#like the growth he has that you see in PL with his relationship to daniel and then he leaves him out of the mural LMAO PLEASE

[monstersinthecosmos]

What do you think Marius considers his greatest failing in canon, and do you think that ever got resolved?

!!!!!!!! this is such an interesting and tricky question because like many moral quandaries in VC you have to ask like, “is this Anne or is it Marius?” (Or David, or Lestat, etc.) The bananas authorial intent always makes these questions really interesting to unpack because I think readers often have a very different version of the events & characters than Anne did.

Like the short answer is no, I don’t think anything got resolved in canon for him. LOL. At least, not as far as things he would consider failings. I think the series ends very optimistically for him with his accepting vampires as his people and his culture in a way he never could before. A lot of his problems throughout his life stem from his isolation and distrust of his own kind, so if there’s healing to be done and things to be resolved, I think he’s definitely on the path to getting his shit together. But we didn’t get to see that in canon, really. I’m also inherently skeptical if the court can last more than a couple decades as seen by heaps of lore about how covens tend to collapse on themselves and how Night Island didn’t work out. We have to ask if like, creating rules and structure would help. We also have to ask if things like CELL PHONES even help, ie; can Pandora and Marius ever lose each other again if everyone can communicate like this? Do all societies inevitably fail if we leave the rule making to one person with their own biases? Shrug.

But what I’m stuck on here is the wording of what does *MARIUS* consider his greatest failing, and I think that’s an extremely different thing from his greatest failing LOL.

I kinda read Marius as burdening himself with caring for other people, even when he’s doing it poorly or in a way that’s unproductive for everyone except himself. But just because the outcome is a failure doesn’t mean the intention isn’t there. I would imagine he sees his biggest failures as his times where he failed to protect people. The obvious example is Armand, both when he’s first abducted by Santino but also when he attempts suicide. I think he feels this way about Pandora, too; I don’t think in their first relationship that he necessarily thought she needed his protection, but he’s sooooo close to getting her back and can’t navigate that she’s afraid of Akasha. It feels like his relationship with Bianca was an attempt to start fresh and treat her as more of an equal, but he fucks it up by being dishonest with her. Again, something perhaps that he sees the logic, he sees the through line, but is unproductive to everyone else involved.

And then with QOTD and Akasha’s awakening it feels like a very large public humiliation for him; this is a failure as well, both in the way he misread her for TWO THOUSAND YEARS and didn’t understand how to navigate, also that caring for The Parents was often framed as doing it for the protection of the entire race. Obviously his own needs & role with Akasha evolved over time but I think that’s the justification he tells himself. Again, whether or not he’s hitting his mark is less relevant than his intentions when it comes to his own perception of his actions and what he would consider a failure, what he might feel regret or guilt for, what feels humiliating, etc.

So anyway, no I don’t think any of this was resolved LMAO. I think Blood Communion tees it up where we can assume it gets resolved. Like, the reason his role as the keeper became corrupted was because he was so isolated, and he got trapped into this like egosyntonic cycle of behaviors that totally destroyed his relationship to the outside world!!!! And letting go of that created a massive existential crisis about who he is, what they are, etc!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And it’s beautiful that in Blood Communion he was able to see the value in his community. No more secrets! No more isolating!

And I just hope that can lead down a path of like, Marius getting to know himself better, learning to be a better maker/friend/lover/father/etc. I think he might see his relationships as failures but I also think that in canon he doesn’t have the tools to fix any of them.

Because he might consider his greatest failure to be that he couldn’t protect people around him, couldn’t be present for them, couldn’t be honest with them, etc. If you asked ME what I think his greatest failure is, I’d say it’s that he’s so fucking unhealed that he doesn’t know how to apologize to people.

It’s easy to write off that type of behavior as just being a douchebag thing to do but you have to remember how much he’s had to deify his own self reliance. It means every mistake is a crack in the armor. Apologizing is going to feel like his entire worldview is crumbling and it’s just not a simple thing when you’ve had to trust yourself and when you’ve convinced yourself for two thousand years that you’re the glue holding the vampire world together. It doesn’t matter if he’s wrong or right and doesn’t matter if anyone wants to moralize about him; it’s just not an easy thing to do.

So I hope that canon left us with space for him to grow and be better. I think it did! I think he’s trying!!!

[jejublr]

Super!Mingyu

A/N: Hi guys~ This is my first AU! This was inspired by posts by other amazing writers and prompts so I decided to make a bunch of them. This one is a mash between Best Friend!AU and Super!AU and is quite long so buckle up! Be sure to be on the lookout for upcoming Super!Seventeen posts and thank you for reading! Enjoy! :D

P.S. Many fart jokes. Mentions of gummy bears. 

 lmao ok where do we even start with this guy

You've basically known Mingyu from kindergarten

He's a pretty low key kid tbh, you never would've thought he's a super

So the story starts when one day, in kindergarten, in the middle of the finger painting class, you farted ya it's gross, get over it. Kids only eat, sleep poop and cry while farting inbetween.

So you’re kind of the silent-killer type of farter ok aka no sound but deadly

There's another kid in class who's infamous for having farting episodes 

So the whole class plus the teacher was like "ugh not again Kevin wstg we have enough of ur sh**" and are accusing him of this crime poor Kevin

Nobody suspected it was you ('sorry Kevin')

B U T  T H E N

You feel a tap on your shoulder and turned around to see this one kid with a bad haircut and trail of snot on his face

And you can't help but zone in until he said

"I know it's you"

Lol you’re f***ed.

Your know you gotta do something before he reports you to the teacher and you can’t have your entire kindergarten career and reputation just crumble into dust over a fart 

So what did you do?

"I'll share my gummy bears with you but you will n e v e r tell a soul"

"Ok" 

Well that was easy

Anyways

From that day on Snotty aka Kim Mingyu follows you around like a lost puppy and sits with you during snack time for the sake of gummy bears kid knows his priorities

Everytime you won’t share your candies with him, he blackmails you by threatening to tell the teacher that it was you who farted that One Faithful Day

You kinda regretted it now that you have to sacrifice your gummy bears but h e y, better than getting your reputation ruined and get called Ms. Fartsfor the rest of kindergarten amirite?

So fast forward to elementary school

Surprise surprise you're going to the same school as Mingyu 

He still follows you around btw

Also, you outgrew him so you call him Shorty now instead of Snotty

“How’s the air down there, Shorty?”

“Walk in traffic, Y/N”

Still asks for gummy bears during lunch period

Tbh it's getting annoying at this point bc whenever you whip up your lunch bag he'd go nuts

"Is that spaghetti I smell?”

“Bring your own lunch, Mingyu.”

But then it starts to happen every time

He'll know what you bring for lunch even before you unbox it

You're getting suspicious

Is he half dog or something? How does he even know?

And then things get weirder

So basically Mingyu becomes the class guard aka that kid that stands in front of the classroom when there's no teacher to inform the class when the teacher is coming

People starts complaining because Mingyu would come in and be like "The teacher's coming ! !" but there's nobody in the hallway?? so Mingyu pls explain???

"No I swear! She's coming!!!"

Ofc nobody believed him and the class was in utter chaos when the teacher finally came in

"Mingyu, how did you know?"

"I heard her walking" 

And you're like "lol what"

Anyways

He also becomes that annoying kid in class 

He'll say that the class is too hot/too cold when it's totally fine?? 

And when a teacher raises their voice he'd cover his ears

Also there was a time during a math test you and thought that you were going to ace the test because you're top in class at least in elementary school if you’re bad at it lmao but surprise surprise Mingyu aced it too

But later during the day he comes up to you and apologized and said that he copied your paper

And you're like ???? 

"Mingyu you sit two seats behind me how is that even possible???"

 He'll be the first to know when it's pizza day ("I can smell the pizza lol")

But brings his own lunch to school

Claims that the cafeteria food smells and tastes weird

he never eats the food from school bc he claims that it smells weird and because he’s a picky eater

But basically Mingyu is physically hypersensitive to everything and people think he's just whiny and annoying so the only friend he got is you

So you kinda took pity in him and you started to enjoy his company anyways so you let him hang around

 As long as he has his hand sanitizer with him at all times

 Fast fast forward to middle school 

Yayy time for puberty and hormones! fun fun fun 

Except it isn't fun

Puberty is as fun for supers as it is for normal teenagers

It’s terrible enough to suddenly have a bazillion of zits appearing on your formerly-smooth face

But the fact that Shorty had a major growth spurt over the summer and is basically a f***ing tree now 

“Who’s short now, Y/N?”

And brags about it every time he has the chance

It’s also around this time that Mingyu has been acting even stranger

He’s easily distracted by a background noise, even if others don’t seem to hear it

He’d jump right out of his seat whenever the bell rings or any loud noises really 

At one point, a teacher got so angry and started shouting and when you looked at Mingyu he’s cowering in his seat with his hands low key on his ears, wincing every time the teacher raised their voice

He also becomes more secluded

Leaves the classes right after the bell rings, decided to take his lunch to a more quieter place under a tree at the school yard, avoids group projects..

You’re really concerned for him although you’re a bit hurt that he seemed like he’s keeping something from you

So you decided to ask him one day

"Mingyu are you ok? Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Hahaha w-what makes u say that" 

You gave him a pointed look and it's scary and he got reminded that time during elementary school you bit Sarah in the arm for cutting the queue

If that's what ppl get for cutting your queue then what would happen if you find out that he's different

He’s scared that the only person he’s been friends with for years would abandon him when they finally realize that he’s a freak

At that point of time, he just wishes that he could be like the other kids

But he also remembers that you've been there for him after all these times

You (kinda) tolerated all the times he sneezed in your hair 

“One more time, Mingyu and I will cut you.”

And the times he broke your toys after not realizing his own strength 

Also that dark time during elementary school when Danielle and her group of friends verbally bullied him for being “weird” and “different”

You stood up to them for him

You got yourself suspended and your parents called for punching the bullies in the face

That night you came to his house with a bag full of gummy bears and both of your favorite movies and you guys just hung out in his room

That when you said “Mingyu, I know you can’t even hurt a fly so if you need me to punch someone in the face I will”

Wow when did you become such a violent kid

But he knows it’s just your way of saying “I’ll always be there if you need me”

And honestly, you're already a knight in shining armor to him the second you broke Danielle Davis’s nose

So he decided to tell you

How he knows what you’ll have for lunch

Why he’s so distracted all the time

And why he’s such a sensitive kid

He has heightened senses

*silence ensues*

He can’t help but starts to sweat as you stare at him, unblinkingly 

He wanted to strangle you, to force you to talk, to just say something

And then you do

“Wait ok so in kindergarten, you knew it was me who farted because of your super senses?”

lol. ded.

He just looked at you disappointedly “Seriously, Y/N, that’s the first thing that pops into your mind?”

“Well I’m sorry I can’t help it. But really can you really tell who farts in class. Also I’m really sorry for you, dude, smelling farts in HD must’ve suck.”

Ok but you’re kinda offended and sad why he kept it away from you for such a long time but soon realizes that people are judgmental jerks who’d just label Mingyu as an outcast if they find out

But basically, Mingyu is super duper relieved that you’re totally cool with it and you guys moved on from it

Fast forward to high school

*Achievement Unlocked: You got an S/O*

It’s not Mingyu ok

You met your S/O the first day of high school

They’re really sweet and caring and overall a nice person

Mingyu was more skeptical and protective when you first started to date but took the backseat when he realized that you can take care of yourself (lol remember Sarah and Danielle?)

Cheers you on your relationship and becomes your confidante and go-to person to talk about your relationship

He doesn't mind at all.

He’s just happy that you’re happy what a cinnamon roll ;A;

Until one day he saw your s/o at the mall, hanging out with some girl he doesn’t recognize

They seemed pretty close and their arm would ever so often casually hangs on the girl’s shoulder

Mingyu’s general perception of your s/o has been good so far so although he was kinda surprised to see them hanging out with a girl that’s not you, he just thought that she might be their close friend or a family member or something so he brushed it off

He checked with his superhuman hearing and it’s not like they’re talking about anything suspicious or anything

But Mingyu being Mingyu, he was curious and wanted to look out over you

So he figured, if your s/o was up to no good, he’d have to find out himself

So he began to stalk investigate your s/o

You kinda picked up and would jokingly said “Don’t you dare steal them from me” and he’ll be like “No, no its not like that!” (lmao also he wouldn't dare ofc)

But then Mingyu found out that your s/o has in fact, been cheating behind your back with a girl from school

He’s so surprised and more importantly, enraged that they would even do that to you

What have you ever done to deserve such trash of an s/o??? You deserved to be served and taken care of like royalty

That evening he went to your house to break the news to you

“Y/N, I have something to tell you”

You don’t believe him. You don't want to believe him.

Your s/o has been such a caring and thoughtful person. They wouldn’t do that to you right?? 

So you do what you thought was right.

You got angry and told Mingyu that he was just being jealous, that he’s just mad that you now hang out with someone else. You told him to make some friends so he can get over it.

Mingyu got even angrier over the fact that you chose to defend your s/o and is hurt that you wouldn’t believe him, your best friend

But at that exact moment he also had an epiphany

He was jealous

He was sad that you now have someone else to hang out with

He was sad over the fact that you might drift away after all these years

He also realized that he cares so much about you

So so much that maybe it’s not the friendly kind of caring anymore

He realized that after all this time, he might be in love with his best friend

But he’s so angry so he decided to storm off and have you find out yourself, knowing how stubborn you can be

You don’t talk for the next few weeks 

He decided to avoid you completely and would change seats if you’re in the same class as him. He wouldn’t even spare you a glance in the hallways

You sit alone at lunch, with nobody to eat your gummy bears

This is the first time you guys had a fight this big

One day, during class, you decided you had enough and you made a mad dash out of the classroom to find Mingyu and tell him you were sorry (Teacher: kids these days smh.)

Otw there, you passed the janitor’s closet and heard some noise

You decided to be a snitch and took a peek

And there they were, your s/o and a girl, making out in the small cramped space, unaware that you're watching

At that moment, all you can feel is your heartbreaking

You feel tears well up in your eyes, your body grows rigid and cold

You felt so so betrayed and lost that you don't even have the energy to barge up to them and beat them yourselves

So you took a detour to the nurse’s office, your mission long forgotten

You laid down on a cot for a good half-an-hour before you heard the curtain being opened and at first you thought it was the nurse who decided to kick you out but then you felt a large hand brushing the top of your head ever so gently

And by God, nobody was allowed to do that to you except for

“Y//N, I came as soon as class is over, are you feeling ok?”

You looked up and there he was, looking at you with concern and yet with the softest face

And it felt so sincere that you broke down completely in front of him

He just held you as you cried into his shirt, blabbering nonsense and being a snotty mess

When you were much better, you told him what happened

And then he had a look in his eyes

He kissed your forehead and just left 

You’re confused because Mingyu?? what are you doing m8???

You didn't heard from him until later in the afternoon

He got suspended

For punching your s/o smack in the face

You didn’t know what to do. Should you thank him??? be concerned???

Since when did he become so violent?

lmao he learned from you

But later in the evening, you came to his house, a bag of gummy bears in one hand and your favorite movies in the other

Neither of you said anything at first. You didn't need to.

You both just climbed up his bed and started eating and watching the movies

Halfway through the movie, you glanced up at him

“Thank you”

He didn't take his eyes off the screen “He deserved it. Should’ve know what was coming for him.”

You’re not satisfied so you sat up and took his face in your hands and his eyes finally finally met yours

And oh how lovely you looked in you sweatpants and oversized t-shirt, and yeah looking up kinda hurts his eyes because of the light but it’s casting a soft halo around you and when he met your gaze, it’s fierce and determined

Your eyes are still a bit red and puffy from all the crying earlier but to him, at this very moment, you're perfect.

You said “I’m sorry for not listening to you. I’m sorry for being such a jerk. I’m sorry for saying those hurtful things to you-”

But he cuts you off, his lips ascending onto yours into slow searing kiss

You lost your train of thoughts and while you thought that he’s the one with the heightened senses here, at that very moment it’s as if you had it too

Everything felt so warm and you don’t even know whether it’s from the close proximity, your body heat or the room. Your heart went overdrive and you're scared that he might hear it He totally could

But most of all, it felt right

You know maybe you should’ve been aghast or the very least, disgusted, that you’re actually kissing your own best friend but it doesn’t feel like that with Mingyu

You can feel all his emotions in that one kiss and nothing ever felt so sincere and so warm

You didn't know but at that very moment, Mingyu was experiencing the exact things, although everything is thrice more intense

After what felt like an eternity, he finally pulled away and there you are, gazing into each others eyes, breathing fast, cheeks flushed

“I’m sorry I did that.. and no! before you kill me, you’re just the most beautiful person I’ve ever met and you deserve someone who can see that and appreciate you and take care of you with all his hea-” he said before you pulled him up for another kiss

“I love you, too, you giant idiot.”

And at that very moment, you realize that after all, you might been in love with him

You remembered the kid with the weird haircut and snotty nose who caught you farting back in kindergarten and thought: “Who would’ve thought?