#set at some ambiguous point of time in an established relationship...??

[artbychromo]

(little comic + 1.7K words, inspired by chatting about timezones + @swbookerr's fics uwu)

To be honest, Ace had partly forgotten about the Den Den Mushi. It sat on its own little table outside the Spade Pirates’ galley, and the thing hadn’t been touched since Shanks gifted it to him a few weeks ago. It also hadn’t rung yet, and Ace wasn’t certain what was appropriate grounds for calling the Red Force, anyway. 

Maybe it was only meant for emergencies? That had been Ace’s assumption. Meaning, he was startled when the thing first let out its odd, burbling call around dusk one day. He ducked out of the kitchen—he’d been helping Deuce and Skull prepare that evening’s supper, but now the two of them peered after Ace from the doorway.

Heart in his throat, he lifted the receiver. 

Sounds of chaos blared out from the little creature. Ace’s pulse raced even faster. He wasn’t sure what to make of it, until finally, the cacophony resolved itself into songs and shouts—and above that, a slurred, cheerful drawl. 

“Angel! Hello, angel? Are you there, gorgeous?” 

Ace’s nerves transformed into appalled heat, sensing the start of Deuce’s laughter from behind him.

“Yeah, it’s me,” he managed. “Shanks, what’s going on?”

The other captain let out a meandering whoop. “I just missed you, baby! Wish I could see your smile so bad. How am I supposed to dance, when you’re not here in my arms-s-s-s—arm?” 

On his end, Ace wondered if the Den Den actually replicated the waft of alcohol, or if it was just his imagination. At least no one was in danger.

Shanks went on, “The boys here got me thinking about you—”

“More like,” a voice interjected, “he wouldn’t shut up about your ass.” 

Ace flushed, hearing Skull’s chuckles join Deuce’s. It only got worse when Shanks replied, “It’s a lovely ass, I’ll have you know.”

“I didn’t mean his literal ass, Captain, though I’m sure it’s wonderful—”

“It is! Abs-o-lute heaven!” 

“Shanks!” Ace yelled (cutting off the man’s claim of “To die for!”). Chancing a glance over his shoulder, Ace was chagrined to find Skull with a hand slapped over his mouth, trying to remain composed, while Deuce had fully given up on standing and was now doubled over against the galley wall. 

Before he dealt with them, Ace had to address the matter at hand. 

“Look, we’re a little busy here,” he said tightly. “Anything else you needed to say? Otherwise, I’m gonna have to talk to you later.”

After a moment without response save for some shuffling, Ace added a cautious, “That alright, old man?”

Finally, Shanks let out a dramatic sigh. “Stars, but I missed your voice.” The background noise from the other side grew muffled, as if he’d at last found a spot away from the hubbub of his crew. He went on, drawn-out and wistful: “I don’t mean to keep you, sweetheart. Just wanted you to know I was thinkin’ about you all day, and I’ll be dreamin’ about you all night.”

Ace cursed himself for flushing further. Turning away from the galley (and the growing sound of cackling), Ace mumbled, “You’re drunk as fuck, Shanks. …Don’t go falling overboard tonight, okay?” 

“In vino veritas, little flame,” Shanks said with dignity. Then, more groggily, “Or, in sake veritas?” 

Ace put his head in his hands, but couldn’t stop the wobbling, frantic smile pulling at his cheeks. 

“Gods. Good luck with your hangover.” Then, in a rushed breath—because this whole situation was bizarre and new, and his heart was racing, but he was also so, strangely happy—Ace said, “Love you.”

Actually, this situation might be too bizarre and new: Shanks was taken off-guard. Ace heard a swift intake of breath, and then in a flood of boozy admiration, he swore, “Oh, baby, I’ll sail to you tonight! The boys’ll listen—I’ll follow the moonlight off the water, we can be together by dawn—what do you say, angel? We could spend all day together, having just the filthiest, crazed-animal se—”

Ace hung up.

—

Ace sagged against the doorway of his quarters. Even though most of his crew had retired for the day, he could feel his insomnia acting up like a jitter in his limbs. He probably wouldn’t land a good night’s sleep no matter what he tried. 

The issue wasn’t helped by his swirling thoughts. For the sake of restocking supplies, the Spade Pirates had docked in a town with some heavy anti-pirate sentiment. Somehow, the crew hadn’t been particularly bothered. Ace, on the other hand, was on edge the whole time, tensing up whenever he felt anyone’s eyes lingering on him too long.

There was no way anyone knew the truth about him. Even so, he couldn’t help superimposing faces from the rundown taverns of Goa onto those of the locals. Ace could feel the old, familiar unease simmering in his veins, like everyone had just finished hiding a sneer from him; like a knife was waiting to catch him unaware at any turn. 

But he was on his ship, now. Safe. Ace took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair, yet the tension remained. A night like this one was better spent in the open air of the deck. He was just about to make his way out, when the Den Den Mushi reflected a hint of moonlight, catching his eye. 

After a moment of hesitation, Ace gathered the little thing in his arms, and took it with him to the bow of the ship. He stared contemplatively at where he’d set it on the rail. Since that first fiasco, he and Shanks had used the device a few times; their calls made it clear that he didn’t need to wait for some emergency. Still…

Watching starlight glint off the Den Den’s metal trim, he wondered what time it might be where Shanks was. The last time they’d talked, Shanks had been about half a day ahead of him. Who could say if they’d kept pace since then, though.

Stealing a glance at the crow’s nest—he was pretty sure Finamore was on shift tonight—Ace’s hand hovered over the receiver. His thoughts roiled. The tranquil rocking of the ship and the peaceful glow of the moon should have soothed him, but for some reason, they just made Ace more agitated.

He finally thought, Fuck it.

Ace waited, feeling suspended in time as the call went out. Then, he heard a click. 

“Mm… Hello?” 

Ace’s mind stalled. He was thrown off, watching the snail mimic a very sleepy Red-Haired Shanks. It was amusing at times to see the creature capture the other man’s expressions, but a little unsettling for this call; Ace directed his gaze out toward the ocean instead.

“Shanks?” he ventured. “Um. Morning?” 

There was a yawn. Then, “G’morning, little flame.” The cadence of Shanks’ voice was even slower than usual, syllables softly melding into each other. “To what do I owe the pleasure, sweetheart?”

Ace’s mouth quirked, impressed at the immediate smooth-talking. He was also, undeniably, taken in by the calming lilt of Shanks’ words. Ace twisted and untwisted a ringlet of the Den Den Mushi’s cord. 

“It’s nothin’ important, just… checking in.” Ace was unable to keep himself from adding, “What time is it there? I can call back later.” 

He heard a gentle sigh. 

“It’s never too early for you,” Shanks said. “A bit ahead of when I usually wake, but…” he hummed, exceedingly smug. “It’s cute, how you just can’t wait to hear my voice. So precious, baby.” 

Ace rolled his eyes toward the starry sky. “Yeah, I’m hangin’ up.”

Shanks let out a laugh. “Wait, now, come on. Tell me what’s on your mind.”

“It’s just… been a long day.” After a few moments of curling the cord tighter, Ace asked, “Actually, could you talk about your day? What’ve you been up to?” 

A thoughtful hum came over the line, followed by a snort. “You should’ve seen the damn mess Yasopp got us into yesterday. There we were, perusing a market, when the man starts haggling…”

Ace sighed. It was nice, listening to Shanks describe the people he’d run into, the locales he and his crew had explored. Really, it would’ve been nicer to be there at his side for it all, but… the timing wasn’t right. Not yet.

Still, Ace could imagine it. He laid his head in his arms, and let Shanks’ voice carry him over the water.

Finally, as Shanks murmured about dishes they could try “just a few islands over,” Ace felt his eyelids drooping. He gave himself a small shake.

The nighttime breeze was cooler now, biting against his skin. Ace noted the hazy ache of tiredness beneath his eyes; the rhythmic lap of the ocean and its vast, ceaseless waves. Domed above him, the crispness of the stars only added to his sense of the world being yawningly immense. It would have left him unsettled… if not for the sound of Shanks’ steady breathing over the line: a tiny, precious tether in the dark. 

Ace cleared his throat. 

“Thanks, Shanks.”

His conversation partner snickered. “Good rhyme.” 

“Yeah.” Ace smiled. “I mean it, though. For this, and… everything you’ve done. For being you.”

Ace hesitated, stomach churning at his trite words. The night’s darkness helped mute his embarrassment, though; same as the blush on his cheeks. 

“It means a lot,” he finished, voice soft.

There was a brief, yet heavy silence after that, like Shanks was lingering in the pause between one breath and the next. Finally, he murmured, “We’re lucky bastards, aren’t we? I mean—” He waited a moment, so Ace could finish chuckling. 

Then he said, “I’m grateful too. To have found you.”

Ace blinked, staring out into the moonlit night. All he could offer was an agreeing hum. 

After lingering in the contented silence a moment longer, Shanks finally gave a soft laugh, and said, “Guess you should give sleep another go.” 

“Ugh. Yeah.” Ace wiped a hand down his face, but turned toward the Den Den Mushi with a smile. “Alright. Love you.” 

“Love you too, little flame. Goodnight, Ace.” 

He grinned. “Good morning, Shanks.” 

Shanks’ laugh was just crackling out when Ace replaced the receiver. He heard enough, however, to be flooded with warmth on the way back to his quarters; and as he laid in bed, easily welcoming sleep.

[brisquad-unit-4402]

the man of oral sex

was thinking about ike and then got a peaaaaak visual so here you go, some smutty headcanons i wrote instead of sleeping

tags: gender neutral reader, established relationship, smut, public sex, underwear smelling, lingerie mention, ike goes down on reader, reader's genitalia is ambiguous/not mentioned, ike's a giver yayay

⚠️ nsfw under the cut. content not intended for minors

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

there's many reasons why ike loves eating out his partner, but one of the biggest is the taste as you come undone

ike is cute, elegant, and reserved at first glance

which just makes it more of a turn-on to see him lap you up eagerly, eyes shut and lips glossy with your spend

whether it's a romantic night in or impulsively going at it in a bathroom stall, he just can't say no when it comes to giving head

even in public

especially in public...

you don't remember the last time you went to a movie theater with him without him getting on his knees

besides, ike's hair is always messy, so it doesn't even look out of place after you pull it and shove him into your crotch

you want it fast as hell? he's chasing after you without a drop of shame as he pulls your underwear to the side, inhaling the smell like it's a designer perfume

as for slow and sensual? ike takes his time savoring your taste, exploring and toying with all your most sensitive parts until he finds the perfect weak point

when he's on his knees as you sit, he loves grabbing your hand in some way

usually he pins your wrist down against your seat, locking you into the perfect angle to eat you out

whenever the mood is right, though, he likes to lace his fingers between yours so he can rub his thumb over your trembling hand when you come

honestly? ike is a connoisseur of your lower half

your ass, the small of your back, your thighs (he's in love with your thighs). he grabs at them as he takes you, pushing you close to his mouth because he's just that desperate to get you off

his happy place is when you clench your thighs around his head, leaving him no choice but to drag his tongue along your flesh

he's so entranced, he wants to dress you up, just so he can grope the zettai ryouiki while thigh high hosiery brushes against his bare back

and let's be real, ike likes guiding your legs apart, over his shoulder, anywhere to get better access

whenever he needs to breathe he pushes one of your legs out to lick at your inner thigh, teasing you while regaining his bearings

ike's absolute favorite position, no contest, immediate hard-on: you sitting on his face

his mouth needs your pressure like a jewel needs a setting

he even encourages you to shift your weight over his face

if he dies he dies, what a wonderful way to go

the very second you sit on him, he's kissing between your thighs religiously, letting his heated breath wrap around your core

he calls you gorgeous every time you expose yourself to him—you look, smell, taste amazing

the bedding around ike frames his peridot eyes, jewelry in a velvety box under you. his lashes shield the green color as he hones in on your core. "dove," he gasps, rising in-between desperate kisses. ike lifts a hand over you, caressing the sensitive skin, lapping at the revealed corners around you. there's all this fuzz in his head, clouding over whatever he was going to say next. the only important thing is his tongue swirling around the region, so messy that saliva drips down your skin and back to his face. a heady moan falls out of his mouth, then the vibration travels into your heat. he relearns how to speak. "dove, you're divine..."

the sound of his tongue smacking along your skin is one of the most erotic sounds in the world to him

he goes at you so voraciously, he has to hold your hips down when they inevitably spasm

usually ike takes off his glasses before sex, but going down on you gets him so horny that he doesn't even think twice about them

he soaks up the beautiful sight of you from his place on the bed, then slips them off as his nose rubs you down and his lips follow suit

but when he's got nothing but your core in his head (metaphorically and literally), he gets so caught up that he doesn't even care if they break

you feel the heat rise in your belly, a tightness unwinding as ike tangles himself under you. his lips are rosy pink, turning raw from how enthusiastically he's eating you out. you can't keep your moans under control as his breath colors your most sensitive nerves. rushes of fervor overwhelm you. you cry out, unable to bear the pleasure any longer, outpouring in a whiteout stream as the heat envelops you. gasping, you return to the world by way of ike kissing on you. gentle, reverent, and adoring, he greets you before your vision can even come back. when you finally meet his eyes, he exhales. fog clings to his glasses, pushed askew and splattered from your arousal, revealing the red flush of satisfaction adorning his face.

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

✧. ┊ masterpost ✧. ┊ kofi

[chaehwa-archives]

friendly rivalry deep dive part 18

Episode 8 is the climax of the first half of Friendly Rivalry, and it feels different from every episode that’s come before. The main characters have been established, and for the first time they’re all gathered in the same place. All the pieces are on the game board.

Our main girls, Jae-yi and Seul-gi, have gone through a whole arc together. After enduring betrayal and heartbreak, they’ve reached a tentative reconciliation. For a few magical hours, Seul-gi sets aside her doubts and reservations, and enjoys the romantic night of her dreams.

At least until she loses her dad’s phone and gets stabbed by a drug addict. Life at Chaehwa sure is a rollercoaster.

I’ve been struggling with how to approach this one. Episode 8 is one of the most iconic in the whole series, and it’s truly a masterpiece of efficiency. How can one episode have more fluff than all the previous episodes combined, and also have the most labyrinthine plot so far? How do they pack so much into thirty minutes? Did the writers sell their souls to Gay Satan?

Well, first, let’s talk about that. I briefly mentioned the queerbaiting debate in my discussion of the Episode 4 dream kiss, and now that we’ve arrived at one of the gayest episodes, I fear it’s time to put on the hazmat suit and wade into the discourse once again.

I’m sympathetic to viewers who go into Friendly Rivalry expecting a GL romance and end up feeling betrayed. It’s true that FR doesn't check every single box if that’s what you’re looking for. There’s no direct verbal confession, no kiss outside of Seul-gi's dream. If you need someone to say “I love you” to consider a relationship canon, you’re going to be disappointed.

But...media literacy y’all. It matters. Friendly Rivalry is a story about hidden motives and buried desires. The characters are emotionally damaged and repressed teenagers. And from the beginning, FR has used symbolism and subtext to express emotional states. This show is begging you to look past the surface and engage on a deeper level.

And yet...when it comes to Jae-yi and Seul-gi’s feelings for each other, Friendly Rivalry does not ask you to work so hard. It’s pretty damn direct! *Crucial plot information* is often conveyed with ten times more subtlety. The only way this episode could be any more romantically coded is, again, if there were a kiss or confession, but that wouldn’t make sense for Jae-yi or Seul-gi at this point.

It’s worth asking: If FR revolved around a het pairing, would there really be any doubt that these characters are in love?

I can still see how someone might view this as bait, though, if the story were about something else. If after this episode Jae-yi and Seul-gi’s relationship were sidelined and never mattered again, I would be upset. And that does threaten to happen for a while, so I can understand some frustration if you’re only here for the gay shit.

But the ending clarifies what FR is about—and the ending also isn’t very subtle about it imo. Friendly Rivalry is about Jae-yi and Seul-gi and their love for each other. Without that, there’s no story.

And that’s ignoring cultural context, because I’m not an expert on the K-drama industry, so I don’t know what restrictions the creators were working within. Personally, whether it’s due to cultural pressures or artistic choice, I kind of like that Jae-yi and Seul-gi don’t just say “I love you.” That would be waaay too basic for these freaks.

Final word on the subject: I know why people want “confirmation” and why they can get turned off by ambiguity in queer stories. They want to know that the creators are actually on their side and not just toying with them for money. But Friendly Rivalry does not scream “cynical cash grab” to me. The director spent years working on the script, it was filmed on a small budget without sponsorships, and at first it only aired on a minor streaming platform. I mean Hye-ri bought her own costumes with her own damn money! No one involved in this project thought it might end up on Netflix one day. Queerbaiting makes art worse because it’s lazy and safe. “Safe” isn’t a word I would ever use to describe Friendly Rivalry.

We don’t expect every straight romance to be a romcom. I don’t want to live in a world where every queer story has to conform to the same standard to be considered “real.” True love is weird. It’s personal. It can be complex and even ambiguous. It’s not always “I love you.” Sometimes it’s “I’ve been imagining your death a lot lately.”

Sorry for the rant. Let’s pick up where we left off.

After her rendezvous with Jae-yi on the rooftop, Seul-gi is sedated for an endoscopy and has a dream. This is the first dream sequence since the kiss in Episode 4. That dream established how Seul-gi was feeling about Jae-yi about the time: ...horny. She was just beginning to process her attraction, fantasizing about Jae-yi coming onto her in a context that was both safe and thrilling.

The tone of this dream is different. On the beach where she was abandoned, Seul-gi’s father is searching for her, passing out flyers. Seul-gi calls to him again and again, but he doesn’t hear her. No one does. The tide rises, and water soaks her feet. Even so, she’s unable to move.

Then Jae-yi appears and offers her hand. Together they walk away from the beach, through the woods, as the princess dress is carried off by the waves.

Not only is this Seul-gi’s first dream since Episode 4, that was also the last time we saw her as a child. In that episode, Seul-gi told the story of her abandonment, and Jae-yi pretended to sympathize. But her false sympathy couldn’t bring true healing.

Conversely, in Episode 2, we saw how Jae-yi’s outstretched hand was able to transcend time, space, and her own scheming. Without realizing it, her gesture extended all the way to that girl abandoned by her bullies on the roof and offered hope: You aren’t alone up here. I see you.

The second time Jae-yi offers her hand on a roof, in Episode 7, it has even greater weight. This time, her sympathy is real, and she doesn’t just feel bad, she does something about it. She gets down off the wall, lifts Seul-gi up, and confesses her feelings and intentions.

When she reaches out the second time, Jae-yi removes her armor first. This gesture says more than I can see you. It says I’m willing to sacrifice for you. I’m willing *to be seen.* And this gesture reaches all the way to the root of Seul-gi’s trauma, to the girl still crying for her father on the beach.

Letting go of trauma is never easy. It becomes a part of you. The princess dress has defined Seul-gi’s life since her abandonment. She’s always been the outcast, the unloved girl people ignore or despise. Without that wound, who is she? If she leaves the beach, where will she go?

The shirt Seul-gi wears in her dream is simple and white. She’s a blank slate. She glances back wistfully at the part of herself she’s leaving behind. But with Jae-yi there, holding her hand, the woods aren’t so scary. Wherever Jae-yi is going, she wants to go, too.

If the first dream was there to confirm Seul-gi’s physical attraction, this dream confirms that Seul-gi is horny for true love. Even in her most private and sensitive memories, Jae-yi is there—and Seul-gi would rather leave everything she knows behind than be separated from her.

Compared to the first half, the second half of Friendly Rivalry is a lot more plot-driven, and that trend starts with Episode 8. This episode has *so* much going on in it. I don’t want these posts to turn into long tedious summaries, so I might have to get more creative in how I approach writing them.

But here’s the speedrun: Jae-yi wakes up after the endoscopy and spies Ye-ri sneaking away to the lockers with Seul-gi’s locker key. Later that night, while everyone is gathered at the school for the big post-midterms festival, Jae-yi figures out with A-ra’s assistance that Ye-ri, working for Tae-joon, has stolen Woo Do-hyeok’s phone. Jae-yi locates the phone while it’s charging and unlocks it using the date of Seul-gi’s disappearance as the passcode. She finds threatening texts from her father, and a very upsetting video of her sister, Je-na, in a sexual situation with Seul-gi’s dad.

Then she bumps into Je-na herself in the flesh.

Meanwhile Beom-su is having the worst night ever. Being knocked out of the top twenty has done a number on her mental health, and she gets more disoriented after chugging a drug cocktail that A-ra sells her off the books. Ye-ri entices Beom-su into helping her find a charger for Do-hyeok’s phone, promising her a turn in the blind date booth in exchange, but when Beom-su actually does what she asks, Ye-ri (who has lost the phone she wanted to charge thanks to Jae-yi) lashes out in frustration. Beom-su’s resentment builds as her grip on reality weakens. Finally she takes out her rage on Seul-gi by stabbing her in the arm with a kitchen knife.

Gyeong is also here! First she’s trying to study like a big nerd, then she has a run-in with Tae-joon, who’s at the festival to work a food stall, then she goes on an awkward blind date with a drug dealer. The dealer, Byeong-jin, is here to uhhhh sell fentanyl to high schoolers? And harass Seul-gi I guess. (Bro get a life. You look 27 years old.) Gyeong tracks down Seul-gi to talk to her about Tae-joon, and maybe why an adult man passing out transdermal patches to teenagers is looking for her, but they both get sidetracked when Seul-gi realizes her dad’s phone is missing. Gyeong suspects that Jae-yi stole it.

Let’s pause to pay tribute once again to Oh Woo-ri’s phenomenal acting. Her awkward gestures, her facial expressions, the stiff way she walks...she truly embodies Gyeong down to the finest detail.

And of course Je-na is here, too, posing as a visiting student from Hoegyeong High School. This is the first time we’ve seen her outside of flashbacks and photographs. I’m not 100% sure I know what she’s doing at the school tbh—does she think the phone is here? It seems pretty clear now that she’s the one calling it. Or is there something else she might be after in the C-Med room?

I’m skipping lots of details, but those are the broad strokes.

Mostly I want to focus on Jae-yi and Seul-gi in this post, because they are my Roman Empire, but I also want to talk a little about Ye-ri. She’s always been a morally gray figure (okay, to be fair, everyone in this show except Tae-joon aka the devil incarnate is morally gray) but she has a sweet side—she would never be mean to Gyeong, not even for a bazillion won. In Episode 8 though we see her at her worst, being downright vicious to a girl who clearly needs help.

At first I thought it was a little out of character for her to be this cruel to Beom-su. Then I thought about the circumstances. It’s the school festival—everyone is here. Even if Ye-ri weren’t stressed about trying to extort a powerful and dangerous man for money, she would be on edge. Ye-ri depends on her image for security. In social situations, she’s in survival mode. If she were alone with Beom-su, in a different setting, her good heart might prevail, but here, where she could be seen by anyone? Maintaining her image is top priority. And Beom-su is poison to that image. To be caught hanging out with—or worse, being nice to—the paranoid druggie kid is social suicide.

Notice the way Ye-ri transforms around Gyeong. Gyeong is also an awkward loser—but because she has high social status in the class, Ye-ri doesn’t care at all! I mean, she’s also truly madly deeply in love with Gyeong, so she probably just thinks Gyeong’s dorkiness is cute. By the way, note the colors of the big heart behind Ye-ri on the blind dating booth...green, Gyeong’s color...and pink?? Shippers you have been vindicated.

Okay...it is time. My babies...oh my sweet babies.

On my old blog (rip) I started developing a Grand Unified Theory of Fluff—why sometimes I love it, and other times...I do not (*cough* theloyalpin *cough*). Episode 8 is my platonic ideal. It’s not just a textbook example—it is the Sistine Chapel, the Complete Works of Shakespeare, the Holy Grail of fluff. It is giving us exactly what we want, and it’s almost unbearably cute, but it is always serving the characters and story. Jae-yi and Seul-gi share about six minutes of screentime in this episode altogether, but those six minutes have more impact than the literal hours Pam and Dokrak spend feeding each other in Us. (Okay it’s probably not hours but…)

First of all, it’s just so cathartic. We’ve wanted this for Jae-yi and Seul-gi since the first episode, and you can tell they’ve wanted it for nearly as long. Finally they can relax around each other. Finally they can enjoy each other’s company. Finally they can act like the kids they were never allowed to be growing up.

If these scenes were just about the euphoria of having fun with your crush while recapturing your lost innocence together, that would be enough. I would eat that shit right up. But this wouldn’t be Friendly Rivalry without at least a dozen more layers of emotional complexity on top.

There’s a subtle tension in Jae-yi and Seul-gi’s interactions from the beginning. Look at Jae-yi’s face when she first finds Seul-gi at the festival. She’s not smiling. Her expression is somewhere between concern and determination. She’s worried but driven.

Jae-yi isn’t relaxed at all—she’s on high alert. She knows that Ye-ri is up to something, and that whatever she’s up to has something to do with Seul-gi. The concern in her eyes is for Seul-gi’s safety. But she’s determined to prove (to Seul-gi and to herself) that she wasn’t just messing with Seul-gi’s heart again when she promised to protect her. She wants her girl to have fun tonight. And she’s made it her mission to give this night to Seul-gi as a gift—even if it means keeping her ignorant.

For Seul-gi’s sake, Jae-yi plays another role. She pretends to be silly and carefree so that Seul-gi can be.

But somewhere along the way, the line between performance and reality starts to blur. Jae-yi gets swept up in her own act. She starts to have fun in spite of herself.

In the past we’ve seen how Jae-yi fools herself into thinking she’s in complete control, while in fact it’s Seul-gi pulling her along, making her do things she’d never do otherwise. Most recently we saw this pattern in the Episode 7 rooftop scene. Jae-yi thinks she’s “won” with her sneaky pee scheme—but it’s Seul-gi tugging on her heartstrings, and her love for Seul-gi, that pull her back from the brink of despair.

Now Jae-yi has cast herself in the role of Seul-gi’s protector. She thinks she’s taking control of the situation to ensure that Seul-gi has the time of her life. But little does she know it’s Seul-gi who’s making her forget all her fears, and allowing her, for maybe for the first time in her life, to feel free.

It is so sweet y’all. I’m sobbing rn.

These dynamics are maybe easiest to see in the scene at the food stand, when Tae-joon interrupts their date to mansplain about the health risks of I DONT FUCKING CARE YOU ASSHOLE GO AWAY, LET THEM ENJOY THEIR DATE GODDAMN IT, IF YOU TOUCH A HAIR ON SEUL-GI’S HEAD MOTHERFUCKER I SWEAR TO GOD—

Um. Sorry!

The moment Seul-gi mentions that she wants to eat, Jae-yi glances over at the stand where her father is working. She’s clearly worried and doesn’t want to go. But her woman is hungry. She has no choice. (Notice it’s Seul-gi taking the lead, and Jae-yi following.) Then, when Jae-yi is introducing Seul-gi to Gyeong’s mother, something really interesting happens. Jae-yi takes Seul-gi suddenly by the arm, grinning from ear to ear.

She knows Tae-joon is right there. She knows he’s watching her. He’s always watching her.

Is she deliberately provoking him? Is she telling him stay away, she’s mine? These are things Jae-yi has done before—neither would be out of character for her. But when she steals a glance back at her dad, her expression is strangely distant and reflective.

...I think she just forgot.

For a moment, she was too happy to worry about what her dad would think. She stopped calculating her every movement, and just...did what she wanted to do! Which was touch Seul-gi of couse. (When is that ever not what Jae-yi wants to do.)

It’s interesting that Jae-yi learned fear from her father, a man who is seemingly incapable of fear. Any assault on his power he responds to with a cocky little smirk (an expression we’ve seen Jae-yi wear many times now), as if no threat is worth taking seriously.

But this is a facade just like Jae-yi’s—one he’s spent his whole life perfecting. Behind that smug punchable mask, fear is probably the one emotion that he does feel.

And nothing—nothing in the entire world—makes Tae-joon more terrified than seeing his daughter happy and beyond his control.

This bitch can’t help himself. He has to reassert his dominance. He puts on his authoritative “health expert” persona and starts droning on about phosphates, trying to seize control the way he usually does, by pretending to care about his daughter’s wellbeing. He’s probably done this to Jae-yi a thousand times.

But Seul-gi does not give a fuck. She just ignores his ass! And when he keeps pushing, she pushes back. She says no, you can’t control this situation, or your daughter, or life itself—so fuck off. Your diet advice is not needed. And now that she strongly suspects him of being involved in her father’s death, she even taunts him about it.

Seul-gi, you are a treasure. Jae-yi, never let this girl go.

As Jae-yi opens up more and more, we’re watching her relationship with Seul-gi transform into something more and more reciprocal. Back in Episode 3, Seul-gi confessed to being envious of Jae-yi, who seemed to have everything in the world. But Jae-yi has as much reason or more to be envious of Seul-gi. Seul-gi grew up alone and forged her identity in isolation. She learned early not to care what other people think. Because of that, she has no pretensions. She isn’t trying to seem cool or earn anyone’s favor. Everything she does, she does for herself.

Jae-yi has never been able to live like that. She’s always been at the center of attention, performing for a crowd. And she’s had to define herself in opposition to the people around her—in opposition to her sister first, and then to anyone else who could be a threat. Jae-yi is all pretense. She’s been acting for so long, she’s forgotten how to just be.

In Seul-gi’s dream at the start of this episode, we saw Jae-yi give her the courage to start moving on from her past. Now their roles have reversed. Because Seul-gi is there, Jae-yi has the courage to ignore her father’s gaze, even when he’s standing right there in front of her. Seul-gi gives her the strength to act for herself, without worrying about what other people will think of her.

They are so perfect for each other. I know they’re still in high school but just let them get married already. Please.

I keep thinking to myself, “oh that’s just a cute lil fluff scene, I can’t have that much to say about it,” and then I end up having so much to say about it. Take the ball pit scene. At first, my reaction was simply no thoughts head empty just let them kisisskss already omg. But even this fluffiest of fluff scenes has hidden depths.

We’ve seen a few callbacks to Episode 4 already. The ball pit scene made me think not only of Seul-gi’s dream in Episode 4, but also of Jae-yi’s scuba diving trip story. Remember when Jae-yi tells Seul-gi she felt relaxed under the water, and Seul-gi says, “Like being in your mom’s belly before you were born?”

The ball pit is our symbolic body of water. You could replace it with a pool and this would just be the romantic gaze-into-each-other’s eyes pool scene from dozens of movies. But ball pits are also something we associate with childhood. Playing in a ball pit isn’t something you usually do as an adult, or as a teenager. If you’re self-conscious, it could even be a little embarrassing.

Jae-yi and Seul-gi were both forced to grow up too fast, and for both of them, the past represents comfort, a time before trauma altered their lives. If only Seul-gi could go back to when her parents were still alive, before she was abandoned...If only Jae-yi could go back to a time before she distanced herself from her sister, or even further, back to before she was cursed with consciousness.

The ball pit isn’t real water. It’s one of the most unreal-looking sets in FR—an ice-cream-colored soft pastel dream world. It’s the stage for a fantasy. Jae-yi and Seul-gi can’t really go back in time, but in this alternate reality, they can pretend for a little while.

In some ways this ball pit scene is like the bathtub fantasy come to life. Jae-yi is taking the lead, putting moves on Seul-gi, giving our poor girl a gay panic attack. (I love how you can just *see* her entire interior monologue in her eyes like oh shit oh god is this happening can this really be happening i think it’s happening oh fuck she’s so cute what the fuck i can’t breathe i think i’m dying help?) But the irl version is different from the dream. In her dream Seul-gi had Jae-yi play the role of the confident, dominant, mature one. That Jae-yi wasn’t vulnerable at all, because she wasn’t real.

When this Jae-yi takes the lead, she puts herself in the vulnerable position first. She jumps into the ball pit and beckons Seul-gi: Come on, let’s be stupid and act like little kids! Without Seul-gi’s influence, there’s no way Jae-yi could be this unselfconscious. It’s a two-way fantasy now, one they’re creating together. And for a moment the world fades away and it’s just the two of them. They can’t turn back the clock, but they can almost make time stand still.

Unfortunately they are in a very public place, in a very conservative country, and they are just now starting to feel comfortable enough around each other to start exploring these feelings. It’s not the right time or place for an actual kiss. But you know they both want it.

This scene is also important for GL scholars investigating the most urgent questions of our day, like: When Jae-yi and Seul-gi meet up again post-Episode 16, who’s going to make the first move? (I think Jae-yi will be the first to go in for the kiss, but she’ll panic and start second-guessing if Seul-gi wants it or not, and Seul-gi will have to lean in the rest of the way.)

Okay I swear to god I am almost finished. (This post got sooo much longer than I intended it to be.) The scene after the ball pit is another of my favorites, mostly because SEUL-GI HOW TF ARE YOU SO CUUTE, YOUR SMILE WILL BE THE END OF ME. But no, once again, there’s actually a lot going on here! Look at the way they sit side by side on the bench, Seul-gi sprawled out like she’s hammered out of her mind, missing one sock, while Jae-yi sits prim and proper. Jae-yi takes off her cat ears, too, because the cat ears were her costume, something she wore to help get into the spirit of the role.

She’s thinking, Mission accomplished, my work here is done. Seul-gi had fun! She did it!!

Jae-yi offers to buy Seul-gi new socks, because of course she does. She is slipping out of one role and back into a more familiar one, the Jae-yi who showers the object of her affection with gifts. (Seul-gi is still wearing that scarf btw. She’d probably have ended up wearing it for like a month straight if not for the whole getting stabbed thing.) But before she can go, Seul-gi reaches out and grabs her wrist...

And Jae-yi stops.

The last time this happened, in Episode 6, Jae-yi slipped out of Seul-gi’s grasp, wearing one of those Tae-joon-certified smirks. This time she doesn’t even try to wriggle away. She’s letting someone touch her—and look at her face. She’s stunned.

Is she stunned just because Seul-gi touched her?

Or is it because......she likes it?!

A realization has been dawning slowly on Jae-yi all night long. I don’t know if she’s quite figured it out yet, but that’ll come soon.

As for Seul-gi, she’s just had the greatest night of her entire life, and she wants to return the favor. But she has nothing to give—nothing that Jae-yi doesn’t already have—except honesty. If Jae-yi is finally being sincere, Seul-gi wants to pay her back with sincerity.

So she admits how she feels. She doesn’t trust Jae-yi—the damage can’t be undone in a single day—but despite that, Jae-yi is special to her. She wasn’t upset about tying for first place. She was also over the moon.

This...this isn’t a story about rivalry at all! And those gazes sure don’t seem very friendly!!

One last thing, about the gazes. Throughout the evening, we’ve seen Jae-yi sneak little glances at Seul-gi whenever Seul-gi isn’t looking. She’s monitoring her mission progress, making sure Operation Best Date Night Ever goes off without a hitch. At least, that’s probably what she tells herself she’s doing.

Then comes the fireworks scene, the last moment Jae-yi and Seul-gi share in this episode before being separated. The world is cruel. In a very short time, Jae-yi is going to discover a terrible secret about her sister, and Seul-gi is going to get shanked.

Jae-yi looks over at Seul-gi as she’s watching fireworks for the first time in her life. And something clicks. Not just “this girl is the most beautiful precious loveliest thing I have ever laid eyes on” although yes probably that too. But ever since midterms, when she first saw the test results, Jae-yi has been working toward a discovery.

Seul-gi makes her happy.

Not buzzed or electrified. This feeling is different from the chemical rush of competition. It has nothing to do with winning. Seul-gi could beat her, and she still wouldn’t care.

Jae-yi doesn’t need the game, doesn’t need victory, doesn’t need to be the best. These things might have made her forget her despair for a little while, but they only made her hate herself more in the end.

*This* is all she needs.

Through Seul-gi, Jae-yi is starting to realize that there is more to life than her father’s curse. There is more to life than his kill-or-be-killed nightmare. It’s possible to find joy in little things. It’s possible to find joy in someone else’s success. It’s possible to find joy in someone else’s joy.

Jae-yi has never been enchanted by anything more than by Seul-gi’s enchantment. And being a witness to Seul-gi’s happiest night is the happiest she’s ever been.

Love didn’t free Jae-yi from fear. But by actively choosing love, and letting love guide her, she’s starting to see the possibility of another way. Maybe, if she follows these instincts, she can find the key to her liberation.

[wickmitz]

SEDGEWICK SABLE & MITZI MAY : an overall study, part one .

discussing their individual characters, their relationship, their respective scenes, and a plethora of details found in-between.

this question is a good one! though i’m going to prematurely apologize for the length of my response to it, since this requires some extensive analysis. mostly because i feel like fans are prone to misreading and misinterpreting mitzi’s and wick’s relationship a lot in general, but also due to the fact there’s a lot of outside elements that are currently affecting their relationship as we see it in the comic. so to even begin to understand their mindset on the date, we have to rehash previous events and actually understand what’s happening within those moments. after all, like most good character writing, there’s a lot being said without actively telling the reader every little thing! it’s also important to note that this romantic relationship is very complex, with both parties involved being extremely human in nature ; prone to messing up and feeding impulses that, while understandable, aren’t exactly wise or good natured. for example, you will see some rather heavy miscommunication in this dynamic! but to start off with this beast of an analysis, let me discuss some statements i’ve seen made in regards to wick and mitzi, which are not only extremely biased in wick’s favor, but are factually untrue. these topics will come into play later! and will help establish some key elements i’ll mention again when recounting the events of the comic.

some opinions i’ve seen thrown around that are treated as canonical fact are a combination of ‘mitzi’s been setting out to use wick from the start / she isn’t actually interested in him / is merciless when taking advantage of him, and etc etc.’ -- and in order to properly begin this analysis and what’s really going on, you have to cast these ideas aside! i, personally, don’t think any of these views are true and serve as an extremely simplistic explanation for mitzi’s behavior, while also robbing wick of any actual agency he may have. he is not some helpless victim led astray by mitzi’s tempting offers and curves, and has even been stated to not be as morally righteous as he claims by tracy on occasion. he, like mitzi and everyone else in lackadaisy, is a heavily flawed individual! and that’s important to keep in mind as i go through and a.) debunk these misconceptions and b.) actually discuss the events of the comic, including the in-between we weren’t privy to as readers. i also don’t think i need to clarify this, but just in case someone out there is thinking it in passing : i cannot make it clear enough that mitzi is just as flawed as wick, if not more so! she is not an innocent party in the events, and i won’t shy away from discussing the morally ambiguous things she does either. however, it’s undeniable that she gets more hate than wick, or any other man in lackadaisy, thus i find it prominent to disprove the cartoonishly villainous reads of her character. i might defend her more than wick here, or approach her with more sympathy, but this doesn’t ever negate her wrongs and i know this. but with all these disclaimers, preamble, and topic starters out of the way, i’m going to go through these points one by one ( alongside their scenes together ) and discuss them as i see fit.

the first time we see mitzi and wick together is in the comic page introduction three : where they’re photographed together with some other noticeable faces, with a date of ‘5-21-1927’ dated in the corner. the two are beside one another and are leaning into each other’s space, an action that seems commonplace for them given how they’re depicted in the phantom bootlegger as well. it’s also worth noting that despite the rather tragic circumstances surrounding them, the two still appear to be in high spirits -- both donning a smile while flashing an almost coy look at the camera. they look as though nothing is amiss about the situation at all, honestly, and given their proximity, it appears they’re close. i’ve offhandedly mentioned to others that i wouldn’t be surprised if wick were standing in atlas’s ‘spot’, so to speak ; since he’s always shown standing to her left. it gives couple vibes! something that’s rather unremarkable since we know from wick’s own mouth that he’s been interested in mitzi since her days as atlas’s wife, as well as the implied affection at first sight in the side comic limestone. but i’ll note it nonetheless, because if this photo was taken before the proceeding events ( a likely story, since freckle is absent in the photo ), then this implies a closeness between wick and mitzi. they are comfortable around each other and are rather pleased to be in each other’s presence well before acting upon any feelings in a romantic light, unabashedly friendly before the other lackadaisy crew as well as not minding being posed so closely while being photographed together. they are on good terms and have likely stayed that way since they’ve known one another -- i feel like people act as though wick and mitzi had no genuine bond prior to the events of the comic, when it seems rather implied they were at least friends before. this also very weakly discredits claims of planned manipulation from the start as well as mitzi not liking wick outside of his money. the only thing up for debate, in my eyes, is how close they were, not if they were close at all … though now we reach actual canon events, most notably pages such as : formaldehyde, overtime, hallelujah, overture, caveat, and rendezvous respectively. these are pages that i’ll be talking about in length, since i see them as necessary reading ( and rereading ) for these two before volume two’s events.

formaldehyde, overtime, and overture are sort of bundled together for what they reveal where it concerns mitzi’s plans with wick as a person in her life. i think it’s easy to view her joy upon seeing sedgewick in the paper as an opportunistic lightbulb ; ‘good news’ that she can exploit and a balm applied to her financial troubles that had her looking at the obituaries for some levity. but i’d argue she is genuinely happy for wick too, with both selfless and selfish intent. while actually celebrating his success isn’t her main concern, i see some part of her proud of him nonetheless -- even if it’s an unspoken congratulations. though what’s more pressing is that it’s here that we see her intentions as clear as day, which is that she plans to schmooze wick’s investor friends in order to keep the lackadaisy afloat. emphasis on the investors here! her letter to wick shows her priorities clear as day, sending extra club pins and drawing attention to the desire for extra company, and not just wick’s own. when wick swindles the rather bored crowd the lackadaisy’s way, we see how mitzi leaps into action ; giving the men her full attention and chatting them up, making her motives clear as day to them while maintaining some business coyness. the real apple of her eye here is edmund church, who is poised to appear as the leading man where the investors are concerned, and even her body language is attentive towards the man. facing him directly, leaning the full weight of her body towards him …

but while doing so, she is visually turning herself away from wick. back practically turned to him and his presence all but ignored. it’s clear he’s not her schmoozing target, which implies she’s not searching for an investment from wick himself ; as though this is a line she doesn’t wish to cross, and would rather find her money elsewhere despite her mounting desperation. we also know that before these events that mitzi has sold everything she could in order to make things work, including rather sentimental items like wedding china and not limited to whatever mansion her and atlas previously lived in. to me, this shows that mitzi was never planning to use wick at all, really, and in fact was so against the notion that she’d rather manipulate his friends than the very easy target beside her. while she’s arguably a selfish character, people seem to not grasp how hard she tried to keep wick from becoming more than a loyal patron to the lackadaisy. it’s only when all other avenues have been exhausted that she attempts to use him -- and we’ll talk in depth about this decision later, since it wasn’t an easy choice, much less something she decided to do without some inner turmoil in her heart. and while yes, her exploiting wick’s investors is her using him to a degree, it’s worth noting that ( and i cannot stress this enough ) wick was more than well aware of her intentions and brought the men along anyway. he feeds these men to this lady he fancies, something church will call him out for in caveat and something borderline confirmed in overture itself. wick is hardly the idiot people make him out to be! he may be prone to obliviousness, but he’s no toddler who fails to understand even the most obvious social cues. at this point in the comic he trusts mitzi completely ; unfazed by the rumors she killed atlas and believing her incapable of violence due to how long he’s known her. he thinks her kind, he thinks her graceful, and his fondness for the widow is palpable in most of their early scenes … and even somewhat during the time in which their bond is strained.

in fact, the first time mitzi acknowledges wick’s presence beside her is when wick pipes up to offer her advice on how to win church over. not only is he aware of what she’s doing, he is now actively encouraging it by offering up tips and tidbits he probably learned himself when securing church’s investment, all while he smiles and leans towards her, a flirtatious and admiring nature about him.

sedgewick sable may be one of the kindest men in lackadaisy, but he’s still a capitalist at his core, someone who knows how important money is and is used to the give and take society he’s a part of. and while he’s still helping mitzi here, there’s also little denying the fact that he’s doing this to garner brownie points with her … there is some self interest he’s serving here, even if he’s rather sweet about it. as church so eloquently puts it, wick essentially tried to “charge in with ( his ) group of shareholders in a great display of concern for the lady.” and while wick vaguely denies this claim, i think it’s more than obvious that’s exactly what he tried to do here, especially given how quickly he admits it’s “difficult to resist a damsel in distress,” while adorning a rather sly look. what happened here is wick was bluntly called out for his readiness to use the investors so he could get in good with mitzi, appease her and impress her in some way, and he seems rather shameless about this intent thus far. many fans misinterpret this scene, due to being fiercely protective of wick and quick to sense church’s antagonistic role. and just to be clear, when i say antagonistic, i mean that he is the voice of opposition against something that wick’s arc is all about ( i.e. being in a relationship with mitzi ). because of this, fans are inclined to dismiss everything that church says as patently untrue. however, i find it pertinent to reassess church’s specific wording. when he speaks to mitzi in overture, he calls her business ‘criminal reputations’, and though mitzi is able to win him over enough that he stops complaining, he goes right back to his original opinion come caveat, where he states that ‘there’s no reason any of us should have an interest in illegitimate business’. what church says next, however, is curious ; he brings up both mitzi’s reputation and wick’s, pointing out just how incongruous they are, and spells out for him that if he’d like to associate with criminals, then he is in the wrong career. at no point does church tell wick not to have feelings for mitzi nor to pursue them -- what i believe church is essentially reminding wick of is that people will notice his associations with the lackadaisy if he decides to mix business and pleasure like he did tonight. after all, what wick has done, in the simplest of terms, is try to goad his investors into making an objectively harmful business decision so that he could get in good with a woman he fancies. the problem is hardly that wick goes to the lackadaisy ( after all, church and the other investors do go to speakeasies! ), or even that he has a clear interest in mitzi may. rather, church is warning wick against letting his personal feelings guide him into making poor decisions in his business.

it’s not shown how wick reacts to church’s advice, but seems to initially dismiss it, as he spends the rest of his time ushering them away and paying for viktor’s medical bills, an action he does partly due to wanting to look good in front of mitzi once again. while i believe wick would’ve paid them anyway ( he couldn’t ever just let viktor die ) i still find it interesting how the comic highlights ivy using mitzi against him and this working effortlessly. he stops asking questions and stops debating about the ethics of taking viktor to the hospital and merely pays the doctor when quackenbush gets there … before scrambling off to make himself useful at the little daisy.

all of this is to say that wick is hardly some helpless victim who was being used against his will here. he had something to gain from this too and helped these events unfold, completely aware of mitzi’s desire to win over his investors for her own needs. wick’s knowledge of this will come back into play soon enough, although we’re going to talk about mitzi real quick, as well as the comic page rendezvous.

after the events of killjoy, mitzi’s already dire situation takes a turn for the worse due to unseen circumstances, with many things falling at her feet at once. the last vestiges of their reputation has been tarnished alongside what was a golden opportunity, the lackadaisy is trashed and destroyed, she finds out that mordecai has taken all their arsenal, viktor is shot to hell, and had it not been for the presence of a stranger, the likelihood of her, rocky, and zib kicking the bucket was too likely to be comfortable. naturally, mitzi seems composed during these stressful events, keeping her cool as best she can and acting unfazed by what was imminent danger ; to a degree, this show of apathy is genuine, in the sense that mitzi is unafraid of death and physical harm. she made the choice to stay in the lackadaisy despite knowing she’d be safer on the other side of those doors, and in loggerhead she even implies she’d rather take the risks and die because allowing the lackadaisy to fade out of existence is a ‘sadder fate’ in her eyes. i don’t think i need to talk in length about how unhealthy this mindset is or how much this demonstrates mitzi’s obsession -- her selfishness to cling onto her husband’s ruinous legacy is so severe that she would even be happier perishing in its place, an almost passive suicidality mindset that i don’t see touched upon often. but for all her nonchalance about shootouts, there’s this worsening tiredness and despair that clings to her eyes and gestures when the pig farmers are slain. forced to do nothing else but accept the grim reality of such a brutal aftermath and see viktor’s awful state for herself, another blow she gets to see up close. they could’ve lost everything here, and they almost did! it’s a devastating end to a once hopeful evening, one that has her aimless and with no real plans for a future. i don’t think mitzi even thought to use wick even upon hearing about his offered charity, yet i believe we see the exact moment when such a thought crosses her mind ; maybe not for the first time, but here is when the idea becomes too tantalizing to ignore. she’s out of options and wick is there, like always, and mitzi’s desperation ( her grief ) eclipses any care she has for wick in a singular moment that changes their dynamic completely.

we’re finally at rendezvous, which is probably the most important page ( or at least one of the most integral pages ) to wick and mitzi’s relationship. a lot happens here between these two characters despite the simplicity of their actions, after all, chatting for a little and then kissing isn’t much to sneeze at plot wise. but what’s pressing here is the visuals and the dialogue rather than their actions. we start off with mitzi entering the little daisy cafe and catching wick tidying up the mess rocky and freckle created when they ran through the building ; he’s obviously waiting around to hear of viktor’s condition and doing something useful with his hands in the meantime, having been interrupted from where he’d been staring at atlas’ picture on the wall. miss may makes light of his ‘raiding’ and says she could’ve just made him something to eat if he really wants and wick responds in kind, sarcasm and banter exchanged briefly before they touch upon the events unfolding around them. mitzi expresses her gratitude and ensures she’ll pay wick back ( something she says without being prompted to ) before telling a curious wick about viktor’s condition. unable to help himself further, he asks mitzi what happened tonight, to which she remains silent -- wick realizes he’s better off not knowing and relents with a smile, to which we get this line from mitzi.

there’s a properness to this, where she goes as far as to stop using his nickname to address him as sedgewick instead. her paw reaches up to begin fiddling with her necklace ( something she does whenever thinking or reminded of atlas ) and before she can finish her thought, her attention is forced from wick onto the very picture he’d been staring at previously. my opinion on this scene is that, for all intents and purposes, this reads like some sort of formal rejection ; flavoring in ‘you’re so kind’s and ‘such a swell man, you are!’s before ending with your resounding no, so to speak. i think in this moment, mitzi was going to be honest with wick instinctively, especially after he saved her some trouble despite not having to. ”and i would hate to …” use him? lead him on? seemingly promise something she’s incapable of delivering upon? maybe she suspects he paid for viktor’s bills to win her over ( a semi correct assumption ) and wants to clear the air on that. say that while she’s thankful and while wick is an amazing person, he won’t be ‘getting’ anything out of this from her … not right now. i’ll talk more about how i believe mitzi views wick in a moment, but all in all i struggle to see what else she would’ve been trying to say here if not some kind of soft rejection. values his loyalty and kindness too much to lead him on in that way, or take advantage of him -- until she isn’t, which just happens to be obvious in this next scene. i need it on record that visually this is one of the most compelling scenes in all of lackadaisy to me! there is something so disturbing about it, somber, an eerie feeling that something is amiss and that mitzi’s state of mind is undeniably poor. that her view of things is clouded and warped, and this will overshadow any of her true thoughts or feelings due to this skewing of priorities.

and here we have this brief moment, a single panel of silence that doesn’t last more than a second perhaps, before mitzi ultimately kisses wick. what we see visually is wide, doll eyes staring at atlas -- her husband framed in time and sat at the little daisy cafe, surrounded by men who admired and feared him in equal measure, successful, and ‘looking’ down at her. seeing him renders her speechless, only roused from this heavy stare down when wick replaces atlas with his own face ; confused and worried, not at all similar to the emotionless expression she was taken by, but it’s interesting nonetheless. it’s only then that mitzi pushes into wick and kisses him! and i think this very scene is when mitzi not only thought to use wick, but was far gone enough to actually do so as well. there’s a lot of things to be potentially dissected from this scene! mitzi’s obsession with atlas, how she’s far gone enough to ruin a friendship just for his sake ( and for her own as well ) … or the fact wick seems to be her new direction, shallowly filling what space atlas has left behind, perhaps easing her loneliness and money woes all the while. this scene is never discussed and it’s criminal it isn’t, when there’s so much being said here in the silence of it all. she is haunted and tormented and all she can see is atlas, and after everything that’s happened to her and the lackadaisy, wick becomes an avenue and a tool for the sake of it. it’s not a kiss she seems to even enjoy and it looks as though it’s entirely impulsive and forced on her end.

with comics, it’s finicky to decipher what happens between panels, but what’s obvious here is that wick doesn’t respond to her advance immediately, which causes mitzi to pull back. she apologizes vaguely, giving a dismissive ‘i do that sometimes,’ something that’s probably not even true given how valiantly mitzi loathes feeling like a ‘harlot’, so to speak. she’s obviously trying to brush this incident aside ; either having come to her senses and being rightfully embarrassed or taking his unresponsive nature as her having read him wrong. feigns aloofness when wick asks what she does so often exactly, still distant by all means, and had it not been for the olives and their forced proximity, she might’ve made her leave. as quickly as the impulse came, it had left, and i don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility to think mitzi quickly regretted her actions here due to how emotionally driven they were. but instead she lingers and stays, and then ( in my eyes, given the composition of the pose ) wick yanks her into another kiss now that the surprise has worn off. after all, he did want this! she had caught him off guard is all. it’s worth noting she looks more at ease with this kiss, knowing it’s reciprocated and enjoying it as a passionate thing led by wick rather than herself. maybe she can excuse it now, her attempt to use him, since he’s ‘leading’ so to speak. regardless, this is where rendezvous ends … however, i want to address one more thing before i move on completely.

there’s no true way of telling what happened after this comic page due to the morning timeskip we experience. all we know is that wick eventually went home, after being out ‘later than usual’, which could imply he stayed for a lengthy period of time after or could simply be referring to the fact he didn’t leave with bix at first. i’d argue the earlier assumption based on the fact wick technically ‘left early’ anyway due to the raid, but that’s besides the point. people seem to believe that mitzi selfishly dropped this investment deal onto wick, that it was solely her idea, yet we see multiple times in volume two that this isn’t the case at all -- and that wick not only agreed to meet with her, but seemingly for the purpose of talking about his potential investment. here we have wick acknowledging he made last minute plans in grindstone, as well as mitzi heavily implying wick was very much into the idea of investing in her business last night in doublet :

wick never refutes these claims and the narrative does nothing to disprove this either. so it’s safe to assume that either during their necking or thereafter, one of them brought up the idea of wick investing and they both seemed eager about the prospect, enough so to agree upon meeting later in order to discuss the actual details. once again, wick is well aware of mitzi’s intention during the events of her date, an intention she barely bothers hiding because they’ve agreed to talk about it, and we’ll put a pin in that for later. now that we’ve actually concluded the canon events leading up to volume two ( as well as some moments in between ) i’ll briefly talk about mitzi’s and wick’s feelings during this time.

one of the biggest problems they’re facing currently, and one that will worsen over time, is that neither of them are on the same wavelength here. there is undoubtedly mutual attraction between them as well as affection, but how they view and understand these emotions is where they stay divided. we have sedgewick sable who’s well aware of his feelings ( or, in time, thought he was anyway ), has been since meeting mitzi for the first time, and is so bold in his fondness that he lingered inside her circle despite her marital status. he knows he wants mitzi romantically or at the very least casually … everyone around him can tell this too. it’s not some secret or taboo sin wick is prone to shying away from! he doesn’t even care about the rumors or her widow status -- or how bad it would look to be public with her given the mysterious and illegal circumstances she’s surrounded in. he desires to impress and woo her on top of being helplessly smitten.

where they seem to differ is that while wick is keenly aware of his attraction, mitzi is not. or, more accurately, has no clarity to which she can view it and understand it for what it is. during the events of the comic, she’s long since rewritten her memories of atlas and has painted them in this golden picture of pure happiness and true love and joy … she’s romanticized her past with him, purposefully forgetting things in order to maintain this ‘i had a fairytale life when i was married to atlas’ viewpoint. we see how this perspective affects even the most major of things, like the way mitzi casually spits in the face of her old life with the band, now adamant about the fact she was miserable then and felt just oh so disgusting while performing. while i believe some of those feelings are true, i also believe that mitzi is inherently devaluing things that aren’t related to atlas due to a mixture of obsession and grief she’s not looking in the eye. when you lose someone you love or loved, the sudden hit of loss makes it very easy to morph the person in your mind into someone perfect and godly. mordecai has likely done the same thing. it’s simple to deal with heartbreak in that way, to better love someone when they’re dead and gone with only memories and photos and feelings left behind as evidence they were ever there at all. in many ways, mitzi can’t comprehend atlas anymore, and has channeled her wounds into this constant conflicting fixation instead of something to heal. so, naturally, she is not thinking about herself -- her desires, her wants, her thoughts, or her feelings ; it's a chorus of atlas and the lackadaisy instead. mitzi isn’t in the space of mind to inspect her feelings towards wick and figure out whether she likes him or not … not when all she cares about is her priority. it also doesn’t help that zib, the person who arguably knew her best ( but doesn’t know her anymore despite how they both pretend otherwise ), immediately accuses her of using wick at the very beginning of volume one.

again, zib isn’t wrong and it turns out his fears are more than valid! but it’s worth saying that mitzi’s clouded mind is already having the notion of ‘you don’t care for wick like that, you’re just using him’ shoved into her brain as evident fact from someone who’s important to her. while she fancies him and would, in another world, be more than eager to engage in frivolous courting and romantic inclinations, i don’t think she herself knows that. but if she did take a moment and examine what she’s doing and how she feels now, she’d probably dismiss all that and be more than convinced that she’s manipulating wick, utilizing his attraction to her while having none of her own in order to steal some much needed money from his pockets. like i mentioned in this post, mitzi likely believes atlas was her one true love and that she’d never love again, furthering this notion of her accidentally puppeting her own emotions to be more understandable in her eyes. this ( coupled with guilt for using wick so brutally ) is also why she appears to almost avoid romance entirely during their ‘date,’ only ever resorting to such overt flirtation when desperately trying to get wick to talk to her about what she needs to talk to him about. her methods and actions during those events are more calculated, as was her initial kiss in rendezvous. it’s also worth noting the next time we see mitzi is while she’s getting ready, sat at her vanity and looking particularly small and numb. it’s giving some levels of dissociation! this is not the expression of someone who’s remembering the events of last night fondly, which sadly includes the kiss between her and wick.

but still, we as the audience know she likes him subconsciously. we cannot always trust her perspective and instead need to analyze and look at the little things to infer if her views and genuine feelings align. her constant fondness for wick shows itself even during moments where mitzi believes she is uncaring. she is usually smiling at the mention of wick or from being around him, will casually touch him affectionately, and is visibly enjoying the act of posing with him in photomajig. everything i’ve previously said more than proves she cares for him to a rather utmost degree too. like most of their relationship and respective characters, these two extremes can coexist in their own unique way, and i wholeheartedly believe they do. i’ll also acknowledge that i haven’t talked about wick much, but don’t worry! we will get there in volume two soon enough, which i will now be covering and analyzing in detail as well.

as mentioned previously, the next time we see mitzi is after the events of last night, likely sometime in the afternoon given later events. she is putting in her earrings while sat at her vanity, surrounded by a seemingly endless supply of photos ( another metaphor for the past and how it never really leaves her alone ) as she looks on with an apathetic sort of misery. she gets up and totes around a tommy gun which she then shows off to the portrait of atlas in her ( still his ) office ; giving him a rather generous debriefing that leaves out some integral details, like viktor being shot, before harping more on mordecai and how she needs to deal with him so things won’t get worse. the only mention of wick here is her telling atlas that it ‘wasn’t a total loss,’ though her rather kicked expression, as well as how quickly she brushes past the details of that, implies she isn’t satisfied with the state of things. i also find it interesting how little she admits to the deterioration of things here, before the portrait of her dead husband, because while this can be seen as tracy not wanting to recount all the events we’ve just seen, i think there’s a level of avoidance here too. mitzi isn’t keen on vocally admitting to how bad things are, how much was lost last night -- perhaps due to the fact she’ll be forced to confront the actual helplessness of her situation, and realize that things aren’t exactly fixable as it stands. there’s actually very few instances where she willingly shares her feelings or talks about the state of the lackadaisy to anyone, and the few times she actually does so, it’s either a.) a weapon to utilize against someone else, like some kind of guilt trip, or b.) it bursts out of her like a dam. she is extremely private and reserved where it concerns her emotions, always wishing to appear competent and above things, and in my opinion, it’s something worth noting. after this, she decides to call the maribel hotel and confront asa about his and mordecai’s involvement in last night’s tragedy.

the phone call itself plays out, in the most simplistic of terms, with mitzi’s desire to discuss things being disregarded as asa avoids her through various means. he questions why she’s bothering with such low quality hooch, and upon mitzi trying to bring the conversation back to the original topic ( aka why asa would do this ), he then pries about the lackadaisy’s desolate state before telling her to quit before things worsen. mitzi expresses confusion, but once again isn’t able to form an entire sentence due to asa abruptly ending the call after deciding for her that they’ll just discuss this over lunch. all in all, it’s an extremely rude and frustrating exchange. and sadly this won’t be the only time today where mitzi tries to talk to someone about a rather pressing topic, one very important to her and the wellbeing of her establishment, only to be dismissed at almost every turn until the very end of things.

in the next page, mitzi is depicted silently stewing in a chair much too big for her, glaring daggers at nothing in particular, more than angry at her failure of a phone call. she is unresponsive to rocky’s rambling, including the potential hiring of freckle, and only rouses herself out of her irritation when realizing she can bring the two boys along in some sort of display of power. it’s a rather weak and grasping attempt at maintaining some level of control, especially when she outright tells asa why rocky and freckle are there : “you see, my circumstance isn’t quite as hopeless as you -- ” it’s a very obvious posturing, a weak show with nothing really backing it. neither asa or mordecai are impressed or swayed by this at all, with mordecai even calling out that rocky is some band member rather than some gun for hire. his insults rub salt into mitzi’s wounds ( which is why she believes asa brought mordecai at all ) and only then does she discuss viktor’s awful state, a hasty guilt trip that quickly loses its shine the longer she drags it along. while i may view mitzi through a more sympathetic lens than most and hardly believe her major flaw to be manipulation, she is still capable of it and will stoop so low when it may benefit her, or perhaps whenever it makes her feel a bit better. and this brief interaction with mordecai is one such case.

the overall contents of the lunch and the car scene thereafter proves rather irrelevant to my topic, so instead of summarizing how it goes ( poorly, it goes poorly! ) i’ll be talking about certain events that will matter later, or will help us understand where mitzi is at mentally by the time she actually meets wick for their planned visit. the major components being how asa treats mitzi during this impromptu meeting and the state mordecai leaves her in after they discuss atlas.

to touch upon asa’s treatment of mitzi, even from as early as the phone call we see that mitzi is forced to have a conversation with asa on his terms rather than her own terms. mitzi sets out with a clear goal in mind -- learning why asa sweet would attack the lackadaisy in the way that he did -- and she's repeatedly talked over and threatened, with her questions remaining unanswered. it’s very clear very quickly that asa doesn’t respect mitzi nor view her as someone worthy of his time like atlas was, and almost appears to approach her in a misogynistic manner. he demeans something as simple as her ukulele as a ‘teeny little guitar’ and acts as though mitzi’s tears would be bothersome to him, some sort of burden he’d be forced to deal with rather than a valid emotional response to threats, degradation, and the likes. while asa is by no means wrong with some of his observations, he’s certainly rude and uncaring with how he goes about it. when he tells mitzi that he’s here to suggest that she step down, because he so generously has her interests in mind, she doesn’t buy it ; once again bringing up last nights events, where asa willingly armed the pig farmers with the lackadaisy’s arsenal and sent them over her way without so much as a warning. asa dismisses this coldly, once again dodging any fault and claiming it was ‘happenstance’ and entirely mitzi’s own doing. even now, when he’s actively threatening her and making it clear they won’t stay friendly if she keeps trying to make it in this business, he still won’t fully admit to any sort of responsibility for the disastrous night he helped put her through. while this seems rather typical of asa given his disrespectful streak ( something even mordecai, as valued and as useful as he is, suffers because of ) it’s worth noting that this side of him is new to mitzi and not one she was at all expecting. she even says as much here, in heartstrings :

we also know that mitzi only met atlas due to her performing at the marigold speakeasy first, and it’s likely asa was rather present in her life due to his bond with her now husband. asa even admits that mitzi may be confused because they’ve ’managed a friendly coexistence for so long,’ once again hammering home this idea that up until this point, asa was indeed kind to mitzi, or at the very least cordial. but with atlas out of the picture and mitzi trying to take his position, suddenly asa is more than okay with getting her killed or taking all she has left -- even his plan is nothing short of apathetic and cold, an afterthought, expecting her to give up something important to her and only offering a one time offer to play at the marigold room ‘sometime’ with that ‘old band of hers.’ i’ve actually seen some people claim this was a valid out for mitzi to take, which i can’t disagree more with, since a.) her band days are not something mitzi is interested in anymore and b.) she’s sold basically everything to keep the lackadaisy afloat, meaning she’d be more than poor if she gave that up. playing once or maybe twice at the marigold room wouldn’t save her financially! it wouldn’t do anything for her at all, besides giving mitzi some sort of last hurrah in her mata hari dress, something that doesn’t even fit her anymore. while it’s clear to anyone that she needs to let go of the past in order to be happy, accepting this poor excuse of a deal from asa is just her trading one past in for another one. this is also why zib’s out, while certainly better, isn’t something good for mitzi either. but that’s another post on its own, so i’ll leave it alone for the time being. what’s important here is that mitzi is ruthlessly betrayed by a man who used to like her and is treated as a lesser thing due to his view that she’s too incompetent to run a rumrunning business. he also brings up atlas to, in mitzi’s eyes, ‘intimidate ( her ) into agreeing with him,’ and towards the end of the lunch, she looks particularly kicked and undoubtedly hurt. she leaves this meeting that could’ve stayed a phone call with a potential enemy made and with the world on her shoulders, now more determined than ever to be someone people like asa would be forced to respect. instead of being dissuaded, she’s been encouraged, and it’s not hard to realize why.

her scene with mordecai leaves her in a similar predicament after their very brief truce is broken, with him perpetuating asa’s threats as well as saying, “as though you could bring the remains of atlas’ estate to anything but further disgrace,” before promptly leaving. these words, plus the subject matter and who said them, leaves mitzi staring out the car window and actually brings her to literal tears. her eyes are suddenly watery, and when rocky tries to make her feel better, we see one paw hastily wipe at one eye in particular -- already having spilled a tear or two by the time her hires have made their way back into the car. i cannot stress enough that throughout the entirety of this brief arc, mitzi has been constantly ridiculed and told she is not good enough at this job to be doing it, on top of the extremely sensitive subject of her husband being brought up twice over, which only served as one more jab to be made at mitzi’s expense. she desperately wanted the lackadaisy to work before, some sort of memento to atlas that she could keep going, and being told to let go of it in such a harsh way isn’t going to have the intended outcome. most people become vindictive and determined when told something is ‘impossible’ or that they won’t ever be able to accomplish what they want because they’re too incompetent to do it, they see this as a challenge, they get angry, and they start fighting harder for the goal in question. it’s rather human : to be fueled by wounded pride and to want so badly to prove others wrong, to taste the victory of accomplishing something deemed impossible, to warrant the respect of your peers … mitzi is all that and then some, since she’s gripped by an obsessive grief that refuses to let her go.

she wants to do this for atlas, she needs to do it for atlas, and there is no life or goal outside of the one in front of her. again, as mentioned paragraphs before, she’s made it clear she’d rather die than see the lackadaisy wither away into nothing. asa’s and mordecai’s threats, their insults, were never going to do anything except push mitzi further down the path she’s already on. and with the added bonus of mitzi now being in an extremely fragile emotional state ( one she hasn’t had a single break from since last night ), this then causes her decision making skills to be finicky ; more likely to make rash calls and to act desperately, rather than thinking clearly and with her head. mitzi does her best to sweep her fraying mental state under the rug for the sake of business, with the comic page haggersnash providing the visual of her reapplying her makeup near the traitorous eye and she even goes as far as to change her clothes, though there’s no denying the perpetual state of misery clinging to her character moving forward. and like we’ll see in wick later, mitzi probably also didn’t get much sleep last night herself. that paired with the nonstop events that refuse to work in her favor, and the occasional mental breakdown, is more than enough to reiterate for a final time that she is not well, despite how good she is at appearing so.

shutting the door on mitzi and her no good very bad day, we then shift back into wick in the second and final part of this essay.

[forest-hashira]

if no one takes the last prompt slot.... maybe tanjiro? 🥺 (but if it's already taken/someone sends another one in soon, just ignore <3)

Twelve Days of Christmas - Day Twelve

Cold + Tanjiro

event details | previous day | wc: 400 | cw: gn reader, ambiguously post-canon but no spoilers, established relationship

You couldn’t remember the last time you’d seen so much snow for so long. It was your first winter with everyone in the Kamado’s mountain home, and even though they’d warned you about the weather at the high altitude, you’d still underestimated how cold it would be. It also finally made sense to you how Tanjiro’s family had made their living as charcoal sellers for so long before Muzan.

For probably the third time that day, you were kneeling in front of the stove, building up the fire again to try and keep some warmth in the house, while also trying to keep the charcoal from burning. When you heard the door slide open behind you and heard someone call your name, you looked over your shoulder, and you smiled. 

Tanjiro stepped inside, arms full of firewood to add to the fire. “You’re getting really good at that,” he complimented with a grin. “I told you you’d take to it quick.”

Heat rushed to your cheeks despite the chill. “I’m doing my best,” you replied with a shrug. “I still don’t quite have the feel for it that you and Nezuko do, though. I never expected making charcoal would be so difficult.”

“You’ll get it,” he encouraged, setting the firewood down beside the stove. “You’ve got all the time in the world for it now.”

“That’s very true,” you agreed. When he came and sat beside you, you shifted a bit, resting your head on his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around your waist. The two of you sat in contented silence for a bit, and you couldn’t deny the way you could feel his body heat pressed against you, an added protection from the cold that always seemed to find its way into the house. 

At some point you must have started dozing off, because you felt Tanjiro gently nudge you awake. “Do you want to go lie down for a bit?” he asked softly, tilting his head slightly as he gazed at you.

Suppressing a yawn, you hook your head. “No,” you sighed. “It’ll be colder alone in the futon than it is right here with you, even if we are right by the door.”

His expression softened even further as he gazed at you, and he wordlessly kissed your temple. “Don’t worry,” he murmured after a moment, smiling slightly against your skin. “I’ll keep you warm.”

this little series has been so fun! ty to everyone who indulged me & sent in requests ily all sm 💜

[liketwoswansinbalance]

I am really curious to see your take on Aric and Japeth's relationship. I mean, the beloved author and creator of the series have addressed this issue with 'in their own sick wicked way they had loved' so yeah it's cannon cool. But I feel like the further implications of this? We saw evil 'unable to love'/ 'only ever have true love'. From what I remember Japeth mentioned Aric more than once, how they would write letters to each other how Aric 'begged' for Japeth to come to him but Japeth never did so and then bro spent the last of his life trying to bring Aric back to life. There are so many implications, the dynamics, the context, everything, but I love how you theorise and explore all sorts of ideas so I can't help but wonder how you view all of this :D.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and have a great day/afternoon/evening/night!

Sorry to disappoint, but I should probably start off with the fact that I don't ship Japeth and Aric. While I like Japeth, partly in thanks to @discjude winning me over, and further recognizing the tragedy surrounding him, his relationship to Aric never canonically does him any favors. And, with Aric, I think I'm apathetic enough towards him that I don't actively hate him; I just don't care about him. In truth, if not for Aladdin's pitiful existence actively hammering on my nerves, Aric would probably be my least favorite character.

The first thing I want to address is that Evil being "unable to love" or "only Evers have True Love" is actually false, despite the many times the series puts forth this claim. Yes, we are explicitly told this "fact" in book 1, but the book's point was to subvert/deconstruct the myth.

First, by the end, with her self-sacrifice, Sophie proved Evil's capacity to love, meaning: Evil being unable to love is just a commonly-held belief in the Woods, not the absolute, be-all, end-all truth.

(And the belief could've been perpetuated by "Rafal's"/Rafal's way of running his institution that literally shapes the Wood's perceptions and the future. Alongside this claim about love, consider the existence of the Doom Room, created to punish a singular mutinous class of first-years, based on a now-revised philosophy about Nevers' learning from harsh treatment and (probably) disproportionate retribution that an excessively stubborn dead man already too entrenched in his old ways never had the chance to change because he died—and this is all aside from the fact proven by the display at the very first Circus of Talents, that Rafal's students did indeed learn better when he finally listened to them and mentored them as an equal in their position (as Fala). In addition, the statement: "Nevers learn from deprivation" similarly reveals how the Woods really do generalize about Nevers—until Sophie, the "exception" and iconoclast, comes along.)

Second, Sophie's non-romantic True Love at some point was said to be Agatha, and I think this established fact is consistently maintained throughout the series, even if other elements overshadow it, so not only Evers can have True Love.

My take on Japeth and Aric is that Japeth's love for Aric, however twisted or sincere it was, drove him to become the Snake, follow along with Rhian's Camelot ambitions and initial staging-terrorism-and-hostage-scenarios plot, and commit all his other, duplicitous, villainous acts throughout TCY, later by his own will, which is a motive I find fascinating (and contradictory about the nature of the Woods' Good and Evil souls, whenever Japeth is set next to the rather grey Rhian).

So, while Japeth's devotion to Aric could be viewed as romantic, it's just not appealing to me, personally, due to the relationship's ambiguous one-sidedness in particular. And, I think I once may've read something about Japeth as a Never fighting for True Love (or his perception of "True Love") and Rhian as an Ever fighting for power (the Nevers' ideal fairy-tale ending) being ironic or inverted in some way. That's also some world-building fodder to consider, or even just another point that could overturn the Rules as we know them, yet again. I'm not surprised by that subversion honestly. Japeth is very much like his parents. Nearly every SGE villain Soman has ever written has been motivated by the pursuit of love, or by the overwhelming force of their own (often obsessive) infatuations (with the exception of somewhat flatter, less-developed, secondary villains, like Aric, Vulcan, Marialena, and Peter Pan).

Also, thanks for the compliment!

[emeritusemeritus]

Vulnera Sanentur [Weasley Twins x Reader]

Part 8

Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Title: Vulnera Sanentur

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Reader x George Weasley {established relationship}

Timeline: DH1&2- Initially set during the battle of the seven potters. Canon and certain plot points have been altered for the needs of the story.

Summary: The battle of the seven Potters throws your world into chaos when one of your boyfriend’s is cursed. As Snape’s ex-potions assistant and previous protégée, you recognise the inflicted curse immediately and demand answers from your mentor.

Warnings: Angst, mentions of war and Voldy, descriptions of injury and blood, descriptive smut, p in v sex, shower sex, tension. Outside sex. Semi public sex. None sexual nudity. Crying. Snape has a soft spot for reader. Arguments. Probably some cursing. Mentions of nightmares. Reader is part of the Order of the Phoenix. Mentions of death. Snakes. Mentions of Tonks’ pregnancy. Oh it got a angsty. So much angst I can’t tag it all. Not spellchecked nor beta read, we die like Madeye.

"It seems, despite your exhaustive defensive strategies, you have a bit of a security problem, Headmaster."

The doors to the Great Hall open before you and each Order member steps forward in formation, a beacon of strength as you all stand resolute, prepared to fight. You stand in front of Fred and George, beside Bill, finally feeling safe and secure despite facing your opponents head on.

Snape stares in stunned disbelief as he looks upon the Order, his gaze flicking through the formation of people before landing on you. He does an undeniable eye twitch as he looks into your harsh gaze and for a moment you forget that you are on opposing sides of this fight as you catch each other's eye.

"And I'm afraid it's quite extensive."

The students move back instinctively, stood in strong lines and divided by their houses. Snape turns back to Harry with one last lingering gaze at you, still mute and looking stunned.

The Carrows, who had been stood behind Snape, move to stand a little further apart, no longer blocked by their headmaster, though they look at him for guidance, unsure of how to proceed.

Harry's eyes narrow with malice as he stares at Snape, allowing the rage inside of him to overwhelm him as he spouts his next line.

"How dare you stand where he stood! Tell them how it was that night. Tell then how you looked him in the eye, a man who trusted you... and killed him. Tell them!"

Snape's eyes convey nothing, his face a mask. He moves with an ambiguous flare that suggests he is reaching for his wand. Professor Mcgonagall, who had stood to the side with an ashen face all this time lunges forward with her wand outstretched, shoving Harry aside as the two professors stand off. You instantly withdraw your own wand, followed by the other order members who stand with rapt attention, ready for the singular catalyst. The students shuffle back further in fear and Snape momentarily lowers his wand, his resolve slipping briefly in a move that suggests he had not anticipated McGonagall's bravery nor her intention to protect Harry.

Suddenly, a volcanic blast erupts from Mcgonagall's wand that momentarily causes him to lose balance as he deflects the spell just in time. It's clear to you that it was a warning spell, a taster of what he would face should he enter a duel with her, her loyalty and devotion to protecting Harry and the rest of the school was not to be understated. Severus looks at her with wide eyes, the realisation that whatever cordial bond had been formed during their years of teaching was to be broken within seconds. She doesn't give him time to recover and sends another, more harsher, spell in his direction which she repeats over and over, slowly advancing with a stone cold look in her eyes. He manages to deflect the spells with a few near misses, sending the spell richocheting around the room as the students watch on with a mixture of fear and disbelief. His deflection hits the Carrows' standing behind him straight on, their bodies falling to the floor in two resounding thuds, their lives merely collateral damage in the chaos.

There's a singular moment when everything pauses, Snape having deflected the last of the blasts as he stands panting at the epicentre of the room, his eyes briefly meeting yours. It's brief but meaningful and no sooner had you registered his glance before he waves his wand in a circular motion in the air, the sweeping motion reducing the flames in the wall-fixed torches as a black smoke clouds surround him.

There's a whooshing noise as you watch Severus' body twist and formulate into a bat-like form of black smoke that flies with forceful velocity upwards and straight through the glass window as the figure escapes, flying out of the castle and into the night. 

Cheers erupt from the students and staff alike as Professor Mcgonagall lifts her wand once more and lights the torches once again to their full capacity, brightness illuminating the room once again.

You and the Order members move forward to shield the students, with you, Bill, Fred and George spreading out around the students at the back, Harry still stood in the middle.

In start contrast to the celebration around you, the feeling of impending doom slowly trickles in to your subconscious mind and quickly takes over your entire body like a venom spreading through your veins. Coldness spreads under your skin, the hairs at the back of your neck standing up as your insides mix with a cold, ominous feeling. And then, the pain starts.

A burning sensation fills your shoulder, a pain so hot that it feels ice cold, striking your raw shoulder, shooting up your neck and into your head. It's overwhelming and you feel yourself sway with dizziness, hardly able to breath as the pain strangles your senses. In your peripheral vision, you see Harry wincing and stumbling over and for just a second your eyes meet, drawn to each other, both of you realising that you were feeling the same thing. The pain in your shoulder only increases, your skin feeling like it was ripping open and someone was pouring acid into the wound, your hand and fingers tingling with pin sharp pricks with the intensity of the pain. The back of your head throbs, white hot pain searing through your skull and constricting around your temples; you can no longer pretend to be fine as your legs give out, your body not able to keep you upright any longer.

You clutch your shoulder trying anything to rid yourself of the agony, your eyes scrunching tight as the pain intensifies again both in your head and your shoulder. You don't notice that the lights have once again extinguished in the hall until you open your eyes, the pain in your mind suddenly stopping though your ears have begun ringing, the base of your ears already sore.

You see Fred and George panic as you collapse, desperately trying to reach out for you but they are stopped when the ceiling of the hall immediately clouds over with a worrying black cloud, thunder rumbling quietly as the room continues to darken.

You and Harry, both on the floor, share another look though this is pure fear, realising that you had both been targeted by something that had quickly disappeared, leaving you to question what was going to happen next.

A girl's scream rips your gaze away as you struggle to your feet, helped by George who scrambles to reach out for you and pull you up. You turn to look for the girl screaming but you can't see anything. Harry has gone to investigate the noise that seems to stop only moments later, when another girl screams from just behind you. You rush over to her through a sea of horrified students, stumping on shaky legs and find one of the Patil sisters clutching their head, hands over their ears with tears running down their face.

Suddenly you freeze as a snake like voice whispers in your ear, goosebumps raising onto your skin as the familiar pain blasts through your shoulder once again making you breathless. You look around for Harry to see if he was hearing this too but to your surprise, you instead see the people around you all with the same stricken and horrified expression, some with their hands over their ears and trying to shake their head. You realise then, that everyone was hearing the same thing, Voldemort entering each and every individuals mind.

"I know that many of you will want to fight. Some of you may even think this wise. But this is folly.

Give me Harry Potter. Do this and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter and I shall leave Hogwarts untouched. Give me Harry Potter and you will be rewarded. You have one hour."

The whisper recedes and you can slowly feel the blinding discomfort in your shoulder subside, your body beginning to tremble from the intensity of the torturous pain. It slips away from you in a slow moving wave and you try and take deep breaths as you regain control over yourself, your shoulder now aching and sore.

The clouds in the ceiling begin to disperse and return to normal, torches lighting once again as you look around once more, seeing everyone's focus on Harry, except for George and Fred who look worriedly are you.

There's a tension in the air as Voldemort's words resound in your mind, replaying like an evil haunting loop.

"What are you waiting for? Someone grab him!" Pansy Parkinson says from the Slytherin block, pointing her finger at him with wide eyes, clearly having been swayed by Voldemort's threats.

Instinctively, you step towards Harry at the very same time that Ginny does, blocking him from view. You stumble over to him, still weak and dizzy though you persevere as George reaches out for you as you leave his side, wordlessly protesting but you know what is right and what needs to be done. Your wand is in your hand ready but not aimed.

Hermione moves only a few seconds behind you, as does Ron. The members of Dumbledore's Army all flank you and surround Harry, as do some of the closer Order members, showing a fear of defiance. Fred and George keep you firmly between them.

Just as the tension builds, ready for a stand-off against the Slytherins, Filch bursts through the open doors holding Mrs Norris and runs through the centre of the hall, limping and bobbing as he runs.

"Students out of bed! Students in the corridors!"

You couldn't help but laugh, seeing that maybe not everything had changed at this school. The tension is broken immediately and you can't help but turn your head to see Fred also looking amused.

"They're supposed to be out of bed, you blithering idiot!" Mcgonagall says.

"Oh. Sorry, ma'am," Filch says dejectedly, keeping a firm hold on Mrs Norris, shrinking a little as he moves to turn back.

"As it turns out, Mr. Filch, your arrival is most opportune," Mcgonagall says as she briskly walks down the podium stairs towards Mr Filch, who eagerly awaits orders. "If you would, I'd like you to lead Miss Parkinson and the rest of Slytherin House from the Hall."

There's a disgruntled murmur from the Slytherin house which falls silent with one murderous look from Professor Mcgonagall.

"Right away," he says with a nod, beginning to turn before pausing, "Er, exactly where is it I'd be leadin' em to, ma'am?"

"The dungeons should do," Mcgonagall says coldly, though her eyes shine with a sort of victorious amusement as cheers erupt in the hall.

The Slytherin students are marched out of the hall towards the dungeons, leaving all the students remaining to be pro-Harry.

"Baby what happened?" George says quickly, reaching out for your arm, searching your face with wide, worried eyes.

"What was that princess? Are you okay?" Both of them look horrified but you put on a fake smile, trying to ignore their looks of concern.

"Just heard him first that's all," you lied, looking to find Harry in the sea of people.

"But your arm, you-."

"I need to get to Harry," you drag them along with their hands, hoping for them to follow you towards the Order members and fortunately enough, Remus intercepts once again, flagging them down to join the circle, thus giving you time to find Hermione.

The tone suddenly shifts once again and it's now time to raise the defences, to be prepared for the oncoming attack. You had to find the diadem. Students begin fleeing and the Order members gather once again, the plan falling into place. Harry, you and Hermione start off towards Ron who stands with the Order listening in to their plans. You can feel Fred looking at you but you wait for Harry, trying to think of your own best course of action.

"Potter," Mcgonagall says, stopping Harry. "It's good to see you." Her face flicks between Harry and you, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"You, too, Professor."

"Harry we need a plan!" Hermione says, trying to catch his attention.

"Our plans don't work Hermione, how many times do we have to prove that?" He says, rushing out to join you all. In the background you hear and feel giant thudding and see the statues and suits of armour coming to life from their plinths, dropping down with a resounding thud as they thunder past towards the viaduct, blocking off any entrance to the school.

Bill walks over to you and gives you one look that shows he knows exactly what the frown on your face is for, his eyes flicking to your shoulder having seen your pain only minutes ago.

"It's fine," you say quietly, trying to focus on the grouping, neither of you looking at the other but quietly whispering between yourselves as if you'd be reprimanded like a child in class hiding from the teacher.

"Okay tough girl," he says quietly with a smirk, "you know where I'll be if you need it numbing," he adds, turning away and focusing on Kingsley who addresses and delegates.

"Bridge is being destroyed as we speak, the teachers are casting defensive charms, Arthur you will lead the troops, Fred, George, you are on defence duty of the passageways," Kingsley instructs. "Madame Pomfrey is setting up a makeshift infirmity in the great hall."

"Is that wise?" You say, your words coming out before you could register them as the rest of the group turns to you. "Setting up medical relief in the atrium of the school? If the death eaters get past the defences it's the first place they'll attack, the most damage to inflict."

"Then we ensure they don't get past the defences," Kingsley says, but you don't agree with him in the slightest, knowing it was risky. You sigh but keep silent, turning to look at Hermione who looks zoned out completely, no doubt already setting a plan for what your group needs to do. "We meet in the battlements once our jobs are completed."

"Angel, come on," George ushers you to move with him and Fred but you don't move, casting a glance at Harry who watches on with a sorrowful look on his face, knowing that you must make your choice.

"I, can't," you say, diverting your eyes from George's insistent pleads. Fred protests, trying to reach for you but you stay put, knowing you can't go with them.

"No, we just got you back," Fred says, reaching for your hand.

"We can't lose you again," George adds, his eyes more pained than you'd ever seen them.

"You won't lose me, I just can't give up now, there's something I have to do first," you say, finding strength and trying to ignore their confused and pained eyes at your words. "As soon as I'm done I'll find you."

They protest but eventually relent as they see the determination in your eyes, first with Fred launching forward to press a strong and passionate kiss to your lips before hovering over you and pressing a lingering kiss to your forehead.

"I love you, be safe."

George mimics Fred's actions though his hands paw at your waist and for a moment you wonder if he'll actually let go.

"I love you," George says, his hands loosening but not quite pulling away.

"I love you both, so much. I'll be back with you soon."

"Don't keep us waiting Mrs Weasley," Fred says, bumping his brothers arm as he uses your words from before against you. Tears fill your eyes but you don't let them see, watching as they run out of the hall and towards the staircases. You feel lost again, the pain and loneliness from the months away slipping right back into you as they leave your side, but you don't have time to cry. You walk over to Hermione and Ron and run to catch up with Harry, finding him amongst the chaos of students running around.

"Harry, Y/n, Hermione and I have been thinking. It doesn't really matter if we find the Horcrux."

"What're you saying?" Harry says, frowning you at Ron.

"Unless we can destroy it," he explains. "So we were thinking."

"You were thinking. It's Ron's idea. And it's completely brilliant."

"You destroyed Tom Riddle's Diary with a Basilisk fang, right? Well, we know where we might find one, don't we?"

Harry ponders this for a moment before nodding, "okay." turning to you, "you with me?"

"Common room," you say with a nod of your head, and immediately turning up the stairs.

"West side, top of the spiral staircase!" You shouted down to Harry who had never even been near the Ravenclaw common room. You approached the eagle shaped knocker in the centre of the door and waited for it to speak, explaining that you must answer the riddle to get through.

"Glittering points that downward thrust, sparkling spears that never rust. What are they?" The knocker asks mysteriously, prompting you to think of the answer.

"Icicles!" You say quickly and you sigh a breath of relief when the door creaks open, allowing you entry.

Harry looks at you with raised eyebrows and your shrug with a smirk, "should have been a ravenclaw."

You find the Grey Lady eventually with Luna's help after finding nothing in the common room of any intellectual value and Harry speaks to her privately as you and Luna watch from the windows to see the protection spells forming and creating an orb like glow around the school. It's ominous and threatening though you can't deny there's a strange beauty to it and your thoughts drift to George and Fred, hoping that wherever they were, that they were okay.

"If you have to ask, you will never know, if you know, you need only ask," Harry mutters, walking out of the space he'd occupied with Helena. "Ravenclaws and riddles!" He mutters with a frown, seemingly not understanding what she was saying.

"Harry!" You call, chasing after him. "The room of requirement."

You and Harry run towards the room of requirement on the seventh floor, trying desperately to cut through the ever more frantic crowds.

Suddenly, from all around there was a giant bang, followed by multiple others and your stomach dropped in realisation that the defences had broken. Death eaters were inside the school.

You bolted with everything in you, trying to keep in line with Harry as you twisted and turned until you reached the seventh floor corridor, the bricks tumbling with explosions as the structure collapsed around you.

"Y/n!" Harry screams as you fall behind, tripping over the rubble underfoot and only a moment later do you manage to exit the dust and rubble, having stopped the debris falling with your wand at the last second. It was a close call, much too close for your liking and you heaved as you approached the blank wall to join Harry, entering the room of requirement as the door magically appeared.

You step inside and see the wall to wall treasures piled up. Almost immediately your shoulder begins to tingle, making you wince and attempt to roll your shoulder to alleviate the ache. Harry notices immediately and turns to you.

"You can feel it too can't you?" He states, though his eyes are questioning. You nod, looking away, in complete denial that you'd been somehow inflicted, cursed by the bite.

After facing Draco, Blaise and Goyle with the help of Ron and Hermione and narrowly avoiding death by fiendfyre you all managed to escape the room of requirement with the Horcrux. The diadem was promptly stabbed by Harry and kicked into the fire by Ron, destroying the Horcrux completely.

As soon as the basilisk fang pierced the diadem, your shoulder burned with an excruciating pain that made you fall to your knees, tears welling at your eyes. Hermione dropped down with you in concern as Harry looked on, his own exhaustion and pain overwhelming him as he looked at you, realising that something was wrong with your connection to the snake.

"She's a Horcrux," you bit out, the pain ebbing away just slightly, your voice strangled and breathy. "The snake, it's a Horcrux isn't it," you asked, turning to Harry. He gives a solemn nod, having seen that exactly information during his momentary connection to Voldemort as the now broken Horcrux killed off another piece of his fragmented soul.

"The last one," Harry confirms, his breathing laboured. You'd feared that very information since the moment you had woken after removing the venom from your arm, remembering the snarky remark you'd made about the snake being a Horcrux then, only now it was decidedly not funny anymore.

"So we need to find the Snake," Ron says, looking just as defeated as Hermione did at the revelation, knowing that Voldemort would keep an even closer eye on the snake now he was vulnerable, which meant either trying to pry the snake away or having to take on both of them together, a daunting thought which would inevitably be fatal.

As you rose up from the floor, you noticed that Ron and Hermione were holding hands and you found your smile, happy for them. Hermione blushed slightly as she noticed you looking and you looked between them with happy smiles, thankful for something good to come out of this hell.

"So where do we start?" Ron asks, keeping up with you, Hermione and Harry as you walk down the staircases, trying to sort your next plan of action.

"Hold up! We've forgotten someone!" Ron says suddenly, causing you all to come to a quick halt, looking around to see no one you hadn't anticipated to be with you.

"Who?" Asked hermione.

"The house elves! They'll all be down in the kitchen won't they?" He says, making Hermione freeze before pulling him by the jacket into a kiss, her arms flinging around him. It occurred to you then that Dobby had been working in the kitchens for a while, would the other house elves be able to decode Dobby's cryptic last words to you?

"Yes, let's go to the kitchens," you say with determination, already turning and setting off down towards the kitchens in the basement. The sea of frantic Hufflepuffs were hard to navigate as you descended the last of the stairs and rounded the corner leading to the brightly lit corridor lined with broad stone, multiple torches and vivid paintings of food. You walked with purpose towards the fruit bowl painting half way through the corridor and reached out to tickle the pear, as you had so many times before. The green door handle appeared almost instantly as the pear giggled, which you opened and stepped through, guiding the trio behind you. You were immediately met with nearly 100 hours elves still working away by the four replica tables from the great hall, some huddled around the huge fireplace on one side and some linked together to reach for the pans over their heads.

"Master," a gravelly, familiar voice says, causing you to turn in their direction.

"Kreacher," Harry says in surprise, looking at the house elf adorned in frayed, black clothing. It was a surprise to see him here, though you supposed that he found his way here after you didn't return to Grimmauld Place. "We've come to get you out, the war's starting, anyone who doesn't want to be here should go to safety now."

Kreacher looks around at his elf companions and mutters under his breath, taking one look at Harry before turning away. The truth was, you'd never been a fan of Kreacher, found him inordinately rude and untrustworthy. The comments he made about Fred and George being 'unnatural little beasts' some time ago had always stuck in your mind and calling Fred a 'nasty little breat of a blood traitor' didn't do him any favours in your eyes either.

You looked around, hoping to see one specific house elf that you favoured and squinted through the bustling bodies, trying to find the elf that was like finding a needle in a haystack. But then you spotted her, praying as you made your way over to her that she wasn't drunk on Butterbeer.

"Winky!"

"Miss y/n, how may I serve you? Is good for winky to see you miss y/n," she replies, face lighting up at seeing you walking towards her.

"Winky, I'm sorry I don't have much time," you explained, crouching down so that you were at similar heights, not ever watching to talk down to the hard working house elf. "I'm afraid I don't have good news, Dobby was killed by Bellatrix Lestrange." There was no easy way to break it to her and you couldn't let her carry on without knowing what had happened to her greatest friend. As predicted she immediately erupted with sobs, tears flowing down her little cheeks at the news.

"Winky, Winky, I'm sorry, I know how close you were. If I had more time," you veer off, reaching into your pocket to feel for the Lebetum. "Before he died, Dobby said that his boss had sent him, that he knew Harry and his friends were in danger, do you know anything about that?"

Trying to calm a house elf was exceedingly difficult and you could just about hear your words over her dramatic but warranted sobs. Surprisingly only a few moments later, she let la out a loud and nausea-inducing sniffle to clear her nose and nods gently, looking up into your face with the saddest little eyes you'd ever seen.

"The boss sent for Dobby, said he needed him to find you, that Harry was in danger, that you were in danger. Winky couldn't sleep that night, much worry for you," she hiccups, trying to hold back more tears.

"Winky," you say softly, trying to comfort her as you rest your hand on her bony little shoulder. "Winky who is the boss?"

She sniffles again, toying with the skirt of her makeshift dress, "the headmaster of course."

You freeze, her words slowly sinking in and you realise now how foolish you'd been. Dobby worked at Hogwarts and had been given an allowance for his work by Dumbledore, of course he would then see Severus as his boss, being the new headmaster.

"Winky, thank you so much. I'm very sorry about Dobby. Look, there's a war going on and I want you to be safe, you must get out of Hogwarts and go to safety. One day when this is all over, I'll take you to Dobby's grave if you'd like that."

Winky begins to cry again but it's not just sad tears any longer as she flings herself around you. You hold her sobbing form and try to console her for a moment but you know that you need to go, that time was against you.

"Will you help the others get out safely for me?" You ask, just as she begins to peel herself away from you. She nods and wipes her eyes with her arm.

"I have to go, be safe," you say, casting a glance at the trio who you can sense are watching you. You stand slowly and hold her shoulder one last time before turning away, feeling awful for leaving her but it was all you could do at this moment in time.

"It was Snape," you say, walking back to the group, seeing that Kreacher had now left. They look at you with confused faces and you realise that you'd left out some rather critical information. "The doe, it was Snape. Snape sent Dobby to Malfoy's murder mansion."

Harry begins to protest, his mouth opening but you shake your head, pulling out the Lebetum.

"I tried to summon the doe remember? That night outside the tent, I summoned the doe and it led us to the sword and then in the dungeons, I tried to summon the doe to help us get out but it never came out of the Lebetum, it disappeared from the glass. Then Dobby turned up and saved us, he said that his boss had sent him, remember?"

"Snape was helping us?" Hermione says with a disgruntled face, frown lines plucking at her forehead.

"Yeah he really helped George when he cursed his ear off," Ron says pointedly and you sigh.

"He didn't mean to, it was a misfire," you say, your eyebrows shooting up when you realise that you had just given away your secret as they all look at you with wide eyes. "I went after him that night, I screamed at him, he explained. There's something more to him, I don't believe he just turned his back on Dumbledore and the Order."

"Still, he's a deatheater," Ron argued, spitting the word out in indignation, ignoring your explanation entirely which you were thankful for.

"A deatheater that's saved our lives twice," you countered, crossing your arms over your chest, wincing a little from the movement which agitated your shoulder. "All I'm saying is that he might be able to help us now, maybe if we find him he could use his standing with Voldemort to distract him whilst we get the snake? Then it's just him."

"She does have a point," Hermione says, though you could tell the others were largely unconvinced, their perception and history with the Professor tainting their view now. "Maybe if we knew where the snake was?"

"Can you look mate, see inside of him? Maybe that would show us?" Ron asks, turning to Harry. Harry looks conflicted, not liking the idea of bridging the connection to Voldemort, even in this situation but he reluctantly agrees, shoulders sagging as he takes a deep breath, closes his eyes and tries to focus.

"I can't see the snake," Harry says a minute later, his eyes dark and weary as he opens them, the strength of connection to Voldemort's mind had exhausted him. You all sighed, feeling a little defeated. You saw Harry look at you and you turned your head to face him, wordlessly conversing.

"No, not a chance," you said strongly, rejecting the idea completely that you could see Harry was trying to convey.

"You might have a link to the snake, a link he doesn't know about."

"What?" Hermione says, looking at you with wide eyes.

"Her shoulder, where she was attacked, every time Voldemort tries to connect to me it hurts her, doesn't it? When we destroyed the diadem you felt it too didn't you," Harry presses. You look away, nodding gently as your fears are brought to life, knowing that somehow you'd been cursed by the snake.

"It's okay," Harry says, trying to comfort you. "Just try to picture the snake, see if you can see anything."

You looked at the faces of your friends and briefly thought of your boyfriend that were somewhere on the castle, hopefully unharmed. If you could do this and slay the snake, you'd be back with them as soon as possible. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath to calm yourself and empty your mind, allowing the darkness behind your eyelids to remain so. You pictured the snake, your shoulder and the night in Bathilda's house, the night your connection had been made. And suddenly, like an old muffle cinema screen, the darkness behind your eyes changed until you were slithering along the wet ground, grass moving along with your body until you happened upon wet, creaky goodness floorboards. You were in the body of the snake, slithering along the ground, the thoughts of the snake translating into your kind as it thought of returning to it's master, having heard the call to return. Panes of glass passed your peripheral vision and you caught sight of your body, the green hue and uniform blotched lighter patches across the main stump of body.

You opened your eyes and gasped, a cough choking your throat as you panicked, eyes blurry and unable to focus.

"It's okay, y/n, we're here, you're safe," Harry says, kneeling down beside you. It takes your eyes a moment to focus but they do eventually, though you were left panting and breathless, you're whole body fighting the urge to let out a shuddering sob.

"The boathouse, she's going to the boathouse."

You tried jumping to your feet but your legs were weak and you stumbled a little, a cold sensation still covering your body that you couldn't fight off, the feeling of being the snake was all over you.

"Do we have anything to kill it with?" You asked, turning to look at them. "Not even a basilisk fang?"

Hermione looks sheepish as Ron looks down at his feet.

"We sort of lost them in the skirmish, only managed to save the one we used to destroy the tiara thingy," Ron says, speaking for Hermione as he rubs the back of his head. 

"Griphook had the sword," Harry says, relaying the deal he'd made for information.

"Griphook is dead master, had you not heard? Goblins were massacred after they informed Voldemort that Miss Lestrange's vault had been broken into."

You felt awful, your stomach sinking as you realised that your actions had caused this massacre.

"That means the sword is no longer in his possession," Hermione whispers to Harry.

Suddenly, the Lebetum in your pocket begins shaking, a new feature you hadn't been come across yet. You pulled it out and looked at the glass, seeing the doe already at the glass window, without any need to think of a pleasant memory nor recite the words. In that moment, you knew something was very wrong, Severus was in danger.

Next

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[chopprface]

finally working on my beast wars fic where depth charge crash lands a lot earlier than he did in the cartoon, and gets more invested into the conflict between the predacons and maximals because rampage hasnt landed yet.

he knows about the axalon containing protoform X as he did in the show, but with time to kill before it falls out of orbit he decides to actually get to know the maximals instead of just being an asshole to them and ignoring orders to get to rampage

i cant decide which idea i have for rampage is better, one where because of depth charge’s intervention he keeps his whole spark and remains unaffiliated with megatron and the predacons, terrorizing both sides as they keep fighting, or if i should go the show’s route where megatron takes a portion of rampage’s spark, further giving depth charge a reason to work with the maximals instead of being an ass to go off and focus on protoform x. obviously he still cares about killing rampage but its a little complicated by the beast wars and his allegiances now. and ofc i came up with this for shipping reasons but it wraps back around to the main point i made when i wrote this out the first time (bw spoilers beyond here dont you dare read mutuals who im gettijg into beast wars right now)

during “bad spark”, the episode where rampage is introduced, instead of blackarachnia and silverbolt showing up to further their blossoming relationship, depth charge and dinobot do. being the best fighters on the the maximals side at that point in time and with depth charge knowing exactly who’s in that pod the moment cheetor reports about it, he immediately sets off in search of the pod with dinobot in tow, ready to end this once and for all.

protoform X gets to be much more intimidating to match the combined power of the two strongest maximals, and with depth charge being much more focused with his target in sight he starts disregarding dinobot’s attempts to coordinate an attack against rampage, causing chaos as depth charge ends up wounded and unable to transform, the situation turning dire with dinobot having to compensate for his teammates sudden eagerness to rush in and fight recklessly.

they eventually escape with their lives, seemingly knocking out rampage with it ambiguous as to wether megatron takes his spark or not as the maximals retreat. dinobot and depth charge discuss the origins of protoform X, who depth charge has been pretty quiet about, though he obviously has quite the past with rampage. Eventually they get off topic, arguing about dinobot’s predacon origins

skip forward a bit with their relationship getting increasingly more romantic as they learn more about eachother in secret until. oh god whats that code of hero shaped thing in the distance

well uh. dinobot dies. we all know this had to happen at some point, but this time rampage is much more involved in his death, taking glee in the dinobot’s destruction with the knowledge of their feelings towards eachother and can’t wait to taste depth charge’s despair as he annihilates the only bot who’s gotten close to him in a long time.

Dinobot’s speech at the end of code of hero is unaltered i imagine, not acknowledging depth charge at all which is just another blow to him on top of losing someone he loved to rampage again, to not even hear that dinobot cared about him or that his relationship wasn’t for nothing.

The stakes of rampage and depth charge’s rivalrly heighten even more as now someone established has been killed in the crossfire of their quarreling and depth charge is left with even more survivors guilt, feeling like he should have stuck closer to Dinobot to assist him in the fight against the predacons and against rampage, which only fuels his hatred towards rampage even more and he grows increasingly self destructive as he gets more desperate to finally kill rampage and end things once and for all.

id write more but im so exhausted its midnight and im nauseous… but yapping about the blorbos could fix me

mini rant cause i rewatched bad spark for this why the FUCK is it not focused on rampage at all bro. wdym youre not going to focus on an IMMORTAL MONSTER that feeds off the terror of other lifeforms. fym this SHOWCASE EPISODE barely even has the FOCUS CHARACTER onscreen for most of it and most of the episode goes to two characters that couldve just gotten their own episode? granted the scene at the end with megatron cutting out rampages spark fucks hard i wish we got more of megatron doing shit like that

[ariadnesweb]

Deltarune Review? Deltarune Review.

Spoiler Warning for under Readmore

The game starts out by throwing a tonal curveball as to the matter of darkners: Darkners are the fears and ambiguities people imagine beneath the blanket of total darkness.

This is in contrast to how Deltarune treated its darkner character for the first two chapters, which was as something akin to a variant of Undertale's monsters, with individual wants and desires, twisted by the cruel nature of the digital world around them.

This accompanies the structural shift from lighthearted episodic storytelling to something more intense and serialized: the new chapters build directly on the concepts introduced prior, instead of reintroducing vaguely similar friends, worlds, and bosses. This allows for more concrete themes and character arcs, as is best exemplified by Ralsei-Susie-Kris's growing bonds, but also requires more consistency, like, in general.

Both of the new chapters have very awkward pacing and exposition, with problems around dark worlds that lag, and character introductions that don't have time to allow feelings to settle, leaving somewhat flat impressions.

The Roaring Knight is the worst offender on both cases, being the final and secret boss for chapter three, being utterly indescribable as anything but a roaming shadow, and being promptly forgotten about for huge chunks of chapter four.

It's hard to think of the Roaring Knight as anything more than a vessel for the Titan's hand, or for Susie's progression as a hero, or for hinting at the final fate of December Holiday. Which, while presumably the point, makes the Knight more annoying than scary, interrupting the friendship journey previously established for some pretty melodramatic boss fights.

Obligatory caveat that I guessed the nature of chapter three's major boss and his relationship to both Kris and Mike, and the nature of chapter four's thematic relevance to Ralsei and the overarching prophecy. I was blindsided by the nature of the Roaring Knight however, as I had theorized it would work both differently and in a much more lighthearted way, which is, uh. Well. We know what the Roaring Knight is, at least.

I like chapter three much more than chapter four, and I would consider it structurally better than the original first chapter of the game. It features the Nostalgic Television Set Tenna as its overarching antagonist, setting as contrast to Susie and Ralsei work on their fears of growing up, and having the presence and power to capitalize on its relationship to Toriel, the kids, and the rest of the chapter allies. He exists in service to a mythical idea of 'Fun', both quantifiable and unquestionably benevolent, and predictably, when 'Fun' fails to materialize, he has to fallback on strictness and intimation, making him the chapter villain.

The entirety of chapter three is shadowed by the 'Shadow Mantle Subplot', which brings in a different definition of 'Fun', equally as magnetic, but much less benevolent: Ramb and his computer program specifically designed to allow Kris the dream of having agency over their world, giving them the specific power needed to continue the story, at the cost of their mental stability, standing of reality, and general ability to connect with their friends. Unlike the mythical 'Fun' Tenna worships, the downsides of the computer program are immediately apparent and factored in, with any sincere enjoyment received made in spite of the obvious isolation and clunky controls.

All of this makes chapter three a compact thematic core in preparation for the rest of the game, without much else to confuse matters. I can understand why people might not like the extended 'Zelda-like' sequences, or be disappointed by Tenna's predictability, or the frustration involved with the Secret Bosses, but I really liked it.

In contrast to Chapter four, which includes some of the best sequences of the game, and some of the worst transitions to get there.

I'm incredibly unclear on how chapter four was supposed to connect after chapter three. The game starts by closing chapter three's dark fountain and then making a smash cut to Kris waking up on their house chair, having Susie eagerly explain the aftermath of chapter three, and the pair being harrowed by Toriel to get to the church. The church goes by as churches always do, which is a sermon that is more than a little dull, but explains to the player that nature of Ralsei's LEGEND surpasses the layer of darkness. It exists unchanged in multiple planes of existence, apparently. Kris then messes around the church to goof off with Susie, and also gather information about the town bunker, which leads them and Susie to plot out a plan to sneak into the Holiday mansion for even more information. While access to the town church was much awaited, I find myself confused as to its purpose in the game other than 'cool back drop', and thus don't know how to feel??? About its focus in chapter four.

The nature of Ralsei's LEGEND is slightly more concerning, less so for it being meaningful in any way, and more so that it is blatantly bullshit. It is, concerningly, unquestionable bullshit, as both the town and Ralsei are convinced of its eternal nature, and none of Kris's friends are able to argue otherwise.

At best, Susie is only able to stage a rebellion at its most pessimistic outcome, a rebellion funneled into the Roaring Knight's league of accomplices.

Which leads me to my major gripe with chapter four: this prophecy is blatantly an embodiment of the color blue, and coincidentally, this chapter has charged the color blue as a symbolic color of Lies and Illusions.

Which isn't great for my personal immersion, as there are quite a few plot beats that immediately gain my distrust and skepticism, upon their happening. This includes the reveal about the Prophecy's words (The Girl with hope crossed on her heart, love will find its way to the Girl) (which doesn't match the image we have of Susie) or the final reconciliation between Susie and Ralsei, where Ralsei apologizes for hiding information as Susie physically intimates him for it.

It happens again anyways.

I find Ralsei's arc inconclusive, as it plays out as a dishonest tragedy, in just the wrong way as to rub me wrong. In contrast to Susie and Noelle, who have mostly positive character development, and in contrast to Kris, whose position as the mysterious player vessel doesn't lead them to concrete development, Ralsei's involves specifically avoiding the secrets he knows about the Church dark world, with few relief except for a few confrontations and a fight with the titans.

I don't think Ralsei is lying about his fears and anxieties about the existence of darkners and Titans - I think it would be meanspirited to deny the helplessness of his existence, but it is my belief there is an alternate route during chapter four's dark world sequence where we would confront something regarding that.

Reasons for my belief:

The Church dark world serves as an aesthetic mirror to CastleTown, as purple-blue centers of information regarding the prophecy.

Ralsei manages to act even more weird than he normally does, blatantly trying to avoid confrontation with... Something? Someone? And thus trying to lead us out as fast as possible.

The Flavor Text Narration actively pulls us to use Ralsei's Pacify Spell, in a way reminiscent of Ice Shock, if never to the same effect (I tried). Most of the enemies coincidentally have unique Tired mechanics, whether that be 'delayed Tired', no hit rounds, actively asking the player to fail an ACT, or using Ralsei's fire magic to change state. The gameplay mechanics also discourage you from doing most of the above, as they add a very shiny and new 'OLD MAN' button that is both effective and hilarious.

Part of Susie's character arc during this chapter involves getting mad at how extraneous her presence during battle is, as her magic is directly inferior to Ralsei's. This is directly assuaged during the Jackenstein fight, which is both plot mandated and requires exclusively sparing him, and thus, contrary to our plans of only using Ralsei's magic.

This Room plays 'dark_sanctuary_alt' (name vaguely correct), which is the naming scheme for the altered music that plays when doing the weird route with Noelle ('cyber_city_alt'). The song is three minutes and loops, and is otherwise used only for this room. Right before Jack.

6. Ralsei knows how to play the music that leads out of the dark world???

I don't know how to play music, so if anyone can manage to play something interesting in the room before Jackenstein, go ahead. I... think that's what you're supposed to do??? Or otherwise hack the game to see??? I guess??? I tired myself out trying to pacify Jack, so I'm out. I'm not even sure this development will be a positive one, anyways.

On to other things, what this chapter is actually structured around is the Ideal of Duets.

Most of the piano segments in the chapter require searching for two pieces of music before opening up - most of the piano puzzles in this chapter require manipulating 'two'. Kris doesn't play a duet, but they do require specifically Susie's help to go ahead, mostly because Susie doesn't know how to play ANY instrument.

And Susie likewise only starts getting serious about playing instruments because Kris and Noelle are present.

To this end, Kris and Susie are only starting to take their relationship seriously now.

And given this lens to structure chapter four around, some of my gripes with it are assuaged.

My main gripe with chapter four is how... random??? It felt at times? I was being either edged by symbolism that concurred with my theories, or seeing the mechanical escalation the Roaring would bring upon our heroes. It felt like playing a high-quality fanfic at times, with Tenna serving less as his own character so much as a fusion of Spamton-King-Queen, with gimmicks reminiscent of those three But More Extravagant. This was specially bad with Chapter Four, given that 'Church Dark World' and 'Titan Fight' are common fanart and fan work fuel. I don't have any gripes with the Suselle Mansion section, as it developed the Susie-Noelle relationship and the Kris-Player relationship in a much needed way, but the mansion section felt generally disconnected that made it mostly groundwork for future developments.

Given that I already bought the game I will be seeing how the story plays out anyways, but I find myself generally anxious as to how cohesive the game is supposed to be. Are the details I notice just flourishes or are they build up for a grand reveal? I sincerely do not know.

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

What does Éminence Grise's Darkling think of Alina?

I don’t if it’s a formatting error or a tumblr glitch but the bold is killing me So we have established that this is not a formatting error and actually I love that more

I find this surprisingly difficult to answer, because I keep falling back on describing the relationship/how he actually treats Alina as opposed to his thoughts. His thoughts are trickier to articulate because he has multiple levels of bias going on.

The fic is set an ambiguous number of years after when S&B takes place but with the big difference that the stag never was in imminent danger of being found and therefore Baghra never did the thing. Alina never ran away, and they never had a big gloves off, falling out.

A lot of my typical interpretation of Alarkling as a ship, and how I view his feelings about her, hinge on him having preconceived expectations that don’t really match her personality. But I do think, as the series progresses, who she really is and how that surprises and confounds him, solidifies their dynamic and does make him more wretchedly obsessed lol. There’s some cognitive dissonance between the sort of white knuckle control he wants, and what he actually responds to as a person.

This fic is basically a scenario where he’s been able to get to know her under far less dramatic circumstances, and has had several years to try to force her into his preferred mold. And before the actual events of the fic, I think he’s basically been as successful as he can possibly get?

His standards are simply unattainable, and he’s baseline moody and inconsistent, but he has pretty much eroded nearly all of her boundaries. She is entirely emotionally dependent on him, though she’s mostly content to let him be cold to her and keep her at arm’s length. His values are the main standard she holds herself to— both simply because they are his, and his good opinion is practically the only one that matters to her, but over time she has genuinely absorbed a lot of his opinions. She appears to be fully content to remain within the constraints of the power dynamics of their relationship, where she’s basically forever a pupil learning at his feet. If they disagree— which they basically have not in any material way, they’re fighting in the story rn but it’s not really been disagreement— she’s learned to capitulate and assume she’s incorrect. Their primary conflicts stem from his inconsistency and temper, which she’s learned to mostly just wait out.

So in short, he thinks the relationship is going great! Or at least that it has been until the engagement nonsense that will obviously blow over soon.

Moving past their dynamic in practice to what he actually thinks of her, I think he primarily thinks of her, very simply, as his. That possessive element is the defining aspect. She’s his like girlfriend-protégée, diamond in the rough who isn’t anywhere near her final state yet. She’s only in her malleable first century or whatever, like she barely even counts as a fully formed person yet

He likes her, and has genuine rapport with her— I think that’s something that exists in canon. And while I cannot speak to the success of it, I’ve definitely tried to write them here with a lot of genuine familiarity and intimacy. I think he’s already pretty damn emotionally compromised, but from his own point of view he’d only really allow that he’s fond of her and feels indulgent of her youth/willfulness/silliness etc. But at the end of the day, he mostly thinks of her as something that is his to mold.

She asks him in one of the recent-ish chapters whether her feelings matter to him, and… basically they do not tbh. She has been literally trying to break up with him for multiple chapters and her input matters little enough that he’s not even actually registering it!

What he’s responding negatively to is more that she’s acting in ways he doesn’t like, that she seems genuinely invested in her engagement, and that she’s actually holding a grudge when he treats her poorly. She’s also completely correct in surmising that he’s so cold to her mostly because he is feeling jealous, and insecure, and wants to hurt her just to know that he can, as proof that she loves him and can be hurt by him. He’s only comfortable with a dynamic that’s dramatically in his favor. So being on any sort of emotionally even footing, let alone uneven in her favor, where he would be the one feeling jealous, results in him lashing out at her to “get even.”

But he’s not genuinely internalizing that she wants to end their relationship, that that is something she can even do or have a say in. He just doesn’t take it seriously enough to even get mad about it.

Anyway, this is something that’s not really specified in canon, and seems to be easy to interpret either way, but Grisha longevity seems to hinge on how much power they have. And S&B seems to imply Alina actually isn’t that powerful before the amplifiers. So for the purposes of this fic, to lean into the fundamentally transformative nature of his designs on her, Alina isn’t immortal on her own, and they both know this. Without the stag, she could have a, not necessarily ordinary, but at least uh… fathomable life, that’s probably somewhat long lived, but not anything that’s unheard of for Grisha. But he’s planning to elevate her to basically an immortal, unknowable state, that is going to inherently cut her off from all former, mortal, peers— because he also assumes there’s no merit in forming any real attachments if everyone you know will die in the blink of an eye. I don’t think Alina would necessarily reach that conclusion? But we’re talking about what he thinks.

Meanwhile, I want to stress that immortality has not been a particularly positive experience for him! He might think it’s genuinely an honor to elevate someone like that, that she should be grateful for it, but it’s also not not a cruel act, even from his own perspective. And that’s of course not even getting into how he very much stil intends to kill the stag himself so that he can take control of the amplifier, and her power.

[whypolar]

Gundam Unicorn OVA 2: The Second Coming of Char

It's time.

Here comes a special boy!

If you don't cheer and clap for him I'll blow this whole building up.

(You can read my previous post here, if you want.)

I was grinning every time Frontal was on screen. I'm so easy. He's perfect.

The music continues to be excellent.

The percussion in Frontal's theme is fucking crazy. I don't even have the vocabulary to describe what is happening here musically, but I like the aggressive synth and that there's a xylophone. Maybe multiple xylophones. Imagine.

I also particularly liked this one track with the chanting vocals before the hostage negotiation-- apparently it's the Sinanju's theme.

The main theme associated with the Unicorn itself keeps getting caught in my head.

The robots remain very cool.

Combat plays out almost beat-for-beat as described in Novel 3, right down to the automatic cockpit functions and Banagher throwing up in his helmet. Gross.

Environments: effectively conveying information.

The backgrounds in this one didn't wow me as consistently as the first one, but that's fine. They're in space. They're on closed ships. They have other, more important things they want you to look at. Sterile corridors communicate information about the setting, even if they're not necessarily exciting.

They do some cool stuff with the lighting on the bridge. I also like that they have an inexplicable vaporwave room to put the civilians in.

I'm pretty sure I have this exact room in my house in Animal Crossing.

After Banagher gets captured we start seeing more variety again, since there are more different places for us to visit.

Those are my big surface-level impressions.

From this point on, there will be novel spoilers up to the equivalent point where this OVA ends (which will include some things that I assume will show up in OVA 3).

One of my favourite background nobodies, Lieutenant Commander Liam. I love that the main thing we know about her is that she's big and constantly side-eyeing her blustering boss.

In terms of novel comparisons, there's a lot more I can potentially talk about in this one than the first.

Judging by these first two, it seems like each OVA covers about 1.5 novels worth of material, which sounds about right to cover all ten in seven episodes.

They swapped a number of scenes around. They've been skipping over a lot of little Vist family stuff that will have to come up later. I don't think that will be a problem. I assume they had two priorities:

Establish key details of Frontal's character, such as his self-identity as a vessel and his ambiguous relationship to Char, in the same OVA where he's introduced

Set up the hook of Banagher getting rescued for OVA 3

They've held off on introducing Martha for now, which is fair. She hasn't really done much by this point, she just exists as a vaguely menacing figure. I assume she'll be in the next one. Please?

They also skipped over Cardeas' memories of Syam arranging to have Cardeas' father killed. If they intend to tell us that later, it will probably be through another character, such as Martha or Syam himself.

Alberto hasn't figured out Banagher is his half-brother yet. Martha is the one who tells him this, so that makes sense. I could see them making that scene Martha's introduction.

Have I mentioned I love Alberto? I really do. I like him even better without a judgmental narrator describing his fatness, so there's an unambiguous point in the anime's favour, lmao.

Banagher

I'm glad they kept the flashback of Banagher's childhood 'training', but disappointed that they cut off the nightmare at the end. I wanted to see how they'd do it.

Caught my not-husband zapping our son so he'll be good at killing people in the psychic death machine when he's older. He does it in the piano tapestry room, to make sure the repressed traumatic memories are as poetic as possible.

We don’t get to hear Banagher's mother confront his father about putting him in the newtype pilot torture simulator, so we miss out on Cardeas' incredible defence of "don’t worry, I'm not using drugs on him in the tests." Father of the year.

In the novel: we hear the fight, it moves on to memories of Banagher leaving home with his mother, and then it eventually degenerates into the horrible withered body of Banagher's dead father grabbing his ankle and trying to make him go to the Gundam. The Gundam is described as a giant bleeding demon that wants to eat him.

It's important to me that a Gundam should always be at least a little monstrous. They should let the Unicorn be evil. As a treat.

At this point, I think anime Banagher comes across as mostly in line with his novel counterpart's characterization. The change in situation means a change in behaviour. Events have forced him to start openly expressing his doubts and fears-- which means the audience can actually know what they are.

There is still one difference that stuck out to me, because they chose to cut a particular scene:

OVA Banagher feels less genuinely attached to his friends.

I don't think this is a worse characterization. It's interesting in its own way. It's just like... a notably different one, imo.

There's a very sweet scene in the novel of him reuniting with Micott and Takuya. They're all overjoyed to see each other again alive. They hug, floating through the air in low gravity. Banagher feels warmth and a sense of belonging, and seriously considers never getting back in the Gundam again. They get so caught up that they end up hitting a wall and getting grabbed by gravity again, so they all collapse and start laughing. Then Audrey comes in, and the moment ends, as Banagher is compelled to go to her instead.

In the anime, they're all at his hospital bedside when he wakes up. Micott directly calls out to him in concern. He totally ignores her and addresses Audrey instead. Bro???

Given that he mostly ignored the other students and stared into space for a lot of the previous OVA, because they cut a lot of their casual school interactions from that one, too, well... Audrey doesn't just feel like Banagher's most powerful connection, but possibly his only real connection.

They also cut Micott being the one who approaches Mackle about Audrey, which makes him decide to look her up. Instead, he recognizes her face on his own. I was surprised by this one, since it felt like they were setting it up, but I guess not.

Audrey / Mineva

Mineva translates flawlessly to the screen. It helps that she's central both to the plot and to our protagonist's motivation. An element of mystery is also already important to her portrayal, so not getting direct glimpses into her thoughts doesn't feel like losing something. Much like last time, we basically know what the protagonist knows, and it works.

This is the best case scenario, but it also gives me less of an excuse to talk about her. Now I have to talk about Riddhe instead. I can't even believe how much I feel the need to talk about Riddhe. I did not think I cared about Riddhe.

And yet.

Riddhe

We find out who he is by the end of this one. Kinda. Depending on how much attention the viewer pays to character surnames, they may have figured it out earlier, or might even still not have grasped exactly what was being implied.

Again: I don't especially care about Riddhe, so I'm hesitant to say I want them spending time on him that could be used elsewhere, but the thing about reading the novels first is that I know his significance to the plot going forward. I'm worried things might end up more frustrating in the long run if they don't do enough with him early on.

When I think about scenes centred on Riddhe from the first 4 novels that I found particularly memorable… a lot of them were removed!

That good luck charm he has? In the novel, he doesn't have that. He has model biplanes, like actual hand-sized toys. In his introductory scene, he's sitting in a cockpit with one and basically zoning out, pretending to make it fly around. He thinks about wanting to be a pilot growing up, and it really gives the distinct impression that he's a bit mad that planes are mostly obsolete and he has to fly in a mobile suit instead. People roast him for being a rich kid playing with his toys.

That's the kind of idiosyncratic and slightly cringe enthusiasm that makes a character feel real to me. I don't even know if it would have been better to keep that in, I just know that I personally would like it.

The little things are what let me engage with him as a specific character, as opposed to an archetype I'm not personally invested in. I'd rather have a more detailed character than a guy who feels like nothing, whether I personally like him or not.

This is how the novel version of Riddhe meeting Banagher played out:

After the battle, Riddhe is feeling survivor's guilt, since they lost a lot of pilots during the battle. He goes to check on his machine. The mechanic inside is one of the older crew members, and he's crying.

When Riddhe tries to speak to him, he turns around and screams at him. He found the airplane model in the cockpit, where Riddhe accidentally left it. He's furious that Riddhe brought a toy onto the battlefield. He tells him to his face that he wasn't taking things seriously, and that's why they got massacred in the battle.

He throws the plane out of the cockpit, Riddhe chases it down as it glides through low gravity, and Banagher ultimately catches it, which is how they meet for the first time.

It's just much meatier than what we got.

I also feel like we've seen less conflict with others and emotions from Riddhe about his family so far. We don't know what his relationship to them is like at all, really. We miss the scene of him biting the bullet and asking his father for help, even though he really doesn't want to, because he believes it might save lives.

Maybe that will feel more present going forward, now that Mineva knows who he is?

Still, it's not like we didn't get any character moments for him. We get a bit of banter between him and other members of the crew. He reacts to stuff. I thought the scene where he confronts Mineva about Zeon and recalls Garma's funeral was very good.

Just... I want him to be interesting enough for me to get something from his arc.

Imagine me pacing around my room and gesticulating wildly for this next part, because I finally get to talk about Full Frontal

This scene. This specific scene is the one I most want to talk about.

First of all, it has Frontal in it. Second, there's a lot of information conveyed in the novel scene that does not make it to the screen at all. Third, the anime makes its own strong visual choices that are entirely original and not drawn from any kind of novel description.

This shot of Frontal's mask is downright fascinating to me. The outside of the mask is pristine and smooth, but the inside has all these gnarled ridges. The lines around the eyes remind me of wrinkles on an old man's face. In-universe, someone decided it was important to make it look like that, where nobody but Frontal himself will see it. Was it designed this way at his request?

This scene in the novel is written from Banagher's perspective. There is no camera, it's just Banagher pointing out whatever he thinks is important to comment on. When they decided how to frame it in the anime, they pulled the camera way back, for all these extreme distance shots in this huge room. Everyone looks so tiny. This is, obviously, an unusual framing for an intimate conversation between three people.

There were so many cool and very deliberate shots in this scene; I'm kind of obsessed with it. The separation of spaces in this massive room and how they kept showing Frontal moving back and forth between them... I wish I could include them all, but tumblr has a 30 image limit per post.

When Frontal is wearing the mask and sitting next to Angelo, he is visually separated from Banagher. When he moves to speak to Banagher, he is then separated from Angelo. This is a sentiment that Angelo expresses in the novel-- that when Banagher was around, Frontal suddenly 'left him out of focus'. This is one of the things that drives Angelo to fixate on Banagher out of jealousy going forward.

Aside from depicting emotional distance between characters and showing off the absurdity of how big the room is, it's possible that the camera choices are meant to evoke another detail from the novels.

There is something very important we learn about Frontal that is conveyed solely through narration, and which has not come up at all yet in the OVA: the way characters describe his appearance, and the emotional response they have to it.

Specifically: Full Frontal looks exactly like Char Aznable, but he doesn't look like a convincing human being.

How does Banagher describe Full Frontal in this scene?

Well:

Is he a human? This was the first impression Banagher had. He could not detect any sense of life from that man, not just from the mask covering his eyes, but also the vibe that he was artificially created. He stared at the masked man who sat on the Mahogany made office table, and seriously thought that it might really be part of the decorations in the room.

The hand under the glove felt rather hard, causing Banagher to remember the first impression of a puppet ...

Perhaps I might not have seen the true appearance of this man? Banagher recalled the beautiful blue eyes, and felt that he was following an illusion ...

He also describes his stare as "machine-like" at one point.

After removing the mask, he describes Frontal's face as handsome and without identifiable flaws. "His cheekbones did not reflect his age" -- he looked younger than expected based on the age of Char Aznable, I think is the implication.

Anyway. The point is, he's good-looking and there's nothing specific anyone can pinpoint that's obviously wrong with him, and yet this is a consistent reaction characters have to meeting him. He doesn't feel real.

Honestly, this is one of my favourite things about Frontal, and it makes me a bit sad that it doesn't translate at all. I'm sure it would be difficult to visually convey-- any attempt runs the risk of looking like an error, or just 'bad'. It could also be they were worried about going too hard with it and making him read like a monster, rather than someone who could plausibly be a charismatic leader.

I get it. I just miss it, man. It's such a good little detail. He'll always be a beautiful creepy puppet to ME.

I love that Angelo's always two seconds from going on the attack. He's like a beautiful fluffy dog that's human-aggressive and keeps biting people. He's Frontal's feral rescue persian cat.

Angelo doesn't go for Banagher a third time in the novel. In that version, these lines are delivered (less violently) by Frontal himself.

The change makes sense. It's in character for Angelo, and it still implies something about Frontal-- he speaks about Banagher sympathetically, but he pretty much just lets Angelo do this, not even chastising him or telling him to stop like the previous two times.

Banagher still falls over in the novel, despite not being physically assaulted. He almost passes out from the horror of realizing he killed someone, and then he spends the entire rest of the scene dissociating and feeling physically ill. Marida and Zinnerman pretty much have to drag him out of there.

The scene with Angelo and Frontal on their own discussing the possibility of an attack on Palau is gayer in the novel. Being inside Angelo's head is always gayer. We might get the full version of this scene in the next one, since they started talking about certain exposition-related things before getting abruptly cut off.

Concluding scenes

I really like this scene with the family. The designs of these characters and how they interact with each other is very endearing. Marida casually holding the little girl upside-down and handing her over to the mother is unbearably cute.

They don't fully explain the logistics of where and how Banagher is being held prisoner, leaving it to you to intuit what the arrangement is. This works just fine for me, but I did wonder if it might throw some people off. Maybe not-- I feel like most UC Gundam stuff I've watched occasionally leaves gaps like this and trusts you to connect the dots on your own.

It's just very different from reading the novel, where it leads you through the whole process of him being kept on the ship, brought to Palau, being taken to see Frontal, etc. It gives a history of Palau as a mining colony, including how and why it was built, why the guy who bought it most recently renamed it Palau, the population size, the dimensions in kilometers... you get the idea. Completely different approach.

Marida.... the next one should have a lot more of Marida, I think. I'm glad. I want more Marida. She's one of my favourites.

Her big scene in this one is a good one with a lot of thematic and emotional weight, but the reordering of scenes did skip over a lot of smaller moments between her and Banagher that I really love-- big fan of her grabbing his face to check his eyes and then telling him about the effects of g-force on the human eyeball.

I'm hoping at least some of those casual interactions make it into the next one. They can be shifted around pretty easily, so long as it's before the attack on Palau begins.

I think that's everything I wanted to go over... either way, I'm done. This post took me a lot longer to edit than the first one.

I can't believe they made me write fifteen paragraphs about Riddhe.

[copper-16]

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I in the past have had trouble with formatting if I just paste my stuff into rich text and go, but you do you! Whatever works, I like my HTML to rich text pipeline because it works for me. 

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This is the last part of this series, but I’m open to answering additional questions if need be!

[ladyluscinia]

OMG, I read your essay on Destiel and that person yelling "how dare you" was absolutely hilarious! That's some meme material for TvTropes. I didn’t realize Suletta was a quite ambiguous ship like Victuri. What are they even bragging about while calling Destiel queer baiting? Both ships had the same "will they be canon or not" rocky path, but theirs with less homophobic writers.

At least that person apologized and admitted they didn't actually have any background knowledge on Destiel, which is easily the best interaction I had off that poll. They were mad at meme voters and I was quipping about different meme voters and maybe meme voters that love to flood polls to talk shit are the insufferable element here, you know?

The whole canon details thing was something to realize - though I don't think "ambiguous" is the word. Like, they are a pretty clear part of their show's canon, same as Destiel and Victuuri. I don't think lacking an onscreen kiss makes them less canon or anything. If we really want to get into it, trying to pretend there's a clear dividing line between undeniable canon and not (or blessed text vs barbarous subtext) is a mindset that probably causes more harm than good.

Like - subtext is part of the text. It's an element that writers, actors, set designers, etc. put into the story deliberately, and things can be both subtext and really obviously conveying a specific thing (ex: romantic feelings). Not all subtext is equally "open to interpretation" yeah.

If we say "no actually your really blatant subtext is still not real canon unless it's textual in these ways" then we raise the question of what even counts as textual. Is living together and wearing wedding rings textual if we don't acknowledge a marriage any other way? What about if it's from a culture that doesn't wear rings? It also kind of insultingly bakes in a certain level of assumed audience stupidity, where something can be the most obvious conclusion to the information you've been given by the writers but you still have to pretend you don't know it for sure because...? Like the main things you accomplish with arbitrary lines are a) making it easier for bad writing to count as canon than good since it's more likely to be blunt / shallow, b) giving the people with the least creative control (censors) the most say over who gets to cross the lines, and c) devaluing ships that actually try to build up a relationship over time (like well-written straight couples have done for ages) because they are "just ambiguous subtext" until they aren't.

It's a lot more accurate to recognize canon comes in various forms, and "plausible deniability that isn't actually plausible at all if you watch the show" is a big one.

Like I haven't seen the anime so I won't make sweeping claims, but basic example from multiple sources explaining the show premise - the fact that the girls get engaged in episode 1 as near-strangers because of a whole pre-established political / business marriage arrangement between the best fighter and the prized daughter... if you're a writer trying to make sure you can have your f/f ship married in the endgame, having it be a plot point to guarantee access to Bride/Groom queercoding through the whole series is a really good way to do that! And it's specifically queercoding with a "straight explanation" even if it's insulting to both the writers and audience to pretend that holds up to scrutiny in the context of the whole series. I know this because I've seen those sorts of tactics a lot.

It's just really interesting how the difference between a queerbait, a will-they won't-they, and a canon slowburn can often be determined by how positive any given fan's feelings toward the ship, show, and writers are. It's hardly objective fact.

(EDIT: Oh and I didn't use wedding rings as an example because of the anime - it wouldn't even be a good one because they also have people referring to the girls as in-laws - I used it because it's a broadly understood cultural shorthand but also fundamentally "wearing literally any ring on this finger = dedicated romantic relationship" is super subtextual.)

[brilliantorinsane]

Yeah so I've decided Higgins (the man who dies of a heart attack at the start of Belligerent Ghost) was a lonely gay man. I'm sorry, I'm not trying to insert a background tragedy angst into a light fun episode, it's just there's so many little details that—okay look:

When deducing Higgins' hat, Holmes describes him as 'flamboyant'. I desperately want a detailed entomology of associations between the word 'flamboyant' and queerness across time, but failing that I can say with confidence that by the 1954 effeminacy and much of what we today would associate with flamboyance in men was connected to queerness in the British and American imaginations. So I'm putting down the suggestiveness of the line as ambiguous, but it planted the thought.

Higgins' landlady, who seems to have known Higgins' somewhat well, refers to Holmes as Watson's 'gentleman friend'—a term with strong romantic connotations. Perhaps she is familiar with the, erm, 'flamboyant' type?

When asked if Higgins' next of kin has been notified of his death, his landlady says "He had none. He was all alone." No further detail is given, leaving the question open: are they dead? unknown? or was he rejected/disowned by them for. some reason?

His landlady describes him as a "proper good cook"—a skill that would be far more associated with women at the time. (Which is stupid ofc, but this sure is the Victorian era/1950s)

People are unusually callous about this man's death. For all that she performatively mourns him, the landlady accepts a pittance of a bribe to lie about the time of Higgins death, allowing him to be framed for theft. The mortician openly mocks the dead man.

In both cases, Holmes' discomfort and even anger at the are noted. Perhaps Higgins is being clocked by Victorian society as someone, less valuable than the average citizen? For some reason. And this upsets and angers Holmes. For some reason.

The mortician jokes about Higgins burning in hell. Okay.

10:11, Lestrade: "Now this is one case you [Holmes] can't make anything queer out of". Okay! (fyi, by the 1950s queer was being used as a referent for LGBTQ+ folks, although it was also still used in the original sense of 'strange, odd').

Higgins has past convictions for counterfeiting. a). queer people were by virtue of who they were in tenuous relationship with the law, and b). poss. implies need of money, potentially because family is not only gone, but may have cut him off?

Lestrade refers to Higgins as 'a real artist' with regard to his counterfeiting. Holmes also refers to him as an artist when deducing his hat. Oscar Wild and his set sure did establish a link in the public consciousness between queerness a amoral artistry.

Higgins is further associated with art via working as a day watchman at an art museum.

He is (correctly) identified by the museum curator as someone the police would be easily prejudiced against because he is ga—a counterfeiter.

If I'm going to really stretch my point and get extra maudlin about it, he died from a heart attack. Because his. his heart. broke.

So yeah. Not claiming intentionality here, but there's a lot of little bits piled up to the point that he's fixed in my head as gay. And now I've made myself sad about a character who doesn't even appear in the episode.

[veebs-hates-video-games]

Instead of any of that other stuff I was already in the middle of I went through all of SeaBed in like three days for some reason. It's probably doing something right if I managed to read that much that quickly and without getting sidetracked by anything else or randomly taking a three month break in the middle like usual.

I think overall it was definitely better than I expected (I didn't go in with much in the way of expectations beyond knowing people mentioned it alongside other stuff I've liked), but maybe not quite as good in the end as part of me was hoping in the first several chapters.

I know the biggest complaint I've seen about it is the pacing and that it really takes its time with stuff, and you'd think with me complaining about that in other games/VNs that it might be a problem for me with this too. Nope, it was actually something I appreciated about it.

With some things I've made that complaint about it felt like it was just incredibly inefficient storytelling or even wasting my time, but here it felt like for the most part everything was there for a reason, whether that's fleshing out the characters and their relationships, establishing the nature of the world, or just setting the general tone of the story itself. For something about memory that uses dreams frequently it fits perfectly for it to be nonlinear and linger for a while on certain things while jumping right past others and maintaining that sort of hazy sense of ambiguity.

I also liked how long it took me to even decide what sort of genre conventions it was operating under. I had multiple reasonable guesses for which it could turn out to be and multiple plausible explanations for the various unusual elements and inconsistencies in different people's stories from different points of view. None of them ended up being entirely right, but it's open-ended and ambiguous enough about enough things that none of them were entirely wrong either.

I wasn't completely satisfied with the last few chapters, but I'm not really sure why or what I would've wanted more/less of or just to be different. But that doesn't mean I was unsatisfied either, just that I liked the journey a bit more than the destination.

[super-caribe-suomi1012]

10 lessons from The First Minute: How to Start Conversations That Get Results (Business Communication Skills Books) by Chris Fenning:

1: The first minute sets the tone for the entire interaction.

The first minute of a conversation is crucial for making a positive impression, establishing rapport, and setting the stage for a successful interaction. Make the most of this initial moment by being present, engaging, and focused on establishing a connection with the other person.

2: Identify your purpose and desired outcome before the conversation begins.

Before engaging in a conversation, clearly define your purpose and what you hope to achieve. Having a clear understanding of your objectives will help you stay focused, direct the conversation effectively, and increase your chances of achieving a positive outcome.

3: Use clear and concise language to convey your message effectively.

Effective communication involves using clear, concise language that is easy to understand. Avoid jargon, complex sentences, and ambiguous wording. Strive to express your ideas in a straightforward manner that leaves no room for misinterpretation.

4: Listen actively and demonstrate genuine interest in the other person's perspective.

Active listening is essential for building rapport and understanding the other person's perspective. Pay attention to their words, body language, and tone. Ask clarifying questions and show genuine interest in their thoughts and opinions.

5: Adapt your communication style to match the other person's preferences and needs.

Effective communication involves understanding the other person's communication style and adapting your approach accordingly. Some people prefer direct and concise communication, while others may appreciate a more indirect and nuanced approach.

6: Use storytelling to engage your audience and make your message more memorable.

Stories have the power to capture attention, evoke emotions, and make complex ideas more relatable. Incorporate storytelling techniques into your conversations to engage your audience, convey your message in a more impactful way, and make a lasting impression.

7: Be mindful of nonverbal cues and adapt your behavior accordingly.

Nonverbal communication, such as body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice, can significantly impact the outcome of a conversation. Be mindful of these cues and adapt your behavior to create a positive and respectful atmosphere.

8: Handle objections and difficult conversations with confidence and professionalism.

Objections and challenging conversations are an inevitable part of business interactions. Learn to anticipate objections, address them calmly and professionally, and use them as opportunities to further understand the other person's perspective.

9: Summarize key points and agreements to ensure clarity and alignment.

Regularly summarize key points and agreements throughout the conversation to ensure that both parties are on the same page. This will help prevent misunderstandings and ensure that everyone is clear on the next steps.

10: Follow through on commitments and maintain open communication channels.

Follow through on any commitments made during the conversation and maintain open communication channels to foster trust and build long-lasting relationships. Effective communication is an ongoing process, not a one-time event.

BOOK: https://amzn.to/3MLeYrK

You can also get the audio book for free using the same link, as far as you are registered on the Audible Platform