#its also so funny drawing this because he would really never join their team LOL

[notherpuppet]

“Look who joined the team! 📻♥️ #livinglegend #hot100 #goham”

[karamfilmare]

Why I Dislike Fanon Oikawa

Ok, soooooooo

I have only been in the Haikyuu fandom since...late July, after the manga ended. I’m a bit of a late bloomer. Anyways...

Ever since Oikawa crosses my screen, I was ENAMORED with him. Like, what a beautiful boy!! And his dub voice just does things to me. And his attitude is spectacular. How could anyone hate him? And as the show went on, I love him even more. He was a pretty boy with a lot of baggage, and who doesn’t love that?

I never understood the hate about him, because come on, I’m pretty sure most of us have been worse than him, and honestly, people need to grow up, but THAT’S FOR ANOTHER TIME.

So, after watching Haikyuu, I did the typical fan things: rewatched the show, rewatched the show, made other people watch and love the show, got others into the Yagami Yato because of the show, although for me it was the other way around oops.

I managed to reach Haikyuu Tok, which was fantastic! The edits, the funny skits, the fanart, everything was MWAH CHEF’S KISS.

And at first I thought a few of the Oikawa jokes were funny -- the flat ass (which now he’s thicc so shut up about that lol, fucking Tendou’s ass caves in, I don’t want to hear it), the “Iwa-chan” obsession (which I mean, yeah, but hold this thought).

Then I got slightly annoyed by other things that were attached to Oikawa. And then my friends kind of hopped on to these, because they don’t like Oikawa, even though I have tried oh so hard to convince them that he’s not that bad of a person, like his personality and words are OBVIOUSLY -- no, no, that’s for another time. @oikawa-obvs​ also has a great analysis on why you should grow up and not hate Oikawa so there.

No, what really bothered me is what the fandom did to Oikawa. Fanon Oikawa started to bug me, for several reasons. And I will list and explain some of the things that bug me that people seem to take seriously about fanon Oikawa and apply it to canon Oikawa.

1. Oikawa the Crybaby

So like, the fandom makes Oikawa out to be a big whiny crybaby who can’t do anything without Iwaizumi. I’ll be addressing the first half here, because I want to save my Iwaizumi topic for a little later. 

So, we see Oikawa cry several times in the show, and we see him have his most heartbreaking cry in the 3rd movie, one that makes me cry everytime.

But I don’t see why this makes him a crybaby. Like, other characters have cried, yet we don’t think of them as crybabies. 

His emotions were too much for him, as it can be for a lot of us. I wish people would realize that him expressing his emotions in a physical way is not a bad thing. 

And this leads to my next point...

2. Oikawa’s Weak (kind of hard to explain, keep reading)

I don’t mean physically weak (I mean his fucking serves are so hot--I MEAN HARD *cough*).

This is also kind of hard to explain. People pick on his character for his personality.

When we first meet Oikawa, his personality is loud, smug, a bit childish, etc. (Honestly, I kind of liked that, for some reason it was super interesting to me)

But I just want to draw your attention to the fact that a weak person would not:

- be able to lead a team so cohesively as he does

- be a strong presence on the team 

- take responsibility for the team

- stay true to his goals

- be able to be loyal to his friends

I could go on. 

3. Oikawa is clingy (to Iwaizumi)

 Iwaizumi and Oikawa are really close best friends, and have been since elementary school. Naturally, the two are pretty much in sync and know each other really well.

However, Oikawa is not solely dependent on Iwaizumi. I have seen posts where people would joke and say “Oh, Oikawa would have gone to Shiratorizawa if Iwaizumi went.” One of my friends sent me a meme like that and said “SO TRUE” and I was like “MMMMMM BUT NO YOU’RE WRONG.”

I don’t know if it is just me and my absolute need to be independent being projected onto my favorite characters, but Oikawa is not tied to Iwaizumi. Oikawa is definitely loyal, and so is Iwaizumi. They do see each other as partners, but even they realize that their paths are not meant to be joined forever. 

I am really close with my best friend/s, and they mean the world to me. We joke and talk and we have each others’ backs, even when separated doing our own thing. We will be pretend clingy, but that’s just what friends do.

I guess this is a subset to the Oikawa is weak, but I feel like this needed its own explanation and analysis (sorry, it kind of sucks so far).

4. Oikawa is a playboy

Ok, so my main source for Oikawa’s character is the anime. I haven’t gotten far in the manga to know more.

But honestly, from my multiple viewings of the anime, Oikawa is very kind and considerate to his fangirls, but he doesn’t seem flirty.

Oikawa had a girlfriend (who somehow broke up with him because of volleyball. I sympathize and don’t at the same time, but that’s for a different topic?).

I know that there is a story where he kind of tries to flirt with some girls when he gets his glasses, but he kind of goofed on that. And yes, he knows he’s good looking, but he hasn’t really used his good looks to take advantage of people, especially his fangirls. 

I also find it hard to believe that Oikawa, who has a much older sister, would dare to toy with women’s hearts without getting his shit rocked by said older sister. Also, I feel like Oikawa cares about setting a good example to his nephew Takeru, and being a playboy isn’t what Oikawa would want to project on his nephew.

I think Oikawa gets judged to be a playboy because he is attractive (which how can anyone not find him attractive. Furudate made a powerful character when even the Oikawa haters find him attractive.)

I just want people to recognize that canon Oikawa is actually a deeply loyal, nuanced character, and he’s not what fanon Oikawa appears to be. He is one of, if not, the most hard-working individuals. He is driven, ambitious, independent, focused, and extremely insightful. 

He was a kid who loved volleyball, then became absolutely in love with the sport when he sees his idol, Jose Blanco, and decided that he wanted to be the best setter. That comes with an immense pressure from within, which can cause a lot of stress on a young individual. He practiced and perfected the craft, doing what he can to measure up to the talented and the genius players of his age. He just happened to be given “The Curse of the Ordinary.”

It’s amazing that he has managed to become one of the best players that is feared and revered by peers. He is special, not due to his talent, but due to his perseverance and dedication. 

And I don’t think people should lose that in the fanon. I get it as a joke, but some people seem to confused the fanon with the canon.

Thanks for reading this crappy analysis, I’m so sorry I subjected you all to this. I really love and appreciate you all. <3

Credit to @volleygifs​ for the gifs

[jrueships]

What wips do you have rn 👀 elaborate pspspspsp

Too many wips.. thats what I have rn.. too many...

WJBFJEBF so the ones I'm most focusing on rn is the spiderman! Donovan/royce au!! So far I wrote the whole exposition and I'm working on the 'enticing incident' LMFAO it's upgraded from my last summary so I have more to write because I'm insane but yeah! It's the one I want done the most but I'm also gonna go on a trip with my buds to this place without wifi for like? Four days so 😭 I might have to finish it there and wait forever until I can post it! And I'm still unsure about the ending!!! THE STRUGGLE

a shorter fic I have in mind still is the russell waiting for kd at a table for two but he never shows up fic! I just really like writing russell widjsbf but not much action happens there! Many just dialogue and a lot of pg fashion/life roasting from Russell's inner dialogue. He's very judgemental of people who give off douchebag frat bro vibes but can't help but feel intrigued by them JABFJWB oh and he makes fun of pg simping for gold diggers

The fics I have written partly but put back in the burner are my donovan/jaylen fic, marcus/giannis, pg/kawhi jealousy fic, pg/kawhi sm*t fic, pg/kawhi space au, and john/trae patroclus and Achilles au! Mainly because they're super long and I get nervous about writing them too much and wasting all my muse on one thing, so I get scared and back off 😭 but I'll tell u the basic summary of them!!

💙 donovan/jaylen fic is based off the idea of donovan going grocery shopping and getting all mad at the thought of the clippers LMFAO. Basically he's at a grocery store getting flowers for his sports medicine doctor for always putting up with his bullshit (never wanting to sit down and relax so he can actually heal. Playing through the pain). But as he shops, he keeps finding the simplest shit that reminds him of the clippers. Like he sees a claw machine and thinks about Kawhi and how collected that guy is, just chillin in the upper stands, while his team is facing a possible defeat. Donny gets all frustrated because like?? He can't just do that? Just sit back and chill while his team is playing without him? Donny HAS to help, has to GET OUT THERE!! kawhi Doesn't... but kawhi is the one who won a championship. And donovan starts doubting his leadership skills and if he's really good for his team.. if he let them down by being Too pushy and Too in their faces.

+ and then when he's getting a cute card to go with the flowers, he spots one that says "you're the man!!" And he thinks about terance Mann and his great game against them, how proud pg, basically his mentor, was of him. And it makes donovan think about his loss and how he couldn't get that same pride out of Dwyane Wade.

Overall, everything makes him feel useless af and he almost kicks a shelf out of anger. But he calms himself down and goes back to the flowers because he actually only got this little dinky green plant still struggling to bloom? He got it for himself because he felt bad for it LMAO but he still needs to get flowers for his sports medicine doctor. He's goes back to the flower section and who does he see? JAYLEN BROWN all gussied up in his depression fit LMFAO.. but they both are. Jaylen and him try to joke but they're both tired and awkward so it sucks IABDKSBD they basically just ask what the other is doing there. Jaylen is just traveling rn because he got nothin else to do IWBDKS but he bought Deuce a souvenir gift! And he asks Donovan if he can help him put it in his trunk (but really he doesn't need donovan's help. He can pick the toy up himself. He just knows that Donovan is too stubborn to accept help when he needs it but he'll always try helping others out! So he wants donny to think he's helping jaylen but in reality jaylen is trying to help HIm because at the car he invites Donovan to go meet up at a hotel with him where they kiss and have sad *** to make themselves feel better WKBFKSBX) that's basically it!!!! I have literally everything written but the *** scene they're literally my weakness.. I love the emotions they make but I hate.. describing the actions it takes to make them?? Idk I just feel cheesy writing it? It's very tedious and boring to actually crank my brain for a synonym to 'moan' because I'm tired of using that word but it's the only word that really applies to that situation without sounding weird, yknow?? Just very tedious

💙💙💙 OK so marcus/giannis idk bro like... it's just taking so long IWBKENF idk what to say except giannis makes a ton of small jokes at marcus

💙💙 OK so pg/kawhi jealousy fic... BASICALLY the plot is LeBron hosts some big rich guy party for the NBA because I need a reason to write all these people that live far apart interacting together OKAY??? But anyways it takes place after 2020 lakers winning the championship! Pg convince the clippers to come or else they'll look bad for being the only team not coming and they media will have a field day with them, so the clippers join the party. Basically everyone who later team up in 2021 are talking to eachother LMFAO like James hardon+kyrie+kd are talking while russell westbrook and beal are bonding over dance moves with a jealous John wall pouting in the corner. Obligatory Marcus and giannis interactions because I can. Kyle and demar are laughing together. It's all goood until LeBron waltzes over with his weird ass feet and starts talking to kawhi. Hes being all Handsome and Strong and lowkey flexing his win. Its starting to make pg suspicious so he keeps intruding upon the conversation. His inner dialogue is basically a ton of lebron hate KABFKWB. LeBron sometimes comments back to pg but ends up kinda tuning him outta the conversation and sly dissing him to kawhi like "how does it feel talking to someone who doesn't hit the side of the backboard lol"

Pg is starting to get nervous because he's trying to compete against LEBRON over who's the better teammate for kawhi.. and with his current playoff history.. he's not gonna win. He keeps trying to get kawhi out of the conversation, but lebron keeps drawing him back in and pg ends up giving up or he risks looking like an overbearing girlfriend.. So he slinks off in hopes of distracting himself. Originally, pg thought KAWHI would be the one standing all alone awkwardly in the room with no one to talk to, but it's slowly becoming HIM who's the lonely one LMFAO. He tries joining in bradley and Russ's conversation because HEY!! Everybody leaves russ! Russ must be SUUUPER lonely and DESPERATE for someone to talk to him‼ especially when his old ex durant is out there plotting with his two hydra heads!! paul thought, anyways, but finds out russ is actually having the time of his life clowning around with beal !! That just makes pg even more envious and he walks away with zero satisfaction of feeling superior JABDJSB he tries talking to John wall like "this party fuckin sucks bro" but John kinda barks at him and pg gives up. He tries talking to marcus and giannis but that was a mistake because the two smartiest smartasses in the room start roasting him together so he's shunned back to pretending like he's getting 700 thirsty women in his dms, AKA pretending like he got a text on his phone while he leans alone on a wall LMFAO. After glancing up periodically (and casually) to see if kawhi is still talking to lebron, he later gives up on playing popular and goes to hide in the bathroom like a fucking loser WHDJBFJEBD in summary he kinda broods and steams about how much he hates lebron and how he's 'so much better than him' and he's just thinking of petty insults against him to try and convince the kawhi in his mind not to leave him for lebron. He gets really mad and punches a mirror, but thank God lebron is playing bass boosted music so no one at the party hears it.

But, demar ends up knocking on the door. He needs to shit. So pg is like.. what do I do with this broken mirror and my bleeding hand.. so he tries to keep demar out and they banter and eventually demar notices its kinda weird for pg to be huddled up in the bathroom instead of partying.. he must be getting high or smthin. So he's like "that's fucking stupid. He can go get high in one of lebrons 700 rooms. Why The bathroom." So he just opens the door LANKDN and sees The Scene.

At first he's like "are u paying for that.." to which pg responds with "uhhh. I tripped and hit my head on it" (while clutching a bleeding fist) but then he realizes OHHH pg must be ... OH is he.. no.. he can't be limp wristed... blah blah they end up bonding over their funny situations: demar being jealous of kawhi and feeling like kyle thinks he sucks because of him. Pg being jealous of lebron and feeling like kawhi thinks he sucks because of him. Blah blah it's a bittersweet ending pg becomes a little less of a jerk blah blah I haven't finished it because I'm stupid and WEAK

💙💙💙💙 pg/kawhi space au is just too long I have to be in the mood to write it or I end up dismissing good details I could have included if i wasn't in such a burnt out mind!

💙💙💙 pg/kawhi sm*t fic I gotta be in the mood to detail the h*rny right 😭😭

💙💙💙 john/trae patroclus and Achilles is mainly just an idea but with no plot!

But yeah!!! Those are SOME of my wips!! This post is really long tho so I'll just shout out those!!!@ thank u for the interest tho that's so cute 😭😭😭 it helps me write more when I have a plot lined up to look off of and remember ideas so this is really helpful to me too!!! I'll be shocked if u read this far tbh!! But anyways THANK U ALWAYS FOR THE ASKS, ANON!!!!!

[justreadingfics]

Looking For a Heartbeat (17/?)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes X Reader

Series Summary: You and Bucky used to be in a relationship. Feelings were hurt, you left.  It’s been two years and you’re back. You both will handle the reunion well, won’t you?

Chapter Summary: New bonds.  

Word Count: 5,2K

Warnings for this chapter: fluff again (don’t get used to it), children, mutual pining.  

 A/N: @suz-123 is my angel and I love her. Here I am writing fluff again. I suspect this is why I’ve taken longer than most times to write this chapter, lol. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts.  Links are ruining posts, you can find the masterlist link on my description.

 It´s been four weeks since Bucky has shown up unannounced to the ultrasound appointment- that he discovered by himself after some private research, he told you- and you still can’t shake off a stupid smile from your face.  Without a doubt, these have been the best weeks of your pregnancy so far. Everything seems to be great with the baby, who, according to Doctor Nadine and her team, is healthier than normal, developing better than expected. It seems to be so because the serum Hydra has used on Bucky altered his genetics system and its goodies have passed to the baby.

Bucky has been present in all of the appointments, right at your side the entire time, listening carefully and asking every single question he had.  His presence, soothing and grounding, keeping you steady throughout the whole thing. You know he had been worried to death about the possibility of being responsible for any complications to the baby. The news that everything was ok was a huge relief for him too, despite you still sensing in him a deep worry about how the enhancement on its system would affect the baby's life in general.  A concern you both share.

However, for now, you both have been trying to stay positive and focusing on finding a pace – the right one- to reconnect and shape your relationship as parents of your child. Aside from the appointments and some occasional times he drops by to see how’s everything with you and the peanut, you have also been talking on the phone, whether through voice calls or text messages.  Not a day goes by without you talking to each other.

You’re not gonna lie, it still feels awkward at times. You’ve never been friends to Bucky. Before your intense and passionate relationship, you two were nothing but acquainted co-workers. And after that, you’re not sure what the two of you have become. Now, on top of that, it’s not like you two can just turn into friends. You’re going to have a kid together, for God's sake. Yeah, it’s still awkward.

The conversations have been centered exclusively on the baby and anything that concerns them. That's why you don’t know if something has changed between him and Anna, if they have talked or anything. You prefer it that way. It’s a sensitive topic to him, but it’s the same for you. You’ve taken the part of trying and being the bigger person, saying you didn't blame her, that you understood her point of view, giving him advice about his relationship with her… and it was in good nature, but… thinking about him and her together has never been easy and you suspect it never will be.

Oh, well… It's hard. Something you should discuss more with Heloise in therapy. She gave you a strawberry lollipop saying it was positive reinforcement for your civilized conversation with Bucky. You wonder what she would have in store for you when you truly become able to talk about and live through the jealousy that takes over you every time a thought of him and Anna together pops into your mind. 

You continued going to the support group encounters, you feel like you’re not completely alone anymore, but the group, giving justice to its name, has truly become an important support system for you. Plus, it’s an easy way for you to see Harry regularly, who was pleased to know about things taking a turn to a better path with you and Bucky. You and Harry ended up going to the Hot-Dog trailer next to the group’s place - the one you missed because of the car accident - and then you scheduled for you to finally meet his kids, which you were excited and anxious about, you had heard so much about them you felt like you already knew each one of his little chipmunks, like he called them affectionately.  

You had planned for a picnic in their favorite park, but the rainy day forced you to move the party over to the common room at the Tower’s living quarters. Wanda has helped you set everything up, moving the furniture to place the big cloth in the center of the room, spreading pillows to accommodate everyone as you prepared the snacks with all the goodies Harry had told you the kids liked. You also put some toys and games for the kids – and for the adults, who are you kidding? You live amongst children.

That’s where you are now, along with Harry and the vivacious Luna and Jon, the three year olds that make sure to remind you every five minutes that they are turning four in a week. Luna is the spitting image of her father with her dark curls falling graciously over her big brown eyes laced with curiosity as she keeps them glued on you. Jon must’ve taken his looks from his mother, with a lighter tone on his straight short hair and his eyes are green with shades of blue. He seems quieter than Luna, who takes the lead and asks all the questions and tells all the stories, allowing her brother to make a comment or two. In his shyness, he reminds you of his father.

Wanda joins you, and soon so do Steve and Sam, who had arrived from a mission the day before. Tony’s absent on a solo mission of his own, much to the kids' disappointment, which is reinforced by the Iron Man images on both of their shirts. Crazy for kids as much as she is, Nat is there, but she has mostly been giving you the silent treatment lately, as a result of your decision of making the baby’s sex a secret. You can only wonder what she’s been putting Bucky into.

You keep a huge smile on your face as, right in front of you, across the picnic cloth, Wanda uses her powers and the red mist to make moving drawings in the air, prompted by all sorts of excited and loud requests from the kids, whether it’s a dog, a sheep- no, a bigger sheep, an elephant, Iron Man fighting that big purple monster, or daddy with those colored swords he likes…

“They’re called lightsabers. God, how many times do I have to tell you this, guys? Show some respect…” He sighs at your side, looking at you and shaking his head in frustration as he’s completely ignored by his kids, who keep the row of requests to Wanda. 

You chuckle; prompting him to smile at you, “They’re really awesome,” you whisper, bumping his sides with your elbow, as everyone else around the cloth seems drawn by the kids energy and interested in Wanda’s little performance.

“They are, aren’t they?” He beams at you, “Thanks for this by the way, they’re having so much fun.”

“Oh, no. I’ve been wanting to meet them for so long,” You dismiss him with a wave, before grabbing a handful of popcorn. Chewing on it, you cackle at Wanda’s latest art:  a Chihuahua pulling The Falcon by the wings while Captain America tries to catch them. Sam shots some protests, but the burst of belly laughs from the kids is undeniably contagious.

When you look back at Harry, you’re still laughing as the others, but he is not. Instead, he’s observing you while holding a half smile on his lips, “What?” You frown at him.

“You look happier. I like it. It’s a great look on you.”

You offer him a wide grin as you feel a wave of warmth overcoming your chest… and rushing to your cheeks.

“Daddy,” the high-pitched, but sweet voice makes you both turn to Luna, now directing her narrowed eyes and full attention to both of you as she stands on her knees over the pillow.

“Yes, chipmunk?” He says, bringing a plastic cup of orange juice to his mouth. 

“Is Y/N the girl you’ve been talking to on your phone all the time and then stay with that funny smile on your face and does like this?” She exaggerates a deep and long sigh to show what she’s talking about.

Harry chokes on the juice, as all eyes snap to the direction where you two are seated. Wanda hides a laugh with her hand and Nat sips on her coffee, but you glimpse the devilish smirk on her lips. Sam and Steve pretend to focus on the little checkers board they’ve been playing with when you glance at them.   

“Luna!” Harry shrieks, trying to glare at the little girl between coughs.

You frown at his embarrassment, a disproportionate reaction on your opinion.

“What? What have I said wrong?” Luna pouts adorably and stands on her feet, crossing her arms in front of her little body.

“Daddy didn’t want us to know, yet, Luna.” Little Jon whispers loudly, pulling the hem of his sister’s shirt.

Wanda laughs fully and loudly while Nat sports a proud smirk at the two siblings, probably pleased by the spying skills the kids are showing.

“Jon!” Harry exasperates, eyes roaming around everyone in the circle, before turning to you, dumbfounded and red as a pepper, “That’s not-this isn’t-”

“Calm down, Harry.” You laugh, placing a hand on his shoulder.

You’re sure you’re not the girl the kids are referring to, that’s not what your relationship with Harry is about, but he hasn’t told you anything about someone that makes him sigh and now you’re curious, especially because he’s acting like a deer caught in the headlights. Before you can torture him with teasing you hear someone cleaning their throat, catching your look. 

Bucky stands by the door, with a bag in his hands and an unreadable expression on his face.

“Bucky,” you exclaim, feeling the inevitable tug at the corner of your lips, but trying to ignore your heart skipping a beat. How long has he been there? Has he heard anything? As happy as you are to see him, you can’t help the hint of apprehension at the  pit of your stomach that makes your heart falter, you know he still has reservations towards Harry and you really don’t want him to assume anything, which is bullshit, of course, you and Bucky have nothing and if you wanted you could date whoever, of course, that’s definitely settled between the two of you. Was the room this hot before?  

Bucky nods timidly at you and at the others, who chant their greetings all at once:  “Hey, Buck,” “Hey, Man,” “Barnes”. 

“Come on in, we ́re having a picnic,” You wave him in from your spot, swallowing down any trepidation and kicking the inner rambling off of your mind, focusing on his presence only.

“Oh no, it's ok. I can come another time,” He answers in a small voice. Recoiling his shoulders, he presses his lips in a tense line. 

The protests from everybody – except from Harry, who seems to be trying to make himself invisible at your side- resound around the place while the kids fasten their curious eyes on the new person in the room.

Knowing damn well how uncomfortable Bucky is capable of feeling when he’s in the spotlight, you raise your brows at Wanda, which is enough to make her promptly go back to entertaining the kids, now lifting the food over the cloth to the air. The sounds of bewilderment coming from the tiny little creatures distract everyone else as you get up, using the sofa behind you as a support for your growing body.

“Come on, Barnes, you made a pregnant woman get up from the floor just to drag you by the ear. I’m a mom now, I can do that,” You taunt, getting closer to him, twisting your expression into a mocked scowl.

Letting out a heart-fluttering smile that ignites one of your own, he relents, stepping into the room and shooting that fondly look at your growing belly, like he does every time he sees you.

“Hi,” you softly say when he stands inches from you.

“Hey, I called you a couple of times, and you didn't answer my messages, I got worried,” He cringes.

“I must’ve left my phone in my room, but it's ok, Bucky, you don't need an excuse to drop by,” You assure in a teasing manner, before your eyes drop to the bag in his hand, “What do we have here?”

“Oh, on my way over, I saw this and I couldn't help it.” With a broad smile on his face, he pulls the object from the bag.

Your eyes go round and you practically squeal, grabbing the little colorful unicorn, “This is amazing, Bucky, so damn cute. And fluffy.” You squeeze the soft little stuffy against your chest.

He chuckles, brushing a lock of his own hair behind his ear, “I bought it for the peanut, but I suppose you can play with it, too.”

You roll your eyes and pull your tongue out playfully.

“Hello.”

At the tiny voice who takes you and him out of your little bubble, you see his eyes going comically round, before he lowers his head to follow the sound. Luna stands beside him, with her hands laced behind her back and mischievous interest plastered on her sweet features.  

“Hi.” His stumpy answer is a bit more than a whisper.

“I’m Luna,” the girl says her name proudly to him, “I’ll be four years old in a week. What’s your name?”

“Bucky.” He replies shortly.

As little Jon runs to stand beside his sister, you choose to remain a silent observant of the scene with great curiosity, and from the corner of your eyes you catch the rest of the adults in the room doing the exact same thing. 

“This is Jon. He's my brother.”

“We’re twins,” Jon announces.

“But I’m older,” Luna reminds him.

“And that’s daddy.” The boy points at Harry, who quickly and shamelessly looks up to the ceiling, trying to cover up the fact he’s been watching them.

“Ok.” Bucky purses his lips and nods, seeming ready to bolt away from the interaction.

In fact, you can’t recall having seen him talking to a kid before, except for maybe Clint’s and Scott’s kids, but he always preferred to remain at least one arm’s length away from them. You know this has everything to do with the fact he still struggles to think children would want anything to do with him...   

“Your hand is shiny.” Luna states straightforwardly. 

As you feel Bucky freezing beside you decide to step in, but probably not in the way he would want you to, “His whole arm is shiny, Luna.” You whisper, leaning down and half covering your mouth like you were telling her a secret. You choose to ignore the betrayed look you receive from Bucky.  

The information makes the little girl gasp and stare longingly at said arm, covered by the long sleeve of his Henley.

“Oh, you ́re the Winter Soldier,” Jon yells, pointing at Bucky with astonishment  as  his jaw drops.

The nickname Bucky used to dread so much, but which in time - as he formed his name as an avenger - got a different and more positive meaning to everyone else, sounds nothing but adorable in the kid’s soft voice when said in such an enthusiastic way. It doesn’t go unnoticed by you the phantom of a smile that threatens to curl Bucky's lips.

“Oooo, I know you,” Luna grins, bouncing on her little legs, “You're Captain America ́s boyfriend.”

 “Oh, my God! Luna!” Harry mortified attempt of reprimanding his daughter is muffled by the thunder of loud laughs filling the room, including one of your own.  Horror twists Harry’s features as Bucky and Steve share widened staggered looks.

“Don ́t laugh,” Luna turns to the party, putting her hands on each side of her waist and stomping her little foot to the ground as the laughs are swiftly held back at the respect the small figure imposes, “Daddy said it’s ok that boys date. And girls, too.” Her features turn into a scowl.

You glance at Harry and you glimpse the pride which his daughter’s words brings to his expression being swiftly replaced by apprehension when he spots Steve.

“And your daddy is right,” Steve straightens up his posture for Harry’s relief and then putting on his Captain voice, he turns to Luna again, “But Bucky and I are not boyfriends, we’re buddies.”

You think Sam will explode when he puts his hand over his mouth to hold back the laugh even harder.

“Maybe it's a secret, Luna. Just like dad ́s.” Jon innocently shrugs and that's what kills everybody’s strong will and the sound of multiple laughs bubbles into the room again.

Even Bucky has given in and sports a small but beautiful smile on his face as his head shakes slowly and warm heartedly. You smile right back at him when your eyes meet and you notice how much more at ease he seems.

“Aright, alright. You two get back here.” Harry commands.

“Ok,” Luna answers and starts to move towards the party again, but not before she laces her chubby little hand with Bucky’s metal one to pull him with her, being followed close by her brother.

When he looks back at you, being pulled by the girl, there’s no plea for help or embarrassment on his face; he only keeps smiling and shrugs. Your stomach flutters inside you as you take a deep breath in. 

Luna makes Bucky sit in the middle of her and Jon, as you sit where you were before, beside Harry, placing the little unicorn between you and him. Everyone catches on conversations or eating and drinking.

“Oh, Bucky. Have you met Harry, already?” You ask, trying to act cool, especially about the fact he has seen him before at Steve’s party and not mentioning all the times Bucky has asked you about your relationship with Harry.

“Hey,” Bucky nods and extends a hand, leaning over to catch Harry’s from across the cloth, “We’ve seen each other before, but I think we haven’t been introduced yet.” He says, pressing his lips in a polite smile.

“Hi, yeah, that’s right,” Harry answers in a matching polite tone, “It’s such a pleasure, I’m a huge fan, of course. I’m sorry for my chipmunks-”

“Ugh, daddy.” Luna, huffs.

Before any of the grown-ups could add anything else both the kids launch on Bucky. Leave it to kids to dissipate any kind of awkward situations… 

“Is your arm heavy?” Luna leans on Bucky’s shoulder, resting her chin over her hands there.

“A bit, yes.”

“Are you strong, Mr. Bucky?” This time Jon asks from Bucky’s other side.

“Of course I am.”

“Stronger than him?” Luna cocks her head towards Steve, who snaps his look up from the checkers board.

“Sure, he’s all jacked now, but deep down he’s nothing but a skinny little angry man…”

The super soldiers make a face to each other and you chuckle.

“What about him?” Jon points at Sam.

“Kids, please…” Bucky’s eyes roll as he lets out a smug snort.

“You wish, tin can,” Sam shots a handful of pop-corn on his direction.

“And them?” Luna points at Wanda and Nat.

“Well…”

Attentive to the scene so far, you spot the red mist Wanda casually pours from her elegant hands as Nat cracks her fingers, staring blankly at Bucky.

“Definitely not.” He turns widened eyes at Luna, enticing a little giggle to come out of her lips and a laugh of you.  

“You’re not stronger than Iron Man.” Jon affirms, rather than ask.

“Hey!” Bucky playfully yelps, as the boy places his little hand on his chin, furrowing his eyebrows as if he’s concentrating real hard to come up with Bucky’s next challenger.

“Oh! Are you stronger than daddy?” He finally yells, partnering up with his sister as the two people who made her father choke on his juice that day. 

“Ahm… I don’t know-I,” Bucky fumbles with his answer as Harry keeps struggling for air.

“I know how we can find out,” Luna swiftly raises her hand, looking excitedly at Jon.

You pat Harry’s back as he coughs harder.

“Daddy can lift me and Jon on each arm, I bet you can’t.” She cocks a daring eyebrow at Bucky as Jon eagerly nods his head and gets up.

“Oh, yeah?” Bucky raises his eyebrow back at her, before turning his eyes at Harry asking for permission, which is granted with a nod and a smile. Now that the latter knows Luna’s idea doesn’t involve him getting his ass kicked he seems a lot more relaxed.

Then, with an exaggerated grunt, Bucky grabs and lifts the two little creatures by their feet using only his metal hand. The squeaks and giggles bubbling out of their lungs mingle with Bucky’s groans as he tosses the twins around as if they weigh nothing.

“Who’s the strongest person in this room, huh?” He challenges, as he holds them by their behinds and presses them into the air as a couple of dumbbells in each hand. 

“You, Mr. Bucky,” They both yell in unison between little screams and loud giggles.

Your heart melts and the smile on your face is wide when you realize that, just like that, he also becomes their favorite person in the room. You totally get it, who can be better judges of character than kids? Besides, falling in love with Bucky is that easy and inevitable, you're one to talk...

The kids keep themselves glued on Bucky’s side all the time, asking questions, proposing games that he promptly accepts, offering him food, telling him stories about themselves and about their father – to Harry’s very dismay… They even get him to show them part of his arm, gaining claps of admiration from Luna.

At some point you reach for the jar of juice to find it empty, but before you even think of standing up to go grab some more, you feel the jar being promptly stolen from your hand.

“I got this,” Bucky winks, getting up, as Sam and Nat finally get a bit of the kids attention, doing some magic trick with a few cards for them as Harry watches.

“It’s ok, Bucky-”

“Na-ha. You stay comfortably there.” He gets up, glaring at you to show he means business.

You let out an annoyed huff – only a stunt to hide how you’re secretly loving the attention coming from him. Wanda calls on your bullshit aiming you a teasing smile that you choose to not indulge.

“Steve, get your lazy ass here and help,” Bucky calls, walking inside the kitchen, as the kids giggle at his choice of words.

~~~

Bucky places the jar on the sink and, before he could walk to the fridge to grab more oranges to squeeze, a wall of enhanced muscles captures him in an impossibly tight hug.

“Ugh, what’s that for, punk?” He grunts, but promptly hugs his friend back.

“You’re gonna be a dad,” Steve croaks out.  

Bucky lets out  a quiet laughter. He hadn’t seen Steve yet, not after the ultrasound when Bucky’s real feelings towards the news became clear. He guesses his friend wasn’t really sure of what his decision would be to actually congratulate him and express his emotions about it before, “And you're gonna be an uncle.” Bucky beams.

Steve only whimpers and tightens the hold around his friend.  

“Alright, alright,” Bucky pats his back and let goes. “This is why everybody thinks we're a couple.” He adds, without taking the smile off his face.

Steve chuckles and shakes Bucky by his shoulder, with his eyes clearly red, the Captain wipes a tear with the back of his hand “You deserve this,'' he says.

No more words need to be said as Bucky’s smile falls but his eyes remain soft and he only nods as an answer. The two friends exchange meaningful and watery gazes before they move to go grabbing the oranges and the necessary utensils, forming a team side by side by the sink to slice the fruits and squeeze the juice using the squeezer. 

“I know Y/N has banned you from telling anyone what you two are having, but you won't deny this information to your oldest pal here, are you?” Steve nudges Bucky as he slices the oranges.

“By the image on the screen, it sure looked like a kid.” Bucky keeps squeezing the oranges, unaffected.

“Ah, come on, Buck.”

“Not a chance, pal. If I didn´t give in to Nat, you won’t make me talk, either.” He turns to Steve, “And stop with the damn puppy eyes, you’ll have to wait, like everyone else.”

“Spoilsport,” Steve grunts his displeasure of being kept in the shadows about the baby’s sex before the smile comes back to his face, “You´re happy, aren´t you?” He softly asked after taking a good look at his friend.

“Like I’ve never thought I would be. Not even back in our days. It’s funny…” Bucky’s eyebrows furrow as a small breathy laugh comes out of his lips, “A couple of days ago I had no idea this kind of feeling, this sweet agonizing happiness, existed. Now it’s all I feel, all the time.”

“Sounds intense,” Steve chuckles, clearly pleased, “You and Y/N? What’s the deal with the two of you now?”

Bucky clears his throat and bites the insides of his cheeks, “We agreed we should focus on the baby. Let go of what happened before in the past.” He keeps his eye focused on the task of squeezing oranges.

“Oh…and how ́s that working out for you?”

“Good”

Steve stops what he’s doing altogether and turns to face Bucky, placing the hand holding the knife on his side, “Are you lying? Is this something we do now? Lie to each other?” He waves the knife on the space between them, “You couldn’t even be around her before, it can ́t be changed all of a sudden.”

Bucky shakes his head as he huffs. The damn punk…  “It’s… I don´t know,” He turns to face Steve as well, “A mix of heaven and hell. Fighting with her was easier, to be honest.” He snickers, “I could handle that. And now, we talk, actually talk without fighting or anything… I get to be around her without jumping on each other’s throat and now I can really, really see her. She’s still her but, I don’t know…different,” He turns back to the sink, grabbing another half orange to squeeze as he talks, “She seems more content, level headed, elegant…” He sighs, “She looks even more beautiful each day that passes… fucking sexier…” His whisper is barely audible as his eyelids close for a moment, “It must be the pregnancy, I don ́t know, haven't you noticed it?” He looks back at Steve to find the latter holding back a smile.

“Seems the same good old Y/N for me,” Steve shrugs, “Maybe a little more… joyful?” He asks himself, “Yeah, but what do I know, I ́m not in love with her.” He resumes slicing the oranges, acting nonchalantly.

“Stop it.” Bucky glares at him.

Steve throws his arms to the air and scrunches up his chin as a sign of resignation.

After a few moments more of silence as they work together, Bucky briskly stops and turns to his friend again, “It's just, it's complicated,” His eyes shut as he scratches his eyebrow, “With the baby, and all.” He sighs, looking down, “I don´t wanna ruin the peace we’re finally achieving between us by trying again with her, but God…” He looks up to the ceiling before and his eyes close before he looks down at Steve, who has stopped his work to pay attention on the man beside him, “I have to physically restrain myself from kissing the fuck out of her every time I lay my eyes on her, every time she comes closer and I smell her perfume...goddammit…” He confesses for the first time out loud, before turning to the sink to lean his hands on the marble taking in a deep breath, “She said we didn ́t work as a couple, and she’s right, isn’t she…” He murmurs.  

Steve places a kind hand on his shoulder, “I know the way it ended was rough and then everything else that happened after that, but everyone could see how you two loved each other, Bucky…” He softly says as Bucky remains silent, staring down, “And I don ́t know, you both seem like growing from the place you’ve been, when you’ve hurt each other…”

Silence lingers between them as Bucky feels his jaw clenching. He loves you. Of course he does, he always has and everything he did to try and deny this only resulted in pain.  And that’s what scares the shit out of him. He knows you two agreed on trying to not focus on each other as anything more than parents, and as much as he agreed on it, the all-consuming love he feels for you only grows each day he stays at your side, each time he talks to you and he watches you becoming the mother of his child…

Fuck, he doesn’t want to ruin everything. Not again.  

“Buck, everything will be alright, I’m sure,” Steve seems to hear his thoughts as he tries to comfort him.

Bucky forces a smile at his effort and squeezes the last orange, before wiping his hand with a knapping hung on the wall. Giggles coming from the living room catches their attention.

“Do you think there's something there,” Bucky tentatively asks, eyes stuck on the door that leads to the living room, “With Harry, I mean.” He clarifies in a low voice, when his eyes meet Steve’s.  

Steve sighs before shrugging, his forehead creasing, “They seem close.”            

Bucky nods slowly, worrying his lower lip between his teeth, “I heard his little girl,  Luna, asking if Y/N was the girl he’s been-” He sulks down a harsh intake of breath, “I wouldn't blame him…” His lips form a taut line.

When Steve presents him with silence and something that resembles empathy in his eyes for him – old Steve Rogers’s style- Bucky clears his throat and moves to pour the juice on the Jar.

“Come on, I’m gonna say goodbye to them, I have to go.” He adds, turning  towards the door with the Jar in his hand.

“Where to?” Steve cocks his head, narrowing his eyes.

“I’m gonna meet Anna in a few.” Bucky mutters as his shoulders round downwards, “I called her yesterday.”

“Oh.”

“You think I shouldn’t.” Bucky states.  

“No, not at all.” Steve shakes his head. “I just wasn’t expecting to hear this now after-” Steve licks his lips and nods once, “I do think you should talk to her, though, Bucky. Set things straight. I know how important she’s been to you and I know it hurts you how things played out between the two of you. Now that you cleared your head a bit, maybe it’s the right time to really listen to her and tell her how you feel, too.”

Steve… always the voice of reason. Of his reason.

“I know.” Bucky nods. He needs to set things straight once and for all.  

~~~

Chapter 18 coming soon. 

[heyimtavia]

THE POST FINALE HENRY DANGER OPINIONS TAG:

Hey party people! Sorry I’ve been a bit out of the loop. Due to what’s going on in the world, adulting sorta got in the way and I have to DVR the final episode. No one tagged me, but I just wanted to add my two cents since this is officially the end and this is a really cute tag.

1. Who was your overall favorite member of Team Danger and why?

Charlotte hands down. She was brilliant, sassy and just a great friend to Henry no matter what. She’s one of the main reasons why I decided to tune into the show. I saw a lot of myself in her. I was once that little smart black girl that no one listened too. But it’s okay though, but that GLOW UP is real! I know from experience lol.

2. Who was your favorite non-team danger character and why?

Y'all know I love Fran the security guard. She should’ve gotten more air time. I just think she’s hilarious! I’d loved to see her try to wrestle a dolphin any day!

3. Who was your favorite villain and why?

Dr. Minyak & Nurse Cohort. I just gotta respect his hustle. Other than Rex and Rick Twitler, I feel like he’s the only everyday villain who always came close to defeating Captain Man & Kid Danger. He always had unique plans; from capturing and brain-altering Charlotte to taking Piper and the man fan hostage, he was always creative. Plus I love his little temper tantrums he sometimes throws. 

4. What were your top five favorite Henry Danger episodes of all time and why?

1) All time Fav would go to The Great Cactus Con. From the dopeyness of how everyone can do a backflip instead of Ray. How Charlotte gets to show off her fashion design skills. How Piper unofficially works with Team Danger. Plus I love the cute romantic bit between Jasper and Patina. 2) Rumblr- That whole episode was just comedy gold for me. They should’ve brought Kyle back for the finale and had him show up at kid danger’s funeral  3) I dream of Danger - Its Char’s episode. I like how it alluded to Charlotte’s dream might come true but it doesn’t. However, I don’t like how they just moved on like the episode never happened even when Jasper thinks that char likes him. 4) Flabber Gassed- I love that char got to show off her fighting skills and how happy Jasper was to be a superhero. 5) Holey Moley- I straight up die for laughter every time I see that episode. I love how Henry kept saying, “oh look, a downside.” I feel like that episode would have been a sketch on All That or the Amanda Show. It just felt like good ole Nickelodeon comedy.

5. What were your top five least favorite Henry Danger episodes of all time and why?

1) Henry’s Birthday- Call me a diva, but if anyone treated me like that on my birthday, the party is OVER! 2) Captain Makini (I think that's what it’s called). Sorry, I'm not really a fan of Frankie Grande and though he was great for the musical, I really don’t think he needed a second episode. 3) Meet Cute Crush- I’m sorry, anything involving Piper is just physical and emotionally draining. All that girl does is yell. Thank u, next. 4) Sick & Wired- Because I got sick and tired of Ray’s shenanigans. 5) JAM Session- Now Piper isn’t my favorite character, but how that girl was manipulated all over a bet was just stupid and disrespectful.

6. What was your favorite running gag and why?

1) Fran’s line, “There’s only one in the whole world, and we got it!” Swellview must be a fun, mysterious place that always gets amazing things lol. 2) When everyone says “Click” before hanging up their phone. I find it funny because I’m pretty sure the kids had never owned a flip phone in their lives.

7. What was your favorite one-off throw away gag and why?

When shwoz referenced his song from the musical when he said, “Science, science, science, I’ve said this already.” I think he said this in Theranos boot. And also the grammar fights and how grammar rules don’t apply to Charlotte lol.

8. What episode, which character and which duo made you laugh the most?

I think Holey Moley & Rumblr both made me laugh the most. Those were great episodes. Jasper would have to be the funniest. That boy says the darndest things lol. Hensper. Because of how Henry loved Jasper’s mustache and wanted to get one too. And when Jasper and Henry were both “Dude. Bro. Dude. Bro. DUDE!” Over the Patina situation and Charlotte had to break them up.

9. What episode, which character and which duo made you the most emotional?

I think it was Second episode of the finale episodes, when Henry was freaking out at the end because he was alone and Rex had sent Ray A Million and one years into the past. The fact that he literally had to think like all of his friends because obviously that’s what he was used to, everyone being there to help figure out a plan and keep swellview safe. And the fact that for that moment he was kid danger and all alone was really scary for him.

10. How would you rank each season from 1 to 5, one being the best and five being the worst?

I would rank season 5 as 1. It overall had great episodes and delved into different genres and fun tv and movie tropes. It made it a joy to watch, though some episodes leading towards the end didn’t quite catch me. Season 4 would be like a high 4 but not exactly a 5. Season 3 was sorta Meh to me. So maybe a #.  Season 2 would be a 4 and season 1 would be like a 4 because it was a the beginning to a great show and was still working out the kinks a bit.

11. Who was your favorite duo in the show (romantic or non-romantic)?

Chenry 100%. The friendship that those two have is great! Now I must say, I hate that Nick was still posting about them on their youtube page for clout knowing that it wasn’t gonna happen. I felt like they did that just so people would watch the final episodes. I was gonna watch regardless, but really Nick? Really?

12. What was your favorite Henry and Ray moment/episode?

The bro song! Plus I love that it kept getting referenced after the musical as well.

13. What was your favorite Chenry moment/episode?

 When Char was controlling  Henry in flabber gassed, she made him jump up and down while clapping! I love that even shwoz joined in too lol. And when Henry was concerned about her after she ate bad meat from the auto snacker.

14. What was your favorite Hensper moment/episode?

The mustache scene from Grand Theft Otto, “dude if I had one, I’d be Man Danger!”

15. What was your favorite Chensper moment/episode?

This also kinda includes Ray but when they were all stealing Joss Ross’s gift from her birthday party and they were just casually leaving. And how Jasper kept saying, “It’s not stealing if it’s from a criminal.” Plus I like the episode when Hen and Char have to pretend to date just to see if Jasper would keep their secret. The boy poured a whole bowl of pees down his shirt lmaoooo!!

16. If you could go back and change one element of the show, what would it be?

 Have Ray grow up and stop fawning over Henry’s mom. It was just plain creepy! Oh and put some respect on my girl Charlotte’s name.

17. If you could say one thing to each main character in the pilot, what would it be?

Life isn’t always about one day getting a statue, (I’m looking at YOU Captain Man). Crime-fighting is fun and being a sidekick could literally every kid’s dream. But don’t forget to be a kid. Hangout with your friends, go to school, go on dates. Do the whole growing up thing. But at the end of the day, you have to do what’s best for you.

18. If you could say one thing to each main character in the finale, what would it be?

Thank you for sharing your lives with me and I am so so sooo proud of you all! 

19. Were you satisfied with the finale? What part was your favorite and what part was your least favorite?

 Honestly, I think it was okay for what it was. My fav part was when Jasper literally had to carry Char out of the mancave because she refused to leave Henry behind. I love that they decided to stick together. They did leave a lot of storylines open. I thought Joss Moss would be revealed as the real Mob boss. I thought Rick Twitler would regain his memory. Where the heck is Gooch? Caitlin? Chenry (for obvious reasons). I'm just spitballing here. Was it good? Yes. could it have been better? Hell yes.

20. What would your ideal Henry danger spin off look like?

 Charlotte and Henry have powers and Jasper can fight! Dystopia. That was the spin-off that I wanted! I don’t really care about the new kids as much. They’re college-aged too? Just imagine the shenanigans they would get into! But we need to kick the Charlotte hating writer off the staff though. Can The CW pick this show up?

21. Where do you personally see the characters 10 years from now? What are they doing, who are they with, where are they in their lives - what do you think happened to them? Most importantly, are they happy?

 I honestly haven’t thought about it. But I believe no matter what they do or where they may end up, they will be happy. They’ll probably always be a team.

22. What was your favorite part of the show and why did it initially draw you in?

It became an escape from my normal adult life. (I’m saying like I’m old. I’m only 23.) I randomly flipped it on one day, I can't remember what episode it was, but from then on, I was hooked. I used to watch it a while back, but I fell off, but at that moment on time, it was easy for me to fall right back into it.

23. What was your favourite part of the fandom and why did it initially draw you in?

The friends I’ve made, the people have met! They are the best out of all the fandoms I’m a part of. I’ve been on tumblr for years and never had I have a group of people be so nice, supportive and just incorporate me into things. I love you guys so much!

24. Describe your overall emotions/feelings regarding the show being over and the show in general, looking back on it as a whole, with one quote from the show.

It’s a bittersweet feeling. I hate to see it go. But all good things must come to an end. But I guess there’s nothing better to say than, “Feels Good.”

25. If you were able to add one scene in the finale, what would you add?

 I don’t know honestly. Maybe we could have seen him reunite with his friends and family. Especially Charlotte and Jasper, Afterall, they probably thought that their best friend was dead for all they knew.

26. Favorite outfit/hair style?

 Charlotte’s Date outfit with Jack Swagger. Sis was rockin that romper. Also when Jasper and Charlotte were helper bunnies! Those outfits were hilarious and cute.

27.Least favorite character?

I'm sorry but Piper. She was worse than the whole annoying little sister trope. I swear all ash did was yell through most of the seasons and then they gave this chick a driver’s license, I mean what?? Plus i think her reaction to finding out Henry was kid danger was better in Broken Armed and Dangerous, than in twisted sister. 

28. What is question you would like to ask the writers/ producers?

Im tagging @adorkable-blackgirl @chenoahchantel

[nadziejastar]

You know why the Seekers having high levels of agency makes no sense? Because Xehanort wanted Sora as one! It's a plot point that doesn't work unless you assume that some level of mind control is involved.

LOL, exactly. How are you going to make Sora of all people a Seeker of Darkness if they are not just Xehanort’s puppets? What was the point of even going after someone like him? He would never help the bad guys willingly. So Xehanort obviously has to be able to fully control them on a whim. This is also a subject I had been meaning to write about.

KH3D ended with Xehanort NOT getting Sora, leaving him one Seeker short. Ooh, that’s exciting, now what’s he gonna do? I thought that his search for the final Seeker would have been a big part of KH3′s plot. But it really wasn’t. I thought that was so anticlimactic.By the time KH3 rolled around, Xehanort had so many Seekers lined up that he even had reserve members.

It’s funny. I remember a lot of people complaining about how all the villains got an undeserved redemption in KH3. After spending the whole game helping Xehanort, they randomly give a heartfelt speech at the very end. So, only once Sora defeats them do they grow a conscience? Everyone was asking why they didn’t have any remorse before.

There’s a big pillar of darkness that leaves their body after they’re beaten. It’s almost like that would have been Xehanort’s heart and darkness leaving them; thus, they’d no longer be controlled once it’s gone. They’d have their own minds and hearts back again. So, in that context, their little speeches would have actually made sense. I’m sure that was originally the idea, at least for characters like characters like Saix and Luxord. But when you have the characters acting in full control of themselves the entire time beforehand, these scenes seem ridiculous and lose all of their meaning.

Master Xehanort: All of this was decided. My twelve selves would welcome me here on this day, when I would return a complete person. It is the future which lies beyond my sight.

The story made it clear that not just anyone can become a Seeker of Darkness. He literally calls them his 12 selves. It apparently takes a very specific type of person to make a suitable vessel for Xehanort’s heart. That’s why most of them are Xehanort’s own alter egos; extensions of himself. His old self, his young self, his Heartless, his Nobody. Terranort and young Riku are also Xehanort, just while he’s possessing other people’s bodies.Vanitas is a being born of pure darkness. Only the strongest vessels can handle a heart like Xehanort’s. That’s why he targeted Terra in the first place.

Sora: Make more Xehanorts? You tricked your friends to… But you–aren’t you scared of just turning into someone else?

Xigbar: Me? I’m already half Xehanort.

Sora: That’s nuts…

KH3D also stressed the consequences of getting Xehanort’d. A totally willing person immersed in darkness is a candidate (if they are strong enough). But you’d have to be willing to sacrifice part of yourself; your identity, your mind, your agency. Few are crazy enough to do that. Braig just happens to be that nuts. But the rest?

Xigbar: Xemnas and Xehanort formed the Organization for a specific reason–round up a bunch of empty husks, hook them up to Kingdom Hearts, then fill them all with the exact same heart and mind. Translation–they were gonna turn all the members into Xehanort.

Xemnas: However–through weakness of body…weakness of will…or weakness of trust–most of the original members we had chosen for the Organization were inadequate. Thus, naturally, they never had a chance to attain their goal. Yet, even this was to be expected. We have learned of the heart’s folly, and we have achieved our other goals.

Xemnas never considered most of them truly worthy vessels. He needed to use the power of a fully completed artificial Kingdom Hearts, just to be able to use them as vessels… and even still they weren’t worthy. Xemnas says as much, and that they had to resort to “other goals”. Sounds like he gave up on all of the old Organization, other than Xigbar and Saix.

Weakness of trust is something that is supposed to exclude them from being worthy. So why all of a sudden are Marluxia and Larxene back again? They didn’t seem to be controlled exactly. But they didn’t seem to be willing participants either. There’s no way they trust Xehanort, though. He said he brought them to be Seekers due to their connection to the past and the Keyblade War. If they were so important to his plans, why did he send Larxene and Marluxia to get executed in Castle Oblivion for their treachery? It’s possible KH4 will answer this, but for now it makes little sense.

And if Xehanort can force unwilling people to be his vessels that easily, why didn’t Young Xehanort take any of the others with him when he took Isa? I just bought the BBS novel that came out a few days ago. I thought it was interesting how this little character blurb described Dilan. It says unlike Aeleus, he is adept at manipulating the hearts of others. Honestly Dilan sounded like a pretty bad person, even before Xehanort came along. That’s exactly the message I got from doing his weapon analysis, too. If anyone from the old Organization actually seemed like they would join the new Organization willingly, it would have been him and Braig. I am sure there was more to Dilan than what we got. He basically did nothing in KH3.

Aeleus: Dilan and Even are conscious again, but still unstable. They’re resting inside. -KH3D

Ienzo: He was recompleted like the rest of us, but he didn’t regain consciousness. After Lea left, he must have woken and taken his leave. -KH3

Then there’s this whole thing which I thought was weird. Aeleus specifically said that they both regained consciousness, but they were just unstable. And Ienzo is right there to hear this. He had to know. Yet in KH3, Ienzo says that he never regained consciousness.

I think there had to be a reason those two characters in particular were kept away from Lea in DDD. They were going to be important for something. The fact that Vexen and Demyx are “reserve” members just reeks of retconning. Like they were not supposed to be there originally and they didn’t know how to quite fit them into the story. So yeah, they’re just reserves. They even whine about getting “benched” which was really silly to me.

Besides Xehanort and Braig, I think Dilan and Even were the apprentices that were the most heavily involved in Lea’s dark past and the human experiments. That’s why he wasn’t allowed to interact with them yet. They knew the truth about Isa. Even probably was not willingly involved, and would feel remorseful to Lea. And he probably would have confessed the truth about Isa. It was necessary to the plot for him to be kept away from Lea. That’s my theory.

Xehanort: Roxas… Now, there was a worthy candidate. But, unfortunately, he became too aware of himself, and returned to Sora. Organization XIII’s  goal is to divide Xehanort’s heart among thirteen vessels. Thanks to you and Sora, we learned not all our candidates were fit for the task.

As for completely unwilling people being made into Seekers, they would need to be totally steeped in darkness, like Terra, where Xehanort can basically just hijack their body. But Terra put up way too much of a fight, and he couldn’t risk that again; Xehanort learned from that mistake. That’s why Roxas was a good candidate at first. He started off so spacey, and without much awareness. Of course, he didn’t stay that way for long.

I shall conduct the following experiments:

Extract the darkness from a person’s heart.

Cultivate darkness in a pure heart.

Both suppress and amplify the darkness within.

The experiments caused the test subject’s heart to collapse, including those of the most stalwart. How fragile our hearts are! My treatment produced no signs of recovery. -Ansem’s Report

Weakness of will is another issue. It is very tricky to make the person vulnerable to possession, but not have their heart totally collapse. If their heart collapses, they are too broken to use.If your’e too far gone, you’re no good; there is a point of no return. That’s basically how Xehanort viewed Ventus at the beginning of BBS. I think that’s why Xemnas was so desperate to find Ventus in 358/2 Days. His body was asleep, and his heart was elsewhere. He’s totally vacant, but his heart was not collapsed or broken thanks to Sora. Roxas became too aware, but Ven was a perfect vessel.

Xemnas: Our experiments creating Heartless were attempts to control the mind, and convince it to renounce its sense of self.

What it ultimately comes down to is: Xehanort needs a person who is devoid of a sense of self. Not broken; just lacking the mental capacity to reject his heart. The fact that Xehanort was resorting to mind control experiments shows how desperate he was to find someone like this, and how difficult it is to use someone as a vessel for his heart. And this is why I think Isa being “Subject X” is the only thing that actually makes sense to me. I mean, just look at how Nomura chose to draw him in the official artworks. He’s the only Organization member that just stares blankly ahead, while everyone else makes eye contact with the “camera”. That blank look is so similar to people who’ve lost their heart, like Kairi and Ventus.

It’s worth mentioning that the localization team chose the name “Recusant’s Sigil” for the “X” mark. When you recuse yourself, you remove yourself from a situation to avoid a conflict.A recusant is a person who refuses to submit to an authority or to comply with a regulation. That’s the exact opposite of what Xehanort would want in a person. It sounds like the “X” is something akin to a punishment for having too much of a sense of self. It’s a brand of ownership meant to break the person’s will. So I think if anything, Isa must have put up one heck of a fight before he recused himself. He definitely didn’t seem to have the “weakness of will” problem. Which is probably why he was so special. He had such a strong will that he lost his sense of self, but he didn’t completely break like everyone else did. He was a great vessel in that regard. “Subject X” possess all the qualities of an ideal vessel.

I mentioned this on the previous post about Axel, but deities like Shiva are often depicted with a dot directly between the eyebrows. This is significant because this is where the pineal gland is located, which is said to activate the Third Eye chakra on the forehead. It is also called the mind’s eye because it is the direct link between the mind and the physical world. It is also regarded as the highest feminine energy center in the body and the portal to the The Higher Self. This is generally regarded as a union with the divine source. Similar to the notion of the soul, basically. The true spiritual self. It is truly interesting to me that Saix’s scar is located directly between his eyebrows.

The symbol of death is situated directly on the source of his mind and soul. There’s no way that was just a coincidence. Also, it always seemed significant to me that Xemnas was covering Saix’s mouth in that picture. Nobody else in any of the official artwork has part of their face covered like that. It immediately stood out to me, since Saix was right up front and center in the illustration with Xemnas. Artists don’t just cover up a large part of a character’s face like that for no reason. I think it’s very symbolic that Xemans is covering Saix’s Throat chakra. Its emphasis is on communication and projecting authenticity into the world. When it is in balance we can express what we think and what we feel.

A question about Terranort. Ansem and Xemnas came from the splitting of Terranort. Does that mean that when they were defeated in KH1 and KH2, Terra was revived alongside Master Xehanort?

Nomura: By all rights, Terra should have been revived as himself at that point in time. However, his heart was still in the clutches of Xehanort, and it was unable to go back, and the shell of his body was the only thing that revived. Then, Xehanort brought the heart of Terranort from the past and put it in that shell of a body he once controlled.

If Isa’s heart had also been swallowed by Xehanort’s (which is what’s supposed to happen to those who get Xehanort’d) then it made perfect sense that they took him and only him. His heart wasn’t in his body. It was “captured”, as Nomura said. His body was just an empty shell, like Terra’s. A perfect empty vessel just waiting to be filled.

I thought I’d never see the word “replica” again. Any rational man would realize the Riku Replica was not likely unique, but I’m the only one in the Organization who knew of his exceptional copying functionality, and that he ultimately formed a sense of self. -Axel’s Report

Xemnas: The goal was to duplicate the Keyblade wielder’s memories, and through them, his powers–thus making them our own. Vexen oversaw the project at Castle Oblivion. However, our efforts were severely derailed by his unexpected demise. And this particular Replica–the one we called Xion–came to form an identity of her own.

Xemnas: We wanted the Key. Xion’s exposure to Roxas effected a transfer of its power, just as we had hoped. Had things stopped there, Xion would have been an unequivocal success. But then, through Roxas, Sora himself began to shape “it” into “her,” giving Xion a sense of identity. I was ready to scrap the whole project…

Lastly, I didn’t like the Deus ex Replica aspect of the story. How Xehanort could just use replicas to fill out his ranks. That was far too convenient, considering the Replica Program was an unfinished failure at the time of Vexen’s demise. Now he suddenly made that much progress so fast? Nah, I don’t buy it. The story made a big deal of this idea that the Replica Project was a failure, because even replicas will gain a sense of self over time.

[sunsetcurve]

Just What Best Friends Do

Request: ooh can I request a bree/skylar fic? maybe they're trying to keep them dating a secret from the EF and hilarity ensues? > by @its-tuscan-bean

Summary: Keeping a relationship a secret is hard. Especially when three of your friends live in the same apartment. Especially when your brother seems to notice everything. Bree and Skylar do their best.

Relationships: Bree/Skylar, Minor Chase/Kaz

Rating: Teen for minor swearing

Word Count: 1,623

A/N: I love this request! I don’t write fluff or humor all that much, so it’s a little out of my comfort zone, but I think I did alright. I think you’d be a better judge of that, though, lol. I took advantage of the fact that everyone in a Disney show is a terrible liar, and somehow no one ever questions it...anyway, I also threw a bit of Chase/Kaz in there too, so I hope that’s okay. Enjoy!

***

It all happens so fast, almost too quickly for her to comprehend, and that's ironic, because--hello, superspeed. But one minute they're sitting on the couch, watching Titanic together because Skylar has somehow never seen it before, and Jack's hands are around Rose's waist and she's flying and there's this great crescendo in the music--and then Skylar is kissing her.

It catches Bree by surprise, so much so that she almost jumps back, because holy shit, Skylar is kissing her and what is she supposed to do?

Kiss her back, stupid, the little voice in her head nags, and so she does. She kisses Skylar, softly, and still with everything inside of her that's been pent up forever now. She brings her hand up to cup Skylar's cheek, run through her hair, and everything seems to slow down for just a moment, like in the cheesy romance films Adam pretends he doesn't watch. When they finally pull apart, she takes a breath, inhales Skylar's scent, Skylar's everything.

"Is that my mango shampoo?" is the first thing her brain figures out how to say, catching the fruity aroma that lingers on the superhero's dark curls.

"Maybe...?" Skylar shrugs, drawing out the word. When Bree raises an eyebrow, she says, "Oh c'mon, it smelled so good, I couldn't help myself."

Bree can't help herself; she breaks into laughter. It's half out of joy, and half out of relief because they've just kissed, but nothing's changed, and maybe that's what she's been afraid of this whole time. Well, that, and--

"So, how do you want to tell the others about this?" she asks Skylar after a moment. "I mean, assuming there's--something to tell, if you want there to be..." she trails, her voice lifting hopefully.

"Of course I want this to be something," Skylar says, taking Bree's hands in hers over the pile of blankets on the couch. "But...I don't know if we should tell the others just yet. With everything that's going on, Roman and Riker, the other superheroes..."

" And Oliver," Bree finishes for her.

Skylar nods slowly. "He's a good guy, Bree, and he's been through a lot recently. I don't want to do that to him right now. Besides, it'll mess up the whole team's dynamic..."

"Okay, I get it," she says finally. "If you don't feel comfortable telling them, we don't have to. It'll just be...our little secret."

"Our little secret," Skylar repeats, and then she beams, and in all honesty, that smile is worth hiding the world.

***

At first, it's not all that difficult. The boys are wrapped in a world of their own, and Skylar and Bree are already constantly with one another, so no one bats an eye if they disappear once in a while.

The trouble is keeping the little things hidden. More than once, Bree curses her brother's uncanny perceptiveness, because he just seems to notice everything.

Like, they're in the elevator, fingers intertwined, and the doors open very suddenly and they don't even have time to realize that the rest of the team is there before Chase says, "Why are you guys holding hands?"

Skylar blinks, but Bree holds their locked hands up and says quickly--maybe too quickly, "We're best friends, Chase. Best friends hold hands all the time. Don't you ever hold hands with your friends?"

Chase scoffs. "No. Dudes don't hold hands."

"Then...why were you and Kaz holding hands during the Star Wars marathon?"

Her brother goes red to the tips of his ears and exchanges a quick, furtive look with Kaz, whose eyes have gone very, very wide. "Because, uh--" he gapes like a fish for a moment, and then grabs Kaz's hand. "Because best friends hold hands all the time!" He gives his angelic-innocence grin and jerks a thumb behind him, "We're gonna take the stairs." With that, he darts off so fast that his sneakers skid on the floor, yanking Kaz behind him.

Bree and Skylar exchange looks and dissolve into laughter, and then Oliver steps into the elevator with them, his brow furrowed. "You guys don't think there's something going on between them, do you?" he asks, eyes still focused on where they'd just run away. "I mean, they'd tell us, right? They have no reason not to tell us. That would just be dumb."

Bree drops Skylar's hand quickly and gives a short, very convincing laugh. "Yeah, totally. So...dumb."

Oliver looks at her funny, and she purses her lips together. "Uh, we're just gonna get off here," she says, plastering an innocent smile over her face. "Bye!" And then she grabs Skylar's hand and tugs her out of the elevator just as the doors begin to close.

"Sometimes I think you and Chase are more alike than you think," Skylar teases when Oliver disappears and Bree exhales a sigh of relief.

"Shut up," she replies simply, punching Skylar's shoulder and leading her towards the stairs.

***

All in all, Bree thinks she's done a fairly good job at keeping their secret. She successfully manages to avoid Chase's prying questions and to keep herself from hitting Oliver every time he (desperately, almost creepily) tries flirting with Skylar, and it's not easy, but she'd slay dragons for her girlfriend. So this is nothing.

But all it takes is one slip-up, and their plan, much like what seems to be most things in Bree's life, goes south very quickly.

In retrospect, she probably should pay more attention to what she's doing, but over the past couple weeks, there are a few things that have just become natural around Skylar.

So it's just reflexive that day after a successful mission, when she approaches her girlfriend. "Good job, babe," she says, and, without even registering that she's doing it, brushes her lips swiftly against Skylar's.

Oliver's jaw drops.

"Babe?" Chase demands.

"Babe?" Skylar echoes, eyes wide with shock.

"Shit," is all Bree can find the words to say.

And then Kaz starts laughing, and Chase says, "Language!" in an affronted manner that makes Bree roll her eyes.

"Oh, don't pretend you never curse, Captain America," she fires back, and Oliver holds up his hands in a wait gesture.

"Can we get back to the 'babe', please? And the--kissing?" He sounds distraught.

Chase nods his agreement. "Uh, yeah. Explain. And if you say, that's just what best friends do, I'm going to lose it," he warns.

Bree locks eyes with Skylar, who presses her lips together and sighs slowly. "Okay, fine. Bree and I are...kind of...dating?"

Kaz's eyes narrow just a little. "Kind of?"

"We're dating," Bree says, with a little more conviction, and her eyes sweep over Chase's raised eyebrows, the mixture of bewilderment and hurt on Oliver's face, and Kaz's squint and titlted head, as though he's trying hard to see something.

There's a beat of tense silence in which Bree's stomach does backflips, and then Chase says at last, "Finally."

This catches her by surprise. "Finally?" she repeats.

He huffs a laugh, dropping onto their couch. "Uh, yeah. Look, I'm no master of romance, but even I could tell," he says, rolling his eyes with the hint of a fond smile curving his lips upward.

"Hold on, you knew?" Oliver demands, like he's been betrayed, and Chase shrugs his shoulders.

"I had a hunch."

The superhero turns back to Bree and Skylar, his nose wrinkled slightly as though he's trying to wrap his head around this. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"We didn't want this to change anything with the team," Skylar says gently, putting a hand on his arm. "We were worried it would make things tense, or awkward--"

"More awkward than this?" Kaz grins from his seat next to Chase on the couch. Skylar, Bree, and Oliver give him matching glares, and he ducks his head and coughs. "Sorry. Continue."

"With everything that's going on," Bree makes a vague sort of gesture with her hand, "we were worried it would mess up the team's dynamic."

Oliver nods slowly. "I guess...I guess that makes sense," he exhales.

Skylar slips her hand into Bree's and squeezes it gently. Chase looks at them, his expression thoughtful, and says, "You guys know you don't have to keep secrets from us, right? We're better as a team--and as friends--if everyone's honest with each other."

Bree looks at Skylar, who nods her head. "Okay. No more secrets."

Kaz claps his hands together and stands up. "Well, I'm happy for you guys," he smiles. "You make a good couple."

"Agreed," Chase nods, following him up to their room.

Oliver lingers for a moment, opening his mouth and then shutting it again, as though he's trying to decide what to say.

"Oliver, I'm so-"

He shakes his head immediately. "You don't have to apologize, Skylar. It's okay. I mean, yeah, it hurts, but..." he locks eyes with Bree for a second, and then his gaze returns to the alien girl, "as long as you're happy, so am I. I'm glad you guys found each other."

Skylar smiles. "Thank you, Oliver. That means a lot," she says, and Oliver nods before going to join the boys upstairs.

That leaves the two girls to collapse onto the couch, Bree curling against Skylar's side, her head on her girlfriend's shoulder. "That went better than expected," she comments with a soft, content sigh.

She feels Skylar nod. "Yeah. They actually seemed really cool with it. And Oliver didn't take it too hard." Bree can hear the relief in her voice as she looks up at the superhero.

"I'm glad we don't have to hide anymore," she smiles.

Skylar works her fingers into Bree's hair. "Me too." There's a brief pause. "So what happens next?"

"We..." Bree humms in thought, and then a grin spreads across her face, "we could figure out a way to get Chase and Kaz to realize they're in love with each other?"

The alien's eyes glint mischeivously. "I bet I can get them to admit it first."

"Oh you are so on."

[comicteaparty]

January 24th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on January 24th, 2019, from 5PM - 7PM PST.  The chat focused on Pike’s Reach by Mabs.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB START!

Good evening, everyone~! This week’s Thursday Book Club is officially beginning! Today we are discussing Pike’s Reach by Mabs~! (https://tapas.io/series/pikesreach)

Remember that Thursday discussions are completely freeform! However, every 30 minutes I will drop in OPTIONAL discussion questions in case you’d like a bit of a prompt. If you miss out on one of these prompts, you can find them pinned for the chat’s duration. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is fun and respectfully appreciating the comic. All that said, let’s begin!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

Superjustinbros

Hello!!

RebelVampire

hey super~!

my favorite scene is probably the fight with ezo and nefayn. largely because of https://tapas.io/episode/1179545 this page. i really just like the first few panels illustration wise cause even though theyre simplistic, i kind of feel like they convey this ominous sense of defeaning silence that is appropriate for conveying tension right after something climatic happens

Superjustinbros

https://tapas.io/episode/1234181

RebelVampire

yes there is also that scene. XD which was some good comic relief considering the comic was being very dramatic at the time.

also a good lesson about making sure someone gives permission

instead of just knocking and opening the door

Superjustinbros

yes

Because naked people

RebelVampire

another comical scene i enjoyed was the where they were showing off their drawings of pella's uncle. https://tapas.io/episode/962506 because man are those some not great drawings. especially that left one scares me

Superjustinbros

Oh my god

RebelVampire

another moment i liked, which isnt a scene but more a scene transition you could say, is when the comic switches from adelaide goofing around and then suddenly the warning bell rings.

https://tapas.io/episode/604008

in particular that page

i really love the shots and especially the ominous overtone the first panel has

cause it really helps visually convey the serious has come

Superjustinbros

I love the art style and general color scheme, lots of pinks and purples

mathtans

Made it, though I may not be mentally all here, today's been crazy.

Superjustinbros

hey Math

mathtans

One of my faves was actually to start Chapter 3, when we looked at the "villains" and the main guy was talking about how he didn't want them dead, more turned to his side. I liked the humanizing aspect of the antagonists.

Superjustinbros

Same

mathtans

Too often we just see things kind of one sided. This didn't go that way.

Superjustinbros

Villains that do more than just want the main character(s) dead are always good

mathtans

As far as comedy goes, I liked the brief scene where Adelaide "winked"... maybe... because she could have been blinking and her hair was in the way.

Though I also liked the "cold feet" bit where Nefayn was laughing and Nassar didn't know. In particular it was sort of called back later when he was thrilled that she liked his jokes.

RebelVampire

yeah i really enjoyed that moment with the antagonists. also partially cause i like it being explained why they dont just crush the army cause adelaide is already being silly meeting them on an open field and not using the fort's defenses as was intended

mathtans

Little one's fussing.(edited)

Superjustinbros

Rebel gets it

RebelVampire

but yeah i liked this humanizing affect too of course. because conflicts of territory are rarely straight forward evil guy wants to rule over all the things

Superjustinbros

^

RebelVampire

that and selfishly i really wanted to like pella and that scene proved to me that it was okay to like him cause hes just a goofy sparkly dude just trying to unite the lands.

Superjustinbros

heehee~

Mabs

Hi there! I'm Mabs and the creator of Pike's Reach! I can't stay for too long because sudden school stuff came up, but I wanted to say THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for reading PR! Your comments are making me really happy ;w;

Superjustinbros

Hi!!!

RebelVampire

QUESTION 2. Unfortunately for Nefayn, she is cursed twice over both in body and magic. Who do you think cursed her with the first seal and for what reason? Could the culprit be Ezo considering she and Pella seemed to know Nefayn? Why was said culprit pursuing her? In other words, what are their long-term goals in using her? How powerful do you think Nefayn was before the first seal came to be? Now that Nefayn is sealed twice over to be all but human, how will this affect her helpfulness in a battle? Do you believe that Nefayn will be able to undo the seals eventually and return herself to her original form and power? If so, how might this affect her growing relationship with Adelaide?

glad you could stop by, mabs~!

im torn on the culprit issue. on the one hand ezo seems likely cause from her characterization that seems like something shed do. but on the other hand their army is kind of near the end of their campaign since pike's reach is the last one standing and they dont want to murder hobo them. so idk why theyd need nefayn. i kind of like to think theres something bigger gonna show up and pella and adelaide are gonna join forces to defeat it. and that whatever the it is is what's after nefayn. but that could be wishful thinking cause i always cheer for antagonist protagonist team ups when both are basically good dudes with different goals

mathtans

(I swear, my life after 8pm is running back and forth to my little daughter's room.)

RebelVampire

as for goals, maybe using her as a magic conduit. cause thats the only thing i can think of.

mathtans

I get what you were saying about the climactic magic fight scene earlier btw. Just I've never been huge on drama, you know me. ^.^

Superjustinbros

perhaps

also lol math

mathtans

Oh, hi Mabs! I ship everyone!

Superjustinbros

lol

Mabs

Hi there! Yes good, please ship all the characters.

Superjustinbros

Will do~

especially this page https://tapas.io/episode/1221349

mathtans

I wonder if Nefayn was originally that uncle that the General was talking about. Except that would destroy the best ship, so I'm not sure I like that possiblity.

RebelVampire

if were shipping all the ships i now accept https://tapas.io/episode/1077847 this page as canon

mathtans

Yeah, I don't know that it's Ezo. There was also that scene where Nefayn said she thought the big Pike's room seemed familiar, so I feel like she was a citizen of the place somehow.

A teamup would be pretty cool between the two groups. Maybe the West has been getting more organized than they realize, there was some mention of the latest attack being more of a ruse.

Hah. That was a funny one.

Part of me actually ships Ezo and Nefayn, in that sort of 'mortal enemies become friends' kind of deal. So I guess Adelaide ends up with the General's second in command? This was probably heresy to propose.

RebelVampire

idk. shooting someone in the chest seems like a romance deal breaker there XD

Superjustinbros

all ships set sail here

mathtans

It was an arrow of love and respect. Deep down. After all, it didn't kill her.

RebelVampire

but yeah the west could certainly become a threat. or even just one person in the west. like maybe one nation got themselves some guns and are bringing their guns to all the sword fights

mathtans

("It was worse than death, I was made human.")

RebelVampire

LOL

mathtans

As long as they don't bring the gunpowder, it's fine.

RebelVampire

Ezo wanted to make Nefayn human cause she too supports the adelaide/nefayn ship

it was the plan all along

mathtans

Actually, it's not a bad plan. Good way to make the enemy commander very distracted.

RebelVampire

and tbf it does probably take nefayn out of the battle a bit. cause being human has its mortal perils.

mathtans

Here's a possibly related question, who keeps sending the evil things to attack Adelaide? Which makes her sleep with a sword? I don't think it's the general, he seems honourable enough to keep his distance after losing, at least for a while. Maybe it's the same person who did the thing to Nefayn.

Flying is more of a problem for humans.

RebelVampire

i just assumed the magic things showed up of their own accord.

although

pella and ezo dont seem to be plagued by birds

so maybe someone is sending them

or adelaide is special and theyre super attracted to her

mathtans

Right.

Everyone's super attracted to the heroine.

RebelVampire

XD

this is an interesting line of thought

cause i definitey doubt it's pella

cause the impression i got is that this has plagued adelaide for much longer than pike's reach has been under siege

since the sword thing is usually the sign of a long term habit

mathtans

I wonder if maybe the charm that was mentioned as something to keep her safe is actually attracting all the problems. Though it'd need to be something fairies can't pick up on.

Superjustinbros

@mathtans must be one really sexy heroine

RebelVampire

these are some good catches math. i really didnt pay much mind to any of these mentions. that could be though. and tbf nefayn's powers were already partly sealed from the get go so i wouldnt be surprised if shes missing out on some magic things

mathtans

Thanks. ^^ I guess it just struck me as interesting that she's got the sleep issues, and no one else seemed to.

I was wondering if one of Nefayn's powers was to grow big.

RebelVampire

maybe. although i keep thinking its gonna wind up shes a goddess or something O_O

not a fairy sized goddess mind you cause she does mention that fairy form is not her original size

although to the stuff b4 that brings up an interesting point about how much can the magic world interact with the non-magic. cause obviously adelaide being able to see magic and stuff makes her able to interact with it. but how aware does a non magic person have to be before magic stuff can affect them

mathtans

Goddess of sparkles.

RebelVampire

like obviously the others cant see nefayn

but can nefayn like punch them

and theyll be like "oww what a random pain"

mathtans

Well, since magic mines could influence people, I imagine if you make the effect large enough, it'd register.

What if Nefayn caresses?

(I mean, kinda moot now, but still.)

RebelVampire

yeah the magic mines worked. cause if the magic can affect the non magic regardless of their ability to see it, it adds evidence to the idea those birds are super out to get adelaide specifically

QUESTION 3. Magic seems to be at the center of several other mysteries that are presented in the comic. What is Pike’s Reach’s past with magic regarding the mention of a catastrophe involving it? Is Pella onto something about everyone being Adelaide’s age? What might this have to do with the previous lord of Pike’s Reach and Adelaide becoming its lord? How might any of this relate to the fact that Nefayn appears to recall being at Pike’s Reach for a brief moment? There is also the issue of Pella’s missing uncle. What do you think happened to his uncle? How might Pella’s uncle be related to past or present events that occurred in Pike’s Reach? Lastly, will Pella ever discover the truth about his uncle?(edited)

Superjustinbros

That's a cool skill imo

mathtans

Oh yeah, my memory had kind of glossed over that whole catastrophe thing. And the age thing too. Hm, really good points. Maybe they don't physically age in Pike's? Like, they're actually 60, but have the bodies of people much younger?

Again, suspected the uncle might be Nefayn, but that sinks the ship.

Superjustinbros

lol

RebelVampire

if the uncle isnt adelaide's father i will be so surprised

mathtans

Oh! Maybe the uncle is the one who cursed Nefayn.

I wondered about that. If the seeing magic lineage was a direct ancestry. But it might make sense for the uncle to be the one attacking Adelaide too.

RebelVampire

https://tapas.io/episode/970094

like legit look at that family resemblence

https://tapas.io/episode/822837 and pella and adelaide have the same eye color too

and theres no reason it cant be both

adelaide's father and the real antagonist

mathtans

Valid arguments. Maybe it's a red herring though. (Or a red pike! Hah!)

RebelVampire

id even peg him for the causer of this supposed catastrophe. not on purpose. but he vanished and hes after nefayn to try and fix his mistakes.

mathtans

Or maybe he's dead, and he left behind the ultimate weapon to use in case of dire magic circumstances, down in the catacombs.

Or maybe he's undead. He's a necromancer.

Superjustinbros

Could be that now that you mention it

mathtans

As Nassar would say, a very grave matter.

RebelVampire

the charm is the key and thats why the birds are after adelaide. they want that ultimate weapon

birds love ultimate weapons

alternatively he couldve been the one to stop the catastrophe from becoming worse too

mathtans

Adelaide's love is the ultimate weapon.

RebelVampire

cause the fact the catastrophe only took out the elderly or so is implied makes that a very targetted attack. and him being the savior makes sense for why everyone made adelaide the lord.

mathtans

Ah, right, I guess I was still on the "elderly look young" track not the "elderly died" track.

Maybe they were all turned into fairies instead.

Maybe the uncle was turned into a pike.

RebelVampire

or everyone was

theyre all pikes

in the nearby lake

the place was previously called nefayn's love nest, but they renamed it to pike's reach cause theyre always trying to reach those pike

mathtans

spit-take

Lovely vacation spot it is either way.

Mabs

You all are absolutely hilarious and I have really been enjoying reading this. Thank you so much for reading so thoroughly gosh. I have to go to a school thing but I'll be sure to check back later and read the logs! Thanks again

RebelVampire

np and good luck with school~!

Superjustinbros

Cya, Mabs!

And good luck from me as well~

mathtans

Thank you for the creation! Hope school goes well.

Mabs

Thanks again! Bye all~ Good luck with the rest of your discussion

Superjustinbros

Bye!

RebelVampire

ya know, since nefayn doesnt quite remember pike's reach outside of haziness, i wonder if theres some magical third seal that was meant to hide her own memories. a third seal set up by certain uncles.

mathtans

Speaking of school, if there's no older adults, who runs public institutions?

Maybe she set the third seal herself. Nefayn was the cause of the magical catastrophe, doesn't want to remember it.

Everyone fighting about the love nest.

RebelVampire

idk. hard to say without an exact timeline. also without exact knowledge of their system of governance. like for example, education could just be an at home by parents thing. so no actual public institution for it. but i also dont know the cut off date. and maybe no all the old ppl are dead. more its just heavily skewed to one age group

mathtans

"We're in favour of same sex marriage." "Oh, well, we're leaving then." "You realize the founder of this place was gay?" "We're definitely leaving."

I liked Nassar's story, incidentally.

Some good zingers too. "Reel", heh.

RebelVampire

i really hope we get to see more of adelaide's group. cause i feel there isnt enough nassar yet. we need more puns

mathtans

Yis. Looked like we were getting some focus on Berlin towards the end.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 4. Despite the romance and good feels in Pike’s Reach, they are the last fortress standing against the Eastern hordes. Do you believe Pella is genuine about his desire to unite the east to make the country a better place? Why do you think Pike’s Reach is so ardent about not uniting with the rest of the eastern lands? As time drags on, do you think Pella will give into his advisors and stop going so soft on Pike’s Reach? Will Ezo being injured drive them to it potentially? Alternatively, do you think Pike’s Reach and the Eastern hordes might join forces and put their differences aside for some reason? All in all, who do you think will emerge victorious?

mathtans

Ezo's injury could do that (escalate things), since Pella seems to have that thing for her. Honestly, I don't quite see why he's so keen on the uniting to this extent... is it all ego? I mean, why not just be glad you've got 95% of the continent?

It might be interesting if they join forces though.

I hope love emerges victorious.

RebelVampire

i do think ezo's injury is gonna make pella made. at least enough to challenge adelaide to another duel. but then he might also be mad at ezo and be like wtf ezo we were retreating

i dont think its all ego

just more its kind of awkward to not have pike's reach not united with the rest

cause according to that map pike's reach is basically surrounded on all sides

by pella's united country

mathtans

They'll have to redraw all the maps if Pike's given in though.

What the PUC?

Superjustinbros

D:

mathtans

I feel like Ezo needs a friend even more than Adelaide. One who won't keep patting her on the head.

Maybe the injury will mellow her out, but I doubt it.

RebelVampire

i feel like ezo first needs to take a chill pill and stop going all life or death on everything

https://tapas.io/episode/850159 by this map id also assume pike's reach is a strategic advantage cause its closer to the west so if the west tries something its a good outpost to use to stave off an attack traveling in further eastward toward the capital

but all in all i think pella is genuine and really does want to make the country a better place.

mathtans

I can see that. It's a cool map too.

Superjustinbros

Yeah

Feels a lot like Europe/Russia/Asia merged into one

mathtans

"I will bring you love even if I have to smack you around."

RebelVampire

i actually dont know why pike's reach wouldnt want to unite with them to be honest. XD cause trade would be a nightmare at this point cause youd always have to try to skirt and sneak through the eastern horde lands. if the eastern hordes go to war with someone, land troops would be moved through pike's reach anyway. and to me it just seems pike's reach is more holding out for pride

but i guess tbf we dont know much about pella's country. maybe they eat babies and pike's reach has a strict no baby eating policy

mathtans

That's a fair point. Maybe there's something to the whole magic catastrophe, like they used to be a united continent and it went badly for them.

Jelly babies.

Incidentally, they seem to have all the major seasons, so don't live near an equator.

RebelVampire

i mean i guess it could just be an issue they dont want to be governed except by their own ppl or something. idk. i do feel the magic catastrophe has left some scares and suspicions. and ezo is proof pella isnt opposed to magic.

mathtans

Maybe, heritage and traditions or something. Ooh, maybe aliens will come and attack. That would unite everyone.

RebelVampire

this might be the wrong genre for that

maybe nefayn gets kidnapped

and they unite to save nefayn

cause love is the only thing that matters

mathtans

Could be. Oh, that's a thought, since she's vulnerable now and Adelaine owes her one or two.

Oh, and one nice bit I wanted to mention, the gag about her height.

RebelVampire

youll have to be more specific cause my mind is blanking on which specific gag youre referring to XD

although speaking of gags i liked the one where adelaide and nefayn were having the eating contest. except no one could see nefayn. XD

Superjustinbros

Alright, I'm gonna take my leave for now, thanks for the CTP and best of luck to Mabs on the story~

mathtans

(Sorry, little one again.)

The gag with Nefryn still being short... but being at an okay height. (Like, who isn't thinking that... )

That was amusing too. I wonder if you can get away with stuff when you see magic. "Uh, I wasn't talking to myself, no. Sure."

Have a good one, SJB!

RebelVampire

ah okay i know which gag you mean. that one was funny. XD

mathtans

Final closing thought, slow burn romance can be fun for when things come to a peak. Or a pike. ^.^

RebelVampire

i feel in general theres been a lot more jokes like that since nefayn became human

mathtans

It's been good for alleviating some of the tension.

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB END!

Sadly, this wraps up this week’s Thursday Book Club chat for now. Thank you so much to everyone for reading and joining us! We want to give a special thank you to Mabs, as well, for making Pike’s Reach. If you liked the comic, make sure to support Mabs’ efforts however you’re able to~!

Read and Comment: https://tapas.io/series/pikesreach

Mabs’ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mabsart

Mabs’ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mabs_art

[canaryatlaw]

Well, today was interesting, on a few levels lol. Woke up at 6:30, half hour early as they're doing a whole breakfast thing at work this morning, all went as it should and I got to work and DIDNT set off the regular metal detector for the first time in literally months, so that adds to my suspicion that it had something to do with my winter coat (cuz I wouldn't set it off at the other courthouse when I put it through the machine). So that was interesting. Got to my office in plenty of time and offered to help set up but nobody wanted my help haha they were all like "no no we got it you're fine!" Lol. It was also apparently bring your kid to work day, so there were a bunch of cute little 10-12 year olds running around with name tags and then "future ____" whatever they wanted their profession to be, which ranged from president to superstar. But they had a really nice breakfast spread so that was quite enjoyable. After I went to my office and decided if I didn't have anything to do (I didn't) I was gonna start studying for crim pro II (start studying less than a week before the test, God I'm such an upperclassman it's awful) on quimbee. I didn't want to be watching their videos and like drawing attention to myself so I just took their little quizzes after the videos to see where I fell. Their quizzes are weird though, because they always turn on like, stupidly specific facts that don't really matter, but their explanation of the law at least is helpful. As I neared the end of the quizzes (they have a whole lot less material on this half of crim pro than the other half, sadly) I started feeling really sleepy, as a result of having woken up early presumably, so I closed my door and rested on my desk for a little bit, then tried to go back to work but kept being like, overtaken by sleep and every so often I would like jerk awake and I would form some plan to go to my supervisors office and tell him I needed to go home and sleep before slipping back into unconsciousness, and that probably happened about 6 or 7 times until I was actually woken up by everyone finally coming up from court. So I check my phone and it's 1 o clock......which means I dozed off for probably a solid hour and a half and everyone was in court so nobody caught me/cared? It was just weird for me because I'm like not just the kind of person who falls asleep sitting up, like I can't even remember the last time that's happened (when I was on tour everyone would sleep in the vans on the way to the schools since it was typically like 4 am but I never could get myself to fall asleep) so this was very strange. And I was definitely under the impression my being jerked awake were a lot closer in time, like every 20 seconds maybe, not every 20 minutes lol so that was odd. They got an hour for lunch though since court ran long, so since it was my out to lunch day I went out with my supervisor and only one other lawyer for the calendar was able to join us unfortunately, but we went to the little bakery across the street that sells everything and I'm quite fond of their pizza haha, and I also learned that the family that owns it is also the owner of lemonheads- like the sour candy things? They always had them at their register but apparently my supervisor went to law school with one of the sons and that was their thing. He's so funny, he was like "oh I haven't been here in like 15 years!" and then of course he totally loved it and was like "I'll have to come here more often!" And I'm just like lol you're such a cute older man (not in a romantic way obviously, just dorky and cute in an awwww kind of way). So we had a very nice lunch, then ended up running back into court for which was one of the most interesting cases I think I've seen really. It's been in the system since 2013, and the judge is really frustrated about that fact because he thinks that's way too long (it is) plus at least three of the four kids have had upwards of 10 placements which is INSANE but the issue is whether they want to keep working with the parents or terminate and go to adoption, and honestly it was a rough call. The parents were putting in efforts, that's for sure, but they were still dropping the ball in some important areas. The agency had clearly made up its mind towards TPR but everyone else was a bit more hesitant. Our GAL said several times that his clients (the 3 verbal ones at least, the youngest is 1, and was there today and is oh so cute) have expressed on numerous occasions that they want to go back. And the two girls in the middle aren't in a stable placement that wants to adopt, but we also don't want the case to just languish in the system, so it's really a tough call. What really got me at the end though was when the bio dad and the foster father of the baby girl addressed the court. They had been having full family visits at the foster parents house twice a month with both parents and all the kids. And the bio dad just got up there and you could tell he was a "tough guy" or whatever but he started getting very emotional about how hard they're trying to do everything right here but life things do tend to get in the way, but you could just really really tell that he loved his children, like LOVED his children, and even when there's plenty of parents in this building that want their kids back, that kind of raw love isn't all that common in this courthouse. The foster father is what really got me though. Apparently it was a fictive kin placement since the baby was born after the case came in under risk of harm, so she went to the godparents, and from what I can tell the foster father is also the pastor of their church. And man, he just got up there and spoke about how they're the only people they get to see the parents interact with all the kids and how much the parents love the kids and how badly the kids want to be returned home to their parents, and he described how he would have to drive the two middle girls back to their placement (it was a ways out of the city) after the visits and how he was the only person there to hear their sobs and screams that they wanted their mommy and daddy, and that was the point at which I had to close my eyes and just breathe so I didn't start crying in the middle of court. And like, of course emotion complicates things, but you can't just ignore them here when it's such an important part of the decision, really. The judge ultimately decided he wasn't going to enter a goal today (a goal meaning what the case is working towards- a return home goal versus a termination goal) and he wanted to talk to the kids themselves before doing so, which I thought was a smart assessment. It's just such a hard case, because you want to keep giving the parents chances, but I mean, 4 years, that's a lot of chances been given, where does it end? It's such a hard call. I think it was really good though that the foster parent was aligned with the bio parents, and even though they've had this baby girl since she was 9 days old and have completely raised her as their child, they would still willingly turn her over to her parents, and I mean, that's amazing for me to think about. But yeah, we ended eventually, and went back up at like 4:36ish, at which point I had to review my final review for field placement with my supervisor. Most of it was great and very complimentary, there were a few small commends about some of the attorneys saying I didn't like seek out work enough but that was definitely something I had been doing recently so I'm not concerned about that. So that was nice. And yeah, that was my last day, for now at least. I don't know if I'm gonna end up on the same calendar really, I guess we'll have to see what happens, but I really hope I do. Alright, so after that I left and headed to school to chill for a few before the PAD event tonight, and chatted with a nice lady from appeals for most of the trip. Once I got to school I got back on quimbee and took their "final exam" for that section that's 20 questions, and reviewed the answers on that for a while. I think I'm in a fairly good place with the class right now. I'm gonna keep studying obviously, but I'm feeling okay about my chances at a good grade for now. After not too long other people showed up, I heated up and ate the rest of my pizza because I knew there would only be shit food at the event I couldn't eat, lol, then we headed over, it was right close to school. The captain of the PAD mock trial team/former justice was there already, along with that guy she brought to judge one of our scrimmages that I'd had some fun conversations with. So I sat with them for a while and chatted and it was nice, then he said he had to go get his girlfriend's laundry out of the dryer so it didn't wrinkle, which I found to be an unfortunate statement because he was rather cute but *shrug* oh well. So I just talked to other people for the rest of the time and it was nice, we took some pictures of the old and new boards so that was nice. I ended up leaving a little after 9, and decided to uber home because it was cold and windy AF and I somehow actually misjudged the weather in preparing for it (I'm usually very good at this) and just had my suit jacket and I was like yeah no this walk home from the train isn't happening. So I figured that being that I wasn't under any specific time crunch this would be a good time to see if my uber app was actually up and functional, so I did and went for pool just for kicks and because it was like $6 instead of $20, and it did work, so I got in the car which showed up soon, then we drove a bit and picked up another lady who I started talking to pretty much immediately, she's working on a Latino Theatre Initiative here in Chicago which apparently has never been done before so of course we talked about theatre and other things as they came up, and it was a nice refreshing discussion. She got dropped off, then me a bit later, around 10 pm. I decided to watch designated survivor because I am honestly quite addicted to the show, though I suppose I'm not following any of the fandom (if there is one? It strikes me as kind of an older-viewer focused show that might not have a whole online young people following) on here, but still I've been quite enjoying their episodes. I have to say, they're pulling off the whole huge government conspiracy thing really well, probably the best I've seen done. Prison Break put forth a strong effort on that point, but "the company" still always felt a bit contrived. DS is really rocking it though, the episodes are so compelling and the storylines work together very well, so I enjoyed that immensely. After I had just switched to live tv to find that once again friends was on, and this time I could actually stick around to watch it being that I get to mostly sleep in tomorrow. It wasn't an episode I particularly remembered, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Unfortunately as I was watching I was trying to get all my field placement shit turned in so I could just have it off my plate, I discovered that in order to meet the requirements I technically had to have one more meeting with my faculty advisor, even though we've discussed it all to death over the last two semesters, so I sent her an email saying I'll come in whenever works for her along with one to the head of field placement saying I had everything else finished but that and was working to get a meeting, and part of me is hardcore hoping she just responds and is like "it's fine you can just go with what you have" but I don't think that is very likely at all, lol. I guess we'll see though. One more thing to get done. Ugh. Tomorrow is open except for PT, so hopefully I can convince myself to actually get some shit done, hopefully on the paper, I really need to buckle down and figure out the whole budget and all the other math stuff that is going to hurt my history/English/literary analysis brain that is not meant for math/science and such. Oh well. Just gotta get it done I guess. Okay, that's plenty of writing for now, and I am quite tired at this point, so I'm looking forward to sleeping in. Until then, goodnight my peeps. Happy Friday.

[willowthephotographer]

OTTAWA ICON - Maryam & Dhivya

“Two great friends entering a journey together. Together, in school for Medical Radiation Technology, and pursuing portrait photography!”

Maryam @marya.mali : Hey! My name is Maryam Ali. I am 22 years old and am currently living and studying in Ottawa, Ontario.  I am a first generation Somali-Canadian. I love reading, taking long strolls through Netflix, and eating at new and fancy places :) My guilty pleasure tv show is MTV's Catfish (it’s 2018 and people are still getting catfished, HOW???). A recent book I’ve read is by Trevor Noah called Born A Crime. It’s quite an insightful read and would highly recommend it. Dhivya @dhivya.sri : Hi :) I’m Dhivya Sriranganathan. I am a 22-year-old student and have lived my whole life in Ottawa. I have way too many interests, but I’m really into visual arts, singing, reading (something I haven’t done in a while though) and photography. I’m always trying to learn something new, so recently I have been wanting to take up graphic designing/digital art! I’ll see far I get with that though haha.

Questions

What was your first impressions of each other? M: You know what's funny? I thought Dhivya was a little rude at first. It was grade 8, I was new to the school and we were in the same class. I would attempt at making conversation but she wouldn’t really want to talk. Once we did start talking though we found out that we had a lot in common and hit it off.  It’s funny now looking back at it, and how far we’ve come since. But yeah, I thought she was rude aha!

D: I always find it funny when Maryam recounts her side of the story. It makes me look like the bad guy! She was the new kid in our class and all I wanted to do was introduce myself, but for anyone who knows me, they’ll know I’m pretty shy. Also, my RBF doesn’t help either lol. But if you look at us now, we’re like an old married couple lol.

What are you both in school for? What made you pursue this path? M: I’ve always had a passion for science. Ever since I was in kindergarten I knew I wanted to pursue a career within the science field. As I got older, biology and medicine were the areas in science that interested me the most. After high school, I did my undergraduate studies at the University of Ottawa. I graduated this year, and now have my Bachelors of Science in Biomedical Science, with a Minor in Law. Currently, I’m in my first year of studies at Algonquin College for Medical Radiation Technology. I find that this program is really a perfect blend of both science and photography. Consider me a sort of medical photographer. It’s really interesting so far and I’m excited for what’s to come.

D: I graduated this year from the University of Ottawa with a BSc in Biopharmaceutical Sciences. I’m currently in my first year of Medical Radiation Technology at Algonquin College as well! I decided to pursue this path because I knew that I wanted to work in healthcare and specifically, I found the diagnostic aspect of it really interesting. I also love how this program incorporates the arts and sciences as I have a huge appreciation for any medium of art, as well as the health sciences.

What was it that introduced photography to you? M: When I was about 8 years old, my dad bought our first family camera. I would always sneak away with the camera to take my own photos and videos, only to delete them later on so I wouldn't get caught. Just after my dad bought his camera, my principal at my elementary school bought the same camera. He saw how much I loved using it and decided to make me the school’s photographer. Ever since, I’ve taken every opportunity to learn more about photography and develop my skills. I bought myself my first DSLR in the summer of 2016. Dhivya was also interested in photography, and we decided to learn how to use our cameras together. 2 years later, and I’ve done photoshoots, weddings, a bit of videography, and am now learning about diagnostic imaging.

D: I would say that my brother was the one who introduced photography to me! When we were little kids, he’d be the one making funny music videos of my sister and I would be the assistant. He’s a very techie sort of guy and always knew what he was talking about in terms of the newest camera equipment. I never understood it until I started using our family’s DSLR for the first time in 2016. I shot my brother’s prom and I fell in love with shooting! From then on, I wanted to learn more and luckily, I had Maryam, so we were able to learn together. I’ve done a bunch of portrait shoots and event photography since then, but I’d love to venture out and try something new when I get the chance.

If you could give your past self advice, what would it be? M: If I could give my past self a piece of advice, it’d be to do the best you can with what you have available to you. When it came to photography, I was always a little self conscious about not having the ‘perfect camera’ or the most expensive gear. What I’ve come to learn over time is that having nice gear, although making the job a little easier, is not what gives you the best product. What gives you the best product is learning everything you can about the supplies you have available to you and applying that knowledge. Certain people will label themselves as a photographer, but won’t know a thing about their camera. If your phone is all you have available, then learn everything you can about it. The price tag of your gear does not make the photo, you do.

D: In terms of photography and art, I would tell my past self not to worry about what others may think of my work and just continue to create. Don’t be discouraged when you look at other artists’ work because there is always room to learn and grow. Art is very subjective, so as long as I personally love my work, that should be enough. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? M: In ten years, I hope to be done my program and maybe have a MSc under my belt (not too sure yet!). I also hope to have a space I can truly call my own, one where I can think and create in peace. Maybe I’ll be married? Honestly, as cliché as it sounds, I just hope that I’m happy.

D: I hope to either by working in the healthcare field, teaching, doing research or maybe a combination of them! I hope that I’ll be able to continue creating, whether that’s taking pictures, drawing, singing or maybe even something else I haven’t yet thought about. And I hope to be doing this while I have a cute little family of my own. If you were to pass down a legacy, what would you want that to be? M: I want to be remembered as someone who’s hard work paid off. I want to be remembered as someone who cared, not just about herself, but about her family, friends, and community. I would like to leave my mark in the scientific world too (maybe discover a new element? A long shot, I know).  My dream would be to open a new hospital or medical clinic somewhere in Somalia, hopefully that will also be part of my legacy.

D: If I could pass down anything, it would be my values and core beliefs. Some of my main values include treating others the way I want to be treated, showing gratitude and being there for family and friends. I’d also love to be able to put out my artwork, whether it be in photography, art or music. Why do you think I chose you to be a part of my series “ICON OTTAWA” M: Ottawa is known as a ‘big-little city’. It’s small in comparison to Toronto, Montreal, and other notable cities, but big in its status as the nation's capital. As someone who’s lived most of her life here, it’s easy to feel as if you’re one of few creatives in the city. “ICON OTTAWA” is innovative in its approach at featuring different artists across the city, giving them a platform to showcase their art, personality and a way to connect. I believe you chose to feature me because I share something in common with everyone else in the series, a desire to imagine and create. I am truly humbled and grateful that you chose to feature me, and want to thank you and your team for all your hard-work in making this series a reality :)

D: The point of this series to connect creatives and showcase their work, so that we can come together to create something of significance for our community. I believe that I was chosen for Icon Ottawa because I am a part of a large and diverse group of artists based in Ottawa who has that ability to create. By joining this series, I am joining a collection that is larger than myself. Thank you again to Willow and her team for including me in this impactful series!

The reason I chose Maryam & Dhivya,

I heard about Maryam from our very own Ottawa Icon, Ream. Next Maryam introduced me to Dhivya. It was uncanny how close these two were in sharing the same outstanding story! These two inspirers are very intelligent and creative women. They truly empower us to fill your life with the splendours of education and art. Maryam & Dhivya's ICON is the Linnaea borealis. Also known as the ‘Twinflower’.

The twinflower is from the Honeysuckle family. It has one stem and two flowers sprout on the top. They are beloved by hummingbirds. They symbolize happiness and sibling love. The flower is a lovely pink colour. “Pink represents friendship, affection, harmony, inner peace, and approachability.” -bourncreative.com/meaning-of-the-color-pink/

A big "Thank you" to everyone on the team  involved in making this possible! Looking forward to .07 of OTTAWA ICON

  Location: Nepean Photographer: Willow Lamoureux Photography / @willowthephotographer Assistant: Anna Pickles / @anna_pickles Models:  Maryam / @marya.mali @maryamali.space Dhivya / @dhivya.sri @diyaphotos