#excuse me your honor but that's my emotional support villain

[chalkrevelations]

Episode 31 of Word of Honor, and in many ways OH MY GOD YES, but also, no, show, wtf?

As in, wt actual f is going on? Literally, what is happening?

(Spoilers, so scroll away and come back later, if you need to.)

So, first thing’s first: I feel like this one may end up a bit short, because a lot of it is likely to be just a bunch of keysmash flailing? (EDIT: No, I just came back up here to the top from the bottom, because this is NOT AT ALL any shorter than usual.) I’ll attempt a bit more than exclamation points and worry over whether my poor heart is able to take this, but we’ll see how it goes, because the first thing I’m going to do is say I knew it! and I told you so! I knew you weren’t planning to die, Zhou Zishu. I did call you a liar after Ep 30, and I was right. I mean, what’s the point of having the terrifying master of the Ghost Valley as your boyfriend husband if he’s not going to rescue you after you’ve been kidnapped for attempted ravishment by the evil prince? And get you the best wedding present ever, i.e., a bunch of new disciples? Omg, Zhou Zishu’s face when Wen Kexing finally calls himself a disciple of Four Seasons Manor! (I think he’s so overwhelmed, he doesn’t even realize when WKX calls him “shixiong” a minute before that!) Wen Kexing’s tiny pained smile that he just can’t seem to help when ZZS lays his hand on WKX’s head! That long shuddering breath ZZS lets out, and the way his shoulders just drop, like he’s finally let go of a huge weight! (The worry this brings me, because there are five and a half episodes left, my dude, and your husband is a troublemaker, and I would not be getting complacent, if I was you.) The fact that WKX has knelt to ZZS and called him zongzhu in front of the Ghost Valley contingent – there’s gotta be some political implications to that. Horseback riding! The way WKX keeps holding (up) ZZS! Lol at WKX being all, you all can leave now, we can take our honeymoon alone from here! ZZS knew he would come (I told you so)! Their smiles! Their soft little faces! (Merciless killers! How so fucking adorable?) The hairpin! MARRIED, Y’ALL. Censorship? I don’t know her. ANYWAY, that’s all just a bunch of flailing reaction to the first almost 20 minutes of emoporn. Also, Zhang Zhehan, you should not do suffering so pretty. It makes me feel like a bad person for still enjoying your face so much when your character is in so much physical and emotional distress.

Secondly, show. We need to talk. You should not be this opaque. I’m trying to piece together everything that’s happened in (vaguely) chronological order:

Sometime before dying (before breaking his heart meridians?), Han Ying tells Wen Kexing about the Four Seasons Remnants back with Prince Jin. All of Ep 30 happens, with Zhou Zishu and Xie Wang both making a mess of Awful Prince’s/Yifu’s plans. Xie Wang, the rest of the Scorpions, and the Ghost Valley team retreat back to a lair. Which lair? Who knows, at this point. Cao Weining talks to Fan Shishu. (He explicitly tells this to A-Xiang.) But does he also confront Mo Huaiyang? Because I feel like it must be significant that we get the same turn of phrase to describe Zhao Jing’s relationship with Xie Wang – asking a tiger for its skin – from Mo Huaiyang to Fan Shishu, and then attributed to Cao Weining when A-Xiang quotes it to WKX in the same ep. The show even emphasizes this for us to catch by drawing attention to A-Xiang’s use of it via her struggle to remember the idiom properly. (A. This episode’s convo between Mo Huaiyang and Fan Shishu, which is when we see Mo Huaiyang actually use the idiom, happens AFTER Cao Weining and Gu Xiang leave Gentle Wind Sword Sect. I went back and checked, and it is Mo Huaiyang who uses it, not Fan Shishu. B. In this same convo, Fan Shishu says he still needs to explain all this to the disciples somehow, so C. Was there a prior, unseen convo between just Cao Weining and Mo Huaiyang in which Mo Huaiyang practiced his excuses on poor, hapless Cao Weining first?)

Anyway, Cao Weining then goes to A-Xiang, who’s lit. and fig. in the dark at this point, in her rustic cabin outside the gated community. I notice Cinnamon Roll already has his bag packed. He is done. He lays out the current political web, and A-Xiang seems pretty sure of Liu Qianqiao’s ultimate loyalty to WKX. This is probably important in what happens next. Gu Xiang and Cao Weining decide to run away and elope but then … get captured and taken to the lair. On purpose? A-Xiang did see Liu Qianqiao with Xie Wang in the Secret Cave, standing shoulder to shoulder with Du Pusa as an apparent top-tier henchwoman, and she probably expects to be protected, but this seems like a pretty big gamble. I suppose you don’t survive the Ghost Valley without learning to take some risks. A-Xiang then leads Xie Wang and the Ghost Valley contingent to WKX (at burned-down Four Seasons Manor?) to, she says, let WKX take down Xie Wang. She notes Xie Wang’s use of some potion to control everyone – I assume the Drug Man potion, and I assume the monthly antidote is what’s keeping everyone in the Ghost Valley from going full Drug Man?

WKX and Xie Wang confer in secret. Probably about how much they both hate Awful Yifu. I mean, I assume Xie’er still hates Awful Yifu at this point, but who knows what tomorrow will bring? Probably a key point here: WKX is hiding whatever this was about from his husband. My dude, why are you still like this? I guess that explains the pained cast to that tiny little smile earlier. WKX then takes some of the Ghost Valley contingent and coordinates with the Four Seasons Remnants back in Prince Jin’s territory to rescue ZZS. Husband safely rescued, WKX now heads back to Ghost Valley, to … abdicate? He promises A-Xiang he’s going to come back safely, and my dude, I’m trying to believe you. I really am. I’m trying to have as much faith in you planning to be back all along as I had in ZZS not planning to die in Jin Palace all along, but here’s a key difference: HE LET YOU IN ON HIS PLAN. Which you were a key part of. I find your secrecy, by contrast, concerning.

Other things:

Love the little moment between Gu Xiang and Liu Qianqiao and Luo Fumeng when Beauty Ghost and Tragicomic Ghost turn to Xie Wang in righteous indignation and want to know what the fuck he thinks he’s doing to their little girl. Compare the reaction of these two moms to Happy Ghost being all, “Nope, this is a complete and total in with Wen Kexing right here in a pretty pink dress.” The show continues to draw a fairly bright line between the characterization of the women in the Department of the Unfaithful - who are terrorizing certain people, true, but also watching out for each other after ending up down on their luck – and the general run of men in Ghost Valley, who are basically rotten sociopaths straight out of Batman’s rogues gallery and will sell you out in a minute for their own gain. Yes, this has been made fairly explicit in Wen Kexing’s and A-Xiang’s commentary in past eps and later in this ep about trying to get the Department of the Unfaithful out of the line of fire while not caring if the jianghu burns down the rest of Ghost Valley, but this isn’t just favoritism or a whim, just some fond memories of Luo Fumeng being kind to them a couple of times in the past. I think there’s some commentary here on the kind of men who are so far gone they find themselves outside the bounds of “civilized” society and the kind of women who do – how much easier and quicker it is for a woman, that it could be any woman in the wrong circumstances, and how much further gone a man has to be than a woman to be considered a “devil.” We’ve seen these supportive interpersonal relationships among the women since Gu Xiang “adopted” her two girls in the first handful of episodes and told off Lovelace with the threat of Tragicomic Ghost – and the show is continuing to show it, not just tell it. It’s one of the things I’ve found frustrating about Wen Kexing a couple of times in past eps, when he’s trying to get A-Xiang’s two girls, or other women from the Department, to just leave and go do something else – I feel like even though WKX realizes their circumstances and their personalities are different from the rest of his Top Ten Devils, he’s not fully comprehending that they literally have nowhere else to go, that if they had any other options, they wouldn’t have ended up there in the first place. He called the two girls “puppies” when he talked about A-Xiang having to take care of them, but as Ghost Valley master, who’s enforced the independence of and protections for the Department of the Unfaithful, he’s walking away from his own basketful of puppies. Not to mention, this is one of the vanishingly small places in this particular version of the jianghu that we’ve seen women have any autonomy and power. I … think there may have been a few young female cultivators in Yueyang Sect, but while I’d have to go back and watch to be sure, I remember the Hero’s Conference being a whole bunch of men throwing their … weight around. Anyway, I also love that it looks like A-Xiang tries to kick Happy Ghost in the shin, because of course she does.

Visually, they had a cool thing going on there with the Tian Chuang behind WKX falling in concert with WKX lowering his fan, but they didn’t quite coordinate it enough, and then they cut away too soon. Bah. It was set up to be a very cool visual, if only they had committed to it. Meanwhile Duan Pengju, this asshole, omg. He’s trying to pull off the Collar of Evil and is not succeeding. Srsly, his Collar of Evil is droopy. It doesn’t stop him from monologuing like he’s the actual villain and not some sad-sack lackey. You showed the correct amount of amused disdain during your interaction, but I can’t believe you left him alive at the end of it, Wen Kexing.

I wasn’t really feeling Jing Beiyuan and Wu Xi up until this ep when Jing Beiyuan was teasing A-Xiang about her lack of shame over running away with her lover. OK, fine, you can stay, Qi Ye. Also, wow. Speaking of lack of shame, I can’t believe you just accused your husband of bride kidnapping right in front of everyone’s salads, because that is totally what just happened there.

So the band is (almost all) back together, minus Chengling, who has definitely found out in the worst possible way that one of his dads is the terrifying master of the Ghost Valley that massacred his family and sect. So, this should go well.

Lol at Xie’er lounging in Wen Kexing’s Ghost Valley master seat like some kind of consort. He’s already got a husband, Xie’er. One that would not be happy with a concubine running around, I think. I do wonder what the full scope of their plan/understanding is, bubbling away under this stare-down.

A note – WKX’s hair is styled differently in this ep in the Ghost Valley master scenes than it has been before. Previously, those side bangs were further forward and a little bit chunkier, which, I think, narrowed his face and also helped emphasize the wild-eyed look. They’re wispier and back further, now, which I think softens his face, even when he’s trying to look imposing. Makes him look more, dare I say, human.

And now, I’m going to go have a few Han Ying/Bi Xingming thoughts, actually. God, those months after ZZS left, can you imagine what that was like for them? Han Ying having watched those nails placed in Bi Xingming’s shifu in the first ep, and then having to turn around and go to Bi Xingming and tell him that ZZS was gone, with the seven nails in him? Both of them trying to hold the Four Seasons Remnants together – and then Ying-ge comes back one day and says he’s found ZZS? Mutual aid and comfort, my dudes. Also some projection. I’m just sayin’. Meet me, I guess - this kind of sideline action and extremely rare pair thing is how I tend to roll.

[innocentbutnotbychoice]

Apex Legends Zodiac Signs based on personality

Bangalore: Aries 

Extremely Competitive

Loyal

Impulsive

Smart

Independent

“Don’t matter what you run, I’ll still beat you.” Everyone knows Anita is the most competitive in the Apex games. Her quips are filled with belittlement and badass cockiness. She’ s extremely loyal, in her back story she not only still embraces her connection to the IMC she sorta still supports the IMC. Most importantly she’s loyal to her family, that’s the sole reason why she joined the game.

Gibraltar: Taurus

Ambitious 

Stubborn 

Values honesty

Drama free 

Makoa is the chill, can’t we all just get along character. His kill quips are very chill and sometimes even nice. His stubbornness is shown when he refuses to listen to his father and sneaks out with his boyfriend. He’s extremely nice but he isn’t one to just let you walk all over him. 

Wattson: Gemini

Quick-witted 

Energized 

Smart 

Optimistic 

Expert at communication

Wattage up! Natalie is extremely positive. Most if not all of her quips are upbeat and filled with positivity. She’s also extremely smart, being the designer of the ring that slowly encircles the arena. She’s quick-witted and great with making friends, literally everyone likes her, even caustic!

Wraith: Cancer

Overly Emotional 

Moody

Standoffish at first 

Intuitive

Renee is characterized as aloof and cold at times. In the game her quips are very monotonous, you rarely hear any excitement rise in her voice even when she laughs it’s a little cold. Her passive connects with the intuitive trait of the cancer like how she knows when someone is aiming at her or if there are traps near by. In her back story, Renee was extremely emotional (Who wouldn’t be when you hear voices in your head lol).

Mirage: Leo

Bold

Arrogant

Proud

Friendly 

Genuine 

Elliot is extremely bold and arrogant. Most of his quips are cocky but unlike Anita, his is served with a lot of arrogance. “I didn’t get here alone.. I took down a lot of people to get here.” He doesn’t even acknowledge his teammates lol. Although his arrogance can be annoying, he has no problem making friends like his best buds, Wraith and Pathfinder. His back story shows some of his genuine trait, like how bad he wants to help his family and the sad story about his mother.

Pathfinder: Virgo

Smart

Extremely kind

Rarely complains

Most likely to be taken advantage of

“Hi friends!” Pathfinder is absolutely the kindest character in the Apex franchise. All of his quotes are filled with niceness and even a bit of innocence. He’s so kind he even warns you, “Remember me friends, I may kill you!” Pathfinder doesn’t complain, in the trailer he didn’t even protest when Mirage discredited his 10 kills lol. 

Lifeline: Libra 

Kind

Selfless

Intelligent 

Very Social 

Ajay is the very loud sweetheart in the group. She’s selfless, leaving behind the riches of her life to help those in need. She’s extremely intelligent (Duh she’s a combat medic). Her quips are very confident and full of life, making me assume she’s very social when she’s away from the arena.

Revenant: Scorpio 

Violent

Independent 

Confrontational

Emotional

“You’ve all been marked for death” Revenant is introduced to us as someone who was a former assassin. His independence shows in the season 4 trailer when he kills multiple people on his own (He doesn’t need a team). From killing the aspiring legend Forge to beating up Pathfinder, Revenant is considered the most violent Apex Legend. Unlike Wraith, when it comes to emotions he is in control. He is very confrontational, if you respawn him he says, “Why can’t I just die already!” shouting angrily at the person that saved his life lol.

Octane: Sagittarius 

Born adventurer

Independent 

Open-Hearted

Strong-willed

“I like the wind in my hair, bugs in my teeth and long walks off a high cliff.” Octavio is a true adventurer, maybe too much of one since he blew off his legs just to perform a stunt. Octavio is strong willed, he won’t let ‘no’ stop him from doing what he loves, even if it’s lifeline begging him to stop.  

Caustic: Capricorn

Smart 

Hardworking 

Stubborn

Perfectionist 

Dr Nox was the true villain before Revenant came along. His stubbornness shows in his back story when he murdered his colleagues to test his gas because he needed to test it on a living subject, even continuing to test it in the arena (He’s not gonna stop until he perfects it!) 

Bloodhound: Pisces

Creative

Deeply intuitive

Lone Wolf

Deeply Intelligent 

“The battle begins, may the gods bless you” Bloodhound is very spiritual, calling upon the allfather to guide them to victory. They are also deeply intelligent meaning they have profound respect for the mind and feels deeply. It’s no surprise, Bloodhound is a lone wolf, in the trailer their people honor those who go out alone and hunt. 

Crypto: Aquarius

Independent 

Enigmatical 

Strong sense for justice

“It’s very simple, I know more than each of you can possibly imagine.” Crypto is very mysterious, his name, age and back story is even unknown. His strong sense for justice shows in many of his quips such as: “Truth is coming and it won’t be stopped” or “I’m here because I have to be, what’s your excuse?” Like he’s there to expose something and bring it to justice. 

[teamhook]

A Chapter Day... Savage Heart CS AU

This story will be finished by the end of the month. :)

A love story between a pirate and his savior. An innocent, beautiful, selfless woman meets a man with no manners, no formal education and not even a last name. Will Emma fall in love with Killian once she discovers that beneath his tough exterior lies a heart-wild, but a heart of gold? This is a Captain Swan AU

Beta-ed by the awesome @ilovemesomekillianjones​​​​​​

Cover by @xhookswenchx​ who is the sweetest!

|AO3| |FFN| previous chapter

|AO3| |FFN| current chapter

Chapter 12: Everything We Need Is Right In Front Of Us

The next morning Killian walked confidently towards the dining room for breakfast. He isn't surprised to see Emma already sitting at the table. He wonders if he should mention to Emma his conversation with Cora. He notices the way she is looking at him. The mistrust seems to be back in her beautiful emerald eyes.

"Good morning, lass. Sleep well?" He tries to act as if things are the same as yesterday.

"Good morning," she answers, refusing to hold his gaze. No smile or emotion, so unlike the day before.

Killian sighs and shakes his head. "I see we are back to me being the villain in this story. I thought I was starting to win you over," Killian says with a bit of hurt in his features.

"Why are you really here?" Emma asks.

"I thought we had gone over my intentions yesterday? Let me guess, the lovely lady of the house, Cora paid you a visit after she left my room and tainted our new found friendship?" Killian sits down in the closest chair to her and studies her lovely face for a reaction to his inquiries.

"Yes, she did," Emma sighs, she has a feeling he will be able to tell if she is lying.

"You know what your problem is, Saint Emma? You have the soul of a martyr, you are willing to face off with anyone to protect August. You have put up with my insults and my presence just to prevent August the shame of knowing that his wife is a whore. Don't you notice that the others take advantage of you?"

"Are you taking advantage of me?" Emma asks.

"No, I'm trying to open your eyes," Killian tells her, and Emma can tell he is sincere. "What did Cora tell you of our conversation?"

"Nothing. She just insists that you are not a good person."

Killian stands up from the table defeatedly. "It seems she has convinced you." He begins to walk away and suddenly stops, he doesn't even turn to look at her when he adds, "Emma, I thought we had reached a new level in our relationship but I see that I was a fool. It only took a single conversation with Cora to make you question me. I have lost my appetite. I will go check on the patient."

She wonders if she should go looking for him as a sadness seeps into her. She's lost in thought and misses Cora walk in.

"Good morning," Cora tells her with a tight smile, then calls for Enith to serve them.

"It seems I missed Mr. Jones. Such a pity."

"He seems very fond of you. I can't help wonder though, with such an unlikely friendship we may have an advantage. I'm not judging, dear. Do you by chance happen to know why he accepted the position here?" Cora asks.

"He says he wants to become an honorable man and perhaps even someday find a woman to marry. I think he is sincere."

"Oh. Do you know if he may have set his sights on anyone? Perhaps with my support, we can help him move along faster in his quest. I just want him to leave before he can do any real damage to this family."

Emma studies Cora carefully. There is something she is not telling her, but she knows better than to push for answers. "I don't believe there is anyone in particular. "Please excuse me. I must go check on the injured man we came across yesterday."

"Of course, dear," Cora answers and doesn't even bother asking how the poor man is doing.

Emma gets up and quickly finds her way out of the dining room, she feels she can breathe once she is out of the house. She knows there is something that she is not being told. Walking absentmindedly around the property, she suddenly collides with a very solid wall. She looks up and is met with stormy blue eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry; I should have been paying attention to where I was going." Emma apologizes profusely once the shock of being in his arms wears off.

"So how was he?" Emma asks as she pulls herself away from the warmth of his body. "I was on my way to catch up with you."

"His name is Michael Thomas. I bet no one here, including you, love, has even bothered to learn that poor man's bloody name. He is so beneath the lot of you." Killian walks past Emma and keeps his strides long and purposeful to put distance between them.

Emma stands there trying to process what just happened between them. Wait did he just call her love?

She finally starts to move and heads back to the house. She is dazed and confused about her own feelings. Why does it bother her so… if he is upset or how he sees her? Sure she was raised in a sheltered environment, but she does care for others. In her education, she was never taught that women could make a difference. Sure there was an exception to the rule like Cora Booth, but she inherited her position with the death of her husband. At least until August, the man of the house would take over.

Killian is furious as he enters the house, he heads to his room. He's inexplicably angry that she assumes the worst of him just because she had a bloody conversation with Mrs. Booth. He should tell her exactly what that horrible woman offered him. Money and a bloody wife. Yet she assumes he is the scoundrel in the story. He knows his reputation is not the best but he had enjoyed their conversations and he thought the feeling was mutual. He shared with her some of his innermost thoughts. Thoughts that he had not shared with anyone, insecurities he has not revealed to anyone. He will not even entertain the real reason her opinion matters to him. He is about to reach for his door and suddenly hears his name.

"Mr. Jones. Have you decided to accept my offer? I can sweeten the deal for you. I'm sure I can guarantee a wedding with Emma," Cora says.

Killian freezes as he listens to the woman. Did she really just offer him, Emma? Does this mean Emma mentioned an interest in him? He turns around to face the older woman. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, you heard me perfectly, Captain. I'm offering money and Emma. I know Emma well; I know she will make an excellent wife. Sadly my son did not see the value in her he seems to see in her cousin but I have a feeling you might see her worth."

"Since when do you address me as Captain? I thought you only saw me as a rogue. And as far as Emma is concerned, only her feelings matter not mine."

"Isn't that how you are so well known in town? A scoundrel and a womanizer who just happens to have a soft spot for a very specific blonde. You chose her. If you want her, all you have to do is accept my offer."

"You are so eager for me to take the same woman you had invested so much in to become your son's wife. Me, a lowly pirate. Does she even know that you are offering her like she is a commoner? Why are you so eager to be rid of me?" Killian asks as he steps closer to Cora.

Cora stands proud and simply replies, "You have not turned down the offer. Hmm. You like the possibility, the thought that someone of her class could be yours for the taking." Cora smiles and turns to go, leaving him standing in front of his room.

He sighs as he enters his room. Could he be so selfish to accept? The problem is that he wouldn't be so tempted if it was just any other high-class woman but the idea of it being her, Emma. No, he wants her to want him. That thought scares him and confuses him. No, he is here for Milah. He knows Emma loves August, but just the idea of having someone love you in that capacity makes him curious. He envies August; he has Milah and Emma's devotion.

Archie knocks upon the door to the Booth estate and greets Enith who answers the door. "Good day, could you please let Mr. Jones know that I'm here?" He had decided this morning was a good chance to see how the adjustment has gone, but he is also there to check up on Killian after hearing that Dr. Whale had been to the residence to treat an injured man. He hopes it is not something Killian did, he knows the man has a temper.

After wandering for a bit longer, Emma finds her way to the house after her disconcerting encounter with Killian. She knows it wouldn't be proper for her to go to his room and attempt a friendly conversation with him, but she feels so guilty. She sees Archie arrive and enter the house just before her. This will give her an excuse to go look for Killian and start a new dialogue with him, hopefully avoiding the whole disaster of the topic of their last conversation. She smiles and rushes in and is just in time to hear Archie asking Enith to retrieve Killian.

"Enith, I will retrieve Mr. Jones for Mr. Hopper. You can go back to the kitchen and get Mr. Hopper something to drink," Emma tells Enith as she smiles to Archie.

"Emma I don't want to impose. Enith can go get him," Archie says softly.

"It is no trouble and besides there are a few things I need to discuss with him. Please make yourself comfortable. We will be with you shortly," Emma says as she hurries to go looking for Killian.

Emma finally arrives at Killian's door and knocks. There is some scuffling and then the door opens.

Killian is surprised to see Emma standing in front of him. "How may I be of assistance Saint Emma?" Killian asks.

"Mr. Hopper is here to see you. But before you go to see him, I just wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier. I just cannot seem to stop myself from offending you," Emma says to him and gives him a hopeful smile

.

"Thank you," Killian says and tries not to read too much into her apology. He swiftly walks past her to find Archie. He knows that when it comes to Emma he is in trouble. He had a simple plan, gain trust and access to the Booth fortune. He's got that, but somehow it has lost its appeal. The moment he arrived at the estate and found out that Milah had left on her honeymoon he was angry and upset, but somehow or perhaps it was because of someone, he had forgotten of Milah and the plan. He needs to keep his distance from Emma to keep a clear mind.

Emma just stares at his back as he gets further away from her. Racing, to catch up to him, she swiftly reaches for his arm.

Killian is startled at the contact as he turns to face her.

"Killian, I just apologized for my behavior from earlier and you just walk past me? I know I made an error in judgment, But this is me telling you I want to try to see the best in you. Seriously, what is wrong with you?" Emma asks frustratedly.

Did she really call him by his first name? Killian had stopped walking as soon as he had felt her touch.

Emma realizes why Killian is gaping at her."Oh, I'm sorry. I just... I didn't mean to overstep. I know we have never been properly introduced. My name is Emma Nolan. I just want to start over, go back to before the whole misunderstanding. Mr. Hopper and Tink seem to care for you a lot. I think maybe we can be friends," Emma says looking at him so hopefully.

She is truly making an effort. Could it be so bad? He couldn't avoid her forever. They would be living in the same place for the foreseeable future.

"Killian Jones at your service, my lady." Killian bows slightly and grabs her hand to bring it to his lips without losing eye contact. He hears her breath hitch and smiles softly at her and adds, "I accept your proposition." He can't help wondering about the other offer that concerns the blonde in front of him.

Killian and Emma are walking side by side when Archie sees them approaching, and he knows he has never seen Killian with that glow.

"It was nice seeing you, Mr. Hopper. I will leave you two," Emma says and walks away.

"Killian, if I remember correctly when we were at the convent I recall asking you if you two knew each other and you answered no. There seemed to be a familiarity between you two. I really think this could be a good thing," Archie adds.

"Archie, you know her parents. Do you really think they would approve anything between Emma and me? Let us not forget the fact that she is a novice. Even I have some respect for the habit." Killian says to his old friend. Sure he has made an improper comment here and there but he is not a complete scoundrel. But if she were to change her mind... he really needs to stop thinking this way. It must be all those insinuations and comments that Cora Booth has made.

Archie smiles and says, "I will drop that subject for now. I just stopped by to see how things were going. I heard Dr. Whale stopped by."

"Aw, so that's what this little visit is about. You are here to check up on me." Killian can't help feeling a little hurt. "To satisfy your curiosity, I will answer. First, Emma is here being my host, per se. While on tour of the grounds we found and injured man. If you would like, Emma could confirm my story. The good Doctor was not needed because of my actions."

Archie looks fondly at his friend and says, "Emma? You two are on a first name base? Killian, is it Emma, the one you are trying to be a better man for? I'll gladly offer you my last name and you can marry her. Her parents would not object. We are good friends an-"

Killian rolls his eyes. Didn't Archie just say he would drop the subject of Emma and he has just started again? Killian interrupts before he can finish what he was going to say, simply stating, "I have realized that all I want is for the woman I choose to want me for me. I want her to accept me as I am, simply as Killian Jones." He ignores and chooses not to correct his longtime friend's assumption about his feelings toward Emma.

"I was wondering if you could help me with something. I want to legitimize my business. Could you help me with that process? Perhaps my employment with August Booth can help with the transition. The man we found, when he gets better, I would like to offer him a job. I believe I can provide him with a better work environment."

"Killian, do you really think that he will regain his health?" Archie asks. The man had pneumonia and was badly injured maybe he shouldn't be so hopeful about his recovery.

"Emma was taking care of him. She has hope he will mend and that is enough to get me to believe as well," Killian says.

Archie looks intently at Killian. Does he not see what it is so obvious? He will not keep mentioning Emma because he notices how Killian tries to deflect his comments and questions. Yet Killian keeps talking about her like she is a savior. For now, he will stop pushing. "I will take care of setting up the business for you. Just remember, if you need any help here just get the word out to me and I will be over as soon as possible," Archie offers. "Have you had any issues with Cora?"

"Nothing I can't handle," Killian says.

"Good to hear. I should leave now. You have given me much to do. Please say goodbye to Emma for me. And, Killian? Emma is special, please never discard the idea."

With those final words, Archie Hopper leaves Killian Jones pondering if his future will involve a young, beautiful, blonde woman. One that he knows he will certainly never be good enough for.

Tagging:

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[maybeitstheireyes]

ZUKO VS. KYLO REN

recently i’ve been thinking a lot about kylo ren (mostly because one of my friends is a hardcore reylo shipper) and it made me think about zuko- both characters were afraid of disappointing their father figures. both characters had a lot of pressure on them to be something they weren’t sure they could become. both would’ve done anything to succeed at some points.

kylo ren and zuko are NOT the same person tho. i want to make that very clear. while their backstories are kind of similar, one is written way better than the other (*cough* zuko *cough*).

as a child, the only person to truly support zuko and make him feel loved is his mother. and then she disappears, and zuko is left with azula and ozai. we all know their feelings about zuko especially after zuko’s first agni kai.

this is one of zuko’s most pivotal points in his plot because this sets him up for going on this seemingly hopeless quest to find someone who supposedly doesn’t exist anymore.

he’s set up for failure, and he knows it. but his driving instinct is to please his father and become a worthy person to take over the throne of the fire nation when in reality everyone knows that azula is the favorite. she is more powerful than zuko, she has the same tendencies as her father, and she’s incredibly smart. all of this drives zuko to find the avatar, no matter the cost. he has something to prove, something to get to, something to stand for.

and then there’s kylo ren.

unlike zuko, i hate him. i hate everything about him, and i can’t forgive him for anything he’s done like i’ve forgiven zuko.

kylo ren was raised to be ben solo by princess leia and han solo. yes, leia would have been busy rebuilding an entire democracy, but what was han doing?

killing an entire camp of children and attempting to kill your uncle also isn’t usually what happens during tantrums. for kylo ren to go so off the rails like that was so out of touch.

darth vader came to be through manipulation by emperor palpatine. he saw palpatine as this superior figure, and he wanted to please them. of course, anakin skywalker also had deep character flaws within the writing. killing an entire village of people after his mother died showed emotional vulnerability that was capable of being manipulated for someone’s own purposes, but having padme just brush that away was even more confusing.

i suppose that by having ben solo murder all of those children, they were trying to draw a parallel between him and anakin skywalker. the difference was the manipulation.

snoke getting to ben solo also had no real grounds. force communication was never a thing in the previous six movies, so how does it exist now?

the most steady character arcs happen through karma (in my opinion). what they do to other people must be done back to them (every action must have an equal and opposite reaction).

so what do they both get?

zuko loses his honor, his mother, and i guess it isn’t fair to say he lost the love from his sister and father because he never truly had them. he (at one point) lost his place on the throne to the fire nation.

but what did he do in return? he did exactly what his father ordered him to do. he found the avatar. he burned villages, and he made enemies along the way. but he faded into the background when he began to question everything. he joined the people he swore to arrest and turn over to the fire nation in order to gain his honor back. he helped the avatar, and he almost lost everything for it.

he lost iroh, his true father.

his change was neither smooth nor quick. he struggled with himself and his identity, and he was swarmed with guilt over the actions he was taking. even through season one when zuko is first introduced as the bad guy, he still makes sure his crew is safe before he continues his search for the avatar.

kylo ren dies in the arms of his “love” for his actions. he sacrifices himself in a way that is never seen before in all of the star wars movies.

if anakin skywalker was given the chance to save padme like that, he would’ve taken it. anakin was manipulated into the dark side through talk of ways that he could save the ones he loved from ever dying. 

but he still paid for virtually none of his actions. he destroyed villages, killed people, blew up planets, and killed his own father. his father extended a hand of mercy, and ben solo used that hand to stab him through the chest.

yet he still gets the girl at the end. he struggles with himself through some parts of the second and third movies, yet when it comes down to it he was still the villain to the end. he helped rey kill snoke, yet he took snoke’s place right after. there was no more excuse of snoke being the one to order everything as snoke was now dead. everything that happened after that was on kylo ren.

dying was not enough for that character arc. instead of a full curve, you’re left with a flatline.

TL;DR kylo ren was a failed version of zuko.

[anxietymymiddlename]

His and hers circumstances

Pairing: Jumin Han x MC4

Summary: Jeahee is going out with Zen? The surprising news leave her with a broken heart, still she can not find the courage to confess her feelings to her afraid that she will not accept her. Trying to confront her confusing emotions, Jumin enters her every day life like a storm while dealing with his own issues. A little bit more than friends, but with their emotions not sorted out yet, what will happen when they will end up under the same roof? 

Author's note

Hello and thanks for reading. I hope that you will enjoy the first chapter. Just a simple note; as I was writing down this story, I realized that it just felt a bit awkward to refer to the main character as MC, so I decided it to name her since Creritz lets you name her anyway. I choose the name Min-Seo because it does sound a bit like MC (and also because I'm bad at naming characters). I do hope it will not weird you out. Your thoughts are always very much appreciated.

[Chapter 1: A sip of love, bitter than coffee]

“I thought… me and you together, surrounded by the smell of coffee, in our cozy cafe and your smile… was everything I ever needed. Because I felt at ease by your side, more than I ever was. But I was so dither, I could not ask you to be mine and ultimately, you never were.”

The luxurious, black car stopped in front of the familiar coffee shop. His eyes glanced at the sign and he blinked as its sight snapped him out of his thoughts. “Rêver”. What a pretentious choice for name and in French in addition to that; was what he told them when they first revealed it. The storefront was neatly decorated or Christmas, he had expected nothing less from Jaehee. Driver Kim announced that they had reached their destination in a cold, monotonous voice per usual to keep the formality. He checked the time on his watch slipping his sleeve down with a smooth, professional move and took a big breath. Almost punctual, he wished they had stuck in traffic a bit more. It would give him the perfect excuse to be a bit late to the occasion.

His hand grabbed the deluxe package of the expensive wine. He had meticulously picked it himself,  so he could guarantee its taste. He also didn’t have any doubts that a bottle of wine was a great present to gift; not very personal but you could attune your pick to the receiver’s taste. Plus, you could easily enjoy it alone or with company, how perfect was that? It was evidently a choice that suited his character, unlike the one he had in his pocket. For something that was meant for a present exchange, it was too personal and that fact troubled him so much he had ended up not going to the Christmas party. Since he had already avoided them once using a lame excuse, he’d feel guilty to avoid Jaehee’s birthday as well and it would also be unfair to her. Maybe him being there would help him sort out his thoughts or at least help him understand why he wouldn’t stop carrying that present on him; he tried to think positively.

Straightening up his suit, he opened the door drawing the attention of the groups sitting on the tables nearby. A huge Christmas tree was hulking at the back. Couples and groups of friends were dominating the place chatting merrily while soft jazz music was playing in the background. Christmas day had already passed, but with New Years Day just around the corner the cheesy atmosphere had not fainted. He could not avoid it even during business hours, since his assistant could not miss a chance to talk about how he had spent Christmas day with his family until he got fed up with it and made it clear to him that he was not interested to know the details.

His gray eyes scanned the room and stopped at a familiar back. Her hair, just like Jaehee’s had grown with years, now covering her back. She was standing by the table, chatting cheerfully with the odd trio. The redhead was the first one to notice him and waved enthusiastically gesturing at him to join them. That drew her attention to him and she smiled softly as usual when she was welcoming him to their shop. Her uniform, simple as it was, suited her perfectly. Black pants and a white shirt which was complimenting her darker complexion. They had switched to a green apron for Christmas, unlike the black one they were usually wearing.

“Good evening,” he greeted taking off his jacket. “Oh, the CEO finally granted us with his presence!” Saeyoung teased and stood up, bowing comically to him. “What an honor!” “Come on, you know he wouldn’t miss Jaehee’s birthday,” she said. “Well, he shouldn’t miss our Christmas party either,” Zen frowned. “Everyone was waiting for him. Canceling at the last moment and not even saying sorry…” “Maybe the three ghosts paid him a sudden visit,” Saeyoung commented. “So he couldn’t come.” “Of course I would not deny an invitation from assistant Kang,” he explained ignoring Saeyoung’s reference. “Since she is a person I respect, despite the events that led to the establishment of this place.” “It’s been over two years, why are you still hang up on that?” she sighed. “I feel this place was built upon my baby’s body and oil,” Saeyoung sniffed. “Don’t put it like that, it sounds weird,” Yoosung grimaced. “I am not,” he looked down at her. “Yet, you still bring it up whenever you have the chance,” Zen noted. “Get over it already.” “Not to mention that Jaehee does not like it when you call her assistant Kang,” she added. “You shall be remembered,” Saeyoung swept his eyes with the table cloth. “My poor baby.” “Stop it,” Yoosung slapped his hand. “It’s out of habit, I don’t mean to offend her.” “I know that, I just wish you could fix hat habit,” she pouted. “Well, you are one of the reasons she is not my assistant anymore,” he said taking a seat. “...So I don’t want to hear that from you.”

She blinked for a moment and cupped her chin chuckling.

“Well, you do have a point.” “Dude, you are the sole reason she left!” Zen frowned. “Min-Seo, you know you should get a bit mad at him when he talks to you like that,” he advised. “It’s fine,” she laughed.

Her fingers run through her dark brown hair before she places them behind her ear. She was in a better mood that usual but that did not surprise him. Whatever had to do with Jaehee was always bringing a smile to her face. Just a simple mention of his ex-assistant’s name and her whole face would light up. He knew, he watched it happening so many times already. He looked away, feeling bothered by the thought and placed the box he was carrying on the table.

“I brought a present,” he said in an awkward attempt to chance the subject. “Oh, wine again, what a surprise,” Zen could not hold back his sarcasm. “Expensive wine,” he corrected confidently. “Thank you, Jumin,” she interfered before Zen’s retort. “You picked a good one. I’m sure Jaehee will like it.” “Jumin brought a present but he missed our present exchange during the Christmas party,” Saeyoung shook his head dismissively. “Maybe he got a bit stingy?” “Like he’d miss a chance to show off… But like you’re the one to talk… Who brings Honey Buddha Chips as a gift for an exchange? I felt sorry for Min-Seo,” Zen scolded him. “Well, Yoosung was happy to trade though,” she smiled. “You brought the BD of your last drama, so what makes your present better that mine?” Saeyoung looked offended. “And Yoosung brought a gift card for LOLOL, clearly picking something only he’d like to get. At least mine was edible!” “You and Min-Seo also play LOLOL occasionally, so I picked it considering the odds one of you two might getting it,” Yoosung defended his choice teary. “I put a lot of thought to it!” “Jaehee also enjoyed the BD we exchanged,” Min-Seo comforted him. “So I was glad you accepted the trade.” “Well, I do prefer Honey Buddha Chips to it, so...” “Heard that? He just admitted my that present was beer,”  Saeyoung patted Yoosung on the back excited, Zen raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t mean that! I’m just not into police dramas and Zen didn’t have a major role anyway,” he tried to justify his choice. “What do you mean?” Zen placed his hands on the table looking a bit insulted. “It was not a major part but I had a key role in it. I played the host the victim was in relationship with before she gets murdered. I was one of the main suspects and I also provided important evidence.” “Sounds lame” Jumin added fuel to the fire. “Will not watch.” “You never watch my works anyway!” “Well, I don’t have the time. Also, when I do, I spent it with Elizabeth the 3rd, it’s more productive.” “How is spending time with the fur ball considered more productive than watching art?” “Now, calling it art is a bit…” “Jeahee was touched when it was revealed that your character truly loved the victim but he didn’t want to drag her into his world or sully her name, since she was a married woman, thus he denied that he knew anything about her at first,” she commented. “Right?” Zen looked happy. “I’m glad you understand.” “Jo Won’s role as Detective Park was really captivating! I liked how he dealt with the loss of his own daughter and the struggles within his family while he was working on the case. His emotional portrayal of the character was definitely the best part!” “So she says,” Jumin said. “Oh, but Zen was also great! I can’t wait to see you play in another detective drama. Whether it’d be a detective or a villain, I bet you could portray it perfectly,” she did her best to sound supportive seeing him depressed. “Too late to say that now… Though I know that I can’t compare to seasoned tv actors.” “What about playing Policeman B, you could definitely pull that off and it’s within your reach,” Jumin said and Saeyoung snickered challenging Zen’s temper. “Jumin, that was mean...” she gave him a scolding look. “Well, I’m trying my best, so I don’t care what you think! And you didn’t even have the right to butt in the conversation… You didn’t even bring a present!”

He unconsciously touched the box in his pocket; not loosing eye contact with the furious actor. Zen had jumped on his feet, with the hands on the table supporting his body while looking at him challengingly. Yoosung was munching a biscuit watching them anxiously while Saeyoung didn’t even try to hide that he was enjoying himself. He closed his eyes feeling tired already, why did he have to deal with this? He was hoping they would not bring it up in the first place, but the conversation ended back at it even though it had deviated a bit.

“I had bought one, but I returned it to the shop since I could not make it to the party. No point keeping it since I could not attend,” he folded his arms irritated that he had to explain himself to him and because he felt the need to lie no less. “Zen got lucky, he ended up with Jaehee’s hand-knitted scarf,” Min-Seo tried to light up the conversations. “It really suited you, Zen.” “Of course,” he scratched his nose feeling flattered. “With a face and body like mine, it’s hard for something not to suit me.” “What about your gift?”

The question came naturally to him, he wanted to know and somehow he was regretting that he had not joined them… just a bit. Maybe he was over-thinking things, everyone had brought gifts they personally liked or something only one or two out of six of them would like. Was it wrong for him to pick something with her on his mind? But on the other hand, his choice was obviously the worst, of course a guy would have no need for a hair ornament and the group was consisted by four of them, so the more he was thinking of it, it was needless to say that it was suited for a direct exchange. Did he sound too eager for an answer? She looked surprised by his question.

“Got curious?” she finally smiled brightly. “I made a panda keychain. I was a bit hesitant since I thought it’d be too cute for a guy, so I was glad that Saeyoung did not mind.” “I like it,” he said and waved a cute panda holding a read heart hanging from his keys. “It’s cute.” “Isn’t it? Jaehee suggested we should make something handmade for the occasion and I found the instructions while I browsing the net looking for something easy to make. I thought it’d be something I could manage to make. It proved harder than I thought and the first attempts were a failure,” she revealed hers taking it out of her pocket, it was similar but it was not holding a heart. “But it was addictive and though I threw out a dozen of them, it started taking shape.” “Oh, so now we match!” Saeyoung adjusted his glassed.

She chuckled at his comment.

“Well, it’s nice that you liked it, I regretted not being able to learn how to make another pattern before Christmas. I’m sorry.” “Panda’s are cute, I like them! No need to apologize.” “Thank you,” she smiled again. “I’m honestly glad you didn’t mind.” “I wouldn’t mind either,” he blurted out with a straight face.

They were taken aback by his words, unsure if they had heard him correctly or if it was an attempt to crack a joke. The truth was that he was surprised himself, but Saeyoung’s comment annoyed him a bit, he almost wanted to snatch the keychain away.

“You wouldn’t?” Zen hesitantly asked in order to confirm it. ���I wouldn’t. Pandas are almost as charming as cats. Well, nothing is cutter than Elizabeth the 3rd though.” “Still, I could not picture him holding this keychain,” Zen murmured. “Would a CEO go around carrying a keychain like this? What would your executives think?” Yoosung asked “Hm? I don’t really care about that. It’s not like I go around showing them my keychain anyway.” “Are you serious?” Zen asked in disbelief. “Well, I can picture it,” she laughed. “Jumin not caring about what the rest of the world thinks is one of his best merits sometimes.”

His heart skipped a bit again; he did not like this feeling.

“You are exaggerating, but yes.” “Maybe I should make one for you too then.”

That startled him.

“Don’t make it the same as Seven’s.” “Dude, she just offered to make one for you for free on her free time, just be thankful instead of making requests.” “It’s ok, maybe I should add a different colored heart, thought since it’s handmade and I’ve not completely gotten the hand of it, it’ll look a bit different anyway.” “Then, make it purple.” “Just how selfish can you get?” Zen asked. “Yeah… Mr. CEO,” Saeyoung leaned in and whispered by his ear. “You penthouse is card locked, so why do you even need a keychain anyway?” “Sorry to interrupt but what about Jaehee? When are we going to see her?” Yoosung asked. “It’s supposed to be her birthday.”

Yoosung had a godly timing asking that, it distracted the ex-hacker’s attention and gave him an excuse to avoid his stare. It made him anxious that he could not answer his question, what was the feeling that made him ask for one too, he could not tell.

“Oh, she is busy with her cake,” Min-Seo explained. “She said she wanted to decorate it herself. I’ll go fetch her and bring you re-fills. Jumin didn’t even get a drink yet, I’m sorry.” “No need, the customer service is always awful here after all,” he said. “Hey!” Zen was about to argue with him again. “You say that but you always come back,” she grinned. “Really?” Saeyoung asked. “Yeah, he drops by for coffee pretty often.” “I’m just supporting an ex-employee… and it’s not too far from my office so it’s convinient.” “It’s not too close either,” Saeyoung narrowed his eyes. “Well, thanks for your support anyway. Be right back.” “Gosh, Jumin, be a bit more honest,” Yoosung sighed. “The place is really friendly and I really like their cakes and their coffee.” “Hm? But I was? They often neglect me if I drop by in rush hours just because I’m their acquaintance. They think that offering me free cake and then chat with be for a bit can make up for it but it’s not very professional.” “A rich guy… whining for free cake,” Zen was done with him; he didn’t even have the energy to argue.

Even though he complained, he couldn’t help but to recognize the progress the place had made over the two years it was open. Jaehee not only had picked a nice location but also created an efficient campaign targeting working young adults. The décor was tasteful, the prices affordable and the service very friendly, so it gained quite a few faithful customers in a short time who were visiting during their breaks or after their work. That helped them spread their name mouth to mouth too and after just one year they had to hire a few employees as the demand grew higher. His ex-assistant was indeed a capable woman and one who would explore her options and keep studying on the field she had chosen after her resignation. No wonder it was hard to replace her after she left. As a businessman he could not help but admire her efforts as she was striving for a healthy business within a withering local market, he wouldn’t even hesitate to invest in acquiring the brand name if it meant having her as a partner.

At first he did not want to visit the place and he could not deny that his first visits where not very pleasant as, displeased as he was by her resignation, he ensured to note every single flaw he could find. But even as he did that, Min-Seo, who was in charge of the customer service, always smiled and nodded at him and by the next time he visited the place it was fixed. However, after a while he was not sure why he kept visiting even though he had recognized their will, nor he could explain the fuzzy feeling inside of him every time she took the time to chat with him. After a while, he had even managed to fix his visits to her schedule almost perfectly. He could not understand his actions completely but he knew that he was thinking of her a lot and that he was missing her smile when he could not see her for days.

Troubled over his thoughts, he was barely paying attention to the other guys; Yoosung was complaining about being single, nothing new there. It was unlikely he’d find a girlfriend before New Year’s Eve, so hearing him making a big deal out of it seemed like a waste of his time. Zen’s advice to him were obviously useless too and clearly based on his experience, but since their personalities were completely different, Yoosung would hardly put any of them into practice unless he’d magically gain unfathomable confidence. It seemed that it was clear to Saeyoung as it was to him, because he did not let the chance to tease the poor, blond boy pass by. The bespectacled man was always perspective, to the point it was scary sometimes. As for him, he had plans to spend that day with his beloved cat, so he didn’t even feel the need to get involved in their conversation.

“Finally, the birthday girl is here!” Saeyoug stood up and everyone followed his example.

Jaehee was smiling shyly. Her hair were long now, she was dressed more feminine. A beautiful, mature woman. His decision to force a dress code on her while he was working under him was on point; just thinking that there was even a small chance his father would get into her and make a move made him sick, thus he did not regret it. She greeted everyone whole-heartily, thanking them for their presence there and their gifts. Even though he greeted her back properly wishing her happy birthday as they shook hands, he could not focus on her. His attention was anchored on Min-Seo instead; her smile looked so fake -unlike a few minutes ago- and her eyes which were shining brightly now looked empty, almost like she was detached from reality, it made him feel uneasy.

Up went his eyebrows, ignoring the others who were complimenting the cake’s decoration. What had happened in the span of a few minutes? He glanced sideways feeling that Yoosung of all people had sensed that he was staring at her too much. His uneasiness grew by the minute but he tried to bury his desire to approach her. Soon enough, everyone was singing happy birthday. He knew that she would normally sing louder and happier and louder than everyone else, but she just mumbled the song, clapping along with the others without much enthusiasm as long as it finished. The customers joined them congratulating Jaehee on her birthday, those who frequented the place even approached her to shake hands.

She was standing by her side, as Jaehee was busy thanking them, staring into space. He could not tell if she had sensed him staring at some point, but her eyes finally locked with his. That seemed to bring her back to reality as her plastered smile vanished for a moment. She looked away sadly and kind of embarrassed and then offered him an awkward smile. He squinted his eyes, but she avoided his gaze again. He could not stand seeing such a lonely expression on her face, he felt like something her grabbed his heart squeezing it hard.

“I want to thank everyone for coming here today,” Jaehee smiled slyly when the customers finally went back to their tables. “Today is a special day, not only because I am getting a year older,” she joked. “…Or because everyone is celebrating with me in this special place for me… But also because I… Actually… we’d like to make an announcement,” she flushed and her fingers softly touched Zen’s hand. He accepted them, lacing his between them and smiled at her encouragingly. “We decided that we’d like to try… start living together.” “Eh? Where did this come from? Aren’t you roommates with Min-Seo already anyway? “ Yoosung innocently asked eating his cake. “You guys were dating? Since when?” Saeyoung asked more quick on the uptake but still shocked at the news. “What?” Yoosung choked. “Just how oblivious can you be?” Jumin offered him his glass of water. “Well, we wanted to be sure it’ll work out first, considering it might affect RFA if it wouldn’t. We didn’t mean to keep it a secret this long, but we somehow lost the timing to reveal it,” Zen explained it. “So it does seem sudden, but we’ve properly dated for a while now.” “Did you practice your lines before saying this?” Saeyoung asked raising an eyebrow. “I didn’t!” “We also had to consider Zen’s career…” Jaehee added.

Everything was clear to him after that. The source of that painful expression was laid before him, but why was his heart aching too? It was not supposed to be like this; he didn’t want to see her trying so hard to conceal it in front of everyone, but if he had to be honest to himself, he was hurting more over something he was suspecting for a while now.

“Assistant Kang…” “Yes, Mr. Han,” she replied as a reflex and immediately covered her mouth realizing her blunder. “Are you sure about this decision?” “What are you even asking her?” Zen stood up confused. “I am,” Jaehee answered without even a hint of hesitation in her voice. “Then I will support you, since I trust your judgment… So I will not hold back too.” “What the hell?” the young actor cried. “Since when did you like her?” “The drama!” Saeyoung raised this spoon and took a bite of his cake while watching them. “How did you even get that idea?” Jumin replied coldly. “But… you just said.” “Kang’s taste is questionable, but her boldness is inspiring. It’s nothing more than that.” “Thank you,” she looked at him puzzled. “I think we should bring wine to celebrate. Right, Min-Seo?” “Eh?” she turned to him. “Ah! Right… Wine,” she put up a smile. “I think red wine would suit the happy occasion. I’ll go bring it.” “Then, I should also-” Jaehee was ready to stand up. “The couple should stay together,” he stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder.

The truth was that, even though he applauded their decision to take their life and their relationship to the next step, no matter how cold that’d sound, he couldn’t care less about it at that moment. Trying to stay collected, he followed her calmly to the kitchen, trying to avoid raising any suspicion. He opened the door and walked into a perfectly clean and organized kitchen to the surprise of a couple of the kitchen stuff. She was standing in front of their cellar with her hand lingering over a bottle of wine like she was frozen in time, lost in her thoughts, her other hand gripping her apron. The shoulders tensed the moment he touched them and he turned to him in daze. Her hair brushed against his hand and for a moment he could not help but to twixt a strand between his fingers.

“I can choose one for you,” he said and picked one before she manages to stop him. “Christmas time is a busy period; it looks like fatigue already got to you. We are also busy during these days, so I can understand the toll it can cause to your body and mind. Why don’t you take a short break? I’ll tell the others.” “I don’t-“ he flinched her forehead. “Don’t let the customers see you like this. It’s unprofessional,” he turned his back to her taking the bottle with him. “You’ll also worry her…”

“Jumin…”

He stopped on the spot with the door half-closed and glanced at her over his shoulder. In reality he was taking more about himself and not Jaehee; it was hard seeing her in this state. She was trying to find her words but gave up soon and smiled softly.

“Thank you,” she simply said.

He nodded. He couldn’t tell her that he didn’t want to see her wearing this expression, that he felt happy seeing her smile and his heart raced every time he called his name. But he understood that her heart was not beating for him at that moment. So he just left…

[scribblestatic]

“93’s a kid.”

Aizawa watches as All Might in his deflated form waits for the punchline, only for there not to be one. So he blinks rapidly, sitting near him on one of the chairs as the two heroes and Tsukauchi wait for the girl’s presentation.

She’d gone into a bit of shock once Aizawa caught her, but before she could be taken to the police station, she’d snapped out of it and begged him to listen to something she’d figured out. She wanted him, Tsukauchi, and surprisingly, someone, anyone related to All Might. “It doesn’t matter who it is just as long as they can relay this to him!!” she’d pleaded. She also pleaded to Tsukauchi directly that he find a few important things in her room. Not only that, but she’d walked Aizawa through unlocking her phone and using a program to activate the virus she’d installed on her own computer to erase and infect literally everything on the thing so no one would know what had been there. 

Considering how, apparently, Kurogiri had taken her laptop when they escaped, it turned out to be a necessity.

Anyway, the morning just keeps getting stranger. And now, he, All Might, and Tsukauchi await in chairs outside of one of the police meeting rooms as Tamakawa watches over the single most pestering hacker on that side of the planet.

“You’re not serious,” All Might says. Then he pauses and looks up at the ceiling. “Actually, this coming from you, it almost has to be.”

Tsukauchi sighs in his seat between the two, his fingers pinching at the bridge of his nose.

“He’s not joking, unfortunately. I’m not exactly sure how old she is, but I’m almost certain she’s no older than 18.”

“Gives me high schooler vibes,” Aizawa mumbles. “I’m around them all morning and afternoon, and now more are popping up.”

After a moment, the meeting room opens, and Kyuu-san, her hair messy and marker smudges on her hands, smiles timidly at them from the creaked-open doorway. None of the three get up just yet, remembering what happened the last time they’d almost entered the room prematurely.

Tamakawa had, without much thought, pulled the door open to let the three inside just five minutes before, only to stumble when a fearsome force tugged sharply on the other side. She’d clung to the door handle and tried to force the door closed again, going as far as putting her foot against the wall to try and use her body weight. She screeched manically at the top of her lungs, the eye visible through her bangs darkened and deranged. 

“It’s not ready yet!! Wait—jus-just—shoot—gimme another minute! Please! I’m begging you!! If I lose my train of thought now, I’ll lose it forever and I’ll never, ever be able to conjure it again so please please please give me like five more minutes! Five more minutes, okay?! That’s all I’m asking for! Five! Five more minutes then you can listen to me and throw me in jail for the rest of my life!! And then I can worry about dropping the soap while you worry about taking down supervillains!! But please, God, give me five more minutes and then I’ll open the door and let you in but don’t come in yet!!”

Tamakawa, his ears to his head, quickly let go of the door handle. They heard a grunt and tumble on the other side, but a second later, scrambling. Mumbling then began to filter from behind the door, ominous alongside the loud squeaks of the markers she’d been given. 

They’d decided to wait patiently ever since. But now, with the five minutes up, to the exact second, the girl is peering through the door again, her smile soft and tinted with a heavy worry.

“Uhm...hi. Yeah. Uh, sorry about...earlier. I’m ready now though!”

Tamakawa holds the door open for them, eyeing the girl a bit warily as they enter.

The room is...

A mess.

There’s papers with chicken-scratch scribbles tacked to the walls and strings attaching sheet to sheet to sheet. But most importantly, the actual large, portable whiteboard she’d been given to work with is very dimly smudged with barely visible words, but has otherwise been significantly cleaned up and organized into two points. Different words are noted below the two numbers, presumably her proof statements.

“Hiiii...” The girl starts, standing and twiddling her fingers in front of Tsukauchi. She bows quickly. “Sorry for all the trouble I’ve put you through. It’s nice to finally meet you though, Tsukauchi-san!”

“Ah, likewise. Though, I’ll admit, I was expecting someone...”

“Older? Sweatier? A NEET?” she asks, standing up straight and tilting her head.

The policeman’s eye twitches. “...That’s one way to put it, yes.”

“Most people do, honestly. It’s why I could stay hidden for as long as I did, but that didn’t work out in the end.” She sighs and shrugs, though there’s an obvious tremble to her voice. Before Tsukauchi can ask if she’s okay, she moves on to the next person.

“And you! Mr. Eraserhead! I’m actually really, really stoked to meet you!” She bows politely. “Thank you for saving me today! And I’m sorry for intruding on the lives of your students! It was very rude of me, but I can’t say I feel any actual regret for it!”

Before he can even reply, she quickly moves on to All Might.

“And you’re Yagi Toshinori, right? I’ve heard a lot about you! Well, read a lot about you. You’re All Might’s Secretary of Public Affairs, right? Gosh, meeting you is like meeting the man himself! It’s an honor! I’m so glad you could come on such short notice!” She bows to him as well.

“Ah...well, it’s a pleasure to meet you as well. You said this was urgent knowledge for All Might, so, considering who you were, I decided it would be best if I attended as soon as possible.”

“I appreciate that!” She then claps her hands together. “Alright, so, please have a seat! I’ll get started right away with the first point.”

After a moment, the three arrange themselves on the couch in the same way they had been sitting in the chairs outside. On the coffee table in front of them are stacks of paper, but they’re much more neatly arranged than the ones tacked to the walls. She moves to stand on the other side of the coffee table, her hands on her hips and the whiteboard behind her.

“So, first and foremost, we need to understand that Shigaraki Tomura is not the leader of the League of Villains.”

Aizawa’s eyes narrow, and Tsukauchi frowns, but it’s All Might who speaks.

“You sound...sure of this.”

“Oh, absolutely! I mean, it’s one thing to hear about him from secondary sources. It’s another to actually be face-to-face with him! And he is...” Her face curls into a scowl, one eye becoming visible through a break in her bangs, narrowed with irritation. “An absolute man-baby. A sad excuse of a human being who’s just using his Quirk as a way to threaten others into doing his bidding. Barely a soul would follow him except for his intellect, fearsome nature, and being able to provide the bare minimum of emotional support to people alienated for various circumstances. Because even pure, raw destructive tendencies have people who can relate to it. He lacks charisma because of his childish nature and he cannot hide how much he likes to hurt people.”

Absently, her hand rubs against her neck, but she continues despite that.

“And so, I have a very hard time believing that someone like Kurogiri would follow him wholeheartedly without some sort of assurance.”

“Kurogiri’s your key. How?” Aizawa asks.

“Because! I mean, look at him!” She turns around and starts making a quickly sketched doodle of the warp Quirk user. It actually looks pretty good. “He speaks so formally, and he dresses nicely! Even from testimonials at the USJ, he still behaved just as professionally while attacking children! And, it’s his words that partially govern Shigaraki’s actions. While Shigaraki may make quite a few orders that he follows, Kurogiri steps in to usher Shigaraki at important times, such as when the man-baby’s childishness becomes too much for anyone to truly handle. While Kurogiri follows him, he also keeps him in some proverbial line. The question then is who defines that line. That brings me to point number two.”

She shifts over and pats her hand against the whiteboard, smiling back at the three men. “The true leader didn’t plan tonight’s kidnapping!”

Tsukauchi hums. “I heard some of the conversation you had with Shigaraki and Kurogiri. With what you’ve said, you’re keying in on Kurogiri’s hurry, right?”

Chouko absolutely beams at him and points in his direction. “Exactly!”

“Because you believe Kurogiri is following the true leader while acting like he’s following Shigaraki,” Aizawa says.

“What made you think this wasn’t part of the master plan?” All Might asks, his hand rubbing against his chin.

“Okay, so, I’m pretty sure you and Eraserhead didn’t actually hear the recording, but there was a point where Kurogiri was trying to pull Shigaraki out of talking with me at my apartment. He was trying to hurry up and get me to the second location, their hideout. But the thing is, he was actively trying to make subtle orders in the midst of his supposed leader taking his time to gloat at me. At that point, more than even at the USJ, he was in more parental or guidance role. Part of the reason for that, I think, is because Shigaraki didn’t actually have the green-light to kidnap me! Maybe he was tired of waiting? Or maybe he was thinking he could handle it himself? After all, even if he’s not the true leader of the League, he’s the showpiece, the face of the movement. He has to be able to make decisions by himself...think of it kind of like a mafia boss giving some jurisdiction to his son.”

“He’s a boss-in-training, but he still needs a babysitter. That’s Kurogiri,” Aizawa says. “That makes more sense than other alternatives we’ve come up with.”

“But that means if he does have a proper mentor...” All Might mutters, thinking back to what Nedzu said after the USJ attack.

“Right! Uhm, and also, there wasn’t a Noumu there.”

“Why would a Noumu be...” Tsuakuchi blinks. “...You think that’s a mark from the true leader.”

All Might throws him a glance at the same time Chouko claps her hands together.

“Exactly! As I said, Shigaraki’s wild and destructive nature would attract pawns for him to use, like the 72 villains he managed to get on his side for the USJ attack, but I highly doubt he would have the funds or brains on his side to create the absolute demonic marvels of modern science that are Noumus!” She finally sticks her hand into the piles of organized papers on the coffee table, pulling out what should’ve been secret police files that she’d somehow gotten contact with. 

On the papers, there are faces with different biological and Quirk facts about them on it. Some pictures circled with red matched a blurry photo of a Noumu, its picture also circled with red. There was another with yellow circles and a circled photo of a Noumu. Several circled profiles and many connected to one Noumu.

“Several people, combined into one super monster that feels nearly no pain...or perhaps they’re always in pain. Either way, someone has gone out of their way to find out how to forcefully place several different kinds of Quirks into one body that doesn’t involve familial abuse and genetic experimentation without test tubes!” 

She then lowers her filled hands, the smile slipping off her face. Her tone even drops, falling below what the men had thought capable of her range. 

“Speaking of which, the Japanese government should really just shut out Endeavor as a hero already. No matter how desperate the world is for saviors, having Endeavor continue to have a positive media presence is damning for the industry as a whole because it means you all will allow anyone with a strong, controllable Quirk and a good head on their shoulders to become heroes, even if they abuse people and use them as tools for their own personal gain. It’s no wonder that such a world bred villains like Stain—which, I mean, good motive, still murder. Standards should be important for such an industry, and for the last few years, I mean...well, I have my gripes about the whole hero industry from it’s adoption from the American model in the first place when the South African model, made months before the American one, is more inclusive and involves much more mental and physical healthcare advances since it was procured. We could’ve even adopted the Swedish model, but no... But that’s not what we’re talking about. Yet.”

She clears her throat, and her voice rekindles its light, airy tone. “But ah...where was I?”

“Test tubes. Or lack thereof,” Aizawa replies, actively grinning, though the action is mostly hidden by his capture gear.

“Right! Uh, gosh...lost my momentum...” She shakes her head. “Anyway! Experimentation! Yeah. That takes a lot of brain power and money! Do you really think that Shigaraki has either of those things?”

Tsukauchi coughs into his fist. “Well. No.”

“So then, he has to be getting the Noumu from someone else! It could be some sicko monster seller who just wants to make money, but again, Shigaraki doesn’t have that. So they have to be donated for a reason. And even if they weren’t the secret leader of the League, they would be a very wealthy, very direct sponsor of his actions. I would rather just call them the true leader at that point. And usually, where we see Shigaraki, we see Noumu! Like at the USJ and at Hosu. And yet, when he came to my house, he didn’t bring one, not even as insurance that any Quirk I had could be overpowered. Which, I’ll admit, is a little weak for evidence, but I still think the idea has its merit! So, he doesn’t bring any ‘toys’ with him, and Kurogiri’s trying to tell him to hurry up and skedaddle off with me because they don’t actually have the leader’s approval to do what he’s doing. Meaning the true leader is more powerful than Shigaraki, which, I mean, obviously. But that’s not all... I think, with the Noumu and the way things have been orchestrated so far, point by point...letting Shigaraki try to make his own plans and potentially grooming him to be wiser... Obviously, this person, whoever this is, with all the money in the world to fund the creation of terrible, tortured chimera humans. This person has to be in the deep underbelly of Japan’s crime world.”

Tsukauchi and All Might shoot each other a glance, one that Aizawa pretends to miss.

“And the person who is leading the League of Villains...”

Suddenly, Chouko drops the papers in her hands and smacks the whiteboard, making the bottom spin upwards towards the top, flipping it to its back, where the other side of the board is.

On it, a big number 3 is written, and more words, more arrows, more connections and speculations, all pinpointing right onto the number.

“—is the same person who injured All Might!”

[jewelridersarchive]

Why do we love seeing new versions of the same thing? Is it simple nostalgia? Is it the desire to engage with some sort of content that once moved us in a new and different way? Is it new creators wanting to stamp something they loved from their own childhood with their mark? Or is it all of the above?

I’m not immune to loving reboots. I devoured the new DuckTales on Disney XD, I’m reading the new Rainbow Brite comics from Dynamite, I’m watching the new iteration of Will & Grace, and continue to watch My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Reboots are fun; they not only allow fans who loved something to have a nostalgia party, but also allow potential new fans entry points into what sometimes appears to be never-ending streams of content (I’m looking at you, Transformers). But things seem out of hand when even ReBoot, the mid-90s CGI cartoon, has a reboot on Netflix (ReBoot: The Guardian Code). Have reboots become the “safe,” risk-averse way companies can cash in on portfolio properties that already have known fanbases? It’s the equivalent of an artist only drawing fanart because they know it will get thousands of likes versus hundreds on original content.

And I fully admit some level of fatigue with franchises that just keep chugging along, seemingly forever. Every movie that comes out seems to want to be a tentpole franchise builder. Or a reboot of an existing franchise, or a soft reboot that only takes some elements going forward, or an alternate universe or…well, you get the idea.

I love original content. One of the best shows I watched this year was Alex Hirsch’s Gravity Falls (yes, I know I’m rather late to the game). It was a bright spot of originality, something new and not tied to any other content or previous iteration. Many of the anime I watch and enjoy are either original or straight adaptations of an existing manga. I think original content and ideas are important in entertainment. They allow a generation to experience a piece of entertainment in its prime, and have something uniquely “theirs.” Kids of the 60s had Star Trek, kids of the 70s had Star Wars, kids of 80s will always be the original audience for Jem & the Holograms and He-Man/She-Ra, kids of the 90s will always have X-Men TAS and Sailor Moon. (And PGJR, of course haha). No matter if they are rebooted down the road or not, that original experience belongs to the original viewers.

Which is why it’s always hilarious to me when people who hate on the new version of something say “It’s ruining my childhood!” Your childhood is whatever it was, frozen in time. Those original cartoons obviously still exist, and if you have the desire you can watch most of them. A reboot doesn’t destroy the original, no matter how many changes it makes to the original idea. The best reboots can often give us (as adults) what we thought we were watching as children. And often, the reboot can drive traffic back to seek out the original, as adults want to share with children the version they loved at that age.

Which brings us to She-Ra. I didn’t watch any He-Man or She-Ra as a child, for whatever reason. I found He-Man & the Masters of the Universe through the 2002 anime-influenced incarnation (also a great reboot IMO), then went back and watched the 1983 cartoon, followed by the 1985 She-Ra: Princess of Power. I loved it all. Sure, sometimes it was goofy, and there was lots of animation reuse in the older versions, but the core concepts were really strong. They are classic good vs evil, freedom vs tyranny stories, told with engaging casts and crazy creative worlds.

I powered through all 93 episodes of She-Ra during the summer of 2010 while I studied for my board exams. It holds the special place of being the series I turned to to relieve the stress of studying. I love the 80s fantasy girl designs, the color schemes, the powers, the sheer kookiness of the side characters. She-Ra was the OG American magical girl, and I finally understood what all the fuss over this franchise was about. She-Ra feels iconic in the way that characters like Wonder Woman and Sailor Moon do. Yes, she starts out as a spin-off of the successful He-Man franchise, but he makes very few appearances in She-Ra’s cartoon.

But after her initial run, She-Ra remained a virtually dormant property for the next 30 years. He-Man had two different reboots in 1991 and 2002, but She-Ra was stuck in limbo. Only once the Masters of the Universe Classics collectible figure from Mattel released in 2010 did She-Ra finally see the light of day again. Story-wise, the bios on the back of the toy packages gave us a little info about She-Ra’s further adventures, but it wasn’t until the 2012/2013 Masters of the Universe comic from DC that She-Ra comes back, this time in the guise of the villainous Despara. It’s a dark but interesting take on the characters; an exploration of what being raised by the Evil Horde would really do to a person.

Interestingly, this seems to be the jumping-off point for the new “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power” animated series from Dreamworks and Netflix. This show takes as its central theme the relationship between Adora and Catra. When Adora finds the sword that lets her turn into She-Ra, she leaves the Horde – an organization to which she has devoted her life. Almost more importantly, she leaves behind Catra, her best friend. It’s this broken relationship that informs the emotional tone of the rest of the show.

Unlike the 80s version, this time around the Rebellion knows Adora’s identity as She-Ra. It’s an interesting change – shows of the 80s were obsessed with secret identities, and sometimes it could get ridiculous making up excuses for what happened to the other identity of the character every time. Thankfully, that is avoided here, and instead of angst over whether or not you can let people know the real you, we are treated to relationships that ask whether we can accept someone who we know has wronged us before.

Much has been made over this update’s reworking of the body types and ethnicities of the main princesses. While I confess not loving all the updated designs and missing the 80s fairytale warrior goddesses of the original, I understand and fully support the change. Reboots are about viewing something old through the lens of today, and audiences of today want to see themselves in the media they watch or read. We can’t (and shouldn’t) go back to mostly-white casts. The world is a rainbow of colors, and the show feels richer for including them.

Speaking of rainbows, I have to mention the new show’s decidedly queer bent. The relationship between Adora and Catra is somewhere between ex-best-friends and ex-girlfriends in tone. Netossa and Spinerella, long shipped by the fandom, are finally outed in a true relationship this time around. Other characters like Scorpia, Bow, and Entrapta all tap into queer mannerisms and norms as well. The end result is unlike anything else I’ve ever seen in children’s entertainment, and I couldn’t be happier. I wish I’d had something similar as a child, but I’m grateful today’s queer kids have their own heroes.

When we talk about a successful reboot, what are we looking for? Here’s what I think a good reboot need to accomplish.

Bring the characters and concepts of the original property up to date for current audiences.

Explore the characters or world in new and different ways.

Add depth to the original concept.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power does all of these in spades. I think it’s the nicest treatment an 80s female-driven property has gotten in a reboot. The show is full of strong characters with interesting dynamics, great writing, and interesting world building. Yes, some of the episodes can be a bit predictable and the designs are not always my favorite, but everything works together toward a greater whole. I won’t spoil the story for you, because seriously if you haven’t watched this, get thee to Netflix and enjoy!

For the Honor of Grayskull!

Chris

P.S. Can you imagine getting a ✨Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders✨ reboot that brought all this to the table? I’d die!

Read the complete blog at The Jewel Riders Archive! http://www.jewelridersarchive.com/posts/she-ra-the-princesses-of-power-and-reboot-culture/

[screamingatanemptyroom]

The Hero Trap

The following is a short story I wrote in response to a prompt idea sent to me by @sockknitteranon regarding twisting the typical “choose between the your girlfriend and random innocent civilian” scenario in super hero stories. Thank you for the suggestion! I really really hope you like what I wrote for it! 

The plan was perfect.

One of the most well-known, feared super villains in the city waited patiently for his adversary to arrive. Every piece of his elaborate trap was in place. All that was left was for the hero to show up.

“Why did you lure me here, fiend? I will protect the city from your evil plots!” The Hero’s voice was proud and sure, carrying well across the large trap chamber. 

The Villain smiled. Now he had the Hero right where he wanted him. He cracked his knuckles and stretched, chuckling grimly to himself. This was his favorite part. 

“Now.”

Quiet, barely over a whisper, the Villain’s voice somehow seemed louder than the Hero’s brazen shout.  At his command the barred door slammed shut, sealing the Hero in the trap chamber, and with a reluctant flicker, floodlights turned on, revealing the true nature of the Hero’s predicament.

“You see, Hero, I’ve been expecting you.” The Villain gestured grandly to the center of the large room where two struggling figures hung suspended in metal cages. Below the cages sat a vat of toxic sludge, its luminescent green contents slowly melting the solid iron container that held it. Even from the distance he stood it was hard to look at, but it fulfilled its role of appearing sinister, as well as a credible threat to the lives of the people hanging above it.

“You claim to have such wonderful morals, but forgive me sir, if I feel the need to put them to the test.” The Villain mocked his adversary with a sarcastic bow, before turning back to look at the cages above.

“In cage number one we have the beautiful love of your life, Ms Clarice Whitling. A renowned scientist with a heart of gold and the looks of a supermodel.” The woman in question struggled against the bonds holding her hands and feet, and tried to shout something past the gag bound across her mouth. “Now, now, patience Ms. Whitling. You will get your turn to talk… depending on lover boy’s decision.”

“YOU HEARTLESS SCOUNDREL!” The Hero’s face was red with anger, “SHE BELONGS TO ME!”

The Villain raised an eyebrow at the choice of words and smiled as he heard a dissatisfied jumble of noises from the first cage. “I’ll let you work out your relationship issues with your partner in your own time, Hero. I still have to tell you about cage #2!”

The figure in the second cage was quiet, although she still tugged against her bonds like the first captive. Her eyes though told a different story. A piercing gaze, struck him, and for a brief moment he felt a pang of regret before continuing the introduction.

“Our second contestant is an innocent civilian, Ms…” He checked the card his henchman had handed him, “Erica Slade. She’s a plucky young woman who devotes her time to charity, helps the homeless and the elderly, and works as a kindergarten school teacher.” He winced, feeling slightly remorseful at her capture.

“And that is where the true dilemma comes in, Hero. You can only save one. The woman you love, but keep in mind that she’s the one who chose to enter into a relationship with you knowing you were a hero, knowing that it put her at risk for attacks like this.”

“BAST…”  

“Or…” The Villain interrupted the Hero mid-profanity, “You can save this stranger, a young, innocent woman who has nothing to do with all of this. She is the very representation of what you swore to protect.” The Villain walked closer, now only a few feet away. “What will you do, Hero? Will you be selfish and protect your own interests? Will you throw away the woman you love to uphold your ideals?” He pressed a button, and both cages moved slowly down towards the glowing green vat.

The Villain studied his opponent’s face carefully. Now was the crucial moment of the plan. He had to convince the Hero that both women were in mortal danger, thus pushing the love vs duty choice upon him.  In reality, cages were wired to drop just to the side of the vat at the last moment, neither would be harmed, but by then hopefully the damage would be done. The Hero would be trapped in a mental and moral puzzle of his own making, unable to save either. He would be destroyed as a hero.

The Hero stared blankly at the moving cages, his face strangely blank of emotion. The Villain was glad that he was the one in control, if it were him standing there, having to choose between two innocent peoples lives… well it was impossible, it made him grateful that he was the villain in the room.

“Let the freak die.” 

The flat, short statement sounded wrong, it took the Villain a moment to register the words. He paused the cages descent,  staring at the Hero in confusion.

“What did you say?”

“I said let that cripple die.” He pointed up at the second cage impatiently. The Villain followed the direction he indicated, studying his captive more carefully. Her hands were bound, but the rope was tied around her thighs, instead of her ankles. When he looked closer he noted it was because her left leg ended just above the knee. She leaned against the wall for support, uncomfortable. Two metal structures leaned against the side of the cage. Forearm crutches. He noted with a sigh.

The Hero wasn’t done talking. “People like that are just a drain on resources anyways. They are worthless, taking handouts from healthy people and not contributing anything to society.” His voice was dismissive, he looked up at the woman like she was something less than human. “Better off dead, if you ask me. So return my beautiful girlfriend, kill the trash and I’ll be on my way.”

The Villain looked up at Ms. Slade again, his ears ringing strangely and his vision blurry. He could still make out her face, at the last thing he remembered before everything went dark was the expression there, clear despite the gag covering her mouth: It wasn’t anger at the Hero’s betrayal, or fear for her own death. It was a tired resignation. It was the look of a woman who had expected to be told she was worthless.

He was ten, living at an underfunded orphanage for cast offs like him. The other kids beat up on Jack, his friend, because he has trouble saying words clearly. They ignore the girl who looks different than them; steal things from the child that walks with a cane. They laugh and make faces at the little boy who shares his room, who couldn’t see. All of this was done under the watchful and approving eyes of the adults, as they snickered behind their hands and pretended there was nothing they could do. The powerful grew more powerful and the weak and different shrunk and became resigned. That was when he learned the only lesson they bothered to teach at this facility:

Never trust the authorities.

He was a foolish man, an evil man sometimes. He made no excuses for his behavior, he knew what he was. But the ones who pretended to be heroes, the ones who said they cared about everyone when all they saw were people who looked and spoke like them… they were even more horrible in his eyes.

The Villain came to, realizing that he had jumped on top of the Hero, punching him repeatedly in the face. There was anger and frustration behind each attack, adding weight to his fist. But there was something else, some dark hidden sadness bubbling behind the fiery anger. Tears streamed down his face as he slowly got up, leaving the hero broken and bloody on the floor.

“The only trash I see here is you.” He took his remote out, pushing several buttons, which lowered the cages to the ground. His minions got to work releasing Ms. Whitling, while he quickly moved forward to cut the ropes holding Ms. Slade hostage. He freed her, and handed her crutches to her silently.

“I’m sorry.” 

SLAP! Her hand cracked across his face with a loud noise. She sighed loudly, glaring up at him.

“That’s for kidnapping me and threatening to drop me in toxic waste, idiot!”

The Villain nodded slowly, he supposed he deserved that much.  To his surprise she leaned forward gave him a quick kiss on the cheek she just slapped. “And that’s for beating the crap out of that jerk over there.”

She moved passed him, leaving him staring off silently at the now empty cage, shocked.

“Clarice!” The hero’s voice sounded odd with his bloody nose and broken jaw, but he called out to his girlfriend as clearly as he could. The woman in question quickly walked up, her red heels clicking on the floor beneath her.

STOMP! The Hero screeched at clutched at his crotch, where Ms. Whitling had just ground the heel of her shoe into.

“We’re breaking up, you worthless scum.” She glared at him for a few extra moments, before marching towards her fellow captive. “Erica, was it? So sorry that he spoke to you like that, please ignore him.”

Ms. Slade smiled and waved an arm. “ Oh believe me, he’s ignored.”

“Great! Let’s go get coffee.” They moved together towards the door, and once they reached the locked metal gate turned to face me.

“Unless you want to continue to detain us?” The Villain shuddered at Ms. Whitling’s cheerful voice, wincing at the thought of facing any more of either woman’s wrath. He pressed the button, which opened the gate.

“I thought so.” They started to leave.

“Wait…” he called out without thinking. With both of them staring again he started to stutter. “I mean… I’m sorry I kidnapped you two… um… if you guys ever need any help, just let me know.”

Ms. Slade laughed. “You want to join us for coffee?”

He stared at her in shock. “Really?! Can I ? I...I would be honored.”

With that the three of them headed out to drink coffee. The Villain wasn’t sure what to expect from here on out, but no matter what, it was sure to be interesting.

[myselfinserts]

❝ Isn’t this kingdom beautiful? ❞

Hero work had died down over the last few months since Maddox’s arrest. Villain activity had gone strangely quiet. It was sure to pick up again once the new EHA head was established. Some heroes were being forced to take their mandatory time off. The only exceptions being students and those in the apprenticeship program. And of course Inkwell, who refused to let the Geodes rest until they cleaned out the current EHA from top to bottom to the best of their ability. 

Regi had left for two weeks for a conference and seminar. Not presenting anything, as much as he wanted to, but this was for up and coming new faces that had yet to make a debut. Though he had been invited to do a Q&A, as well as a photo shoot for one of the support tech magazines, and he’d be paid pretty nicely for his time, so he’d taken the offer. After that, he’d be helping head a seminar at the nearby college. His schedule would be completely filled.

Because of this, Luci was left with a lot of time to learn the ways of their future kingdom. 

A task that was nearly impossible. 

Memorizing dates was simple enough. Basic holidays, back closure days, the school year. Simpler customs Luci was able to catch onto quickly, like how it was seen as normal to leave your ears unpinned if you had the Elspie ears, and pinning them back was seen as peculiar. Or how it was seen as normal for a household to have at least one cat, typically one gifted to you when you purchased a new home. Greetings were usually done with a nod, and it was seen as impolite to tip your hat without doing so. Estmund had many little things about it in that vein that Luci picked up easily. 

The struggle came when it was time to learn the ways of the aristocracy and politics. Not basics like table manners or how to properly wave or bow. And nothing like how to dress for whatever occasion. No, they had to learn how to give speeches, read a room, communicate effectively with diplomats and world leaders. They had to be sure to be able to communicate in multiple languages, never knowing when an interpreter may not be at hand. Laws upon laws upon laws. They had to memorize every single one, and every single name of every law maker in the country. They were expected to see people every day. There was hardly any time to break. 

And the stress was irritating their quirk. Keeping up with the whirlwind of emotions as an empath was hard enough back home, but it only got worse as they tried to be someone who, to be perfectly honest, they weren’t. Luci could hear the whispers. Feel the thoughts being thought about them as they readjusted their posture, or as they tried to maintain a proper level of eye contact. They were tripping over their words more than ever, leaving no one impressed with the heir of Estmund. 

After the first week of trying to become a proper prince, Luci had been told that they’d be getting a helping hand. 

“Are you sure this will help?” they asked nervously. Standing at the throne never failed to make them anxious, and the circumstances only aided in exacerbating the feeling. “I don’t want to cause anyone any trouble.”

Davis nodded calmly. “Don’t fret, my child. I assure you, I would not have called for him if either of us would think it’d be trouble.” He gave them a gentle pat on the head. “And you are absolutely no trouble at all.”

“I’m sure I know a certain designer who would disagree with you there, but okay.”

Before Davis could counter that comment, Milo hurried over to them, whispering in his ear before receiving a nod and hurrying back to the doors. “He’s here.”

“Announcing the arrival of his Lordship, Count Lauris Gossamer!”

Slowly, the doors opened, and everyone stood to attention as a man entered the room towards the throne. 

As the young man slowly approached, Luci felt their heart lurch. He was about as tall as themself, with eyes the same whiter than crisp, freshly fallen snow as the king, and beautifully long hair the same tawny brown hair as Isleen. Aside from those features, this man looked nearly identical to Luci in every other way. Unlike the shepherd, however, this lad carried himself with a regal air befitting a king. Confidence, poise, and a genuine smile. Had they not known better, they'd have assumed this man was the true heir to the kingdom.

The man stopped a few feet from the throne, kneeling politely and placing a hand over his heart. His clothes were clean, stiff, and regal. An elegant royal blue with gold detailing. And a circlet very similar to the one Luci wore during their hero work.

It's not possible for me to be able to compete with someone like this.

"Greetings, your Majesty," the man stated warmly. "I have returned from my studies abroad, and my reports are already on their way to your office. I hope all has been well while I've been away."

"It's been far too long, Lauris," Davis said. "Come, to your feet. No need to be so formal."

The man nodded, quickly rising up and recomposing himself. "Of course, sir."

Davis smiled fondly, motioning to Luci. "There's someone I wish for you to meet. As I'm certain you've heard, the heir to Estmund has returned to us."

Luci swallowed, bowing politely. "I'm Lucien Adaire, Crown Prince of Estmund. Back in Elspie I'm the Peaceful Shepherd Hero: Amaryllis. Uh…it's, um. It's a privilege to meet you, sir."

"My name is Lauris Gossamer," the young man introduced himself. "It is an honor to meet you, your Highness. Would addressing you as ‘Prince Lucien’ suffice?"

"I, uh…y-yes. I guess."

"Lucien, Lauris, relax." Davis took their hands and pulled them closer together. "We're all family here. There's no need to be so formal." Davis looked to Luci, giving them a light pat on the shoulder. "Lauris here is my ward, and holds the title of Count of Gossamer. I took him in as a young lad and raised him as though he were my own as best I could. I’d say he turned out to be quite the noble. Fencing, archery, debate team, and well on his way to a doctorate in political science. We’re all proud of him."

“Th-thank you, sir.” Lauris blushed, lightly tugging on his sleeve. "Though my house is newly established, I hope to make it a proud one that can stand tall beside the other nobles of Estmund.”

Luci smiled. “I’m sure you will. I hope to be able to match your skills someday myself.”

“I would hope you’d plan to surpass me, Prince Lucien. I’m not going to accept a half assed student.”

“...come again?”

Davis chuckled. “Lauris here is going to be tutoring you on all the things you’re struggling with.” His gaze turned soft. “Milo’s tough love and tossing a life preserver methods approach worked well for me, but they don’t seem to be helping you. I figured someone a little closer in age might be able to offer something you need better than we can provide.”

“Oh...” Luci went red. “I forgot about that...”

Lauris smirked. “We’ll fix that in no time.” He lightly pulled himself away from the embrace. “I still have unpacking to do, and tomorrow is no good since its a new moon, so we’ll start our lessons the day after tomorrow. Before sunrise. I’ll send for you.” 

“Huh? Oh. O-okay.” 

“Perfect. In that case, I’ll see you all for dinner.” With a quick bow, Lauris took his leave with a spin on his heels, hair bouncing slightly as he twirled. 

Luci sighed. “He seems...interesting.”

”Indeed,” Davis chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll both get along well.”

“I...I really hope you’re right.”

“Prince Lucien? It’s time to wake up.”

Luci woke up with a groan, glancing at their phone and sighing when they saw it read three in the morning. “Let me guess,” they gumbled, “Count Gossamer is calling for me?”

Milo smiled, heading to the closet and pulling out a comfortable day outfit for them. “The carriage is ready, and I packed you breakfast and lunch. We’ll see you both home in time for dinner.”

“I was afraid you’d say that.” 

Reluctantly, Luci got out of bed and got dressed. They hardly remembered stepping into the carriage, nearly passing out the moment the door closed and they headed out. 

Dinner two days ago had been awkward to say the least. It was less of a dinner and more of an interrogation. Lauris was relentless in his questioning. What was hero life like? What about Luci’s husband? What laws did Elspie and Estmund share? How much of Estmund’s culture did they memorize already? What laws? What did they excel in? What did they find themself to be lacking? On and on, in a nonstop barrage until Luci had to excuse themself and locked their bedroom door for the night. 

The next day was unsettling. The entire palace staff were acting as though they were in mourning. Dressed head to toe in black, several crying heavily. Davis seemed unusually distant, barely able to turn his attention back to Luci and Isleen long enough to agree to go out to the old cabin on his next day off. When Luci had asked how Lauris was doing, everyone stared at them as though they’d seen a ghost. 

“How are you this morning, Prince Lucien?” Lauris asked cheerfully. 

Luci scoffed. “Why are you so perky? It’s three-fucking-a.m.” 

“My oh my, what a potty mouth.” 

“You’d have one too if you woke up from my nightmares.”

Lauris shrugged. “Wouldn’t know the feeling. I don’t experience dreams.” His smile faded. “Don’t experience a lot of things really.”

“That so?” Luci looked him over carefully. He hadn’t noticed at first, but Lauris was dressed rather similarly to the palace staff today. “Something to do with your quirk?”

“Yeah. There’s a lot I can’t do because of my quirk. But the pros outweigh the cons.” Lauris leaned back, looking out the window pensively. “You can go ahead and sleep. I’ll wake you when we arrive at our destination.”

Luci shook their head. “No, it’d be best if I stay awake.” They paused. “And...I actually want to ask you a few questions.”

“You can ask me anything after we get there.”

“No, I really need to talk about something. And you spent all dinner the other night interrogating me.”

Lauris sighed. “Very well. You get one question.” 

One question. Of course it’d be that cliche. Luci let out a huff, racking their brain and trying to figure out what to ask. There were so many things they needed to know. This man was supposed to be their teacher. This man was, if you wanted to get technical, their brother. If they were going to be spending time together, it’d make sense to get to know him. 

But only one question to start? 

“I guess I’ll start with the basics,” Luci sighed. “How did you meet my father?”

Lauris blinked in surprise. “That’s your first question?”

They shrugged. “Best to start at the beginning, right? And being the ward to the king technically makes us siblings, doesn’t it?”

“I...suppose,” Lauris said. “Well, I guess it does tie into your studies also, so it’s as good a place to start as any.” He closed his eyes, and his voice became gentler. Softer. Like feather down. “As I am sure you know, Estmund has three orphanages across the entire island. They’re some of the oldest establishments in all of the kingdom, so they’re protected by the Historical Society. But at the moment, Estmund’s orphanages are empty. There’s no orphan children. Hasn’t been for a little over twenty years or so.”

“I read about that,” Luci muttered. “But what does that have to do with you and my father? Did he take you in from one of them back when they were full?”

Lauris simply chuckled. “They were never full in my time there.” He looked at them, eyes gentle. “I was the last orphan on Estmund. Everyone else was adopted. I was about nine, maybe ten? I was the only one left at St. Cornelia’s Prep School and Boarding Home. The king showed up for an annual visit, and found me studying under a tree in the courtyard. At first he thought I was the son of the Headmistress. When he heard the truth, he took me in, no hesitation.” His laughter grew just slightly. “He wasn’t even thinking when he did that. Everyone at the castle when I arrived at first thought I was a replacement heir. It was hilarious when I told him I didn’t want the position. The thought had never crossed his mind, so hearing me say ‘I don’t wanna’ made him turn into a cod for a good minute.”

Luci’s eyes went wide. “Wait...you don’t want to be king?”

“Why would I?” Lauris asked. “All I ever wanted was a home. King Davis gave that to me.” His gaze grew distant, for just a moment. “I would have, though, if he asked me. If there was no other choice. But I just don’t like the expectations that come with being king. There’s a lot expected of me already, as ward to his Majesty and a newly established Count. I’d be expected to marry and have an heir myself, but I don’t want to ever get married. I do wish to adopt one day, but marriage is out of the question. Not to mention that there’s much left for me to learn not just about the world, but also my quirk. I have far too much to study to consider being king.” He lightly punched them in the shoulder. “Seriously, you are a lifesaver in that regard. Last thing this kingdom needs is someone who is half-assed about being part of the royal line of succession.”

“That’s...that’s a fair point, I suppose.” Luci smiled fondly. “I want to do my best for my parents. For this kingdom. For this new home I can make for myself and my family.”

“And that’s why I’m here. I’ll be teaching you, and in turn, I’ll learn from you. We’ll work together. Agreed?”

“...yeah. That sounds good.” Luci paused. “Do...you want to hear about my adoption? Back in Elspie?”

Lauris cocked an eyebrow. “You sure you’re okay telling me that?”

They nodded. “It’s only fair, right?”

The conversation lasted a while. The two broke into the basket of food that had been packed, slowly exchanging stories as they rode along in the carriage. The exhaustion and awkwardness Luci had felt had practically vanished. It hurt a little, reopening the old wounds, but they didn’t feel invaded or ill doing so. They didn’t even notice they were well into the mountains until the sun started to rise. Staring out the window, the rays of gold and pink filled the carriage in a heavenly embrace. The ocean glimmered like brilliant silver. Fire painted the skies, welcoming and hopeful. 

“Isn’t this kingdom beautiful?” Lauris asked. 

“It is,” Luci agreed. “The most beautiful place I’ve seen in a long while.” Something pointed and tiled poked out from beyond the tree line. “What’s that?”

“St. Cornelia’s. I’ll be taking you to my old stomping grounds. Figured a day away from the castle might help with your studies.”

Luci smiled. “Sounds good.”

[lullabymichelle-blog]

I must admit, I always had a crush on Gaston, from Beauty and the Beast. Yes, he was an idiot, but I loved his character design. I imagine a world where he got over Belle and knew another girl.

The girl’s name is Claire. She is Gaston’s wife, but aversely to most girls he had known, she was strong tempered and had a silver and often viperine tongue. When he married her, he knew exactly what he was getting into. He would spend a whole hour trying to avoid her killing every single girl that dared to lay eyes on her husband. 

But when she’s calm, she takes care of their house, reads to him when he gets home and enjoys teasing him until he kisses her. They do complement each other, as Gaston thinks she is the only one in the world that can compete with his beauty, and she knows he’s the only one that can make her calm and not die trying when she gets mad. 

So, AU’ full story under the cut if you like :D...

Gaston just let her go. She wasn’t into him, he got it, so he moved on, it was her loss.

Soon, news about Belle’s wedding with that beasty prince came to town. She had broken the spell, and now she became royalty. Totally out of his league now, but not that he cared much anymore.

A few months later, he was summoned by one of the richest men from the area. As a hunter, he was asked to provide food for him and his family, in exchange for payment. So he accepted, a job as good as any other. 

After a few months, he was carrying his hunting bounty to the noble’s house, when he saw a little lass for the first time: She was short, her hair was silver as the moon and her skin as pale as snow. He couldn’t see her eyes, as they were following a lecture while she was in the garden. Well now, never in his life he had seen someone who could beat his own beauty.

He got close to her and said hi. To his surprise, she lifted her eyes and stared right to his. She nodded slightly, and he knew he was doomed. She had greeted him, a commoner, even when it was against common customs to greet a stranger and that he had that macho aura around him. She didn’t ignore him, nor looked down on him, but she also didn’t throw herself to his arms as many girls from town. Then he knew he had to own her.

When he asked the noble about the girl, he noticed that the man seemed uncomfortable. At first he claimed he didn’t know who he was talking about, but then the little lass walked in the room. So he introduced them; she was his oldest daughter, named Claire due to her light appearance. She offered her curtseys, but she kept her face free from emotion. His inner self was screaming to achieve a smile from that stiff lady.

As time went on, he found himself visiting the manor more often than before. Sometimes Claire would go out to the gardens, but most of the time she spent her days in her room. But when he was able to approach her, he never could get that promised smile. He started to notice that most of the time she seemed depressed, she had one heck of a bad temper and was sarcastic and would scold him for his bad manners, but she was never rude to him, even though his lack of  subtlety. And boy, he knew she wasn’t that patient, as he had heard the screams and fights with her parents, followed by the sound of broken plates and slammed doors. What a hell of a pretty, little girl.

After many attempts, he gave up. He wasn’t going to achieve something by his ways, so he stopped, and began listening. She would start reading him beautiful though sad poems  soon after he stayed in silence. Surprisingly, he found himself still awake and enjoying her company, longing for their meetings, wondering how her soft hair would look tangled around his rough hands, and hunting with all his might, so she could taste something from he had got specially for her delight.

One day, his curiosity won over, and he asked her how could a girl as beautiful as her be single. She choked, piercing him with her eyes, but she had built some trust towards him, so she told him his story.

Long turned short, she was born in a family that often bore girls who married higher ranked novelty. As the first child of her generation, her parents expected her to marry the prince from France in the future, but their hopes burnt to ashes when she was born as white as snow, as  beliefs said kids with her hair color and skin where evil and people thought they carried misfortune. When she was rejected by the royal family, her parents thought she still had hope. But no one would want to marry her for something as stupid as her appearance. So she had grown up in that manor, away from society and constantly hearing that she was a failure, that she couldn’t manage to fulfill the family’s expectations and that the family’s honor had been damaged by her.

When she finished telling her story, she could see rage into his eyes. She was right. Gaston couldn’t believe it, it was plain 18th century and people still believed those kinds of superstitions.

“Marry me” He said. She opened her eyes wide opened, but regained her composure pretty fast, “I’ll ask your father for your hand, tonight”.

“Calm down, Romeo. He won’t let you. He plans to send me to a cloister as soon as I reach majority”.

He wouldn’t take it. Over his dead body he would let her beauty and grace get rotten in such a place.

“Then... scape with me. Let’s run away, come to my town. Everyone there respects me, no one will hurt you there”.

“What? Have you gone mad? My father will get you killed by dawn, pretty lad!”

“He has no power where I come from. No one knows you exist, he has kept your existence a secret as good as he can. I’ll let him know that if he tries to chase you, everyone will know about his run-away daughter, and as I am incapable of harming you this way, only you know about this. He will care about his family, his honor, and he will let us go away”

Claire stood there, frankly surprised. Amazing, this young fellow proved himself to be more than the pretty face she always thought he was... she didn’t had any attachments towards her family, so she cared a rat ass about her own reputation. But there was only one thing that kept her from accepting his offer.

“Gaston, I really appreciate your intentions, but you can’t play with a lady’s heart like that. A lady will think that you have feelings involved and get the wrong idea. You deserve to be happy with someone you love, someone happier and light hearted”

She almost fell back as she saw him moving so fast towards her that she couldn’t react. He grabbed her by the waist and lifted her, making her spin in the air as easily as if she was a doll.

“Is that one your only objection?” He asked, blissfully.

“W-what? How dare you touch a lady like this! L-let go off me, Gaston!” 

He stopped and put her back to ground, smiling.

“A lady is the most foolish and hardheaded woman I have ever met, and I fell in love with her just the way she is”

And grabbing her head closer to him, he kissed her. 

...

They did run away, and yes, her father had tried to chase them, but as expected, Gaston was really respected in town, and no one dared to lay a finger upon the newly weds. Her father gave up, secretly feeling relieve as she had finally gotten married. After a few years, he would even send presents and support to the couple once in a while.

As Gaston had promised her, she could freely go around town and she wouldn’t get insults because of her looks nor people would treat her differently from others. He had made it very clear, to whoever made her feel excluded or sad in any way possible, he would make their life’s a living hell and then he would spread their bodies across the nearest forest to feed the wolves. Everyone knew you don’t screw with Gaston. 

He would also work really hard to give her everything she could wish, from jewelry to dresses, so she would be the luckiest woman in town by having him as her husband. She really didn’t need anything, but she gave up trying to convince him. He liked to show her around beautifully dressed. 

And of course, she was aware that she was married to the most desired man from town, so shortly after getting married, Gaston realized that she could be amazingly possessive and jealous, while she would get mad whenever some girl started drooling about him. He found it kinda cute, but he also cherished his life and safety, so he stopped flirting around, finding it incredibly easy as he had the most beautiful girl in the world, he was sure. 

And they lived happily ever after... well, not always happily, because each one had their own flaws to fight against to, but they stayed together and had each other’s backs, so they decided to call that happiness.

....

If you read this far, thank you so much for doing it! And please, forgive my English and any grammatical error or spelling mistake, as English is not my first language and I live in a hispanic country. And most important, excuse the excessive use of the word “as”, I really felt like I used it too much but I’m too lazy to change it. I hope you liked it! :D Yeih for villains redemptions!

“

[ldecristofaro]

When a Friendship Dies....

Let me begin by saying that I don't have a lot of friends—loads of acquaintances and colleagues, more family than any one person has the right to have—but not very many friends. In fact, I have—strike that— had, two very good friends. Now, there is only one left. 

I first learned that my friend of almost 30 years had decided that I was no longer going to be a part of her life while I was on vacation with my family. We worked for the same company. The week before my trip, she was laid off from her job—and I was the one who had to break the news to her about it. It was an incredibly stressful and difficult thing for both of us. I had to remain dispassionate and professional even though it was emotionally painful. I had to disconnect. It was the only way to get through what I had to do—and not only to her, but to two others, including a blood relative. 

There was a lot of miscommunication going on prior to her being laid off and I somehow misread several verbal and non-verbal cues she had been giving me for several months prior—though in my defense, I’m not sure how I was supposed to interpret statements like, and I quote, “This job is ruining my marriage,” “There’s no growth opportunity for me here,” “I feel disrespected,” “Friday will be my last day,” and, “I’ll come in on Monday and pack up my things.” Since she already knew that she was going to be among the first to be laid off, I figured this was her way of saving face. Boy, was I wrong!

I emailed her immediately after she left the office from my personal email to let her know how sorry I was that she was leaving, to offer any assistance I could, and to let her know how much I cared for her and her family.

The very next day, I find out that she was in the process of refinancing the mortgage on her house, which she had purchased a year earlier, and she had just found out that the bank was making their calculations based on both of their salaries, not just her husband’s salary as she believed, and since she had effectively quit her job, their refi was in jeopardy.

I called her, as any good friend would do, to see what I could do to help the situation. Before I could get a word in, she backpedaled on all of the statements she had made to me and took on a victim narrative, casting me in the role of villain. Her new claim was that I fired her “on purpose,” and that I was “punishing her” for some reason or another, and how could I let her go “after all she had done for me [sic] and the company,” among a host of other, rather personal, attacks on my character, my honor and my veracity. She was in hysterical, sobbing tears. 

I took full responsibility for all miscommunication and reiterated that we were not going to begin lay-offs until either mid-month or the end of the month and, most importantly, that I had spoken with the boss and we both agreed that if she wanted to come back, if it would help her, then she could. It had only been one day. I stressed again that we didn’t want to lose her or any of the other people who were also on the lay-off list, that it was a purely business driven decision. Her overly dramatic response? “No, no, no,  it’s too late now.” She then said she had to go, that she was “in the car.” I told her again how sorry I was and to reach out if there was anything I could do.

I left on my long-scheduled and non-refundable vacation.

I was staying with my cousin who had wi-fi so I could keep track of things at the office, process the payroll while I was out of town and check my emails and social media. The first indication that something was afoot came about a week into my vacation when I received an alert from my credit card company that a refund had been processed for a monthly subscription gift that I had been sending to her for years. It was a partial refund for the remainder of this year. Apparently, she called the company and told them she didn't want it. The next indication came  a couple of days after that, when I checked my social media accounts and found that she had “unfriended” me on Facebook, “unfollowed” me on Twitter, and blocked me on Snapchat and Instagram.

I thought that maybe there was a rational explanation for it. Maybe she changed her user names or decided to take a break from all social media. Since she no longer had two dogs, maybe it was too painful for her to receive the monthly Bark Box addressed to both her dogs or she called them to return part of the gift as there was only the one dog now. I was not going to jump to any conclusions until we had spoken. Once again, I was wrong.

I returned home on a Sunday and was going to call her during lunch my first day back in the office on Monday as I had gotten her and her husband a gift from my travels (as I have done for years) and wanted to make arrangements to give it to her—and to find out why she had shut me out on social media and returned the gift. 

Before I could call her, she called me hysterically sobbing, accusing me of being mean to her, lying to her, not being a good friend; “you didn't call me from Ireland,” I “was so nice” to another employee who also preemptively gave notice just that morning. I didn't call her when her “daughter” (aka her dog) died. She couldn’t remember the conversation we had the day after she left as she was “upset” that day and “in the car,” and had “taken her anti-depressants [sic],” and a lot of other emotionally over-the-top statements. I tried to remain calm, but it was coming at me so fast all I could do was apologize over and over and over again. I once more accepted responsibility for any and all miscommunication between us. I did ask her why she blocked me on social media and her response was that she “had no choice,” that it was “obvious I [sic] no longer wanted to be her friend.” I didn't know what else to say at that point other than that I would always think of her as my friend regardless. I never had a chance to tell her about the gift.

On a side note, about the “daughter/dog” comment: I gave her over a week of additional paid leave to deal with her dog’s illness, allowed her to work only 5 or 6 hours a day after she came back to work—when it looked like the treatments they were giving the dog were working—so she could get home in the afternoon before her husband left for his job so the dog wouldn’t ever be alone; and then, when the cancer came back even worse and the dog had to be euthanized, I gave her almost two weeks paid bereavement leave to grieve. I also talked and/or texted with her every single day during this six or seven week period. She remembers none of it. I know of no other boss who would have allowed an employee, even if they were a friend, that kind of consideration for the death of a pet.

I let a week go by after that call and then reached out to see if she were in a calmer, more rational frame of mind. She didn't answer so I left a message asking her to call me so we could talk about everything.

A few days go by before she calls me back (on a Sunday afternoon).  Once again, she had rewritten the narrative in her mind about the chronicle of events. I fell on my sword several times during the conversation—again accepting all responsibility for what transpired—in a last ditch effort to salvage our friendship. All I got was a new and improved victim narrative. I was the horrible person with “no empathy for her [sic] situation.” I was to blame for everything, and she didn't see how she could “ever trust me again.” That 45 minute call ended with her saying “maybe we will talk again.” To me though, it sounded like goodbye and don’t let the door hit you on the way out. 

It’s been almost a month since that conversation and I have resisted the urge to call or text or send her links to things I know she’d find interesting—and it hurts my heart. The more I think about everything that has transpired over the course of our long relationship, the more I talk it out with my therapist and family, the more I see it through a critical lens rather than an emotional one—my eyes have been truly opened. Opened to the fact that our friendship was always decidedly one-sided, with more give on my side and more take on hers, and when she could no longer take, she cut me loose. 

To be honest, I sort of always knew that this was the case—and I was fine with it. That’s what friend’s do for each other—they support each other. They cheer you on in the good times and help you through the bad times. I was always there for her, through some of the most traumatic times in her life, giving her emotional, moral, physical and financial support regardless of the cost to me in all of those areas. That’s just what you do. If she needed me, I dropped everything and came to her aid. Always.

I have come to realize during this time that she had actually been extricating herself from our friendship long before this event occurred. If I needed help, I could not count on her to be there unless it was convenient for her to do so. There was always an excuse. Maybe she realized that the sustained taking was coming to an end, that her cash cow was drying up, and it was time to move on to another. The signs were all there. It wasn't until I began talking about my feelings about the loss of our friendship in session that I even recognized that there was a pattern. 

They say time heals all wounds, but I fear this rift can never be fully mended, and even if we did “make up,” our relationship could never again be the close, familial one that it had been. In the meanwhile, I need to move on, which is something that I have never been very good at doing. 

Another life lesson.

UPDATE 09/23/20

I recently was spending time with my 3 year old niece who didn't want to put her underwear back on after going potty. Very stubborn. When I wouldn't let her walk out of the bathroom sans bloomers, she turned to me and said “I’m not going to be your friend anymore!” I asked her why. She responded, “You’re mean to me.” 

It was like a lightening bolt! I realized that this is exactly what my former friend did when she “unfriended” me because I was “mean to her.” She had acted like a 3 year old.

Once again the thought of the lost friendship made me sad, but not in the same way. This time, I was feeling sad for her. What happened in her life that caused her emotional maturity to become stunted at toddler level? I know that my emotional maturity capped out in my early 20s and I’ve been working to overcome it, but I don't think that she is even aware of her emotional immaturity, and that made me very sad for some reason. 

[i-do-as-i-want]

So like kiriahima Mama gonna be pissed once all of this over. Cause I have like no doubt that he and some other heros will be rushed straight to the hospital. Because I believe Kirishima backstory is gonna be about how he was to weak to save someone who was important to him. This could very much be his mother, or a friend, brother ect. But im betting on it being his mother seeing how Horikoshi has this thing for familys and actually showing them and giving them time. No matter how minor and that's something we haven't seen for kirishima. (I really hope kirishima isnt like some orphans cause then my hearts gonna be ripped out but anyway. ) But Mama Kirishima gonna be fucking pissed. I Imagine her running up to the hospital. Finding her son in a hospital bed still breathing but his arms just ripped apart. All the adults are in the bed room, as she silently, shockingly looks down at her son. Her hand covering her mouth holding onto the bed side railing. Aizawa goes to speak up but Fat gum steps up. Telling her how everything was his fault, that he failed her son and couldn't protect him during this mission. And Fat Gum offers up the biggest sincerest apology. And kirishima mother with her hand over her mouth, shaking. As she cuts Fat gum off who has Aizawa besides him for support. She calmly (not really.) says- "Get out. " An at first Fat gum and Aizawa think they misheard her. "Excuse m-" "I said get the fuck out!" An this time she screams, but her voice is strained. She breaks the bedside railing with how hard shes gripping it. They quickly bow and leave and later on when she leaves the room and is expected to be more calm. She goes off, she rips into them. And other heros who have gather, to back up Aizawa and Fat gum. "What the hell is wrong with all of you! I send him back, you told me he would be safe! Not you would rush him off to some top class hero bust that nearly gets him killed! You think it funny?! I nearly lost him once and you send a child, A CHILD off to fight a war you adult can't fight!?" "Please understand that was not our intention, and we are deeply sorry. But he is not a weak child that needs protecting he knew what he would be getting himself into. Being a hero is not a safe job, he will not be cuddled for your emotional support." Aizawa cuts in with some harsh truth. But it only feeds the fire and some of the other heros think they may have to jump in to hold her back. "You should have more faith in your son, he did amazing work." And the damn breaks, and kirishima mother takes a swing at Aizawa. Barely missing and creating a giant hole beside his head. "You think I don't have faith in my son? That this is some game? That I didn't know, I wouldn't be worrying about whether or not I would get a call from U.A telling me he was dead because some hero killer or some villain of the week snuff him out for some petty revenge!" And she grinding her fist into the wall besides Aizawa head. His eyes never leaving her. " like these bruises and these scars are like some badges to be worn in honor and pride. Not if you have to go home with your children beaten and breathing through a tube! None of you have to go home and feed your 16 year old child because they can't feel nor move their arms. Nor help them to the bathroom because they can't use their legs or watch as their younger​ life is being fucking monitor by beeps in a cold room. Waiting to see if they will wake up. All because you believe in their dream to be a hero!" Tears stream down her face, " Your lucky I believe in his dream. Or else he wouldn't be here, now i want you all to kindly not to step foot near my son until he opens his eyes. That at least you could do since you all seem incompetent to do anything else." An she steps away from Aizawa looks at Fat gum and the rest of the heros. Goes back into kirishima room and closes the door. What I'm saying is i need kirishima back story, along with more angry parents. Like this is my life line

[flames-bring-a-ton-of-ash]

I'm sending in parts. Part One: I just want to jump in here as one of your most recent asks made me pretty uncomfortable (the anon's statement, not yours) because I've seen a lot of subtle victim blaming-esque comments following last night's episode. I'm not saying it's intentional or malicious, but comments like "he gave her a choice" or "why don't they speak up if they don't like it" is hella problematic because it implies that his wives are to blame for the situation.

Part Two:  I think we know enough to surmise that some of his wives hate him enough to want him dead while others are not there because they want to be (Amber is there so her mother can live and Sherry was there so Dwight could live, neither of which are enthusiatically consensual choices imo). It means that TV Negan is problematic and

Part Three: we shouldn't try to explain away this depiction simply because we like JDM or Negan, we should be critical of it and it means we should also be critical of the showrunners for using non-consensual relationships as an edgy plot device to make Negan super evil (which is an insult to survivors). Importantly, as creative writers, we can combat this by ensuring our depictions of Negan do not glorify, excuse or promote rape culture. I think ID is a great example of this. What do you think?

I hope you don’t mind that I combined all your asks into one, to make it easier. 

I can agree that we need to be careful about victim-blaming, especially since, even though we’ve gotten some more information about the wives, we honestly still don’t know a hell of a lot about the whole wife situation. I honestly thought the wives getting pills from Eugene was orchestrated by Negan. When Negan showed up at Eugene’s door at the end, I was internally like “OMG YES, he put the wives up to this to see if Eugene would go against him or could be trusted!!!” I still am semi-hopeful that that’s what happened, but idk. Negan seems too fucking smart to let the wives go behind his back like that, but I could be wrong. I’m just curious to see if Negan doesn’t know more than he’s letting on. I mean, no way did he survive this long in the apocalypse by being so unaware of those around him. But that’s just my opinion.

I also agree that we don’t have to agree with or like Negan’s actions, just because we find him attractive or like JDM. Negan does shit that I 100% don’t agree with, and if he were real, I’d probably want him dead lol. However, TWD isn’t reality, it’s fantasy, and I think people tend to blur those lines a bit. Just because I support a fictional character, doesn’t mean I support someone like him outside of a fictional world. 

I completely can’t stand when shows/movies/etc utilize rape or lack of consent as a way to further along a plot line or add “horror” or “thrills” to something. It’s completely unnecessary (even if sadly realistic for what happens on a daily basis in the real world). I’d really like to hope that that’s not what they’re doing with Negan, but I’ve seen them utilize women in horrid ways to further along male character plotlines in the past (i.e. Beth, Jessie, Lori, Andrea) so I’m also not putting it past them. I guess I’m just trying to hold off and see what happens, because we still have only dipped our toes into the TV Negan pond, and still have so much to learn about this version of his character. 

And I completely agree that the great thing about fandoms and fanfiction is we can make our own depictions of Negan. I’m honored that you brought up ID, because honestly, I struggle so much to not depict an abusive relationship in that story. I almost scrapped the confrontation chapter, because I was terrified Negan’s words to “you” would come across as emotional abuse, and I personally don’t want to portray any abuse between them in that particular fic. Now, I’m not saying that I don’t enjoy non-con or other blurred consent factors in fanfiction, just that I didn’t want it in ID. It’s been difficult at times to balance a “villain” character like Negan, to have him be redeemable and worthy of a healthy relationship, while still trying to keep his personality canon, and it’s something that I struggle with A LOT. 

If I’m being honest, I’m also struggling with last night’s episode, because I’m not happy with how they portrayed the situation with the wives, and I’m honestly still processing it all and trying to sort out my feels about it, which is why I get frustrated when I see people knee-jerk reacting to the episode less than 24 hours later. I guess I just like to process things through before I make a statement about what I think about it, but that’s just me. My inner feminist and sex-positive self goes to war with the fantasy side of me that enjoys non-con fics and questionable consent in my erotica and fantasy life, and I sometimes have to remind myself that I can indeed be a feminist and speak out against rape and sexism, while also fantasizing about the very things I speak out against, because fantasy is not reality. But it still gets fuzzy sometimes, so that’s when it’s good to take a step back and reevaluate how I’m feeling. 

I don’t know if I answered anything that you said, or was at all helpful, but this is where my mind went with your asks, so I just typed out my thoughts and hope you enjoying the ramble roller coaster that was my answer XD

[xsocietydropoutx-blog]

Dear TVD

Warning: the following blog might be very unfocused and somewhat confusing, but that's only because I have a lot to say.

It doesn't take much to create a bad show. However, it's pretty difficult to make it good. Creating a good show from the start takes effort, talent, and luck. But you know what is super easy?

Creating a good show, and then ruining it completely.

At first, Elena is the type of girl that could make a gay guy go straight again. Just incredible. And Stefan is the type of person that would make that same man gay again. Damon, however, is the ultimate villain. Killing and tormenting people for no good reason at all.

Then, for no good reason at all, Elena starts to have feelings for Damon. Why?! He literally killed her father (or attempted to), slept with her birth mother, killed her brother, raped Caroline and abused her, tried to kill Bonnie and was responsible for the death of her grandmother, all for Katherine.

For 150 years, he was in love with her, and then all of the sudden he forgets all about her and moves on to Elena? Are you freaking kidding me?! How is that even logical?

Damon is constantly blaming Katherine of the person her became, and each time he does that, I don't know if I should roll my eyes or laugh out loud. She didn't teach him how to kill, and he was just a bad person ever since he decided to ruin Stefan's life after his transition. Plus, take Klaus for example, he was abused as a child, but not once did he blame Mikael of the person he became (only Ester, but rightfully so). Damon had no excuse of his actions, and that pisses me off.

One of my favorite characters in the show were Lexi, and of what we know, she was Stefan's best friend for over a century. And then, Damon killed her. Two episodes later, it was all forgotten. WTF?! But, when Stefan "killed" Enzo (it was a freaking self murder for crying out loud!) Damon never forgot about that, but completely ignored the fact that he left him for dead before.

Plus, Lexi is 360 years old. Remember when she went to help Damon in New York in the 80? She is a lot smarter than they made her in that scene in which she falls for Damon's crap. She would've known better.

I feel like the writers don't even know the character's personality half of the time, and just constantly change it. It's really confusing an frustrating. One minute, everyone is being mature and reasonable, and the next, they go back to kindergarten.

Normally, characters develop for the better, such as: Caroline, Jeremy, Klaus, Tyler and... well, I think that's it.

The characters that were regressed: ELENA, DAMON, BONNIE, MATT, STEFAN (sometimes) and the list goes on and on and on.....

From being the ultimate dream girl, Elena became a freaking doormat. Always obeying to Damon and being his little bitch. That's not love, my friends. That is freaking twisted.

Damon went from being a fifteen year old to being a ten year old. Makes a lot of sense, right? Plus, he is supposed to be the older brother, but not for once in the whole show did it look like that. Could've fooled me with Stefan being the eldest. Plus, in his human life, he was actually kinda nice, what the hell happened to that?! Oh yeah, Katherine. Not.

Stefan was often treated very poorly for making one bad choice. Damon has slept with so many people for so long and killed more than all of the originals combined, but when Stefan slept with Rebekah in season 4 and Katherine in season 5 people treated him like he is Satan.

Damon is the type of man you fall for in the middle of high school, change your whole personality for just to have his attention, and then he leaves you broken. That is a terrible massage to the next generation.

Stefan, however, is the perfect gentleman. Kind, smart, loving, respectful, honoring, and since he's a vampire and this is a television show -  a tormented soul that needs to be fixed. Just like Elena.

And they were beautifully broken together. Their ripped edges fit together, like they were meant to. It was more than perfect. It was EPIC.

But, sadly, other people didn't think like that. They thought that the man who is the bad guy should be the one to get the girl, because she can fix him. Have you watch the film Gone Girl? There was a sentence there that really stuck to me. "He took and took from me until I no longer existed." That is the definition of Delena. He has taken everything from her, her freedom of choice, her emotions, her family, her personality.

"That's murder."

I have also noticed how most of the fans ship Delena only because of Ian and Nina. I have asked one of my friends if she would've still shipped Delena if Paul was the one to play Damon, and she shook her head and said; "Hell no!"

I don't know if it's just me, but I've noticed that after someone dies and becomes a vampire, they become a whole different person. I hate that. You might as well have just taken the character and left it dead. I felt the fact that their emotions are heightened and whatever, but that doesn't change them.

And I don't know if it's just me, but the sire bond between Damon and Elena is based on feelings, and they didn't say what type of feelings. For all we know, they could've been hatred. Which makes a lot more sense.

I have also noticed something that happened in TVD a lot more than it should have. Once it appears as if the character has no where else to develop, it's been killed off. Jenna, Tyler, Kol, Vicky, and the list goes on. Again.

That is how they solved so many issues in the show - love triangles, characters made for one episode alone, stuff like that. And that is so immature and stupid to make a character only to kill it off.

I just have to say this: what Nina did was kind of a bitch move. Leaving the show while you're the lead actress is kinda like a company's CEO decides to quit all of the sudden. I completely understand her decision, but I think it's really something only Hollywood stars can afford to do, and that I like you spit in the fandom's face.

The show is called the vampire diaries - the diary of the vampire - the vampire is Stefan. The show is about him, not his serial killer psychopath of a brother!

By the way, the fact that Nina left doesn't mean that Elena had to go. With all of the traveler stuff, they could've just made Elena go into different body. That would've solved a lot.

A very big part of Delena's relationship is the sex. The reason their relationship even started is sexual attraction. That is a terrible message to send the future generation - have I mentioned that? I think I did. - and if Elena would've been transformed into a different body, that would have been a huge obstacle in Damon and Elena's relationship, and an opening for Stelena.

The doppelganger storyline wasn't as main as I thought it would be. In fact, I'd hoped that during her coma, Elena would have visions of the past couples and that we might get to see a few, and that they would make her understand how special what she had with Stefan truly was.

The more I write here, the more I understand I don't even like Elena anymore. I just want Stefan to be happy and the happiest I have ever seen him was with Elena.

And I just realllllyy wanna see Damon get what he deserves.

To be honest, I didn't watch the 7th and 8th seasons of the show. I promised myself that I would only if I felt like the ending was worth it. Frankly, it wasn't, so I have no intention to sit in front of my laptop and catch up, because there is no reason to. The ending sucked. Stefan was supposed to live happily ever after. If not with Elena, then by himself (Sorry Steroliners, but KLAROLINE IS LIFE) he deserved to live. I had hope that Damon would finally take the responsibility of being the older brother and finally do something for once in his whole wasted life, and help his little brother be happy, but of course not, Stefan must "Sacrifice his own happiness for the sake of other's right?" as he said in the finale of season 4. Too right.

Stelena was love, and respect, cherishing and loving the other person, especially their flaws. It was about concurring all and saving the people you care about, but remain loyal to yourself.

Delena is sex, sex, and some more toxic sex. It's putting yourself first and not caring about the amount of people that you hurt. THAT IS NOT WHAT THE SHOW SHOULD ENCURAGE!

People say that the type of people you like onscreen, especially serial killers, says a lot about your personality. Delena fans, who support this abusive relationship? They are like the watchers in Nerve, pressing on the YES button to kill the soul of an innocent girl. That is what they did to Elena. 

I asked my nephew today about his favorite super heroes, and he said "Spiderman, superman," ect. When I asked him of the joker, he said "NO! I don't like him, he's scary!"

And when I ask my friend - the delena fan mentioned before - she says "The joker is awesome, I love the bad guys."

I don't want him to grow up in a world in which in youth he is taught to help others in shows like Dora and Spiderman, and then become a teenager in a world that likes films with criminals and serial killers. Damon represents just that.

And let's be honest, every single one of the problems in the show would've been solved if Damon died in the first season.

To sum up, the show shouldn't have gone on without the main character. And I don't know if it's because I'm just hopelessly in love with the originals' accent, but I intend to watch the originals (I haven't watched the 3rd season of it as well, because I assumed that they would be linked and that I would get confused.) but I have hope that they writers will redeem themselves in the 4th season and maybe give us all the better ending we deserve.

Thank you for reading, please let me know what you think. I have no friends and I need someone to talk to about this lol.

P.S. is it just me or we still have no idea who stood on the bridge the day Elena and Jeremy's parents died? IDK...

[jewelridersarchive]

She-ra & Reboot Culture

Why do we love seeing new versions of the same thing? Is it simple nostalgia? Is it the desire to engage with some sort of content that once moved us in a new and different way? Is it new creators wanting to stamp something they loved from their own childhood with their mark? Or is it all of the above?

I’m not immune to loving reboots. I devoured the new DuckTales on Disney XD, I’m reading the new Rainbow Brite comics from Dynamite, I’m watching the new iteration of Will & Grace, and continue to watch My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Reboots are fun; they not only allow fans who loved something to have a nostalgia party, but also allow potential new fans entry points into what sometimes appears to be never-ending streams of content (I’m looking at you, Transformers). But things seem out of hand when even ReBoot, the mid-90s CGI cartoon, has a reboot on Netflix (ReBoot: The Guardian Code). Have reboots become the “safe,” risk-averse way companies can cash in on portfolio properties that already have known fanbases? It’s the equivalent of an artist only drawing fanart because they know it will get thousands of likes versus hundreds on original content.

And I fully admit some level of fatigue with franchises that just keep chugging along, seemingly forever. Every movie that comes out seems to want to be a tentpole franchise builder. Or a reboot of an existing franchise, or a soft reboot that only takes some elements going forward, or an alternate universe or…well, you get the idea.

I love original content. One of the best shows I watched this year was Alex Hirsch’s Gravity Falls (yes, I know I’m rather late to the game). It was a bright spot of originality, something new and not tied to any other content or previous iteration. Many of the anime I watch and enjoy are either original or straight adaptations of an existing manga. I think original content and ideas are important in entertainment. They allow a generation to experience a piece of entertainment in its prime, and have something uniquely “theirs.” Kids of the 60s had Star Trek, kids of the 70s had Star Wars, kids of 80s will always be the original audience for Jem & the Holograms and He-Man/She-Ra, kids of the 90s will always have X-Men TAS and Sailor Moon. (And PGJR, of course haha). No matter if they are rebooted down the road or not, that original experience belongs to the original viewers.

Which is why it’s always hilarious to me when people who hate on the new version of something say “It’s ruining my childhood!” Your childhood is whatever it was, frozen in time. Those original cartoons obviously still exist, and if you have the desire you can watch most of them. A reboot doesn’t destroy the original, no matter how many changes it makes to the original idea. The best reboots can often give us (as adults) what we thought we were watching as children. And often, the reboot can drive traffic back to seek out the original, as adults want to share with children the version they loved at that age.

Which brings us to She-Ra. I didn’t watch any He-Man or She-Ra as a child, for whatever reason. I found He-Man & the Masters of the Universe through the 2002 anime-influenced incarnation (also a great reboot IMO), then went back and watched the 1983 cartoon, followed by the 1985 She-Ra: Princess of Power. I loved it all. Sure, sometimes it was goofy, and there was lots of animation reuse in the older versions, but the core concepts were really strong. They are classic good vs evil, freedom vs tyranny stories, told with engaging casts and crazy creative worlds.

I powered through all 93 episodes of She-Ra during the summer of 2010 while I studied for my board exams. It holds the special place of being the series I turned to to relieve the stress of studying. I love the 80s fantasy girl designs, the color schemes, the powers, the sheer kookiness of the side characters. She-Ra was the OG American magical girl, and I finally understood what all the fuss over this franchise was about. She-Ra feels iconic in the way that characters like Wonder Woman and Sailor Moon do. Yes, she starts out as a spin-off of the successful He-Man franchise, but he makes very few appearances in She-Ra’s cartoon.

But after her initial run, She-Ra remained a virtually dormant property for the next 30 years. He-Man had two different reboots in 1991 and 2002, but She-Ra was stuck in limbo. Only once the Masters of the Universe Classics collectible figure from Mattel released in 2010 did She-Ra finally see the light of day again. Story-wise, the bios on the back of the toy packages gave us a little info about She-Ra’s further adventures, but it wasn’t until the 2012/2013 Masters of the Universe comic from DC that She-Ra comes back, this time in the guise of the villainous Despara. It’s a dark but interesting take on the characters; an exploration of what being raised by the Evil Horde would really do to a person.

Interestingly, this seems to be the jumping-off point for the new “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power” animated series from Dreamworks and Netflix. This show takes as its central theme the relationship between Adora and Catra. When Adora finds the sword that lets her turn into She-Ra, she leaves the Horde – an organization to which she has devoted her life. Almost more importantly, she leaves behind Catra, her best friend. It’s this broken relationship that informs the emotional tone of the rest of the show.

Unlike the 80s version, this time around the Rebellion knows Adora’s identity as She-Ra. It’s an interesting change – shows of the 80s were obsessed with secret identities, and sometimes it could get ridiculous making up excuses for what happened to the other identity of the character every time. Thankfully, that is avoided here, and instead of angst over whether or not you can let people know the real you, we are treated to relationships that ask whether we can accept someone who we know has wronged us before.

Much has been made over this update’s reworking of the body types and ethnicities of the main princesses. While I confess not loving all the updated designs and missing the 80s fairytale warrior goddesses of the original, I understand and fully support the change. Reboots are about viewing something old through the lens of today, and audiences of today want to see themselves in the media they watch or read. We can’t (and shouldn’t) go back to mostly-white casts. The world is a rainbow of colors, and the show feels richer for including them.

Speaking of rainbows, I have to mention the new show’s decidedly queer bent. The relationship between Adora and Catra is somewhere between ex-best-friends and ex-girlfriends in tone. Netossa and Spinerella, long shipped by the fandom, are finally outed in a true relationship this time around. Other characters like Scorpia, Bow, and Entrapta all tap into queer mannerisms and norms as well. The end result is unlike anything else I’ve ever seen in children’s entertainment, and I couldn’t be happier. I wish I’d had something similar as a child, but I’m grateful today’s queer kids have their own heroes.

When we talk about a successful reboot, what are we looking for? Here’s what I think a good reboot need to accomplish.

Bring the characters and concepts of the original property up to date for current audiences.

Explore the characters or world in new and different ways.

Add depth to the original concept.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power does all of these in spades. I think it’s the nicest treatment an 80s female-driven property has gotten in a reboot. The show is full of strong characters with interesting dynamics, great writing, and interesting world building. Yes, some of the episodes can be a bit predictable and the designs are not always my favorite, but everything works together toward a greater whole. I won’t spoil the story for you, because seriously if you haven’t watched this, get thee to Netflix and enjoy!

For the Honor of Grayskull!

Chris

P.S. Can you imagine getting a ✨Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders✨ reboot that brought all this to the table? I’d die!

Read the complete blog at The Jewel Riders Archive! http://www.jewelridersarchive.com/posts/she-ra-the-princesses-of-power-and-reboot-culture/