#like the show will try to push that both rebels and royals have a point (case in point the whole ‘roybel’ thing) but it doesn’t work

[rotomartsblog]

The reason EAH is a children’s franchise is because only a child who Doesn’t Understand Things could possibly consider Royal being the right stance

[elionwriter]

Metaphor: ReFantazio thoughts on tropes and characters and how they stand up vs the Persona games

I know, nobody asked for my take, and I haven't actually written a take on just about anything for the past year or so as I find myself in the middle of my greatest block ever. But who knows, maybe giving my two cents will help me get out of it.

I just recently finished the game on ps4 and I actually started a new playthrough on game+ mode, and I must say it really is great! Similar enough to the other Persona games to find my footing but novel enough to be excited and curious about it. The art in particular, I found captivating and I loved how the prologue cutscene already gave me the gist of the story. It's a rush to the throne in a very unstable country. I love when stories are clear from the get go on their intent, because that means you can then toss as many twists and turns to the plot as you wish, like this game does, without risking of losing the point. And a point is very, very clearly made across the game. If it wasn't clear enough from the title alone, this story is a metaphor to our world's political and emotional state. Actually, I feel like the main theme of this game and the one of P5/P5R are analogue and complementary. Even through some corney dialogue and unlikely scenarios, I feel both games tell us something very important: even in a moment where disillusionment and nihilism are peaking and the political class seems to be greedy, self indulgent and corrupt more than ever, we all have the choice and the duty to take arm against it and pull the reigns to our own individual paths and say no to it. Because even if you are the lowest outcast out there, you can still make a difference for yourself and those around you, however tiny, and that may inspire others and ripple out in unexpected ways. P5 tells us to rebel against the powers that be, and ReFantazio pushes us to not let the fear and anxiety of the unstable world around stop us from trying. I think that is very important to hear, no matter how simple and seemingly obvious it might seem. Videogames, more than any other medium, have the power to make us feel more the impact of the story through our choices and their outcome since we as players are literally at the steering wheel and into the protagonist's shoes.

In less philosophical terms, one of my favourite things about the game is that our silent protagonist FINALLY isn't so silent anymore. God, I'm so glad 'Will' actually has voice lines. One of the things I like less (which becomes more obvious mid/late game) is how certain activities are purely locked to the gauntlet runner and to certain moments on the gauntlet runner. So, say I maxed out all my royal attributes and none of my friends is up for chats, I can't go to the gauntlet runner to do laundry, clean up, plant, cook or the likes because it's not running, so I practically have nothing to do. And that's without bringing into the mix fishing and bathing in the hot tub, which become increasingly hard activities to do. Also, if there is a way to change Archetype mid-battle, I have not discovered it yet, which is not ideal. And if I can have one more complaint, but this is more towards all Atlus games and maybe RPGs in general, the end battles become, from a story perspective, a bit of a mood killer, to me. Like, I can only take you, big bad villain, seriously up till the 2nd time you tell me that you have more power to show me. WHY DIDN'T YOU BRING YOUR A GAME IN THE FIRST 3 ROUNDS OF COMBAT, EVEN AFTER YOU SAID YOU WOULD NOT HOLD BACK ANYMORE?! I feel like this breaks the tension for me instead of heightening it and I feel like the message of the story starts getting shoved down my throat. We get it Louis! You'll stop at nothing, ok man, you want to destroy the world. Sheesh.

Beyond that, it's great. Talking about final battles, the 'secret boss' and the revelation of who 'that' major character had been all along really caught me by surprise. Actually, all the characters are really good in this game, not just your teammates. One of my biggest qualms with P3R was that I really didn't care for most social links and that felt somewhat true for P4 and P5 too (I'm looking at you, Drunken journalist) but here, I can't say there is anyone I didn't care to know better. You really feel for characters like Brigitta or Alonzo and others like Maria really warm your heart, with Bardon you see the crash that's about to happen and Neuras, good ol' Neuras, is just a guaranteed good laugh, not to mention that you are very well rewarded for quickly deepening these bonds.

But protagonist aside (which I feel Joker still might take the cake for me, even though Will has come neck to neck) this may be my favourite party yet. Up till now, P4 held the golden medal in that regard, but Strohl and Hulkenberg have tipped the scale in Metaphor's favour. Gallica is a great companion (waaaay better than both Morgana and Teddie), Hulkenberg is hilarious (the fact she doesn't intend to be funny makes it even better), Heismay and Basilio make my heart bleed out, Junah is a kick-ass energy bomb and Eupha is the tender sweetheart that rounds everything out. And Strohl? He instantly became my favourite Atlus character. It's like he has all in one my favourite traits of P3's Akihiko, P5's Ryuji and especially all the best ones of P4's Yosuke without their short comings. He's smart, empathic, determined, brave, loyal, noble-spirited and outspoken without coming off as 'too perfect to be relatable'. He really steals the spotlight for me. Also, much like Yosuke/Yu and Joker/Ryuji, Will/Stroll have a great chemistry and balanced energy. You can definitely see why these characters immediately bond and befriend each other with such fierceness.

I'm actually really glad that unlike the Persona games, Metaphor steered away from romance and actually feel like that touch they added towards the end with Eupha really was shoe-horned in and would have been better cut off entirely. And that has nothing to do with Eupha herself, since, like I said, I really like her as a character.

As for Will himself, I like how sweet and cute he is and how fundamentally different his 'silent personality' is compared to the other protagonists. Like, Joker is the menace who's silent only to drop bombs and one-liners at the best (worst!) moments and burn you down with a death glare. Yu is silent because he is just such a chill and unflinching guy. Makoto is silent because, well.....he's a dead man walking. But Will? It almost breaks my heart how Will learned to use silence and his small stature to basically turn himself invisible since he lives in a world ready to hate, hurt and berate him simply for being an Elda and so disappearing and not causing problems becomes his best shot at survival. And then, later on, this trait becomes a metaphor itself for the kind of King he is: someone who is more prone to listen to the needs of his people than a figure of grand speeches and ego like Forden, Louise and most of the other candidates. Also, I love that he is 'Fantasy personified', a walking dream made of magic, and that as he becomes his own person he goes from Reader to Writer, from creation to creator of other, new fantasies and to new, evolving utopias. Also, it's of little consequence, but there is just so much personality packed into his little running animation as he goes ahead beckoning his friends to follow, and I like it very, very much.

One last thing I'll say, but just because I haven't seen anyone mention it yet, is that I found a LOT of comparisons between this game and another, even more than the other Persona games. That's Final Fantasy X. Think about it: The protagonist who's a walking dream; an ancient civilization run by machinery that disappeared almost overnight; Eupha like Yuna being a 'Summoner', a holy figure and an anchor point for her people who's willing to sacrifice herself for their sake but then learns that her world view was wrong and she can better serve everyone by living on; Sanctism and the Faith of Yevon committing horrible acts by discriminating entire groups of people, covering up their deeply corrupted core, brainwashing people into blind submission and Covering up major historic events; a mixed party that brings together all the different races and religions of the world (almost in ffx's case); heck I would say that even Seymour and Louis share a lot of similarities especially in their background; and obviously the flying battleship that takes you anywhere you need to go and up to the final battle. In both stories, the final battle isn't the end but just the beginning of a long and hard road to recovery and reconstruction. I can't be the only one to see that, right?

Anyway, this post has gone on long enough. I doubt that anyone has followed me up to this point, but if you have, thank you so much for reading and let me know in the comments what you think.

[irishanimefan]

One Piece Anime Watchalong: Alabasta Saga 5/5

Alabasta (Eps 92-130):

Started: 14/8/23 Finished: 30/8/23

Here we are at the final arc of this saga. It only makes sense that we end it in the Alabasta kingdom. Here we see the Straw Hats return Vivi to her home kingdom and try and reclaim it before Crocodile's plan of inciting a civil war can come to fruition. But, as always, it isn't that simple, as a number of surprises come their way, such as the Baroque Works trying to stop them, Captain Smoker and his crew showing up to finish what they started, and the introduction of Luffy's brother Portgas D. Ace! Strap in, there is a lot to talk about with this arc.

First point I want to bring up is the country of Alabasta itself. We spend a lot of this arc learning about its history, its politics (and who says shounen anime isn't political?), and how the drought has impacted its society. Vivi's father, King Cobra Nefertari, does what he can to mitigate the issues surrounding the decline of the country, but it comes to a point where the people begin to lose faith in his leadership. Because of the drought, what used to be bright beacons in the country, from the Ermalu, the city of Green, to the upstart oasis Yuba, have all dried up and withered away. It provides such a stark contrast from the lively (but still disparaging) cities of Nanohana and Katorea where we started. The shock of seeing these once prosperous locations in the country in ruins was pretty powerful, despite us not having seen what they were like before. Other series can be hindered by the characters telling the audience about something without actually showing it, but OP being a series that wears its heart firmly on its sleeve and has such intense emotions at all times, it can get away with it. Though, for as good as that stuff was, spending that much time trekking across the desert with very little story progression was getting tiring. Okay, that's a bit unfair towards it. The story is progressing in this part, but the pacing was almost glacial. The stuff in the beginning where we meet Ace (more on him later) was great, and everything after the desert was also great, but after a while I was getting pretty sick of the desert. As a result, it was so satisfying seeing Luffy just outright state that Vivi's plan of just wandering aimlessly across the desert in the hopes of encountering the rebel army was not the way forward, and convincing her to change course by going to Crocodile himself.

Speaking of Vivi, as much as we want to see Luffy beat the ever-loving crap out of Crocodile, this really is Vivi's story at the end of it. Even though she wasn't the central focus of the previous arcs, and we only got a glimpse of what she was capable of in Drum Island, she really gets to shine here. Going into the final stretch of this story, a lot of pressure was riding on Vivi, not only is she tasked with saving Alabasta, but the reputation of her father as a leader is on the line if the kingdom falls. Seeing the gradual change over the course of this arc to become someone who is worthy enough to lead Alabasta was so satisfying. She obviously couldn't do all this without the help of the Straw Hats, who give her the push to take things into her own hands again while also reminding her to not be afraid to rely on the help of others. We also get to see a glimpse of her past and the friendship she formed with Koza, a young boy who is very outspoken and critical of Cobra's neglect of the people. At first they don't along, probably due to the class divide, but over time they begin to build a mutual respect for each other, with Koza even saving her from a group of bandits. However, now their relationship is mired by the fact he is the leader of the rebel army. I think the real sign of growth I saw throughout the arc was her ability to take the initiative. One example I was impressed with was when she reaches the royal palace in Alubarna, already in the midst of a war between both royal and rebel armies, and she gives the order to blow up the palace. It isn't a decision to make lightly, because the palace had over 4,000 years of history and is a symbol of power in the kingdom, but Vivi finds it necessary to destroy it because what matters to her is getting the truth out there. Of course, these attempts are all intercepted by Crocodile, which is always soul-shattering when it happens because we've invested so much emotional energy into seeing her save her country. Then there is her decision at the end of the arc, whether she wants to stay in Alabasta or to continue to journey across the Grand Line with the Straw Hats. She decides that she cares too much about her country to go with the Straw Hats, and since she is still a princess, at the end of the day, her connection with them would only label her as a criminal. Despite this, she still wants them to acknowledge her as a friend, and they respond to that by showing their back to her and raise their fists to show the X mark on their left forearm, to let her know that it is a symbol of their friendship. With "We Are" playing on top of that, it's a very magical moment.

Speaking of Crocodile, after being built up throughout the saga as someone not to be reckoned with, he does live up to those expectations. He is such a devious bastard, using his status as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, pirates who are affiliated with the government, to manipulate the people of Alabasta and to pull the strings from the back. He just knows how to push each character's buttons, and he just relishes in every moment of their agony. Does he have his stereotypical villain moments -- monologuing his plans, maniacal laugh, and just being plain evil? Yes, but he doesn't need to have these complex motivations to work. He's a pirate with substantially more backing from the government to do whatever the hell he wants, and what he wants is to destroy and entire country. That in and of itself is a terrifying thought. And that's what makes Luffy beating him so satisfying. Admittedly, their first battle was heavily skewered in Crocodile's favour, with him actually stabbing Luffy and burying him in the sand. However, through that defeat, that's when Luffy found out how to actually get a hit on him, since he can turn his body into sand, making his body solid by dousing him with a liquid, in this instance water, is the only way to beat him. Yay, go science! Despite this revelation, Luffy still hasn't managed to weaken Crocodile, only getting him closer to destroying the country. By the time their third and final battle commences, Luffy had covered his hands and feet in his own blood so he can get a hit on Crocodile. That is one of the rawest things I've seen in anime, let alone in One Piece. Even when Luffy is exhausted, has lost a considerable amount of blood, and was poisoned by Crocodile's hook, he never gave up for as long as Vivi gave up on getting her country back. Luffy's attacks go from strength to strength until we arrive at the finishing blow, sending Crocodile flying into the air, defeating him, and finally putting an end to this war. All of which is set to Antonin Dvorak's New World Symphony. The way I was cheering and jumping out of my seat when I heard those first notes of the 1st movement as Luffy was laying the first of his many punches in his Gum-Gum Storm finisher. I fucking love One Piece.

We have some new members of the Baroque Works that the Straw Hats need to fight to protect Vivi, so let's go over those characters in the order of the battles. First off is Usopp and Chopper's fight against Mr. 4 (along with his gun-dog Lassoo) and Miss Merry Christmas, who is a mole-woman. What all of these fights have in common is that it shows the Straw Hats at disadvantage for the majority of it and they have to work out how they will beat them by knowing where each of their weak points are. The first fight is unique because it's the only one where two Straw Hat members are teamed up to fight the Baroque Works. While Usopp and Chopper's fight is pretty fun, with Usopp most of the time either running away or goofing about, the crux of the fight was when they were told that Luffy was dead, and were making fun of how "weak" he was. However, Usopp, right after getting his face broken by Mr. 4's hammer, is still raring to fight them because they insulted Luffy's dream. This was the stand out moment in this fight because we've seen time and time again how Luffy defends his friends and to uphold their dreams in the face of adversity, and in this moment, Usopp is paying it forward.

Next up is the fight between Sanji and Mr. 2 Bon Clay. Before we get to the fight, I've just got to say that I thought Sanji was so cool in this arc. Since he's the only Straw Hat member who isn't on the Baroque Work's radar, he can discreetly make his way past detection. However, as seen during this Out of all the Baroque Works agents, Bon Clay is definitely my favourite. His design is camp-tastic drag excellence and classic OP levels of goofiness that is hard to resist. Unlike all the other agents, he works alone, and in one line he describes himself as embodying both man and woman in his duties. I really want to know why that was the case but it was never explored. He also grows a fondness for the Straw Hats, having befriended them before knowing they we enemies, and even after he had done was he was told for Baroque Works, he continues to view the Straw Hats in high regard, and even helps them escape from the clutches of the Navy at the end. The fight itself was pretty unique, since it was all legwork -- literally! With Sanji being a cook who prioritises his hands and Bon Clay being a ballet dancer, this was a pretty evenly matched fight. I don't exactly know how Sanji's final kick could have Bon Clay's body spin around like that, but, hey, it's One Piece. Also, props to animation director Kenji Yokoyama for making it look so kinetic and stylish, almost like it was a dance performance, which is appropriate.

Then we have Nami going up against Miss Doublefinger, who ate the Spike-Spike fruit that turns any part of her body into spikes. Before the fight starts, it is prefaced by a one-to-one conversation between Nami and Usopp about how comparatively weaker they are in combat than the rest of the crew. Normally this wouldn't be an issue, be since this mission is so important to Vivi, and since Nami has been shown throughout the saga to be a shoulder for her to cry on, Nami feels the need to show that she's more than just a pretty faced navigator. I love how she has this conversation with Usopp, who is probably the only other person in the Straw Hats who can understand where she's coming from. While it is very entertaining to see the rest of the crew perform these impossibly strong and grand acts of heroism (well, as heroic as a pirate can be) Nami and Usopp are my favourite Straw Hats because of the fact that they cannot attain that power for themselves. But, I digress. Anyway, Nami requests Usopp to make her a pole that can be used efficiently as a weapon, so he hastily makes her the Clima Takt, a pole that derives its power from the forces of nature. However, she's learning how to use it whilst she fights off against Miss Doublefinger, and she quickly finds out that the pole is mostly used for entertainment purposes. As amusing as this was to watch, these revelations doesn't help Nami in terms of surviving. She sustains a lot of injuries during it but, after frantically reading through Usopp's incomplete instructions, she finds herself getting to grips with how to use the Clima Takt, using the fact that it shoots out hot, cool, and electric bubbles to eventually make a thunder cloud. There is, however, one special move that the Clima Takt possesses, the Tornado Tempo. The only caveat is that it can only be used once, so if you miss, you won't be able to use it again. A lot is riding on this attack working, so Nami aims a close range at Doublefinger, even using her already injured leg to pierce through the spikes so there is better control (Nami's line of "this pain is nothing compared to what Vivi is going through" was so badass), she fires and... it appears to be another spring toy, all the hopes of winning draining from Nami's soul, until the springs wrap around Doublefinger and sends her flying through multiple buildings, knocking her out cold. Incredible stuff.

Lastly, we have Zoro's fight against Mr. 1, who ate the Steel-Steel fruit that turned his entire body into steel. Yeah this fight was pretty awesome. Not just because of the fact that Zoro is an undeniable powerhouse of a swordsman, but also that we got to see him gain a deeper understanding of his craft. The biggest obstacle that Zoro has to overcome was him figuring out what the riddle his teacher taught him when he was training. When asked about whether it was possible to cut through steel, his teacher responds with, "There are swordsmen out there who are capable of cutting nothing." For the longest time, Zoro has wondered what he meant by that. However, just when Zoro is at his lowest moment and we think that Mr. 1 had gotten the better of him, he finally understands what his teacher meant by those words. I love how its presented almost like a meditation session, where Zoro can actually sense the individual rhythms of his surroundings, like time virtually stops when he's in zen mode. And that is when he is able to slain Mr. 1, with only one fricking sword, no less! And with slaying Mr. 1, later revealed to by Daz Bonez, Zoro now has his first bounty, a price of 60 million berries. It's ironic how the bounty hunter became the bounty hunted... That was terrible, I'm sorry!

Other thoughts I have: We are introduced to Portgas D. Ace, who is revealed to be Luffy's older brother. He didn't stick around for too long, as he heads off before the crew reaches Yuba, but I doubt this will be the last we'll see of him. There were a few episodes that perhaps didn't progress the plot that much, but it gave more opportunity to learn about Alabasta and focuses on some of the characters that live on the outskirts of the desert. These were pretty fun episodes and served to expand upon the country and make it a more well realised place. My favourite moment from these episodes, however, doesn't really involve that, but instead are little character moments for the Straw Hats, specifically the one-to-one chat that Zoro and Chopper have about their feelings towards Luffy. Even though they think that Luffy is far from being a typical pirate captain, they still view him in high regard. The scene where Chopper and Tashigi accidentally bump into each other was diabete-inducing -- I cannot handle their combined cuteness! Konosuke Uta, the GOAT himself, directed episode 107 (the episode which sets Operation Utopia into action) and it was such a visual treat. Oh yeah, Smoker and Tashigi are there too. To be honest, they didn't contribute a whole lot to the arc up until the very end, but their continuously developing relationship with the Straw Hats was extremely fascinating. Luffy ordering Zoro to save Smoker from drowning after escaping Rainbase, even though he's technically an enemy, was a really nice moment, and the fact that he let Luffy off the hook was the cherry on top. And that blush action! Who knew Smoker was such a tsundere -- I love it! I also really liked Tashigi wrestling with her sense of justice; does she try and capture the Straw Hats or do they aid them in preventing a national catastrophe? It was really compelling and Smoker being frustrated about receiving a medal and higher rank for something that he didn't do, and telling the big guns at the top to "go to hell" was the cherry on top. Finally, Pell's sacrifice as he was carrying the cannonball up towards the sky to save the country was such a gut-punch to the feels. We didn't even know that much about him, and yet his noble efforts to serve and protect what he loves is so beautiful.

So, overall, this was a fantastic arc, if you couldn't tell by how much I've been gushing about it. Great moments throughout, lots of emotion, it has probably the best fight in the series so far, and every Straw Hat member had something to do. I can see why some people consider this the best arc in this saga. However, if I'm being completely honest, it's not my favourite arc. It's clear that it is going for this grand, epic Lawrence of Arabia styled adventure story, and it does succeed at executing that, for the most part. However, I think that first third when they were traversing the desert meandered a lot and, even though it was setting up that is vital to the later parts of the story, the road getting to that stage was kind of tedious. And just in terms of personal preferences, I think the (slightly) smaller scale stories like Drum Island have always resonated with me more, so while Drum Island doesn't necessarily reach Alabasta's highs that arc remained consistent throughout and just provided better emotional payoffs in the long run. For a first attempt at crafting a large scale story arc like this, it was a valiant effort, but it's clear that its being held back by a lack of refining and smoothing out some of the rougher patches. Hopefully, some of those issues can be ironed out the further we get into the series.

Anyway, here's my ranking for each arc in this saga: Drum Island Alabasta Little Garden Reverse Mountain Whiskey Peak

And there you have. We have finished all of the Alabasta saga! I finished it at the perfect time too because, at the time of writing this post, Netflix's live action One Piece series will be released tomorrow. I don't know about you, but I am so unbelievably excited for this to drop. Judging it from the trailers and promo videos, you can tell that everybody behind it has so much love for the series. There could still be a chance that it may suck, but I will be absolutely devastated if it did. Either way, I will be making a video on it. After that, well, I'll continue to slowly work away at other projects that aren't One Piece related (I mean as fun as it is talking about OP I do have other interests outside of it). I'll see you next time, as we gain a new member of the Straw Hat, and we venture forward to our next saga, Sky Island. See you soon!

[crellanstein]

Prodigious

I find it odd how the fandom focuses so much on Aang’s childhood being ruined when he learned he was the Avatar at 12, but there’s very little talk about how discovering she was the Avatar as a toddler affected Korra’s life and how she was raised.

But we’ll circle back to that...

Because this is a good starting point to talk about one of the most prevalent themes in the story, which the mainstream discussion of tends to only focus on a few characters -- That is the Child Prodigy. 

We’ll start with the two most obvious. The ones we always talk about.

Azula.

The clearest example of your typical child prodigy (if there is anything typical about a prodigy). Azula showed early mastery of very advanced Fire-Bending techniques, and is the only Fire-Bender to use blue flames, which was intended to make her stand out amongst the other villains but is also indicative that her Fire-Bending is more pure and powerful (blue flame is produced when burning pure O2 or fuel without contaminant at a very high temperature). 

All this lead to her being praised and favored by Ozai as a child, but as double-edged swords go, this also meant she had a lot of pressure on her shoulders to never fail, and she rarely did. Her ego matched her talent, and let’s be honest she was the baddest bitch the show had ever seen. Conquering Ba Sing Se, defeating the Avatar in combat, and dropping some of the most devastating lines of dialogue in villain history; she was a force nobody wanted to reckon with. 

And that become a problem for one asshole in particular...

Being jealous of his own child is just one item on a laundry list of reasons why this guy is the worst father in the history of fathers. Azula had begun to outshine him with her victories, and Ozai’s maniacal ego couldn’t handle that, so he left her behind to babysit the Fire Nation while he went out to burn/conquer the world, which also was her idea.

And while this wasn’t the only thing that aided in her demise, it certainly was the final straw which sent her spiraling down into this...

In the end Azula is a sad example of how certain unfair expectations are placed upon talented children, and the more they succeed, the more these expectations grow and weigh on the them until they either disappoint those looking down on them or surpass and embarrass their elders.

It is a lose-lose situation which inevitably destroys them.

There is a similar example of the child prodigy, but his story goes a little different.

Aang.

Even as a twelve/thirteen year-old boy Aang by far has the most impressive stats among any character in the Avatar universe.

Basically mastering 3 of the 4 Elements in less than a year, after mastering Air by the time he is twelve (not to mention inventing his own Air-bending move, the Air scooter). 

Aang is an example of a child prodigy who had too much thrust onto him at too young an age because of the talent he showed; because of this he panicked and ran away, and the world was worse off for it. 

Aang/Sokka/Katara’s story is all about how in times of War, responsibilities normally handled by adults are pushed onto kids who then have to grow up very fast in order to deal with it all.

The message is clear. War robs the young of their childhoods. 

Now, let’s talk about a different kind of child prodigy.

The Unacknowledged. 

Yes, of course I’m talking about Toph, the greatest Earth-Bender to ever live.

Because of her blindness, Toph’s family tried to keep her sheltered and safe by hiding her from the world. Refusing to believe she could ever be more than helpless. Anyone who has seen the show knows that is far from the truth.

But because her potential went unseen, there were some negative effects to her personality. Initially, she resented her parents, and rebelled; which established a certain level of independence, a bad attitude, and a hot-headed streak. Over time spent with the Gaang these behaviors subsided because she finally had friends and they accepted her for who she was. By the end of the series she was fully willing to accept aid from them when she needed it, like holding on to Sokka’s arm in environment where her bending couldn’t help her “see”. 

Toph’s story is a foil to Azula’s, both showed immense talent and badassery, but while recognition of Azula lead to ever-mounting pressure for her to succeed; the lack of recognition for Toph created a need for her to be acknowledged and set an undercurrent of frustration which leads to her acting out in the ways she does.

The lesson to take from Toph’s story is not to shelter your kid from the world out of fear for their safety, and to be open to recognizing their talents, not shun them.

Next are two more Unacknowledged.

Katara and Sokka.       

Their story, and the reason behind their circumstances, is one of the more complicated and nuanced ones in the series, so here we’ll focus on how it fits into the subject of discussion.

Because of the War, Katara was robbed not only of her mother but also of any Southern Masters to train her, and any role models Sokka could have looked up to left with his father to fight. Because of this Katara’s potential and Sokka’s genius went unacknowledged not due to neglect but rather due to circumstance. (Yes, I think Sokka is a genius, how many 15 yr olds do you know that can plan an invasion, design submarines, and spit poetry off the cuff?).

This is a further example of how War robs kids of necessary childhood experiences, and these two robberies had particular effects on both Katara and Sokka’s character developments.

Sokka had the responsibility of protecting his home put upon him at a young age. The men of his tribe leaving prevented him from completing his rite of manhood until the Gaang ran into Bato of the Water Tribe, and early on Sokka was constantly trying to prove himself as a man and a leader. Sokka is one of the smarter characters of the series, but he rarely got credit for it until the third season. Not to mention that because he wasn’t a bender he often seemed less useful than the others. The circumstances of war made his talent go unnoticed and because of that he often was unsure of himself and overcompensated to prove something.

Speaking of talent going unnoticed.

Katara is definitely one of the more talented benders of the series. After training herself for years with little progress, she essentially mastered Water-Bending in a few weeks under Master Pakku. While her anger towards the Fire-Nation mostly centers around the loss of her mother, it can’t be ignored that the delay in her training was a direct result of the Fire-Nations’ actions.  Toph’s anger and frustration vented itself as rebellion. However, the same frustration and anger is within Katara, but because she wasn’t as natural a bender as Toph she sought to learn and be respected, and when that was denied to her is when that anger bubbled to the surface in some terrifying ways. 

While Toph’s talent went unnoticed because of her families neglect, Katara and Sokka’s wasn’t acknowledged because there was nobody to acknowledge it. Because of that both brother and sister wanted to prove themselves to the world.

And then there is Zuko.

I know what you’re thinking. Zuko wasn’t a prodigy, his Fire-Bending skill didn’t catch up with Azula’s until the finale and he never mastered Lightning-Bending, but this section is about the Unacknowledged.

Zuko had many other talents besides Fire-Bending, he was a master swordsmen, and was able to successfully break into every secure facility he attempted in the show (which was almost every secure facility the show featured).  Unfortunately, these talents were never recognized, because the only thing the royal family cared about was bending ability (It’s possible the reason he learned the sword was because he lacked skill in Fire-Bending). 

As per usual with Zuko, this part of his tale is quite sad. Many can relate to being outshined by a sibling, and when it becomes all too clear that one cannot match another’s talent it’s quite understandable to focus on what they do excel at, but even then there is no promise of recognition for their own talent. Zuko was even mocked by his father during the solar eclipse when Ozai tried baiting him into attacking with his swords. 

This lack of recognition is one of many sad aspects of Zuko’s early life, but it is a definitive example of one of the hardest unacknowledged prodigy’s cross to bear. The Outshone prodigy, one whose talents are never noticed because a bigger and brighter star stands in the way of such recognition, and arguably the most frustrating type mentioned here. Toph/Sokka/Katara all came from situations were there was no recognition being given to them or anyone, but Zuko had to bear watching massive amounts of praise be piled on to his sister while he and his accomplishments went by the way side.

Ozai summed up the situation best.

“Azula was born lucky, Zuko was lucky to be born”

Alright now where have I been going with all this?

So, far we’ve covered a lot of wrong ways to treat a child, whether they show talent or not, and how the circumstances of war can also take many things from children.

But what happened to Korra?

(Before we get into to this I should state that I like Korra, and the purpose of this is not to bash her as a character or her arc, but rather to give a little of my insight into it.)

It’s well established that Aang was told of his heritage too young, and that was a detriment on his development into an adult, but what would have happened if he realized his powers himself not long after he could walk? We’ll never know, but we do get to see the effects it had on Korra. 

When she revealed herself as the Avatar, Korra set her entire life in a new direction, and because Aang tasked the White Lotus with finding and training her that direction was out of her control. There are two key differences between Korras’ and other Avatars’ lives.

1. She grew up in isolation on a White Lotus compound.

Every Avatar before Korra we know of spent a portion of their early lives traveling the world in order to master the elements; along this journey they not only learned how to bend the other 3 elements, buy also many things about the 3 other nations and the world they are tasked to protect as a whole. By confining Korra in safety and bringing the masters to her the White Lotus deprived Korra of this opportunity to learn and grow and understand the world and the people within in. It also deprived her of learning modern bending styles until she reached Republic City.

While this might have kept Korra safe from the Red Lotus, it grew within her a naiveté about how the world worked, and because of this when she actually did venture out into the world she was terribly unprepared for it.

2.  She was trained and mastered 3 of the elements by the time she was 16.

Most Avatars don’t know they have this power until they reach 16 and then they spend several years learning to control it. Korra’s natural talent in the bending lead to her training being expedited not by necessity like Aang’s, but due to her talent and eagerness. Korra excelled at the physical part of being the Avatar and because of this by the time she reached maturity she had become over-confident in her abilities and true to what her Fire-Bending master said in Ep.1 she lacked restraint.

I’m not saying her bending isn’t great, but rather because it is so great it’s her go-to solution to anything, and she enjoys that so she uses it with enthusiastic gusto and not a lot of thinking before striking.

This overconfidence coupled with her naiveté of the world is what lead to many of her rash decisions and actions, most of which had negative consequences, and I believe are the reason behind some fan are dissatisfied with her. Aang had been almost the complete opposite, even by the age of twelve he was an experienced world traveler and an incredibly humble guy. 

Some may have been dissatisfied by these character decisions, but they served a purpose, they are only the beginning of her arc. The internal challenge Korra must overcome through 4 seasons is to humble herself before the world, and learn from it. This was finally achieved in the 4th season when the metal poisoning in her body forces her to face others in the world as equals, only then had she completed her journey.

And why did it all go this way?

Because she is a very unique child prodigy, what she demonstrates in the first episode of LOK would be akin to a toddler playing the violin or hitting a three-pointer; she could bend 3 elements close to just after learning to walk. That is the kind of prodigious talent rarely seen because it is mostly impossible. How does a rational person handle a child like that? 

It’s a tough question, and something this essay has been circling around the whole time. Each example here is the wrong way to handle talented and different children, but what is the right way?

As always look to Iroh.

Who treated his surrogate son Zuko with both respect and compassion. 

Unlike Toph’s parents, Iroh worried over Zuko’s well being, but also allowed him to be independent, make his own decisions, and take his own risks.

Unlike the Nomad Leaders, he didn’t want Zuko weighed down by his position in the world and the responsibility that came with, and always encouraged him relax and take advantage of the moment.

Unlike Ozai, Iroh would always be there to support Zuko in his victories and his failures. Iroh shows him the right path but does not force him down it.

And even after Zuko betrayed and abandoned him.

Iroh was never angry with him, and embraced him upon his return.

He wanted Zuko to grow and be a better man. Even if Zuko wasn’t a prodigy like his sister. 

And that is the answer here. The way to raise a prodigy is the same way anyone should raise any child. Love, Support, a Guiding Hand rather than a Forceful Shove, Recognition of What Makes Them Unique, and Forgiveness When They Falter. The problem comes along when you start treating children differently because you see them as different or special. All children are different, all children are special.

Kids are kids, and they all deserve a proper childhood.  

[junebuggeryy]

YOU ALSO FANTASIZE ABOUT GRABBING SOMEONE AND EXPLAINING THE POLITICS OF EAH TO THEM? dude. Kiss me?? I have ranted for ages abt how much of a waste of potential eah ended up being. Like every arc. Also yeah Apple should’ve been allowed to be gay and they should’ve also addressed how she’s highkey toxic. Like that’s such a cool part of a character that’s supposed to be pretty much the embodiment of purity and whatever- that she’s just such a pain for everyone to be around. And I would’ve loved to see that actually addressed. Along with internalized homophobia arc. I love eah and I would recommend it to no one it sucks . <3

Hi This Is The Blog Now. It's Ever After High Discussion: The Blog Now. If You Followed Me For Art Fuck You

i think the core of EAH's mishandling of it's own themes comes from how attached it is to treating the #Royal and #Rebels like two equally valid viewpoints. like, you got the whole saucy "are you a royal or a rebel~? :3" song dance while presenting two lineups of dolls, one goth/alt and one pastel. it looks Great on posters, it sorts the designs into digestible, aesthetic categories- it's marketing. it's fantastic marketing

however, within the context of the story, the longer the writers develop the two ideologies, the more it becomes clear these aren’t equally valid viewpoints. you've got this whole fascinating dystopia set up, written with the self awareness that it needs to be dismantled. but then, the narrative stops pushing the royal/rebel debate right around the 2nd season mark, at the point where it runs out of ways to paint both sides as reasonable- because, again, that would ruin the nice poster and aesthetic

apple is Highkey Awful, but i kinda find her fascinating for how earnestly she is depicted? i feel like, in your typical highschool drama show, your blonde girl who thinks Rich People Deserve It :) and gets upset when her friends rock the boat wouldn't be portrayed with nearly the same amount of humanity, and capacity for friendship. that archetype usually remains a paper-thin strawman that literally no one can identify with. but, people can identify with apple. i fully believe the writers accidentally stumbled into writing a person with eerily similar real-world internal justifications for their shitty worldview, in just trying to paint both "sides" of their story as reasonable.

and then she was gay for five seconds and they shoved her off stage left, where she got barely any scenes until disney cannibalized the show ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ it would have been wonderful to watch her grow. i fully believe the writers had plans for it but were stonewalled, the whole show is characterized by this burgeoning tension between change and sterile marketability

ah well. fanfic is the true fairy tale.

[levisgirll]

hi mina! i'm back again to make a request for you because you write so wonderfully i can't-! it's okay if you don't want to write it tho :D

may i ask for some prince jean headcanons/scenario? maybe something like the reader is his maid or modist, and he's kinda in love :D (this is just an idea, feel free to modify, i trust in your magical writing skills!)

sorry for this messy request and thanks! take breaks and care sweetie <3

𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐮𝐭𝐲 (𝐉𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐊𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐧 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐔)

text: omg HII ANTI <3 I’m glad ur back with another request and I would happily write this for you cutie c; thank you for also finding my work nice ahh this really makes me happy that someone out there likes my writing and ideas djkjsk 🥺❤️❤️ okay but this is such a cute idea- its my first time writing a royal au so i hope it turned out okay and u liked it :,) make sure to also take care of yourself too bae 😌✨ okay I decided to make the reader a strong willed bodyguard instead of a maid cause I had some ideas for that instead so I hope that's alright 😭

synopsis: y/n has started to work for the kirstein royal family and due to their many great skills, abilities, attention to detail, and great self defense training, y/n was hired and trusted to be prince jean’s personal bodyguard! They have always admired prince jean and how handsome he is, later did they know not only y/n is developing feelings for jean but so does he, and he falls in love with y/n instantly! Although, something happens along the way....

fluff, lil bit mention of blood/knife, royal au ♡ —

Erwin has hired you to join the Kirstein royal family army, after two years training to be a solider to defend the country against the Jaegerists which were a rebel faction that wanted Eren to be the next king instead and to create a ‘New Jaeger Empire’. Also, wanting to protect the prince, which was one of your goals. You really admired prince Jean of how affectionate, kind, honest, and straightforward he is, you wanted to stay and be loyal to him.

Everything changes though when you graduated from the military training with your friends Connie and Sasha. Erwin had suddenly made you prince Jean’s personal bodyguard. “With your great skills y/n, and how loyal and strong you are, I think you will be a perfect choice to have the role as his personal bodyguard!”

You stood there, shocked, and your eyes were wide open. “M-Me Commander?....Of course! I would be honored to!” You will finally see jean, and be by his side! The thought of that would make your cheeks go red...it’s cause you are loyal to him right?

Erwin escorted you and took you to Prince jean who you spotted was sitting on the dinner table hall. “Erwin...! Huh? Who’s that?” Jean was quick to notice your presence, and he was quite taken aback with your presence.

“Your new personal bodyguard Prince Jean. With how bad the situation is going, you never know who will come and attack you. So, Y/N here is going to be by your side and make sure they protect you. If you also ever need anything, you can ask Y/N.” Erwin patted on your back and you went forward and saluted to Jean. “A-At your service Prince Jean!”

“O-Oh...alright then, whatever.” He got up and walked past you both, leaving the dinning hall, you could have sworn you saw his cheeks went a bit red. “He is usually like this at the beginning, but he seems to like you!”

As the days passed, you and Prince Jean actually got along pretty well which made your bond stronger. He seemed to be the kind of person who wouldn't care from the outside, but you realized he cared about everyone and when it came to you...he would always ask if you are doing well. Things seemed to be fine at the moment, for now.

“Young master! You have a meeting with the chairman at Trost District soon.” You said as you were next to Jean, catching up with his pace. “Okay, let's get going then!” He gave you a grin which made you blush, as the both of you approached the carriage, he went ahead and opened the door for you! “Well, are you getting in or not?” You felt all eyes on you, and heard some gasps. ‘It should be the other way around!’ you thought as you got inside while feeling so embarrassed.

You were both alone sitting down in the carriage and you could feel Jean’s eyes all over you, “Young mas-” you were stunned when he held your hands and you looked at his eyes that was searching your gaze. “Don't call me that when we are alone....Didn’t I tell you that?” You couldn't hold it, you were a blushing mess now!

“Okay...J-Jean, why did you do that? People will get the wrong idea..” Lately, Jean has been very affectionate towards you, although you had to admit you had a crush on him, but you could never say that to him.

“So? Y/N...I don't care what others think about us, I care about what you think instead.” He started to caress your hands while still looking at your eyes, “M-Me?” He nodded, waiting for your answer but you pushed away gently and looked away. “Well, it’s my duty...to protect you and serve you.” You tried to change the subject while still looking outside the window, but....you noticed something off? Where is this carriage heading too?

“No! Y/N that’s not it...I meant I...” He came closer to you, too close to your face while he was blushing madly, you touched his chest to try and push him back a bit, and you felt his heart beat like crazy. Is he...nervous?

“Jean. Not now I-” As you tried to finish what you were trying to say, the carriage stopped suddenly which made you and Jean fall. “What the hell?” He yelled out and looked at you immediately, full of concern. “Are you okay?”

“Young master stay inside!” Before he could stop you, you open the carriage door and stepped out, while shutting it tight. You brought your sword out and examined the area and situation. ‘The carriage man is gone...we are in the woods...and I sense someone, but who?!’

“Come out, whoever you are...or perhaps you are a Jaegerist?” As soon as you said that, a sword was seen to be thrown out at you and you quickly stopped it by slashing it to hit on the other direction with your long strong sword.

“Hmph, you seem to be smart.” You head turned quick to the direction where you heard the voice. You saw a middle aged man with a tousled auburn hair “And? Who the fuck is asking?” You pointed your sword at him with a stoic expression, showing him no fear. “It’s Floch, and if you could do me a favor how about you just leave and let me deal with the Prince okay?”

You let out a chuckle, then gave him a death glare. “Make me.”

“Fuck, you are stubborn, let me just finish you off!! Don't you get it? This crappy prince doesn't deserve to be the next king to rule us!! It should be Eren!” He yelled out and brought out a knife and charged at you, you put your sword away and decide to do hand-to-hand combat on him. You took your stance and when he was near you, Y/N pushed the knife down and then quickly did the grappling technique, which took him down completely.

“Young Master! Call the headquarters for backup, we were tricked and put in a trap!” You said as you were trying to hold on to Floch, not letting him escape. “O-On it!”

“It’s quiet....too quiet no way this guy came alon-” You looked up and you saw someone charging at you with their sword, she was fast and you quickly got up and brought your sword to stop her attack for defense.

‘F-Fuck...that was close.’ You backed away and looked at the carriage, ‘He needs to be safe...’  you wondered and started to worry.

“About fucking time Mikasa!” Floch shouted out as he rubbed his hands which you held on tightly earlier. “Wait...I know you! Ackerman right? It's a privilege to meet you.” Mikasa Ackerman, she was one of the Ackerman that stood behind and did not serve the Kirstein royal family, but instead stood by Eren’s side and believed in him.

“And your Y/N, the strong bodyguard. Please step aside.” She sounded very serious and looked strong. The rumors were true, she did neglect the royal family and went with the Jaegerists rebel group.

‘Ha...who would have known this mission would be a complete disaster!’ You thought and as you were preparing to attack, until Jean came out of the carriage with his sword and pointed at them. “Don't Hurt Y/N!!”

Your eyes widened as you turned your head to look at him. “Young Master! What the hell are you doing? Don’t come out and run away!”

“B-But...” Jean stuttered and looked at you, he did not want to leave you behind and run like a coward, leaving behind....the most important person to him that he cared about the most. “No! I promised to protect you, so ru-” Being distracted by Jean, everything now seem to have stopped for you and there was a pitch silence. You looked in front of you and felt what seemed like a dagger stabbed towards your side waist, blood was dripping and the one who stabbed you was Floch!

“Floch...! Why?! That was not part of the plan!” Mikasa yelled out, and what seemed to be shocked by his action. Everything was going too quickly for you, you placed your hand on his shoulder and shoved him away which made him fall back. You gripped your waist and yelled out, “I-If it’s meant to protect the Prince...Then come at me!”

You heard lot’s of horses approaching and you finally spotted Erwin’s squad who finally came for backup. You noticed Levi by Erwin’s side and as soon as he saw you bleeding, he got provoked and got off from his horse and charged at Mikasa. “An Ackerman with an Ackerman, Hm? Traitor, let me deal with you.”

You let out a sigh, now knowing the Prince is safe and Levi and Erwin’s squad was here to help you guys out. Jean ran towards you and held on to you as you fell down on your knees “Y-Y/N!!”

“Why....Why didn’t you run away?” You said softly and trying to stay conscious, Jean quickly placed his hand on your cheek while the other arm was used to hold your body, “Cause I care about you Damnit!”

You gave him a weak smile and held on his hand that was placed on your cheek, “Did I do...my best to serve you?” Was all you could say and you slowly passed out due to the blood loss you had and you heard Jean's voice drifted slowly.

After a couple of hours have passed, you woke up what seemed to be in a hospital, and you were wrapped around bandages. You moved a bit which made you wince at the pain from your side abdomen.

“Don’t move around! You are still injured and you haven’t healed yet.” A girl with long beautiful blonde hair said, full of concern in her tone as she came closer to you and checked up on you. Her large blue eyes were examining your injury to see if the wound was closed up. “A-And you are?”

“I’m Historia! A nurse who is looking after you. Doctor Hanji told me to stay by your side until you wake up.” She said with a big smile and she looked like an angel to you.

“W-Where is the Prince! Is he okay?!” You said all worried and started to panic. “Haha, Don't worry! He is fine, thanks to you protecting him! He told me to notify him when you wake up but I think you need to rest a bit longer.”

You let out a sigh, ‘At least he is fine...but I want to see him.’ You wondered and looked outside the window to let your thoughts run around your mind as you slowly closed your eyes to rest.

“Y/N...Hey Y/N wake up.” You felt a rub against your shoulders and you opened your eyes to see Prince Jean looking down at you with a relief escaping his mouth. “I’m glad you are looking fine, but are you doing okay?”

You slowly got up which Jean held on your arm for support, “Y-Yea, thanks for stopping by...Jean.” You were blushing at how he suddenly started to caress your arm, then up your shoulders. He went in closer and gave you a tight hug around your shoulders. “Damn it! I thought I was gonna lose you today, that’s it...I'm not backing away with this anymore.” He pulled back, and was looking at your face. “J-Jean...What do you mea-”

“Y/N, I love you. I loved you ever since I first saw you coming and you were always by my side, but in a way that made me feel calm, good and I felt your warmth all the time it would make me fall for you even more everyday...Being with you feels right to me!” He stopped talking and looked away, he was clearly embarrassed on what he just said, the prince was confessing to you and he was finally saying that he was falling in love with you!

You were shocked, was he actually saying this all? Was the Prince actually confessing to you? You couldn't help yourself but smile to what he said and you finally held his hands, “I...I feel the same way too!” You let out now a big smile and tears started to form on your eyes, you felt so happy and so did he.

He looked behind to make sure the door was closed and then looked back at you who was now approaching your face closely and he started to give you a passionate kiss, you held on his hands while he was holding your face, lifting it up and he kept on kissing you. The night had a nice cold breeze and the window was slightly open which made the wind come in and that made your hair flow slowly as you both continued to kiss slowly and gently.

Jean pulled back and you both were breathing heavily, by the looks of it, you could tell you were Jean’s first kiss. He wanted to kiss you again and again, “I’m now love sick cause of you.”

The night went out so peacefully and you both enjoyed each others company while holding hands and caressing each others cheeks when talking about various topics and he went on explaining how brave and strong you were today when you stood up and fought against Floch and Mikasa. He found your confidence very attractive. He felt like a lucky man to have you by his side and he promised you that after he becomes king he would make you his.

𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐬 : Usually in the evenings, he would sneak into your place because he begged that he wanted to see you and stay at your place for a couple of hours to cuddle and kiss you. It was his favorite place in the world cause it was just y/n and him, alone. “Okay Jean, you have to go now!” You said blushing at how clingy Jean was towards you, hugging your waist. “Please just another 5 minutes babe, besides come on it’s just you and me tonight.” Jean would say playfully while he would give you a soft kiss on your scar that was on your waist ♥

okay but this was a really fun royal au I wrote up and I'm kinda glad how the first time I'm writing it went well! thanks anti for the request again and I hope you liked it <3 and if anyone else did please then leave a like or a reblog! it would mean a lot c:

[omgrachwrites]

The Princess and The Duke - Chapter Twenty

Pairing: Sirius Black x Reader

Summary: As the Princess of Spain, you were always supposed to marry King James of England to make an alliance between Spain and England. When he marries a woman at his court for love, you are married off to his best friend, Sirius Black the Duke of Bedford to keep the alliance. However, the court is riddled with secrets and a rebel in the North starts to rise against the Throne. Royal AU.

Warnings: angst, mentions of death, character death, tiny bit of fluff.

Words: 2671

Disclaimer: This gif doesn’t belong to me, and I’m sorry for the gif I used!

A/N: So here we are at the end! Thank you so much for supporting me with this fic and I'm sorry for this chapter, I kept James and Lily alive to make this part even more sad! This was actually going to end in such an angst filled way but I didn’t want to do that to you guys, though I might write the alternate ending at some point! Hope you guys all enjoy and please let me know what you think! I love you all! xxx

Chapter Twenty - Wherever You Are

Dread coiled in your stomach that fateful morning as you got yourself dressed and pinned your hair. Reggie was sleeping soundly, letting out little snuffles but still, you picked him up and nuzzled your nose into his fine dark hair as you felt the tears build up behind your eyes. You weren’t aware that you could possibly cry as much as you had done, there were little red rashes beneath your eyes where the salt from your tears had irritated your skin. Your heart seemed to be in a constant state of pain as your husband awaited his trial.

This trial should not be even happening, you were appalled at how James had arrested Sirius for treason, “we’ll be alright, little one,” you whispered to your baby boy, “papa isn’t a traitor, he’s a good man,” you pressed a kiss to Reggie’s little forehead.

James was originally going to hold Sirius’ trial the day after Halloween, but Lily had convinced him otherwise, Lily knew that you wanted nothing more than to be at Sirius’ side. So, the King relented and allowed a few days for you to recover after giving birth to Reggie. Unfortunately, it meant that Sirius would have to spend more time locked in the tower but you knew that Sirius understood.

“Y/N?” a soft warm voice came from the doorway and you looked over with blurred vision to see Andromeda who was smiling at you kindly, “I think the King and Queen are ready to start, I’ll look after the children, because they shouldn’t have to be subjected to such an event.”

You nodded with a sniffle as you placed Reggie into her open, waiting arms, “thank you so much. Are you not coming to the trial?” you muttered, feeling like a shell of yourself.

Andromeda shook her head with a sad smile, “I can’t watch that happen to him, I can’t. He’s not just my cousin, he’s my best friend. I’m so sorry that I can’t be there for you both; I know that he’s not the traitor, he would never betray us. Never. I don’t know what James is thinking having him arrested.”

“You are so amazing, Andromeda, we are so blessed to have you in our lives and we appreciate you so much,” you tried to smile but you feared that it came out as more of a grimace.

Andromeda leaned forward to kiss your cheek with a sweet sad smile, “whatever happens today, it’s been an honour to serve two people who are completely made for each other, two people who are soulmates. Good luck.”

You felt tears sliding down your cheeks, stinging at your sensitive skin, you adored Andromeda, you couldn’t have got by without her, “let’s just hope that the King sees sense and does the right thing. He must know that his best friend could never do this to him, he just wants someone to blame, he sees enemies where there are friends, and it’ll be his undoing,” you mumbled with a tight smile as you departed from your chambers.

You would never admit it out loud but you had a strange sense of foreboding, a horrible feeling of dread in the pit of your stomach. You couldn’t help but feel that something was going to go dreadfully wrong.

As you made your way to the Throne Room where the trial was being held, you just couldn’t understand why on Earth James would believe that Sirius was a traitor. What had happened to make him believe that? Snape was already in the dungeons for committing treason. Under coercion, he had admitted that he had been working for Voldemort but apparently he had told him nothing of the prophecy. You supposed that he had to be lying, he just had to be. According to Lily, the evidence they had against Sirius was damning but it was a lie or a set up, it just had to be.

The atmosphere was heavy and full of dread as you walked into the Throne Room and Lily gave you a brave smile from where she stood at James’ side. James had a grim tight look on his face; the King that you had first met a few springs ago was kind and benevolent. That King was no more, it seemed like his heart had hardened.

Your heart broke when the guards roughly dragged Sirius into the room, showing him no mercy. The past few days that he’d spent in the Tower had seemed to age him considerably, his eyes were starting to take on a haunted look but they softened when he looked at you. You tried to offer him a small smile.

As Sirius was pushed to his knees before the King, James glared at him as he produced a letter, “you’ll remember writing this, I bet,” he snarled and began to read the letter out loud “’Lord Voldemort, in regards to my last letter, you will now know how to break Dumbledore’s enchantments. There are underground caverns and a secret entrance on the West side of the castle. They will lead you into the royal chambers and you can complete your work. Your faithful servant, Sirius Black, Duke of Bedford.”

James tossed the chilling letter at Sirius’ feet, “if it hadn’t been for Peter telling us of the conversation he overhead you having then we would be dead. We managed to prepare and we managed to defeat Voldemort when he came after us. We were supposed to be your friends, your sovereigns. How could you do this to us? How could you plot to kill our son?”

“But, I didn’t!” Sirius shouted, “I didn’t have a conversation of this nature with anybody! I didn’t write that letter, I wouldn’t!”

“Then how do you explain the fact that your seal is on the letter?!” James demanded.

You saw Sirius’ face falter for just a moment and you almost winced, hoping that James didn’t catch it, “my seal was stolen.”

“A likely story,” Remus spoke up, his voice breaking and he looked like he was on the verge of tears.

“Where is Peter? He’s lying to you! I saw him sneaking around the castle with a hooded figure!”

“Of course,” James mockingly slapped a hand to his forehead, “blaming the victim is the right thing to do, you’re just trying to save your own skin. Peter was found dead in the hallways, shortly after he came to warn us of your plan.”

You barely managed to conceal a gasp, Peter was dead? “I didn’t kill him,” Sirius whispered, “I was with my wife who was giving birth to our third child!” he glanced at you and you gave him an encouraging nod.

James looked at you before looking back at Sirius, narrowing his eyes, “the midwife says that you left a couple of hours after the birth, around the time that Peter was murdered, he was killed with your ruby encrusted dagger.”

Sirius swallowed nervously, “I lost that dagger shortly after coming back from our last battle with Voldemort,” that was the truth, you remembered Sirius lamenting after its loss. It was clear that someone was setting him up. Why didn’t James see that? “And the reason for my leaving? It was because I went to see if my twins were awake so they could meet their baby brother!”

“And on the way back, you saw an opportunity to kill Peter!” it was clear that James was hitting Sirius hard with the accusations in the hope that Sirius would confess.

“No!” Sirius took a deep breath, “you’re my best friend, you always have been and I would never do anything to hurt you or your family because you’re my family too, please, you have to believe me,” the tone of Sirius’ voice was pleading but James looked unmoved, which annoyed you.

“The evidence is damning, Sirius. It was your seal, your letter and your dagger, you had the means to kill Peter and betray us. What did you think would happen? Did you think Voldemort would put you on the Throne when he killed us?” James hissed but Sirius said nothing but you could see that he was crying you just wanted to hold him. James glanced over to you, “we found no evidence that Y/N was involved,” cold dread shot through your body and your vision blurred.

“She had nothing to do with any of this,” Sirius glanced at you with tear soaked cheeks and the small smile that he gave you broke your heart.

James nodded, offering you a sympathetic look, “then I’m sorry that you’re married to a traitor,” anger boiled in your veins at James’ words and it was an effort to keep your face straight. He glanced back at Sirius, “Sirius Black, I absolve you of your lands and titles; you are no longer the Duke of Bedford. I charge you with treason and I sentence you to hang by the neck until dead,” Lily gasped in surprise as she looked at her husband.

You felt like you were going to be sick and you rushed forwards to kneel at James’ feet, taking Sirius’ hand in yours, “please, Your Majesty, I beg you, don’t kill him! Think of the children, please,” tears streamed down your cheeks and Lily shot James a meaningful look.

James sighed and bowed his head, glaring at Sirius, “very well, you have an amazing wife who begs for your life even though you’re a traitor,” Sirius just looked at the floor and in that moment you hated James for hurting him. You couldn’t imagine how hard it was to endure this from his best friend, “you’re going to spend the rest of your life in a cell. Take him away,” he nodded to the guards.

You cried out in anguish as the guards began to drag your beautiful husband away. How were you going to live without him? “I love you, Sirius.”

Sirius choked on his tears, “I love you too, and please remember me!”

“Of course!” you sobbed.

You didn’t even get to kiss him one last time; you would never forgive James for breaking up your family. Sirius was innocent; you would bet your life on it.

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

Over the next couple of years that Sirius spent in the Tower, he was full of despair and anger, he couldn’t quite believe that James had locked him away; he couldn’t understand why James hadn’t believed him. How could James think that Sirius could ever hurt his friends? What hurt the most was the fact that he couldn’t see the love of his life or his children, the pain was almost unbearable. He couldn’t even see the grounds from the tiny window in his cell so he couldn’t even catch the slightest glance of Y/N.

In that dank, dark cell Sirius was all alone, he was practically withering away. He wanted his wife and he wanted his children. Reggie had only been a couple of days old when Sirius had been thrown into the Tower, Reggie wouldn’t even remember him.

The guards were particularly cruel; they told Sirius everything that was happening at court. They had told him that the King was forcing Y/N to remarry so she wouldn’t bring shame upon England because she was the wife of a traitor. Sirius had been close to throwing up at this news and he died inside, the knowledge that someone else was going to love his wife killed him inside. A few weeks later, the guards grumbled as they told Sirius that the man that Y/N was supposed to marry had died in a hunting accident. It sounded awful but at the sound of that news, Sirius could breathe again.

10 Years Later

Sirius was rudely awakened by the guards pounding on the bars of his cell, their voices filled with glee, “oi! Wake up, you have some visitors,” Sirius groaned and walked over to the bars to see the guards leering faces, “best make it a good goodbye, you’ll never see your family again after today. Your pretty little wife is going to marry the Austrian Prince.”

The pain that shot through Sirius’ chest almost made his knees buckle and tears stung at his eyes, he backed away from the bars so his family could enter. The breath was stolen from his lungs when his family walked into the cell and the door was closed behind them. Y/N was so beautiful and his children were growing up, and he’d missed it all.

“Sirius!” Y/N cried out as she ran to him and Sirius gathered her up in his arms, after 12 years, she was in his arms again. Once more, she was breathing life back into him, “I’ve missed you so much I love you,” she sobbed into his chest before she cupped his face and drew him into a passionate kiss, her tears running over his lips.

“I missed you too, I missed all of you, I love you,” he pressed his forehead against hers, grinning for the first time in 12 years, it was a wonder that he still remembered how to, he looked at his beautiful children with a smile as Elena and Johnathan ran into his arms, their faces bright with recognition. Reggie smiled at him with a blank look on his face but there was love in his eyes, “look at you three, all grown up.”

“We wish you could have been there, father,” Reggie smiled before hesitantly walking towards him and pulling him into a hug. Sirius smiled as he hugged his son tightly, “it’s good to meet you,” Reggie whispered.

Sirius’ smile dropped a second later when he remembered why they were there, “you’re marrying a Prince? Congratulations.”

Y/N rolled her eyes with a giggle and she lowered her voice so the guards wouldn’t hear, “I am never going to marry another, Lily and James just thinks that I am. The Prince doesn’t want to marry me either, he prefers the company of men,” she blushed, “but he believes you’re innocent, he’s a good man.”

“He believes I’m innocent?” Sirius asked, feeling gobsmacked, he was also elated that Y/N wasn’t going to remarry.

“Yes, and he wants to help, we’re getting you out of here tonight, we’ve got a ship leaving the docks at midnight, the Prince will give us sanctuary in Austria.”

Sirius was excited to get out of here, to feel the sun on his skin again, breaking him out of his cell would be dangerous but he glad that Y/N had an ally, but there was something that bothered him, “you’re coming with me? I don’t want to ruin your lives.”

Johnathan sighed as he rolled his eyes, “come on father, we’re going wherever you do. We’re not letting you go alone.”

“But you’ll always be having to hide, that’s no life for you, any of you,” Sirius bit his lip; he wanted to believe that it was possible but it just wasn’t.

Elena took his hand, “papa,” she whispered, “we love you and we’re a family. We’ve been apart for 12 years; you’re insane if you think we’re not going with you. We want to know you and for you to know us.”

Sirius teared up and sniffled as he looked over at his wife who grinned and cupped his cheeks, “we’ll be here an hour before midnight, the guards won’t be a problem. Leave them to us, I love you.”

“I love you too,” he grinned and kissed Y/N deeply before hugging all of his children in turn, excited to be in the world again. The plan was set and at midnight, he was successfully on a ship with his family by his side and a strong ally at his back. This wasn’t how he thought his life was going to be, he never thought he would be running from James’ court but here he was. They were going to be okay. Sirius was free, they were all free, and most importantly, they were together.

-Fin-

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

@smiithys ​ @elayneblack ​ @amelie-black @siriuslyjanhvi @pregnant-piggy ​ @lindatreb ​ @mabelle-cherie ​ @hxrgreeves ​ @britishspidey @mads-bri @classicrocketqueen @sxtansqueen @hufflepuffzutara @potters-heart @bruxa0007 ​ @ourstarsailor ​ @fific7 ​ @galwithbluethoughts ​ @2410slb @sunles @krismeunicornbaobei @theincredibledeadlyviper @deathkat657 @lonegryffindor2005 @writing-your-heart-out​

[sokkas-honour]

3 with sokka for your spotify wrapped playlist writing thingy? Also hii hehe i just found your blog 5 seconds ago NICE TO MEET YOUUU

it’s lovely to meet you too! (i prepared these a while ago but tysm for being so supportive of my blog!!)

affluenza - sokka x reader

pairing: sokka x fem!reader (it’s more platonic than anything)

wc: 2.7k

notes/warnings: again, i’m only really using the theme of this song instead of the lyrics. for warning, misogyny?? a bit of neglect

-

growing up a princess was already hard to begin with, but being the younger sister to the nation’s favourite royal was even worse. constantly being in her shadow, being ignored by parents and just being blindly spoiled. you were lucky, you could get whatever you wanted except for your parent’s own attention and affection.

ever since you turned the age of ten, you were quick to notice that you weren’t your parent’s favorite so you would try and do whatever you could to be the star in their eyes. you trained everyday in order to improve your water bending, your warrior skills, just anything that could make you stand out and get your parents to notice you more. but alas, you weren’t the crown princess, the most beautiful girl in the northern water tribe.

it came to a point where, around your fifteenth birthday, you were starting to loose motivation for things in general. all of your work had payed off, you had mastered every healing form and had even gotten secret lessons from local boys trying to use you to get to yue, you had everything you could want except for the one thing you desperately needed. so you started isolating yourself a bit more, the rest of the nation forgetting about you even more.

your isolation changed when you heard of the avatar having arrived in your tribe and suddenly, you desperately wanted to get to know them. if you befriended the avatar and even joined him on his voyage, you might just finally get your parent’s stamp of approval. it was the first thing in months to give you any sort of motivation.

during the dinner that your dad threw for the guests and to honour your sister’s birthday, you had managed to find a spot next to the southern watertribe girl and you two hit it off immediately. bonding over shared experiences as younger siblings.

“yeah it does hurt a bit to have practically mastered all your water bending forms and not get a congratulations from your parents.” was your comment as the two of you spoke about sometimes feeing as thought you’re living in your older sibling’s shadow. what you said seemed to have done something to the girl who’s name you learned was katara.

“you’re a waterbender?” she asked bewildered. her eyes looking at you with excitement and wonder.

“yeah, one of the best in the tribe if i do say so myself.” you joked lightly, a bit confused at her tone.

“i’m a waterbender too! do you think you could teach me a few things?” she excitedly asked, a huge grin on her face. you nodded and finished swallowing your pickled fish that had been prepared by the best chefs in town.

“i mean sure but i’m not sure what i could teach you. i’m basically a master but i wouldn’t say that i’m too far ahead from other people my age.” you responded, explaining to the girl from your sister tribe that you may not be able to teach her much.

“oh, where i come from, i’m the last waterbender. so i’ve never had any actual training.” her gaze averted from yours and you instantly regretted what you said, feeling horrible at your assumption. you were used to being surrounded by waterbenders and had no idea what she must’ve been going through.

“i’m so sorry, i shouldn’t have said that. if you need anyone to show you some water bending forms, i’m more than happy to. but i’m sure you’ll get more from master yagoda.” you searched for her hand and gave it a little squeeze, she turned her head to smile at you which you returned a comforting one back.

“why not master paku?” she inquired, slightly confused at not hearing the name of the respected master she had heard about at one point during the dinner.

“master paku teaches warrior waterbending skills, girls aren’t allowed to learn those techniques, only healing.” you explained, gaze faltering slightly. you hated your tribe’s costume which is why you always tried to rebel in your own way, but she didn’t need to know that yet.

“why? that’s stupid!” she exclaimed, removing her hand from yours to hit her closed fists on the table in annoyance, thankfully not drawing any attention.

“i know! but it’s tradition and the old farts who control this town hate breaking tradition, even my father won’t break it for me!” you explained, giving a small glance to your father who spoke to one of his councilmen.

“maybe he’ll change his mind if i’m with the avatar! we might even convince him to train you!” she suggested, optimism laced in her words but you simply shrugged your shoulders.

“you can try but i wouldn’t get your hopes up. if you do though, make sure to come get me.” you blankly responded, not wanting to give her any false sense of joy.

the rest of the dinner went by nicely, her telling stories about her adventure with the avatar and her brother, who’s name you learned to be sokka. he even inserted himself in the conversation once or twice, making you laugh at his comments. the night had to end eventually, and for yue and yourself, it meant you two have to leave before the party ended.

“y/n, i think i may have a problem.” yue nervously started when you were both alone. “that southern water tribe boy, he.”

“he’s hilarious?” you finished her sentence, a knowing smile on your lips.

“yeah, and i’m scared i might be catching feelings for him. he even suggested to do something together.” she explained, hand grabbing yours nervously, looking to you for advice on what she should do. no matter how much your parents favoured yue on every way, there was so way you could ever hate her or hold your parents’ doings against her.

“oh come on yue, talking to him won’t hurt you. if anything, not talking to him will hurt him.” you joked, placing your hand on top of hers to give more weight to your words.

“i suppose so.” she smiled, most likely thinking about him and the way he made her feel. your smirk never left your face as you watched the way he made her feel.

the next day, you ran into katara and aang as they went to visit master paku to try and convince him to train the both of them. you were going on a simple walk, hoping to run into them.

“y/n, want to come with us to master paku?” katara immediately asked once you were in proximity to the tow of them.

“not sure you’ll be able to convince them but i’d love to either way.” you smiled, waving hello to the avatar.

“well we’re going to try.” aang backed up katara’s optimism which was slightly sad to see as you knew the ending, you had experienced it yourself.

and like you predicted, their attempt to get the old master to go against outdated traditions proved useless. it ended in katara yelling at his misogynistic attitude and giving up to go sit in on a healing session. you decided to join her, knowing it was useless to you but it was nice to a get a refresher nonetheless.

once it ended, you were left to deal with an annoyed katara as aang was still training. you admired her for standing up to him, wishing you had the confidence that she had but you had given up fighting traditions a long time ago when you realised it was useless.

“listen, i’m sorry katara. if you want though, i can show you around town.” you tried to cheer her up but she seemed to agree with no enthusiasm.

during your tour, you made sure to give as many details as you could to the girl from your sister tribe but it didn’t do much to make her smile. her attitude did change though when the both of you ran into her older brother, a lovestruck emotion on his face which immediately led you to conclude he had seen your sister, and you were right.

“we’re meeting tonight at the same bridge we saw each other! yue and i!” was the first he said when he approached the two of you, more directed to his sister.

“really sokka? that’s great!” katara’s mood seemed to change to happiness for her brother. she then turned to you, surprisingly. “you know, maybe yue said something to y/n. did she?”

“why would yue tell her something?” sokka stopped you from answering, taking you slightly aback. his rather none accusing question hurt you more than you’d care to admit.

“i beg your pardon?” you were slightly offended at his question, more hurt but that wasn’t the tone that you wanted to show, knowing that showing hurt was more of a weakness than anything. at least in your household, your parents only seemed to notice your negative attitude when it came out. a comment made by a schoolmate hurt you and when you came home crying, you were simply neglected as yue had come home earlier and your parents were engrossed in her story. you had tried to come to them but were simply ignored. since then, you’ve only ever shown emotions theyd deem negative to your sister.

“sokka, you met her last night. she’s the second princess of the northern water tribe!” katara harshly whispered as you calmed yourself down, making a mental note to thank your new friend.

“yue has a sister? what did she say about me?” his confusion turned to excitement as he practically rushed into your face, too close for your liking.

“yes, and what do you think you’ll get out of me?” you smirked slightly, putting your hand on his chest to push him out of your face.

“i don’t know, what does a princess need?” he questioned. letting your hand linger before you dropped it.

“warrior training.” katara observed as you narrowed your eyes, the smirk still on your lips as you surprised the rather bold boy.

“why would you need warrior training?”

“because, i want to. my father refuses to let me train but i’ve found ways. yue told me you’re supposedly the best warrior in your village and i want some.” you defied his expectations, he assumed you’d probably be drastically different from your sister in a bad way but he was wrong.

“deal, you tell me what yue thinks of me and i’ll teach you a couple of things i know.” he was quick to agree, willing to do anything to know what the crown princess thought of him. you took your hand out to shake on it and he did, both of you looking each other in the eyes in defiance, hands lingering in each other’s grip.

katara giggled at the interaction which brought the two of you out of your stare and let go of each other’s hands.

“i’ll see you tomorrow, hopefully yue will tell me more after your little rendezvous today.” you told him before turning your attention back to katara, seeing as though she was with her brother now, she’d be fine on her own. “i’ll see you tomorrow around the healing hut early tomorrow?”

she nodded before you waved the two of them goodbye and walked back towards the palace, looking forward to your first session with sokka.

the next day was pretty eventful, finding out that katara and aang had gone against paku’s rules, meaning that he refused to continue raining the avatar. you found out right before leaving for the session with yagoda and decided to stick around when katara defied him. and by the end of that whole fiasco, she was able to convince him to let her train with him.

after that happened, you immediately went to your father to beg him to let you join paku’s clas but you were met with a wall.

“absolutely not, the times may be changing but i’d rather none of my daughters do anything too dangerous. you still need to finish mastering healing.” was his response, leaving you in complete disbelief. you had mastered every healing form a couple of months ago and he didn’t know.

yue tried to comfort you but you ignored him, deciding to walk around town to calm down. you knew that if yue was the waterbender, she’d be able to do whatever she wanted. even if she was their fragile little girl.

the day went by rather fast, and before you knew it, you were following katara in secret to watch the first ever girl receive training from a master in the northern water tribe. you made sure to not make your presence too noticeable, even if the majority of people didn’t notice you most of the time. you watched in complete awe of her raw skill, wishing that you were right there next to her, having something to make you stand out from your family.

when the afternoon came, you made your way to where the three of them was staying in order to complete your deal with sokka.

“hey y/n, did you find out anything about yue?” was his greeting which earns a little eye roll from you.

“didn’t she tell you that she was engaged?” you said rather harshly, regretting as you saw him look down sadly. “listen sokka, she can’t love you but she does. she’s tied to our ridiculous customs, i’m sorry.”

“it’s okay.” he took a deep breath in and let it go before meeting your eyes that were soft, matching them with a small smile. “ready to get started?”

“more than ready. my stupid father didn’t want me joining katara today so i need to let out some sort of aggression.” your tone clearly annoyed at your father which confused sokka, yue didn’t seem to have any problems with her parents.

“i don’t know if this is my place to ask, but why do you seem to hate your father so much?” he asked, curious to know.

“this is nothing against my sister, i love her to bits. it’s my parents i have problems with, they just cast me aside. all of their attention has always been on yue, hell everyone in this stupid tribe only cares about yue! i’m supposed to just be unnoticeable according to my parents yet they shame me for not being as special as yue! i mastered every single healing form and i even managed to learn a couple of fighting stances, yet it’s still not enough.” you let yourself go, deciding to dump all of your problems on the poor boy who had to hear your practically yell at the end. “sorry, you probably didn’t want to know all of that.” you joked nervously.

“no, no its okay. i just figured that being yue’s sister would be like the best thing. i mean being royalty makes your life basically perfect and i mean, she’s one of the sweetest girls i’ve ever met!” sokka ranted, not exactly being what you wanted to hear.

“yeah, i have everything i could ever want but my parent’s attention.” you laughed in disbelief at how ridiculous your situation was.

“you know what?” a silence had settle after your uncomfortable laugh but he was the first to speak, excitement in his voice as he voiced the idea in his head. “what if you joined us to defeat the firelord and travel with the avatar? that’s sure to get your parents to notice!”

“you barely know me and i haven’t actually spoken with the avatar, what makes you think that i’d fit your little team?” you were skeptic at his proposition, loving the idea but not being sure he was thinking it through.

“from what katara’s told me, you’d be perfect for us! katara could teach you what she learns with paku on the road, i could teach you what i know and you could be our own healer!” he excitedly thought about the idea of having someone else on his team, even if you weren’t the sibling he fell for, he still took a liking to you after your first conversation.

“well then, come fetch me before you leave. my parents won’t notice me gone so there won’t be any problems.” you concluded, you yourself getting excited at the idea of finally doing something that might make you stand out to your parents.

“great! now let’s get started.” he opened the door, a huge smile on his face.

“if you were at all interested, she thought you were a pretty good kisser.” you added before he could start teaching you any of his skills.

general taglist: @butterfly-skinnylegend @biqherosix

atla taglist: @missmorosis @draqondance @firelady-jay @welovediaaxx @sunnypluto

[mariamermaid]

The Heir of Silberstein; das verzauberte Schulleben (ch.2)

“the enchanted School life”

Fred Weasley x Reader

Summary: As a new school year approaches in Hogwarts, the students are surprised when Dumbledore introduces a group of German siblings joining the school. The royal family of fortress Silberstein is now sent to Hogwarts to learn the matters of a normal teenager life. …

Words: 3.1k

Masterlist

“Potion´s class will be the death of me!” Hermione exclaimed loudly as you came back from the first day filled with lessons. Professor Snape had very clearly explained, that the class would neither be easy nor a place for mischief. You patted her shoulder, a look of sympathy on your face.

“You´ll clearly going to ace every class”, she then sighed and you starred at her with confusion.

Yes, you had known most of the subject matter the teachers announced for the school year.

You had also required 10 points for Gryffindor, Seamus Finnigan had tried to ask you out, as well as a student from Slytherin and you had given Draco a harsh comeback, which landed a following applause by several students. However, many classmates still seemed a little intimidated by your presence. You were able to disarm the teacher in defense against the dark arts, which was impressing and they had starred at you with bewildered expressions. All in all; a pretty good first day. Almost perfect. Almost.

“I don´t know, but you can find me in the library”, Hermione added and grabbed a few of her books and notes.

“I think I´ll catch some fresh air or explore the school a little more”, you replied.

“The Gryffindor quidditch team has try out´s today and some practice, you should watch them! You´ve never even seen a game!”

You followed Hermione´s advice and made your way to the Quidditch pitch. Together with the history and traditions of Hogwarts, you had obviously learned about the sport as well. Yet, you were taken back by the sight of the pitch. The oval form measured five hundred feet long and a hundred and eighty feet wide, with a small central circle in diameter. At each end there were three hooped Goalposts of different heights. The pitch was surrounded by wooden towers with the house colors, seats for spectators. You found your place in the Gryffindor tower, next to a blonde girl with long hair and round, pink and blue colored glasses. She looked up when you sat down, eyes curiously inspecting you and then offered you a polite smile. “You´re the princess.”

You nodded slowly. “I´m Luna Lovegood, you´re here to watch the team, aren´t you?”

You agreed again and noticed her dreamy tone and her soft nature. “So am I, but watch out for the nargles.”

With anticipation you watched as the players flew across the pitch through the air. Harry and Ginny, captains as you found out, had an open position. You watched as several contestants gave their best in showing their skills. Fred and George, both playing as beaters, didn´t pay much attention to them however. Instead, they trained on their own and played back and forth. You admired their athletic spirit and skill, but realized that you wouldn´t be a Quidditch player. The brutality and the hectic timeframe was thrilling to watch, but nothing you wanted to participate in.

After the practice, you left the tower together with Luna.

“What are nargle?”

“They´re small creatures, mischievous thieves really, you have to be careful.”

A smile spread on your lips; you found a liking in the rather odd Luna Lovegood. From afar you watched how the Slytherin team, who´s time to practice had now come, approach. After them, contestants who wanted to try out for their team. August was one of them. You said goodbye to Luna and joined your brother in watching how the team held their meeting.

“You´re trying out?” It wasn´t a question, the broomstick in his hand said enough. “I thought you didn´t even want to talk to them.” August huffed and rolled his eyes. He knew well what you were doing, lurkinh him into resistance and talking.

“If we have to go to school here, I can at least enjoy a little activity, oder nicht?”

A chuckle escaped your lips and softly you bumped against his shoulder. “I´m messing with you.”

“Hast du mit Ruth geredet?“ (Have you talked to Ruth?) It surprised you, that he was the first one to start the topic, but you shook your head ever so slightly.

“Sie werden es herausfinden, früher oder später.“, you replied instead. (They will find out eventually.)

You knew the fact, that even August worried, was enough to let you quiver. You avoided eye contact as did he, both staring ahead, avoiding to even glance at each other. 

“Es wird sein soziales Todesurteil, die Schüler sind ja schon mit uns als Prinzen und Prinzessinnen überfordert. Ein König? Das ist zu viel für sie.” (It´s going to be his social death sentence. The students are already overwhelmed with us as princes and princesses. A king? It´s too much for them.)

“Noch ist er nicht König, außerdem sind es ein paar Monate bis Hendrik achtzehn wird. Vater ist noch am Leben,” (He´s not king yet, anyways there a couple of months left before Hendrik turns eighteen. Father is still alive.) You answered and a bitter taste spread in your mouth as the words left your lips. Your voice fell flat and monotone and you bit your lip.

“Ja noch ist er es, aber für wie lange?“ (Yes, he still is, but for how long?)

August added just as uninflected, before joining the Quidditch team and leaving you standing alone. You knew he wasn´t wrong, but saying those words out loud always sounded harsher than expected. For a couple more seconds, you watched your younger brother before he took off on his broom.

Fred and George Weasley came to your side, you caught a glance of their red hair before they even arrived. They sensed your inner turmoil and decided to try to take off your mind.

“Impressed, princess?” You huffed, shaking your head. Previos worries left your face and you gladly accepted the switch of topic.

“I´ll wait until your first game of the year, then we can see how much you can actually impress me.” The twins shrugged while nodding, it was a fair proposal to them.

The three of you, followed by Harry and Ginny made your way back to the castle, while casually chatting. “How was your first day? Classes are going fine by what I heard?” Fred asked you curiously. You raised your eyebrow at him. “What exactly did you hear?”

George, walking to you left, snickered. “Oh, just the typical rumors when it comes to your royal family.” “And that would be?”

“Courageously smart and intelligent”, George started

“Eagerness to dress and impress”, Fred continued, while his eyes glided your body down and up. His brother well noted, how Fred blushed as the words left his mouth. For now, he wouldn´t mention it though.

“And being able to enchant everybody in their presence”, George added instead and threw his hand dramatically into the air. 

“Be careful, Y/n, they´re always up to something”; Ginny exclaimed from the back before she and Harry passed the three of you. You laughed. “I can tell, but thanks for the warning!”

You found yourself in the backyard, due to the late summerly warmth, many students still remained outside. The twins took off their Quidditch uniform, leaving them both in tank tops. The summer had done good to them and they had both gained muscle; especially in their arms. A seat beneath a tree at the side was perfect to watch the entire scene and soon after, the two Weasley´s joined you again. They awaited, but you continued to simple watch. A fairly dull activity, at a first glance.

“It´s seems boring, but there is always something going on, isn´t it?” Fred asked, his head tilting your way. You nodded agreeing. “It´s new, at least to me.”

Hendrik entered the yard with another Ravenclaw. “Ah, Cedric Diggory, prefect of the Ravenclaws”, George explained. Cedric as well as Hendrik´s eyes found yours. Cedric offered a polite smile, which you returned. But Hendrik´s were asking. Asking for anything out of the ordinary, you shook your head. The twins seemed to notice, how the two of you reacted to each other. “You and your brother get each other, don´t you?”

“We´re a family, we hold together, no matter how hard things seem”, you sighed but shook your head, pushing away the reluctant feeling.

“Hendrik is brilliant, he created his first spell at 14 years, his currently writing his first book as well. He´s the smart one, the oldest and always looking out for us.” You paused, eyeing Hendrik from across the yard. His dark hair was sleek back as always, his sharp jawline and his stern eyes. He had a mature charisma and you were sure, that many female students would swoon over his presence.

“It´s not like he had a choice, he´s the oldest, first to the throne. From his birth on, all the pressure laid on his shoulders.”

“Sounds hard.”

“There are days where it´s harder than on others.” You glanced back, through the stone arch´s to the Quidditch pitch. From afar you could make out little green figures racing through the air, among them August.

“August is the rebel of the family, stubborn and cunning. He knows what he wants and he knows how to get it. He´s selective when it comes to being loyal, family comes always first.”

Your eyes, as well as the Twins’, continued to wander to Ruth, her locks framing her round face and a smile spread on her rosy lips. She was seated on a blanket in the green grass, laughing as a pair of second-class students showed her a new game with cards.

“Ruth, is the sweetest angel. She´s kind to all people and animals. She´s the one keeping us together, when all ties tear. She´s the one who grew up the most protected. Hendrik and me, were trained the hardest. She doesn´t know, how it feels to have all eyes on yourself, luckily. She´s able to be just a child in a way Hendrik never could.”

Fred and George starred at you, waiting. The school life of Hogwarts was new to you, but for them everything about the royal activity was unaccustomed. “What about you?”

You chuckled nervously. “Me?”

“I´m the daring one, the one who questions right and wrong. The wild spirit of the family, at least it´s what I´m told.” “A truly magical family, isn´t it?” George smiled warmly. Maybe the Silberstein siblings weren´t so different from the Weasley´s after all.

“And all of you were trained?”, Fred then questioned further. They were intrigued by you.

“To be what exact?” George added and you smirked. “Our subjects varied from the ones at Hogwarts; Mondays started with history, for both muggles and wizards. Then in the afternoon, riding lessons and nature studies.”

“Riding? Broomsticks?”, George asked confused.

“Oh no, Silberstein has its name from their traditional breeding of Pegasus´.”

“Pegasus? As in horse with wings?” You nodded proudly, remembering Hagrid´s admiring stare at your arrival with the carriage. “The German word silber is English for silver, as in the silver horse skin and mane. The stables are the argentum turris, Latin for silver towers. It´s where they live and the only way to enter them, is by flying to them.” 

A short pause formed, while you remembered the silky fur and the liberating and enchanting feeling, when flying through the clouds on their backs. Clearing your throat, you proceeded.

“Then on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturday mornings, martial arts. Everything from hand to hand combat, sword fighting, archery and of course, defense with the wands. Each of us is trained for battles with all scenarios, not only magical.”

Saturday mornings, were amazingly special to the four of you, because your trainer and teachers often awoke you with a new battle idea in mind. You wore focused on working together as a unit, not working on your individual techniques.

“And then of course more basic subjects, Potions and Herbology, astrology, the formal etiquette for royal descendants.”

“For Merlin´s Sake, you´re unbelievable”, Fred breathed and his brother nodded hefty.

“It might be normal for you, but to us?” George continued. “Unbelievable.” They both finished the sentence. A blush crept on your cheeks. Before Hogwarts, you had never given it much thought, but especially after arriving, you began to realize how special your life had been. Against many obstacles and challenges, you were grateful for the opportunity’s others would never have. It was hard and no one would ever argue with it, but you would choose this life over any other every day. Grateful.

It was this exact moment, where you decided that Silberstein was going to be a school. A good and fair school, that you would fight for.

 A few weeks passed in the mean-time. You had actually begun to write down notes about potential strategies about teaching and a curriculum. Hendrik noticed how you began brewing your ideas, but he knew you would come to him, if you were ready to discuss them.

“Miss Silberstein, Professor Dumbledore has requested a meeting with you and your siblings”, McGonagal held you back after finishing her lesson. Hermione, a few steps ahead of you, waited worriedly. You nodded and followed McGonagal out of the classroom.

It was Friday, prior to the second Quidditch Game of the season. The week before, Gryffindor against Hufflepuff started with a strong game. The Weasley twins used their chance to show off the abilities, successfully. Hendrik, actually started playing as a seeker for Ravenclaw, while August was positioned as a chaser for Slytherin. As so often when it came to your brothers, they battled in agony about almost everything. August loved it to contest and Hendrik loved it to prove somebody wrong. A bad combination really.

“Go ahead, ´Mione”, you shrugged to your friend. “I got something to get done.”

McGonagal led you to Dumbledore´s office through the entrance of the gargoyle statue. She gave you a last nod of reassurance, before leaving you alone. Hendrik, August and even Ruth awaited you in the headmaster’s office. Worries rose in you and immediately, you searched Hendrik´s eyes for signs. He shrugged. None of you knew why you were called in today.

Dumbledore sat behind his desk; hands crossed on the table. The room was filled with shelves, books, potions and other artifacts. You were sure, that if given enough time, you would find out many interesting things. But sadly, the office laid unable for you to enter at your own sweet will.

“Please sit, make yourself comfortable.”

As much as he tried to sound calm, it didn´t convince you. You braced yourself for the worst.

“A letter from your father´s consultant, Albrecht came to me.”

You saw Hendrik´s hands cramping and his jaw tensing. Ruth, who sat next to you, lurked up to you, but you didn´t have the strength to look back.

“He and your father enquired about your process in learning, as well in finding yourself in the school life.”

Hendrik relaxed and you could finally give Ruth a small smile. “He also requested me to give the four of you a separate letter, which I will give you in just a second.”

Dumbledore leaned back, making eye contact with each of you before continuing.

“I know that even though your stay at Hogwarts is unusual, it is even more concerning as to why this stay had to be so sudden. Like everybody else, you have my full sympathy about your father´s health condition But I want you to know, that if you need anything else, you can always come to me. I´m sure that being a royal descendant is hard enough on it´s own and I can openly admit, I´m fairly new to many aspects. But I know a lot about schools and teaching, this”, he pulled out a book from his desk. You eagerly reached forward to take it first.

“Its a very rare volume about Hogwarts throughout the history. I´m sure you will treasure it, as well as I did in my first years as a teacher.”

Thanking, you nodded at Dumbledore. The book was in raveled in a dark blue fur like coat and the font was golden. Then he handed over the letter, which Hendrik took.

You had barely left the office, before he ripped it open and the four of you gathered closely around. His voice was quiet, but a clear flutter was heard.

“Dear beloved princes and princesses.

I hate to pass the message, that your father´s condition is not improving. The healers watch him with every second, but there have been no results yet.

I´m continuing to follow your father´s instruction to represent him and the royalty of Silberstein, as a Consultant and for the time being, leader.

I hope your stay at Hogwarts is as pleasant as the time allows.

Sincerely, Albrecht.”

A bitter taste spread in your mouth, when Hendrik read the letter out loud.

“We shouldn´t trust him”, August pressed out between his pursed lips. Hendrik rolled his eyes at him, a little too dramatic and hasty for your taste. 

“Don´t be stupid, he has been a consultant for longer than any of us lived.” Hendrik used his ´adult´-voice and there were times, where his mature exterior worked, but for August, it was another reason to tense his jaw. He didn´t like to be treated as a child. Neither did you.

“So, you agree with him on the throne?”

Hendrik fell silent, his eyes leaving your group and his hand brushing his hair back.

Albrecht was never particularly fond of you, which was mostly mutual. In his eyes, not only you but also August and Ruth were nothing, but naïve children. He tolerated you, because he didn´t have an option. Hendrik was the only one to be out of sorts with him, which didn´t equal in actually liking him. You were sure that Albrecht didn´t like children in general. He was strict, obsolete bound to the idea of a royal regime, that represented a strong sway. Admitting that Silberstein was the most logic solution to the school problem in Germany, wasn´t comprehensible to him.

Whether he liked it, or not, ALbrecht was compelled to the crown. But as long as he was in your father´s seat, he was in the position to not only to issue orders, but change any established decisions.

From the moment it was announced, that you would leave for Hogwarts, August noted it more than once; He hated the idea of leaving behind your father, as well as the realm and the fortress. Both Hendrik and you, had brushed his sorrows away.

August scoffed angrily, after Hendrik´s attempt to placate him and he left the group with quick steps. Hendrik did as well, making his way to the Ravenclaw tower. From outside he seemed calmer than his younger brother, but he was livid as well. A breeze of wind meandered through the hallway; a storm was coming.

And deep down, you were left with an unpleasant gut instinct about Albrecht.

----------

tags: @ britishspidey @ perfectlysane24  @ acoolnight

[superspookywombat]

falling {j.h} chapter eight

Warnings: slight cursing, not very descriptive ‘fight’

Taglist:  Sleepy-whore geekysimmerthings mauvette268 treestarrrrrrrr kaleigh404 krazykatkay456 meganlikesfandoms darknacademia hi-my-name-is-riley vdtwsupernatural selmeuuh raindancer2004 wondersandtempests royale-trash-slytherin im-hella-bright bootylimpics livfg It-is-rebel-owl-ma-dudes peacemusicinch coffeeslut16 bvbwestfall Actuallyedythecullen stan-joonies Peacebuglove Millie-753 Frozenhuntress67 i-tried21 seaevans femflorals arseofrivia trashysara vulgarfuckinvirgo sleepysnapesnake hey-bulldogs mental-breaker-74 pansexual-and-eating-pancakes duty-isnt-always-honour jelly-fishy-babie carnagefuck clubpengiunn wondersandtempests 100-percent-loving shelcantspell maelloute fandomsandmore394 pomiotszatana cherrybuck alohorcruxes harryskillerqueen left-in-the-woods galaxypox what-if-im-the-bad-guy

A/n: This def isn’t my best work, but I think the ending makes up for the weird, blocky writing for most of it 😬

The week leading up to your graduation, Alice pampered you and Bella almost religiously. After getting your haircut, you were now at some fancy boutique in Seattle. Alice was in the changing room with Bella as you strolled through the racks, stroking the soft, different fabrics. Silk caresses your hand and you reach up to the hanger, revealing a mid-thigh, emerald green wrap dress. You find your size and hold it to your chest with a small smile. You make your way to the dressing rooms where you hear Alice lecturing Bella on what would look best with her skin complexion. You lock yourself into the dressing stall and take off your clothes. Slipping on the dress, you peek out of the stall.

“Hey, Alice?” You call. She bounds over to you with a bright smile on her face. She slips into the small room with you and closes the door after her. 

“You rang?” She says.

“Yeah, I know you’re helping Bella but can you zip this for me, please?” You ask. She nods and you turn around, pulling up your hair and exposing your shoulders so she can fasten the dress. Once you feel her zip to the hilt, you let down your hair and turn to the mirror. Breath catches in your throat as you see the silk cling to your curves, but drapes delicately over your insecurities. 

“Oh, wow.” Alice says under her breath. You’re frozen, unable to do anything except stare at yourself. You reach a hand up to your face, just to make sure that it’s really you in the reflection. A smile pulls onto your face and you turn to Alice. 

“Can you check the price tag for me?” You ask. Cold fingers touch your back and you feel her untuck the tag.

“It’s one-fifty.” She says. Your face falls as you process the words that just came from her mouth. 

“Oh. Well, that’s okay. I’m not really in love with it anyway.” Your voice quivers. Alice places a hand on your arm.

“I can get it for you.” She says. Your eyes widen.

“No. It’s okay. I think Bella still has her prom dress, I’ll just wear that.” You shrug, giving her a small smile.

“Oh shush, I’m gonna buy it for you and you can’t stop me.” She says. Something tells you you aren’t going to win this argument. 

“At least let me pay you back later.” You sigh. She clasps her hands and giggles, pulling you by the hand into the bigger room.

“Bella, come look at your sister!” Alice calls in a sing-song voice. Bella pokes her head out of the stall. Her jaw drops and she opens the door all the way, exposing her in an odd, purple dress.

“What’s it like being the hot sister?” Bella asks. Your cheeks tint pink and you shove her shoulder.

“I don’t know, ask yourself.” You repute. She scoffs and you both laugh before Alice whisks Bella away to try on more clothes.

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

After stuffing into a sweaty gymnasium and walking the Big Walk, you and Bella sit in Charlie’s car as he drops you two off at the Cullen’s place for the graduation party.

“Charlie, you should come in. At least say ‘hi’ to Alice.” You reason, he shakes his head no and unlocks the doors for you two. Bella gives him a half-hearted glare as she exits the truck, but you stay behind to talk to Charlie.

“Now, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, you understand?” He warns. Your eyes widen, and you scoff. 

“No drugs, no alcohol. I got it.” You say, your voice a harsh whisper. He gives you a pointed look.

“I know you girls are legally adults, but just be safe, wear.. Wear protection..” He trails off.

“Dad!” You groan. He lets out an exasperated sigh and you grab the grocery bag from the backseat and join Bella outside.

“What’s in there?” She asks. You pull a cold box out of the bag and show Bella.

“Banana pops? This is a graduation, not a five year old’s birthday party.” She teases. You hold the box to your chest defensively. 

“You can’t go to a party without bringing an appetizer.” You say. She rolls her eyes. “What would mom say?”

You grip the box tight as Bella opens the big front door, and you both climb the stairs to the bassy music and strobe lights. Some of your peers are dancing on a makeshift dance floor as everyone else either checks out the buffet table or punch bowls. Angela and Jessica approach you two and hug Bella, exchanging pleasantries. After parting, Jacob and his two friends come into view. 

“Why don’t you go get us some drinks?” Bella suggests. 

“If you think I’m gonna leave you alone with him then you must not know me.” You say, staring down the tall boy in front of you. You glare at him while his two groupies glare at you. 

“Seriously, y/n, I’m fine.” She says. 

“Yeah, back off. She handled herself just fine before you came, and she’ll be just fine when you inevitably abandon her again.” Jacob scoffs. Bella warns him with a soft ‘Jake’.

“You talk pretty big game for a fifth grader. What are you even doing here? Isn’t it past your bedtime?” You tease, raising an eyebrow. “Y/n, stop. Seriously.” Bella says, her voice hoarse. You hold up a finger to shush her, the burning anger returning from when Bella punched him. 

“No, Bella. He needs to understand that he can’t do shit like that and then show up like nothing happened!” You cry out.

“At least I show up for her.” Jacob says with a smug smile. Your heart races as you fist your hand and strike him across his cheek. A loud ‘pop’ rings through the room as people stop to see the commotion. Everything’s a blur as a strong hand pushes you to the floor. Someone reaches out to catch you- Bella, it seems- but all she grabs is the fabric of your dress as the silk rips. You lay on the floor, supported by your elbows as you watch Jacob’s friends corral him outside. Bella looks down at the green fabric in her hand. Your dress tears up to expose your right hip, your lacy underwear peeking through. A lump rises to your throat as people crowd around you, staring down at you in pitty. Tears spill over your eyes as you feel sticky mascara drip down your cheeks. You push yourself up and brush past a very concerned looking Bella, reaching down to remove your heels as you make your way to a secluded hallway, stopping first to grab the banana pops on the snack table. You sniffle as you lock yourself in a bathroom, then you climb into a modern claw-foot tub and crudely rip open the box. You take a pop out of the wrapper and raise your hand, smearing lipstick from your mouth and stuffing in the cold treat. Sobs wrack your body as you stuff your sore knuckles into the box with the rest of the pops, and you sit in darkness, your dress flowing over the bathtub, and you listen to the muffled music.

You hear gentle knocks. “Occupied!” You yell, but the knocks continue. You wipe your eyes and climb out of the tub. “What part of occupied don’t you underst-”

Ready to scold one of your clueless classmates, you swing open the door, only to come face to face with a certain blond. “Hey there, darling.” Jasper says, his voice soothing your nerves. You try to stop another sob, but it just makes it bubble up and come out louder and uglier. 

“Shh, shh, it’s okay.” His southern drawl pokes through as he engulfs you in a hug. He leads you to the counter and holds you, just letting you cry as much as you need to as he strokes your exposed back. You back away after a few minutes, wiping your eyes. 

“God, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make a scene at your party.” You apologize. “He just gets under my skin and sometimes I have anger issues and I just- I don’t know.”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to explain yourself to me.” He assures you. You nod, wiping your eyes again. “We should probably vacate the bathroom, though. Wouldn’t want those folks getting the wrong idea now.” 

You give a weak chuckle, then grab the banana pops. “I suppose you’re right. Lead the way.” You say. He looks down at your exposed hip, then shrugs out of his suit jacket and hangs it over your shoulders. He puts his hand on the small of your back and takes you to a room with desks and bookshelves. You both sit down on a leather loveseat and you rest your head on his shoulder. You pull a popsicle out of the box, and hold it up to him.

“Can I interest you in a banana pop, my good sir?” You offer. He chuckles, but shakes his head.

“No thank you. I’m in the mood for something else.” He says. You give him a small smile as you return the popsicle to its home. Dried tears stiffen your cheeks as you look up at him, only just realizing the close proximity you’re in.

“Like what?” You ask. One of his cold, smooth hands caress your cheek, and you can feel his cool breath on your lips as he opens his mouth to respond. 

“This.” He answers, then presses his lips to yours. His soft lips mould against yours as you fall back against the cushioned armrest, his strong arms holding you to him as he pulls his mouth away and rests his forehead on yours.

“Way better than banana pops.”

[a-blue-secret]

CHAPTER I

BACK TO MASTERLIST

Prologue | Chapter I | Chapter II

GENRES: royal au; fantasy au; magic au; friends-to-enemies-to-lovers; king!beomgyu, vizier!taehyun

PAIRING: taegyu

WARNINGS: mild swearing

WORD COUNT: 2.6k+

AN: Say hello to Yeonjun! :)

SUMMARY: Best friends turned enemies, Kang Taehyun has managed to trick Choi Beomgyu into his service, and to rule for three years and four months and nineteen days, until his youngest brother would be old enough to take the throne. Choi Beomgyu has no intention of being obedient however, and tries to thwart Taehyun’s orders at every turn. With a growing amount of distrust and lies within the court, will Taehyun manage to keep the kingdom of Gojongja from falling apart?

Beomgyu laughed loudly and boisterously, spilling some of the silver wine over his royal blue suit. The two courtiers looked proud of themselves at having made the King laugh so much. Taehyun refrained from rolling his eyes, choosing to not tell them that Beomgyu had been giving over-the-top reactions for everyone who had come up to him.

“You’re absolutely hilarious!” Beomgyu laughed, throwing both of his legs over the throne’s armrest. “Begone, before you kill me with my own laughter!”

The courtiers stepped down from the King’s Corner, looking rather smug. As soon as they were out of sight, the exaggerated grin dropped from Beomgyu’s face and he tilted back his head with a groan.

“Aren’t you trying to play this part a little too vigorously? I mean, it’s been more than two months and yet you still hold these parties. Our palace can’t run like this forever, you know.”

Beomgyu dropped his head further on the armrest so that he was looking at Taehyun upside down. He narrowed his eyes at his vizier, who was standing ramrod straight next to the throne. “You know,” he said, “I like you better when there are other people around. You’re far too annoying when you talk.”

Taehyun rolled his eyes. “Well I don’t like you at all. You’re annoying whatever you do.”

Beomgyu sat up properly, pouting and looking at Taehyun with wide eyes. “You don’t mean that, do you?” he asked, pout turned up to the max.

Taehyun scoffed. “Don’t do that, you look stupid.” Beomgyu glared at him.

Footsteps approached the King's Corner, and Taehyun stood up straight again, face morphing into a stoic expression. A footsman let out a polite cough, standing just in front of the thin curtain. “There is someone else here to see you, King Beomgyu.”

The lace veil which separated the King’s Corner from the rest of the courtroom twitched, and a foreign lord peered inside. Pushing his half-empty goblet of wine towards Taehyun, Beomgyu beckoned them in. Taehyun could do nothing but frown ever so slightly, before tossing the goblet off the balcony onto the ballroom below. He heard a few shocked shrieks and the sound of shattering crystal, and smirked slightly.

“What matter have you brought to me?” Beomgyu asked the lord. “State your name, and the Kingdom you come from.”

The man bowed. “My name is Lord Choi Yeonjun, Your Greatness. I come from the Aruyeo Kingdom.”

Beomgyu raised his eyebrow. “Aruyeo Kingdom? I assume you and the rest of your court were here for the Coronation revels?”

Choi Yeonjun bowed again. “Yes, sir.”

“Then, state your business with the King.” Beomgyu waved a hand in a careless way, though he was studying the elder male’s face closely.

Yeonju bowed yet again. Honestly, this man seemed to do a lot of bowing. “For many years, our Kingdom has been Gojongja’s most loyal supporter. Not once, in over five hundred years, has Aruyeo made any attempt to go against Gojongja. We have remained firm by your Kingdom’s side, never rebelling, never fighting, staying almost as if we had an alliance with you. The previous King refused this, but, with a new clan on the throne, I have come to ask you.”

“Then by all means, ask away.”

Yeonjun glanced at Taehyun. “I see you have made the former King’s son your vizier.”

“Yes, indeed I have.”

“Is it necessary for him to listen to a conversation he has most likely heard already?”

“Whatever you say to the King will be fit to tell his advisor, regardless of my clan and how many times I may have heard your offer,” Taehyun said smoothly. “You will say it infront of us both, or neither of us at all.”

Yeonjun straightened, adjusting his belt. It was then that Taehyun caught sight of the leather whip curled at his side.

“Very well. As I have stated, my Kingdom has been a fervent ally of yours for generations. Therefore, I hoped to finally have our two kingdoms unite fully, so that we can become true allies. Share war tactics, resources, even people.”

Taehyun frowned. Now he knew why Yeonjun did not want him there. He remembered other Aruyeonan ambassadors had come and claimed similar things. King Seohu had always turned them away, however, claiming that Gojongja was stronger by itself than with an ally. Yeonjun was worried that Taehyun would influence Beomgyu's decision, thereby denying Aruyeo an alliance for yet another year.

“Why has your monarch not come to discuss this herself?” Taehyun asked, hand unconsciously coming to rest on the hilt of his sword. “Why send a representative?”

Yeonjun turned to Taehyun fully, and Taehyun realised why this man sent a chill down his spine. His eyes were amber-brown, and distinctively fox-like. He radiated a suspicious aura, and was someone Taehyun immediately distrusted. Taehyun was sure he hadn’t ever met Choi Yeonjun before (he would have remembered such fox-like eyes), and distrusted him immediately.

Yeonjun let out a slight chuckle, turning to Beomgyu. “Will you always permit your vizier to speak for you?” he asked.

Beomgyu eyed Taehyun distastefully, but calmly answered the Aruyeonan. “It gives him pleasure to believe he has control over me. But, he is correct. Why has Queen Erajin not come to me herself? It would have been best to talk it out, monarch to monarch.”

“Her Royal Supremeness has always preferred to act through ambassadors,” Yeonjun replied. “Her ways are mysterious, and it is not our job to question them, but to follow them without complaint.”

Beomgyu frowned thoughtfully at that. Taehyun desperately wished that he could somehow pull Beomgyu aside and command him to not accept the offer, but he couldn’t do so without it seeming suspicious. Taehyun wasn’t sure why he wanted Beomgyu to reject an alliance with the Aruyeo, but after seeing King Seohu turn them away many times, he was sure that it would be a bad thing to do.

Beomgyu tapped his chin thoughtfully. “I see no harm in an alliance with the Aruyeo,” he said. “But there is no use discussing such politics when I am drunk. Perhaps my vizier could schedule a meeting, and we can discuss formally then?”

Taehyun gritted his teeth. This was Beomgyu forcing him to make the decisions. He knew full well that the King would coincidentally forget about the meeting, meaning Taehyun would have to make the decisions by himself. However, perhaps this time it would be useful, since Taehyun would be able to reject the alliance…

“-and I assure you our discussion will be about all the things Aruyeo will have to offer in our alliance.”

… or not.

Yeonjun bowed, and straightened again. Though his face showed no emotion, Taehyun could sense the triumph radiating from him. “Thank you, Your Greatness.”

Once he had left, Taehyun turned to Beomgyu. “Why did you accept?” he hissed. Beomgyu looked confused, and a little hurt.

“Hey, why are you mad at me? I thought you’d be glad that I’d managed to make an important move by myself.”

“Why would I be glad?” Taehyun scoffed. “You’re drunk, and you’re going around agreeing to alliances you don’t even know the consequences of!”

“Why are you so worked up about it, hm?” Beomgyu said, growing annoyed. “Listen, an alliance with the Aruyeo Kingdom would come in handy. Have you seen the size of their military? Combined with ours, we easily overpower the other two kingdoms 50 men to one.”

“How do you know that-”

“And their resources? Aruyeo is famous for its blacksmiths. They create epic weapons out of metals that other Kingdoms don’t even have. Everyone wants to trade with the merchants of Aruyeo because of their exotic goods and the sheer wealth that they bring.”

Taehyun scowled. “Yes, but-”

“Also, their history of war-winning? It’s better to have them by our side than oppose us. As the prince, you studied past wars, didn't you? That Lord was right. Aruyeo hasn’t fought us for over half a millennium. And you can see, also, if you dig into Aruyeo’s battles, that they have barely ever lost a war. And the impact they had on the defeated is incredible. They know so many war tactics, Taehyun. War tactics, medicinal knowledge, philosophy, the sciences… they know so much.” Beomgyu counted on his fingers. “Their Royal war forces, their economy, their intelligence… Aruyeo, out of any of the other Kingdoms, is probably the best Kingdom to form an alliance with. Why are you so against it?”

Taehyun opened his mouth, and then closed it again. All the points Beomgyu had made were scarily good. He didn’t even know why he opposed the alliance so fiercely. Taehyun sighed. “King Seohu would always have me with him whenever he had meetings with foreign officials. Every couple of years or so, an Aruyeonan ambassador would come to him, stating something along the lines of what that Yeonjun guy just said. And every time, he’d turn them down. Said an alliance would only make us weak.”

Beomgyu frowned, then his face cleared. “The Jinju Kang clan were fiercely independent. They valued individual power and glory. They hated alliances, or friends, or having to rely on others. That’s why.” Beomgyu kicked his legs back onto the armrest, draping himself carelessly on the silver frame. “My clan are known for their loyalty and need for allies. They work better as team leaders, instead of just solitary wolves. For me, for my kingdom, this is what I’m going to do.”

“I’m the one supposed to be running this kingdom, aren’t I?” Taehyun reminded him. Beomgyu rolled his eyes.

“Whatever. But there has to be some sort of Gyeongju Choi element to this rule, otherwise people will doubt I’m truly King.”

Taehyun had to grudgingly admit that Beomgyu made some good points. They stayed there in silence for a few moments, Beomgyu trailing his fingers along the intricate gold designs on the floor. Taehyun stared straight ahead at the lace curtain. His mind was plagued by the same thoughts they’d always had been for the past three weeks, ever since Beomgyu became King. He needed to keep Beomgyu on the throne for as long as possible. But not for too long, otherwise the Jinju Kang clan could never come back to the throne. It would be difficult for Taehyun to negotiate with Beomgyu to convince him to extend their contract, but even more difficult if Beomgyu acquired a taste for ruling and refused to give up the throne. It was all one huge dilemma which Taehyun wasn’t sure he knew how to get out of.

“How did you know so much?” Taehyun suddenly asked. "About Aruyeo, I mean."

Beomgyu didn’t look at Taehyun, but stopped tracing the carpet.

“When you pushed me away… I went to stay in Aruyeo.”

“You what?”

“Yeah. Aruyeo have always been welcoming of Gojongja nobles. It wasn’t that hard to get in. So I stayed there, for a year or so. Learned about Aruyeonan history. They’re an epic Kingdom, by the way.”

Taehyun made a noise to confirm he’d been listening. “Also, why did you suddenly become so smart?”

Beomgyu glared, offended. “Contrary to what you believe, I actually did pay attention in my lessons. Heck, I could write down everything written in ‘the Magical Everchanging Book of Clans and their Population’, with all clans that ever existed, in alphabetical order, with citations as to how many people were in the clans when I was just seventeen.”

“Has it been that long since you opened the book?”

“No, it’s been that long since my tutors decided I had no need to open the book since I’d memorised every word, including the numbers of people which changed every single day,” Beomgyu replied curtly.

Taehyun didn’t say anything, just stared down at the patterned floor.

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　

“What clan are you actually from then?”

“Hm?” Taehyun turned to Beomgyu, who was looking at him through dark, slitted eyes. “Oh… I come from the Jeo clan.”

“The what?” Beomgyu sat up, and laughed. “What, do you not have any surname branches?”

Taehyun glared at Beomgyu. “I don’t know, okay? When King Seohu told me three years ago, he never said anything about surname branches. He just told me I was adopted and what my ability was," Taehyun spat.

"What's your ability?"

"Why do you want to know?" Taehyun snapped back. Beomgyu glared.

"You're my subject. I have the right to know what your ability is. God, why are you so defensive over it?" Beomgyu fiddled with a button on his suit, thinking. "Is it something to do with your crazy ability to make magical contracts? Or was that just enchanted parchment?"

"That was just enchanted parchment," Taehyun said. "Apparently, their ability is foreign exchange, whatever that could mean. I haven’t figured out how to tap into this ability yet.” Taehyun leaned against one of the pillars. “Also, I for some reason possess the Jinju Kang clan’s ability of nature manipulation, though I’m not related to their line." He frowned. "Why am I telling you this?"

"I don't know," Beomgyu shrugged. " Did you seriously not know you were illegitimate for years?"

"My whole life. I just assumed I was a Kang."

"Jeo Taehyun…" Beomgyu mused. "Eh. Kang Taehyun sounds better."

Taehyun rolled his eyes. "That's because that's what you're used to." He walked away from beside the throne to look down the balcony at the ballroom floor. "Also, I think we should stop the coronation revels. This is stupid. You're just wasting money and food and our suites by attending to these dumb courtiers who only really care about how close they can get to the throne."

Beomgyu hummed. He'd taken off the silver circlet and was twirling it carelessly around his fingers.

"You shouldn't do that you know," Taehyun berated. "This crown is a precious part of Gojongja history and we don't want you breaking it by playing with it."

Beomgyu grumbled, placing the circlet sulkily back onto his head. "It's enchanted. I'm pretty sure it won't break that easily."

"Well you still shouldn't do it," Taehyun said. "It's disrespectful."

Beomgyu sighed insolently, staring up at the ceiling.

"Also, are you ever going to attend the board meetings? You haven't turned up to a single one since you became King. Do you know how awkward it is to have to explain to the rest of the generals that the King couldn't be bothered to come?"

"Oh, you bore me," Beomgyu said in annoyance. He suddenly stood up, navy velvet cloak swinging behind him. "I'm going to bed." With an air of insolence, Beomgyu swept out through the veil, before abruptly turning around. “If the revels annoy you that much, call them off yourself. And no, I don’t think I’ll be attending any of those board meetings any time soon. They bore me almost as much as you do.” He winked. “See you around, my dear vizier.” Blowing Taehyun a mocking kiss, he disappeared through the veil, mischievous laughter echoing in his wake.

Taehyun blinked, and then growled. He shook his head, gripping the hilt of his sword. "Choi fucking Beomgyu."

Beomgyu's head appeared through the lace suddenly, smirking at Taehyun. "It's 'His Royal Greatness Choi fucking Beomgyu' to you. Oh, and make sure that you air out the Discussion and Tactics Room, will you? When you talk to that Choi Yeonjun, we don't want it looking shabby, do we?"

Taehyun threw a handkerchief at Beomgyu's annoying face. The King only laughed and ducked away, leaving the cloth to flutter to the ground. Taehyun sighed and walked over to pick up the handkerchief. God, Beomgyu was so infuriating…

[letusmeetagain]

First i wanna say i really like all your analysis and theories because you put so much effort into them and im really gratful we have someone like you who like i said again have wonderful theories that make so much sense so please i have a question for you regarding a certain well...very dragged topic so if you wouldnt like to awswer i will totally understand it just i wanted to hear YOUR opinion because i really do appreciate your analysis of snk anyway my question is regarding erehisu...not i dislike it but its just im so tired can isayama make em or eh canon already so this clownery end...BUT i really do believe eremika will be the endgame because of all the proof that we have in the manga but people tend to make it as if its a crack ship ugh...what do you think hisu's final role will be? What do you think eren awswered her? Though i dont believe hisu's question meant any romantic undertones what do you make out of her question to eren?

Hi anon!!

Thank you for your kind words T.T

Well... the question focuses on my opinion on which ship has more chances to become canon, right?

I’ve spent some time thinking about my answer to this question, how I could go direct to the point while giving enough arguments to defend my opinion. Prepare yourself because I couldn’t and this will be very long. Sorry...

1. Eren’s characterization + romance

First of all, there is a very important point about Eren that shipers (even me sometimes) forget. A friend that loves and understand Eren the most pointed this many times when I was starting to forget about it... I dare to say that nobody surpasses her understanding of his characterization.

Eren isn’t a romantic person. We all have to keep in mind that his priorities aren’t the priorities a normal person would have. He is like Rick from Casablanca. There’s the duty and then dreams and then, maybe, romantic love (If we take for granted that he knows what it is). Erwin loved Marie but he had a priority. (There’s me finding more similarities between Erwin and Eren). Eren’s current development is more about his mission than a romantic one. Although he plays with romance, he does it while being blatantly blind about it.

Eren got caught in the middle of his normal development from a child that gets annoyed by romance and has some kind of allergy against cheesy moments (for ex. in ch. 3 with Franz and Hannah) to a teenager that blooms to feel romantic love as something important and unavoidable. It’s normal for kids. But Eren hasn’t a normal life. There was always something more important than learning how to love, be loved and express it openly. It’s not that he isn’t able to love, more likely the opposite. He knows how to love and he has his own ways to do it... but the way the world is restricted his possibilities to live a different life. Even in the way EMA never got to communicate properly most of the times. Communication runs sometimes as a question, a statement and no back question (for ex. ch. 3). Eren asked about Mikasa’s reasons to follow him, about Armin’s reasons, where he threw that line about his death being meaningless. Nobody said anything, neither Mikasa nor Eren reacted stating the opposite. They usually don’t have the time nor oportunity to talk or even think about essential topics as feelings of love or labeling their feelings.

Given Eren’s lack of experience and maturity that we could see until Marley arc. Is it even possible that he developed a carnal relationship with Historia before going to Marley? No. No, because it would contradict somehow his characterization. Eren is depicted exactly as someone that took this decision because he lost every single deep bond that would have stopped him. This lack of understanding brought him to this point. The lack of value he places on life and a comfortable life with friends and family.

2. The baby

The whole baby plot point is from my perspective just about the curse and a new generation (maybe) free from being SoY but just normal human beings.

Historia choosing this way was also the safest way to oppose her destiny... strategically speaking. She could trick everyone without being called openly a traitor. So I’m agree with you. Her question wasn’t romantic.

3. The father and his meaning

The father is, as I pointed out once in my Twitter acc., the farmer. My reasons are that there is a meaning behind his existence. He was a boy that dared Historia to break the rules and stop being submissive. He is aligned with Historia’s current role as someone who stopped being the good girl that follows stupid and detrimental rules in disregard of her own life. He is also a man that decided to redeem himself by helping her with the orphanage without trying to get her attention at all. Being a normal person who enjoys a normal life and also redemption. I’m not saying necessarily that it’s about love, but he isn’t just a nobody. He holds a deep, positive meaning for the story. Isayama pairs usually a sinner and an “innocent”: Annie and Armin, Eren and Mikasa, Erwin and Levi, Ymir and Krista, Historia and the Farmer. Eren and Historia are the current sinners on the matter that both chose the rumbling... let’s say.

Why this kind of pairing? Because one has to contribute to the improvement of the other. Two sinners (with the same crime and perspective) can’t help each other. It’s opposition what will bring them to overcome their weaknesses.

4. Development of the couples

That being said, Eren and Mikasa as pair are in the focus. Isayama went through 10 years of development of most of the pairs to build up a support for EreMika. He build parallels with YumiHisu and Falbi and gave us hints to understand EM better. The vow he made to her was probably one of those moments when he started to be romantic without noticing.

5. Eren and Historia: their moments

EH interactions are, conversely, of other nature. Both feel related about the point of carrying a big burden. While Eren has to save humanity fighting, Historia has the role of a founder who has to assure humanity’s survival by having children and keeping the royal family alive. Both want to be free from that burden and end up being “partners in crime” by betraying everyone. I’m missing the romantic interactions to be very honest. It’s because Eren is so self-focused that he anchors here when someone who is alone and having the same problems and feelings appears. But... where did the fandom start to see something between them?

Two moments. The moment when he said “she is admirable” and the moment when he insisted to spare her life. That obsession that is so tricky to even be explained.

The first one made a difference between how Eren acknowledges Historia’s attributes and disregards Mikasa’s. The fandom uses this to point out that Eren likes Historia more. Well, no. His relationship towards Mikasa was characterized by jealousy. He won’t admit anything.

Regarding his “obsession” to save her... this started when he knew the existence of Eren Krüger, his thoughts and the whole story about Dina. It wasn’t before that. We must also admit that Historia’s safety was related to more characters than just Eren. Since the very beginning, her safety was conveniently displayed by Frieda, Ymir and Reiner, what makes me believe that her destiny was to give birth to this baby (aka. plot armor). Her role is to avoid becoming a titan by her own choice, that’s her arc. With Krüger we also knew the importance of a royal: they can give birth to more convenient instruments for war. Knowing that he was devoted to the mission, I believe that Eren is being influenced by him (I want to highlight the word “influenced” as something different to manipulated). So this is all related to the mission and the final outcome about Ymir, the curse, the power and the baby. Eren partly wants to grant her the chance to choose, but he also pushes her to do so based on part of her desires because of the mission as he did with Grisha.

Add here the fact that Historia was prepared to sacrifice his life at the cave if it was needed. That shows her priorities.

A lot of EH shippers claim that she saved him. Regarding her role as savior, I’m more objective and skeptical. She spared his life, but emotionally speaking, she didn’t really save him. The proof is that he was still low, thinking that he was a nobody. Carla’s words were the message with enough impact to relieve him and make him open himself to Armin and Mikasa and tell them about his sorrows. This shows the difference on the impact on him when it comes to Historia and when it comes to Carla... this happens again in ch. 131. He thinks about his mother instead of Historia who was the one reproving his plan. To me, Historia is his friend and inspired him to fight just for his sake against the system and rebel those who are over him and oppressing him. But his soft side is related to Carla, Armin and Mikasa: his family and those, who appreciate his life over his fate and urge of freedom and to be acknowledged.

Bonus: when Eren told Historia that she saved him was more like “You chose this path once and I’m sorry. I’ll be starting the rumbling and you contributed”. Historia’s face to that looks like this: “Oh no...I fucked up”. It doesn’t look like “Oh no... I don’t regret saving you because I love you and I can’t live without you”. On the contrary, that’s when she realizes that she was part of this since the beginning and that by saving him, she chose to let the rumbling happen once in the past. Then she goes along with the plan for her own reasons and because she hasn’t better options to choose either.

Summary:

Eren didn’t develop as a romantic person yet nor prioritized romantic love over his mission. It goes against a previous explicit development of EH before the trip to Marley. The farmer has a positive meaning as the father. EM is more developed and shows romantic undertones and common tropes. EH hasn’t romantic undertones and it’s more related to the mission to save the eldians.

So... that was it. Sorry again for the length and thank you for the ask!

[tabloidtoc]

OK, March 15

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Britney Spears' revenge

Page 1: Big Pic -- Melissa and Joe Gorga during a beach day in Miami

Page 2: Contents

Page 3: Contents

Page 4: Tiger Woods on the mend -- Tiger is counting his blessings as he recovers from a terrifying car crash

Page 6: Queen Elizabeth announced in a statement that her grandson Prince Harry and his pregnant wife Meghan Markle wouldn't be returning as working royals, noting that it was no longer possible for them to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service, and almost immediately, Harry and Meghan shot back with a seemingly rude reply, saying we can all live a life of service and service is universal -- no one was more disappointed in Harry's response than his brother Prince William and William finds this behavior both baffling and sickening and he can't get his head around it and William feels the family has been understanding and fair while Harry and Meghan continue to sit on their high horse flinging insults and from William's perspective there is simply no excuse for snide and ego-driven swipes made towards the queen -- especially right now, since three days prior to Her Majesty's statement, Prince Philip was rushed to a London hospital and the queen's been worried sick about her husband and should not be dealing with this added stress -- the whole situation has left William feeling hopeless and he fears Harry is too wrapped up in his own self-importance to see the hurt he's caused and that is unforgivable in William's eyes

Page 7: As Soleil Moon Frye's messy divorce drags on, a loyal pal from the past is providing a shoulder to cry on in Brian Austin Green who she reconnected with while shooting her upcoming documentary Kid 90 -- Brian can feel her pain because he's still hashing out his split from Megan Fox so he knows exactly what Soleil is going through -- they've been friends for more than 30 years and they're going to see each other through this tough time

* Tom Cruise got all pumped up for Mission: Impossible 7, but now that filming has wrapped, he's desperate to stay in fighting shape for the next installment -- Tom was thrown for a loop when the studio postponed filming M:I 8 instead of shooting the movies back-to-back so now he's putting himself through the wringer doing crunches, pullups, squats and weights but Tom's brutal, military-style workouts have friends and loved ones, including his rumored new girlfriend, M:I7 costar Hayley Atwell, worried that he could be pushing himself to the breaking point and everyone wants him to take it down a notch, but he won't listen -- physically, Tom still thinks he's invincible, but the fact is he'll be turning 60 in less than two years and if he keeps going at this pace, there's a big change he's going to do some serious damage

* Life has been twice as nice for Christine Quinn since she found out she was expecting -- the Selling Sunset star, who's pregnant with her and businessman husband Christian Richard's first child, isn't holding back when it comes to treating herself -- the famously free-spending realtor has been splurging on designer maternity clothes and lingerie to lounge around in at her L.A. mansion and she has flowers delivered daily for every room in the house

Page 10: Red Hot on the Red Carpet -- stars rock statement-making halter dresses -- Lili Reinhart, Camila Morrone, Brie Larson

Page 11: Chrishell Stause, Naomi Campbell, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

Page 12: Who Wore It Better? Uzo Aduba vs. Drew Barrymore, Charlize Theron vs. Kaia Gerber, Bella Hadid vs. Naomi Scott

Page 14: News in Photos -- Steve Martin did what he does best while filming scenes of his upcoming mystery-comedy series Only Murders in the Building in NYC

Page 16: Nicole Scherzinger stepped out for lunch with beau Thom Evans in West Hollywood, a casually dressed Reese Witherspoon matched her shirt to her Draper James canvas tote while boarding a private plane in L.A., Paris Hilton and Carter Reum

Page 17: Rebel Wilson stopped by the gas station to fill up her car in L.A., Mariska Hargitay took a selfie while shooting Law & Order: Organized Crime in NYC

Page 18: Sarah Jessica Parker assisted customers at her eponymous shoe line's store in NYC, Chrissy Teigen at lunch at Wolfgang Puck in L.A., Naomi Osaka with her trophy for winning the Australian Open in Melbourne

Page 20: The Masked Singer panelist Jenny McCarthy in a golden tiara and caped dress before taping a new episode, for a recent date night Outer Banks stars Chase Stokes and Madelyn Cline whipped up a cozy plant-based dinner in L.A., Jason Sudeikis filled up on a sandwich on the set of Ted Lasso

Page 22: Bella Hadid strutting around Manhattan, Helena Christensen and her dog Kuma in NYC

Page 23: In partnership with Ziploc Janel Parrish created the Hot Mess Makeup Line in Vancouver, Cara Delevingne in Puma's new eco-friendly line

Page 24: Usher stopped by the dry cleaners West Hollywood, Padma Lakshmi and her pooch braved the cold weather in stylish jackets in NYC

Page 25: Tia Mowry for Late July Tortilla chips, four days before filing for divorce from her husband Kanye West of nearly seven years Kim Kardashian looked somber while out and about in L.A., during a stroll Busy Philipps stopped to check out something on her phone in NYC

Page 26: Scott Disick matched his 'do to his drink at the Sugar Factory in Miami, Justin Long stocked up on groceries in L.A., new couple Mod Sun and Avril Lavigne were inseparable after a date night in L.A.

Page 28: Inside My Home -- Claire Holt's airy abode

Page 30: Zooey Deschanel and Jonathan Scott have taken the next step in their almost two-year relationship: they've secretly tied the knot -- they've been talking about getting married for about a year and just decided to go for it and the intimate ceremony took place in front of a few family members at Jonathan's Las Vegas home on Valentine's Day and it was spur of the moment, but that's how Zooey likes to do things and now Jonathan too and they put it together in a matter of days and everyone got a verbal invite to come -- Zooey wore a Bohemian-inspired gown and flowers in her hair while Jonathan wore an all-white suit and Zooey serenaded Jonathan with a love song she had written -- guests including Jonathan's twin brother Drew Scott and sister-in-law Linda Phan were treated to a gourmet buffet and video and arcade games -- now the couple's eager to grow their family and Jonathan will be a great stepdad to Zooey's children Elsie and Charlie but he's been saying for months that he can't wait to have kids of his own and they've already started trying

Page 31: Blake Lively and husband Ryan Reynolds are one of the most charitable couples in Hollywood and now the big-hearted duo are ready to take the next step by adopting a baby in need -- Blake and Ryan who share daughters James, Inez and Betty have donated millions of dollars to organizations working to protect the rights of immigrant children separated from their families and awaiting deportation -- day by day they've been warming up to the idea of providing an orphan with a forever home -- Ryan jokes that Blake is a baby machine who would have no trouble getting pregnant again, but their hearts really go out to these kids

* Ever since Bridgerton became a monster hit, the sizzling chemistry between Rege-Jean Page and costar Phoebe Dynevor has fans convinced that they're an offscreen item as well, but Rege-Jean's girlfriend Emily Brown is fed up with keeping their real-life romance under wraps and she's starting to feel like Rege's dirty little secret -- Emily has been dating Rege for two years and shares a home with him in East London -- the show's producers have been happy to let the rumors about Rege and Phoebe fly because it made their steamy sex scenes that much more believable -- Emily, a part-time soccer player and copywriter from Manchester, loves to go to pubs and party, which she and Rege used to do before the show came out -- Rege insists that keeping their relationship on the down-low is no big deal, but Emily wants everyone to know that the hunky Duke of Hastings is spoken for

* Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher have got the parenting thing down pat, and they're ready to share their know-how by penning a how-to manual -- their friends have been begging them for advice for years and Mila and Ashton make having kids look like a fun adventure and for them, it really is -- now that Ashton has wrapped up shooting his new thriller Vengeance, he and Mila finally have a little downtime and the handbook will include the duo's dos and don'ts for raising their children Wyatt and Dimitri like they never argue in front of the kids and make sure to treat them equally -- Mila's the stricter one and Ashton's the softie, but it's a team effort and it works and they admit it can get a bit chaotic, but they don't sweat the small stuff

Page 32: New parents Kit Harington and Rose Leslie may be in baby heaven, but they're dealing with the home renovation from hell -- the Game of Thrones alums, who recently welcomed their first child, have been up to their ears fixing up their 15th-century country manor, which is turning out to be a huge money pit -- Kit and Rose bought the $2.4 million spread shortly before tying the knot in 2018 and had no idea what they were getting into and the couple got hit by sticker shock when they finally got their plans approved to put in a new kitchen, master bath, pipes and flooring and it's going to cost them an extra half a million at least -- they still think it's the perfect place to raise a family, but overseeing an army of builders and designers with a newborn at home is leading to some serious sleep deprivation

* As Olivia Wilde and Harry Styles' romance heats up, the couple is planning a heart-to-heart with her ex-fiance Jason Sudeikis -- after filming wrapped on their movie Don't Worry (for the love of all that's holy, please put in a comma) Darling, the lovebirds flew to London to meet with Jason, who's been on the set of Ted Lasso in England because Olivia, who shares two kids with Jason, wants to clear the air and have a calm conversation about how everyone moves forward from here, and she wants Jason to realize that Harry is here to stay and Olivia needs Jason to understand this is a serious relationship, whether he likes it or not

* Baby Boom -- these celebs recently welcomed little ones -- Wilmer Valderrama and fiancee Amanda Pacheco welcomed a baby girl, Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahones and fiancee Brittany Matthews welcomed a daughter named Sterling Skye, Mandy Moore and Taylor Goldsmith welcomed a son named August Harrison

Page 34: Cover Story -- Britney Spears fights back -- she is ready to reclaim her life and she's looking to take down anyone who stands in her way, starting with her father, Jamie Spears

Page 36: In the wake of the #FreeBritney movement, Justin Timberlake who dated Britney Spears from 1999-2002, and publicly insinuated her cheating ruined their relationship, took to Instagram to offer a mea culpa, saying he wanted to apologize to Britney who he cares for and respects and he knows he failed -- he also contacted Britney directly to express his regrets over how he handled their breakup because he wanted to do the right thing and Britney accepted his apology and she was touched by the gesture and thought it was absolutely sincere and they had a nice little chat and it made Justin feel better knowing that Britney didn't hold any grudges

Page 38: They're So Grown Up -- the kids of some of Hollywood's biggest celebs are striking out on their own -- Ava Sambora is the daughter of Heather Locklear and Richie Sambora, Maya Hawke is the daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, Damian Hurley is the son of Elizabeth Hurley and Steve Bing

Page 39: Lily Sheen is the daughter of Kate Beckinsale and Michael Sheen, Jack Depp is the son of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, Lola Consuelos is the daughter of Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos

Page 40: Interview -- Dwayne Johnson -- with a new TV sitcom based on his early years, The Rock reveals all about his rollicking adventures growing up

Page 42: Slim Down for Spring -- how these stars got their best bodies ever just in time for the warmer weather

Page 46: Style Week -- Sara Sampaio is fronting Michael Kors' new campaign for its latest perfume, Gorgeous

Page 48: What's Hot Right Now -- break a sweat stylishly in LoveShackFancy X Beach Riot's limited-edition collection -- Nina Agdal

Page 49: Preppy Tennis Fashion -- Lele Sadoughi turns to '70s and '80s country club looks for its spring/summer 21 accessories

Page 50: Gift Guide -- self-care session -- pampering gifts that benefit body and mind because, hey, there's never been a better time to treat yourself -- Miranda Kerr

Page 52: Chrissy Teigen is a fan of affordable de-puffing and brightening holographic foil eye masks

Page 58: Buzz -- costars reunited -- Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay for Law & Order: Organized Crime, 13 Going on 30's Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Garner reconnected on the set of their upcoming movie The Adam Project

Page 59: Rachel Bilson shared a snap of herself with O.C. costar Melinda Clarke, Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel who played a beloved couple on Boy Meets World starred in Panera Bread's new commercial for Valentine's Day, Rebel Wilson and Adam Devine of Pitch Perfect met up during Super Bowl LV game in early February

Page 60: Sound Bites -- Jennifer Love Hewitt on her night out with Betty White, Henry Golding on expecting his first child, Drew Barrymore on never going under the knife, Salma Hayek discussing billionaire husband Francois-Henri Pinault

Page 61: Tiffany Haddish on taking a chill day, Colin Jost on letting Scarlett Johansson plan their wedding, Cameron Diaz on whether she plans to return to Hollywood, Kehlani on feeling sexier as a mom

Page 62: Horoscope -- Pisces Connie Britton turned 54 on March 6

Page 64: By the Numbers -- Ana de Armas

[pretchatta]

@cameoamalthea made a post about Bo-Katan and I have Many Thoughts, but for ease of reading I’ve put my response here under the read more! (warning: spoilers for the whole of season 2 of The Mandalorian)

Why Ahsoka still supports Bo-Katan is a GREAT question (that I actually started thinking about earlier today), but first, I want to talk about the rest of Bo's past - she is NOT a good person. She's definitely a Yasha Greyjoy, believing in the conquering, predatory supremacy of the Mandalorians, and something I'm exploring in a fic series I'm currently writing is how she came to be that way.

I think it was mentioned somewhere that Satine's father was Duke of Mandalore before she was Duchess, and it was him who started the pacifist New Mandalorian government. I don't know if this is a hereditary-monarchy kinda situation or more democratic, but my interpretation is "there are sort of royal families and even though there technically are elections, it's always Clan Kryze or Vizsla or similar who get elected". My headcanon is that Satine was the eldest child and so groomed to take the throne, while Bo was sort of pushed to the side in very typical second-child fashion. So she grew up with a fair amount of internalised resentment towards her family, and then at some point fell in with some more traditional Mandalorians, and from there it was all too easy to oppose her father and sister and everything they stood for.

So, she believes Mandalorians are top-of-the-food-chain warriors, and that it's perfectly okay to burn villages, kill helpless people, and smack the butt of any skinny torgruta kid who shows up unannounced. She's a Bad Person. She’s also so committed to this ideology that she’s willing to team up with a former Sith and a bunch of criminals to get what she wants. But then Maul kills Vizsla, and declares himself leader of Death Watch and Mandalore, and this is her limit - as you said, not because he's bad, but because he's not Mandalorian. (It was at this point that I, as an audience member, really started to like her - the cool female lieutennant is standing up to a bad guy! And it's for a reason that isn't "this is morally wrong and I have developed a conscience"! I love that, because after a while that does get a bit boring.) So now she's fighting Maul, and we know the Jedi are also fighting Maul, so it makes perfect sense for them to team up against their common enemy who is far stronger than each of them.

I then think that during the Siege of Mandalore she has a bit of an internal crisis. Before, when the Shadow Collective were pretending to invade so Death Watch could save the day, yes there were Mandalorians being hurt, but it was all under control, it was just a pretend invasion, after all. Now, however, everything is much more real - the war is now on Mandalore, her home, and it's hurting her people, and there's nothing she can do to stop it without more fighting. It's actually partly her fault, because she was part of Death Watch, and they set this whole thing in motion. So she then sees Ahsoka, who is committed to peace, take out Maul with no casualties (up until this point, most if not all of the Maul fights she's seen either involve decapitation or lots of explosions - if she'd tried to take him, a lot of people would have died in the fight, both soldiers and innocents). She's also been part of the desperate fighting in the streets, and I think she's finally starting to realise that maybe Satine was right - their people can't take much more of this, because they're going to destroy themselves. Maybe they should think about less combative ways to rule themselves? She says “I wish I was good at something other than war” and then “My sister tried that. I never understood her idealism” and I always thought there was an unsaid “until now” at the end of that second one - she wants to be what Mandalore needs, and she’s realising that might not be a warrior.

But for now, they need to get through this, and that means fighting off the crime syndicates that are literally in their streets, that means accepting the help of the Republic and its soldiers, and it eventually means Bo-Katan herself taking up the position of ruler of Mandalore. We know that doesn’t last long, because Saxon and the Empire rise up to take it from her, but then Sabine finds the Darksaber and unifies the clans. Bo says “I had my chance to rule, and I failed. I am not my sister. I am not the leader you seek” - she’s definitely done some reflecting on maybe-Satine-was-right-after-all, and starting to realise how badly she’s messed up. But as you say, Sabine and the other clans push her into accepting the Darksaber and the throne.

Now I (finally) come to Ahsoka. Ahsoka saw Death Watch Bo - she directly saw her burning the village, and she also saw the effects Death Watch’s attempts at taking over had on Mandalore when she went to help weed out corruption in Sundari. Yes, a lot of it was due to the war, but a lot of those problems were definitely exacerbated by Death Watch’s actions and presence. Ahsoka then teamed up with her to fight Maul - ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ - and on my first watch I didn’t think much of her saying “I’ve learned from the best, including you.” I was too busy thinking “yeah, Bo-Katan IS the best!” but on my second watch - why does Ahsoka think she’s ‘the best’? Did she see something that we, the audience, did not? The Clone Wars didn’t show us any scenes with just Ahsoka and Bo before the fighting started - perhaps they had a conversation where Ahsoka confronted Bo about the terrible things in her past, and Bo explained that she was misguided and regretted it and was trying to do what was best for her people now. That would make sense.

Because then, in The Mandalorian, Bo directs Din to Ahsoka (edit: and she does it very specifically, too - usually in Star Wars you get a system, maybe a planet, but Bo knows the exact city). Why would she even know where Ahsoka is? They didn’t interact in the Rebels arc. From what we see of Ahsoka, Tython Corvus isn’t even her permanent residence, she’s just there to help one village tiny city and get information out of someone. So why does Bo have very recent information on her location? The only answer is that they must be allies who share that information willingly. And since the character of Ahsoka is Good, her allies must also be - unless they’ve made another temporary arrangement to team up and defeat a common enemy. But Bo is hunting Gideon and Ahsoka is hunting Thrawn (I am unbelievably excited) so they’re apparently on different quests. Which means... they must be friends.

In the episode The Heiress, Bo acts pretty okay. Yeah, she calls Din’s way of life a cult and is kinda rude about it, but it’s in response to him literally telling her she’s not a Mandalorian as, like, the first thing he says to her, and there are a lot of people out there who are rude and dismissive of someone’s way of life/upbringing without being Inherently Evil and Bad. Her motivations in that episode are: save a fellow Mandalorian, who might also be able to help her find and fight Gideon, and find and fight Gideon. She’s not interested in helping Din on his side-quest to reunite a child with his people - she feels the struggle for Mandalore is more important than one child. 

In the episode The Rescue, however, she definitely goes out of her way to insult Boba and Jango completely unneccessary. Maybe she has a valid reason to dislike clones? I don’t think it would have anything to do with the Republic/Empire’s takeover of Mandalore - that wasn’t the clones’ fault*. She asked for Republic help, and then it was Palpatine and Saxon who kept them there. However, other than that, I don’t think she did much wrong? She still has the single-minded determination to duel Gideon and retake the Darksaber, which she might feel a need to do this time around because she has to prove - to herself, to Mandalore, to everyone - that she’s worthy of it. But for her, even though she’s accepted that maybe pacifism is okay, Mandalore is still pretty high up on her priority list, so it comes ahead of Din, Grogu and the New Republic.

So future seasons have a lot to answer for:

Why is Ahsoka willingly allied with Bo-Katan, given that Bo has never done anything objectively good/anything that wasn’t motivated by a need to see Mandalore ruled by Mandalorians wearing beskar?

Why does Bo hate the Fetts so much?

How will Bo handle Din having possession of the Darksaber now?

(edit: the below was added after posting)

* Why I don’t think it’s the clones’ fault: Bo knew what she was doing when she invited the Republic to help her retake Mandalore. Obi-Wan specifically asked her about it, and she said she would deal with it later. She knew that by using Republic gunships and clones the Senate would take an interest in Mandalore, and it would be seen as Mandalore allying itself with the Republic. When the Republic then became the Empire, the clones would either have simply continued serving the Senate - formerly Republic, now Imperial - or been decommissioned, in which case the Senate would have sent an alternative force to represent its interests. Unless there’s a specific mention of this in canon that I’m missing, the clones would only have been following orders from the Senate, and that would have been very clear to the Mandalorians. Any betrayal of Mandalore came from the Empire not leaving after Maul was defeated, not the clones spontaneously deciding that now the Republic was gone, they’re free men, they can choose between Mandalore and the Empire, and they choose the Empire.

Bo specifically has it out for Jango and Boba for some reason. I think she knows who Boba is, and that he’s not just any clone - I’ve seen several posts on this but the most obvious is that Boba was a pretty high-profile bounty hunter in the OT who she must have heard of. I think it’s something around how she percieves Jango’s Mandalorian-ness, his status as Boba’s father and the process of cloning in general, and therefore Boba’s claim to any Mandalorian armour, heritage and identity.

[steves-on-a-plane]

Poe and the Princess

Words: 1450 Pairing: Poe Dameron x Princess!Reader Summary: Reader is a Princess whose how planet was destroyed by Starkiller base. As the lone survivor of her planet, she knows that she’s going to have to adapt to survive. So when General Organa offers her a place in the Resistance, she knows she can’t turn it down, even if her partner is the cocky and impulsive Commander Dameron. 

You were a sheltered princess. Claiming to be anything else would be a disservice to the true heroes of the resistance. Your planet had been destroyed by the Starkiller. What was a mid-rim planet full of sparkling blue waters and lush green forests had been reduced to asteroids. The only reason you’d survived, was because you’d been on vacation on a core world. You and your bodyguard had been the last survivors known until he’d given his life to see you safely transported to a Resistance Base. That left only you. The princess without a planet, the royal with nothing to rule.

You drew the emergency blanket tighter around your shoulders. You watched the Rebels go about their daily tasks. To them, you were just another life impacted by the First Order. It wasn’t that they didn’t have sympathy for your situation. Most of them had survived tragic losses themselves. But the pilots, command officers and medics passing by you and crossing each other’s paths could do something that you were not ready to. They knew how to push aside pain and grief long enough to get through one day. Once that day was done, they could get through the next and the next. You admired them for that.

“Princess [Y/N]?” A woman in an earth green jumpsuit approached you. You stared at the insignia attached over her right breast pocket. You counted the red dots trying to identify her rank. Three dots with the odd dot pointing down. Was that Major or Commander? You didn’t know. “The General would like to see you. Please follow me.”

The General. Leia Organa had been a princess once. You supposed she still was in her heart. Like you, she no longer had a home planet. Perhaps that was why she’d dropped the designation and went by General Organa to most now. You wondered as you followed after the Major/Commander if you’d be expected to renounce your title as well. No more “Princess” anything. Just simply [Y/N]. You didn’t ask these questions aloud for fear of an answer you didn’t like.

“She’s just through there.” The Major/Commander pointed to a door at the end of the hall. The Major/Commander walked off without further explanation. You approached the door and noticed it was slightly ajar. You could hear voices on the other side and took a moment to compose yourself.

“Babysitting a princess, Leia!” You heard someone complain from the other side of the door. They were talking about you. “It’s hardly a job for a Commander.”

“Several other officers showed interest in this assignment, Poe.” A woman’s voice answered back. You assumed this was The General herself.

“Well, why didn’t you give it to one of them?” The first voice demanded.

“I don’t want any of them.” The General told him. “The Force has told me that this is a task for you. Just as The Force is telling me that we have company. Princess [Y/N], please join us.”

Well, this wasn’t exactly the introduction you’d hoped for. You felt childish walking into an official meeting with a high-ranking general wrapped in a blanket. It was certainly behavior your mother wouldn’t have approved of and your father wouldn’t have allowed. However, you were scared, and you were grieving and neither of your parents were alive to see you now anyhow. You held your head high and tried to carry some dignity with you into the room.

“General Organa.” You dipped into a gracious bow. When you straightened to stand once more you got your first look at The General. She had hard eyes that weren’t inherently unkind, just hardened from her years of experience. Her hair was put up in a simple twist and her clothes weren’t that different from her people around the base. It seemed that through it all, The General had remained a woman of her people.

“Princess [Y/N],” The General smiled at you. It was a reserved, diplomatic smile. “This is Commander Dameron.” She gestured to the only other person in the room, the man you’d heard her talking to earlier.

In contrast to General Organa, Commander Dameron was young. Not just in age, you could tell he was the type to find a way to laugh his way through anything. His eyebrows were cinched together, and he was still frowning about his current predicament. He wore brown pants and a tan tunic, with a brown leather jacket. Unlike most officers around the base, he wore no rank insignia.  

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Commander.” You bowed before him. The Commander nodded in acknowledgment.

“Princess [Y/N], you may not be aware, but your father a large supporter of the Resistance.” The General told you.

“I’ve only just learned of this.” You confessed. “My bodyguard Orin told me during our escape. He gave his life to ensure my safe arrival here. I’m grateful that you and your people have made a place for me here, General but I must confess I am not half as brave as my father was.”

“Bravery comes to us when we need it, Princess [Y/N]. Can you be half the diplomat that he was?” Leia asked without hesitation.

“Well, I certainly hope so.” You weren’t insulted by the Generals question. Your father was known throughout the galaxy as the king with the golden tongue. He often spoke with gravitas and could persuade even his opponents to see his side of a situation. It was no question to you why he’d been such an asset to the Resistance.

“What we need are diplomats.” The General continued. “The resistance can only do so much, operating in the shadows.”

“What are you asking me?” You wondered aloud.

“I’d like for you to continue to live your current lifestyle, within reason. Travel from planet to planet as you have. This will act as a cover for your real work; recruiting.” She explained. “We need pilots, medics, leaders, resources. Commander Dameron will be your partner on missions. He’ll keep you safe and help keep you pointed in the right direction. Will you accept my offer?”

You didn’t see how you had much of a choice. You couldn’t afford to continue traveling from spaceport to spaceport on your own. You weren’t really sure how the Resistance could afford it either. You didn’t have a home; you didn’t have anywhere else to go.

“I’ll do it.” You nodded.

“Welcome to the Resistance, Princess [Y/N].” Leia smiled. “Commander Dameron will show you around the base. You should rest. Take some time to adjust. I’ll check in with you in a week or so.” She turned her back to you and the Commander and you both took this as you cue to leave.

“So,” you began as he stalked down the hall. “Am I to call you Commander Dameron at all times?”

“That depends,” He smirked. “Will you expect me to call you Princess?”

“That is my title.” You huffed.

“And Commander is mine.” He countered.

The Commander continued walking along with impossibly long strides. You were practically scurrying to keep up with him. You knew from their previous conversation there would be no changing the General’s mind, you and Commander Dameron were set to be partners and one of you would have to be the first to show their belly as the phrase went. Perhaps this was a test of your diplomatic skill. Yes, maybe the General had partnered you with this impossible man as a test.

“Well,” You breathed. “Those close to me are allowed to call me [Y/N]. I suppose that would be acceptable seeing as we are now partners.”

“Partners?” The Commander laughed. “Let’s get one thing straight.” He finally stopped walking, giving you a chance to catch your breath. “I don’t need a partner.”

“Yes, but I do!” You argued. “Listen, all day people have been telling me where to go and what to do and…and I’ve have enough of it! I’ve lost most of my friends, my family and anyone I’ve ever cared about. This!” You gestured wildly to the empty corridor. “Is all I have left. So, Commander, I’m not asking to be my friend and weave flower crowns and skip through the tall grasses of Naboo with me, I’m just asking you to be my ally. My mentor maybe. If you don’t need a partner then, be a leader. Teach me how to be useful. I owe the rebellion my life, I don’t want it to go to waste.”

“You’ve got fire, Princess.” He nodded with approval. “We can use that, and you can call me Poe.” He winked before continuing down the hall. “Are you coming?” He asked without looking back over his shoulder.

[popculturebuffet]

Star Vs: Monster Bash Review or “Holy Shit Concentrated Into An Episode”

Hello everybody! I’m Jacob Mattingly and welcome back to my tom lucitor retrospective, where I go through every major apperance of everyone’s faviorite demon boy boy. In case you watch my schedule or reguarlly read this blog, and if so thank you.. especially you Kevin your a peach, you’ll know this one got pushed back two weeks because the day it was scheduled.. was the day AFTER the US Capitol Insurgency. So yeah an episode HEAVILY dealing with racisim, with a downer ending and a lot to dig into on the same day a bunch of racists stormed the captail to try and illegally keep another racist in office due to his bullshit claims the electoin was fraud, when it wasn’t he just can’t admit he lost, and their own idocy, violence and hatred was not something I could handle that day and I did some mickey mouse instead.  But while the effects of said riot are still being felt, and unlike many republicans are saying we shouldn’t just “move on” or “try to heal” because the wound needs to be properly examined so the people who carved our country open with a rusty knife can be prosecuted for it, enough time has passed that I can get back on the horse and eat that horse when it comes to this episode. Also expect new tomtrospective weekly with some exceptions till it’s done. So with the real world reasons for the delay out of the way, on with the show.  Previously on Star Vs: Star had a full subplot dealing with her super powered mewberity form, which was now golden and creating bunches of portals. While she wanted to just let it go loose on Eclipsa’s suggestoin, eventually it caused too much damage and Hekapoo was livid when Marco revealed he’d been covering for her and Star, realizing her friend was running himself ragged and ruined a friendship to help her, went to the source of all magic to fix things, metting the baby unicorns and with thier help gaining control over her form. While she does not use it given she JUST got it before this episode, it’s very relevant and makes her come off very stupid but we’ll get to that

In more directly relevant stuff, and our main event, we need to talk about Ms. Henious. Ms. Henious was introduced all the way back in Season 1 as head of St. Olga’s School for Wayward princsesses. She’s voiced by Jessica Walter, aka Malory Archer, Lucille Bluth and .. Fran Sinclair from dinosaurs?

I’ll process that later. Point is she’s a talented lady and voiced Henious perfectly. Henious ran the school as a nightmarish hellhole that stripped away princsesses indviduality when they became too much for their parents. Granted some did genuinely need to be reigned in, Pony went there and so did princess squishy a princess that tried to reinact the plot of face off despite her and star not even being the same species let alone looking remotely similar.. she also liked to say camera phone a lot despite all phones being camera phones for over a decade. 

But again like most reform schools it’s a hell hole dedicated more to beating and psyihholically tourturing the rebel or asshole out of you than actually helping so Star and Marco broke in to break out. It naturally was difficult and strenious but in the process our heroes freed the other girls and Marco became feminsest icon Princess Marco. And Marco’s possible gender fluidity, or being trans,  was well loved and while he was later said to hate the princess marco idntenity later.. I still dont’ quite buy it and feel Disney just wanted to nip any implications in the bud. Because their stupid and often non-inclusive to the queer community and have to be fought to get inclusivity in there half the time. Could’ve been clumsy writing and the writers not getting people really relating to marco possibly being gender fluid or trans, which given this season’s clumsy writing with marco in general I could buy, but i’m banking more on disney, where one executive can somehow stonewall gay representation because apparnetly one guy was the one who objected to enchanting grom fright.. and he can also go fuck himself with an old rhino’s horn. Which horn is up to you. Also we got two major hints at the future iwth her: a creepy mural star found of monsters and Henious being revealed to have cheek marks she supressed with her very own brainwashing machine. 

Our heroes revolution had uintetional side-effects as St.O’s became a party school, though it’s students actually still came back better for the moast part. Henious was thrown out, reduced to sleeping in her car with her manservant gemini and sending Rasticore, a septarian mercinary afer star.. and then carrying his arm around when he got reduced to that.. not because of star but because of a rogue gift card. We don’t have time to unpack that, so she later tried attacking one more time in season 2, in one of the single worst episodes of the series, as she attacked and Marco’s Parents, instead of being concerned about the strange woman and man and lizard man arm attacking thier children, were more concerned about.. tehir cool neighbors. which could’ve been funny but just got frustrating, especially because Marco defended himself well, pointing out while he trashed her school, and gets merchandising rights from princess marco merch, she you know, brainwashed innocent to semi innocent children and was in general horrible and his parents are only humoring her because they were both out of hte loop, which due to this being shortly before star and marco leaves amounts to nothing, and because of the stupid plot. 

So after that we got one more apperance in season 3 with her trying to expose marco as a boy to turn the princsses against him and get her school back.. but it was clearly a desperate and flimsy plan and they knew that already, and don’t care because their accepting. And again have done better without her so she gets thrown out and swore revenge on Marco, and here we are.  Finally, since returning Star’s been more active in monster rights, replacing their old batshit insane and patronizingly racist expert with Buff Frog and starting a position to get royal signatures. Obviously this dosen’t sound like the most effective way to do things but it’s both teenager accurate and not the worst plan i’ve heard from a teenager this week.. granted that’s also because I covered a teenager trying to win back her good for not a lot 23 year old boyfriend by stabbing his current girlfriend he left her for a bunch, so it’s not exactly a high bar to clear. So outside of the golden form thing, which i’ll get to in the review proper why I brought that up, that’s what’s all built up to this the mid season finale. While Stump Day DID come after this, I chose to cover it before it since it both takes place before that and feels out of place in the very story heavy episodes after it. So with that out of the way we’ll be taking a look at the full episode and Star’s horrible, no good, very bad night under the cut. 

We open at the Monster Temple, that place Ludo and Toffee were headquartered at for season 2 and the battle of mewni mini, where Star is holding a PARTY!

This.. this came up when I typed party. I don’t know why and I don’t WANT to know. I mean party is in the name.. is that a party line? Is this phone sex? No.. just no.. I don’t want dirty sweaty pigs in my phone sex.. I want Rocko like a gentlemen. 

Now THAT’S hot. And honestly with what i’ve admitted about myself at this point, can you genuinely tell if i’m joking or not?  Point is Marco and Rich Pidgeon are pitching in. Oh yeah those of you who didn’t get this far in the series, again hi kevin, might wonder wait whose that... well he’s a rich pidgeon, part of the pidgeon kingdom a kingdom of pidgeons that moved into another family’s castle, presumibly killed them, the book wasn’t specific on that and is now just a large bunch of pidgeons that don’t talk human except rich and get all creepy. They also have an excutioner which is as great a visual as you imagine. 

That and Marco tried faking singing rich singing it by shving a pien in his foot and making him sign it.. he didn’t know he was fully sapient but still. But it’s also season 3 marco. The fact he didn’t accidently burn the castle down trying to impress star and being mad when she wasn’t happy he comitted arson is an achievement. Rich apparently holds a grudge but says just kiddng.. maybe.. i’d be prepared for a pidgeon with a machete if I were Marco. Thankfully i’m not.. I mean I hate myself enough. 

Anyways the party is in full swing, as both monsters and mewmans are there. On the mewman sides are the royals we met at the Silver Bell Ball and on the monster side are a bunch of monster teens who look up to star we previously met during the Ludo arc in season 2. Pony arrives bringing a photo booth. And kelly! 

And also Johnny Blowhole...

That dolphin what showed up a few times, including in the comic and the show, like most of it’s supporting cast, just sorta forgot. Also was going to be my porn name, just in case till it ended up attached to a fictonal teenager. Did.. did not think naming a character “blowhole” through did they? 

Anyways the party is at “middle school dance” levels of awkward with the monsters and humans on other sides. Rock seems to be getting ready for a racist tyrade and singles out a yak like monster.. only to instead compliment the guy’s ripped jeans and the two compliment each other on horns... turns out the ones Rock always wear aren’t decorative but part of him due to a boating accident. Shame we never got more of this kid. that’s a good kid I tell you what.  But honestly and since the moment is right given their all in this episode.. we never get a lot of the other royals outside of tom and star PERIOD. While Penelope would show up one last time and Larry would make a cameo for the most part their just.. background filler. Even this pettitoin arc was two episodes long. Rich is BRAND new and he gets way more focus.. and even he only gets to show up again for the big “Gondor calls for aid moment” in season 4 where star summoned whoever she could get on short notice. And is the ONLY royal to besides Ponyhead. Larry has an intresting enough design but the underwater kingdom only got featured in the deep trouble tie in comic that got cut short, and he wasn’t created yet so he doesen’t even show up for it. Jagg’s is such a footnote to the creators she dosen’t ever show up after this, and finally Rock, despite being star’s COUSIN and despite his kingdom being specifically mentioned as the hardest to make sympathetic to eclipsa during her own entirely ignored arc trying to win over the other kingdoms, and despite it being where River comes from and thus possibly providing some more insight into that awesome, awesome man.. we get nothing. Hell the Cloud Kingdom of the Ponyeheads ONLY gets two visits despite being home of one of the main cast.. god I just realized Ponyhead was part of the main cast. 

So while I grapple with that, Star figures the punch is too warm and while Marco goes to get ice, she tries to remind him she can do magic and accidently puts it in your standard cartoon ice block.. and being star gets her tounge stuck. Thankfully her savior comes in the form of tom who being.. you know.. tom.. can simply melt it down and reminds her he’s been there the whole time. She’s just been a bit distracted with you know, trying to ease centuries of racial tension in a well meaning but ultimately pointless at best and risky at worst, partay. And dosen’t seem to get WHY she dosen’t want to dance.. even if they do have a REALY fucking cute moment where he leans in to kiss her, she catches him on it.. then blows a raspberry into his mouth when he does and smooches him on the cheek a bunch. 

But the whole thing leaves him as a grumpus venting to marco and boiling the punch.. though at least Marco gets to use that ice now so silver linings and all that. And when marco tries to explain he tells him he dosen’t “talk politics”

My baby boy.. i’m so disapointed in you. And Marco points out as he leaves “your a prince everything you do is political. “. Which is.. HALF true. I mean tom going to the bathroom or eating a taco or taking his grandpa fo ra walk on his leash so he dosen’t gouge anyones eyes out isn’t political.. but he’s also not wrong that being the half demon half mewman son of two royals, DOES mean tom can come off political and one previous episode which he made a cameo in even had Tom being profiled, with a shopkeep who shoed out another monster kid tried that on tom.. only to realize who he was dealing with and beg for mercy he probably only got because Tom’s trying to be a better person now. And I don’t think i’ts even malcious on tom’s part, tom isn’t the most empathetic guy. He’s nice, he’s sweet, and once he knows you he can be really thoughtful.. but as we’ve seen throughout this retrospective.. empathy is something he’s struggled with. He stalked star because he didn’t see HER side of him creeply and obessively persuing her until Marco got through to him. He missed the point of his therapy assignment, seeing it as a goal to get passed instead of hwat brian intended: for him to geninely make amends with someone he hurt. He didn’t get that while star didn’t, at the time, want to date him ignoring her would hurt her... though that on’es not on him. He’s not a bad guy at all but he’s not at all great at reading people or being selfless.

 He’s getting there, stump day showed him put stars needs before Marco’s and not out of any selfish dick measuring contest but because he knew what she wanted and what made her happy, but it’s hard to have empathy for a problem you don’t get how bad it is. To tom it’s just getting stopped once in a while and then having to glower or literally roast someone. To these monsters... it’s a life of being denied a decent standard of living, housing and being treated as a crminal and a beast just for existing. Tom has a fancy castle, loyal subjects, tons of money.. his privlage has insulated him from the real dangers of being the minority he is, of getting beaten up by the cops or arrested just for being a monster. And yes i’m using real world paralells.. but so does the end of this episode so shhh. It’s also a moral that hits home since as a white person, the last year has hit me HARD with just how much I didn’t know about the racial situation in america and how complacient i’d become. I wasn’t actively racist.. but like many americans I had the bad tendency to forget the horrible things that happpend on a daily basis to people of color in this country when it got out of the news. Privlage can blind you, and I cannot speak for if it does so for any real life minorties as i’m not touching a subject i’m not qulaified to talk on due to being super white with a ten foot pole, but I can speak for me that sometimes you just.. dont’ notice a problem unless i’ts happening to you. And while it has happened to tom it’s such a minor inconvience he probably just forgets about it and moves on. And these next two episodes with him, though we have some plot stuff to get too before we get back to Tom in feburary, are him getting his bubble popped and realizing just WHAT Star has been fighting against. And Star’s own privlage will be an issue later.. but we’llg et to that in it’s own time.  So while Tom skulks off Rich startles Marco to get him to do his kung fun hand pose “the sword hand dance” and everyone uses it to dance which Marco understandably objects to until kelly asks him to dance. Cue adorable ship tease.. again this is why i’m thrownig in the kelco episode in the next batch: because the trajectory of this relationship eeerily lines up with tom episodes. No sense avoiding the ONE other episode about the ship , especially if i’m going out of my way to cover the Meteora arc on top of it and my other 80 projects. And regular coverage. And comissions. And you get the idea it’s a lot but i’m happy to do it. 

Meanwhile we meet Slime, a friendly slime monster who introduces himself to penelope and her massive spider bite... and then drips a bit giving her the wrong impression. Thankfully.. this does not turn into the PG-Rated versoin of BLue from the heathers musical. 

No he just was offering to aloe up her spiderbite, and she’s all too happy to accept since her family never thought about it.. though as we see next season their not against it suprisingly. They are still dicks though. But not racist, though that’s a very low bar to clear and only gives them credit because mewni as a whole is pretty racist when it comes to Monsters. Point is I hate their parents but love these ship as the two share some ship tease and go downstairs.. only to get attacked.  Meanwhile, Marco’s getting a goblin dog while being watched by Henious.. who despite Gemini’s objections.. no longer cares about her cheeks as she grins sinesterly and has him play her music, some heavy metal. FORESHADOWING!

Back at the party, Star adreses her public and is all proud and blushy.. till Penelope stumbles in, covered in scars, telling the crowd something took Slime.. and both sides start blaming one another, especially since it turns out a LOT of the monsters have gone missing. So with everything she worked towards and had achieved crumbling, Star calms the crowd and says she’ll investigate. Outside Marco is getting a goblin dog with roy, and wondering why he has strawberry, who orders a strawberry.. who wants that? And then decides to get one out of curiosity which I would but i’m also fat and love strawberries so i’m not a beacon of good decisionmaking. 

So Star grabs him before he can roll that metaphorical dice and passes tom who tries to downplay her concerns and get her to go make out, thinking that’s what’s going on despite that.. making no sense, as a ton of them are missing and 6 is a bit much for polyamory.. I mean it works for some people 

But not everyone can be a majestic space grandma whose also a caterpillar. And their too young to orgy so that’s out too. Point is Tom is an idiot this time and Star RIGHTFULLY calls him out for belitting her cause, not really caring about it, or the other teens who are in danger right now from god knows what and tells him to either help or get out of the way. 

So while Tom licks his well earned wounds, Star and Marco journey into the depths and find a campsite with fresh dog eared pages indicating whoevers behind the abudictions is not only sapient, but still here... oh and it somehow gets worse as they find out WHOSE behind it. 

And a second question you might be having: Who dis. Well this is Mina Loveberry, solarian warrior, whose a legend in Mewni and was one of star’s childhood heroes who she found wondering around homeless and clearly not mentally well in the park on earth.. and then tried to conquer it, but the electoral process stopped her... I don’t know why but a half crazed maniac being defeated by due electoral process makes me feel all warm and fuzzy right now, on this specific day this is coming out late on. Hmmmm.. INTERESTING aint it? 

Point is Mina is a super powerful, super not in her right mind super warrior, who is naturlaly the kidnapper, as this episode also reveals she’s violently racist and assuemed something was up and whiel Star, who despite said cou still loves and respects her and gets she’s not well, tries to talk her down it increasingly becomes clear there’s no reasoning with her. And really with most racists.. there isn’t. Racisim isn’t something that’s rational and while some people are just indocrinated at a young age and CAN be turned around on it.. some are just so deeply up their own ass with hatred you can’t reason with them or save them. You just have to stop them. Via impeaching them, making sure they get called out and taken out of office.. or in this case using rainbows on them.  But we’ll have to wait a second as a bunch of debris falls on mina taking her out!

.. Only to reveal Henious and while Marco’s willing to fight her and her posse, Raasticore grabs star and henious hooks him up to the brainwash machine, probably planning to kill him with it while playing the music

But before she can kill or do worse to one of our heroes.. the door behind them opens up.. and reveals a child’s play room. 

And Henious.. gives up on the attack and enters, disturbing Gemini as she looks around in what’s easily one of the best scene sin the entire series: her slow walk, the way the animation follows her as it sinks in just what Metora might be.. and her picking up two dolls, the ones seen above.. her dolls to Gemini’s increasing discomfort. And while the animation is stellar and utterly moving as we slowly put the pieces together... it’s Walter’s delivery that REALLY STUNS.Gone is the harsh, unforgiving nightmarish woman we’ve known.. and instead is someone whose confused.. and remembering. Remembering WHY she has those cheek marks, remembering this was her room, her home.. and those were her parents. She remembers now.. and Mina rises to say of course she did “I knew you’d be back here one day meteora!” And as Gemini tries to refute this.. Meteora agrees with MIna, no longer henious at last freed form her deep and abusive brainwashing we’ll cover soon enough. And deeply confused. And as everyone else is deeply confused... Mina, not realizing this whole thing was covered up, again we’ll get to that soon too, spells it out for them and the audience in case you missed it. When Star asks how Eclipsa plays into any of this? “Don’t you ding dongs know anything? She’s her mamma!”  (Marco and Star stare in shock as it sinks in) Marco: “Wait HENIOUS is a princess?!”  Star: “she’s a butterfly”

Yeah quite obviously this is one of the biggest wham episodes in the entire series. In one moment we not only find out Henious is indeed a butterflfy as fans thought.. but Eclipsa’s daughter, half monster, and her entire existance raises questions of how much her family hid and if not WHO DID. I mean some of you alreayd know the answer but the rest of you can wait a week.. or a few mintues it’s hinted at soon enough. Point is Star has questions.. questions the violent racist whose pretty messed up in the head for a variety of the reasons and spent decades hunting her.. is not willing to hear out and instead prepares to smite her. While Star tries DESPERATLEY to talk her friend out of this it’s very clear Mina’s not going to listen... so Star rainbow fists her.. and prepares to face her former friend and inspiration for Meteora’s saftey and the answers she BADLY needs right now. Oh and just in case you thought “oh well the magical girl who sounds like amy sedaris can’t be that big a threat”... Yeah I didn’t mention broly for nothing. 

Mina bulked up. Meet Solarian Mina. And like the Legendary Super Sayian form from Dragon Ball.. i’ts a beserker of a form that turns the already obessive and insane Mina.. into an unstoppable rage fuled killing machine with horrifying levels of power who can beat down anyone nearbye. And unlike Broly, where he was just a one in a million fluke in both versions... Mina was PLANNED to be this. The solarian program was something Eclipsa’s mom came up with, a series of spells that slowly turn the target into a rampaging super soldier. It’s like if Nuke from marvel comics, a vietnam era version of captain america who dind’t turn out so good, was INTETIONAL; 

As you can see it removes fear.. but also the targets concisce, so Mina is incapable of empathy or being cure dof her racisim. Solaria turned her from a humble volunteer just hoping ot help and improve her station into the crazed monster star now faces.  And as the Broly comparision should make clear... yeah Star dosen’t do so good and neither does Marco. She shrugs off Star’s hits and while botht he kids and meteora escape, both just piss Mina off MORE, and put star in more danger as she’s thrown around like a ragdoll.  She then runs into tom who shows off his growht: While he was a dick up there.. unlike before where he assumed he was always the wronged party.. he realized he crossed a line and while he dosen’t know WHY he did, is still willing to apologize and presumibly talk about it. A bit clueless yes but it’s effort and his tone is sincre so it’s less “I’m apologizing for whatever I guess” bullshit and more “I genuinely don’t know wha ti did wrong please tell me so I can say sorry”.. which given how awkard tom is with people and how I pointed out his trouble relating to them over htis retrospective, is the more beliviable one.  Naturally while Star does appricate it she’s kinda busy.. and when Tom see’s what’s going on he leaps in with NO hesitation. And given how close the luictors once were and are again with the butterflies it’s doubtful he hadn’t heard of mina so he likely KNOWS what he’s going up against..a nd dosen’t care. His girlfriend needs his help and this person’s trying to hurt her. That’s all he needs to kick her ass. Or try.. unlike with the z warriors.. our heroes don’t win this one. Tom tries a really cool move i’m dubbing the onyx coffin, a black coffin with runes and chains.. that does nothing to her. She breaks out and our heroes flee and Mina causes a massive ruckuss above, and the only reasons our heros don’t die.. is that the knights and Rhombulus of the high comission arrive.  And since the high comission are going to be vastly important a refresher: The high comission were created by glossaryck, the little man who lives in stars book who used to be voiced by an asshole and next season is voiced by keith motherfucking david, to police the multiverse and it’s various issues. The four we know are Lekmet: a goat man who died last season and controlled entropy and could heal at the cost of his own life hence the death, Hekapoo, a close assiocate of marcos who controls the scissors beings use to cross dimensions and can do so herslef effortlessly, Omnitraxus Prime, a powerful and giant antler skulled being who watches space time and timelines and is voiced by Karl Weathers so...

And Rhombulus, a diamond headed he-man reject with snakes for hands becaue his dad is a well documented dickhead.. no really that’s the entire explination i the book of spells: Glossaryck turned his hands to snake to teach him the lesson i’ts hard to get through life with snake hands. He’s a gung ho guy who imprisons the wrost of the worst criminals thus his presence here as Mina clearly had a falling out with the comission and thus flees.  So while Star and Tom are given blankets afterwords and some cocoa, Tom comforts her and admits if nothing else.. he gets it now, having been finally faced with the type of horrible shit monsters have had to deal with in the past and sees why his girlfriend tried hard to help it. But Star.. realizes she can’t fix this that easy. That she dosen’t know enough and clearly ther’es even more than she ever could’ve thought possible she has ot know if she’s going to fix this.. and that it’s not an EASY problem to fix. You really CAN’T fix racisim you can just make society better, but you’ll never be rid of people like Mina. Though this arc will.. yeah in one of the more baffling decisions Mina is given this huge reindrocution, with Amy Sedaris showing that while a very funny lady and a very talented actress as bojack had previously shown off for both.. she can be FUCKING TERRIFYING. But nope, she’s just..g one outside of a cameo, gets beatne off screen and dosen’t become big bad for a season. And I get it, the metora arc needed room.. but you had a WHOLE EXTRA EPISODE to have her defeat mina. Inastead you used it for Marco Jr which amounted to almost nothing and could’ve been saved for season 4 wher eit probably woudln’t of been terrible. I”ll get to that one some day. Point is it’s bad storytelling. 

So yeah Star’s feeling lost, her family history is in flux, she got beaten badly, not horribly injrued but still lost handily, her party ruined and  she was hit with the realization her plans were overly idealistic. Well meaning sure but a party was never going to cure this. Oh and Rhombluus naturally isn’t coming clean about why the temple is off limits or what’s going on here so that dosen’t help.  And somehow.. IT STILL GETS WORSE. The Wizard Cops try to take the monsters in , profling them and not having done so and star thankfully talks them out of it but the monster kids turn down any afterparty or anything. They get she means well tbut hte moment’s over. And their not even excesivley sad.. their just.. used to the police treating them like this. Like less than human, like automatic suspects when THEY were the victims. IT’s nothing new... and god does this feel relevant as hell.

And this i where I meant Star’s privlage bites her: While not as bad as tom, it took some very harsh reality for her to see that solving racisim.. is not only nigh imposisble but not that easy. To her it was easy as a party and friendship and what’s worked before in her fairly shelted world. Advetnures or not she’s still a princess whose never experinced prejudice. In both worlds she’s in the majority. It’s probably why Marco conttoned on to monster racism in seconds during “Menipendence Day’ when Star hadn’t her whole life: to Marco, whose latix and thus dealing with all kinds of racist shit his whole life, it was easier to pick it up. He’s firmly part of his culture.. and thus probably firmly aware of the racism he faces. Star is so insulated she just dosen’t get it till it nearly beat her to death. So yeah Star’s at her lowest point, having failed to make things better, the answer to her questions being lost and not sure what’s real. Metora on the other hand as they dodge the cops.. has ascended. As Gemini calls her henious once last time.. she says that’s not her name. 

“My name is meteora”

SHe’s been dreaming the wrong dream.. and it’s long past time she woke up. 

Final Thoughts;  Monster Bash.. is one of the best episodes in the series. Unlike a lot of Seasons 3 and 4 it dosen’t suffer from lack of proper payoff, as the next few episodes deal with how the fuck any of this is happening and why the fuck any of it happened. Mina’s absence nonwithstanding.. this is one of the series best and most gripping arcs. And the swerve is great: you think i’ts Henious doing the kindappings, only for her not to be the threat again just yet. And for her to be something far more. It’s just masterful, starting iwth fun hyjinks and ending in one of the best nad most nightmarish fights in the series if not the best, watching as our heroes slowly but surely LOOSE.. and THEN it gets worse. Out and out a must watch for the series and a sad sign of what it COULD’VE been had it moved past it’s worst insitncts next season and become what i should’ve been.  Next week: We take a tom break as Eclipsa nad Mon investigate all of this and we get the SECOND biggest wham episode in the series. 

Until the next rainbow, be excellent to each other.