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lady-plantagenet · 4 years

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What hasn’t already been said: The Spanish Princess 2

Episode 3: GOOD Grief! (we finally have a good episode on our hands)

To all those of you keen enough to have come back for another segment of ‘what hasn’t already been said: TSP’, as opposed to have just been scrolling when you see this - welcome back! (Scrollers you too <3)

Drawing of Thomas More’s Son AKA who Margaret Pole at this point wants to be the step baby momma of ;).

To anyone who’s seeing this for the first time: what this is a list of observations, jokes, reactions and criticism which occur to me upon a rewatch. I wait every week until Saturday to do this so that I have had my fill of scrolling through the tag and aggregating what has already been said. I tried doing a whole spoof (here where I gave up 10% in) but tbh a) I don’t know the history well enough b) it’s more time consuming than I thought and c) this series is just not as funny or as crazy as TWQ, so it’s untenable. Having said that: This is not a hatepost. I’m not hatewatching this series and nitpicking on purpose but expressing my honest views and trying to find the good in it as well as the bad.

Without further ado...

First Scenes:

LMAO the way Wolsey suggests they break their alliance with Spain is freaking hilarious because the actor delivers the lines as if he were a high school girl making a personal attack by suggesting the prom change its theme to 70s disco to the chagrin of the peppy up-and-coming rival.

Also @ Henry VIII looking like the peppy up-and-comer’s bff and shy stan with that pencil bite and small smirk when Catherine loses her cool against Wolsey.

I’m sorry... who is Henry married to again?

Also what is Margaret Pole doing at the council meeting?? I’m not saying I don’t like it.

Margaret Pole warning against certain repetitive thinking creating madness :(((

Attempted Naked Twister:

Oh Catherine, what is with you and all the other STARZ protagonists and that weird politcky bedroom talk? Who actually finds this sexy?

‘Catherine you are unnatural’ ooof that line delivery was somehow haunting.

Was the whole ‘I can’t be rushed you are off-putting with your overpowering’ a callback to Arthur and Catherine? Apparently there’s another writer for this episode so I won’t put all subtly past them.

Scotland:

‘Shitey men’ asdkjashd

Look I’m tired of all this ‘my children won’t be safe’ line getting repeated. Look mate, murder of royal infants and children was not exactly a common occurence, even in cases of deposition. The Princes in the Tower are an exception to this but a very infamous case for that reason. Child murder was extremely taboo. In situations like this with an infant kid, no one is going to bother murdering the babies and taking their thrones, the lords will just vie for power and make themselves de facto rulers and oust the queen. It’s not a question of safety but a question of holding power. Stop giving all women characters perma mummy brains.

Maggie being all caring:

‘Barnaby’ *scoffs* ‘Such an English name’ - OH MAN 0_0 is Catherine mocking them for trying to adapt ? Like I know it’s meant to show her envy for Lina, but it’s coming out all messed up.

Our girl Maggie’s smile screams I’m beating your ass in chess.

Anyhow this is the least histrionic we’ve seen Catherine so far.

Chaplain vs Catherine:

I’m interested how Catherine will feel at Stafford’s execution given that I have noticed this show build up to a friendship between them.

Why is everyone laughing at the whole ‘will you delight us with new schemes’ line was not that funny?

LMAO at Thomas Boleyn’s attempted brown-nosing.

You know what? Ruairi is a decent actor. When he says ‘so you admit it? you lost the child because you tried to be a man?” the actor conveys Henry’s troubled mind, lowkey scare towards Catherine and bewilderment all in one. The way his eyes do not move but just widen emotionlessly also gives this sense that he is being manipulated (which I guess they are going for with Wolsey). Then the whole choir music in the background.. I don’t know.. I’m liking this, it’s creating a vibe of a king of haunted and increasingly paranoid Henry. I’m sure they are going for that, so good.

Ursula Pole and Mama:

Maggie Pole say ‘riches don’t keep you safe’ with tears in her eyes :’(. Please tell me how this is not her thinking on her parents and granddad Warwick and what befell them ;’(.

I find Ursula refreshing actually, don’t get those types of heroines often. But they are making her similar to a gold-digger, an exhalted marriage was first and foremost considered a thing of honour. Noblepeople wouldn’t speak in such mercenary terms regarding their marriages.

Post Mary Defiance:

I love the ‘horse’ nickname from Brandon n’awwww

Also just realised what made TWQ so atmospheric - that wierd ‘oooo’ sound effect in the background when a character was being paranoid or worrying. They are using it during Henry’s ‘How is it that I have no sons?’ and it is just... so effective.

Catherine calling them ordinary children... she just keeps striking me as more and more classist. Like ok, I know every royal was... but still, I thought she was meant to see Lina as a friend and equal despite her race and status. To add the race element, this kind of rubs me the wrong way.

Also it is so clear by the end when Catherine states how the king is upset with her, she expects Maggie to ask her about it.. but she doesn’t lmao.

Back to Scotland until Sexy boy fencing:

I love me this soft boi. Angus <3 <3

I like how they address that some men don’t really like killing and that violence isn’t inherent in a man’s nature.

Oh man, are we supposed to look at Lina’s house and deplore the impoverished conditions? It would go for at least 3,000,000 pounds in today’s property market?

Is Catherine being particularly classist again with ‘Why u not becoming a butcher Wolsey, ey?’.

Though I will admit the ‘but giving meat to the poor is also good’ was one of her only smart comebacks.

Just realised, Catherine’s pink dress pretty as it is, looks straight out of the 1570s... why?

Montage and After:

You guys are right, there is this weird longing between Henry and Wolsey lmao. It is actually insane.

So basically Catherine is officially depressed

OOOFF we have Stafford as regent instead of Catherine. (edit: I suppose it’s cause they go to France which they didn’t historically? Also if Stafford is at home then what is his son later doing in France, why would he be there without his father. This show didn’t think this through)

Meg Singing:

An impassionate speech is not too anachronistic. But despite the title of this post (what hasn’t been said) I will reiterate that 16th century and Medieval people’s problem wasn’t that they were ashamed of their grief and didn’t cry. In fact, crying was somewhat more socially acceptable then than it even is now! Even manly men like Arthur were written as crying in literature such as Malory’s Morte d’Arthur. Obviously you couldn’t go overboard, but in truth crying was indeed often too performative rather than hidden too much behind doors.

Pole and More UWUWU in France and after:

I LIKE THIS INTELLECTUAL FLIRTING

It’s nice to see a depiction of romantic feelings between mature and level-headed subjects.

God Mary Tudor is so beautiful in this scene jesus. and the music when she was being presented was also very beautiful.

Maggie Pole getting given ‘a modest income’ yeah... she was one of the wealthiest peers of her day.

Also Maggie’s lady cousin not lady aunt Frost!

‘shaking of the sheets’ lmaoooo

William Compton cracks the hell out of me. I love this guy. He is just so creepy and twisted yet super keen and friendly. ahaha He looks like a riot, I hope we see him more. lmao tiles.

Also this palace feels very anachronistic almost 18th century-ish.

I like the Louis and Mary sequence, it’s nice seeing him trying to make her feel less scared, but OMFG when he lay on that chair.. for one second I thought they were trying to kill him off already.

Scotland: ‘Love is an open doooooorrrrr’ + Last Scene:

I ship Meg and Douglas ahhhh this soft boi x strong woman match is everything Henry and Catherine could have been.

I wonder... why is Lina speaking in Spanish more than Catherine. hmmm Are they trying to foreshadow Lina’s eventual return home and how Catherine become a true englishwoman?

Conclusion:

7.5/10

I cannot in all fairness believe it. This was actually decent. I’ve given up on historical accuracy long ago so by this point I’m focusing more on how it stands as as drama. I mean, TWQ was also a flop when it came to grasping the complex issues of that era but why do I feel compelled to rewatch it every year? Because it had atmosphere when it came to acting, music, certain aesthetics (though the costumes let me down often). It felt adequately gothic and dark, yet bright and jewel-lish when it had to be, sometimes both at the same time. Some one-liners were also memorable etc...

So far TSP 2 did not have any of this. Everything felt way too off and anachronistic. But not even consistently anachronistic. The music was also often very meh (though I just noted the absence of the spanish stringy theme that kept playing in season 1 - I guess I understand why), the dialogue very clichéd (‘alright lads let’s throw in the words: king, crown, power, fight, battle + other buzzwords and we have ourselves Shakespeare’) and so on... but I saw a change in this episode and I couldn’t initially point out what it was.

Upon rewatch, I identified some of the improvements (noted above) but above all: The producer was different! Boy does it show. Unfortunately, I think she is only for this one episode which really sucks. Come back! There is more chemistry between the couples, less predictable interactions, pervy Compton, cinnamonroll Douglas, better music, more scenic shots (e.g Douglas and Margaret in church) e.t.c. I hope it will match the rest of the STARZ productions in getting better towards the end.

Look it’s no masterpiece. But I’ll give credit where it’s due because at least this time it didn’t leave me feeling wanting and unsatisfied (if that makes sense).

#the spanish princess #the spanish princess 2 #lady plantagenet's series reviews #catherine of aragon #henry viii #mary tudor queen of france #margaret tudor #charles brandon #margaret pole

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skeletorific · 6 years

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Underfell and Swapfell Meta (aka the longest fucking post)

*You hear a distant sound of knuckles cracking. There is a shuffle, like someone sitting down and then a sound of rapid typing.

Let’s begin.

So. To start broadly:

What does it mean to “Fell” a timeline?

The original Underfell began as a simple concept: an alternative universe where “kill or be killed” was not simply Flowey’s bleak outlook, but the law of the land.

What I’m interested in dissecting here is how that law is enforced in both Fell and Swapfell, and how the societies these different enforcements styles influence the characters that populate it.

I’m going to start off with a similar origin story for the “kill or be killed” law, referring to characters by their roles rather than their names to avoid Asgore/Toriel, Frisk/Chara, etc confusion.

Essentially, both Fell and Swapfell already had worlds that were naturally more inclined to certain levels of brutality and violence, but these took a decided turn for the worst when the First Human and the Royal Heir made an attempt to break the barrier and were slaughtered by the humans living at the foot of Ebott. In a fit of grief and anger the Ruler Goat declared not only all-out war on humanity, but that until they were free of the barrier, the weak would be winnowed out of their society to ensure that when they Barrier collapsed humanity would be facing the strongest fighting force monsterkind could muster. This is the world that the Pacifist Child will eventually fall into.

This is where the timelines diverge.

I’ll start with Fell, for.....

reasons.

Asgore, regardless of universe, is inclined to make impulsive decisions, especially when under emotional duress. His Fell counterpart is no different in this. In his grief and anger he enacted the harshest forms of martial law, promising to his subjects that unless they were prepared to fight for their lives, they would not be allowed to keep them. Monsters as a society have a strong sense of communal emotion. They felt his anger as their own, and in the end, enough of them were incensed enough against humans that they were ready to follow his lead even down this darkest of paths. The few dissenting voices were soon too busy fighting off the others to rebel, and eventually were either wiped out or had adjusted to the new world order.

The first few years were pure anarchy. Monsters barely stirred outside their door, expecting to be preyed upon at any moment. Certain, more friendly and trusting subsets of monsters, like Whimsuns and Vulkins, were completely wiped out. Others, like Tems and Froggits, had their numbers severely reduced and were forced to become far more brutal. It was during this period that Toriel decided she had had enough and left for the Ruins. At first, she tried to create a safe space for monsters to retreat to, but the violence found its way into the Ruins until she eventually sealed herself off. She is disillusioned and cold, and can in fact be one of the most frightening characters in the Underground if you get on her bad side.

The anarchy wasn’t sustainable. Even if you are the biggest and the strongest monster in the area, you eventually get tired of looking over your shoulder for attackers hoping to get lucky. Anarchy transformed into Kratocracy, rule of the strong. Eventual pockets of relative order started to form around the Underground. As mentioned, Toriel held sway over the Ruins, and though she cared little what her subjects did amongst themselves, she made certain she and any of her children would be able to walk freely.

In Snowdin, Grillby was the major power player. His bar was a strictly no-weapons zone: customers feeling unsafe was bad for business. The fireman became landlord/ defacto mayor (of sorts) over the area. He was strong enough to protect clients that paid his rent (excessive though it was), and eventually, troublemakers were either killed off or contented themselves with picking off the occasional straggler in the forest. Disappearances are not looked into but a tenuous order is kept. When the skeleton brothers moved in for a while it looked like there might be a bit of turf war between Edge and Fellby. However, Red saw to it that an uneasy truce was negotiated between them. Red ensures the Grillby’s shadier activities are ignored while Edge uses his influence over the local chapter of the Royal Guard to punish troublemakers.

Despite housing the Captain of the Royal Guard, Waterfall is a pretty much the Wild West. Tem Village and Gerson’s shop are perhaps the only areas where you can afford to sleep for a few minutes and even then its like as not your wallet will be taken in the process. Undyne has too much on her plate to be concerned with being on the clock at her own house. The area is home to some of the Underground’s most brutal and aggressive monsters, as well as a hilariously out of place snail ranch, run by the one being in the Underground who literally cannot be killed. Napstablook is not a good-tempered ghost, however, and lingering near his farm is not recommended.

The Lab is Alphys’ small kingdom, and in addition to the Amalgamates that serve as her guard dogs (brutal and twisted reminders of what she can do to monsters that cross her), she also has the Captain of the Royal Guard on a hook, and Undyne will send extra protection to her for whatever reason.

Hotland is deceptively peaceful. Muffet and Mettaton duke it out in a resource batter but open warfare is ultimately detrimental to both of them. It scares off the customers. Don’t let your guard down, though. This town is not a fist to a face, but a knife in the back. Not to mention the graphic stories of what Muffet will do to you if you don’t have money for safe passage.

The road to New Home is....surprisingly unguarded. Perhaps a silent challenge from Asgore to test his mettle. Or maybe the rumors are true. The king regrets his decision and silently prays he’ll be deposed. Angry and embittered by his countless losses, and remorseful for what he’s done to the world he once swore to protect.

Ultimately Underfell is not a society with any kind of consistent ruling class. The citizens of Snowdin are more beholden to Grillby and the brothers than whatever the royals are saying. All you need to gain and keep power is to be both strong and wary. There will always be challengers, but the battle is in many ways honest. Schemers are few and far between.

The Underground also places a supreme amount of emphasis on the militarization of its citizens. Though the purpose has been muddied there is still a strong belief that the reason they are still doing this is to make sure humans will be facing off against the strongest fighting force imaginable. Strength, however toxic, is valuable. Brawn is also prized over brain. While a certain amount of cunning is always welcome academic types are regarded as highly suspect. Its hard to communicate to people perpetually in danger of being killed off that yes, your equations are definitely helping. Alphys’ predecessor was thrown into his own Core for not producing results in a timely manner, and she is forever paranoid of meeting the same fate. This is also why Red is even more reticent than his Tale counterpart about his background as a scientist. Ultimately its safer for him to be perceived as a thug than an engineer.

However, the primary theme of Undertale rings true through all the AUs. There is something at the core of these people that is good. Though they can be lead by bullies and tyrants, they have a lot of respect for courage and determination. This is how a Pacifist Human can win them over. The willingness to continue to overcome obstacles while sticking to your principles is a rare trait, but one that they find fundamentally compelling. Everyone is beginning to grow weary of the war, of the loss. Suddenly the possibility of laying down their swords doesn’t seem nearly as distasteful as it once might have.

Swapfell is a very different story.

Now, buckle up kids, Toriel dissertation time.

The canon on Toriel is very....nebulous at best. Honestly this probably stems in part from the fact that most aus are built from a single character up, and this character is more often than not a Sans or a Papyrus. Its also probably a result of Toriel not being a particularly popular character for lengthy character dissertations and examination in the way Alphys or Papyrus is. Most people tend to leave it at goat mom, so the shuffle of Toriel through aus tends to be very.....flexible.

This isn’t to shit on any particular version of Toriel. We’re all making this shit up as we go along with aus and people are free to like what they like and make what they make. However, for me, what I prefer to do with aus is boil an Undertale character down to an essential flaw and an essential strength and try to preserve that across aus. For Sans, its resignation and perceptiveness. For Papyrus, its lack of self confidence and loyalty.

For Toriel, the two things I tend to preserve for her is this. Her essential flaw is stubborness, especially as relates to her stringent ethics. What she prioritizes may shift a bit. I think the Swap generally leads her to prioritize the freedom of her people over the lives of individual humans. But what is unchanging is her unwavering dedication to them. Regardless of who she has to cut out of her life, she will dedicate her all to those ethics. And her greatest strength is her maternal nature: she has a strong desire to bring out the best in people she cares about, and will tend to nurture them whether they like it or not.

Now, a Fell version would twist this a bit. No matter how I looked at it I couldn’t see any version of Toriel making the impulse choice to enact kill or be killed. No matter how brutal the world that’s quite a leap to make, and I never see Toriel as a person inclined to rashness.

So rather than a royal edict, I believe kill or be killed was less the law of the land, and more an ethos that slipped in. Swapfell Toriel is a gifted manipulator. Her maternal nature and her known attachments to everyone Underground meant she would be trusted. So when she began her work, it never occurred to anyone to distrust her.

Toriel’s resentment didn’t only fester towards humankind (though that certainly was a part of it). In a way she came to resent the world around her. How they were all chasing a dream that many of them would likely never see the end of. They grew and overtime came to forget her children as they looked towards the stars and prayed to be rejoined to them. As much as she wished the children had never gone, at least they had gotten up to do something. At least they had acted. Would any of these monsters have the courage to?

So Toriel did what any good mother would do when she saw her child sitting listless. She gave them a little push.

Rivalries were exacerbated by her playing back and forth between them. She encouraged Gaster, then Alphys to employ harsher tactics on lower criminals, arguing that consistent parasites would hurt the Underground more and more in the long run. At the same time, she pulled them back from larger conspiracies unless it was too big to ignore, creating an environment that proliferated backstabbing and theft. Her favor was never guaranteed with any of them, and she changed her minds on decisions that her courtiers feared that her mind had been taken in her grief, which earned her the moniker “The Mad Queen”. If she’s crazy, though, its like a fox.

Kill or be killed did become the law of the land, in practice if not indeed. The understanding was that anything goes, as long as you’re not stupid enough to caught. However, rather than kratocracy (rule of the strong), swapfell is more oligarchy (rule of a few). Those who already had previous access to resources and enough ruthlessness to survive quickly rose to the top.

Grillby and Napstaton continually battle for supremacy over Hotland and are the primary resource providers for the entire region. Their employees have the highest mortality rate of the entire Underground, but the pay is also unspeakably good. And given that both of them charge heavy protection fees to anyone unlucky enough to live in that area, many are willing to weather the risks.

Undyne runs her own roost in the lab but it largely content to remain unbothered by the outside world. There are rumors of her kidnapping monsters that get too close and....modifying them, but she’d argue that she’s doing them a favor by making them stronger.

Alphys’ extreme anxiety is more understandable than ever. Her job as Captain of the Royal Guard has rapidly transformed from keeper of justice to keeper of power. She has to keep those in Toriel’s favor happy, even if they’re intentions are unjust. This has lowered popular opinion of her quite a bit, and many regard her as merely a lapdog with a hammer. It gnaws at her, as she still has a profound loyalty to her people, and when she can she’ll often try to get around her orders, but in general she tends to lock herself away to hide from the shame.

Muffet is not quite the powerhouse in Snowdin as Fellby is in his version, given that she prefers to keep to herself. Still, her bar is a well known front for most of the dirty deeds done in the region. She’ll keep your secrets, for a price, and has her fingers in the pies of pretty much everything going on Underground. She’s not as cold-blooded as she’d like to appear. Ultimately if you’re down on your luck she simply sends you on your way and doesn’t bother with you. But never, EVER, cut her out of a deal. Her pet is a hungry beast.

The bros I’ve gone into lengthy detail elsewhere, so I won’t deal with it much here, but they work in alliance with Muffet and try to keep their fingers on the pulse of the town.

Asgore left Toriel once he began to understand that her newfound hobby of pitting their people against each other wasn’t going to change. He had no larger goal in mind. His mind and heart were tired, and he simply wanted to spend his days in peace, nurturing his flowers and speaking to no one as he lived with his grief. However, the monsters of the Ruins have grown wicked with their years of isolation, and he is forced to resort to brutal techniques to stay alive. His trident is never far from him, and as we all know, daffodils can be highly toxic when pushed down one’s throat. Always keep an eye on his tea.

The Swapfell monsters are hands down the hardest to redeem out of the main four aus, but like Fell they have their softer points. In a world predicated on relationships most of them are naturally inclined to quite a bit of loyalty. Friendship is a risky business, but almost all of them have a person they would sacrifice anything for without question. For the bros its each other. For Alphys, Undyne. For Grillby, Fuku. You see how it goes. Getting in good with one will ensure that the other is more likely to go easier on you. They also have an inherent respect for craftiness. Where Underfell monsters will mock and despise you for dodging attacks and running away, Swapfell monsters have an appreciation for a tactical retreat and may even praise you for avoiding getting a scratch on you the entire battle. Ultimately, they’re all tired of this long dark period, and would welcome the opportunity for peace, for no longer looking over their shoulder. The Human only has to convince them to admit that to themselves.

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darth-dre · 6 years

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Shattered

Warnings: Lots of angst, you know how it goes. Violence. Um, some tiny bit of fluff, I guess?

Word Count: 5352

A/N: This was requested by @sopharodriguez; I’m leaving the request out because it was pretty detailed, I’m sure you’ll be able to figure out what the request was about. Feel free to tell me what you think of it. Or not.

Kylo Ren/Ben Solo

“Come with me,” he whispered. His voice trembled as he stood in the pouring rain, waiting for her answer. He loved her, he always did and he knew it the moment he laid eyes on her that he always would.

The silence that followed was deafening, the rain and thunder were both muffled as he waited for Y/N to answer. He wanted nothing more than to hear her say, “Yes, I’ll go with you.”

But he knew her better than that, she was the opposite of everything he was, the darkness that creeped inside of him overcame his whole being, and if there was any darkness in her, she never let it take over her the way he did.

Drops fell down her face, drenching her clothes and her hair; she shut off her lightsaber, resigning herself to defeat. He tried not to smile, but it was hard not to.

She was going to follow him, he was sure of it now.

“Look what you’ve done,” she said, narrowing her eyes, “You destroyed everything, and you expect me to follow you? To the dark side?”

Ben tilted his head in confusion, is she coming, or not?

Sensing his misperception, she sighed, “I’m not going to fight you, Ben, but I’m not going to join you either. Go, and never come back.”

Abashed, Ben felt a lump in the back of his throat, and what was this feeling in his chest? The tightening feeling? Heartbreak?

His breath came out in short gasps, “Please, Y/N, please—”

“This is your last warning, Ben,” Y/N spoke, firmly, readying the lightsaber that she just shut off moments ago, “Leave, and don’t come back; you ruined everything, including us… and I never want to see you, again.”

“Y/N—”

“Leave now!”

Her voice rang loud, even over the thunder that crackled in the sky, her face became illuminated in a soft blue light, and the sound of the humming lightsaber in her hand was her indication that she was serious. She wanted him to leave, and she meant it.

Ben didn’t want to fight her, so, he did the hardest thing he had to do that night. Oddly enough, killing everyone at the temple wasn’t difficult when he was driven by anger; but that anger was gone, and all he was left with was an aching heart that yearned for her.

The dark voice in his mind egged him on, daring him to fight her. Instead, he shut off his own saber, his head hanging limply as he spoke his last words to her, “I love you, Y/N. I always will. If this is what you want, I will do it.”

“For your sake, you’d better hope I don’t see you in the future, Ben,” she growled, ignoring his declaration.

It was fine, he didn’t expect her to reciprocate his feelings.

And it was with a heavy heart, that Ben Solo turned and walked away from the only person in his life that he loved, even though the voice continued to tell him that he should kill her. He ignored it, refusing to let the darkness win this one.

He turned to take one last look at her, but she was gone now. And who knows how long it would be until he saw her again? If he ever saw her again, she would kill him. She didn’t have to say it, he wasn’t stupid, there was a double meaning in her words.

The only question was, if it came to that, would he let her kill him, or would he kill her?

He could never do that to her, at least, he didn’t think he could. He didn’t think he could turn on his fellow students; and look how that turned out.

Time would tell; as selfish as it was however, he still hoped to see her again.

Reader

Y/N glanced towards the night sky. The years have passed, and she let her past die with it. Somehow, she was able to erase that part of her life, completely erasing the person she was when she attended the Jedi Temple years ago. She was someone else now, every person that she came across was completely oblivious to the fact that she was, in some way, still a Jedi.

Regardless of all the battles that took place in the galaxy, the looming darkness and the threat of a new order, she refused to pick up her lightsaber that was safely hidden away in a dark crevice of the palace she resided in.

She refused to slip out of her fancy dresses and don the Jedi robes, that part of my life is over.

Still, on nights like this, where the thunder roared and the lightning lit up the sky in a pale blue, almost purple hue, her past pulled at her and a shift in the stars brought back the memories of a face.

A face, with black hair matting the edges of his face and forehead from the rainfall, his braid hanging limply behind his ear. His pale skin glowing softly with every flash of lightning, and rosy lips pouting as she shouted her last words to him.

Ben Solo had been a shadow in her mind, someone she refused to think of, stubbornly reminding herself that he was dead. Still, as much as she tried to lie to herself, she couldn’t deny that there was a piece of her that died when he left, or, when she made him leave.

She tried to remind herself that it had to be done, otherwise, honor would have compelled her to kill him. She had to make a choice, kill him or send him away?

Y/N told herself consistently that she made the right decision; she wasn’t a killer, she was a fucking Jedi, not a murderer. Still, the question loomed in her mind, if they had battled, would he have killed her? Was her love not enough to keep him from falling into the darkness? And even if it was, what compelled him to believe that she would follow?

She sighed, shutting her eyes tightly, trying to clear her thoughts. The rain was falling heavily now, the sound of it splattering against the glass, metal and concrete of the palace ringing loud in her ears. The sound was soothing and horrifying at the same time.

It was so loud that she almost didn’t hear Prince Ronan shifting in his sleep, stretching and groaning. He sighed when he was finished, and she heard the shifting of the silk blankets as he sat up in bed, “Why do you always stare at the rain?”

“Because it’s beautiful,” she answered, softly.

Y/N continued to stare at the falling drops, refusing to turn and meet the Prince’s grey eyes. He was handsome, very handsome; many Princesses in the galaxy had hoped to win the affections of the Prince, all of them falling over themselves and ignoring royal etiquette to try to win him over.

Pathetic, she thought when she saw the gaggle of women surrounding the man while she stood in the corner of the ballroom, sipping on a glass of hard liquor.

She wasn’t invited to the party, if anything, she shouldn’t have been there. If she was caught, they would toss her in a cell for the rest of her days, not that it mattered anyways. Her life had lost meaning at that point in time. That was until the grey eyed, silver haired Prince locked eyes with her from across the room.

Y/N stared at him intensely, daring him to say something and kick her out of the party. Only, he walked towards her in a graceful manner, as if he was gliding across miles of clouds. The women that tried so hard to gain his favor were left in utter shock and dismay that the Prince abruptly ignored them and walked away. When they spotted whom he was walking towards, their flirty, happy faces turned into scowls, contorting their faces in fury.

“I don’t think I know you,” he smiled, a small dimple caving in the side of his cheek.

“You don’t want to,” Y/N answered, remaining indifferent to the fact that he was royalty.

She half expected him to be taken aback by her comment, but she was mildly surprised when he laughed instead, “When you put it that way, you would probably be right. But,” he paused, leaning on the wall next to her, “I’m actually intrigued, my curiosity has been piqued and now I have to know you.”

“What? Those Princesses over there aren’t enough?”

He glanced towards the gaggle of women, still staring at them. He chuckled softly, waving stupidly at them, “In all honesty, they annoy the living crap out of me.”

“Sounds like a personal problem; maybe you should go and bother someone else with it,” she retorted, taking a long drink from her glass.

“Maybe I should,” he answered, “But, being that you were obviously not invited, you’re not royalty and you’re not part of one of the noble houses—”

“How do you know I’m not?”

“Because none of them have the balls the speak to me the way you have.”

She tried not to, but she smirked softly, prompting him to smile gently at her. Looking at him now, she realized he was really handsome. His aura radiated something ethereal, almost angelic, “So, what are you going to do now that you’ve discovered my secret?”

He leaned forward slightly, catching the eyes of a large group of noble men and women in the room, “I was actually going to ask you for a dance.”

She could have refused, she should have. Her heart was still torn to bits and pieces, but there was something about this Prince that drew her in, and she took to the dance floor with him, ignoring the disapproving and angry gazes from his guests.

His hands gently held her close, one on the small of her back while the other held her hand firmly, but softly, “Do you have a name?”

She sighed; her time at the Jedi Temple was years ago, and even then, she wasn’t well known, shew as a beggar kid from the slums of Coruscant. He wouldn’t know who she was, it was possible that she was counted amongst the dead at the temple, “Y/N.”

“Y/N,” he repeated, trying out the sound of her name on his lips, “I like it; I’m Prince Ronan Ennes, future ruler of the Planet Lithe, but,” he paused, his silver-grey eyes twinkling as he stared at her, “Just Ronan, for you.”

From then on, Ronan pursued her, though, she couldn’t fathom why. He consistently invited her to dinners, dances, walks and even invited her for a trip to his home planet, which was beautiful. After months of dates, she realized that her feelings for him grew, and once she did, it wasn’t long after that he proposed to her.

The action was met with backlash from his parents, his advisors, noble houses and his advisors; they knew nothing of her, she didn’t have a record of having even been born, so any dirt they tried to find on her would have to be done with intense digging, and even then, they would be met with nothing but dead ends.

She covered her tracks well, and in the end, Ronan won and was determined that he would marry Y/N, and make her the Queen of Lithe, to rule beside him.

It was forbidden to have any kind of premarital relations with the intended before their marriage date, but, Ronan already broke tradition by marrying someone outside of royalty or nobility, what did this one matter?

And that was how she found herself from living as a nomad to becoming the future Queen of a powerful planet.

She smirked at the memory, her eyes still on the distance. She heard the shuffling of the sheets, and the sound of Ronan making his way towards her, placing his strong arms around her shoulders and nuzzling his face against the crook of her neck, “Come back to bed.”

Y/N leaned her head back on him, “In a bit.”

He was silent for a moment, breathing softly against her neck as he pressed a soft peck onto her temple. She closed her eyes, relishing the moment; only, it wasn’t Ronan that was holding her. It wasn’t the silver haired, pale, grey eyes Prince that held her… It was the dark haired, brooding, tortured Jedi that held her tightly.

“You say the rain is beautiful, but you always look sad when you stare at it.”

Even though it was Ronan that said it, she could swear she heard it in Ben’s deep voice. Her eyes flew open, and she turned to look at the man holding her, making sure it was Ronan.

What the hell was that? She thought.

Ronan’s eyes were still on her, though, and she realized that he was expecting a response. She smiled softy at him, “Just… memories.”

“You don’t talk about your past,” he pointed.

“And I never will,” Y/N whispered, “It’s dead now; all that matters is this, right now.”

He pressed another kiss on her temple, gently pulling her towards the large, four poster bed, “C’mon, let’s go to bed.”

“You go ahead, I’ll be there in a bit,” she softly said. She knew Ronan wanted her to get some rest, but he didn’t fight her on it. He pressed a soft kiss on her cheek before making his way towards the bed and cocooning himself into the thick blankets.

Ronan’s breathing became heavy behind her, signaling that he was now in a deep sleep.

She smiled at his sleeping figure, turning back towards the window to stare at the storm. It was true, she was sad when she looked at the rain, if only because it reminded her too much of Ben. Upon thinking of Ben, there was a strange feeling lurking within her, a churning, a shift.

It made her uncomfortable, and almost afraid. There was darkness, a faint tinge of it, and it worried her.

Don’t do it, she told herself, don’t you dare.

You must, another voice whispered.

Her breathing intensified as she weighed her options. She never wanted to look at her lightsaber or Jedi robes, opening herself back up to the force was the last thing on her mind. But, the overwhelming feeling of looming danger was strong within her, so, she did something she never thought she would do again.

She inhaled deeply, allowing the power to flow through her once more. Her eyes widened at the voice that she heard. It was echoed, and distant, and she was sure she knew whom it belonged to.

Y/N, he whispered.

The voice belonged to Ben. Only, it wasn’t Ben anymore. She shut her eyes tight and searched.

She felt a darkness, an overwhelming feeling of anger, hatred and sadness all mixed together to create total despair. The name of the man that spoke was… she searched, digging deeper until the name came to her… Kylo Ren.

She had heard the name before. Ronan mentioned it before, and from the way Ronan spoke of him, he was a monster.

And upon searching further, she discovered an unsettling truth. Her eyes flew open and his deep voice still echoed in the force.

He was on Lithe.

He is here.

Kylo Ren

Kylo never forgot her. How could he? He loved her as Ben Solo, and he continued to love her as Kylo Ren, although, he hid it fairly well from Snoke.

He respected what she wanted, and he stayed away from her. Even then, keeping an eye on her was difficult. He couldn’t feel her through the force anymore, and he guessed that she shut herself off from the force, and from him. It was understandable, after what he did.

He had hoped that she was living the best life she could, doing his best to leave her be.

And it was all working out, until, news spread across the galaxy that the Prince of Lithe, Ronan Ennes was marrying a commoner. He paid no mind to news, until he saw a glimpse of the woman that the Prince was going to marry.

It was only a split second, but he could recognize her anywhere, despite the fact that she traded her robes for sparkly dresses, and the man at her side wasn’t him. He shouldn’t have felt it, but he felt angry; the betrayal of it all overwhelming him and crushing him along with jealousy.

Snoke taunted him with it; laughing in his face about how the woman he loved betrayed him, further intensifying his fury. It was what Snoke wanted, for him to complete his training, what he didn’t count on however, was getting sliced in half.

Kylo’s rage consumed him and he took control of the First Order. He commanded the First Order to attack the Resistance, while he went on a personal mission to Planet Lithe. The details of this mission were need to know, and no one needed know, except for him. He was going for Y/N, and this time, no one, not even her, would stop him.

He sensed her the moment he entered the atmosphere. The feeling was faint, and distant. But he knew she was there. He willed her to open herself to him, to open the force. He called out to her, whispering her name.

He pricked at her softly, using the tricks he used from Snoke to lull her into opening her heart, and her mind.

“Come on,” he whispered as his TIE Silencer landed on the beach, not too far from the Royal Palace.

He stared at the palace in the distance, catching a glimpse in one of the high windows of a shadowed figure in white silk robe. As if in a trance, he exited the dry, warm comfort of his ship. The rain drenched him completely in seconds, but it didn’t matter; his eyes were on the woman that he hadn’t seen in years and was here, on this planet.

Kylo sensed her unease, her concern and her fear.

She was afraid… of him.

He tried to reach out to her, to tell her that she belonged with him. But, before he could, she cut herself off once more. And he was left alone, in the emptiness of the force.

It didn’t matter, he would see her again, soon.

Reader

Y/N didn’t sleep well, not that she ever did, but this time, she was plagued with thoughts of Kylo Ren taking everything from her once more.

Or was it Ben Solo?

It didn’t matter, they were both monsters, they were both evil and dark side users; still, she felt a pull towards her that she couldn’t quite explain or even dare try to comprehend.

To say that she was on her toes was an understatement. Any little noise put her on edge, and even Ronan noticed it, “Y/N, are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” she answered, mechanically. Though, there was the tugging inside of her, warning her and causing her to be wary of her surroundings, that danger was coming. Her senses told her to be on her feet, and not be caught off guard. She suddenly became aware of the metal that was rubbing against her thigh underneath her dress.

Y/N’s instincts drove her to retrieve the saber from the hidden confines of the palace. She was almost grateful that she didn’t get rid of it like she originally intended, and angry that she went straight for it after she promised herself that she would never use it again.

Still, she would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

That afternoon, the downpour continued. The palace was silent as Ronan and Y/N took their places in the throne room, taking over the ruling while the King and Queen of Lithe settle affairs with the New Republic. Even the guards and the servants around them were as silent as a graveyard, which was strange, since they all adored Y/N and spoke to her frequently, but today, there were no greetings, no conversations, nothing.

Ronan furrowed his brows, catching on the aura of the room, “It’s a little off today.”

Y/N’s tension and the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach grew, her eyes observed the servants, and the guards. They were still, stiff.

The small hairs on the back of her neck pricked, and she quickly opened herself up to the force. She felt him simultaneously as she saw him emerge from the shadows of the throne room.

Her breath caught in her throat upon staring at the tall man walk forward; his black hair was longer, neatly coiffed, his pale skin was still as smooth as the last time she had seen him all those years ago, his lips were puffy, but his eyes… those were different. They were darker, before they held a hint of sadness, but there was still light inside of him, now, she sensed the brewing anger inside of him, consuming him and driving him to a deep pit of despair.

Y/N locked eyes with him, with Ben Solo-- no, not Ben Solo, he was Kylo Ren now. She sensed Ronan stirring beside her, finally breaking the silence, “You’re Kylo Ren… what are you doing here?”

Kylo’s eyes remained locked on Y/N, she could sense him trying to probe her mind, but, Luke Skywalker didn’t train her so she could be easily picked apart by Kylo Ren. He didn’t smirk, he didn’t smile, his voice was still as deep as she remembered when he answered, “I assume he doesn’t know.”

She felt Ronan’s grey eyes on her now, “What is he talking about, Y/N?”

Protectively, she held an arm out in front of Ronan, “I told you I never wanted to see you again.”

Kylo slowly stalked towards them, his heavy boots were loud against the shiny floor, “I want you to come with me.”

Ronan furrowed his brows and scoffed next to her, “What—Wait, are you fucking serious? What the hell is going on, Y/N?”

“I’m not going with you,” she spat, defiantly, “What we had was over; it was over the moment you cut down all my friends at the temple, and all those other people in service of the Dark Side.”

He continued to stalk towards her, and she gently pushed Ronan back, he shouted, frustrated, “Guards, seize him!”

It was when he spoke those words, that Y/N realized why the people in the room were still; it was a trick that Luke refused to teach them, it was a tool that was only used by the dark force users, paralyzing.

The eyes of the people in the room were glassy, as if they tried to break free from Kylo’s hold. Her own Y/E/C eyes fell from her friends, the people she cared about, and locked back onto Kylo’s dark eyes, “Let them go.”

He ignored her request, closing the distance between them. Ronan tried to push past her, getting ready to draw his sword, but he was swiftly shoved backwards with a quick motion of Kylo’s hand. He hit the wall of the throne room, hard, sliding down onto the smooth, shiny ground.

He brought his leather clad hand up to her cheek, grazing her cheek softly, the same hand that he used to shove her fiance back. His breathing began to intensify the closer he got to her, his eyes scanned the shape of her lips as he licked his own. She felt the longing inside of her, the yearning to be touched by him, to feel his lips against hers and to be held in his strong arms the way she used to when they were at the temple.

But, she was aware of her friends still frozen in place, her intended probably injured at the far end of the room, and the fact that Kylo Ren still murdered the people she cared about, and no amount of groveling could change that, “I told you what would happen if I ever saw you again.”

With those words, she quickly reached for her lightsaber, flipping it on and taking a swing at him. Kylo, sensing her oncoming attack, was able to reach for his lightsaber and block her hit.

She struck at him again, with a bit more force this time, and he deflected it once more, his face beginning contort with rage. She came at him again, only this time, her wrists began to swing her lightsaber with fierce force, that Kylo was beginning to wonder if he should just leave.

But, he was the most powerful darkside user, and he refused to lose this fight, blocking her last hit; their lightsabers crashing against each other, creating sparks that flew in every direction.

Y/N pushed her saber towards him, trying to break the hold, but Kylo refused to let her win, “I could end this right now,” he whispered, his voice heavy and dark, “I am the most powerful dark side force user and I can destroy all of this! I can destroy everyone and everything on this planet!”

Those words struck a chord inside of her, they fed the fury that was slowly building over the course of the last six years, “I’ll show you the dark side.”

Kylo’s brows knitted, and his eyes widened at those words. In that instant, Y/N channeled her rage, her sorrow, all the years she endured of loneliness and heartbreak, and began to attack with such ferocity that Kylo stumbled backwards as she shut off her saber, quickly knelt and caught the saber in her hands, bringing it back to life as she swung at Kylo with all of her strength.

He immediately deflected, and swung back, knowing full well that he pushed her to this point.

Y/N knew there was only one way this was going to end now, she knew it with every swing of her saber, and it didn’t matter to her anymore. Nothing was going to stop her now, not like it did all those years ago… not even the fact that she still loved him. And that fighting him right now, it broke her heart into a million pieces, but the things that he has done were unforgivable, and she refused to let him get away with it again. She refused to let him destroy what she gained after he burned her life to ashes.

She could feel his rage through the force during their battle in the throne room, it was like a knife, the sharp edges cutting at her and leaving her bleeding. Her wrath, however, was stronger than his. Whereas he felt the delusion of betrayal, it was real for her.

She knew he was as strong as he mentioned, for the people in the throne room were still frozen stiff, even as he fought her.

Her mind thought about what was at stake if she lost.

“I want you to come with me, Y/N,” he repeated as she pushed him back with the force, he slid backwards, still in his fighting stance, keeping his lightsaber ready to attack, “That’s all I want, I don’t want you to marry him.”

Y/N twirled her saber, holding it out in front of her, steadying it. Her eyes stared into his, and she saw a broken man in front of her, she saw a glimpse of Ben Solo. But she had to remind herself of what he has done, and how he could have stopped it, but he didn’t, “And I didn’t want you to murder my family, but you did.”

“They would have turned against me because of Skywalker,” he retorted, “It had to be done.”

She sighed, deeply, “For the sake of my training, Ben, I will give you one warning; leave now, and never come back, and we can end this.”

His eyes narrowed, his bottom lip quivered as he contemplated his response, “I’m not leaving here without you; you still love me, I know you do, I can feel it.”

Y/N’s heart skipped a beat at the words he said, she gripped her lightsaber tighter in her hand, trying to make the tears that were threatening to erupt from her eyes recede as he continued, “And I still love you; I’ve never stopped loving you.”

Please, his voice whispered in her mind.

She shut her eyes, trying to imagine her life with him if she left, and she didn’t like it. She could never be with him again, because what he has done would always haunt her. She could make excuses for him as much as she wanted to, but none of that negated the fact that he was a murderer. She exhaled deeply as she opened her watery eyes, “No, Kylo Ren. You have turned your back on everything that we stood for,” she said, twisting her lightsaber in front of her, “I gave you my warning, you refused to take it. I will do what I must.”

Kylo’s eyebrows furrowed, understanding what her words meant. She knew that he understood, one of them was going to die today.

Y/N twirled her lightsaber, swinging it with all her might at him; jumping up to land a hard blow on him that he struggled to block with his own lightsaber. She slammed and slammed her saber against his, until finally, he crumpled under the weight, and she quickly twirled back her saber, bringing it up underneath his own saber and using her strength to unarm him, sending his lightsaber flying in the air as she swiftly brought it back once more, and thrust her saber deep into Kylo’s chest.

It was a shock for him at first; it was a shock for her too. She didn’t quite comprehend what was happening until his eyes looked down at the glowing blue lightsaber inside of him, practically impaling him. His dark eyes watered as they met her shocked gaze, tears slipping from his eyes.

Her heart shattered even further upon realizing what she had done. Y/N fell to her knees in front of him, shutting off the saber and letting it fall near her feet while his hand reached out to graze her tear stained cheek as she whimpered, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Ben.”

He coughed softly, doing his best to hold on a little longer, “You did your duty…”

Y/N’s tears were coming out in streams now as he pulled her in for a tight hug, and for a few moments, she felt at ease, like she was home again. Whatever anger she felt, whatever sadness consumed her these past few years… none of it mattered anymore. All that mattered was that the man she truly loved was dying in her arms right now, all because of her.

Kylo pulled back softly, gazing into her eyes one last time. Y/N, feeling him through the force, granted him the last desire he wished. She gently grasped the sides of his face, pulling herself in and planting a soft kiss on his smooth, full lips.

It was just like it had been all those years ago, too. The longer she kissed him, the more she regretted having done what she did, reminding herself that she was still a Jedi at heart, and her duty mattered more than her feelings.

Kylo softly pulled away, his eyes locked on hers as he whispered, “But I am not leaving without you.”

Y/N furrowed her brows in confusion at the burning feeling inside of her chest; her eyes locked on Kylo’s, realizing that the heat in her chest was from her own lightsaber… in his hand.

“Ben?”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

The last thing she saw before everything went black, was the image of the man she loved, falling down on the cold ground beside her as the guards and servants rushed towards her, but, she knew it was too late, she was beyond saving, just as Kylo Ren was.

A/N: This is what happens when you let me choose how the ending goes, I kill the characters cause I’m an asshole lol. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed it, and I do apologize for my long ass hiatus. I’m still going through my list of requests and I’ll probably be opening up requests again soon, so be on the lookout for that.

Also, wanna be tagged in my one shots? Leave a comment below!

@stargazer1893 @sweetkyloren @kylo-ren-is-my-supreme-leader @kyloisspacedaddy @thehealthypancreas @inumorph @take-a-look-the-invisible-girl @sleepylunarwolf @onceuponimagines @mads---world @yessy2012 @sallyp-53 @pattycake-hockstetter

#kylo ren #kylo ren x reader #kylo ren x you #kylo ren one shot #kylo ren fanfiction #kylo ren fanfic #kylo x you #kylo x reader #ben solo #ben solo fanfiction #ben solo x reader #ben solo x you #kylo ren angst #star wars fanfiction #darth dre

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tristala · 6 years

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Thoughts on Sofia the First Part 4:

Season 4

Day of the Sorcerers

I have been looking forward to this episode and it finally happened. My son finally made a choice and it was worth the wait. It’s good to see Hexley Hall again with all of the magic around them. Jun and Wu-Chang were a sight for sore eyes and good additions to the episode. Mystic Isles...maybe Sofia and Cedric will go there someday.

The Order of the Wand was fascinating and they do have a question that has been on my mind for a while. Why are they serving under the royals? I’m not surprised that Greylock’s with them at all, his king is full of himself.

I never thought I’d love a rock ballad but here we are. My Evil Dreams is now one of my top favorite songs in the series. The lyrics are great and really made me empathize with Cedric. Jess Harnell did an amazing job singing and voicing the sorcerer. Wormwood telling everything and Sofia’s reaction to Cedric’s confirmation was heartbreaking. Both raven and sorcerer being smug and confident as they took over the kingdom and Sofia trying to stop them were one of the most intense scenes in the series. The redecoration of the throne room and the throne itself was gorgeous. I also like that it was Sofia’s throne Cedric transformed.

The way he said “This is all I want.” was top notch. I knew he wouldn’t harm Sofia and that was in itself, rewarding.

“I never thought you were capable of something like this!”

“You never thought I was capable of anything. No one did!” Let it out man.

“Everything you did was the greatest thing ever. But did anyone notice when I did something right? Noooo. They only noticed when I made a mistake.”

“And you made a lot of mistakes.”

“So. Did. You.”

OHHHHH

Cedric finally got to tell Roland everything he has been bottling inside for decades was very satisfying.

“Then maybe you should have tried doing something great.” ROLAND YOU BIT-

Sofia is seriously one of the purest cinnamon rolls out there.

“The worst thing you did, was saying we weren’t friends, because I know that’s not true. You helped me save Royal Prep. You helped me beat Princess Ivy. You even let Morgana catch you so I can get away. Only a great sorcerer could do those things, and a great friend.”

Not gonna lie, I teared up right then and there.

Miranda’s a gift for being a good human being and siding with her daughter in defending Cedric. The long conflict has finally been resolve of will he or will he not take continue his schemes.

I just wish that it was actually a long special. This is a huge turning point for Cedric. Maybe it could’ve shown that even when he had taken over Enchancia, he was still not respected by his peers (Maybe Greylock will though). Seeing the other sorcerers and wizards beating the Order of the Wand would have been nice too. Nonetheless, I’m still happy for my princess and sorcerer.

The Mystic Isles

I have mixed feeling about this special. The outfit changes are nice as usual, Sofia’s travel get up in particular and it’s nice to see the ponytail again. I was afraid that Amber would act the same way again regarding to what happened in the Curse of Princess Ivy but she reacted differently-ish. The Library is enchanting, as usual. Prisma was obviously the evil crystal master and I like how it’s natural for Amber to still slip up and be selfish like any other human being. The animation is beautiful. Skye’s just eh, maybe he’ll grow on me. The Dancing Deserts was fascinating along with the Shatter Stone but I didn’t care for the Rompkins at all. Sorry but I just have no patience for those types of characters.

I didn’t like the “fact” of “If someone helps an animal in need, they’re automatically not on the evil list.” Prisma’s song is punny but I like the tune. I also like that she acts a bit insane, with her voice being all whimsical and dreamy while she’s doing immoral things like trying to murder children.

Who I Am reached the top ten of my favorite songs of the series. Darcy Rose Byrnes hit those notes perfectly, as well as Ariel Winter. Amber distracting Prisma was humorous, of course she’d have 3 mirrors on her person.

What I didn’t like about this special is Sofia becoming a Protector. I mean, why would fully grown magical adults depend on a girl who already has so much responsibility on her shoulders. Is this gonna be a big arc with magical hijinks, and I guess Prisma will be the main villain. With that said I’m still happy for Amber’s character growth and her bonding with Sofia.

Through the Looking Back Glass

Another favorite episode. I guess Cedric centric episodes are generally good. Finally got to know about Cedric and Cordelia’s past. It’s also worth it to say that Calista wasn’t annoying in this ep and that she likes Sofia and considers her as one of her favorite people. The song’s really catchy in a good way and Cordelia’s voice is captivating, I’d like to hear her sing more in the future. Man, the looking back glass is pretty op. This could solve any crime committed, could be used to win debates and so much more.

Young Cordy and Ceddy are adorable and I had the same reaction as Sofia and Calista when they hugged. Good to see that they made the potion mix up subtle the first time it was featured. Roland you lil shi-prankster. I feel bad for Cordelia but my temper flared when I heard and saw people criticize a young kid who was barely ten at the time. It was cruel and it’s what lead up to his low self esteem.

The sibling bickering was entertaining but I do feel for Cedric when his sister kept hurling insults toward him. Their predicament with the shrinking spell is creative and I assumed that people in the palace were able to leave. The big reveal for brother and sister was melancholic, especially for Cedric.

“And you blamed me...All these years.”

Imagine three decades being looked down by almost everyone, people who already decided what you will always be, a failure rather than see your potential for future deeds must have been painful. I have social anxiety and it always affects me whenever I made a simple mistake, so I could only imagine what it must have been to multiply that to 3 for decades.

It was nice that Cordelia took the blame and stood up for her brother and told off Roland that not everything is Cedric’s fault.

Princess Jade

It was a good ep. But Amber’s the one who made me like it even more. Jade’s princess look is nice as well as Amber’s village outfit and her bun is so cute! Ruby’s a sweetie, making sure her friend tries new things, same goes for Sofia.

“Well, there’s more to life than fashion...I cannot believe I just said that.” Me neither Amber, good for you.

I also adore how she worked with Ruby and others and had a marvelous presentation. My girl is growing up so fast.

Ivy’s True Colors

The title was actually made me look forward to this episode when I saw it, it was like a pleasant surprise for Ivy to get redemption. I kinda wish the Deep Sleeps affected humans too but then again it could’ve gotten too complicated. Roma‘s cute and it was nice to see a princess have a skunk friend though I bet having black and white fur helped. Also, I think the monochrome look of the island is beautiful.

I’ve always wanted to know more about Ivy since she mentioned that her land’s also black and white. And being imprisoned on an island without a trial for a decade without anyone to talk to is depressing. Maybe her family or her people aren’t the best kind. That could explain her being new to the whole friendship and love thing. The song is now another favorite and on the top ten songs, the lyrics are somewhat cheesy but beautiful nonetheless. I thought that Nettle’s appearance would screw up the plot but it actually worked out fine for me. Her friendship with Ivy’s really neat and I hope that I do get to see them again.

Pirated Away

I added this episode mainly due to Amber and Miranda moments. I despise the pirates, they were one of the most annoying characters in the series. I was a bit disappointed when Amber said that Miranda isn’t her real mom when she was the one who said that step-dads are just as real as dad-dads. I assume she said this out of frustration. I adore the princesses’ sailing outfits though.

It was lovely to finally see Miranda and Amber having a heart to heart talk with Amber admitting that she can be selfish at times. Miranda pointing out that her girls are growing up so fast gave me a bittersweet feeling and I don’t know why. I do like the ending with the magnificent meteor shower.

The Mystic Isles: The Princess and the Protector

As I feared, this arc started out bad for me personally. Chrysta was annoying and just didn’t put much effort in training Sofia. As much as I love her wings, her arms are like sticks. I also think that it’s a bad idea for the Protectors to assign an inexperienced “trainer” to teach a child. This isn’t some simple test you guys, Sofia isn’t a guinea pig and this could affect her growth. You’re risking her safety as well.

What I did like is Sofia telling Chrysta off. While I am well aware that this was the point, it still did not sit well with me. Chrysta gave off bad vibes and I think she might be a hit or miss.

The Mystic Isles: The Falcon’s Eye

I really did not like this episode and I’m really not liking this arc. It’s was pretty boring save for the fact that the Wicked Nine is part of the plot and Jun appearing again.

Twitch and Prisma make an interesting duo along with the Locket of Vor. The Wicked Nine caught my attention and suddenly became more compelling but was made me doubt it again after seeing the way they approached the whole thing. I also did not like the security of the Falcon’s Eye. It’s so dumb, even a human can climb those walls. The series is not fitted to have smart sneaky battle strategies. I know it’s for children, but at least make Christa more competent. She is the so called best Protector in the Isles. At least she’s trying to be a better trainer.

“And you know what they say about finding medallions on the ground: Hang them from your neck and enjoy many compliments.” …..No. That is some terrible advice right there.

The Mystic Isles: A Very Mystic Wassalia

Skye really did not grow on me. He’s just really boring and now that this is probably the last time I’ll see of him until the finale so it seems he’ll always be just eh to me. Elfabetty was very annoying, I can’t stand types of kids in cartoons that just go off and cause trouble for everyone.

The only thing I like was Sofia and Chrysta’s interaction. It was obvious from the start that the fairy doesn’t have anyone to celebrate Wassalia with and Sofia, bless her, was really sweet to give her a gift and made the effort to go around the Isles to tell everyone about her. But I wish they showed Sofia spending time with her family too.

The Birthday Wish

Reliving and making sure things go well for the day just for it to move on a lot of times must have been an exhausting ordeal for Sofia. But I did find it refreshing to see her distraught and annoyed, she had a wider variety of expression in this ep. Tizzy, I love you but you should really check your spells more. And where’s Cedric? He should’ve been there, it’s his friend’s birthday after all.

In Cedric We Trust

Feeels. Roland and Baileywick being dismissive of Cedric is understandable. I mean, he did freeze them and almost took over the kingdom. Sofia’s dress is really pretty and suits her age, especially now with the show ending. Cedric did give me second hand embarrassment again, specifically discussing a crown with Roland. Wormwood’s really fed with Cedric and it’s saddening. His betrayal made things worse too.

A trait I like about Prisma is her keeping her promises, even if she has menacing intentions.

“Oh Twitch, are you jealous?”

“Actually yeah, a bit.” Gotta love the honesty there.

Cedric trying to prove himself and saying that he and Roland used to be close as kids in a catchy song gave me mixed feelings. It’s refreshing that he’s not scheming anymore but I’m not completely sold on the idea that they were close. And Wormwood whyyy. Well, I do know and somewhat understand but how could you leave your best friend like that.

Prisma hitting Cedric on the shoulder looks painful. But the main highlight of this episode is Cedric saving Sofia and risking his life in the process. I just hope that Wormwood realizes his mistake and redeems himself.

A Royal Wedding

Finding out that Amber’s the heir to the throne was a pleasant surprise but I did feel bad for James until I thought that he didn’t even like doing kingly duties and I remembered that he trained a bit as a knight.

Speaking of, why did Roland know anything about this and how could they keep this from him? Shouldn’t he know about these things? You know for a king, Roland seems to know squat on some important parts.

“W-well, I’m not like that anymore.” That is true and I’m proud of you.

“James, I understand this is difficult to hear.”

“No, you don’t understand dad. You got to be king.” Ooo. He has a point there.

The song’s pretty but James stap, don’t sabotage your sister. Meanwhile, the twin’s wedding garb are very stylish along with Amber’s hair and tiara. It’s good to see Sofia’s blue gown again, I hope it’s going to be her default dress.

Amber mastering the greetings and her brother’s shocked reaction were funny. James planning to become a knight is the perfect role for him.

The Royal School Fair

I’ve missed the Royal Prep kids. It seems like it’s been a while since an episode focused them. I also appreciate that the writers didn’t make a complete 180 with Hildegard’s personality. She still wanted her and Clio doing things together but was more accepting of her friend’s choices and was willing to let them be separated in the end. The song is really cute and catchy, one of the best in the series. I feel bad for Desmond but I also love how James was supportive. First Hugo, now him. That boy seems to have a strong sense of brotherhood.

Amber and Sofia’s relationship has gone through a lot. From Amber hating her, to loving her and wanting Sofia to go with her to the same school.

“No one ever said you had to be a knight to be a hero.” A great lesson.

Another great lesson is: We may have to decide on somethings but that doesn’t mean we can’t change them. Nothings stays the the same, perhaps for a long time but never forever.

“And no matter what we choose, it...won’t be forever?”

“Oh nothing is my dear.”

Beautiful.

The Lost Pyramid

Everyone looked fabulous in their travel garb. They made the effort to give each princess an individual design whereas they could’ve just easily given them the same uniform design. I love Princess Cassandra and her whole exchange with Zooey.

“Cassandra, are you…”

“Blind? What gave me away? Are my socks mismatched again?”

“You never mentioned in your letters you couldn’t see.”

“Well, you never mentioned you could.”

“Good point.”

I love it.

Another thing I loved was how Cassandra taught them to see in the dark. And it’s nice to see a more realistic/normal portrayal of a blind person.

The Elf Situation

A good, warm final regular episode. Arielf and Elfabelle are cute and didn’t annoy me.

“We river elves prefer it rainy.”

“We tree elves prefer it leafy.”

“Leafy? Is that even a thing?” I’m with you there.

Got another favorite song. I adore it for showing them having fun and acting like regular children especially with all that’s happening. Bittersweet, but more on the sweet side. The lesson’s great by saying that kids don’t have to try acting like grown ups so fast and should instead enjoy their childhoods.

So, this now sums up my thoughts on certain episodes of Sofia the First. Part 5 will be my conclusion.

#Sofia the First #Sofia the Fandom #StF #Mah Posts

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ressarioth · 7 years

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@nakamatoo requested:

how about a modern Au of ereannie where annie's the delinquent badgirl and Eren is the normal classmate that is drawn to her and gradually gets close to her?

This completely got away from me and I ended up with more ideas for it than I could fit in. As such there's a lot left to be explored, but I needed to stop somewhere because at about 8.8k words this exceeded the maximum of anything I had in mind when opening requests. I'll leave certain things up for everyone's imagination/interpretation for now. I hope you enjoy it.

If Annie got one buck for every time someone looks at her with contempt she'd probably be able to ditch her part-time job and still help her father pay for their expenses. To everyone at school she's the girl that broke a senior's arm last year and that pretty much got her branded as the school's "bad girl". It doesn't matter that she was only defending herself — he was the popular student and excelled at playing the victim so she was the one that got suspended for a week. On top of that two of her teachers deliberately had her fail their classes so she's forced to repeat the grade. One additional year stuck in this hellhole.

Annie always had a feeling that growing up in a small town was the worst that could happen to someone who doesn't fit the social expectations of the people living there. But she learned early on that getting her father to move to a big city is an impossible task — he's a stubborn man who turned into more of a recluse as she grew older and now he won't even head to the grocery store anymore. So she has resigned herself to her fate of living in this place until she graduates. She likes to dream of moving away for university sometimes — though if she's being realistic she doesn't know if she can leave her father to his own devices in his condition.

Her only solace is the small record store in a back alley leading away from the main street where she works after school. It's a hub for all the outsiders who don't fall in line with the town's mentality — not that Annie would associate with them, she prefers to keep to herself. But there she doesn't have to bear anyone's scrutiny, if anything she sticks out for how plain she looks in her jeans and hoodie that aren't made to convey some kind of statement.

At first Annie earned some skeptical looks from the denizen's for how ordinary she looks compared to her co-workers. After a couple of weeks however she got accepted as the quiet girl who stands behind the counter during the afternoon and serves everyone without a smile. Nobody bothers her with small talk or asking if a specific LP is in stock and that serves her just right.

Well, usually nobody bothers her.

There are always exceptions to the rule and those exceptions tend to come in the form of one-time customers who get lost on their quest to buy new music. That's at least Annie's conclusions and she wouldn't mind these stray people if they didn't have a tendency to approach her with any questions they have just because she's sitting behind the register.

"Hey, I'm looking for a CD."

Without taking her eyes off the book she's reading, Annie notes: "CDs are right behind you. Vinyls and tapes are along the left wall — actually, it's the right wall for you."

"Okay, but I was thinking of something specific," the person insists — most likely a guy, judging by the voice, but she is learning not to assume these things.

Annie sighs at the persistence. "Then start looking or ask my boss who actually knows about stuff like this."

"And why can't you help me with this, since you're right here in front of me? Too busy reading your book?"

Giving up on trying to read the same two sentences a third time, Annie puts down her reading material and meets the pestering customer with a glare — only to be given pause from attempting to murder whoever is standing in front of her with her eyes. The face she finds herself looking at is familiar. The brown hair and the green eyes which are prominent compared to his tan skin belong to nobody else but her classmate: Eren Jaeger.

Annie's surprise seems nothing compared to his. She could have sworn he took a step back when recognising her and there's unease in his eyes. Whatever attitude he displayed before has drained out of him now. He comes off positively shy when he adds: "I mean, erm, could you help me please?"

This has got to be the worst situation Annie finds herself in since having to listen to the principal preach about how morally reprehensible it is to hurt another student. As if it wasn't bad enough that she has to bear with her new classmates during lessons, now one of them has to show up in this small store which has become her only refuge aside from her room.

Maintaining eye contact Annie explains: "Even if I were inclined to help you — which I'm not — I couldn't because I know jack shit about any of the music we sell here."

As she reaches for her book, she catches Eren giving her a puzzled look. "Then why do you work at a record store?"

"Because it pays money." Annie doesn't feel like having this conversation, but she still indulges him with an answer while she's flipping through the pages to find where she left off.

Eren leans in and lowers his voice to ask. "And what are they paying you to do here exactly?"

"To take your money from you, because these records aren't for free," Annie tells him, staring him down over the edge of her book. He backs away again.

"Oh," Eren notes, ever the intelligent remark on his lips. "I guess I'll come back once I found my CD."

Finally he gets it. Pleased, Annie returns her attention to her pastime and she was never as happy as she is now to read about someone getting stabbed.

When Eren returns to the counter he puts down a CD with a blonde woman wearing a crown and holding a bouquet on the cover. Annie only gives it a brief look as she picks it up to check the price. She doesn't bother reading the label as it wouldn't mean anything to her anyway.

"It's a present," Eren feels compelled to share.

"I didn't ask." Annie types the price into the register and announces: "5.50."

"Right…" Eren hands her the money and she goes through the motions of checking the value and giving out the change. Without any particular interest she watches as he slips the CD into his bag. Once he's done he looks at Annie again and it's like he's waiting for something. She stares back without a word until he averts his eyes and mumbles: "See you at school tomorrow."

Annie doesn't respond. She doesn't like how this is turning out. She doesn't want her school life and her work life to intersect, yet Eren acted friendly with her towards the end as if they somehow became buddies through this one encounter. He better not expect her to acknowledge him in school from now on or this could turn unpleasant for her. Trying to rid herself from this terrible thought she dives back into the horror and tragedy of her book.

As if to fulfil her fears, Eren approaches Annie during break the next day by dragging a free chair over to her table and slumping into it.

"So, Battle Royale," he says and looks at her expectantly as if she should know what he's talking about.

Annie blinks in her initial surprise and then glares at him like he's an unwanted alien. In a way he is, considering he's invading her personal space and trying to strike up a conversation when she has come to a silent agreement with everyone since joining the class that they will leave her the fuck alone. But not Eren, not anymore. She wonders if he's the kind of guy who would mistake a polite smile from a girl as an indicator of her having to be in love with him — which isn't the reason Annie doesn't walk around smiling at people but hopefully beneficial side-effect of it.

Still, the statement catches her off guard enough that she reflexively questions: "What?"

"The book you were reading yesterday," Eren explains. "I didn't catch a good look at the title so it took me a bit to figure it out. I thought about reading it as well, I've only seen the film so far."

The fact that he spent time thinking about anything remotely related to their encounter yesterday is concerning and Annie would rather not dwell on it. She shouldn't encourage the idea in his head that they're somehow on talking terms now. But maybe words are the necessary means it takes to convey how thoroughly unimpressed she is by him since he's proving himself resistant to any nonverbal cue to leave her be. "Oh, so you're one of the edgy kids who watches R rated movies even though you're not allowed to yet."

Eren gives an amused huff. "You're one to talk, the book can hardly be any better. I'd even wager it's more explicit. Or—" he leans in and lowers his voice as if he's sharing a secret and she wonders if that's a habit of his— "are you trying to say that visual depictions of violence are worse than any verbal description of it?"

Though Annie could argue the point she doesn't feel like it's worth it. At least he has the decency to retreat out of her personal space without having to be prompted, but she doesn't like the way he's grinning. To test his boundaries (and ideally unsettle him enough to leave her be) she notes: "It's stress relief, to keep me from doing the real thing."

Having a reputation as a delinquent has its benefits sometimes. There is a hint of unease crossing Eren's face — enough to make Annie almost rejoice in having succeeded. However he regains his composure faster than yesterday when she first met his gaze. Unfortunate.

"I never see you reading it at school though, don't bring it with you?" he comments as if she hadn't just revealed a willingness to commit murder. Maybe it was too much of a bluff even for her well known record. She decides not to dwell on it.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Annie almost snorts. "You think I'd let any of the teachers catch me with that? They'd probably kick me out for real."

The moment Annie closes her mouth she knows that she said too much. That's not the kind of information she wanted to share with a classmate whom she's trying to get rid off. She's going to regret this.

"Huh…" Eren seems thoughtful and she braces herself. "I didn't think you cared."

Oh, Annie cares. If she wants to get a good enough job to support herself and her father, she's going to have to graduate from high school at the very least. But that's personal information, nothing meant for Eren's ears. She already told him more than she wanted to.

"What would I do with my life if it wasn't for this shit dump with self-important teachers and obnoxious classmates pestering me," Annie tries to distract from the truth with sarcasm. "It would be so boring."

"You always look like you're bored anyway."

They both pause. Annie could've easily dismissed the comment if it wasn't for that "always" sticking out like a neon coloured warning sign. It sounds like Eren has been paying attention to her even before their encounter yesterday. She doesn't know how to respond and the way he avoids her gaze fills her with the uneasy feeling that her suspicion is right.

"Anyway, I brought you something," Eren changes the topic and places his phone on the table in front of her.

Welcoming the distraction, Annie goes along with the prompt, though she gives the device a skeptical look. It seems he has the habit of dropping fragments of a conversation without giving a clue about the context. It's unnerving. "This better not be a setup to exchange numbers or I'll have to damage your property."

Eren stops rummaging in his pocket and looks at her with wide eyes. "What? No. I've never even heard of that one before."

"You'll have to pay me to get to use it then," Annie decrees. "Though I wouldn't recommend you try this on any girl."

"Didn't even cross my mind," Eren assures her and there's an air about him that she — for lack of a better word — would describe as innocent. It seems he isn't here to hit on her which would be one disaster averted. That still leaves her with the general issue of him trying to interact with her — and at this point she's afraid she let herself get roped in too far to pull out of the conversation. (How did he manage this? How did she let it happen?)

Finally Eren seems to have found what he was looking for, because he's producing a set of tangled up headphones from his pocket. As he's working on straightening out the cable, Annie furrows her brows together. "You…brought me your phone and a headset?"

"Music," Eren declares as he plugs in the headphones. "I brought you a song to listen to."

"Why?" The word is over Annie's lips as soon as it pops into her head.

"Because I like this song and—" He presents her with an earbud, but she doesn't move to take it from him. "Come on, what's the deal?"

Annie hesitates to answer. She never gave it much thought, but suddenly she feels a little uneasy to admit: "I don't really listen to music."

It's one of those things she knows must make her odd to her peers. She grew up in a home without media that has audio. There's no TV or stereo; the old laptop she owns is only meant for school assignments and it was hard enough to convince her father of its necessity. He has been sound sensitive for as long as she can remember, and it only got worse since his discharge from the military. He taught her how to fight and take care of herself, he even encouraged her reading, but music is something she never learned to enjoy.

"Oh, I see." Eren lets his hand sink and seems disappointed. "You…don't like it? At all?"

"I guess I never bothered to get into it." Because by the time she was old enough to maybe save up for a CD player, headphones and some CDs, it didn't seem worth the effort. The music she hears playing in stores or blasting from a passing car's open window is nothing but background noise to her. Besides, she wouldn't have known where to start anyway.

"Would you want to try changing that?" Eren sounds tentative as if he wants to avoid being pushy while still trying to convince her to do it. "At least give it a shot."

Annie holds back a sigh. This unwanted conversation has taken an unpredictable turn. At this point she feels like she should just get it over with and listen to his damn song. It's just a couple of minutes and then she can tell him that she isn't interested in any further audio samples and maybe he'll leave her alone for good. "Whatever."

"Okay…" To her surprise Eren puts away his phone, but if he misinterpreted her response as a no and can actually take it she isn't going to clear up the misunderstanding. "I'll have to give this some thought before I pick the songs to introduce you to first."

"What was that?" Now this sounds like the exact opposite of what Annie wanted.

Eren gives her a smile. "I can't start you off on just anything. What if you don't like it and then I get stressed and forget all the other good songs I could show you instead? I wouldn't want that to happen."

Annie wants to tell him him not to bother but she's speechless. He's getting carried away with the idea and his dedication is impressive as much as his persistence is annoying. She tries to think of a witty remark to shut him down, but maybe she's too hung up on wanting to be clever about it that she doesn't get to turn him down at all.

"Give me…a day or two and I should have a nice selection prepared for you," Eren announces and somehow that is what he finally takes as his cue to leave her to it — after the damage is already done.

Bewildered, Annie can only stare after him as he returns to his own seat. Crap.

Suggesting that it may take him two days must have been an attempt to seem casual, because Eren has a giddy air about him when he catches up with Annie during lunch break the next day. She hoped to avoid this by hiding away from him once the morning lessons end, but he seems to have just waited for this moment and his long legs give him an edge over her unless she wanted to make her escape attempt obvious and started running.

"Hey Annie, are you free?" Eren greets her, though it seems more of a formality because he answers his own question in her stead. "Well, from what I can tell you're always free during breaks."

Though he's right, Annie doesn't like the idea of him making assumptions about her. "Actually, I was just about to sneak off for a smoke in the girl's bathroom."

"Yeah, right." Eren snorts. "As if you'd be dumb enough to do that in the bathroom when there are more suitable places for it."

Damn, he's better than she thought.

Before Annie can come up with another story to put him off, Eren holds up his phone and announces: "I think I have a good selection from various genres for you to find at least one song you like."

Annie looks away, wondering how she got herself in this mess. Her eyes land on Mikasa who is standing next to the classroom door and glaring at her. Though they had some minor clashes during a few matches in PE lessons, she didn't think Mikasa's dislike for her was this bad. Though she's getting the feeling that it might be related to Eren talking to her. There are some rumours she couldn't avoid hearing about…

"Let's go," Eren declares, unaware of their witness and grabs Annie's hand.

She didn't expect him to be this forward so she gets dragged along for a couple of steps before she starts to resist. His strength and obliviousness make it difficult for her to slip her hand out of his grip, so when telling him to let her go doesn't do the trick, she decides to fall back on more drastic measures. Taking advantage of him having his guard down, she starts twisting his arm until he stops in his tracks and releases her hand.

"Ouch!" Eren rubs his arm and gives her a shocked look. "Damn, Annie, what was that for?"

"I told you to let me go," Annie informs him, unfazed by his pain.

He averts his eyes with a sigh, his hand coming to rest on his upper arm. "Sorry, I got carried away. I won't do it again."

That surprises Annie. She figured he'd be more standoffish and make an argument about how her measures were uncalled for, but he just accepts it. It's hard for her to tell if he has less backbone than she thought or if this is his way of acknowledging that he overstepped her boundaries. In case of the former she would be disappointed, in case of the latter she would be appeased and maybe a little impressed.

As it stands she doesn't know how to react so she considers to just walk away. Yet when she turns around debating her options, she realises they still can be seen from the classroom and Mikasa is now regarding her with open hostility. Suddenly she's looking forward to returning for afternoon classes even less than usual.

Heading back in that direction is out of the question now so Annie faces Eren and remarks: "Looks like your girlfriend officially hates me."

She makes it sound as if the thought didn't unsettle her at least a little. Mikasa may be a grade A student, but that doesn't mean she's beyond giving Annie a hard time. If her spikes are anything to go by she's a heavy hitter and Annie would prefer to avoid a confrontation.

"My what now?"

Not wanting to draw Eren's attention towards the classroom in a way that could be noticed, Annie decides it's simpler to just spell it out for him: "I mean Mikasa."

"She's my sister," Eren corrects and if the disgusted look on his face is anything to go by, he doesn't like her suggestion at all.

Annie doesn't drop the topic nor does she apologise. It may be petty of her, but she still hasn't given up on trying to get him to leave her be. If she makes him regret associating with her in the first place he might move on from this silly idea of getting her to listen to music. So what if it hurts him a little or she ends up offending him? It's a price she's willing to pay. "Didn't you hear the rumour about the two step siblings in our grade who are dating? It's all over the school."

Without waiting for a reply, Annie starts walking. At this point she doesn't care she's walking in the same direction in which Eren originally dragged her and that it might come off as if she's complying with his plans. She doesn't want to give people anymore reason to stare than they already are, she doesn't want to make a scene out of this. If she's moving the odds of someone listening in are at least lower.

Once again, Eren has no difficulty catching up with her. While matching her pace with ease, he clarifies: "First, Mikasa is adopted; second, I didn't think you'd care about stuff like that."

"If I had my way I never would've heard about it, trust me, but it's hard to blend out when Hitch is gossiping in the seat next to me."

The fact that he doesn't outright deny it is curious to Annie and yet she doesn't comment on it. Something about dredging up this whole rumour business doesn't sit right with her and the longer it stays a topic the less willing she is to use it for her agenda to get rid of him.

"Still your choice if you believe everything you hear," Eren points out and he has her there. The thing is that she doesn't believe it — she knows better than to buy into unfounded gossip making its rounds. He could leave it at that and she would drop the topic, because she feels bad already for bringing it up, but it he has to up the ante. "I, for my part, don't believe that Willy Tybur was just minding his own business when you decided to break his arm."

That's it, the nail in her coffin, Annie lost this fight. No one doubted Willy's statement and all her father wanted to know about the matter was how she handled herself. As if her using the skills he taught her to defend herself was all that mattered, as if it was irrelevant that she shouldn't have needed to defend herself in the first place. Yet here is Eren, a boy she's been in a class with for maybe three weeks who is turning out to be obnoxiously persistent about talking to her and didn't even know her at the time — and despite the official account of the incident he doubts that she acted without good cause.

Annie doesn't know how to respond. A lump is forming in her throat. It reminds her of all the reprimanding and stigma she endured in silence to appear as if it didn't matter to her and now there's someone who believes in her. She isn't used to such kindness, yet breaking out of her stoic character now might have greater consequences than she can anticipate — she won't risk it. She's bearing a heavy burden and she didn't ask for help, so she can offer no gratitude.

"Why does Mikasa cling to you then?" To distract herself from her inner turmoil, Annie brings up a question that fits the topic at hand. The way Mikasa sticks around Eren whenever possible was was one of the first things she noticed while observing her new classmates. It struck her as unusual and she couldn't help but wonder about it.

"She's protective," Eren admits. "She lost her parents in a horrible way and— It's complicated."

That's not the kind of explanation Annie would have expected — it's not much of an explanation at all — but she isn't going to pry. Her individual issues with Mikasa aside, this sounds like the kind of personal matter she has neither a right to know about nor is it her place to judge. Eren already told her more than he should have.

"Alright," Annie offers and with that the topic is done for good.

There's a sense of awkwardness in the silence that unfolds between them — or maybe Annie is just imagining things. She let herself get dragged into a verbal exchange with Eren thrice by now and it feels weird when there is nothing to say. She can hurl cutting or abrasive remarks at him, but when she doesn't have that she realises she doesn't know how to be around him.

As they're strolling across the schoolyard Annie finds herself scanning it for a quiet spot where they can listen to music without getting disturbed. She resigned herself to that fate somewhere between trying to get rid of him and backing off on the topic of Mikasa. Eren is one step ahead of her however, because he guides her around a few corners to one of the most remote areas of the school grounds. The irony of cigarette buds being scattered on the ground from the students who are daring enough to come here for a smoke isn't lost on her.

"Do you really smoke?" Eren asks as he brushes off one of the benches standing around — a symbolic gesture considering that the wood is showing the first signs of decay and small patches of moss are growing here and there. Having little concern about dirtying her pants, Annie follows suit as he takes a seat.

"No," she answers honestly. "But I have an image to maintain."

"What? You like being considered a delinquent?"

"It keeps people away which suits me just fine." That's only half the truth but she told him too much already.

"It doesn't suit you, you're far too sincere for it," Eren notes as he's pulling his phone out of his pocket and places it on his thigh.

Annie doesn't like how he acts as if he knows her. "You sure have a high opinion of me for no fucking reason."

"I wouldn't say it's for no reason," he counters while trying to untangle the cable of his headphones. The annoyed glare she shoots him is lost on him.

"Keep telling yourself that if you want but don't blame me if you end up disappointed," she notes in a dismissive tone, doing her best to hold in her anger. She hates it when people act like they have her all figured out — especially if it's after such a short time. To distract from the feelings swelling inside of her she changes the topic. "Now what about that music? We don't have all day."

"Here you go." Eren presents Annie with one earbud and a smile. She nearly rips it out of his hand and then berates herself for it because it infringes on the impassive facade she's trying to project.

Considering how rarely Annie slips up like that, the frequency of it happened over the past three days is concerning. The suspicion is forming in the back of her head that it has something to do with Eren specifically, but she's pushing it aside for now. She cannot afford to start pondering the effect he may have on her while she's with him. Terrible timing.

Luckily for her, Eren is eager to jump into things. He starts out with something mellow Annie is sure she heard in passing before, but soon dives into the guitar heavier sounds once he's made sure that she doesn't mind it. Out of a sense of pride, she's reserved about giving feedback, but she finds herself liking the music far more than she would have expected.

Before each track Eren gives a little introduction for it by sharing something about the artist, the release, or what he likes about it. Annie isn't particularly interested in all the exposition and the artist and song names don't stick with her, but she finds herself listening to him regardless. It gives the whole thing a bit of a personal touch and she can appreciate that (though she would never admit it).

Yet after a few songs Eren still hasn't mentioned the track that started this all. Annie expected him to bring it up by now, so she asks: "What about the song you wanted to show me the other day?"

"Oh that." Eren begins navigating the music player on his phone. "It's something I discovered recently. Just figured I'd give you some time before we got to it."

"Don't hold back now, you brought it up so you're obliged to show me."

"Alright, I'll play it to you."

Eren seems to have found it, because his thumb comes to a rest. However he doesn't press start yet, since he doesn't like talking over the music — that much Annie has picked up on by now. "The song is called Breaking The Habit and is originally by the band Linkin Park, but I wanted to show you the cover version by Affiance; I found it's good to vent some frustration."

Once again Annie doesn't point out that she's going to keep exactly none of those names, but just waits quietly for him to play the song. As the music sets in she realises that this is the most personal thing he shared with her up until now, not because of the track in particular — she wouldn't go as far as to read anything into the lyrics — but because he hinted at having the need to release some negative feelings.

They way she sees him interact with others and smile a lot, Annie considered him to be carefree and easygoing with his temperament sometimes getting the better of him. Yet she may have misjudged the difficulty of his life. She doesn't show her troubles to the world either, maybe they have just different ways of hiding these things.

Annie makes a mental note of it and focuses on the song. From what she can tell, the lyrics tend to be as important to Eren as the music itself, though she hasn't quite figured out the pattern yet. As she listens to words being sung she isn't sure how close they hit home for him. But in general she can see what he meant about the track being good for venting frustration. She wonders what else there is to him which she would never have suspected until hearing him talk about his favourite music.

Once her curiosity is woken, Annie finds herself willing to spend more time with Eren. It becomes a habit for him to approach her with new tracks to listen to and for her to go along with it. He will tell her about how or when he discovered it and she will take it all in — it's part of the ritual. When she likes a song in particular she will let him know and he will introduce her to more of the same artist. That's how they end up listening to most of the discography of Arctic Monkeys and Foals (both names she commits to memory due to the increased exposure).

As far as Annie is concerned, things can stay like this. She finds herself enjoying the company more than she initially thought, but there's also no forced commitment or pressure for her to lay herself bare. Most of the time they talk about music and whatever else comes up is only as personal as she allows it to become. She doesn't have to talk about her father and how she feels so stuck in this hellhole of a town. Neither does Eren share much beyond little anecdotes related to some songs and though she is intrigued to see more of what's beneath the surface it isn't like her to pry.

But a couple of weeks into their arrangement, Eren changes up the game by inviting Annie over to his home. He says he bought a new CD he wants to play to her and though he cannot give her a proper answer to why he doesn't just load it onto his phone like all the other music he shares with her, she ends up agreeing. She isn't sure why she did and she has two whole days to ponder it. By the time Eren picks her up after work the next Friday she still doesn't have her answer however.

The area Eren lives in seems less cramped than Annie's neighbourhood, the two story houses lining the road creating a different atmosphere from the rundown tenement blocks she is used to. When she realises that his family seems to be able to afford their own house a sense of intimidation creeps up on her. It's like she doesn't belong in a place where families might interact in a different way from what she's used to from her father. She isn't prepared. What if Eren's parents are the type that want to meet whomever he brings home with him? It didn't occur to Annie before so she didn't ask, but now she's getting worried and a little nervous.

While Eren digs for the key in his bag, Annie remains a few feet away from the door. As if he could guess her concerns, Eren looks over his shoulder and notes: "I don't think anyone's home. Mikasa should be at therapy and my dad is abroad."

"What about your mum?" Annie asks and strolls closer. Knowing that she doesn't risk running into Eren's adoptive sister is already a load off her chest since she's still on Mikasa's bad side.

Eren has found his keys and unlocks the door. "Hasn't been around in years."

The way he says it Annie isn't sure if his mother is dead or just left them. She doesn't dare to ask. "Oh. I'm sorry."

"Yeah...don't worry about it," Eren tells her as he pushes the door open. Though he's facing away from her, she catches a glimpse of the grimace on his face as he turns on the light inside. By the time he steps back and holds the door open, he has already caught himself however and gives her a smile. "So anyway, we've got the whole place to ourselves."

Following a spontaneous inspiration, Annie tilts her head at him. "Isn't that when all the indecent stuff happens?"

"What?" Eren looks perplexed, either because he doesn't catch her drift or because what she's suggesting never occurred to him.

As she walks up to the door she suppresses a smile. "At least that's what my grandma always told me."

"Well, I don't know about your grandma, but I think you can handle yourself either way," he comments and lets her cross the threshold and walk past him into the hallway.

"And here I was worried you didn't get what I meant."

"Of course I got what you meant, but— it was never my intention—" Eren shuts the door and turns towards her. He seems a little flustered. "Did you...expect it to turn out like that?"

The idea seems to have thrown him off balance and Annie feels a little sorry she brought it up. But his reaction is way more amusing than expected and she cannot hold in a soft laugh. "I was just teasing, no need to stumble all over your words."

Eren stares at her, dumbstruck. It makes Annie worry that she may have crossed a line or something. Becoming unsure about her joke and also a little self-conscious from being blatantly looked at, she prompts him: "What?"

"You...laughed."

"Yeah, so?"

"It's just—" Eren shakes his head as if he has to pull himself out of a stupor— "I've never seen you do that."

"And you'll never see it again if you're gonna make such a big deal out of it."

"Sorry. It was just...unexpected. And nice."

"Will you shut up already?" Annie glares at him.

Though he looks as if he's about to say more, Eren closes his mouth and complies. He moves past her through the hallway — which is smaller than Annie would have guessed from the outside — and gets onto the stairs, signalling her to follow him. Since he doesn't take off his shoes or jacket, she doesn't bother either though it makes her feel rude.

As she walks after Eren down the hallway of the second floor, Annie notices all but one door standing open. It seems odd to her, considering that it's almost winter. Her father is strict about keeping all doors in the flat closed so the warmth from the rooms won't escape into the cold hallway and drive up the bills. But maybe Eren's family is rich enough to not worry about saving heating costs.

Eren's room is at the end of the hallway and looks like something that Annie would describe as organised chaos: worn clothes are piling up on a chair, messily folded laundry takes up most of the space on a small couch, and the shelves are cluttered with things she doesn't bother to identify. It's like everything has its place but isn't put there in an orderly fashion.

"You can sit on the bed," Eren offers and throws his coat on top of the chair that's already overflowing with clothes. He holds out his hand in her direction and Annie takes it as her cue to slip out of her own jacket and hand it over to him. As expected he puts it on top of the pile.

Not used to wearing street shoes in the bedroom and thus feeling bad about it, Annie takes off her sneakers and leaves them standing at the foot of the bed. Once again she notices Eren's eyes on her and she shoots him a dark look to make him stop.

"You've got better manners than you let on," Eren points out, though he still averts his gaze.

Annie leaves it uncommented. By now she knows she cannot stop him from taking in her supposedly good qualities. It's like he made it his task to take note whenever she does something that doesn't fit into her image as a delinquent. She has given up on trying to contradict him.

As suggested, Annie sits down on the bed and waits for Eren to turn on the stereo — because of course he has one of those — and put in the CD.

"I discovered this band recently and they make really nice music," he explains and picks up the remote control from the shelf. Then he takes off his boots and leaves them lying on the floor by his desk before he comes over to the bed and lets himself drop onto the mattress beside her. Only then does he bother to press play as if it was impossible for him to do all those little things while the first song was already on.

Annie is a little surprised that this is all the introduction she gets. After all Eren had her come over to his place just to listen to it — she expected things to be a little grander. But as the first tunes can be heard she realises that maybe this isn't the kind of music that needs a lot of exposition. It's mellow and relaxing and seems to speak for itself.

Beside her, Eren has draped his arm over his eyes as if covering his own field of vision helped him hear better. It occurs to Annie that this is the first time they're hanging out together that he isn't paying her at least some degree of attention. For once it's her who gets to have a closer look at him.

Annie lies down next to him, because the music sounds like it's best enjoyed that way and because it allows her to better take Eren in. The upper half of his face is hidden from her view by his hand, but what she can make out of his features appears unusually soft. It's different from when his lips curve upwards in a smile or he frowns when deep in thought. Instead it's almost as if he's asleep and leaving himself completely unguarded.

It feels strange and intimate. Annie isn't sure whether Eren would be bothered if he noticed she was watching him or whether he wouldn't care. Yet she cannot shake the thought that she's being intrusive simply because she wouldn't want anyone to look at her like this either. So she averts her eyes and tries to focus on the music.

Judging by the lyrics, the first few tracks could be considered love songs, though maybe not in the typical sense. The word "love" isn't dropped once, but Annie knows there are other ways to get the message across. She isn't sure how she feels about the topic, but the sound sure sets the mood for lying on the bed in a dimly lit room while it's dark outside. She just wishes she wasn't hyper-aware of Eren's presence, because for some reasons it's putting her on edge.

"This is the first single," Eren notes at the beginning of the fourth track and Annie is surprised that he would talk over the music. "I heard it on the radio and then decided to buy the whole album."

When Annie rolls onto her side to better look at him, she finds that he has taken his hand from his eyes and is facing her. She thinks she should pay particular attention to this song since Eren commented on it, but she cannot. There's a question that was forming inside of her mind ever since he asked her to come to his house and it has only become more pressing since she arrived. "Why did you ask me to come over for this."

"I don't know." Eren shrugs, the movement a little obstructed from lying on his back. "You know those stories from the last century where the characters listen to LPs together in a bedroom? I kinda wanted to do that for once."

Annie is familiar with the concept, she came across it in a book or two. Still, it feels like such a random reason to her — she doesn't know if she should be disappointed or relieved. After all it means that he could have asked anyone and this isn't about her. She isn't anyone special to him and she doesn't understand why a part of her wanted to be when attachment is something she always dreaded because of the expectations tied to it. Talk about being illogical.

"Besides," Eren adds, "I wanted us to discover something together."

There's a dull feeling in her stomach and for a moment Annie's brain blanks. The part of her that wanted this to have some kind of meaning rejoices, the rest of her seems to sink into some kind of muted panic. She isn't sure what to make of this — and less so of her reaction. It's uncharacteristic for her.

On the outside she continues to uphold the calm front, though she cannot take her eyes off of Eren. She wonders if her staring is becoming obvious, though he's holding her gaze just as consequently. It's like they entered some kind of contest: whoever is the first to look away loses.

"You're strange," Annie notes to dispel the tension she feels rising inside of her. "I don't know what to make of you."

That last part got away from her without her wanting to say it. It seems like too much of an admission and she's glad when Eren doesn't address it.

"Strange, huh?" A thoughtful expression spreads across his face and his eyes trail away from her. "Never had anyone call me that before."

For the second time tonight Annie worries that she crossed a line. Words can be hurtful and she's far from the best person when it comes to using them. But while in general she doesn't care how what she says affects other people, this time she does. With Eren it's different in so many ways — because she spent time with him and he turned out to have way more to offer than a few obnoxious comments — so she wants to apologise, but for some reason her tongue is tied.

"Still, it might be closer to the truth than anything else people concluded about me," Eren muses and Annie knows even less what to say now. Is he hurt or is he unaffected — she cannot figure it out.

Eren rolls onto his side and now they're face to face, less than an arm length apart. He seems so much closer than before. "Why did you choose to be on the outside, Annie?"

"What?" The question came out of the blue, leaving Annie perplexed. She cannot tell what he's getting at.

"I'm hanging out with people and fit in just fine, they think I'm just like them but—" Eren breaks off and his eyes fall onto pattern on the duvet which he starts tracing with his finger. "Something always feels a little off, like I'm just a bit out of sync with the world around me. There's so much I don't share, because I think that they won't get it. Not even Mikasa gets it and we're supposed to be in this together."

Annie looks at him, stunned. There is the revelation she has been waiting for, a part of Eren that she was curious about peeking through the cracks of his carefree facade. It's not what she expected — though she didn't know what to expect at all — and now that it's coming out into the open, she isn't sure how to respond. There's definitely some context she's missing, but it feels too intrusive to ask.

"I'm just wondering if you made the better decision by staying on the sidelines," Eren continues and looks over to her again, his eyes drawing her in like they're emitting some kind of magnetic force. "I'm wondering if it's more honest."

"It's not," Annie retorts and rolls onto her back. She needs to break away from the pull she feels towards him. "What I'm doing isn't about honesty."

"But maybe about being true to yourself."

"You're making assumptions again."

"That's all you're leaving me with, because you show so little of yourself."

"That's the idea." Annie sits up. She is tired of lying around and her hair is bothering her, so she undoes the bun on the back of her head to retie it.

"There ain't no way to know me…," Eren mumbles and she doesn't want to give him the pleasure of responding. But she also wants to know what he's on about, so she shoots him a questioning look as she brushes through blonde tresses with her fingers. "It's a line from a Mando Diao song. You reminded me of it."

"Mando...Diao? What does that mean?" Annie questions, glossing over the fact that he just hit the nail on the head with a hammer and got so close to driving it in.

"It doesn't mean anything, just some made up words from a dream of one of the band members I think." Eren pushes himself up into a sitting position. He sounds tired all of a sudden — or maybe resigned. "I'll play them to you another time, you might like them."

Annie finishes tying up her hair and regards him for a while, the way he's hunched over and leaves his shoulders hanging. "Are you disappointed?"

"No?" Eren drags out the word, but that only makes it less convincing. "I get it, there are things about yourself you don't want others to see — a lot of things. I have that, too. I just thought...we were going in a direction where we could maybe open up to each other a little.

"So you are disappointed."

"Maybe a little?"

Annie sighs. This is what she's been fearing and — up until now — successfully avoiding. She should have known better than to let it come this far. She should have said no when Eren invited her over — even sooner, she should never have let Eren playing music to her become a habit. Yet didn't she, too, grow curious about him the way he's interested in her?

She got her wish — whether she wants to admit it or not — but she's aware that it takes two to build mutual trust. How can she expect Eren to open up when she isn't willing to do the same? She knows it and yet— The reality of revealing these parts of herself that she kept well hidden for so long is frightening.

"It's...not so simple," Annie admits and pulls her legs closer.

"I know." Eren ruffles his hair. "Sorry for pressuring you. ...I guess I just want us to be friends."

Friends. Annie never thought of them along the lines of that term. But then again she didn't think much about the type of relationship they were building and it's coming back to bite her. She tries to instigate a compromise without having to commit too much. "We're hanging out, isn't that what friends do?"

"I mean real friends," Eren clarifies. "The kind that share personal things with each other like—"

He breaks off, appearing to draw a blank when trying to think of an example, so Annie does him the courtesy of filling in: "...like how we feel that we don't really fit in with everyone else."

"For example," Eren confirms. When Annie doesn't respond he adds more tentatively: "We can take it slow."

There's a lot Annie wants to say, like how she doesn't know if she's cut out for forming friendships and how to her the concept of it is filled with so much pressure. It was easier when they were just listening to music without trying to put a label on it. As much as she's growing to like Eren, that's the part that has her worried the most. There's a lot she wants to say, but the words don't make it to her mouth. She doesn't know if it's concern over how he might take it or something else she cannot quite pinpoint.

"And next time I come on too strong you get to punch me," Eren offers and it chases away some of the tension that has taken hold of her. The idea is quite amusing, she even lets a rare smile spread on her lips.

"You know I could hand your ass to you."

"I don't doubt that." Eren chuckles and then holds out his hand to her. "Friends?"

Annie considers his outstretched hand, working to overcome her doubts. When she wraps her fingers around it she still leaves herself some leeway in the agreement by saying: "We'll see how it goes."

Apparently pleased with the outcome, Eren gives a smile and releases his grip. He uses his hands and feet to push himself backwards on the mattress until his back is leaning against the wall. "Seems like we got distracted from the music."

It's true, Annie has no idea for how many songs they talked or how any of them sounded. She regrets having missed out on them, because the beginning of the album sounded really nice, so she decides to do something about it. Leaning over Eren's cocked up legs, she grabs the remote from the pillow and settles down beside him, her back comfortably supported by the wall.

"Guess we have to backtrack a little bit," she suggests and starts pressing the back button in search for the last song she paid attention to.

"Are you sure you have that much time left?" Eren questions with concern.

Annie peeks at her watch and determines that it's 8 o'clock — enough time to wrap this upon even if they listen to the whole CD from the start. "Relax. I have to be home at 10, so we still have one and a half hours, that's plenty."

#nakamatoo #writing requests #annie leonhardt #eren yeager #ereannie #ereani #shingeki no kyojin #annie x eren #writing tag #text heavy #profanity #-i wrote this in the course of a week while also working on the kuroizu request and i think i need a little break-#-one request left after this *cracks knuckles*-#-also i was undecided about which country to set it in so i was as vague as possible about it haha-#-this better show up in the tags unlike the last post *squints at tumblr*-

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taaroko · 6 years

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Post-IW MCU Rewatch: Black Panther

Time for an Afrofuturistic paradise!

Ohhhh, the meteor hit before humans came along. That makes so much more sense. Here I was misremembering that it landed in the backyards of these five tribes, and I was really confused that a meteor with a seemingly infinite supply of vibranium didn’t destroy everything for hundreds of miles. This makes much more sense.

The black sand hologram things are so much cooler than regular floating image holograms.

Hahahaha, okay, T’Challa freezing is adorable.

There are some great sibling and mom moments in this movie. Ramonda only had to see T’Challa’s face to know Shuri was flipping him off behind her back. Bahaha.

They did an amazing job on Wakanda. It’s Incredible to look at. From the city to the landscapes to the waterfall to the traditions of the different tribes. This whole movie has such an incredible atmosphere to it. This is the level of personality and culture I wish they’d given Asgard.

So I’ve seen critiques that question the wisdom of having a ritual combat to determine rule in such an advanced country. I think those critiques are missing the point. Wakanda’s flaw, aside from having a policy of isolationism at all costs, is clinging too hard to ceremony and tradition. It’s probably been many generations since they actually viewed the ritual combat as more than a token of respect to past tradition, but they didn’t actually delegitimize it in law, which is how Killmonger is able to take advantage of the situation.

The ancestral plane is beautiful.

“It’s hard for a good man to be king.” I desperately need Thor and T’Challa to interact. Have drinks and talk about the struggles of being king and having fathers who hid horrible truths.

So will T’Challa marry Nakia now that he’s come to agree with her politics?

Wakabi is kind of unreasonable. To turn on T’Challa for failing to bring Klaue back on his first attempt? Come on. T’Chaka failed to retrieve him for three decades, and you expect T’Challa to do it in one day? You are a bad friend.

Please let Peter and Shuri interact! They both love memes and “old” movies!

The whole suit fitting into the necklace strains credulity a bit. As does Tony’s bleeding edge armor. But I guess conservation of mass went out the window when Steve easy-baked from a sickly 90-pound kid to a 240-pound muscle-bound hunk, so it’s a bit late to start complaining.

*innocently* “For research purposes.”

Tolkien white guys!

Heck yes Okoye fight scene! Check out this gorgeous one-er!

Ohhhh it’s a vibranium car. So it breaks apart differently than a normal car would. I can accept the way Okoye and Nakia survive that crash better now. That was an important detail.

I, having two brothers, have never called either of them “Brother” to their faces in my life, nor have I ever heard anyone do this in real life, and yet I love when siblings do this in fiction. Brodinsons and royal house of Wakanda, please never change.

Klaue is so obnoxious.

Oh wow, I never noticed that they stuck those comms devices behind their ears.

Killmonger’s armor with the chestplate thing looks like some of the armor in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Awesome.

I keep imagining an AU in which Asgard and Wakanda do regular trade and have embassies. Wakanda has vibranium and millennia of experience working with it, Asgard has magic and other types of advancements. It’d be an amazing alliance, and they could’ve had it for centuries without telling anyone else on Earth.

Seriously Wakabi, you’re being a jerk.

So basically, Killmonger is Hamlet. More on that later, but he just killed Ophelia. Also, the reveal that he’s the main villain, not Klaue, is the midpoint/turning point of this movie. It’s getting to the point where I don’t have to check the progress to recognize these moments. The MCU gets criticism for being formulaic, but if the formula is simply following the 3-act structure, it still leaves plenty of room for variety, so I fail to see the problem.

N’Jobu is a scary extremist. Nakia is the one with the right philosophy. But T’Chaka did not need to use lethal force. He had super strength and a vibranium suit. He could’ve subdued his brother and brought him in. Instead, he killed him and left his nephew to find the body. T’Chaka is a lot like Odin. I do think both became better men than they were in the early days of thei rrule, but they did nothing to correct some of their biggest mistakes. Instead, they buried them. How exactly did they expect their sons to do better jobs ruling without all the facts?

I really like that Killmonger and T’Challa both held their father’s bodies the same way and cried over them. Super important parallelism.

Hmm, vibranium is vulnerable to sonic weaponry. That’s really good to know. This stuff is a bit too versatile and powerful; it needs a weakness.

It’s super weird that Killmonger’s (American) name is Eric Stephens. There was an Eric Stephens in my grad program, and he sat in the cubicle next to me.

There’s some interesting stuff about group identity in this movie. Tribe identity (the five tribes in Wakanda), national identity, racial identity, and humanity at large. Nakia wants to help humanity at large. The Jabari are the most tribal. The other four tribes are about their identity as Wakandans over their tribes. N’Jakada, who grew up in the US, surrounded by gang violence and police brutality, with a father who wanted to militarize the entire African Diaspora and was killed for that, effectively making him a martyr and proving him right in the eyes of his son, is about racial identity to a fascist degree. N’Jakada has legitimate concerns, and his backstory is tragic and unjust, but his solutions are evil. Getting what he wants (assuming enough people outside Wakanda, where loyalty to the throne is somewhat mandated, would even go along with his world conquest plan) would come at the expense of the soul of the people he claims he’s fighting for.

The upside-down shot of N’Jakada taking the throne is chilling and excellent.

Conquerors or conquered are not the only two options here, Wakabi. But that attitude is self-fulfilling prophecy.

M’Baku is awesome.

T’Challa’s second trip to the ancestral plane is when he really figures out what his priorities are and what he’s fighting for. He realizes what he wants Wakanda to be under his rule. He’s been fairly passive and lacking in his own ideology up until now. Now his heart is really in it. He’s become the Black Panther and a king, so now he just has to fight to reclaim those actual titles from a mad warlord.

“All that challenge shit is over. I’m the king now.” Yeah, N’Jakada has no respect for their traditions, he only exploited them.

“Your heart is so full of hatred! You are not fit to be a king!” Yesss! Choose what Wakanda stands for, don’t just hand your loyalty to a man who doesn’t deserve it. It’s pretty notable, though, that Okoye only withdraws loyalty to N’Jakada when she sees that T’Challa is alive. Because the challenge is ongoing, she is free to choose the king she wants. She never broke her oath.

Heck yeah, warrior princess!

Oh hey, her gauntlets totally do the same thing to N’Jakada’s suit that the rails on the trains do.

Aaaah the truth comes out. “You want to see us become just like the people you hate so much. You will destroy the world, Wakanda included.” “The world took everything away from me! I’m gonna make sure we’re even!” N’Jakada pretty much just admitted he’s the villain.

And the Jabari claim their identity as Wakandans. Woohoo!

Hehe, the rhino loves his mama.

The civil war in Wakanda is what the Asgard storyline in Ragnarok was missing. Hela just slaughtering everyone and generally being ludicrously OP is not interesting, but if a significant portion of the people had sided with her and there was a battle for the soul of Asgard? That would’ve been amazing, and I wouldn’t have just been impatient to get back to trash planet shenanigans.

It’s a shame N’Jakada dies. He’s a Loki caliber villain, and they could’ve given him a redemption arc or something.

Okay, weirdly, one of the details I like the most about the capital of Wakanda is that the ground doesn’t appear to be paved anywhere.

So if Bucky is White Wolf, does that mean he’s going to be in future Black Panther movies? Yes please?

Black Panther is very good, but I don’t think it makes it into my top five MCU movies. T’Challa needs more development. He’s too passive for too much of the movie. Shuri and Okoye are much more interesting characters and have much more personality than him, and the same goes for M’Baku and N’Jakada. Hopefully they’ll do more with T’Challa in future installments. A big part of what makes the Marvel movies so great in general is their compelling leads, but this movie didn’t make me as invested in T’Challa as a person as it made me invested in his country and the people around him. I want to be as invested in T’Challa as I am in characters like Thor, Peter Parker, Tony, Steve, the Guardians, Scott, and Stephen, characters like Frank, Matt, Luke, and Jessica. I think what would have gone a long way towards solving this problem would have been if he’d actually been a staunch defender of the traditional isolationist view, only to learn over the course of the movie that Nakia is right. Isolationism breeds xenophobia and over-inflates national pride, creating people like N’Jakada. Much better to embrace other countries and cultures and help each other grow. As it is, it seems like T’Challa goes along with the isolationist thing because that’s how they’ve always done it, but he doesn’t seem remotely passionate about it, and that’s to the detriment of his character.

Now, the Hamlet thing. It occurred to me the first time I saw this in theaters that N’Jakada is essentially Hamlet. His father was killed by his uncle, who is on the throne, and his quest for vengeance gets everyone around him including his lover and friends killed, and ultimately he dies too. Then a benevolent king takes the throne, having learned from this conflict.

#black panther #mcu rewatch #infinity war spoilers #kinda

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science-fiction-is-real · 7 years

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Problems with “The Search” and how i would fix it. part 1. Ursa

“The Search” is like the Star Wars prequels for the Avatar Universe. Its a story we waited a long time to see, but when we got it, actually disappointed a lot of us. Some of you liked “The Search.” That’s fine. I’m not here to shit on you. But I personally found it disappointing, and when I find a story disappointing, my writer’s instincts kick in, and I immediately want to figure out how I could have done it better.

So here are my main problems with the Search, and how I would fix them. Let’s start with the main character, shall we.

Ursa, her problems, and how I would have done it better

Ursa is a problem in the comics because the Ursa we got in the show was an entirely different person. Lets compare and contrast.

Ursa in “Zuko Alone” was a REALLY COOL character. After only five minutes of screen time, she immediately became one of my favorites. Her name is literally “Mama Bear” and she tells us herself that she would do anything to protect her children. With Zuko and Azula she is a loving nurturer and stern, steady guide. (Yes, many fans criticize how Ursa treated Azula, but that’s a different argument for a different post.)

But while the Ursa we see directly on screen is kind and gentle, it is implied that Ursa behind the scenes is a political animal, a bad ass who isn't afraid to get her hands dirty, a power player who pulls strings and changes the course of history. When Azula tells Zuko their grandfather is dead, it is strongly implied that Ursa has straight up iced a bitch. She killed a man. She pulled a Lady Macbeth. On a kids show. That leaves an impact. And we respect her for it.

Ursa in the show is a badass.

Ursa in the Comics is a sloppy mishmash of many different ancient and vaguely misogynistic tropes. I can understand the story Gene Yang and Bryke were going for in “The Search.” They wanted to create a tragic figure out of her. Comics Ursa was swept from a world in which she was happy to the evil and twisted world of the Fire Nation Royal Court. She gets caught up in an abusive relationship she can’t escape, as well as some political plots she wants no part of. Eventually she is torn away from everything she loves, leaving her with no choice but to desperately go to memory wiping face spirit for some relief. The Search reads like a greek tragedy, with Ursa as the ever suffering maiden at its center. While Show Ursa was a Lady Macbeth, Comic Ursa is an Ophelia or a Desdemona, someone who is 100% sympathetic and lovable, but who ends up being destroyed by a great evil beyond their control.

Ursa in the Comics is very much a victim of circumstances who has very few chances to exercise agency over her life. It bothers me how determined the writers seem to strip Ursa of her agency. Ursa in the comics has no control over her life. Every decision is made for her. Her marriage is arranged. Her husband pulls the strings and micromanages her life, and when he is done with her, he is the one who makes the decision for her to leave.

Real women in real life are faced with similar problems. Women in many cultures don’t have much control over their own fates, so there is absolutely nothing wrong about portraying a fictional character suffering the same circumstances. But the writers seem to take it a step further by taking away ALL her decisions. The main reason we admired her in the show was her decision to kill Azulon. In the Comics, that decision is given to her husband. Ursa only is allowed to passively hand him a vial of poison. Gene and Bryke take away Mama Bear’s kill count.

But what enrages me most about Comics Ursa is what she does when the writers finally DO give her a chance to make decisions for herself. When exercising the little agency she does have, Ursa makes no effort to improve the quality of life for herself or her family. In fact, she behaves with the emotional maturity of a 12 year old child.

Her main rebellion against her abusive husband is to write letters to her old boyfriend she knows won’t even be sent. She makes the confusing decision to lie about her son’s parentage. She does this, not because it will improve her situation in any way, but because she knows it will hurt her husbands feelings. That is the only reason she gives. Even though you could argue Ozai deserves it, it still seems cruel and petty on Ursa’s part. Not only that, it puts her boyfriend’s life in danger, it puts Zuko at risk for abuse, and, later, it forces Zuko to needlessly endure the trauma of having to question his own origins. I truly have no idea why the writers would include that story line.

But the icing on the shit cake is when Ursa completely abandons her parental responsibilities all together. When Ursa, again not by her own choice but because she is a victim of circumstance, is separated from her children, she makes no effort to get them back, try to help them from the sidelines, or even honor her children’s memory. She elects to have her memory completely erased, forgetting she has children in the first place. The explanation the writers give is that Ursa could not bear the separation, and since there was nothing she could do to improve her situation, the only way she could be happy was to wipe her memory. Ursa, and the writers, forget how cruel this is to Zuko and Azula, who now will never have a chance to get in contact with her even if they are freed from their father’s grasp.

But the real problem with the amnesia story is that it just isn’t something an admirable main character would do, a really shitty attitude for a main character to have. Giving herself amnesia is a way for Ursa to give up. She just gives up? Really? She would rather forget her responsibilities all together than fight an uphill battle to carry them out? REALLY? Even if she had decided to passively endure missing her children without doing anything about it, that would have been better. The writers turn Ursa into the worst possible thing a main character can be, a quitter. And it makes me want to punch a wall.

“Mama Bear” indeed.

SO.... HOW WOULD I FIX THIS..........

The first thing I would do give Ursa more choices in her life. Characters can be very interesting when we see how they act when they don’t have many options, but I won’t do that to her right away.

Ursa marries Ozai by choice. This doesn’t necessarily have to be because she “loves” him, it could be because of politics, or to help herself or someone else. Whatever her reason, she actively chooses to take up the mantel of being a member of the royal family. It is not forced upon her.

Maybe as the story goes on, as the corruption of the Royal family becomes more and more evident, as Ozai becomes more and more abusive, we can back her into a corner a little, take away some of her options. However, in my version of the search, Ursa is a strategic thinker as opposed to the emotionally reactive child we got in Bryke and Gene’s version. Her response to her abusive husband is to do things she knows will protect her children, whether that be trying and failing to separate from him, placating him as best she can, or seeing her bravely pick up the pieces of the damage he leaves behind. Watching characters keep themselves sane when they are under stress can be an awesome thing to behold, lets have ursa do it in ways that aren’t petty, selfish, and pointless. I’m going to show her being brave, willing to rock the boat when she needs to or willing to be a stabilizing rudder when she needs to as well. My Ursa would be a force for good.

Another thing is I want to show Ursa showing a little bit of the string pulling and tide turning abilities she was shown as having in the show (or at least how i interpreted it) She is a princess of the Fire Nation for heck’s sake. Let’s see her get stuff done in the royal court, or try to at least. Lets see her actively protest her husband’s ambition and ruthlessness in how he does his business. Lets see her take an active understanding of the world around her.

I would of course give the Azulons murder back to her. I understand why they gave the kill to Ozai--because they can’t have a good guy kill someone in a story made for younger audiences. But Avatar never shied away from darker themes in the show, so why should they in the comics.

One interesting theme they sort of hint on in the show is that the Fire Nation corrupts what would otherwise be good people. We get the sense that Ozai was corrupted by his father, and Ozai corrupted his children in turn. We are told that the people in the fire nation are not bad, but the culture of war they live in compells them to do bad things. I think it would be really interesting watching Ursa deal with the reality that she has been corrupted by the Fire Nation. She is not a killer, but circumstances drew her to be one. Its an interesting theme, and I want to use Azulon’s death to highlight it.

When it comes to the aftermath of Azulon’s death, I don’t think it matters if Ursa leaves of her own free will or is kicked out by Ozai. Either one makes sense. But I want her to do something productive when she leaves. I want her to make plans about getting her children back, or bringing Ozai down, or at least living to fight another day as Aang puts it to us so eloquently. One idea I had is that she could operate an underground railroad to help political enemies, detractors, and dissidents escape the Fire Nation unharmed.

There are some things I might change that aren’t necessary for the story but I think would be cool. I would like to make Ursa a fire bender. I always assumed she was when I watched the show, since she is the grandchild of the motherfucking Avatar and both her kids are kick asses. Maybe we could even have her and Ozai get into a badass fight scene at some point.

Of course, Ursa isn’t the only problem with “The Search,” But that’s a topic for a different post, which I will be following up with soon.

Do you have any thoughts on Ursa, “The Search,” or ATLA comics? Go ahead and comment.

#ATLA #avatar last airbender #ursa #princess ursa #zukos mom #the search #atla comics #avatar last airbender comics #zuko #ozai #azula #i'm adding the azula tag because i like to stretch with my tags so ya'll will see my shit and read it #fire nation #fire nation royals #analysis #meta #atla analysis #Sophia writes

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adoranymph · 5 years

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[2:05 pm-ish, April 20, 2019]

Man, there is nothing that puts me in a fouler mood than when I let my own personal procrastination demon get the better of me on a perfectly free Saturday to the point that I don’t start getting any writing done until after 2 in the afternoon. I had planned to get up early and everything, and I even did. Sort of.

I scrolled through a ton of YouTube videos first, and before I knew it, it was nearing ten in the morning and I still needed to eat something. Ugh, so I did that…and then I committed the sin of hibernating on the couch for a couple of hours to catch up on some anime-related stuff. Though it was the sort that always manages to fuel my inspiration and imagination.

[Present Day]

Okay, I know what you’re thinking: that all’s no excuse, every procrastinating writer says that as they convince themselves to turn on Netflix or Hulu to “get inspiration” instead of writing and end up marathoning that show they really just want to finish so they’re caught up with everyone else, and because they love it so much.

Just the same, it did give me what I needed to open up my laptop and start working towards my writing goal for the day working on editing and polishing my manuscript: I finally got around to watching Kara No Kyoukai: Mirai Fukuin – Recalled Out Summer and Recalled Out Summer: Extra Chorus.

Okay, now that probably doesn’t mean a whole lot just by a name-drop, but let me explain. After all, that’s the whole point of this blog post: My love letter to Type-Moon. (And yes, I realize I’m not the first person to express said love in a blog post.)

Saber from the Fate Series and Ryougi Shiki from Kara No Kyoukai: The Garden of Sinners

Type-Moon is a Japanese game company known primarily for their visual novels. Not really a thing here in the West, at least not as much if at all, but when I was first introduced to the concept of visual novels, I thought of them as choose-your-own-adventures played as an electronic game rather than read as a book. As I’ve come to better understand it, it’s kind of like that, you do make certain decisions that can lead to certain endings, but sometimes, as in the case of arguably Type-Moon’s most well-known visual novel, Fate/Stay Night, the point is to play through three different versions of the same story premise: kid gets dragged into ancient battle royale known as the Holy Grail War, and with each version of the story, or “route”, being played through, each featuring a different heroine for our protagonist, Shirou Emiya. One route builds upon the previous, and each route gets subsequently darker in terms of plot points and content.

Fate/Zero, incidentally (and my #1 favorite anime ever), is the prequel to that, and succeeds where most prequels don’t, since it’s a tragedy (I’ll go into more detail on that in my upcoming post about how Fate/Zero succeeds as a prequel). That was written as a light novel (kinda like a YA novel, or well, a shorter novel, so “light” novel) before it was adapted into an anime, and sets up the events of all three routes in Stay Night. So, it confirms that no matter what route you’re in in Stay Night, the events of Zero hold true for each of them. (Which is interesting when you consider the damage some of the characters in Stay Night have been living with since Zero, yet they may or may not come up in Stay Night depending on what route’s being played.)

Cover art for Fate/Zero blu-ray box set

The co-founders of Type-Moon, writer Kinoko Nasu and illustrator Takashi Takeuchi, have come up with some pretty interesting and awesomely cool material in my opinion, and not only for Stay Night, which ultimately culminated in launching the Fate franchise, which has…a HUGE number of titles, and with the anime adaptations of Zero, the original of Stay Night, and the reboots of Stay Night covering the two subsequent routes that the original couldn’t really cover, a bunch more titles in the franchise have each been getting their own anime adaptations in turn, as though there was suddenly this HUGE frenzy for Fate title after Fate title to be adapted into an anime, demonstrating just how sprawling the lore and fanbase of this franchise is.

Promo art for Fate/Grand Order

And if that weren’t enough, there isn’t just Fate, there are other Type-Moon-developed visual novels whose worlds are connected to that of Fate. The only two I’m aware of for sure are Tsukihime and Kara No Kyoukai. (And then there’s Canaan, which was developed by Type-Moon too and its wonderful little 13-episode series in its own way, though I’ve been unable to verify for sure just how much if at all it’s connected with the aforementioned titles.) While I haven’t been able to get into Tsukihime much at all, since I can’t shell out to get my hands on the original visual novel, translated or not, and the anime is notorious for sucking so much that most deny it even exists, I have been able to get into Kara No Kyoukai, a series of films adapted originally from a seven-series online novel written by Nasu, and are seen by many as primers to the world of the Nasuverse (or the world of Type-Moon), which makes sense since when you see it you can recognize characters and plot points that feel like they were taken and reworked for things like Fate. Despite that though, they still do in fact exist in the same universe all as their own characters with their own stories.

Yeah it’s a lot. And the Kara No Kyoukai films cost a pretty penny, but this year I at long last got my hands on both the bluray box set of both the original seven films, as well as the additional film (Future Gospel and Recalled Out Summer: Prelude), and the extra special (Recalled Out Summer: Extra Chorus) just this year–stories that Nasu had an idea for after the original seven came out, but had not written in novel form. I’ve watched the first seven several times at least, but I was hesitant for the longest time about seeing the eighth film and the extra specials, since the first seven tied together so satisfyingly well, to put it mildly. But I finally gave in because I just love Type-Moon that much. And in the end, I was happy I got it, if only to have more Type-Moon in my life.

And that love compelled me to write out, essentially, a love letter conveying that love to Type-Moon. I’ve developed a lot of plot points for both my novel manuscript, as well as my style and voice as a writer, from the material I’ve seen from Type-Moon.

Cover art for blu ray box set of Kara No Kyoukai: The Garden of Sinners original seven-film series

Fate/Zero was my induction, the jumping off point from which I finally took the plunge (some would argue watching the 2006 adaptation of the first route of Fate/Stay Night first is more prudent, but if I’m being honest, I tried that, and just couldn’t get through it knowing something like Fate/Zero was out there–I just couldn’t wait, though eventually I did end up owning and watching the original 2006 Stay Night, mostly because I was starved for Fate material until more of the anticipated new content came out, and because I was able to get a DVD copy of the series for $10.00–more than worth it, it turned out).

Promo art for Fate/Stay Night (2006)

Anyway, Zero pulled me in not just with eye-candy, godly levels of animation quality unprecedented in an anime TV series (considering how much budgeting goes into animation on the whole in the industry), and not just with its very epic concept of the Holy Grail War and all that that entailed as well, but also with its characters.

I adored Waver Velvet, the underdog student of magecraft who, despite being in over his head as the youngest participant in the War, manages to summon the hero Alexander the Great to act as his Servant, the one who’ll fight the other Masters by proxy with Servants of their own, all of them famous figures plucked from history and legend (with some creative license, in some cases a lot). And throughout the course of the War, they form an admirable friendship.

I despaired over the fate of Kariya Matou, who was basically the character that every show like this has, the one that gets ALL THE CRAP thrown at him, and undeservedly of course, as he tried so hard to win just for the sake of saving a girl from the abuses of her adoptive family, even with the cards stacked against him.

I relished in the development of the villain Kirei Kotomine, who could’ve just come off as your typical priest-that’s-secretly-a-bad-seed, but instead is SO much more than that, and it’s awesome.

Then there’s Gilgamesh, the sort of OP, arrogant villain you love to hate, but also the kind that has the power to back up his boasting being master of the universe.

Then you’ve got Saber, i.e. King Arthur, who despite apparently really being a girl named Arturia, all this time, still lives up to the namesake of the legendary King of the Britons.

And of course, my favorite of all, Kiritsugu Emiya. The relationship he shares with his wife, Irisviel von Einzbern, and their daughter, Illya; the motivations for why he does what he does unfolding as the show progresses, culminating in him finding redemption in at least being able to save the life of his eventual-adopted son, Shirou from the War’s fiery collateral damage at its climax; the epic rivalry between him and Kirei Kotomine; the way his methods clash with Saber’s chivalric values; the fact that he gets all of the best qualities of what I love so much about Takashi Takeuchi’s character designs. (Which is another way of saying he’s drawn so appealingly to me that he’s made it to #1 on my list of husbandos. That’s right, I said it!) The whole story and arc of his character is one of the, if not the, most poignant things I have ever seen in an any form of media. Never has a character made me physically ache at the thought of everything he went through, combined with the bittersweetness of his and Irisviel’s love story, as well as that of his love for Illya.

It’s basically everything I’ve ever wanted in a story’s emotional core or emotional foundation, and definitely served as a turning point in terms of my own writing, particularly seeing as how it’s a feels dynamic I’ve wanted to write for years. So thank you for that, Type-Moon: somehow, some way, much in the way that the universe miraculously weaves together a human being by a near infinite number of factors, you’ve managed to craft my own personal Holy Grail of an emotional story component.

Indeed, since the discovery of the Kiritsugu x Irisviel ship (an underappreciated gem depending on who you talk to), I haven’t found any ships to exceed that level of emotional perfection. I’ve found ones that come close, even ones that equal it, but thus far, in my eyes, Kiri x Iri is unrivaled, and probably never will be.

Sadly, this scene was not in the anime. Just in the Realta Nua re-release of the Fate/Stay Night VN game for PSP. 😦

In terms of ones that have equalled it though, one of those came unsurprisingly from another Type-Moon work, the aforementioned Kara No Kyoukai, and its main romantic core of the delightfully darkly complicated relationship of Ryougi Shiki and Kokutou Mikiya. That was another pleasant surprise. I had already fallen hard for Fate/Zero and everything it had to offer, but I’d heard of Kara No Kyoukai before that. It had been on my to-watch list for a while, but I’d say that learning that it takes place in same universe as Fate, the Nasuverse that is, it sort of drove me to get my hands on it a little sooner.

Cover art for Volume IV of the box set for Kara No Kyoukai: The Garden of Sinners VII: …not nothing heart, with Shiki and Mikiya (OMG the feels)

My first copy was, admittedly, one of those many, many bootlegs floating around eBay (hem, hem), but at long last (especially since I got a bluray player (FINALLY) for this past Christmas), I was able to purchase the beautiful bluray boxset release of all seven movies, plus the special edition bluray for the Recalled Out Summer extras, because why not? Sure, again, the latter works basically as a sort of sweet but small desert to a large delicious main course, but that sweetness is worth it regardless, because it’s sweet, especially when you get treated to sweet strawberries in that sweet strawberry Hagan-Dasz ice cream of an extra story of things like seeing that (SPOILERS) Shiki and Mikiya eventually have an adorable little daughter named Mana, who for her limited screen time, does indeed seem to be the perfect blend of her parents. Plus it’s just great to see something so normal yet wondrous result from a romance that if not for a saving grace or two, probably would’ve ended in bloody tragedy.

Cover art for Recalled Out Summer box set featuring Shiki and Mikiya

Cover art for Recalled Out Summer blu ray set featuring Ryougi Mana (Shiki and Kokutou’s daughter, and Mitsuru Kamekura

So yeah, I’ve come to learn that when it comes to Type-Moon, where romance and personal relationships come in, the writing nine times out of ten shines (with the first true failure to connect with me coming in Fate/Extra Encore, and even then, because of the production studio behind it, it at least benefited me with flashbacks triggered by similar imagery used in another one of my favorite anime, Madoka Magica).

Again, sorry I haven’t been able to get into Tsukihime, but I’m not completely blind. There’s that anime adaptation that doesn’t exist ha, ha. In all seriousness though, I’m familiar with the basic premise, and some of the plot points seem to overlap other Type-Moon works. Plus there’s Wikipedia.

And Carnival Phantasm! Which is a little series Type-Moon produced as a celebration of their ten-year anniversary, something to reward the fans for being fans, and while I was at a disadvantage where a lot of the Tsukihime material came up, I still enjoyed it well enough, going on what I knew. But seeing as how Fate is arguably the most successful Type-Moon franchise, the ratio of Fate to Tsukihime material was almost 2:1. Which was awesome, as I basically got to see Type-Moon not only poke fun at itself and parodize its own characters, but actually give a sunnier if brief existence for some of these characters (because quite a lot of Type-Moon characters’ actual lives are SUCKY to put it lightly).

Screenshot of the Carnival Phantasm OP

For as sprawling as the lore of Type-Moon’s stories have grown, particulary with their Fate/Grand Order online game which seems to explore every single available Heroic Spirit that can be summoned as a Servant for your very own Holy Grail War, and the events of which have also been getting adaptations (the most recent exploring Gilgamesh’s past, and that has me intrigued if I’m being honest), there’re so many buried gems to find in there in terms of character and ideas and thoughts on life. Kara No Kyoukai in particular tends to philosophize quite a bit and contemplate things like reality, time, identity, balance, building a foundation for the world as a whole according to the Nasuverse. A bit like comic books, Fate in particular is one of those things where it’s debatable anymore where one should start, some answers being more correct than others, but once you find a place where you dip your toe in and get accustomed to the water, it’s easy to get wrapped up in what it’s various stories centered around the Holy Grail War are concerned.

I love stuff like that, and I’ve been inspired in my own work not just by Type-Moon on its own, but studio ufotable as well, which seems to be the ultimate Fate adaptation machine. Sure other studios do some of the lesser known titles (again like Extra), but ufotable got the reboot of Fate/Stay Night‘s second route, Unlimited Bladeworks, the adaptation of Fate/Zero before that, the film trilogy adaptation of the final Fate/Stay Night route Heaven’s Feel, and even the lighthearted quasi-AU Today’s Menu for Emiya Family, which is the Stay Night story if it was taken over by a cooking show, almost like Carnival Phantasm but not a parody, and still acknowledging the darker parts of the Fate universe, if distantly. Something about the care ufotable puts into their characterizations, along with the animation and art quality and the awesome voice-acting for the seiyuu and English VAs that end up getting casted (although I’m aware where the English casts are concerned that comes from the western licensing company that picks it up and not actually studio ufotable).

And then with Kara No Kyoukai, also made by ufotable, you get an expanse on this universe and its mechanics. It’s a bit vague on how magic works in both this and Fate, but I’ve actually found the idea of basing fantastic elements in the real word fascinating, not urban fantasy but something more than that. And the concepts it brings up. Like people having these things called “origins”, a certain trait from which their soul or being originated from within the Akashic Record, or “The Route” that once “awakened” in a person causes that trait to consume them. So if a person’s origin is “to consume”, and that’s awakened in that person (this requires a mage and the consent of the person who’s origin is being awakened), then they’ll say…embrace their desire to slaughter people en masse and then literally consume them afterward. Like this guy.

Ryougi Shiki vs. Shirazumi Lio – get him, Shiki, get that crazy S.O.B.!

Yeah, that’s the other thing. Apart from the things like origins and The Root or “Akashic Record” (which from what I’ve gathered is like the source of “everything” with a capital E: life, the universe, everything, and no, it’s not the number 42), Type-Moon’s world is what I like to call “beautifully dark”. Not a particularly unique thing, but either way, Type-Moon pulls it off well. There are moments of levity, but there are also very grotesque and disturbing goings-on underneath all that beauty, and even those things are beautiful in their own way. Sure, there are things like vampires or “dead apostles” floating around, and there’s a fair bit of bloody death, but then you’ve got corrupted Heroic Spirits who steal your heart and drink the blood from it like they’re squeezing the juice from a prickly pear, eye-powers that allow for a person to twist anything they want with their mind (including living human bodies), tentacle monsters crushing small children, souls jammed inside puppet bodies that start to fall apart to reveal their meaty, gear-riddled interiors, and life-sucking, magic-giving worms that consume the bodies of their hosts from within (okay we’ll file that under “beautiful grotesque”). And then there’s the aforementioned bloodthirsty killer whose origin is to consume and thus consumes the corpses of his victims (yeah, that Shirazumi Lio guy, see above, he does that)…when he doesn’t do weird stuff like contort them and mark them with the yin-and-yang symbol.

Just to list a few.

The name for Kara No Kyoukai in English is usually The Garden of Sinners, though Kara No Kyoukai literally translated actually means “The Boundary of Emptiness”. But a garden full of sinners is apt for one of the titles in the Type-Moon universe. In some ways that and things like Fate almost transcend storytelling when adapted well, and with godly animation and music (both Fate/Zero and Kara No Kyoukai‘s OSTs were composed by the incomparable Yuki Kajiura, who’s practically the authority on darkly beautiful and epic themes) to back up the engaging storylines.

And speaking of Yuki Kajiura, I’d like to take this moment to not only give props to her work with Fate adaptations, but Hideyuki Fukusawa as well, the main OST composer for the Unlimited Bladeworks reboot, as well as Kenji Kawai, who composed the OST for the original 2006 Fate–that adaptation might have its drawbacks, but that OST does wonders and is seriously underrated, especially considering this is the guy who composed the OST for the original Ghost in the Shell film.

youtube

Nothing is perfect, but nevertheless, this is a fictional world that I have fallen irrevocably in love with, much in the same way I did with Harry Potter, though I’ve grown since then. And I just wanted to extend and express that appreciation and love to something that has inspired me and the way I approach my writing going forward so incredibly.

So, thank you, Type-Moon, for the awesomeness you offer, in all its forms. You have my most sincere and utmost praise and respect. I hope that even when the last of the Fate routes, Heaven’s Feel, has finally received its full and deserved adaptation in the trilogy of films, that this is not the last the world will see of your wonderful content. You have more than earned your loyal and adoring fan base ten times over. You are amazing! ❤

Love Letter to Type-Moon Man, there is nothing that puts me in a fouler mood than when I let my own personal procrastination demon get the better of me on a perfectly free Saturday to the point that I don't start getting any writing done until after 2 in the afternoon.

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Lucifer Season 5 Episode 8 Review: Spoiler Alert

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This Lucifer review contains spoilers.

Lucifer Season 5 Episode 8

“Just to be clear, this is you breaking up with me, right?”

It only took 75 episodes, but dear old Dad finally makes an Earthly appearance in the Lucifer mid-season finale, and hopefully, He’ll be able to suss out the details of Michael’s dastardly plan to bring down Lucifer. Directed by Kevin Alejandro (Daniel Espinoza) “Spoiler Alert” covers plenty of criminal territory, addresses personal grudges, and explores individual fears, but in the end, sends fans into the off-season feeling really good about what they’ve experienced and excited for what’s to come in the back half of season five.

Director Alejandro makes the most of his second stint behind the camera (3×26 “Once Upon a Time”) and manages to evoke an authentic sense of despair in the characters across the board. Lucifer’s agitation once he learns of Chloe’s abduction plays beautifully and for a moment, we forget that he’s not human as he struggles through initial feelings of helplessness. Even though Linda puts Charlie’s fever in perspective, Amenadiel becomes unnerved, and whether we’re parents ourselves, we sense the vulnerability any new father feels. Additionally, this feeling of powerlessness plays nicely against Lucifer’s on again, off again physical vulnerability.

Ironically, the demon Mazikeen remains the most susceptible member of the LAPD family and easily falls prey to Michael’s contention that he knows a way to secure her a soul. As endearing a character as she’s become, this seething anger towards Lucifer because he kept the confidence of her mother Lilith seems extremely misplaced and loses its attraction the further on we go. Still, Lesley-Ann Brandt nails the complexities of this terribly conflicted character. The brilliance of Dan’s reaction to Lucifer’s confrontation lies in the fact that it seamlessly blends humor with the natural terror of a man who finds himself face to face with the Devil.

Lucifer Season 5 Episode 7 Review: Our Mojo

By Dave Vitagliano

Lucifer Season 5 Soundtrack: Complete Details and Playlist

By Dave Vitagliano

While Lucifer traditionally follows the conventional standalone case approach, here, the callback to the Whisper Killer serial murders case coupled with Chloe’s abduction revives a fascinating investigation that forces Lucifer to take on roles the detective would ordinarily fulfill. Before we get to that point, however, Chloe’s forced to work on her own since Lucifer’s consumed with exacting revenge against Dan, and her foray onto the DarkNet to research serial killers signals a willingness to go places in an investigation she may have been reluctant to go previously. Character pairings remain an ideal way to keep investigations fresh, and once Chloe goes missing, Lucifer takes the reluctant Miss Lopez into the field with him, setting up a number of storytelling possibilities. You’d think meeting Scotty Thomas and the Killshare Nerd Squad would send Ella into a nerdgasm, and it does to a point, but when the uber confident forensic scientist admits to feeling out of her depth during the field work, it sets up the first of several reveals.

From the moment Pete the reporter enters Ella’s life, it’s been difficult to avoid questioning his motives since he just seems a bit too eager and definitely too nice. So how is it that she misses Pete’s true Lilyman85 identity? We receive clues. “For once, I know a good thing when I see it,” Ella admits at the crime scene, immediately setting off our spidey sense alarms. Ordinarily, we only see her process evidence, so it’s fascinating to watch her snoop in Pete’s apartment when she goes there to pick up the files he offers. Look, we know as soon as she finds his hidden-behind-the-wall secret lair he’s going to unexpectedly return to confront her about his true identity. But Miss Lopez’s got skills, and the next thing we know, old Pete’s in an interrogation room at the precinct. Brilliant.

Stepping out of their comfort zone as well, the writers remove Ella from the comfortable realm of the scientific world, and she questions Pete to find out where he’s stashed the detective as the still estranged Lucifer and Mazikeen observe from the other side of the glass. One of Ella’s ironies lies in the fact that she’s a people person and a hugger, two qualities that don’t generally align with how we view scientists, but she quickly gets to the core of Pete’s psychopathic behavior and the fact that he didn’t kidnap Chloe sending the team back to square one. However, before the search continues, we are left with a few tidbits. He tells her that “there is a darkness in you,” possibly setting up a later storyline when she finally learns Lucifer’s true identity. And how could she resist the classic “Pete, you’re going to burn in Hell.” Fortunately, she couldn’t.

In retrospect, we should have seen this coming, but it is a testament to the writing that with Amenadiel and Linda thriving as they raise baby Charlie, Lucifer and Chloe finally acknowledging their true feelings, and Dan making strides as he recovers from Charlotte’s sudden death, we naturally root for Ella to find someone with whom she can share her life. Will this relationship setback throw her into a funk, or will she choose to focus on the manner in which she responded to this knowledge and the fact that she caught the killer. I vote for the latter.

When all is said and done, hopefully, Dan will recognize the truth behind Chloe’s words in the opening scene. “He’s not what the world makes him out to be; he’s a good person.” Of course, there’s a lot to unpack here, not the least of which is why Dan’s direct hit onto Lucifer’s chest simply bounces off. What makes this detail so compelling is that we’re initially pleased Lucifer has regained one of his powers, that is until we consider the reason behind his return to invulnerability. Has Lucifer made the unconscious decision to pull away from Chloe thereby playing into the fear mongering Michael?

All of which brings us to the final showdown and yet another highly enjoyable, tightly choreographed fight sequence as Michael, Lucifer, Amenadiel, and Maze square off in a celestial battle royale. There’s a lot packed into the final minutes, and Amenadiel’s renewed ability to not only slow time, but stop it, is tied directly to his fears about his son’s health. However, we can’t ignore the feeling that Amenadiel is somewhat disappointed to learn his son is merely human, a detail Michael pounces on immediately. Most interesting is watching Maze try to hold her own against the brothers, and the point at which Lucifer finally appears to have had enough and throws her aside like a ragdoll. Is their relationship repairable?

Well, if anyone can repair the fractured celestial family dynamic, it’s dear old Dad. First though, let’s at least give props to the fantastic visual of the brothers unveiling the plumage that typically stays hidden. Michael in black, Amenadiel in gray, and the Devil, oddly enough in the white wings we’ve come to associate with him. It’s the final straw, and the voice of God booms “That’s enough!” To be honest, I never expected God to make an appearance on the Netflix series, but here we are. I’m not sure there’s a perfect actor showrunners Ildy Modrovich and Joe Henderson could have chosen to play God, but it’s impossible to argue with the choice of Dennis Haysbert. Forget the increasingly annoying Allstate commercials, Haysbert possesses the deep booming voice and physical presence to put his bickering kids in their place and restore order on Earth. Plus, we might finally learn His reasoning behind the Lucifer/Chloe connection.

We’ve got a lot to look forward to when Lucifer returns for the season’s final eight episodes, and “Spoiler Alert” sets in motion a wealth of character driven material. Does Lucifer really love Chloe? Can Amenadiel accept the fact that Charlie’s human? Does Maze’s obsession over a soul remind anyone else of the Tin Man? And maybe it’s time for Dad to give Michael a new job down under. Just sayin’.

The post Lucifer Season 5 Episode 8 Review: Spoiler Alert appeared first on Den of Geek.

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bookwhit · 6 years

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H E L L O all my lovelies! July is OVER. Can you believe it? I can’t. Now it’s all about getting ready for school. Shopping for clothes and school supplies and any last minute efforts to do something as a family before summer is officially over. Maybe I will get more reading done with kids in school? I can only hope!

Here is the break down of what I read this month. I am hoping to do some reviews of these and have them up here soon. As always, I will give you the book, a synopsis and then my personal opinion on if it was worth the read with either a HECK YEAH or a BIG FAT NOPE.

1. Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson was one I was really excited about. It comes out next week. August 7th I believe, and I read the ARC. YOU GUYS. I loved it.

Here is the synopsis:

A new novel in the New York Times–bestselling Remnant Chronicles universe, in which a reformed thief and the young leader of an outlaw dynasty lock wits in a battle that may cost them their lives—and their hearts.

When the patriarch of the Ballenger empire dies, his son, Jase, becomes its new leader. Even nearby kingdoms bow to the strength of this outlaw family, who have always governed by their own rules. But a new era looms on the horizon, set in motion by a young queen, which makes her the target of the dynasty’s resentment and anger.

At the same time, Kazi, a legendary former street thief, is sent by the queen to investigate transgressions against the new settlements. When Kazi arrives in the forbidding land of the Ballengers, she learns that there is more to Jase than she thought. As unexpected events spiral out of their control, bringing them intimately together, they continue to play a cat and mouse game of false moves and motives in order to fulfill their own secret missions.

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2. The House on Foster Hill by Jaime Jo Wright was a little bit slow but after I kept thinking of all the things I liked about it. It follows a past and present story about two women and their experiences with The House on Foster Hill. It has a suspense, mystery plus a few plot twists that kept me interested in this novel. Yes. Read it.

Here is the synopsis:

Kaine Prescott is no stranger to death. When her husband died two years ago, her pleas for further investigation into his suspicious death fell on deaf ears. In desperate need of a fresh start, Kaine purchases an old house sight unseen in her grandfather’s Wisconsin hometown. But one look at the eerie, abandoned house immediately leaves her questioning her rash decision. And when the house’s dark history comes back with a vengeance, Kaine is forced to face the terrifying realization she has nowhere left to hide. A century earlier, the house on Foster Hill holds nothing but painful memories for Ivy Thorpe. When an unidentified woman is found dead on the property, Ivy is compelled to discover her identity. Ivy’s search leads her into dangerous waters and, even as she works together with a man from her past, can she unravel the mystery before any other lives–including her own–are lost?

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3. Kiss of the Royal by Lindsey Duga was such a fun tween read. This is a clean read. Anyone can read it. It is a fantasy and it took me a minute to understand the magic of the Kisses but I am telling you that there is no cuter story that explains how special true love is. I thought it was an adorable, fun read full of banter, adventure and love.

Here is the synopsis:

In the war against the Forces of Darkness, the Royals are losing. Princess Ivy is determined to end this centuries-long conflict once and for all, so her new battle partner must succeed where the others failed. Prince Zach’s unparalleled skill with a sword, enhanced by Ivy’s magic Kiss, should make them an unstoppable pair—but try convincing Zach of that.

Prince Zach has spent his life preparing for battle, but he would rather be branded a heretic than use his lips as nothing more than a way to transfer magic. A kiss is a symbol of love, and love is the most powerful weapon they have—but try convincing Ivy of that.

With the fate of their world on the line, the battlefield has become a testing ground, and only one of them can be right. Falling for each other wasn’t part of the plan—but try convincing their hearts of that.

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4. The Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas has been CRAZY good. Her level of writing and depth of telling the story is absolutely incredible. There is also a book of 5 novellas called The Assassins Blade that is not pictured. I’m featuring this here because I just read Tower of Dawn and then reread Empire of Storms this month. Kingdom of Ash is the last book and will be released October 23rd and I am so excited and sad. I can not wait for the ending that will in no doubt be epic. If you haven’t read this series then you need to. I know its a lot of books but I swear they are good enough that you don’t realize how fast you will go through them.

Here is the synopsis of the first book, Throne of Glass:

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.

Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king’s council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she’ll serve the kingdom for four years and then be granted her freedom. Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilarating. But she’s bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her … but it’s the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead … quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

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5. The Siren by Kiera Cass was okay. It was a fun love story. I really liked her Selection Series but this one fell short me. I felt like I wanted there to be more. That being said, it was still fun. If you are wanting just a light, easy read then you should try this one! A fun love story. .. it just didn’t have the depth I was expecting but maybe that is because it isn’t very long.

Here is the synopsis:

Years ago, Kahlen was rescued from drowning by the Ocean. To repay her debt, she has served as a Siren ever since, using her voice to lure countless strangers to their deaths. Though a single word from Kahlen can kill, she can’t resist spending her days on land, watching ordinary people and longing for the day when she will be able to speak and laugh and live freely among them again.

Kahlen is resigned to finishing her sentence in solitude…until she meets Akinli. Handsome, caring, and kind, Akinli is everything Kahlen ever dreamed of. And though she can’t talk to him, they soon forge a connection neither of them can deny…and Kahlen doesn’t want to.

Falling in love with a human breaks all the Ocean’s rules, and if the Ocean discovers Kahlen’s feelings, she’ll be forced to leave Akinli for good. But for the first time in a lifetime of following the rules, Kahlen is determined to follow her heart.

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6. The Roommate by Kendall Ryan got me out a little reading slump this month. Sometimes I need a quick read that I can’t put down. This one was full of sexy banter and such a cute story, I read it in one sitting!

Here is the synopsis:

The last time I saw my best friend’s younger brother, he was a geek wearing braces. But when Cannon shows up to crash in my spare room, I get a swift reality check.

Now twenty-four, he’s broad shouldered and masculine, and so sinfully sexy, I want to climb him like the jungle gyms we used to enjoy. At six-foot-something with lean muscles hiding under his T-shirt, a deep sexy voice, and full lips that pull into a smirk when he studies me, he’s pure temptation.

Fresh out of a messy breakup, he doesn’t want any entanglements. But I can resist, right?

I’m holding strong until the third night of our new arrangement when we get drunk and he confesses his biggest secret of all: he’s cursed when it comes to sex. Apparently he’s a god in bed, and women instantly fall in love with him.

I’m calling bullshit. In fact, I’m going to prove him wrong, and if I rack up a few much-needed orgasms in the process, all the better.

There’s no way I’m going to fall in love with Cannon. But once we start… I realize betting against him may have been the biggest mistake of my life.

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7. Merciless by Willow Winters is the first of 4 books I believe. I received the first two books to read and review for a book tour and I wish I would have realized sooner that it was a 50 Shades of Grey type book. Don’t get me wrong, I love sexy, steamy romances but I don’t really love the dom/sub element. It’s not my thing and this one is about gangs in New York and how ruthless they are, honestly it made me uncomfortable. It was hard for me to read. I wouldn’t recommend it BUT… I will still leave the synopsis below.

I should’ve known she would ruin me the moment I saw her. Women like her are made to destroy men like me. I couldn’t resist her though. Given to me to start a war; I was too eager to accept.

But I didn’t know what she’d do to me. That she would change everything. She sees through me in a way no one else ever has. Her innocence and vulnerability make me weak for her and I hate it. I know better than to give in to temptation.

A ruthless man doesn’t let a soul close to him. A cold-hearted man doesn’t risk anything for anyone. A powerful man with a beautiful woman at his mercy… he doesn’t fall for her.

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There you have it! What I read in July. I will hopefully be posting a new review weekly as soon as school starts up. Then you will have some real reviews instead of just my yes and no reads! Have a wonderful day friends! Thanks for reading!

xoxo,

What I read in July

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