#boo-oop | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

suzukiblu · 2 months ago

Text

Thank-you sentences for bOO-oops behind the cut; “Kara gets to Earth on time and the Kents get a two-for-one special on free kids”. tw: aftermath of a panic attack, implied PTSD, unhealthy coping mechanisms. (( chrono || non-chrono ))

If it hadn’t been for Ma and Pa, she would’ve just stayed up above ground with Kal, both of them hurting and terrified and screaming. If it hadn’t been for Ma and Pa, she wouldn’t have been able to get him away from all the roaring and crashing or protect him from the noise or soothe him through the fear. She wouldn’t even have known how to get him away from it. Wouldn’t have been able to do anything for him at all.

Worse that that, because all she actually did by being there was make it worse. Ma and Pa could’ve carried just Kal down here much faster if they hadn’t had to drag her along while she was screaming and panicking and carrying on like a disgrace. It would’ve been easier, if she hadn’t been there. She couldn’t help him at all. She couldn’t protect him at all.

She was a burden to him.

That’s not why their family saved her.

“Suh ay-fuh,” Ma repeats softly, and “Suh ay-fuh,” Pa agrees. Kara still doesn’t know what the word means–what the words mean?–and still isn’t sure she’s even reading Ma and Pa’s tones right, flat as they are, and is still just so bitterly ashamed of herself. Kal fusses in her lap, and she wipes helplessly at his face with the cloth square again. He keens unhappily and tries to squirm away from her grip, and she feels a rush of panic and terror and–and–

She’s such a disappointment. Such an embarrassment to their house; their family. Such a . . . such a useless . . .

She chokes back another sob, hating herself for even having to, and wraps herself tighter around Kal. He just–it’s not–it’s not safe, if he just–

“Karr-full, Ka-Lair,” Ma says, laying her hands gently over the back of Kara’s. Kara doesn’t understand how Ma and Pa can be this kind, when she’s such an embarrassment and a mess and . . . and isn’t . . . “Ka-Lum jess wan-suh tah gitt dow-nah, dar-leen, thas ull.”

Kara doesn’t know what Ma’s saying. Something, obviously but . . . but not something she knows. Not anything she recognizes; not even anything she can even hear right, it feels like. Kal is keening unhappily in her arms again and still trying to wriggle away from her and she doesn’t–she doesn’t–doesn’t he know it’s not safe? Doesn’t he know how small he is, how easy to snuff out, how tiny and helpless and small and–and–

He doesn’t, she thinks vaguely. He doesn’t remember Krypton burning and collapsing and imploding; doesn’t remember his parents sealing him away inside his pod. Even if he does, Aunt Lara and Uncle Jor had probably just laid him in it the same way they would’ve laid him in his cradle. Just like he was going to sleep for a little while, and no different from any other time they’d put him to bed.

Mother and Father, though . . .

Kara had–she’d panicked. She’d been terrified, and she’d been trying to convince them she couldn’t go alone, that they had to come with her, that they couldn’t just send her alone, and–and she’d refused to get in her pod, and–and she’d–she’d refused to get in, so the last time she’d ever gotten to touch her mother had been her mother grabbing her by the arms and throwing her in, and her father slamming the door behind, and her own voice screaming and screaming and her fists beating against the door, and the whole world ending all around them.

She’d thought–she’d thought there was something else they could’ve done. Thought there was something else they could’ve done.

But she’d been wrong. Stupid and deluded and shameful and wrong.

So the last time she’d ever seen her parents she’d been screaming at them, fighting with them, and the last time she’d ever touched her mother had been her mother having to shove and throw and force her away, force her to not be stupid enough to die. She hadn’t gotten to hold her or Father one last time. Hadn’t gotten to say goodbye to them. To say anything to them.

She hadn’t even let them say goodbye to her.

The last thing she ever, ever could’ve done for them before they’d both burned up and died, before the whole world had ended, before everything any of them had ever known had ended, and she hadn’t even been able to do that. Couldn’t even let her own parents hold her one last time, and tell her goodbye. Let them be proud of how their daughter had acted; how she’d understood what they were doing and why, and had accepted her duty with dignity, and gone calm and steady, and how she wouldn’t wake up thousands upon thousands of lightyears later still sobbing and screaming for them.

What kind of daughter is she, that she couldn’t even give them that?

. . . what kind of daughter was she.

Her parents are dead. She’s not a daughter anymore.

Kara Zor-El is no one’s daughter, and Kal-El doesn’t understand that it’s not safe anymore. Wasn’t ever safe. “Safe” was a lie, always. But he still doesn’t understand how easily the ceiling could cave in, how easily the world could crack apart, how easily the sun could burn out. He doesn’t understand.

He doesn’t understand, and all she has left is whatever she can do to keep him safe.

That’s the only thing she can do for any of them, now. Anyone from their house, anyone from their line, their family, their world–

Kal’s first word wasn’t even Kryptonian, and he’s never cried for Aunt Lara and Uncle Jor like she thought he would, and he doesn’t understand.

And he’s the only thing she has left.

“Ka-Lair,” Ma repeats even softer, and Kara can’t shame their house again. Can’t fail Kal again. Can’t fail her parents again.

Can’t stop herself from bursting into tears again.

“O, bay-bee gurr,” Pa says roughly, and he and Ma both wrap her up in their arms again like she even deserved it the first time, and she can’t do a thing but just sit there holding Kal and sob and sob and sob all over him. She’s such a disgrace. Such an embarrassment. Such a disappointment.

Such a weak, pathetic failure.

Rao won’t even come for a shameful thing like her, when it’s time.

Ma and Pa tug her to her feet with Kal again and guide them both over to the far side of the room past the shelves and unwrap the rolled-up blankets on the shelves to spread them out over the flat pallet laid on the floor back there. The blankets are odd ones, soft and padded and thick with, for some reason, rows of metal-toothed fasteners all the way down two of their edges. Kara only knows they’re fasteners at all because she’s seen them on the aliens’ clothes before, but doesn’t know why blankets would need fasteners like those.

She can’t think of a reason, but she also can’t stop crying and can’t protect Kal and can’t do right by their house and can’t make up for not hugging her mother one last time, so why would she be able to do anything at all?

Ma and Pa coax her and Kal down into the blankets and fold them around them, and . . . oh, Kara realizes as Pa pulls the fastener’s tab up to seal it into a large pocket that envelopes her and Kal completely. Kal fusses and tries to squirm out of her arms, reaching for Ma with a flat alien-sounding whine, but he doesn’t know it’s not safe, and Kara can’t let him go. She just–she can’t. It’s not safe, and he doesn’t know.

Kal whines louder, and then he starts to wail. Ma kneels down beside them and strokes his hair, making her little hissing sounds at him again. He goes back to the flat alien-sounding whines, but tries to crawl out of Kara’s arms again.

She doesn’t know why he can’t just understand.

“It’s not safe, Kal!” she sobs into his hair, huddling down small in the blanket pocket and wrapping him up tighter as she curls in around him again, and Kal goes back to wailing and tries to kick his way out of her arms. Ma hisses and hisses and hisses, leaning down over them and stroking his hair again. Pa sits down beside her and reaches over to stroke Kara’s back through the blankets, and she still can’t stop crying, still can’t take care of Kal, still can’t do this right, can’t–can’t–

“Ma!” Kal wails, reaching towards her again. “Ma! Ma! MA!”

But it’s not safe, and he doesn’t understand.

Kara sobs harder, and Ma and Pa make their little hissing noises again and again, and Kal wails, and she’s–she’s such a disgrace, an even worse disgrace, a–it’s not another apocalypse, not even anything really dangerous, not the literal end of the world all over again, so why is she crying again and why doesn’t Kal understand?! He needs to understand, he needs to, he won’t be safe if he doesn’t understand, if he doesn’t learn, if–he won’t be safe!

And he doesn’t even know enough Kryptonian to know that, because she hasn’t taught him enough to know.

How can she not have taught him that?

Ma lays down beside them and wraps them both up in her arms, and makes more hissing sounds at them. She talks very soft and quiet, even as Kara just uselessly sobs and can’t even try to understand what she’s saying. But Kal’s cries start to gutter down a little, and then a little more, and then they settle into just hitched sniffles and tiny little whimpers and flat whines. Ma strokes his hair, and Pa strokes Kara’s back again.

And Kara can’t even make Kal feel better when he’s scared, so what use even is she? What good even is she?

None. Nothing. Not any kind of good. She’s useless, and no good to Kal at all.

This pretty little yellow sun shouldn’t even touch her with its light. Never should’ve touched her at all.

She can still hear the crashing through the heavy doors of the hatch, distant and muted but unmistakable. It won’t stop.

She tries to tell herself that as long as it doesn’t stop, the world hasn’t ended. If the weather protocols are running, and the sky is roaring like that . . . the world isn’t over, if she can still hear that.

She couldn’t hear anything after her father had slammed the door shut on her.

So . . . so as long as it doesn’t stop, Kara tells herself. Tells herself, and cries silent, shameful tears against Kal’s vacuum-black curls and the dull, rough fabric of Ma’s flower-patterned dress where it covers her shoulder. As long as it doesn’t stop. The world isn’t over, if it doesn’t stop. The world is still there, if it doesn’t stop.

It has to be. It has to be.

Kal needs it to be, because he needs to be safe. She needs to make sure he’s safe. So the world has to still be there. At least this world, anyway.

It’s already too late for theirs, after all. It’s–it’s a long time too late for theirs.

But it’s not too late for Kal.

They all stay down in the liquid-stone room for a long time, and the crashing and rain continues on. One crash is so bellowingly loud that even Ma and Pa jump at the sound of it, but they don’t seem concerned; just a little startled. They don’t seem concerned about anything but Kara and Kal.

Not like it’s the end of the world.

Ma and Pa talk to them for most of it. Pa sorts through a few thick paper records that are on the shelf and takes one off, and reads to them from it in his flat, toneless voice. Ma strokes their hair, and . . .

Kara thinks it’s how the aliens sing, what Ma does. Or at least, it seems as close to singing as she’s heard them do. There isn’t even as much resonance or melody as a Kryptonian’s typical speaking voice to it, but . . . but it is kind of her, to do it. Kara appreciates it, that she tries.

They’re both so kind, all the time. She doesn’t understand why they’re always so kind, even when she’s doing something as disgraceful and embarrassing and ill-behaved as this.

She should sing to Kal more, Kara thinks vaguely. If she were better at this–if she were better at this, she would’ve been singing to him already. Telling him stories; telling him about their world and their house and their–about his parents. Speaking their language to him.

His first word might’ve been Kryptonian, if she were better at this.

And if she were better at this, Ma and Pa wouldn’t even have thought they had to go out in the storm and bring them down here to begin with.

Kara cries a few more times, later, but only once Kal is sleeping and Ma and Pa think she’s sleeping too. She’s already disgraced herself enough for one day, and she can’t be trouble for them; can’t be difficult like this again. Like she keeps being.

She can’t be, because as kind as they are, even Ma and Pa won’t put up with a useless farmhand forever. Can’t put up with a useless farmhand forever. There’s work to do. They need someone strong enough to help them bring in their harvests and carry their animals’ feed and Pa’s tools and Ma’s shopping and–and not make trouble, and–and if she can’t do that, they’ll send them away. And Kara can’t let that happen yet; not before she understands this planet well enough to take care of Kal on it by herself.

So she can’t let that happen yet. And she can’t be useless, or difficult, or a disgrace. Can’t make trouble for Ma and Pa or get in their way.

And she can’t let Kal see her any way but smiling.

It’s silent, when Kara wakes up in the morning. The world is over, and she’s behind a locked door, and she didn’t even let her mother hold her one last time.

She gets up and goes outside to help Ma and Pa clean up the mess from the storm and feed Kal breakfast and do the chores.

She has to.

#kara zor el #clark kent #ma and pa kent #superfamily #supergirl #superman #wip: kara gets to earth on time #bOO-oops #aftermath of a panic attack #implied pstd #unhealthy coping mechanisms

126 notes · View notes

kanawolf · 6 months ago

Text

Hera & Frealaf's Clothing

@from-dark-dunharrow (since you asked about it :D)

Please note that I am not an expert on anything related to fashion, much less historical fashion, and this all comes from my vague and general knowledge on the subject :D. This rant will go over spoilers since I'm talking about their outfits throughout the whole movie so, be warned.

SO! Hera's tunic and riding boots (? I'm referring to her thigh highs but I can't tell if those are boots or supposed to be like chapps) are pretty close to white in color, alongside the gloves she wears in one scene, and of course the frankly iconic wedding dress. Her pants and the trim on her tunic range from light-mid brown (tunic) to dark brown / black (pants), with golden accents for things like the buttons(?) on her shoulder pieces and her hair ornaments (ex. the crown at the end).

The one major exception to Hera's color scheme is the green dress she wears early on in the movie, a color that seems to be a more traditional color for Rhorric people to wear (considering it's use in the background of both WotR and LotR, especially for cloaks), with the dress itself being one that is used for a very formal occasion (the summoning of the Lords of Rohan). One thing I find interesting about this dress, alongside it being a very formal dress (that honestly feels a tiny bit off in terms of Rhorric formal dress, but that's due to comparing it to Eowyns' dresses in the movies), is that it features golden accessories that are far more elaborate. The dress looks expensive, something that a princess would wear, compared to the more adventure-y look that Hera seems to prefer. She dons the proper attire of a princess around the other lords during a moment in the movie where the Lords are talking about her as if she doesn't exist, almost as if, by wearing something not in her usual color scheme, she is hiding a large part of who she is beneath the title and expectations of "Princess".

This could also be me looking too deeply into the dress, but some thoughts on it (briefly, as I am trying to focus on the white & dark accents color scheme for this).

Frealaf on the other hand, his very first outfit in partially hidden underneath his dark (blueish black) cloak, and unlike Hera's, his color scheme is almost reversed initially. His tunic has a large chunk of white, but the sides and the middle of the tunic are a much darker color (can't tell if it's supposed to be dark grey, blue, or green from my own pictures). He also has very noticeable golden trim and decorations on his outfit -- similar to the green dress, his clothing for the meeting of Lords looks expensive, something befitting the nephew of the King and a Lord in his own right.

The next outfit we see him in is much closer to Hera's, with the tunic being predominately white with dark trim in the middle & dark pants (like Hera's), though he also has the addition of black and gold armor, alongside his blueish black cloak still.

His final outfit (excluding Helms' armor) is the coronation fit, a white tunic underneath the formal, royal green cape with gold, red, and blue accents that seem to be traditional colors of Rohan. It's an outfit that is laden with ornamentation and rich, vibrant colors, in sharp contrast to Hera's far more plain clothing, aside from her vibrant blue cloak, that remains in her usual color scheme of white / cream with dark trim.

Before I continue, I'd like to point out that green is also a significant color to both of these characters, and I have thoughts on this as well, which I might talk about after the next section, or might move to its' own post.

Also, one last side note, Hera's color scheme is similar to that of the Great Eagle she tries to befriend in the film and I don't honestly much in the way of deep thoughts on that - I just think it's a neat detail (and maybe showcases Hera's relationship with the concept of her own freedom).

Now, I have a couple thoughts on the significance of white in their outfits.

White is often used as a symbol of purity (especially in the religious sense), which could be used to showcase Hera's youth and inexperience with the situation that she is thrust into (it could also be why her meeting dress is Green, as that is something that she could be very familiar with attending due to it being a regular thing for her family). This could also be part of why white dominates her color scheme, whereas it, while still being a major color, never is the true Main color of Frealafs outfits / why it's always heavily accented with darker / richer colors or under a cloak (being that he's a lord in his own right, he probably does have more experience in battle than Hera)

White is often used as a color related to life (I'm aware its' also used to symbolize death in many places, which also connects here). Hera and Frealaf are the two members of the main cast that are still by the end of the film, so by having white in their outfits when Wulf, Helm, and by extension Haleth and Hama, don't have much if any white present, might be a non verbal way to communicate that These Two Will Live. However, given that white can be associated with death as well, I think it also tells the audience something along the lines of "These two will survive this, but they will both experience death intimately, including potential death of an aspect of themself / who they were" with this being Hera experiencing the death of her family and her people firsthand, whereas Frealaf arguably experiences a sort of "death of the self" where he becomes the last heir to the throne of Rohan after his uncle and cousins all die. However, I'd argue that his very first outfit partially mimicking his coronation outfit is also a non verbal sign that this was always his role, to be a Lord and a Leader of his people, even before he became the king (seriously the main difference between his first and last outfit is the lack of black in the coronation outfit and the more elaborate adornment of the cape and the trim in the coronation outfit - there's a lot more gold for one)

Now one thing that's also important to point out is that, keeping historical clothing in mind, white clothing would have been generally expensive and, in my opinion, very impractical for people who actively / frequently ride horses. White clothing would get dirty very quickly, and in general, I think it'd be weird to wear white clothing while actively riding, so I think it'd be more likely that their clothing wouldn't be true, pure white, but probably would be more like a cream or light grey, the sort of colors undyed wool & linen (or sun bleached) linen sometimes become. This could also play into the general use of their clothing, they would have the money and materials that could allow them to have either actual white clothing (as impractical as that could be for them as Rohirrim), but it would also make sense for them to use undyed clothing as part of their outfits since that would arguably be more practical, especially for riding outfits that weren't primarily darkly colored.

Side note, this is also why I think it's important that we never see Eowyn where her white dresses while being "active" in the sense that we see them when she is waiting in Edoras while the Three Hunters arrive, when she is recovering from the Black Death, and in her Wedding dress / dress she wears during Aragorns coronation in RotK. Her white dresses and even her title, The White Lady of Rohan, have their own connotations that I think partially could tie in with #2 on this list

4) The use of brown in Hera's outfits compared to the use of black in Frealafs' outfits also strikes me as important. For instance, wool can be brown in color naturally, without any dyes, whereas black was generally an expensive fabric that only the weather or men or religion wore. Brown, being an earthly tone, also tends to associate characters with being grounded or stable / dependable (which I believe that Hera shows over the course of the movie in different ways, including her resourcefulness for taking care of problems, such as not fighting the Mumakhils' head on but using her environment / tower defense weapons for). Interestingly, dark brown (the color of her pants and the outer most trim on her tunic) could actually be an expensive color to make - which to me makes a fun duality of the colors in her outfit, they could all be achieved through natural means, but the dark brown and pure white are more expensive, a non verbal showcase of her station within Rohan. Black, on the other hand, is a more somber color, generally speaking, but it could also be associated with humility (hence a connection to religious and monastic lifestyle), which I'd argue Frealaf shows plenty of in the movie (gracefully accepting his banishment from his uncle while still being loyal to him, for instance). And again, black was expensive to make, so Frealaf wearing both white and black really shows that our boy was doing well for himself financially.

5) Onto Hera's wedding dress. The dress being eaten by moths and ragged does it's own work in nonverbal storytelling, but I think the best part of it all is that the sparkly white dress is in ruins. Hera does not want to marry anyone, and while she in experienced in some things (something that she kind of admits to when she pleads with Helm to come inside the gate and lead their people), she does not have the same sort of youth she had in the beginning of the movie (with her finely tailored and well kept clothes). She has grown and matured, no longer this potential pinnacle of royal purity, but a woman who has been worn down by the deaths of her family, the Fell Winter, and the siege of her people in the Hornburg. And yet, she still holds true to her ideals, while her innocence may have died, she remains a woman of purity, not just due to remaining unmarried, but due to remaining true to herself even in the face of such hardships. It was also like, definitely psychological warfare against Wulf, she knew the dress would provoke him, and I absolutely love that she used his own obsessions against him like that.

6) Her last outfit keeps her firmly in her normal colors, which I think once against shows that while part of her may have died during the Fell Winter as she grew more experienced in life, she still remains true to herself, and she lived when all the odds were against her. The biggest difference is that her blue cloak returns (she had it during the first encounter with the mumakhil, but during the siege her cloak was a darker green). I think the biggest thing about the blue cloak returning is that blue is often associated with serenity, calmness, wisdom, and the sky / ocean depending on the shade (which have their own connotations that I'm not about to get into). Hera has grown as a character, she was wise to pay heed to the mumakhil in her lands, and though her wisdom was not listened to, she grew wiser after the Fell Winter. She even feels calmer at the end of the movie, like she's found her own type of peace even after the tragedy she had to endure, and she feels sure and comfortable with her own skills and in herself in general. I think this is something that Frealaf and Olwyn both would have recognized as well.

7) Frealaf's coronation outfit puts the white tunic once again under a cloak. This time, I don't think the white represents purity per se, I think it hold more to the association of light. He was the known / recognized savior of Helms' Deep, and with his ascension to the throne after the Fell Winter, I think the people of Rohan could have seen him as a literal symbol of a brighter future / new beginning for them all, especially combined with the vibrant, rich green of his cloak. Two colors that can be used to symbolize growth put together, and combined with the elaborate golden decorations and the red and blue accents, Frealaf's coronation fit feels (to me) like it is practically announcing a New Dawn / New Beginning / Time of Healing for Rohan and her people with his ascension to the throne and the end of the Fell Winter.

In general, I think it's really fitting that Frealaf and Hera have similar color schemes, in part due to them being somewhat similar in personality (calm and reliable royals, resourceful, loyal) and role in their story (being true to themselves and the saviors of their people). However, I really like that the differences in color and the ways in which color is used in their outfits also does a lot of nonverbal storytelling, which I personally really enjoy (even if I am like, completely way off base / overthinking this lol).

#boo talks #it's midnight so i apologize for the rambliness of this and the potential lack of coherence #it's been a while since I've done any sort of analysis tbh #i have been meaning to get back to it but my skills in writing analysis have definitely rusted a bit (oops)#anywho. war of the rohirrim good and i spent way arguably too much time thinking about this #war of the rohirrim #tolkien #long post #media analysis #(sort of? technically)

17 notes · View notes