; I thought to myself, “I’ll never do that. These are my friends and I’ll never let them go.”. A few years passed and I lost all contact with them. It started with me not being able to talk to them as much because the only time I could talk would be late at night/early in the morning here. Then when we were able to talk, I started to feel like I was left out. I felt like I wasn’t part of that group anymore, so slowly we started talking less and less.

          In the film. I felt that the more Hae Song and Nora were trying to make efforts to make each other be a part of the other’s life, the more it became harder to be with them. What I mean by that is that both of them really wanted the other person to be there physically. We see that a lot with Nora. In the scene where Hae Song is in a cable car in Seoul, Nora is seeing this beautiful scenery of Seoul and says,

“wish I were there”

She’s starting to feel this massive distance between them weigh over her more and more. Hae Song feels this as well, but Hae Song guards his emotions really well to the point that it comes back to bite him. The scenes before this one are both of them calling each other’s names out on their screens without an answer. They’re literally calling out each other’s names to the void and we see more and more how this distance and time difference is slowly pulling them away from one another.

          After this, Nora calls Hae Song one last time. She asks Hae Song when it would be possible for him to visit her in New York and Hae Song tells her that he won’t be able to visit until a year and a half from that time. After this, we see for a small moment, Nora weighing in that time and how much of this relationship between them she could take. After thinking for that small moment, she decides that they should probably stop talking for a while. To explain herself, Nora says:

“I immigrated twice to be here in New York. I want to accomplish something here. I want to commit to my life here, but I’m sitting around looking up flights to Seoul instead.”

Hae Song is obviously hurt when hearing this; he doesn’t want to stop talking, but he also can’t do anything about it, so he pushes her away. In this small moment, he decides to bottle up his emotions and just tell her that it’s a good idea. He even goes on to say,

“What are you sorry about? Were we dating or something?”

I think this statement just pushes her away from him more. It was his defense mechanism that made it even easier for them to separate from each other entirely. Just like the little boy that he was 12 years ago, he hides his feelings and abruptly ends the call with Nora with a reluctant and forced “Bye”. Just like the one he told her 12 years ago. This is the last time they talk until the present time.

I think if Hae Song told Nora how he really felt, then they would have kept more in touch with each other, but I also understood why he said that. He said that because he was hurt and felt that Nora wanted to push her away. I also think he understood a bit where she came from because their relationship was struggling with the time difference and the distance. We saw scenes of them calling to one another and saw them feel lonelier when nobody answered on the other side. There’s also this small scene after this last call that really got me. It’s when Hae Song is on the train and he’s typing up this long message to send to Nora, but he sees this couple being close to one another and enjoying each other’s physical company. He wants THAT. He also knows that he can’t really have that with Nora because they are practically worlds apart. After seeing that, he decides to delete the message. I think that the same want that Nora had, had been in Hae Song. They both just wanted each other to be there in person, but their lives are getting in the way.

I think with any long-distance relationship there has to be a certainty that both people will meet at some point and will be together at some point. For Nora and Hae Song those certainties were never there. They were unsure of what they were, and they were unsure of when they would see each other. They were even unsure about when they’ll be able to talk to one another. They really wanted to be with one another but those uncertainties and their plans for their life just didn’t let that happen.

After they completely stop talking to one another, we see them meet their present partners. Nora meets Arthur on her writer’s retreat and falls in love with him, and Hae Song meets his girlfriend in China. Just like that another 12 years pass.

The Present Time (Their One Week in New York):

          In this present time, we see that Nora is now married to Artur. They have a great life together. We see them in bed just hanging out and enjoying each other’s company. Hae Song is not at all in the mind of Nora. Until one day, Nora gets a message from Hae Song that he’s going to be in New York for a week and asks if he could meet with her. Hae Song denies to his friends that he’s there to see Nora, but that’s the only thing he’s there to do.

I really love the moment when they first meet again. I thought it was really sweet. She hugs him and he’s kind of surprised by the physical touch, but at the same time I could tell that he loves this hug. It’s a hug that he’s been longing for since they tried to reconnect all those years ago. They kind of don’t know what to do with one another; they both can’t believe that after all these years, they’re in the exact same place physically. They start walking down the road and talking to one another. Nora asks Hae Song about his girlfriend and says they’re not really together right now. He also reveals that they started talking about marriage and implies that it’s the reason why they’re on break right now. My reading of this was that Hae Song went to New York to confirm his feelings for Nora and see if the decision he’s about to make, which is marrying his long-time girlfriend, is going to be the right choice. I think he can’t fully move on with his life until he finds out if there is still something between him and Nora. I also think that Nora tried to do this with Hae Song because she said that before she got married to Arthur, they went to Korea. She emailed Hae Song because she wanted to see him, but he never responded. If Hae Song only responded then Nora would have probably done the same thing he’s doing now, which is trying to figure out if these unfinished feelings have any merit.

I really loved their conversation near the Carousel, where Nora asks Hae Song why he looked for her 12 years ago. Hae song finally shows some of his true feelings:

“I just wanted to see you one more time. I don’t know. Because you just left so suddenly… I was just a little pissed off.” “You kept entering my mind while I was in the military.”

I say that he shows SOME of his true feelings because even with this response he doesn’t fully tell the truth. There are certain things he was omitting like his romantic feelings for her. We know that he does have some feelings for Nora because why else would he be there? She’s the only one he’s truly visiting there in New York. Also, Nora could tell there were certain things he was omitting. When he says his reason for looking for her, you can see Nora’s face start to worry; she doesn’t really know what to make of why he’s here. She had suspicions as to why Hae Song was here, and this conversation confirms that he’s just there for her. When she gets home, she tells Arthur that her suspicions were true.

          I want to talk about Arthur for a second. I think Arthur is great. I think he’s the reason why Nora and Hae Song’s doomed romance is solidified and why I also don’t mind that Nora and Hae Song don’t get together at the end of this film. If Arthur wasn’t this compassionate, loving, and wonderful husband to Nora; then yes, Nora and Hae Song should be together at the end of the film. However, Arthur is a wonderful husband to Nora. He loves her; he cares for her; and he’s making sure that this meeting between Hae Song and Nora happens. He knows how important this meeting between them is. Yes, he does have some insecurities. When Nora talks about Hae Song and how Korean he is, Arthur’s first question is: “Is he attractive?” and when she answers that he is attractive in this Korean way we see him kind of be bothered by this then he asks, “Are YOU attracted to him?”. She replies, “I don’t think so.” and you can see on his face that he’s bothered by this. What I really like about this scene is that sure he’s insecure about what’s going on between Nora and Hae Song, but he trusts Nora enough to know that she wouldn’t do anything stupid. He also doesn’t get angry and is just very understanding even though this situation is really odd. I also think that Nora does a really good job in assuring him that nothing will happen between her and Hae Song. They just work so well together. It’s obvious that Hae Song being there just puts a strain in their relationship a little bit.

          Also, in Arthur and Nora’s conversation in their bed, Arthur talks about how Nora still dreams in Korean. He talks about how he’s kind of scared of it because he feels like there are parts of her that he can’t visit or be part of,

“I guess I get scared… You dream in a language that I can’t understand. It’s like there’s this whole place inside of you where I can’t go.”

I see this as both as an insecurity within Arthur but also a reason why I really liked him with Nora. I like him with Nora because he’s someone that genuinely wants to understand her in every facet of her life. He’s not somebody that just got the girl and now is resting on his laurels for the whole relationship. He’s someone that will always keep trying to know her and be truly part of her life. That’s exactly what I like about Arthur. If Nora and Hae Song’s relationship is these idealized romantic situations between two childhood sweethearts through time, Nora and Arthur’s relationship is based on real and mature romantic effort. I say effort because in real life it takes a lot of effort to keep and be in a relationship. It’s the effort that shows that both people still care for one another. That’s what I like about Nora and Arthur’s relationship.

          After the bedroom scene, we see Nora meet Hae Song at the ferry. They’re going to take a ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty. I really like these scenes because I think it shows a lot about how they see each other, what they could be, and what they are. For example, while they’re in line to ride the ferry, Hae Song asks Nora what prize she wants to win now. When they were kids, Nora said she was leaving to the US to be able to win a Noble Prize and 12 years ago she said that she wanted a to win Pulitzer. Nora responds that she hasn’t really thought about that kind of stuff recently but after Hae Song pushes the question a bit more, she says that she wants to win a Tony award. Hae Song laughs and says,

“You really are exactly the same as I remember you.”

I think this response can be taken in two ways. First, that Hae Song only really sees Nora as who she was before and not really as she is now; he does force her to answer this question. Although he is slowly seeing the person that Nora is now, he’s still acting and presuming that she’s still that same person that she was a decade ago. Second, I think you can also see this as Nora being able to be that same person again with Hae Song. Like being with him is letting her act as her older self again. That older self that can dream or want an award like that. I think both ways can be true at the same time and doesn’t really show any bad in them. The only thing it shows is that their perceptions of one another needs to change or is going to change as they get to know each other again some more.

          One little moment on the ferry, I’d like to talk about. Theres a small scene where they’re taking a picture together and Nora asks,

“Why are you taking it so close up?” “Fine. Go back a little bit.” Hae Song replies,

and you can see her laughing and enjoying herself with him. She then realizes that she’s having too much fun with him, so her joyous smile suddenly turns into a more serious one. I love moments like that with them because there’s always these spaces and boundaries between them, but just for a small moment their spaces close in on one another and those boundaries fade away. Small moments like this is what made me want them to be together at the end of this film. However, on my second viewing, it became more apparent that you can’t just throw your life away with just these small moments. Nora has a beautiful relationship with Arthur, and she can’t just throw it away in small moments like these.

          I want to talk a little about the scene when Hae Song and Arthur meet and the bar scene. I really like how awkward it was when Hae Song and Arthur met. When Nora and Hae Song get into the apartment, we see Arthur kind of hobble towards them. As if he’s this nervous wreck but he’s trying not to show it. He does manage to finally smile and greet him in Korean. I think this interaction where Hae Song is trying to speak in English and Arthur is trying to speak Korean is really charming. I think this interaction slowly helps Hae Song see why Nora married him. He’s seeing this man that learned Korean for Nora; this man that is trying not to freak out about this situation; and this man that really loves Nora. You can see that even more in the bar when he and Arthur start talking. They’re getting more comfortable with each other. Even though there’s a language barrier, Arthur is still trying to understand him, which I think is Arthur’s biggest strength and charm. He tries to understand someone truly and not just in a superficial way. Hae Song even tells Nora,

“I can tell he (Arthur) really loves you. I didn’t know that liking your husband would hurt this much.”

Hae Song, through this small meeting with Arthur, can see that Arthur really loves Nora. I think a small part of him hoped that Arthur would be this awful husband to Nora, so that he could still possibly have a chance with her, but the more he saw and talked to Arthur, the more he saw what a kind and loving person he truly was. I think that if Hae Song didn’t meet Arthur, then Hae Song would still think he has a chance with Nora. But through seeing Arthur, Hae Song can finally resolve this unfinished love story he has for Nora.

          Also in this bar scene, we seem them tell their truths. We see Nora tell Hae Song that the little girl he once knew is long gone, that the person she is now is not that exact same girl he fell for back then; and we see Hae Song tell her how he really felt about her,

“The Na Young you remember doesn’t exist here… But that little girl did exist. She’s not sitting here in front of you… but it doesn’t mean she’s not real. Twenty years ago, I left her behind with you…” “I know and even though I was only 12, I loved her.” Hae Song replies,

I think that this moment right here was really heartbreaking because it shows that Hae Song really had this deep connection with the Nora he once knew. It also adds more meaning to his interactions with Nora throughout their week in New York. One that comes to mind is when he asks her about what prize she wants to win now at the ferry. I said that the way he asks this question and his reply to Nora’s answer suggests that he only sees Nora as she was before. However, this interaction puts that moment in another context. It goes from Hae Song only sees Nora as she once was to Hae Song trying so hard to find some of the Na Young he once knew in Nora. I also think that this scene is very pivotal for Hae Song’s character because throughout the whole film, he’s been hiding how he felt for Nora. This is the only time we truly got confirmation of his feelings and it’s when he already knew that he had no chance and no way of getting to her. We even get more of this when they start talking about In-Yun. Nora starts this conversation with,

“I think there was something in our past lives. Otherwise, why would be here together now? But in this life… we don’t have the In-Yun to be that kind of person to each other. Basically now, finally we’re in the same city for the first time in twenty years---" “we’re sitting here with your husband.” Hae Song finishes. “In this life, You and Arthur are that kind of In-Yun to each other. You two have eight thousand layers of In-Yun. To Arthur, you’re someone who stays." Hae Song admits.

Hae Song accepts that in this life, he and Nora are not meant to be with one another. For Hae Song, Nora will always be a person who leaves.

          I want to talk about the concept of In-Yun. In my understanding, In-Yun is fate that is based on your past interactions with a person in your past lives. The more In-Yun you have with somebody the more it is likely that you’ll meet with that person or be together with that person. The example they give in the film is when two strangers walk by each other and their clothes accidentally brush. They say that’s In-Yun, and that there must have been something between those two people in their past lives and that’s why they interacted at that moment. I find this concept to be really romantic because it gives meaning to every interaction you have with people even if it’s just a small interaction. Like the people you went to school with that you haven’t seen since school ended had In-Yun with you but not enough for them to still be in your life. I think it’s a beautiful concept that romanticizes a lot of your interaction with people and the world. I feel like it’s easier to be jaded and be disillusioned with the world around us; but through this concept of In-Yun, there’s a way to slowly find meaning and purpose to this world. For Nora and Hae Song, they have a lot of In-Yun in this lifetime but not as many as Nora and Arthur have. At least not enough to be together.

          After being at the bar for a while, they all went home. Hae Song is leaving for Korea, so Nora offers to walk him to his Uber. We get to see this long shot of them walking out of the apartment towards where Hae Song’s Uber is supposed to be and it’s similar to the shot of them walking home when they were younger. They’re both quiet and just looking ahead to where they’re supposed to be going. I really love the parallels of this scene and their last walk home together when they were children. It’s like they’re being given a chance to finally say goodbye to one another one last time. They look at each other and wait until Hae Song’s Uber finally comes. They embrace each other and Hae Song heads to his Uber then stops. Hae Song asks,

“Hey! Na Young. What if this is a past life as well, and we are already something else to each other in our next life? Who do you think we are then?” “I don’t know.” Nora replies, “Me Neither.  See you then.”

With that, Hae Song says goodbye to Nora and heads back home to Korea. I really love this scene. I think it’s because they finally got to say goodbye to one another. Nobody is trying to hide their feelings anymore; everything is out there in the open. Specifically with Hae Song, who hid a lot of his feelings for Nora throughout his life and hid his feelings whenever they would abruptly part with one another. He finally got to say a proper goodbye to her. A goodbye that was on his own terms and with his proper feelings. After Hae Song leaves, Nora walks back home to her apartment, and she’s met by Arthur. She starts crying, and Arthur gives her a warm loving embrace and a shoulder to cry on.

So, a lot of people have asked why she was crying in the end and my reading of it is that she’s crying because she’s saying goodbye to her younger self and because she finally had a proper goodbye with Hae Song. She’s crying because she’s grieving for her younger self, the child that she once was. Hae Song being there reminded her of who she once was and what kind of a person that little girl was. Now, she has to say goodbye to that little girl once more. At the same time, she’s crying because this goodbye with Hae Song has been a long time coming. It’s 24 years in the making and it’s a definite end to their story. After this, there’s no more loose ends with her and Hae Song, just a definite end.

          I think this ending is what really sold me on this film because it didn’t feel like it needed to give us this typical happy ending with Nora and Hae Song. It acknowledges that their time has passed, and they both are leading different lives now. If there ever was a time where they could get together, they missed it and that’s okay because the people they had fallen for decades ago are gone. Only their memories survived. In a typical romantic movie, they would have set it up where Arthur was this bad husband and Hae Song going to New York to see Nora would be this grand gesture of love but in reality, none of that was the case. The reality of their situation was that Arthur was a very loving husband to Nora and Hae Song could see that. Hae Song going there wasn’t a grand gesture of love but more of an oddity and a hurdle to Nora and Arthur’s marriage. What I really love about this ending is that we start to understand that the movie wasn’t setting up a love story for Nora and Hae Song, it was setting up a proper farewell for them. A farewell where they can be honest with one another and a proper farewell to who they once were.

          Thank you for reading this if you did. It’s more than 5,800 words so I really appreciate it if you read this far. I didn’t mean for this to be so long, I just felt like talking about it a lot. If you’re here, then I’d love to know what you think of this or if you disagree with certain takes of mine. Have a good day and thanks for reading again.

[afterthegreatunknown]

Anwhistle Family Breakdown

(Or, a self-reference post to help me keep track of the OCs I created for the Anwhistle Family, alongside the Canonical Anwhistle Family, and Others)

Golden (Quiet) Generation Anwhistles

Anwhistle By Blood

A: the A stands for Aengus. The eldest of his siblings, Aengus is well-respected within VFD. But well-respected doesn’t mean Aengus is well-liked. Whistling Song Specialty: Rocky Road to Dublin

S: the S stands for Seachnall. The Black Sheep of his family (and VFD) through actions that weren’t approved of. If given the choice, he would do it again. Whistling Song Specialty: Maggie Mae

U: the U stands for Una. A lovely woman who many men wanted to marry, Una has high standards that only one man met; someone her family disapproved of. Whistling Song Specialty: When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

Anwhistle by Marriage

E, or Q: the E stands for Enrique, with the Q standing for his nickname of Quique. An immigrant from Mexico, Enrique risked the Anwhistle Family’s ire for his love for Una, and thought it worth marrying her.

A: the A here stands for Audrey. A fierce woman who supported Seachnall’s actions. She called out the Anwhistles and other families (mainly Baudelaires, Denouements, and Snickets) as cowards and hypocrites over it.

(Original) Schism Generation Anwhistles

Anwhistle by Adoption

F: the F stands for Francisca. A woman who adores opera, she is Aengus’ daughter. She marries C (Clovis) Baudelaire, who she less than adores. Whistling Song Specialty (being adopted doesn’t mean she can’t whistle): Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1

Anwhistle by Birth

I: the I stands for Ira. The first son of Seachnall and Audrey. Ira is a polite-speaking marine biologist with goals that aim high. Whistling Song Specialty: Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 (New World Symphony), Fourth Movement.

G: the G stands for Gale. The second son of Seachnall and Audrey, Gale is a jack-of-all-traits who loves film-making. Whistling Song Specialty: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Fourth Movement (Ode To Joy)

Z: Also known to some as O, which stands for Ocho (Eight). The only child of Una and Enrique, Z tried his best to protect his childhood friend, who still lives in Village of Fowl Devotee, and his family safe from VFD, but failed. It’s a failure that sends Z to his deathbed. Whistling Song Specialty: Étude Op. 10, No. 3 (Tristesse)

Anwhistle by Marriage

B: the B stands for Belladonna. A formidable woman who lives up to the flower she’s name after in order to do the right thing. B, despite Gale’s many warnings, always tries to to vindicate Seachnall’s actions (which she believed as correct) to certain VFD Families, to usually no results.

D: Formerly known as D. Snicket. D’s loyalty to VFD, for they helped her and her siblings escape their terrible guardian, pales in comparison to her loyalty for the family she started with Z, as well as the Snickets. D will do anything to keep her family safe, and most importantly, alive.

Proven False Rumor Anwhistle

‘H’ Anwhistle: Now, Seachnall prior to his marriage to Audrey, was something of a flirt and womanizer. After marrying, Seachnall stopped his Casanova ways and remained true to Audrey. Due to Seachnall’s Black Sheep status and that some VFD families were still polite and friendly to him (mainly the Quagmires, Widdershins, and Montgomery Family), a cruel rumor spread that Seachnall cheated on Audrey, and 'H' is his lovechild. The rumor was proven false because Audrey found the culprit who started it, and Audrey got him to confess publicly after threatening to expose his own affair to his wife.

Sugar Bowl Generation Anwhistles

Anwhistle by Birth

Gregor Anwhistle: the oldest son of Z and D Anwhistle, Gregor is an almost soft and baritone-ish speaking man that takes people by surprise when revealing his volatile nature. 100% judge Seachnall’s actions that lead to him becoming the Black Sheep, even though Gregor admits he would have done the same. Whistling Song Specialty: Bourrèe Fantasque

Helen Anwhistle: the Original H. Anwhistle, daughter of Z and D Anwhistle. Helen died at the age of three in her VFD recruitment. In a universe where she lived, Helen wins the heart of a non-hesitating submarine captain. Also, in this universe, Helen’s Whistling Song Specialty is The Garland Waltz from Tchaikovsky‘s The Sleeping Beauty ballet.

Isaac ‘Ike’ Anwhistle: The youngest son of Z and D. Anwhistle, Ike was a curious child growing up, and his curiosity transformed into (reckless) bravery. Ike is one the few people who doesn’t extend the ire/ban of Seachnall’s onto his descendant. Whistling Song Specialty: Beethoven's Fourth Quartet (Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 4)

F: the F here stands for Felix. The son of Gale and Belladonna Anwhistle, Felix is a traveler, going everywhere and anywhere. While having a decent relationship with Ike, Felix moved his family to New England to escape the ire/judgement of the other Anwhistles/certain VFD Families. Whistling Song Specialty: Piano Sonata No. 14 (Moonlight Sonata).

Anwhistle by Complications

Hector: the son of Victor Cuervo (Z’s childhood friend) and María Carmen Aguilar. Legally name Hector Aguilar, his informal full name is Hector Cuervo-Aguilar (Land of District law states only one surname can be on a birth certificate, and Aguilar was chosen). In a universe where he wasn’t recruited, Hector still gets roped up into the canonical unfortunate events. Whistling Song Specialty (because he too, can whistle): La Llorona

Anwhistle by Marriage

Josephine: Formerly Josephine Gonzalez-Swayer. Despite her bravery and fearless nature, Josephine is above all else, a cautious woman. Josephine always prioritizes safety first. Such safety is why she convinced Ike to allow and accept Felix and his family’s move to New England.

M: the M stands for Miriam. An adventurous woman who joined Felix on his travels. They later married in their time in Greece (Miriam’s suggestion). Miriam likes Ike and Josephine, for they treat Felix as his own person, and not as an extension of Seachnall’s actions.

Anwhistle Relatives

Beatrice Baudelaire: the daughter of Clovis and Francisca Baudelaire nee Anwhistle, she is the second cousin to Gregor and Ike through Francisca (being Z’s first cousin). Clovis and Francisca Baudelaire love their daughter, but not one another, and the two had one too many verbal fights at home that has Beatrice being ashamed of being a Baudelaire, especially as a child. Beatrice as such enjoyed visting Gregor and Ike’s home, taking those visits as a temporary sanctuary from her parents. Whistling Song Specialty: Mozart's Fourteenth Symphony (Symphony No. 14)

Jacques, Kit, and Lemony Snicket: the children of E and Jacob Snicket, they are the first cousins to Gregor and Ike through E. Snicket (being D Anwhistle’s sister). Jacques and Kit have little memories of Helen to where they forgot about her existence. Lemony in contrast, never have memories of Helen, thinking the Anwhistle Siblings are Gregor and Ike (and later Hector). Gregor prefers the company of his cousin Jacques, while Ike prefers the company of his cousin Kit. Lemony is equality like by them. Whistling Song Specialty: None.That said, Jacques can whistle.

Next Generation Anwhistles

Gideon Anwhistle: the first son of Felix and Miriam, he’s a sixteen-year-old who looks very polite, especially with his hexagon glasses, though he has a hidden anger that shows itself on occasion. Gideon has an interest in the paleontology field: paleobotany, the study of plant fossils. Whistling Song Specialty: Rhapsody in Blue

Elijah Anwhistle: the second son of Felix and Miriam, he’s a fourteen-year-old who sometimes let curiosity get the better of him. Elijah excels in sports (mainly swimming, canoeing, tennis, and baseball), but his real interest is art. Specifically, the traditional mediums of color pencils, markers, and inks. Whistling Song Specialty: Helter Skelter

Clementine ‘Clem’ Anwhistle: the last child of Felix and Miriam, as well as their only daughter. An energetic ten-year-old who loves creating buildings and decorating room interiors, be it on paper or on the computer due to having games that allows Clem do what her heart wants to make. Whistling Song Specialty: Walking on Sunshine

Regarding Beatrice and Lemony’s Engagement...

When Beatrice and Lemony announced their eventual short-live engagement, some people within the Anwhistle Family and Baudelaire Family wondered if it was legal. After all, Beatrice is a second cousin through the Anwhistles through her adopted mother F, and Lemony is a first cousin through the Anwhistles through D. and E being sisters.

Turns out Beatrice and Lemony before dating (hell, even before they asked each other on their first date), did their research.

By the Land of District’s law that the City follows, Beatrice and Lemony are able to date and marry. Beatrice’s relationship to the Anwhistle Family is a second cousin, meaning they don’t share a direct relative. While Lemony’s relation to the Anwhistles is a first cousin, because Beatrice has no Snicket relation through blood or adoption, the law doesn’t consider their relationship as incest in any way or form.

(Violet in TBB being force to married Olaf despite it being incest through adoption was through a loophole of the law of a minor being able to marry via permission from a guardian [or parent].)