#even the reminders of it give me war flashbacks like no other

[pennyserenade]

every time i think about seasons 8 and 9 of the x files

[lacollectionneuse1967]

remembering you - part 2

Theseus Scamander x Reader

summary: the truth of your and theseus's shared past comes to light at a very public venue.

fem!reader. theseus scamander x reader.

category: romance.

warnings: brief but GRAPHIC descriptions of gore (war flashback).

part one / part two

“I don’t think I’ve ever done anything that wasn’t expected of me.” The curse of the good son. The thought comes to Theseus unbidden. 

Even joining the magical resistance at the beginning of the war felt like some preordained line of reasoning that he only had to follow.

He’d vowed to his parents that he’d always do what’s right for his community. He’d been asked to help, so he did. In all realms of life, he tried to be helpful and do what was asked of him.

He didn’t have to think about it. 

But then: You.

Y/N swept into his life and spun his head around, turned his whole belief system upside down. He can only think of one other girl who struck him so profoundly, reached inside his chest and tugged him back into his body and the present moment, but that was years ago, and their encounter had been so brief… 

The principles by which Theseus lived his life were simple ones.

Restraint. Generosity. Order.

All dashed to pieces with the touch of your lips. When you'd asked him to kiss you his only thought had been "Mercy." He’d started undressing you by instinct. He’d taken you on his desk, it seems more like an unwieldy fantasy than a memory. 

He’s at home now. Dumbstruck at his kitchen table, glass of whiskey untouched.

He has the strangest desire to call his brother.

Newt, of all people! But he was probably galavanting around the world looking for Wrackspurts or trying to teach a Doxy to play fetch. They hadn’t spoken in so long, and Theseus had been negligent when it came to showing interest in his brother’s work besides that. He couldn't call on him now.

Theseus just needs someone to tell him what to do. 

He doesn’t know what happened in his office. He just wanted to put his hands on you and then, once he did, he started burning up inside and couldn’t stop. 

Y/N, Y/N, Y/N….

Your name was like a drumbeat driving him to insanity. A trance-inducing chant. 

“What’s become of me?” he thinks, helplessly, head in his hands. “I’ve gone mad.” 

He was supposed to marry well, unfussily and unremarkably. Find a respectable woman from a good wizarding family after building up his reputation as an Auror. He’d never touched a woman the way he'd touched you, so brazenly, so honestly, so entirely overcome with desire.

He’d never thought much of love. 

Even before today, he’d been distracted at work. Powerless, really. Writing to you occupied his every thought. Even when you took a little longer to respond, what he felt wasn’t impatience but agony. He hung onto your every word. His default daydream had become storming down to the Department of Magical Games and Sports and standing before you, making you see him, he loved you and he wanted you to deal with it too.

“Tomorrow,” he thinks and it eases some of the tension. He blows out the candle floating above his kitchen table and gives up on the whiskey, snatching the glass and pouring it down the drain.

Tomorrow he’s decided to tell you that he needs you, that he loves you, although he’s not sure what it means yet. Maybe that will help him clear his head, silence that roaring need. Confessing to you will be like letting blood. 

Yesterday your beauty had taken him by surprise, discomposed him, yes. But he reminds himself that he knows you. From your letters. 

He loved you then too.

And, aside from his feelings, he doubts there are any real secrets now between you.

-----------------

You want to ask Theseus if he dreams about the war too.

You wonder how many people in Britain return there, to that same reeking, muddied place lit-up with gunfire, in their dreams every night. You wonder if you could meet him there.

But no, Theseus wasn't in the trenches. He wouldn't know about how the mud is different there. Evil. Cursed. You'd long given up on trying to describe it to your sister, make her understand.

No wizards, not even those a part of the underground resistance, were in the trenches.

Your powers were wasted down there, how silly and indulgent magic seemed with people dying everywhere, dying badly, with less dignity and honor than stray dogs.

You remember trying to use magic wherever you could anyways. You remember your hands and your medical knowledge being, shockingly, more useful. When a man's limbs are shattered in opposite directions, when a man's face has been shot off, when a man is bleeding out, when a man....

You remember that first night, after Theseus and your family had left you, the numb-shock of seeing a man's brains for the first time. The sensation that came over you was less startling and more like paralysis or ice water. They were grey and had splattered onto your face and the ground before you. The men shoved his body over the top of the trench, throwing him at you to save him, not realizing he had a hole in his head. You stared at the soft, grey chunks on the floor and your mind unfeelingly conjured up images from the kitchen: chicken hearts, boiled ground meats, uncooked egg whites. It was so random you'd almost laughed.

War made the grotesque banal.

And all for what? That pointless tract of wasteland. Bodies at various states of decay, laid out like a rotting carpet.

You wonder what Theseus did to get called a war hero, you didn't think there were any heroes in the Great War. To you it was a tragedy of gross political malpractice.

They made a grave of your home in France. You couldn't have returned there, not ever.

You only ever went back there in dreams, where you couldn't seem to remember that the war was over.

It made you feel guilty in a distant, half-realized way, how you never wanted to talk about it or think about it in your waking life. When your siblings wrote down your name in a tribute to the combat nurses at last year's Armistice Day, you'd been blind with rage. Inconsolable with a nameless, blooming betrayal. "Nameless" because you couldn't say what they had betrayed.

Which is why this year's Armistice Day, today, you'd resolved to avoid all grief celebrations and talk of glory and war and to think only of the future. Of happy things. Of Theseus.

Theseus.

Yesterday you'd slept with him.

You'd actually taken him into your arms and body and then just let him take and take and take. You'd only asked for a kiss, but you'd found yourself unable to say anything but yes and please to him.

This fact made you blush the whole way home. Made you unfold his "goodnight" message from days before and read it again and again just to see the ink of his writing on paper, just to prove that what existed between the two of you was real.

At work yesterday he'd kept writing to you, just like he promised. Afterward, at the end of the day, he came to your desk and walked you to the Atrium, kept his hands in his pockets and looked at you fondly when you spoke, with an attention like sweetness. He was a gentleman--what happened in his office aside--indisputably so. You'd felt good and safe by his side. Like you belonged there.

Until you got home.

It was your mistake to open up to your sister. It didn't help that she kept saying that she couldn't believe you, that she'd kill him, that "it's all so unromantic."

You spared her the details, but you wanted to just blurt out and admit that it was the both of you begging for the other at intervals.

He'd gotten down on his knees, for crying out loud! He didn't coerce you into anything. All he coerced were inappropriate noises from your mouth, but, no, you couldn't tell your sister that...

Your argument continues in the morning, picks up where it left off right after breakfast.

"I just feel like you gave up more than you bargained for, Y/N. Because you like him so much you're more at risk of-"

"I didn't 'give up' anything! God, I can't believe you."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"No, it's fine, really!" You're grabbing your keys and shoving them into your purse with force, pointedly not fine. "For the record, he was the one who said he liked me. And I was the one who asked him to kiss me, again! I'm not a child. The only thing I'm at risk of is finally getting what I want."

Your sister cries easily, famously. You can see it mounting now in the tremble of her lip. It almost topples over into a sob when she whines, "I love you Y/N! I don't want you to get hurt."

"He likes me! He's my friend. We've been talking for weeks."

"What if he..." your sister hesitates and for some reason it humiliates you, her censoring herself for the sake of your feelings.

Your shoulders go rigid.

"What?" you snap. "What if he what?"

She shakes her head but when you don't relent she speaks grudgingly.

"What if he does this a lot? Casual sex. Spontaneously sleeping with women. Maybe even coworkers. I just want to be sure you're on the same page, Y/N. He means so much to you, I know that, and he always has. But he doesn't even remember you...."

Sick. You feel a swaying illness in your chest and gut. For a moment you taste bile.

Her words hurt so bad that you don't even feel pain, the fight in you just dies instantaneously.

He doesn't even remember you...

"Okay," you say, staring blankly at her. "Okay..."

"Y/N-" your sister stands from her chair suddenly, but you jerk away from her.

"It's fine. Theseus can do what he pleases. Thank you for your concern, but I don't want to talk about it anymore."

You leave for work.

------

The chaos at the Ministry mirrors the chaos in your head, which isn't any real consolation.

Whizzing baubles and streaming banners are still being put up in the Atrium, the center of which lies a hulking, rectangular platform, scattered hauntingly with red poppies. It sort of reminds you of gallows, though you doubt anyone else would appreciate the humor in your observation.

The Ministry always did some sort of luncheon or memorial for Armistice Day.

Speeches, honors, sometimes a little parade, sometimes, conversely, observing four minutes of silence. The thought of being asked to go on stage horrified you more than the Western Front had.

As you walk to your desk, you think about Theseus again. You think about the war. Both inevitable, given the circumstances.

You think about the service he rendered your father and your siblings that night. You think about the chivalry he demonstrated in letting you hold onto your girlhood for a bit longer, his hand framing your face as he left it untouched and denied you a kiss.

You think about him letting you stay for the Battle of Verdun, and how it never made sense to you and it still doesn't now...

You have to know.

"I'll tell him," you think. "I'll tell him today."

------

There's a memo waiting for you at your desk. It makes your heart patter in gross relief.

"He likes me. He likes me," you remind yourself.

Your sister's words this morning must've really gotten to you.

"Urgent matter for the Interdepartmental Liaison of the Department of Mysteries!!!"

You roll your eyes. You're smiling stupidly at the paper as you write your response.

"Theseus, you can't keep writing 'URGENT' at the beginning of all of your memos. It's cryptic and dishonest and it loses its intended effect."

"Okay, fine. I was just going to ask if it would be terribly uncouth if I asked you to meet me in my office before the memorial so I could kiss you a bit?"

The thought of him putting his hands on you affects you more than you'd ever admit. You look around the office, blushing, as if anyone could read the paper from so far away. This man was driving you insane.

"Well, that's one way to honor the troops. You are a veteran so I suppose there's no turning you down."

You want to see him, you do. But you have a mission today from your Department. It couldn't wait and he couldn't know.

You're hoping to use the Armistice Day events to talk to Mr. Bragg, the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, or maybe sneak into his office. Too much time has elapsed already, you need to find out whether or not he is really betraying the Ministry for Grindelwald.

Theseus's reply is surprisingly earnest.

"Huh, I always thought today was more about honoring the fallen than honoring the veterans."

"True. Maybe no kissing until it's over?"

"Deal. I'll see if I can write you into my schedule."

"Not funny."

"If you want to see me so bad you could always commit a crime and I'll come arrest you?"

"Hey, you're the one who asked to see me!! And threatening me with a good time is beneath you."

You see a lone blot of ink fade-in from where his quill is pressed down onto the paper on his end. He's trying to decide what to write.

When the words come at last they are so simple and candid and enticing. Theseus has never been afraid of honesty or affection.

"I like you so much."

You laugh aloud. If he was here you'd kiss him breathless.

"Yes, you said that already."

"Forget the kiss, I'd kill even to hear your laugh in person. To see your face."

"I like you so much too."

-----

You're the last person from your level to make your way down to the Atrium for the Armistice ceremony. The noise from below sounds more like a motorcade than a memorial. Honking trumpets, trilling drumroll, applause. Funnily enough, you think your coworker Ana is the one speaking now, snatched the microphone from the Minister of Magic himself.

In fact, by the looks of it, you might've missed some of the ceremony already.

The Atrium is packed with people. Ministry workers brought their spouses, some their entire families. Well-dressed witches and wizards not affiliated with the Ministry have also come in droves.

You scoot along the edge of the room, moving sideways towards the stage, craning your neck to find Mr. Bragg.

The periodic sound of applause crashes down like heavy rainfall, the way it drowns everything out. It's a bit stuffy from all the body heat, and your clothes cling to your body uncomfortably.

As you approach the stage, you stop pushing forward and look up in shock to see Theseus's face. He doesn't see you, and you're glad for the chance to just look at him outright. God knows you could look at him forever.

He's waltzing down the steps of the platform smiling broadly. His gait is relaxed, he's comfortable in his skin despite the attention of being on stage, which is something you envy. There's a ribbon on his lapel and a red flower stuck in his suit pocket, a few men and women are trailing behind him.

They must have just honored the wizards who fought.

Next would presumably be some ceremony for the Ministry workers to honor their dead. Last year they'd done a magical memorial with floating lanterns. This year you'd been told it would involve stones, or maybe it was flowers? You didn't want to stick around.

It was painful enough carrying your losses inside of you, seeing loss and grief paraded and exploded all around you didn't feel therapeutic or healing for you the way it seemed to feel for the rest of the nation.

"Y/N!"

You turn without grace, neck jerking painfully. The sight of Mr. Bragg's face startles you, makes you feel found out. It's difficult for you to rein in your surprise. You have to shout over the sound of Ana talking onstage.

"M-Mr. Bragg!"

The older man smiles. He's with his department friends and his cheeks are rosy. Drunk, maybe. They're holding the flask between them like schoolboys, drawing more attention to it really.

It seems disrespectful to you. Most Ministry workers waited until after the memorial ceremony to start celebrating the end of the war and drinking to "peace."

But Mr. Bragg and his colleagues look positively jubilant.

"My girl! I was just telling these gentlemen how we have a real Unspeakable in our midsts now! Tell them how good the Department of Magical Games and Sports has been treating you, why don't you? Better than the Department of Mysteries, eh?"

The men he's with laugh and jostle him, they're about to turn back to the stage.

You're still reeling, sputtering from surprise, but you have to spit it out now, take your chance.

"Mr. Bragg! Wait!"

His colleagues' eyes go wide in delight, one of them looks as if he's about to bark an inappropriate comment. Mr. Bragg looks taken aback at your newfound attention.

It was nearly 1930 and some of the men in the Ministry still had such backward ideas about women, even coworkers, it took everything in you not to roll your eyes.

"Yes, darling?" Mr. Bragg's answering smile is eager and smug. Self-satisfied.

Gag.

"Um, I was hoping to talk to you in your office after the ceremony? About my position as liaison." He looks suddenly bored, turned off, so you give him your most flattering smile and add, coyly, "Alone. If you're not too busy, that is?"

That seems to gratify him. He adjusts his jacket impressively in front of his colleagues. One of them wriggles his brow indiscreetly and nudges him.

"Of course, Miss Y/L/N! It's about time you and I had a good talk, one on one."

Again, gag.

You smile, and it's a strain to, before bowing your head in thanks and moving on.

Well, at least that was settled. You could drill him with questions after the ceremony and, during the ceremony, you could poke around in his office for evidence of betrayal. It was perfect.

Too perfect.

It was your mistake for lingering near the stage. For coming at all, really.

It sends a jolt of liquid panic down your spine when you hear your name, magically amplified for the whole crowd to hear. It booms throughout the entire Atrium. It's bizarre to the point of feeling dreamlike.

"Oh, and is that Y/N? Miss Y/L/N! Please join us on stage! Everyone, how can we forget to honor our wartime nurses?"

This isn't real. If the crowd hadn't parted to stare at you after all of Ana's pointing, you would've continued walking away.

A man jumps off-stage to escort you to the staircase.

You're past the point of being able to speak or object.

Once onstage you stare out at the crowd unseeingly. The tops of so many heads. You'd rather be at the summit of some great height, looking out at some cloudscape. Your fear of heights seemed healthy, whereas your stage fright was a simultaneously useless and formidable thing.

You regret befriending Ana. You regret telling her about the war, telling her anything about yourself at all.

You are sweating.

And, impossibly, Ana is still talking.

"-and at only sixteen years old! As a volunteer wartime nurse, Y/N Y/L/N stayed for the entire ten months of brutal fighting at the Battle of Verdun in Northern France. 300,000 dead and 400,000 wounded. She saved countless lives, muggle and wizardkind alike, indiscriminately. These combat nurses were the foundation of-"

Her last commendation draws some uncomfortable shifting and impressed gasps from the crowd. It's a mixed reaction, as views of blood purity were equally mixed.

Ana, in an asinine but expected turn of events, is still talking.

But you're no longer listening. You can't.

There are so many people in the crowd, but your gaze locks on Theseus almost immediately. You see his expression change in realization, his eyes widen and his jaw flexes, almost undetectably.

When he tears his gaze from Ana to you, you turn away.

He knows. Even if he doesn't remember, he knows.

You only know Ana's finished talking because of the crashing noise of applause, like the shore breaking on a cliffside. Your ears burn. You keep your head low as you exit the stage.

This isn't how you wanted it to happen.

You're torn between wanting to explain yourself and wanting to escape. Heart hammering, cutting through the crowd, you choose the latter.

You make for a secluded alcove of the Atrium, far from the crowd at its center, and sit on a marble bench.

You never lied to Theseus. If anything he was the one who lied. He said he'd remember you. He'd promised.

"It's okay," you repeatedly run your hands over the material of your skirt, over your thighs. It's meant to be reassuring, grounding. You don't feel like it's working. "It's okay, Y/N."

You'd like to say it was the stage fright at work, but no. It was the way he looked at you that was so upsetting. He looked at you like the earth was shattering.

"Y/N!"

Your head lurches upwards from where it's bent over.

It's shocking to you, the sight of him. As shocking as it was to see him in his soldier's uniform, standing in your doorframe on that night all those years ago.

"Y/N," Theseus walks over with heavy footsteps. He looks winded and undone, like he'd run to find you. His voice is weak. "It's.... How can it be you?"

There's a desolate longing to your returning stare. Your chest hurts. You're shaking your head, trying to dispel some of that tightness in your heart.

"You said you didn't need a name to remember me...."

"Did you remember me?"

"Of course," you're speaking so fiercely, he doesn't deserve it but you can't help it. "Right away."

Why is it more embarrassing to be the one who remembers? It's even more embarrassing than being forgotten.

"That's why I stopped writing to you that day," you add pathetically. "After I saw your face at the Ministry, I'd put the pieces together. All it took was once glance."

Theseus sits down beside you on the bench, still looking adrift. At a loss of what to do with this information.

"You must be disappointed," he says at last. "And you must think me a fool."

"Well... I don't think you're a fool," you hope that doesn't reveal your disappointment, but his pained wince suggests the opposite.

"I should have known," he says with newfound vigor. "You really haven't changed, have you? Even after your coming-of-age, you're still as stubborn as ever."

That makes you laugh, dreary as the sound is.

"I didn't come of age I just sort of... came through."

He laughs at that. "You know, I've seen far more of your siblings."

"Really?"

"They didn't tell you?"

"No, not really..." None of you liked to talk about your father's death or the period surrounding it. Too painful.

"Well, I spent a good week with them. With your father too, obviously. I had to make sure he was receiving proper care."

"Did you speak to them?"

"Your sister didn't understand much of what I was saying, the same for your father. But I spoke with your brother often, his English wasn't half bad."

You groan. "What did you talk about?"

Theseus seems pleased. Eager to demonstrate to you how much he remembers.

"Of course I asked him if you really were a combat nurse, had to make sure I didn't just send a teenager to her death," Theseus explains. "So he told me about the first time you came to help out in the trenches. Some story about the men catcalling you, telling you ways to make yourself prettier, and you shouting 'It's not my job to be beautiful!' at them and tightening the tourniquet of the man you were working on. Your brother told me he yelped so loud that none of the other men dared to bother you again."

You laugh breathlessly. It's so strange to hear the memory come out of Theseus's mouth. Everything about this feels impossible. Ridiculous.

"Did my brother share any other anecdotes about me?" You turn to Theseus with a wry look on your face.

This is oddly pleasant. Doesn't feel so awful anymore, unearthing the past together.

"I wish," Theseus's smile is toothy and endearing. Sly look in his eyes. "Naturally I asked almost exclusively about you. When he talked about you he called you by some pet name? I tried to use it to find you after the war before I realized it was only a nickname."

That makes your heart stir.

It was stupid. Impossible.

An unhappy coincidence. Those were all that seemed to keep you apart.

Theseus had tried to find you.

But [your brother's name] was so young at the time, he'd only ever thought of you as [your nickname] and never "Y/N." It wasn't his fault.

"I was so curious about you," Theseus continues. "Although I was proud of myself for not kissing you... You were too young. And I was relieved it was me who left last and not one of the other poor sods who came along, who knows what they would've done if a girl like you asked for a kiss."

"I wouldn't have asked them!" you protest, and his smile as he shirks off your playful hit splits your heart, you love him so.

Theseus raises an eyebrow, still smiling. "No? I thought you just wanted your first kiss before the battle. Didn't matter from who."

You shake your head.

"No.... I didn't even think to want to be kissed until I saw you. And until I realized my life was going to change forever. I'm an opportunist, I guess..."

The last part is meant to be a joke but he's not reacting accordingly anymore, he's hanging onto your every word.

And he's definitely looking at you too seriously for you to admit that you found him severely attractive. And kind. Observant and receptive, like he saw through you. Mostly handsome.

"I just," you cringe at yourself. Cower away from his searching eye-contact.

"What?" he prods. His smile is teasing this time, like he's hoping to charm the truth out of you.

"I just wish..." you wince at the words as you say them. "That you would've remembered me. It sounds silly, but I used to think about that night a lot as a girl. I handed over my siblings and my father to you, and I would've given you my first kiss, and more than that maybe... I still don't understand why you let me stay and fight in Verdun. I suppose it makes me feel even more silly, knowing it didn't mean as much to you."

The more you speak the more you watch his expression dampen. Theseus purses his lips unhappily.

"I'm new at this, Y/N."

"New at what?" You don't know what he means.

"And I'm already messing it up, aren't I?"

"Theseus," you say. "I haven't any idea what you're talking about."

"I just," he dips his head back in frustration. "I have thought of you and that night, often. I just never imagined you as a grown woman, Y/N. During the war, you'd become something like a guardian angel in my mind. Forever sixteen. But when I met you two days ago, I knew..."

It's so difficult for him to find the words it seems. He keeps grimacing and shaking his head to himself.

"I knew when my body reacted that way to seeing you. Every part of me rejoiced when I saw you sitting at your desk. It wasn't like meeting you for the first time, it was uncanny. Like... immediate recognition. It felt like I was remembering you, Y/N."

You place a hand over his sympathetically. It's warm under yours. It still makes your head spin, touching him at all.

"You made such an impression on me, Y/N," he reassures.

"I was just a girl," you say, dismissively. "I was naive."

"You were courageous, more than me or any of my men. Braver than all the British Ministry. It shook me, meeting you. Reminded me why I decided to fight, I'd become so jaded."

You have nothing to say to that. He fills in the silence.

"So you didn't want to become a nurse after all then? After the war, I mean."

"I never wanted to be a nurse, I just..." Death all around you. You just wanted to stop feeling helpless. "I wanted to help."

"I never wanted to be a soldier," Theseus offers congenially. "I just wanted to do what's right. That night you reminded me why I was there in the first place. You reminded me to be brave. I was ashamed of how little I thought of the muggles. And there you were, going off on your own, risking your life for them. Before you, I just wanted to minimize losses. But you made me want to save people."

Your lip wavers. You're staring into his eyes, into that pure blue, that dark sea. It's entirely inappropriate, but you'd like very much to kiss him now. You won't ask this time. You'd like to press yourself against his suit, no words can articulate what you feel for him, but maybe you could show him.

But then he speaks again.

"Y/N," there's a guarded, defensive edge to his tone that makes you hesitant. "I'm sorry, you don't have to answer this at all, but I have to ask. Was that your first kiss yesterday? In my office."

You can't help but bristle. You're embarrassed. The look on your face reveals everything, so there's no use in hiding it. Damn him.

"Yes," you admit, hotly. "Was it obvious or something?!"

He groans, looks pale. His reaction horrifies you further.

"I shouldn't have done that," he's saying, he looks like he's going to be sick. "Falling all over you like a dog---I should've made it gentle. Sweet. Demonstrated an iota of self-control-"

"It's fine," you raise a hand, made shy by his self-deprecation. "We didn't do anything wrong."

That does give him pause. Theseus stops mid-sentence, mouth hanging open. He has to recompose himself.

"You're right," he relents with a gentle shake of his head. "We didn't. I just mean... I would've made it good for you, Y/N."

"It was good," you insist. You're not sure if he's talking about kissing anymore.

"Let me try again, I'll get it right this time."

Your heart races.

You wonder when you'll get used to this, the knowledge that he wants to touch you, that he's going to give you what you want. Wonder when your body will stop reacting like a prey animal's every time you're near him, so strong is his effect on you. You want to run. No, you want to bare your neck, submit. Let love kill you.

Your sister's words from this morning are the only thing stopping you.

You have to close your eyelids before speaking.

"Theseus, do you...."

"Yes?" his smile is almost too dazzling for you to formulate a response.

"With other women... Do you do that sort of thing often? Not that it matters..."

For a stunned moment he doesn't react.

Then he is laughing at you. It startles you and hurts your feelings.

"Y/N, I don't--Oh, Y/N!" He hurriedly moves to reassure you when he notices the look on your face, reaching out and grabbing your arm. "Oh, no! I wasn't laughing at you, I swear."

"Theseus," you groan, hiding your face, humiliated.

"No, no," he says again, trying to gently pull your hands away so he can look you in the eyes. His hands are firm and persistent. He's still half-laughing as he speaks. "It's just that I've never done something like that before. Y/N, I don't know how to say it better, but I am dreadfully in love with you."

You look up sharply, instantaneously, to read his expression. It is serene and sincere.

No sign of a prank, no sign of a psychotic break.

Oh god. Your stomach plummets. He loves you.

He loves you.

"Theseus, I-"

"Y/N!"

Once again, Mr. Bragg has taken it upon himself to surprise you. You jerk away from Theseus on the bench.

Theseus closes his eyes and doesn't turn to greet him, his wrath is only barely veiled.

"Mr. Bragg!" You stand abruptly. "What-What are you..."

"The ceremony is over!" He seems annoyed that you don't remember, his pride bruised. "If I'm not mistaken you and I have a date in my office?"

Theseus makes a comically disgusted face, looking between you and Mr. Bragg in rude astonishment. If you weren't afraid of offending you might've been amused.

"He means an appointment, Theseus," you hiss in clarification. That seems to sedate Theseus if only slightly.

"And yes of course," you say to Mr. Bragg with a placating smile. "I'm all yours."

---

next part here

-----

author's note: part 3 (LAST PART) incoming! i had to break this part into two because it was getting too long :(

hope you enjoyed! more drama and smut in part 3

(spoiler: mr. bragg sucks + drunk!Reader and caring!Theseus)

[zukosdualdao]

i know some people take the moment of azula speaking up in the flashback to the war meeting in sozin's comet as azula trying to "protect zuko" after he starts (while carefully choosing his words) disagreeing with ozai, but i really can't see it that way.

even aside from the fact that i don't think we should ever argue that her advocating for genocide here was a good thing, based on everything else about their relationship, i can't see this moment as anything but her once again trying to establish dominance and superiority over zuko. it actually reminds me of a different scene, all the way back from the flashbacks in zuko alone.

in both situations, ozai is testing his children in a way, and when zuko can't or won't give the "right answer", azula interjects and is able to say exactly what he wants to hear.

in zuko alone, of course, ozai is asking them questions that seem to be related to whatever (heavily inundated with propaganda, clearly) schooling they get. something that i find really interesting is that zuko doesn't seem to only struggle with firebending, but with his schooling as well. which isn't exactly surprising: abused kids often have trouble in school, and that seems particularly likely when ozai is already treating zuko like he is weak, incompetent, and unworthy in other areas. it's a self-fulling prophecy, on ozai's part: he demeans zuko for not being good at firebending (and perhaps for not being good in school), and, because kids are very naturally going to clam up and not get better at something when they're treated as worthless for any perceived flaw, it affects his ability to build his skills or performance in school.

but i think there's also a way in which zuko probably struggles to keep up in school because he's receptive to the values ursa tries to instill in him from a young age. he probably doesn't realize the things they are learning are things that are morally wrong, but there's a way, at this point, in which he can't relate to them, can't understand the motives of why it would be considered a good thing to defeat an enemy in such a brutal way when it runs so counter to the values of kindness ursa is trying to instill in her children, be it by explaining that throwing bread at turtleducks is not nice or that we shouldn't wish death on other family members.

by contrast, the emphasis on azula here is that she's clearly fully bought into the propaganda, that she respects and admires the brutality of the tactics. (also, is it just me, or does she sound a little like she's reciting a textbook, albeit with a lot of glee?) and notably, at the end, when she gets the answer 'right', she side-eyes zuko with a smug smirk. just like she does in sozin's comet as she's told she's right.

just for comparison's sake:

the situation in the sozin's comet flashback is different, of course, because they're not being quizzed on their schoolwork so much as they are being asked to put what they've learned about war and tactics into practice. zuko has a lot more understanding now than he did as a much younger child of the realities of war because he's seen it up close. and because of that, not only can he not condone or suggest any of the brutal and egregious tactics that are clearly expected of him, but he actually says something in defense of the earth kingdom, albeit trying to choose his words carefully, and with ozai (quite possibly willfully?) misinterpretating them.

to suggest that azula is protecting zuko here is its own form of a willful misinterpretation. you have to ignore the entire context of their relationship, azula's established motivations, and the tone of the scene itself to come to that conclusion. she does not interrupt zuko to keep him from saying something that will get him hurt, but because she wants to prove once again that she's better, that she's right and he's wrong, that he’ll never catch up. but zuko is starting to realize that he doesn’t and shouldn’t want to.

[fountainpenguin]

Riddle watches New Wish - Post #21

Best of Wish

This is way more intense of a Rock-Paper-Scissors competition than I expected. I love how the stakes in this show are kid-themed, but still flashy enough to be engaging.

For some reason, even though I know Dev's surname is Dimmadome, it's still funny to hear a kid be announced like that. For years, that's been an "old man name" burned into my mind.

Are they allowed to do that?? Does apple beat worm?

He's just a little guy! You wouldn't beat a little guy at Rock, Paper, Scissors, c'mon!!

Time of his life.

Dev: I cheated! And you're supposed to be SAD now! That's the whole point!!

Dev is having a very hard time dealing with his emotions. I am definitely enjoying him screaming about how he cheated to win and that means Hazel should be miserable now. You can just TELL the words he's throwing out reflect how he feels and he's super confused as to why she congratulated him on his win.

-> Gives me similar vibes to Foop in "Blue Angel" screaming about how it wasn't fair that Chloe kept forgiving him despite his best efforts to tear her apart, although I think the emotions are being played better in this set-up.

-> With Foop, even though he also has a messed-up past (37 years of solitary confinement from the day he was born according to my frozen timestream notes), he was born with murderous rage, and his culture definitely leans in the direction of encouraging that.

With Dev, you know he's lashing out with things that would hurt him specifically and that he's having a really rough go of things. I like that.

If I'm feeling like Dev reminds me of Foop, that kind of implies Dev and Peri are supposed to me a good match that balance each other out. I like that.

That checks out- Peri has doting parents and wants LESS attention, and Dev can't keep his dad's focus and wants MORE attention. Peri's the one who keeps trying to rein Dev in and Dev is always trying to get Peri to go further.

Agency knew what they were doing when they assigned this pair, huh?

/war flashbacks to Foop being distraught that his parents left him alone for spring break back in the day.

THERE HE IS!!

Irep implying he didn't have a choice in his name change? I wonder what the reasoning was, since he even says it's "Harder to pronounce" than Foop? Curious...

As much as he hated his name when he was born (Season 7), he was very attached to it by "Love Triangle" (Season 8), correcting Goldie every time she got it wrong until he finally snapped and screamed at her about how "It's not that difficult!"

Goldie got Fairy names right, AND every character in the school play right, but never bothered to learn her one Anti-Fairy classmate's name despite all the time they spent rehearsing for the play and him making it very clear he wanted her to say it right. Big yikes.

He's very proud of his name in later episodes (announcing himself often) and has his business cards. I mean... Sure, he's allowed to change it- It just surprises me that he's heavily implying it was against his will since his attachment to his name was such a big part of his character in my memory.

He's developed an entirely new identity, lmao. Who are you?

Potentially setting up a plot about how he's mad he has to copy Peri, but I feel like there would've been easier ways to do that?

I assume the logic here is that it needs to be clear to Hazel and/or viewers that they're opposites (We got the info here, but he'll probably appear in future episodes where it needs to be clear to prevent confusion for people just tuning in), but if that's the goal...

W... why would he not just change his name to Anti-Peri?

Plot twist of the century: They bring back Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Wanda, but their names are Osmoc and Adnaw now and we all suffer for it.

/record scratch

Hey, um. Why did they give Irep body language that was pretty much exclusive to Foop's alternate personality??

You're really gonna play me like this??

Straight out of the GATE!?

Okay, I just rewound to his first appearance of this episode and I do see the Foop-exclusive body language in Irep too, but... ???

Just really caught me off guard to see two poses I've burned into my memory as "alt personality things" back to back in like, 10 seconds, but okay. I don't care if this is a tangent; the actual episode can wait. It's important to me...

All right, the context:

So, OG Foop does fists when he's frustrated / scheming / cackling / nervous (usually above his head or down by his sides).

His alter does upturned fists when he's praising / cheerful. That's always been one of their switch cues, from the alter's debut in "Playdate of Doom" (Season 7) up through the last implied switch in "Return of the L.O.S.E.R.S." (Season 10).

Even the very first onscreen switch in Season 7 ("Playdate") depicts the alter holding his fists like that, before the double eye highlights were introduced in "Spellementary School"-

-and he does the fists several times throughout his first episode.

Other body language habits include big, flat hands lifted towards the mouth, plus clasped hands. In other words, the alter is more "dainty" and "gushy" compared to Foop- I've always imagined him "doing everything over-the-top and unironically."

Don't confuse that with him being the nicest person, though. He's very funny; I like in the OG series when he's totally down to butt heads with Poof and coos "Does Mr. Popular want to fight~?"

Like. Logically, I know that is just a weird coincidence. There's no way the storyboard folks studied that, and there's no way they're planning to bring the alter back, because if they were, I'm sure he would've been blatant in this episode.

Foop's not using his high-pitched voice here and we can't use his eye highlights as a faithful signal since that's on-model for this show, but...

I mean... He's talking about Da Rules when he does the upturned fists. That does fit the "grumpy / scheming" energy which is correct for Foop (although he usually pumps his fists above his head or clenches them down by his sides instead of upturning them like this), but... ???

Wow, that is not a pose I'm used to seeing on Foop instead of his alter. I've written this little guy in 'fic a bunch of times; I know his body language pretty well and it was a switch cue for 3 seasons??

I'm okay. It's fine.

Also, here's a video showcasing their switches. Volume warning:

I just found out I missed one switch in "Terrible Twosome" when Poof gives him chocolate (even before his Terrific Twos kicked in), and I was always unclear on the full diner scene in "When L.O.S.E.R.S. Attack" (though I don't remember why; maybe because the voice is deep despite the highlights and I'm only rethinking it 6 years later), but... Them.

-> I do count "Terrible Twosome" as essentially the alter because the eye highlights, voice change, music change, and clenched fists all match the standard, but I'd accept arguments to the contrary since it's confirmed all Anti-Fairies have some version of Terrific Twos, and this is the only one we have for reference.

I was today years old watching this old compilation when I realized the music consistently zigzags between super cheery and dark when they switch, even outside "Terrible Twosome," which was where I remembered it. No... It's been there since "Playdate of Doom." Huh.

Okay, so... This is actually really interesting. When they switch, the music does too, but their music doesn't overlap. It's a very clear, jarring switch. There's often, though not always, a pause before this switch (such as their very rapid back-and-forth in "Playdate of Doom"). I've learned something new. Huh.

... Wait a sec.

They wouldn't...

...

Hey, uh ???

why does the tense music in "Best of Luck" cut off immediately before Irep temples his hands, drop to silence, and then switch the thumping part of the music to the cheery part underneath it and put the thumping part underneath the cheery bit instead?

I already used my one video for this post, but I can post the audio. It's subjective; I'm sure it's not supposed to indicate anything, so just bear with me...

- Okay, so we have this dark "BUM-bum, BUM-bum, BUM-bum" pattern. That goes for 12 seconds into this clip before fading out. - Note that you can hear, like... a scale underneath, like a swish, 4 or 5 seconds in. Right as 12 seconds turns to 13, there's a "sparkle noise". - And then we drop. And silence. So, that's the exact moment before Irep temples his hands.

- NOW the cheery scale in the music is louder and the thumps are very faded in the background, but definitely still there. - So, the stings are no longer "always switching, but never overlapping" the way they were in the OG series, apparently.

- Irep clasps his hands and says a couple more words, then drops his hands on "quitting." - RIGHT THEN, his music switches back to loud tension.

What the fliiiippp... what the fliiiiiippp?

?? I said I could see Foop-exclusive body language in him too earlier in this episode. Are they together again? Is that why they're sharing the music sting!?

SURELY that is not intentional. That HAS to be coincidence. I cannot imagine a world where that is on purpose. I'm losing my mind.

I... I don't really know where to go from here. I gotta lie down.

Bonus notes about the fists I moved down here due to length:

Okay, upon review, there are several ambiguous moments in the OG series where Foop himself makes potentially joyful fists instead of scheming fists, such as:

- When trying to fool Jorgen into thinking he's rehabilitated in "Playdate of Doom" (and Jorgen clocks him as lying) - When he's trying to sweet-talk Poof in "Two and a Half Babies" (and Poof also clocks him as lying) - Both times he's brownnosing up to Crocker in "School of Crock" (and Crocker clocks him for it) AND when he's sweet-talking the principal to trick him into activating his door trap. He also makes the fists when he's mimicking Poof in his first scene, so... he pretty much does it anytime he's "not being Foop," lol. -> In that case, it's funny he makes those fists when telling Poof in the closing scene that he's "sorry for trying to annihilate him." That said, he DOES switch a few seconds later while gushing over how Sammy Sweetsparkle is "kind of a bad boy." -> Clasped hands (also a thing his alter does a lot) is ALSO something Foop does when he's blatantly lying (The last of the Snow Wanda scene in "Fairly Odd Fairy Tales" is a good example, but I saw other episodes too). - Continuing with ambiguity talk, he does the joyful fists both times he enters the pet shop in "Man's Worst Friend," (a scene where he seems to switch multiple times, so it's clearly a place that affects him, but he doesn't have eye highlights when he first enters the building) - When the Anti-Fairy Council names him a scary godparent in "Fairy Godcouple" and he grins and says "Bring it on!" (though I can see that as scheming about what he can do with this power) - At the end of "Fairly Odd Fairy Tales" when he's trying to coax Timmy into eating his food and Wanda hands him a treat, interrupting his scheme (and he leaves his fists in the air while expressing interest in the treat) - The first time he meets Vicky during "When L.O.S.E.R.S. Attack" (when she joins the team's plan to get Timmy, so... arguably scheming, though the alt personality is known for crushes - and had eye highlights when asking Crocker if the mystery person he wanted to bring in was single - so I'd accept that as an answer).

Yes, I did drop everything to rewatch every Foop episode for this. hey man how's it going.

[epickiya722]

I don't understand why the BkDk shippers are getting upset over the last chapter for and why the Ochco x Midoriya shippers are celebrating? Did I miss something? Midoriya just wen to go chase one of the first friends he made at U.A. whose clearly hurt? He would do that for any of his classmates? I don't understand why people are assuming that a ship has been decided or has ended? It's Midoriya, he's caring, he's checking in on his classmate? I just don't understand what's going on?

Rereading the chapter, yeah, I don't get it either.

Like, Tsuyu voiced her concerns about Ochako and Izuku being Izuku would go and check up on her. That didn't feel "I must confess my feelings" on his end. And with how Ochako was being portrayed, I don't think on her end she would want to confess anything to Izuku other than the pain she's been feeling. Or even go "no, I'm fine, I'm fine. Nothing is wrong."

Also, come on, they've been friends since the beginning of the school year. They're practically best friends. You think he wouldn't go and check on her?

Saying this on a neutral ground, this is the time to take off the shipping goggles. And yes, you don't have to ship the ship and think the context of what is being presented as "writer baiting the ship". You're still seeing a ship. If anything, you're doing yourself and the characters an injustice because you're not separating them from the romance you're putting them in.

It gives me flashbacks to the first cliff scene and to be honest, I saw them having a talk coming.

One similarity I caught is the remark about hair. In the first cliff scene, Izuku makes a comment about Ochako's hair and among other things. And I said it before, the way that small bit of dialogue was framed reminds me of when you have a friend who talks bad about themselves and you chime in about how great they are to comfort them.

The hair comment is repeated but in opposite when Ochako comments on Izuku's hair and at first glance, she seemed slightly "dismissive" of how he was feeling but something told me right then and there "Oh, they're going to have to talk about their time in the war". With that, I feel like it was a subtle hint that Ochako was trying to hold back her own feelings about her fight with Himiko. Trying to distract herself from thinking about her.

The thing is, to me, I think the first cliff scene is just a first part to what's coming up next. A "this is what I'm going to do and I'll get back to you". What's coming up next feels like "okay, so... uh... this is what happened".

I think one big thing that is often forgotten when it comes to Ochako and the relationships she has is that she is still her own person.

She doesn't live for Izuku, heck, not even for Himiko. She just so happens to care about those people. Let's be honest, if Horikoshi really wanted Ochako to be all about Izuku, he would have done so in the very beginning. Usually in Shonen, the female character would almost immediately be head over heels for the main male lead and try to hide it.

Ochako? She was an already established character with her own personality, own goals, etc. Horikoshi could have easily made her one dimensional with her mind being plagued with Izuku, but thinking back on it we barely get that. On Izuku's end, he could have made it clear it was mutual. Horikoshi ain't afraid to show Izuku's emotions so why would he hide Izuku's "romantic" feelings for Ochako if he had any?

That's just me and if I had to make a guess. What of the next chapter their talk last like 4 pages and we move on to something else? And as I brought up, what if Tsuyu is there? We might have only seen Izuku, but if Tsuyu asked, he could have carried her there. He wouldn't have thought it was a "just me and Ochako" moment. He would have been like "She needs all the support she can get"...

Horikoshi, I need to see that.

[kneelingshadowsalome]

What if Konig accidentally scared the reader?

Like they were having small disagreement when he raised his hand to touch his face - and the reader flinched at that?

I can imagine him getting flashbacks to his father and how he used to treat his mother. He would feel so bad :(. Like, 'Does she think I'll hurt her? Is she scared of me? What if I do end up like my father?' And have a mini breakdown.

But from the reader's POV, she wasn't really "scared" of him. She just saw movements from the corner of her eye, and her body reacted for her.

Sorry not sorry for the angst ‼️🥰

I’m going to answer these two together because they kind of interlap!

CW: sexism, toxic König, light angst, a dash of fluff

Ooh this kind of behavior would remind him of his mother and only amp up König’s protectiveness for sure! I can’t stress it enough that the more his woman needs him, the better König feels about himself. It’s his life’s purpose to take care of his companion (so much so that this caretaking gains manipulative, stalkish and possessive elements...)

Truth be told, he would view this kind of behavior as you being helpless. And helpless creatures draw him in. König very much has a thing for helpless women. Actually, he thinks it's only natural for a woman to behave like that! His motivation to shield, guard and protect is founded on the need to make himself feel strong and capable (or masculine, if you want to put it that way).

You're scared? He will protect and console you, whatever it is. The more jumpy you are, the more it fires up his protectiveness. This guy wants to be the hero who saves your day. He will do anything in his power to drive your fears away.

You're clingy? Boy, you just gave a starving dog a fat bone! The more clingy you are, the happier König is. (Then he can pretend it’s you who needs him and not the other way around.) It soothes him when you're needy and desperate for him and his company. He will always be there for you, don’t worry ❤️

You forget things and stuff? König will go and fetch that shirt you forgot, even if it's miles away. He will say you should go and rest for a while if you spilled some water on the counter. In fact, he orders you to go and sit down while he cleans it up. He doesn't normally do house chores and cleaning but hey – his woman has clearly just exerted herself so of course he'll help.

And about arguments: during an argument König would be quite calm, actually? He would rarely even raise his voice with you. He's simply that sure of himself and of knowing what's "best for you". You can have your little fits and he might entertain you by giving you what you want if it's something insignificant, but otherwise, he knows he will have the last say if you disagree on something major.

The only thing that would make König lose it with you is probably the cheating scenario discussed earlier... He would be so broken, it would fuck him up so completely that there would be no redemption for him anymore. His violence might bleed into this relationship and manifest as emotional abuse, perhaps verbal abuse, too. He would go outside occasionally to let out some steam (wreck something) but even then, he would not touch you in anger.

If you flinched as an involuntary reaction to his touch during whatever argument you were having... yes he would have a minor breakdown. Flashbacks to his abusive father: definitely. König would apologize if he has been too rough with you. He knows his size and that he’s violent as fuck.

He sometimes wants to squeeze you a little too hard, gives you bitemarks when you two are having sex, he wants to hear those helpless sounds you make when he’s inside you... He wants to own, no, possess you. But he doesn’t want to see you hurt or scared (well, that's what he tells himself, even if you might suffer from his controlling behavior). There's a tug of war inside him: between the need to protect those few he cares about and the need to just annihilate the whole world that has made him suffer.

The last thing König wants is to become a replica of his father. That’s why women get treated differently, like they’re delicate flowers (because König is in fact scared of himself and that he might hurt them), and that’s why his woman will be protected and sheltered and taken care of. At all costs. She will never suffer the same abuse his mother did.

(Yes, König will only, um. Abuse you differently? Aaargh!)

[roxannepolice]

I understand where the "RTD is pulling an obscure past villain in a supposedly new audience focused season" take-with-critical-flavour comes from but. Like, this may be one of the things that make his writing for me, but all of these past situations hardly ever required lore literacy?

Nastene consciousness is a very simple concept that neither benefits nor loses from having seen TotA. The Daleks' focus was entirely in reference to the Time War. Cybermen in s2 were specifically parallel universe Cybermen. The Sontarans were simply on their usual bullshit. Ice Warriors were only brought up as Mars's natives that would explain were the Flood came from (you remember that, right? that the Flood was Ice Warriors' weapon?). Dammit, Rassilon being Rassilon is only established in one line and apart from added epicness of literally fighting your technocratic god this doesn't give or take away much. The Toymaker got one flashback to remind that yes, he and the Doctor already know each other and there's a pinch added bitterness but no, this isn't a revenge story, this is "humanity is fascinating with their little nation dolls and war games" story.

And I left him for the last, because even THE MASTER wasn't there for "history between us" nostalgia fest sake. Yes, the childhood friendship had to be brought up because it's too important in this case, and the times the Doctor stopped the Master as well as the times they cooperated had to be brought up to show how they differ in their perceptions of their relationship, but that's pretty much it and you get all this from the story on its own. You can get an added rush from the little threegado nods but that's just the aesthetic.

Like, the universe is large, multiverse even more so, but sometimes you're just going to run into the same anthropomorphic or zoomorphic personification of pure concepts, and the only thing you can do is deal with it again, with the caveat the gods can't be tricked twice?

[nightswithkookmin]

SEVEN BY JUNGKOOK PT1

Disclaimer: this review is from a shipper's perspective and it's objective is to rebut a few misconceptions about 7.

When I first heard the song was gonna be titled seven, I rolled my eyes- like how many times are these boys going to pander to Army with the whole 0T7 agenda right? Here they with yet another song about how much they love eachother like come on! I love BTS, I do but- I mean yall had the tattoos and the cute meet ups, and heart wrenching sappy goodbyes- isn't that enough why yall gotta make yet another song about your bond and friendship WHYYYYYY yall don't have nothing else to talk about? I thought season two was yall on tour grown grown shit- how is this growth if you singing bout the same thing over and over- right? BOY WAS I WRONG ABOUT THAT!

It's a good thing I didn't come out here to rant about that cos that would have been the biggest embarrassment of my life and I would be eating my words right about now while penning several apology letters to Jungkook- anonymously.

Seven thus, to me, is surprisingly good. Not at all what I had thought the song would be about so when I tell yall I was screaming up and down in my living room surprised and amazed clapping and cheering on as if this was the best thing I ever heard- yall wouldn't even understand.

It is why the first thing I love about the song is the title and how creative it is in as much as it doubles as a play on the word and teases out his connection to Bangtan- say whatever you want but I think that was hella genius and creative and reflects Jungkook's personality for someone who has always been creative in this way from his use of color contrasts in his GCFs to tell a story right down to choosing ABCD as his IG handle.

The MV had Jungkook written all over it- playful, goofy fun yet delightfully hot- it's the memes for me.

It was nice to see him be himself in a music video- nothing felt forced and contrived to me nor seemed out of character and that's what gave the song the flair I think it has. Jungkook pulled this off smoothly.

His acting was spot on- I loved the female character in there (in spite of yall saying they didn't gat chemistry) that's just because she's my type so thank you for that Jungkook. Mean cold emotionally unavailable, physically intimidating- yea no, I'm in love with her not gonna lie🤧

And I don't know what it is but she reminds me of Park Jimin too. And I sorta kinda like Jimin soo🥴

Is it the cheek bone?

Or the neck and shoulders

Either way, she invokes the same feelings I get when I look at Park Jimin- strong alpha female😌 may be it's because they both give off masc/fem androgyny energy and I like that shit- eat it up nom

She played her role very well and helped sell the story.

Those saying they lacked chemistry yall never seen BTS around girls huh cos it doesn't get better than this😩😩😩😩😩

Don't know if yall were expecting them to be flirting and shit- at least this female lead played center I'm still trying to find the female lead in JMs MV😭🤣🤣

I'm actually surprised how good Jungkook's acting turned out in this MV. Whatever they were doing in the restaurant- I'm sold.

And I know alot of people aren't too enthused by the plot of the MV- a young man hopelessly in love with their partner to the point of clinginess and obsession- look, may be if I were looking at this concept from an outside in perspective I would find issues there with that narrative too but as some one who has been following these men almost through out their music career and have had the privilege of consuming content beyond the music they do- I kinda find it hilarious 😂

Hilarious because it's everything fans, and BTS accuse Kook of- it's giving me war flashbacks to the perila leaf conversation they had, to all the times he and Jimin have been caught sneaking into each other's hotel rooms because CLINGY, to Jimin complaining he comes into his room at 1am just to sit on the bed and do nothing, to all the theories about Kook being the clingy one in Jikook- hate to say I told ya😆

It's almost as if he's saying we'll folks yall are not wrong I kinda is clingy and I'm not ashamed🤣🤣🤣🤣

He's a hopeless romantic and he hasn't made that a secret at all. To me, what this is is he's owning the narrative- that is if this was a conscious decision and artistic choice by him.

I had to look up the director of the MV and this is the first time in my life I've genuinely cared about the director behind any project for that matter cos how much of a coincidence is this to cast characters who complement each other so well and craft a narrative which is not a narrative at all!

Their website says they blend "youth and pop culture with high concept storytelling." Well they pulled that off. The plot is simple and easy to follow and reflects pop culture. I wouldn't say this is exactly ground breaking though, because it's been done over and over again- but I think Jungkook rejuvenated the concept by adding his own take and personality to it. It was done well and I must give him high praise for this.

If you are a fan of pop culture and pop music this is consumable as fuck. The song is really catchy. And that's just the thing, there is a market for this genre of music whether you like it or not and he doesn't have to cater to everyone's taste all at once. However to me, this is a step in the right direction for his career especially if he is to position himself as a global artist.

People may know BTS but not everyone knows Jeon Jungkook and this right here is him carving a niche out for himself. He is not trying to ride on the success of BTS. He is not trying to be the solo version of BTS. He is trying to be JEON JUNGKOOK.

His music is gonna play in every teens living room, every adults bedroom, in the club on the streets- he's reaching places even BTS struggled to reach and that's the power of his brand.

He's making waves and he's only just begun. And it's about damn time too!

I don't have much to say about Latto other than give that bae some grammy just for the titties😩 the explicit version of the song makes so much sense why she was so freakylicious up on a BTS song😭😭😭😭

First I was like gurl what? Slurp what??? Then I heard the fucking you right version- I said carry on. My mistake chilee. Jungkook ma n*ga you wild.

It's refreshing to see him step into his power and own his image and his brand and control the narratives- if not capitalize on them.

Overall I think this was a great pop song and Jungkook carried it so well. He's gonna go places. It's high from here and nothing less.

While on the subject, let me address some of the remarks people have been making about the song. To anyone complaining this is yet another pop song- with all due respect, he is not Beethoven he is not an Opera singer he is a freakn pop artist 😩

If yall are tired of pop music just say so and go but don't come for a pop artist doing what a pop artist is supposed to do- and don't let a lie slip out of your mouth it's a great pop song that bops. Seven freakn days a week.

No other kpop artist have come this close to breaking into a western market much less come this close to dominating it. And to some of us, this has always been the dream. I have spent so many sleepless nights meditating and praying for BTS particularly Jikook to gain a strong foothold in the western music market, beyond Korea and Asia and when finally they are making attempts and moves towards that goal yall want to tear him down- fuck yall opps HE IS FREE BITCH.

At this point I really don't care whether people like the song or not because we have moved past that stage where their in their progress in their career was contingent on people liking their shit. How are you gonna like a song if you've never even heard it? Now more than ever, what's important is reaching as many listeners as possible and to that end I think they are all on a right truck.

Jungkook is out to make a name for himself and solidify himself as one of the top pop artist in the world and I don't think his language or country should hold him back- asking him to stick to Korean songs is holding him back from his full potential. Faulting him for for branching out and reaching for the stars is equally holding him back and putting him in a box- well burn that box would you.

I really hope seven is the first of many English pop songs he will make because we want to see more of him, all of him and especially what he can contribute to the genre he dabbles in. His best is yet to come.

And for those complaining seven is nothing new- understand IT IS NEW FOR JUNGKOOK. It is new for many of us who are seeing him do this for the FIRST TIME AS A SOLO ARTIST.

His English keeps improving with each new song, his delivery gets better and better- yall just leave him alone please and thank you.

My final thoughts, as the main vocalist of BTS HE SURELY LIVED UP TO HIS REPUTATION WITH SEVEN. HIS PERFORMANCE WAS AMAZING, COSTUME LOOKED GREAT, SET WAS FANTASTIC AND HIS VOCALS WAS FLAWLESS.

If this is the start we are off to a good start.

The MV to me gave him opportunity to showcase more of his goofy personality, to show people he really doesn't take himself too seriously and has a great sense of humor.

As a performer he nailed his role. Definitely understood the assignment. And it's a good thing they casted a strong female lead cos them damsels in distress be getting on my nerves.

Do we need more of this? Yes AND YESS AND HELL YES!!!!

Between Jimin's Angel and this, you guys have no idea how excited I am for their journey. I want to see more collabs, I want to see them take more risks and build their individual brands.

Jungkook should definitely consider acting. A cameo in a popular American series wouldn't hurt his career.

In fact, the entire maknae line should.

[milkytheholy1]

Day 20: Team Awesome

"Why is Raph sulking on the couch?" Leonardo had asked, wandering into their shared living room, observing a curled-up Raph; steam rising off of his green skin.

Mikey, who was cowering away in the kitchen, turned to Leo with sorrow in his eyes, "I did a terrible thing." he muttered. Perplexed, Leo nudged Mikey to say more, but the young teen only rolled his eyes, "Okay, well, it all started when..."

Leo stared at his brother, "Erm, Mikey?" no response, "Are you doing that thing where you trail off into a flashback? You know you can't do that in real life, right? It's important to me that you know that."

No response.

But for all who want to know, the young master Michael was besting his older brother in a video game tournament. The two were known to be the best thumb tappers in all of the sewers, so it was only natural the pair wanted to host a competition to see who was the best.

It was a close game, though it had been a 'close game' for nearly four hours. The game itself? Just a simple brawl type, something Donnie had salvaged from an abandoned arcade in lower Queens. It had only been up and running for two days before Raph had conquered a new high score. From that point on it had been an all-out war between the four brothers to outdo one and another. Leo had left first, saying he had more important things to do, then it was Donatello, claiming he had to break some scientific theories.

That had only left Mikey and Raph, competing until the other failed. They'd only stop for an occasional food break, but even then, it would only last for a second before they were back on the machine.

"Ya better just give up now, Mikey. Ain't no way ya beatin' me!" Raph boasted, knocking his body weight against his brother. The small teen wobbled before stabilising himself, "Hey, no fair, man! That's cheating!"

Four hours turned into five hours and five hours turned into seven. Donnie had walked back into the lair to grab a glass of water, he turned his attention from his battling brothers to the time on the oven.

3.01 am.

Sighing, Donnie waltzed up to the two in a sleep-deprived daze, "Shouldn't you guys call it quits, it's getting pretty late."

"Stay out of it, nerd-atello. I'm not quittin' till Mikey fails."

"And I'm not quitting till Raph fails!"

Donnie rolled his eyes and went back to the dark depths of his lab.

----

"So you stayed up all night to win a stupid game?" Leo interjected, arms folded over his chest, "What's new?" he remarked. Mikey shook his head, "It's not just that, bro. You see..."

----

Mikey was the first to yawn, sparking some attention from Raph, "Uh ohhh, looks like ya gettin' tired there, Mike. Ya better head off to bed."

"And leave you to get the high score? No way, dude! I'm staying up all night to beat your butt!" Mikey declared, forcing back another yawn. Another hour had passed, both boys were feeling completely dead on the inside, slow eyes barely blinking as they mindlessly pressed buttons. And that's when it happened, Raph, who at this point was fighting the battle one-handed while his other hand lay under his chin, had slipped. His head fell, quickly hitting the thumb-pad and ultimately losing a point in the game.

This now meant Raph could no longer get the high score.

Mikey jumped up in realisation, screaming at the top of his lungs, "I did it! I DID IT! In your face, Raph! Suck it!" he started doing a little victory dance. Raph scowled, he was suddenly full of energy. Grabbing the machine in a violent grasp, he began shaking it, "No fair, I fell asleep! I want a rematch!"

"Nu-uh, I'm retiring as the ultimate champion."

"Ya can't just do that?"

"I believe it says so right here!" Mikey laughed, pointing to his butt. Raph growled and sulked away to the couch, giving Mikey the silent treatment.

----

"So now you understand the terrible thing I've done." Mikey solemnly said, head down and shoulders slumped. Leonardo held back a laugh, Mikey clearly felt guilty, but Leo reminded him that at the end of the day, Mikey used his skill and some luck and won fairly. He did suggest apologising to Raph with some pizza and scary movies, which Mikey happily obliged with.

[mioyeo]

Watch your back : chapter 4

Once you don’t value what you have someone else learns how to take care of what used to be yours

Synopsis : 8 men supposed to give her all the love they promised end up leaving her behind without a valid reason

Pairing : girlfriend Reader x PolyAteez !

Warnings : this chapter contains mentions of, reader ignoring Seonghwa for weeks , deep talk , arguing with Rin , flashbacks etc Please reminding me if I forgot something

Tag list : @legbouk , @scarfac3 , @m4rsluv , @hcyaa , @jackinmyarea , @layzfeelit , @loverlele , @mulletjoonsupremacy , @veneziamadness , @belle643 , @gugggu6gvai , @atinytinaa , @voidcupidz , @atinyreads , @baguette-atiny , @parkthothwa8 ,

This series is going to be posted together with the Psychiatric series, which means one chapter after another

Word count : 1,5k

She woke up tiredly going into the bathroom leaving her tidy bed behind

It's been some weeks since the incident , she stopped caring for anything else

It was only school , home , work and sleep in , to the point it got concerning for him

The quietness was starting to bother Seonghwa he at least expected for her to spare him a glance but nothing, neither did she talk to him or anything not even a single interaction

The only thing she smiled about was when she watched baking videos , was with the others or texted her new friend

Who felt bad seeing her down when they went to the cinema , she fell asleep there not even paying attention to him at all

Hey look the best part their about to-

There she was asleep with her head on his shoulder looking like a toddler who just had started it's nap time

She put on a big sweater that belonged to Seonghwa and some of his nike pants , despite the rage she felt and heart break she kept these pair of clothes it was the only thing she felt comfortable with from him at the moment

The girl went down into the kitchen and made herself some cereal before sitting down on the floor in  the living room

It was quiet as she enjoyed the alone time since everyone was asleep obviously since it was 6am

She went on her gallery and scrolled through the pictures and stumbled on her Seonghwa albums she somehow didn't want to get rid off

Pictures

She chuckled at the last one remembering that day as if it was yesterday

Can't I get any ? Why not I'm the one paying

Because it will take us a lot of time to stand in line  and our train will arrive soon

But we can catch the other one

Seonghwa my feet are sore I want to go home and finally sleep

Baby please I'll be sad if I don't get that Star Wars lightsaber , I really need it

Seonghwa please I- you owe me a feet massage, and now we have to look for a hotel or something because that was our last train

Thank you ! Come on let's go before it's gone

Both walked back to the toys shop where a huge line of adults with their kids where

Seonghwa look at the line it's so long

But baby it's going to be worth it just wait

They stood in line for like a hour and half , Seonghwa ended up fighting with a kid that wanted the same color as he wanted

I was in line first so I get the purple one

But sir your to old to like these stuff and I'm a kid who's still growing up

I don't care if your a kid I was here first

Daddy he doesn't want to give me the purple lightsaber it's rare and I want it !

Yeah exactly it's rare that's why I deserve it after waiting for hours in line

The kid kicked him on his leg hard grabbing the lightsaber and ran away to the cashier where his parents payed for it

Hey that was my lightsaber!

His lips started to tremble from the pain and that his purple lightsaber had been taken away

Seonghwa let's go it's gone already

She grabbed his hand leaving with him out the store as he waddled behind her like a child who's just had the worst day of its life

Baby please it's just a toy

It's not just a toy ! It's a rare purple lightsaber

He leaned on a pole crossing his arms looking away with his black hair slightly covering his eyes making him look a lot cuter than he already was in her eyes

Seonghwa baby please cheer up I'll see if I can find you another one I'll do anything for it

He looked to the side allowing her to  snap a quick picture

Really? , you better not play with me

I promise baby don't worry

She pulled his mask down and kissed him making him smile and hold her

Thank you love

She smiled and scrolled through other pictures each one telling its own story in her mind , she looked at her wallpaper it was a cute picture he took with one of the boys

Wallpaper

Placing her phone beside her she continued to eat and watched a random show on Netflix

" Why are you awake at this hour "

Jongho walked towards her as she sat there eating unbothered

" I couldn't sleep anymore "

He sighed sitting down next to her and kissed her forehead

" You guys need to fix it soon "

" If you came here because of this you just wasted your time "

She placed her finished bowl on the table and laid her head down on his lap

" Honestly, you both are being immature just talk to each other and see where it goes "

" Listen to me I don't want to make a move he hurt me by saying that , he needs to apologize "

" And you don't think you've hurt him with doing what you did and saying what you said?"

He rubbed her cheek

" I don't think so ,  he said it first "

" Come on baby think about it just talk to each other and you'll be fine again "

He stood up and went back to his room not before stopping somewhere else

She sighed and drew her attention back to the television , but her phone soon started ringing

Incoming call from " Tall prince "

Ah Y/n~~ are you awake ?

He yawned into the phone making her chuckle

Mhm I woke up hours ago why are you calling me this early in the morning?

I missed my strawberry besides I wanted to take you on a morning jog you in ?

Are you for real? it’s 6am

Ay just get ready I'll buy you breakfast too

I just ate cereal what else do you offer

I'll get us a nice waffle breakfast mhm ?

Ok I'll get ready , is Taeyang coming?

I show you my friends once and your already heads over heals , kidding he's asleep I don't think it will be the best idea to wake him now or he'll start nagging

He laughed quietly and smiled as she let out a sad sigh

I'll tell him to come next time don't be sad

You better , you know how much I enjoy jogging with him

I know I know now get ready so we can meet at your doorstep

They both said goodbye and hung up

She got up and went inside her room to change into her sports bra and some track pants , despite it being chilly outside she was going to warm up eventually from the jogging

" Don't you feel ashamed of yourself for going behind their backs with another guy ? "

Rin stood in front of her with showing her phone with the wallpaper on display

" Why are you going through my phone for ? , and he's just a friend of mine "

She tried snatching her phone back but failed

"Should I call San again , even better Yeosang ? I'm pretty sure they would be pissed "

The girl chuckled raising her voice on purpose

" I'm not a child to be controlled , I'm allowed to have friends it's not like I'm dating him or anything we are just friends "

" Yeah "friends" don't really save each other as Tall Prince on their phones "

" I don't know what type of mentality you have but friends do that , maybe you just don't have any of them that's why your acting up "

She approached the slight taller girl trying to snatch her phone back but again to no use

" Maybe I'll just call Yeosang right now and see what he'll think about you seeing other guys "

" I don't care about his opinion either his or San's , I may love them but I make my own decisions on who I want to be friends with "

She took her phone back before putting it inside the pocket of her pants

" I'd be surprised why Seonghwa said what he said last time but I'm not , I mean your indeed boring and less attractive  "

Y/n chuckled looking at the girl

" Is that what you care about ? being attractive and entertaining ? look the one who's boring is Seonghwa and he isn't that entertaining either but I did not choose to love him because of these little perfections I wanted to love him because of what he presented me and that being his true charms neither of them being attractiveness or entertainment"

" Well that's what you think- "

" I've dated them for like 4 years  while you are just on your first year with them , I know I'm starting to get boring no wonder they started dating you without letting me know which is ok because I'm not holding them back ”

Y/n grabbed one of her tracksuit jackets and went down the hall taking her keys  before finally exiting the house

Someone watched her from above out their window how she smiled brightly before hugging the boy that had been waiting for her a while now to come out so they could go jog

" What took you so long to come out "

" I'm sorry I just fell asleep "

She smiled telling him something else before they started jogging away from the apartment

[nonovyabuisness]

Life series X Pokemon :

Each lifers will have one ‘fully’ evolved pokemon that I believe suits them in all of the life series ( series such as X life or New life will not be included).

[Some members may have shinies ✨]

The members are listed in alphabetical order.

Bdubs: ✨ Scrafty

- Both enjoy fighting and look like they get beaten up often even if no fights happened that day.

- It’s a shiny because Shiny Scrafty’s green clothes (?) is reminiscent of Bdubs’ moss cape skin.

BigB: Breloom

- A kind being that should not be taken lightly.

- Also Breloom’s spores can paralyze or poison opponents, just like BigB paralyzed Grian with his gaslighting and can easily poison others by lying.

Cleo: Delphox

- Arson fox that is super effective against Etho’s pokemon and BigB’s.

-Also a reference to Witchcraft!SMP where she was one of the finalists. Plus Orange hair so Orange pokemon.

Etho: Bisharp

- Etho reminds me so much of the Shadow Triad so I decided to give him their titular Pokemon.

- I considered Greninja but as a redstoner, Etho might not appreciate the water.

- Plus it’s funny when the two scary looking beings are actually the most easily frightened.

- Fun fact, Bisharp hasn’t battled in so long that its blades have almost become dull (both are washed up /j).

Geminitay: Bewear

- In Limited Life she acts like a mama bear towards Scar.

- Is overall very friendly but is a menace (especially towards Etho).

- Now that she’s in Secret Life, Bewear works well with the cherry blossom and band theme she has going on.

- Plus, just like Bewear accidentally harms others by trying to show affection, Gem hurts herself and her allies by creating other alliances that don’t last.

Grian: Archeops

- Pesky bird.

- I put Toucannon at first and almost put Honchkrow but both look too serious to be associated with Grian.

- So goofy prehistoric parrot that is easily demotivated (defeatist ability) for the button man.

Impulse: Ampharos

- The yellow color scheme as well as the fact that Impulse is generally more on the kind, gentle side but is also able to hold his own.

Jimmy: Kilowatrel

- Canary in a coal mine.

- Kilowatrel is one of the best yellow bird Pokemon that isn’t too mocking ( Yellow Oricorio) or too serious ( Pidgeoto/Blaziken/ shiny Sirfetch’d).

- The pre-evolution looks a bit silly tho.

Joel: ✨Turtonator

- An explosive fella.

- Also a Pokemon that serve as a reminder that most of Joel’s trap/plan either don’t work or backfire on him or his allies.

- Shiny Turtonator because the shiny colors match Joel’s Green and yellow color scheme.

Lizzie: Togekiss

- Avoids conflict and is generally content with roaming around, peacefully picking flowers. Head in the clouds.

- But remains a strong and smart opponent that shouldn’t be underestimated.

*Volo and Cynthia war flashbacks *

Martyn: Trevenant

- A fierce and loyal protector of his home but still remains a solitary being.

- Trevenant’s ability to blend in with the surrounding trees in forest and gather information by communicating with the forest, is a nod to Martyn’s ability to sneak around undetected gathering valuable intel.

Mumbo: Sableye

- Hermit hiding away in the shadows (bunker) and using (end) crystals to attack.

Pearl: ✨ Absol

- Wherever they go, disaster soon follows. Seeing them is a warning to all.

- Shiny Absol because the colors matches with the ‘Scarlet Pearl’ skin.

Rendog: Sirfetch’d

- A king and a knight, unwilling to let go of their flair for the dramatics even after their kingdom as fallen. I thought of Kingambit or Aegislash but both are too serious and only fit 3rd Life Ren. Sirfetch’d is regal yet remains goofy like Ren.

Scar: Liepard

- Shady business man and his cat jellie. Both mischievous and not against stealing.

- Also it would be funny to picture all the Jellie interruptions as just him talking to his very real Pokemon partner.

- Jellie would definitely try to eat Grian’s Archeops.

Scott: ✨ Gallade

- Always honorable and upholding their end of the deal. But aren’t against using force to achieve what they want.

- Shiny so that the colors match ( also provides a good contrast to Pearl’s shiny Absol).

Skizzleman: Braviary

- A brave being that leads the team.

- All of Braviary’s dex entry mentions it battling for its friend even if it’s injured.

- The pokemon White dex entry mentions that the more scars a Braviary has, the more respect he’s has from his peers. Skizzleman’s skin has scars on its arms.

- Also Skizz is often represented with angel wings so why not give him a bird.

- I don’t know if it should be a shiny or not however.

Tango: Rapidash

- A being with a unruly temper that does not take kindly to betrayal or competition.

- Could have helped with the whole Torchy task.

- Tango is often represented with hair that lights on fire when upset, just like Rapidash’s mane burns hotter when upset or fighting.

[distort-opia]

I keep going back to Bruce's mindset in Joker War, and especially what he took away from it, because... it's fascinating how impersonal and yet helplessly personal he is, regarding Joker.

It's obvious to me Tynion has worked with Snyder, especially on works involving Batman & Joker, because Bruce barely sees Joker as a human being. It starts with the way Bruce talks about Joker when fighting the fake Designer:

-- Batman (2016) #93

Bruce equates Joker to the abyss. In a move that surprises no one, he asserts once again that others don't understand Joker-- he isn't a common serial killer, he isn't insane, he's something else.

The theme continues as the plot progresses:

-- Batman (2016) #95

I don't really like that Tynion used a flashback to Bruce and Joker's first interaction in The Man Who Laughs to establish that Joker was this incomprehensible force of evil, even then. It's an inaccurate reading of the comic, and it oversimplifies Joker. There's a lot to be said about how this approach to Joker as less of a person and just a cardboard cut-out of Pure Evil is boring, one-dimensional and has unfortunately infected a lot of people working with the character over at DC, but alas-- not trying to go into the Doylist side of things in this post.

However, the flashback mentioned is meant to tie in to Bruce's hallucination of Alfred later on, the one that gives him the strength and motivation to keep fighting:

-- Batman (2016) #98

Alfred is a figment of Bruce's mind, hence... it's Bruce who puts Joker and death on the same level. Joker is a kind of inevitable force of destruction, something he can't hate. You cannot hate a hurricane, you cannot hate an earthquake. You cannot hate death or an abyss that consumes, because that's simply its nature. What it does.

...And yet. Despite how seemingly impersonal his way of seeing Joker is, there's still a part of Bruce trying to understand, trying to make sense of Joker. There's a little story in Detective Comics detailing Bruce's thoughts during Joker War, in which we see Bruce pondering the following:

-- Detective Comics (2016) #1027 -- The Gift

"Is that the lesson?" It's reminiscent of the questions Bruce addressed Joker through the listening device planted on the corpse in Batman (2016) #93: "Why attack me like this? What are you trying to prove?".

But it's more than an inner conflict. After the conclusion of Joker War, after Bruce walks away (while knowing Joker had the tools to disarm the bomb and would not die), Bruce tells Selina his true thoughts. God bless her heart for pushing his emotionally constipated ass:

-- Batman (2016) #101

Bruce thought of everything Joker did in terms of a lesson. He's thought of Joker's actions as that for a long time now, and there's a painful paradox to it; the points Joker makes about Batman always hurt Gotham and the people around Bruce, but part of him still listens. Part of him still tries to make sense of what Joker is saying and learn. And at the end of the day, even after all the death and destruction Gotham went through as a price... he thought that Joker was right.

He even proceeds to put those lessons into practice. He moves to a townhouse in Gotham, he tries to be closer to the city and belong to it, not be apart from it. Start over, change. And yet, in his new base of operations, we get this:

-- Batman (2016) #106

Out of everything in the original Cave, all the trophies and the reminders, Bruce brought the Joker card with him. There's no other personal element in there, nothing else meant to be decorative or more than just practical. Nothing else but the card on the floor. It's especially interesting when you take into account that Fear State, the major arc that follows Joker War and Ghostmaker's introduction, is about all the ways in which a traumatic past defines or breaks people.

And yet Bruce carries this piece of the past with him. It'll never cease to fascinate me, how much Bruce intellectualizes and dehumanizes Joker, so he can avoid his personhood and the true parameters of their relationship... all while asserting to himself and to others how he's the only one Joker sees as alive in a cold dead world, how he's the only one who matters to Joker. How he's the only one who understands how Joker works, how he's the only one who can stop him.

(Don't even get me started on Miracle Molly being Joker-coded, or Khoa as a psychopathic individual on the side of good Bruce forgives murder for, because hoo boy. Actually I might make a separate post about Fear State, and then another about Ghostmaker... goddammit, brain.)

[atamascolily]

I want to shed some light (heh) on the use of streetlight imagery in Rebellion, because it's another recurring visual theme (albeit more subtle than some of the others), starting with Homura's transformation sequence:

It's difficult to convey in a still, and I have no idea if it is intentional, but the angle and the framing always gives me war flashbacks to that one iconic sequence in Revolutionary Girl Utena:

(if you know, you know)

Although the background in the first photo is too blurry to make out, it looks like the lights of Mitakihara City in the background, as if we are viewing this from the park where Madoka and Homura have their heart-to-hearts. However, the lamp designs here are different, specifically lacking the old-fashioned wrought-iron filigree:

(oh my god, I just noticed the labyrinth in the middle right, this whole garden is just one elaborate metaphor, isn't it, AAAAAAAAAAAA)

Here's a closer look at them--interestingly, they don't seem to have changed much as a result of Homura's takeover.

We get a better look at the other lamps later on, illuminating a staircase as Homura monologues about witches. The symbolism here is obvious: Homura is descending into her psyche and these lamps are guiding the way.

Gosh, that wrought-iron filigree sure looks like a stylized salamander, doesn't it?

The old-fashioned look is well in keeping with Homulilly's general Victorian aesthetic, as well as Homura's apartment building from the TV series, which has an old-world European look to it in contrast to the shiny modernism of the rest of the city's architecture.

However, when Homura emerges back onto the city streets, the filigree has disappeared. This implies to me that it represents a part of her nature she is not yet consciously aware of, consistent with the other subtle uses of salamander imagery in the first half of the film.

Here, the lights are old-fashioned, but not to the same extent. They fit right in with the dream-like blending of inside and outside in this scene (which Homura does not even appear to notice).

We see the wrought-iron lamps again in the other descent into Homura's psyche in what I call the "Tunnel of Love" sequence. Not only do we get the lamps again, we also get the windows representing salvation/connection to the Law of Cycles/Madoka, scissors, and keys in sealed glass jars.

(As an aside, the blob in the middle sure looks a lot like the famous rabbit-duck illusion, which is an optical illusion famously used as an example of different modes of seeing --"seeing that" vs "seeing as"-- by the German philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, which is well in keeping with Rebellion's use of psychological imagery and German philosophy.)

As the original series takes pains to remind us, Homura's name is a homonym for "flame", so it makes sense to me that she would unconsciously gravitate towards flame imagery. These old-fashioned lamps are a more benign, focused version of the apocalyptic conflagration that destroys the city later on.

Note how the streetlights now resemble sewing pins--the primary weapon of the Clara Dolls.

Streetlight imagery also appears in the original TV series, although the focus is less on the lamps themselves and more on all the insects attracted to it (an obvious metaphor for magical girls):

It's fascinating how the same object can represent completely different things depending on context even within the same series.

[scandalouslamb]

hi abyssal! i think you already know what character i'm gonna ask about sooo - sejanus plinth :)

re: ask game

Thanks for the ask, Backpacks! I'm glad to finally get to this one!

My first impression

(somehow heard of him before reading tbosas) There's like a guy whose really nice in the Capitol? Who Snow betrays somehow?

My impression now

Sejanus, I love you, but you're unwell at times (your circumstances are not helping your mental state). I want to give him a hug.

Favorite thing about that character

I love how resolved he is and true to himself! I feel like if I was him, I would have tried anything to fit in and not seem like an outsider, but Sejanus is proud and true to his District roots! I really admire him for that!

Least favorite thing

Every time, I imagine him sitting alone at recess and stuff when he's a kid/even like just before tbosas. I get so sad. I get war flashbacks. It upsets me a bit.

Favorite line/scene

“We’ll figure something out. Fish, net birds. They say there are people in the north,” Sejanus told him. Coriolanus thought of Billy Taupe luring Lucy Gray to that imaginary outpost in the wilderness. Had he heard about it from the rebels, or had they heard about it from him? “But even if there aren’t, there’s no Capitol,” Sejanus continued. “And that’s the main thing for me, isn’t it? Not this district or that. Not student or Peacekeeper. It’s living in a place where they can’t control my life. I know it seems cowardly running away, but I’m hoping that once I’m out of here, maybe I can think straighter and come up with some way I can help the districts.”

Thought about it so much that I made that webweaving

Favorite interaction that character has with another

His interaction with Maude Ivory were so cute!

A character that I wish that character would interact with more

Probably Lucy Gray since they barely interact!

Another character from another fandom that reminds me of that character

Cassius but very specifically from RSC 2017 Julius Caesar. Like Sejanus isn't a schemer like Cassius or any of that, but they both give me the head in hands "someone help him! someone give him a hug!" feeling. Guy is throwing himself at a mission with a high likelihood of death and the high likelihood is like not a deterrent.

A headcanon about that character

I once mentioned that Felix definitely ignored Sejanus when he was being sad even though Felix would probably understand that loneliness so well (in my hc), and let me tell you. That was the one time the psychic damage that Felix did to me was not a good thing in my books.

Anyway, sorry, I feel like a lot of Sejanus thoughts I have are me seeing other people's Sejanus thoughts and going "yes!" so this was the only one that I could think of that's really my headcanon. And of course, it has Felix...

I feel like he tries really hard to be strong for Ma, because he knows that she's having trouble adjusting too. I feel like everyone thinks that though.

A song that reminds of that character

Please... please. I don't know. Little Lion Man by Mumford and Sons? my musical knowledge is only 2000s to 2010s amv, cmv, fanvid music for the most part...

An unpopular opinion about that character

Not really an unpopular opinion where I normally hangout, but maybe out in the world? I get annoyed when people are like "he should have stayed in the Capitol and affected change from the inside." Like, I feel like people don't think about how much complicity in shitty things that would force on him... He just wanted to get away to regroup and figure out what he could do! Go north... the ones who walk away...

Favorite picture

[capn-rikshu]

Wheeljack is a Dead-Beat Dad but he’s trying [EARTHSPARK THEORY]

Okay this is kinda a little theory of mine so sit and listen to me analysing whatever this bearded Southern bot says and how he could effect the protentional TFE Ratchet and Grimlock characterisation in the future.

When Wheeljack meets Twitch in ‘Traditions’ we see that he is pretty friendly and warm towards her. But at the second Twitch calls him her dad he is extremely adverse and tries to leave her. He tries to let her down slowly before just zooming away.

Twitch is of course upset by this.

Twitch finds Wheeljack again and this time she brings him one of the arachnamechs. We see Wheeljack give her a chance and helps her unlock hidden weaponry, he invites her on catching arachnamechs with him. We also see him be more open to being called ‘Dad2′, but he still doesn’t seem to like being touched.

There is a scene of them training and bonding with each other with Wheeljack helping Twitch out with her newfound weaponry. Overall both of them have a lot of fun.

After, Twitch and Wheeljack have a little spark-to-spark talk about traditions. Wheeljack comforts her on her confusion. We see that he can be quite fatherly. 

Later a swarm of arachnamechs attack them and Wheeljack pushes Twitch away to safety. Even with little time with her he cares about the Terran.

The two of them work together to defeat the arachnamechs and Wheeljack congratulates Twitch.

Twitch reaches out for a hug, but very coldly, Wheeljack ignores her.

Twitch says to Wheeljack, “I guess this is goodbye, huh?” And he just hums in agreeance but he glances back at her. Seeing how sombre she seems he cheers her up by declaring to her that they’d make mechanical spider hunting their own tradition.

Twitch jumps up and gives him a big ol’ hug and he accepts it with a smile on his face. ❤

Finally in the end we see Wheeljack finally embrace Twitch’s name for him - ‘Dad2′

And he honestly looks to be happy.

That was my analysis now moving on to my speculation:

At the beginning Wheeljack didn’t like being called ‘Dad2′ but why is that? I believe it could be a subtle hint towards his backstory: his past with Ratchet and Grimlock, both characters we see in the retro-themed war story. (With Grimlock potentially getting his own toy later in the line).

Ratchet and Grimlock are both characters that can be associated with Wheeljack in past incarnations like in the G1 cartoon. Ratchet and Wheeljack had built the dinobots together on Earth in the cartoon, technically making them their parents (a thing that the fandom loves to joke and play with).

So what if the reason Wheeljack doesn’t like being called ‘Dad2′ is because it reminds him of his failure as a father to Grimlock? Him and Ratchet could also have a very strained relationship because of that. This in turn makes Wheeljack a dead-beat dad to his son Grimlock.

Grimlock would be a Cybertronian born on Cybertron (explaining why we see him on Cybertron in the semi-flashback) he would be taken up and raised by Ratchet and Wheeljack. Wheeljack wouldn’t be a very good father, he would rather focus on his scientific work than him. This makes Grimlock feel insignificant. Ratchet would argue with Wheeljack about and this puts a strain on their relationship. After the war Wheeljack would part ways with Grimlock and Ratchet and would work with Optimus and Elita-1.

Wheeljack is a good person at heart but he is ashamed of his past mistakes and he does not want to be reminded of it by Twitch calling him ‘Dad2′. In the end he does embrace the title after bonding with her, maybe Twitch gave him hope of starting over and reconciling with Grimlock and Ratchet. And again - he is still good at heart.

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That is my theory from what I’ve gathered with bit and pieces of the so little time spent with Wheeljack. The funny thing is that months ago I made an outlandish theory with zero evidence of Ratchet and Wheeljack having a strained relationship. I wanted Earthspark to explore different kinds of family relations, the good and bad. 

This theory might not come true but there is no loss in thinking and analysing characters.

[sokkastyles]

I saw this post and some reblogs of it, and I wanted to know what you thought.

This is the post.

And these are the reblogs.

This reminds me of people who try to argue that enemies to lovers is abuse by ignoring the difference between opponents fighting on a battlefield in a fantasy setting and someone hitting on their spouse. The latter involves a power dynamic that is not present in the former. The difference between Zuko fighting Azula to end the war (and Aang fighting Ozai to end the war), and Ozai manipulating Zuko inro a fight he could not win for the purpose of terrorizing, publicly humiliating, and mutilating him should be obvious. Zuko's age is emphasized because Ozai is his father and because Ozai used that relationship and the power he had because of it against his son. He deliberately let his son believe he would be fighting someone else, and used Zuko's loyalty to him against him while his son was surrendering. It's not just Zuko's age that is important here, although his age informs the other things about it.

Azula was a child at fourteen during her agni kai with Zuko, but so was Zuko at sixteen, just two years older, and age has never given Zuko power over Azula anyway. Zuko also faces Azula openly in battle and even agrees to the terms she sets to even the playing field. She also is the antagonist in rhe situation

If there's a parallel to be made, it's that Azula becomes the same crying child on the ground after she is defeated, but only after she realizes she can't win, not out of love or loyalty to a family member. This was a fight she wanted and was eager for, and literally says was "meant to be."

Comparing that to Zuko's father deliberately harming a child under his power who has already surrendered shows a gross lack of understanding of the context. OP says they aren't belittling the awfulness of what Ozai did, but they absolutely %100 are and their argument is so ugly and tone deaf I don'/ even know what to say.

I've also talked about the ridiculousness of the argument that Iroh must have imagined Azula in the flashback because it just makes no sense as an argument, narratively. If Iroh were biased against Azula, that would have to be shown or revisited somehow. Otherwise there is no reason to question that it didn't happen exactly the way we are shown.

Also, the claims that Azula would not look like that at 11 seem shaky to me and also rest on claims about how adolescent girls look at that age that are just not true. Girls, especially, certainly can and do change a lot in the tween years, often moreso than boys, who tend to have their growthspurts a little later.

Which actually does fit with what we are shown of their character designs. Let's look at the sceeenshots.

Here is Azula at 8(ish), her child design remaining pretty consistently the same on the show:

And here she is at 11 in Iroh's flashback:

Btw I feel it necessary to mention that the picture with the child design is from Zuko's flashback, so if we're going by the argument that Iroh is imagining Azula looking more mature because he's biased, and we're also arguing that Zuko is biased against Azula, how come that bias doesn't seem to show in his flashback, huh? You would think that Zuko would picture Azula looking even more mature, since she was closer to his own age and more of a peer (whom the power dynamic was skewed in favor of). But, again, there's no reason to think that these flashbacks are biased. They are not framed as imperfect memories and the show never gives us a reason to question that they didn't happen exactly as they are shown. And trying to read them that way is actively misreading what we're shown.

If you're going to assume bias where none is shown, what is stopping you from questioning literally everything the narrative establishes? But if you do that, you're breaking the contract of the narrative. Fictional stories require that unspoken contract, that necessary buy in, otherwise there is no story. There has to be some baseline established, otherwise it's just the show presenting things and the audience going "nuh-uh!" A bias has to be established to give the audience a reason to question the narrative contract. That's why in stories with unreliable narrators or stories that play with or otherwise deconstruct the narrative contract, there are techniques used to establish that we're supposed to question things. None of those are present here.

There is an obvious difference between Azula's design in the second flashback compared to the first. She looks more like the Azula we see in the present timeline in the show.

But does she look the same?

Here's Azula at fourteen. Yes, if you compare it to the picture from Iroh's flashback, they look closer to each other than Azula's child design, but they do not, in fact, look the same. In Iroh's flashback she's wearing the makeup she is almost never seen without in the present timeline, and that's the biggest difference. But that's not unusual for a child entering their tween years to be experimenting with make up. Azula at 11 is wearing makeup, but her lipstick appears to be lighter, more girlish shade. She might be wearing eyeliner, which would explain why her eyes look narrower than her child design, but that also is just the natural progression of depicting a character's age in animation. Notice that Azula in the present timeline has even smaller eyes, darker lipstick, and a more defined face shape than in Zuiko's agni kai, where she still has a somewhat rounded baby face.

I've also argued before that it makes sense for the character for Azula to wear makeup. 11-14 is young to wear makeup but not uncommon, and for Azula, it makes sense that a character obsessed with appearance of perfection would wear it. It also makes sense for Zuko's agni kai to be the time when this transition happens in Azula, after her mother leaves and her father gains complete control over his children's lives, and Azula realizes even more that she needs to maintain that mask of perfection. I've also talked before about how Azula at fourteen seems very familiar with war meeting whereas Zuko at thirteen had to argue his way into one. This is unusual, it is a sign that something is not right, but we already know this. We know how Ozai is treating his kids. We know how he puts pressure on Azula to be his golden child, we know that he actively sabotages Zuko so he can fulfill his role as the scapegoat. Something is absolutely rotten in Denmark, but it's not narrative bias. Pay attention to the story actually being told.

I also want to compare Azula's character designs in the show to Zuko's as a child and an older teen. Let's look at Zuko's design from "Zuko Alone," where he is roughly 10ish when Azula is 8ish.

One of the reblogs made the argument that Zuko looks the same when he's ten vs when he's thirteen. Let's take a look.

Pretty similar, although I would argue there are differences. He's a little taller, his face is less round and babyish in the second picture. (He's also got a cute little forelock, hi!)

But yeah, he still has his "child" design for the most part. He hasn't yet bridged the gap to his present timeline appearance.

However, in season three we get a flashback to Zuko at the same age, thirteen, but shortly after his banishment, and he looks like this:

Here, his character design is similar to his familiar character design from the beginning of book one. It's a pretty stark change, but just like with Azula at the agni kai, this character design is meant to tell us something about the character and the changes he has gone through. Azula may go through those changes earlier because girls do tend to have their growth spurts earlier than boys, but if you actually look at the timeline, both Zuko and Azula changed at roughly the same time, surrounding the singular event of Zuko's banishment. But like with Azula, we could also go back even before that. An interesting detail is that Zuko after Ursa's banishment (as seen in "The Storm,") is wearing the more militaristic uniform that is part of his book one design, the high collar and armored shoulder pads as opposed to the looser clothing he wears in childhood (which is actually similar to what redeemed Zuko wears). This, like Azula's makeup, is reflective of the loss of vulnerability, of innocence, the need for armor, for protection. It makes them look more mature but also highlights how they're not, and are traumatized children desperately trying to protect themselves.

Btw, anyone who thinks makeup can't change your appearance that much clearly doesn't know very much about makeup.

Also, stop calling child heroes in fantasy shows child soldiers, I am begging you. It's not just the age difference between Ozai and Zuko that makes what he did abuse, there's also a purposeful abuse of a power dynamic that is absent from your standard child-hero of an adventure series fighting the evil adults. Even taking into account Aang's trauma over being the chosen one or Jet and his group of orphans, it's not the same thing as real children being forced to be child soldiers, and will never be. These children, as action heroes in a fantasy series meant for children, have more power and agency than even most adults in the real world will ever have, and even as interested as ATLA is in exploring trauma, it will never be able to address the real trauma and horror of child soldiers, and wasn't meant to.