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whisperingrockandroll · 1 year

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WR&R MYSTERY KIDS LORE & WORLDBUILD MASTER POST

Gear up, kids, because this will be a long one.

It's been a while since I posted a new comic. Pretty soon there'll be a bunch, because I've been sitting on a mountain of scripts and just started making progress on actually making them into comics. I wanna build up a nice little backlog that I can queue up and not worry about for a long while. In the meantime though, I have something I hope will tide you guys over.

There's been a problem with my comic from the very beginning I've never really thought to address for years, and until now, I never found a good place for it. That problem is "worldbuilding." Originally when this comic started out, it was just a Psychonauts comic. Then I got into Mystery Kids, and the MKs just showed up out of nowhere.

If you're still interested, click under the cut. If you already find this post boring and kind of long, just skip it.

We never got any information on how the Mystery Kids club started or how they all met. For the longest time, I kind of just defered to the collective fandom's various disorganized headcanons and ideas and stuff. But I think enough time has passed that those ideas have all changed, been forgotten about, or branched off into their own individual works.

So, it's finally time for me to fix that by giving this comic its own set of lore and backstory. In this post I'm going to explain how everything happened, how the kids came together and what order everything happened in. This is kind of written for my own personal amusement, but also as a guide to keep in mind when I'm writing new stories in this setting, to keep things consistent.

PART ONE: THE CANON HISTORY

The first step for this little exercise is to figure out when all the stuff in the original "canon" happened. This is where things get a little messy, because we have to figure out a proper order for everything so all the pieces can fit into place.

First, we have to come up with a system for naming the different eras and phases where things happen, so we can more easily compartmentalize the different events. So we'll call the first year the Mystery Kids are together "Year One." Anything before that we'll call Year -1 or -2.

Year -2 is where we'll put the events of Paranorman. They happen in Fall, around Halloween probably. Nearly the end of the year. It's important to set this part the furthest back for reasons we'll get into later.

Year -1 is where we'll put Coraline and Psychonauts. Dipper and Mabel are still in Pidemont. There are a few references in the comic to Raz still having a water problem due to "the curse." But in PN2 he conquers the curse. We'll chock that up to lingering after-effects and him trying to get past the mental block.

Near the end of Year -1, Aggie returns and reunites with Norman in events identical to how they played out in Ask-Norgatha. A lot of things that happen are very similar to that old blog, with the exception being Norman and Aggie don't get together. That comes later.

Year 1 is when Gravity Falls happens. Coraline and Norman are family friends (or cousins? I haven't decided, maybe not. Maybe 'honoary cousins'?) Anyway, so: things play out pretty much how they did in that fan episode people made. Doctor Loboto (during a villainous relapse, or a manic episode) comes to Gravity Falls, Raz and Lili chase after him, Coraline and Wybie come with Norman's family on a vacation to Gravity Falls. Aggie stays behind because Norman doesn't want her to get lost. At this point, her Poltergeist powers haven't kicked in yet and other people can't see her, meaning she'd have no way to get home.

So, during Loboto's shennanigans, the kids all come together to stop him. That's when we move into…

PART TWO: THE FANON HISTORY

Note: in this period, my comic has a lot of Holiday specials. We're operating on Peanuts rules here, where the time-scaling slides around to keep the characters from aging. But we'll say in the "real" canon, the stuff that happens on Holidays actually happen on regular days, for the most part. If things "have to" happen on a Holiday, they'll all happen on the same one, just at different times. We'll try not to think too hard about this, because it's just a cartoon. We're out to make a consistent world, but not to arbitrarily restrict ourselves. None of this stuff happened in the "real" world anyway.

Anyway, moving right along to the rest of "Year 1." This is for the comics I made while the show was still airing, so things all kind of click together.

This is where the first Mystery Kids Adventure happens. The kids are all united and save the day. All of this happens right in the middle of the events of Gravity Falls. From then on out, the kids have adventures together on and off, but its a little hard because they have to travel a pretty great distance to hang out together. They keep in touch on social media and stuff, occasionally finding ways to fake excuses to go out and travel together. But mostly, the group is pretty disorganized.

Dib is also a mindless fanboy of the group and wants to join, but everybody thinks he's weird and annoying, so they try their best to politely blow him off. Then he builds a teleporter that lets the kids get together easier, but the thing just barely works. Dib is made a "junior member" and just sort of hangs around.

The kids have a "clubhouse", but it's just a shanty shack built by Soos, half a mile away from the Mystery Shack.

At some point during this period, the Bedlam returns and the kids have to team up to stop her. Aggie helps somehow with her newly-emerging poltergiest powers. The Bedlam is defeated, and that's the last "real" adventure they have for a little while. They don't have a reliable way to meet up anymore, so they only get together for parties and stuff. This is where the Season 3 Finale happens, if you've read my archives.

PART THREE: THE CURRENT SITUATION

From Season 4 and onwards, everything that happens to the Mystery Kids happens in Year 2. That's where we are now.

It starts with Dib on one of his own little adventures. Somehow, he ends up stumbling on an abandoned treehouse that used to belong to the Kids Next Door. It hasn't been populated in years, but its full of still-functional tech that just got left behind. With it, Dib's able to power-up the teleporter technology and now the Mystery Kids can come together whenever they want. You need to stand perfectly still for like five minutes for the teleporter to work, so it isn't a "get out of danger free" plot device.

Seems like a REALLY important development to happen offscreen and go totally unmentioned, right? Well… I thought of it retroactively, so, whoops! But it's fine. We'll just have to make a flashback comic later where the kids find it.

So, from now on, everything that happens in the comic happens here, in Year 2.

If you've read this far, I'd like to thank you for humoring my nonsensical fanfiction ramblings for my silly mspaint webcomic. I hope you had fun and got as much out of that as I did. I'm really happy I was finally able to put it all together in one coherent place.

#Mystery Kids #Psychonauts #Gravity Falls #Coraline #Paranorman #Invader Zim #Long Post #Lore Dump

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citizen-zero · 2 years

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I guess part of the reason that the whole “proshipper/anti” discourse is so silly to me is because like. I actually lived the situation that so many of them talk about, the whole “predators will show your fic to minors in order to groom them” thing. Except that’s not…that’s not really what happened.

The 25 year old woman I “dated” when I was 15 was someone I met through the Hetalia fandom; we did a lot of NSFW RPs and bonded over smutty fic. She drew, commissioned, and purchased smutty art and doujins that she shared with me. She came to visit me twice and like, we never went further than kissing, but I know for a fact that she wanted to. She said as much, and I think if I hadn’t been worried about getting caught by my mom, we would’ve. And this isn’t super distressing for me to talk about but it still makes me feel a little dirty. Not in a shame-filled way, I don’t think it’s my fault or anything, but I don’t feel good about it either.

Anyway, point is, it’s literally the situation that people wave around as an example of what might happen if we let people write about Sexually Immoral Topics, and yet I maintain that none of it was the fault of NSFW fan art/fiction. Not even the handful of teacher/student or incest fics I read and enjoyed—even when I was “dating” her, I recognized that that sort of relationship was wrong and should only be enjoyed in a fictional context. That sort of content was cathartic for me because I could engage with it but didn’t have to see or experience it IRL where it would have actual consequences. It’s the same as how playing GTA let me shoot rocket launchers at cops and blow up cars without…you know, doing that.

No, all of it was squarely the fault of the adult woman who was trying to fuck a teenage girl. All the emotional stress I felt then and all the lingering sour taste I have now is her fault. It wasn’t a single one of those artists’ or authors’ faults that, for almost two years, I was denying/unable to recognize the wrongness of my own situation even though I could recognize it in fictional ones. All of it was her fault for earning the trust of a teenager and then pursuing a “relationship.” The only function that the sexual content served was to be just another part of fandom to bond over, just like we bonded over cosplay and merchandise and new canon material and anime episodes and dubs and—you get it. It was one part of a whole. Like, smutty fan works are so common that it didn’t raise a red flag, because, well…everyone likes that stuff. If we’d been hanging out offline it would’ve been a red flag because adults talking about about sex with teenagers in a non-educational context is creepy. But in the fandom space, it’s just normal and part of the fun and it was okay because it wasn’t about us, it was about fake people.

So that makes it hard for me to take the discourse seriously, because 1) I don’t think most of you even know what you’re angry about anymore, and 2) sexual fan works and RPs didn’t have the heavy influence in my situation that you think they did. They were a part of the equation, but that woman could’ve easily groomed me even if we’d never talked about sex before we got into a “relationship.” The reason why I could recognize the wrongness of a fictional relationship but not my own was because she had earned my trust and used it to emotionally manipulate me into believing we were an exception.

I think a lot of you have a very…early 2000s after-school special idea of the role fandom can play in grooming and abuse. I think a lot of you imagine a creepy adult sending a teacher/student fic to a 14 year old and saying, “See, this is normal and okay because it’s in a fan fiction.” And I’m not saying that never ever happens, but I think it’s far more common for it to happen the same way it does offline: the adult bonds with the minor over shared interests, earns their trust, makes them feel cool and special, and then uses that trust and goodwill to convince them that the abuse is okay and that other people “don’t/won’t understand.” It’s exactly the same tactics as adult men “dating” high school girls.

I think it’s unproductive at best to go after artists and authors who create the kind of content I was reading back then, because like, I recognized that the fictional scenarios would be wrong IRL and it still didn’t help. I’m betting most people reading AND making that stuff recognize on some level that it’d be wrong IRL. Blaming abuse on fan work and not solely on predators means that one of the ways that predators can gain your trust is by aligning themselves with “antis,” the same way that right wingers can get you to agree with them on anything by dressing it up in progressive language. I dread to say it but I am confident that it’s already happening.

I’m not saying anyone needs to read something they’re uncomfortable with, or interact with people who enjoy those things, but I do think you need to develop some nuance and recognize that the vast majority of people making the sexual content you dislike aren’t doing so for nefarious reasons. Yes, fiction can normalize and perpetuate bad ideas, but fiction isn’t the cause, it’s the symptom. You’re not going to end sexual abuse by witch hunting people who write about, like, teenagers dating and having sex (which, as we all know, definitely doesn’t happen IRL). At best it’s unproductive, and at worst you create an environment where teens feel even greater shame about wanting to explore their sexuality by writing about characters their own age, and adults feel afraid to draw inspiration from their own life experiences for fear someone will call them a predator. Which sucks for everyone, but it also means that queer teens and adults (who are already made to feel like their feelings are dirty and inappropriate) effectively end up closeted and unable to come to terms with their identities and see their experiences represented somewhere.

So…I don’t really have a smooth conclusion here. I just think the shipping discourse is fucking stupid because it assumes a world that runs on Internet Stranger Danger PSA logic.

#personal #erika's blog and bar

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sarifinasnightmare · 6 months

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20 Questions for Fic Writers

Okay @palettesofrenaissance you asked for the details so here they are!

1. How many works do you have on ao3? 53

2. What's your total ao3 word count? 805,111 (Aiming for a million)

3. What fandoms do you write for? I started with Star Wars, TMNT and now Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

4. Top five fics by kudos:

Okay, That's Not Suppose to be There 396 Kudos

Heaven Created You for Love 254 Kudos

Loved In The Flicker Of A Song 225 Kudos

A Soldier and A Maiden Cross Paths One Night.... 224 Kudos

But The Memory Remains 205 Kudos

5. Do you respond to comments? Yes, whenever I can.

6. What is the fic your wrote with the angstiest ending? Filial Piety It dealt with adults Cass and AJ burying their stepdad Bucky who lingered too long after the people he loved passed away. I would call it a bittersweet ending.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? All my stories have happy endings. I think Heaven Created You for Love has the best ending since I dragged my leads through years of angst, so I think they deserved their happy ending more.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Occasionally a critique comes out but I'm too middle aged to care so I just thank them for their opinion, politely disagree and move on.

9. Do you write smut? LOL!!!!! I ought to be embarrassed about the amount of smut I write. Sometimes I think I do too much but then I remember something Zoe Saldana mentioned which was that sex should be celebrated and enjoyed, not repressed and shamed, and I agree. People have a right to enjoy smut.

10. Craziest crossover: None

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? No, I had someone try to write an alternate to one of my stories but it's never been completed. Shame.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, but I'm up for the challenge.

14. All time favorite ship? Goliath/Eliza Maza, Spock/Uhura, Leonardo/Karai (2012), Bucky Barnes/Sarah Wilson

15. What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I don't post unless I have it nearly done. I have a WIP in process, but I'm actively writing it. Many readers know that I am a reliable writer. I didn't use to be though, I had a TMNT story that had a 6 year gap before I finished it!

16. What are your writing strengths? I have no idea. People like my stuff for different reasons, so I can't think of one amazing skill I can boast about.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Tenses, I always try to work on those. Writing half asleep is also a weakness.

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language? Not sure what this question means, but I've written dialogue in another language and often I offer no translations mostly because I want my readers to use context clues to figure it out.

19. First fandom you wrote in? Star Wars. Qui-Gon Jinn was my first great love.

20. Favorite fic you've written? I can't choose amongst my works. Every one has a part that I enjoyed writing out.

#tagged

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ithinkthiswasabadidea · 2 years

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okay I definitely recognise some of these fandoms-- glad to see we both had a Supernatural phase

for the WIP game:

Stucky Shakespeare au

All I See Is What I Should Be (Jealousy, Jealousy)

Feeding The Fire - Craving The Storm In You

and the one you really wanna talk about, but nobody has asked for it yet

my supernatural phase (affectionate?) was what got me into writing fanfic so I can't rag on it too hard 😄

the WIP list is here if anyone else would like to ask or play!

so;

Stucky Shakespeare au - from way back in 2015 (when I was still a fan of Steve/Bucky), it had the prompt "I found you perched on the railing of my fire escape at 1am reading Shakespeare out loud, and I have no idea how you got up here, what are you doing?" wherein Steve was reciting Shakespeare works, Bucky heard him and started falling in love with the sound of his voice and the way his cadence of the iambic pentameter matched the beat of his heart. silly, pretty little fic idea that the English nerd in younger me really liked :)

All I See Is What I Should Be (Jealousy, Jealousy) - aka. I am not immune to using song lyrics as a title, and I am even less immune to that month in 2022 when Steve/Eddie from Stranger Things was on seemingly everyone's mind. I've never watched ST, I just fell into the rabbit hole of tiktok Steddie edits 🙃

this one was meant to be about Steve and Eddie at a music gig/festival together when a random musician guy starts flirting with Eddie. Eddie and the guy then go to his hotel room, and Steve follows them back bc he's worried about Eddie's safety (and jealous), he and Eddie have rooms next to each other, and so he hears some fun stuff begin. Soon it becomes apparent that Eddie doesn't actually want to continue with the guy so the guy leaves in anger, Steve barges into the room next door because he thinks the guy hurt Eddie, and instead spends the night comforting Eddie and figuring out he had no reason to be jealous because the feelings are all mutual. ....honestly this was kind of a fever dream now that I'm looking back at the notes from this wip

Feeding The Fire - Craving The Storm In You - aka. I am not immune to song lyrics part 2. oh boy, this one. this is the second part of my Zukka fic, and I started it directly after I finished the first part of, last year, and then lost steam for it. the first part followed a tiny, brief tryst that Zuko and Sokka had when they were young men before Sokka left the Fire Nation to help lead his people, wherein both men clearly had some feelings that they never admitted to, and it ends on them saying goodbye without any closure on their feelings

Feeding The Fire has an eighteen year time jump, after Zuko got married, had a child, and got divorced. Sokka was volun-told to be the ambassador for an important event where he'd have to interact with Zuko again after many years. Danger crops up during the event, leading Sokka and Zuko to fight together again, Sokka especially stepping in to save Zuko's daughter, before the dangers are neutralised

Afterwards, while checking in on each other, the tension makes both of them aware that they really should've talked about what happened when they were younger. and so they do talk about it, get a little angry at each other, but ultimately forgive the other. The tension and adrenaline is still there, so they finish what they began all those years ago, this time giving themselves permission to explore their lingering feelings

this fic/series is a little heartbreaking if I'm honest, and Feeding The Fire was meant to fix that, but it was a spur of the moment idea and now it's hard to grasp back onto it. one day (hopefully) I'll finish it

now, one I really want to talk about:

When In Paradise - a second part that I wanted to write for one of my Call of Duty fics. This one was meant to see Alejandro and Rudy take a well deserved vacation, relax and be at peace together for a while. It's special because I loved the first fic I wrote so much, I love these characters and what I gave them in the first part

It's also meant to include a heart-warming conversation where Rudy, out and proud for decades, encourages his newly out friend about being queer, reassuring him that he's safe to let himself feel what he feels, and to have trust in the people he surrounds himself with. That conversation was meant to be a little catharsis for myself honestly 😌 I'd very much like to finish this fic, and I hope the inspiration comes to me for it

um so yeah this was way longer than I expected but thank you of course for asking!! it was really nice to think about both my old and newer works again 😊❤

#my writing #writing #fanfic #fanfiction #starsharks #wip game #asks

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freedfromthegalactichivemind · 2 years

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Pondering my existence in this fandom...

I am not sure how much longer I am going to be here. Personal musings under the cut.

Okay, ramble-time. I am still engaging as far as reblogging some art I like and reading Sweary She-Ra, which is a nice distraction. I have not felt at all like engaging with fan theories or fanfiction ideas or any goofy fun stuff for the last several days for reasons that should be obvious to people who regularly follow this blog. I am grieving the loss of someone very close to me and haven’t felt much like doing anything. I’m also in the “herding cats” mode of family and friend interaction in regards to figuring out what to do with my loved one’s things and the whens and hows of a memorial service. A weird way in which it might tenuously link back to fandom here is that it seems like we all agree to do something that is eerily similar to how I wrote clone-funerals in my original Horde-clones series. There are definitely differences, I had clones see each other’s bodies as important to say goodbye to and we are planning to say goodbye to ashes. However, a lot of what we are planning is more celebratory rather than grim, recognizing all of the little things that made my nephew up as a person, an individual, especially the goofy and the geeky and not a damn priest or preacher in sight (not needed, not welcome). There is just a little bit of spookiness here in that I wrote that stuff 1-2 years ago and it makes me wonder if something in the spiritual realm (if there is one) was preparing me for something that I did not foresee. I just wrote those stories after a thought of “what would happen with clones on Etheria post-canon in terms of remembering their fellows who lived and died without names and freedom” and they wound up being this whole entire thing in which I was contemplating my thoughts on death and it came... completely out of the blue. These stories were not prompted by losing someone and having to deal with it. They came before it and were like some kind of preparatory course. And it’s some very off-canon fanfiction for a dumb cartoon. I’ve found myself fading just a little for this fandom, even before this event. I had lost most of my “friends” in it and was lingering on (making the new blog here) in part out of a sense of spite. A “No, you don’t get to kick me out.” I’ve had an awkward relationship with it, feeling like I just can’t review fanfic and art by a number of people (not just people who’ve blocked me) but over on Ao3 and such because “Okay, is this person I only ever kind of sort of knew, barely knew or even is new to the fandom going to enjoy a compliment from me, or are they going to be one of those people who erase all of my reviews?” There are people in this fandom whom I didn’t even know / new to the fandom who didn’t see me have a meltdown who have treated me thusly - blocks review-deletion because, apparently people have talked about me, spread rumors and some people just don’t judge people for themselves. This has left me over the past year feeling very awkward, even afraid to engage with new people in this fandom and with old hands who weren’t involved with the people I was fighting with with the “Am I bothering people?” idea, a feeling of being gatekept. I know for a fact that the person who runs the Entrapdak fandom-events has blocked this blog (although only barely knew her), which means to see event-calendars, I’ve had to rely on reblogs by the fandom at large or my non-fandom viewer blog. And, oh, yes, I’ve done Entrapdak-work, using the calendars out of spite. Like “You might try to gatekeep me, I’m here, anyway.” However, I have felt some of this spite fading. I didn’t want to do the Entrapdak-Month (full month) this year because I’d felt a little tired for big fandom-events after doing a Legend of Zelda work prompt month and doing some of the mini-Entrapdak things. I felt like just writing what I want at my own pace and didn’t see any prompts in the collection that struck me with much inspiration. If I had been planning on participating, I definitely would have dropped it, because of the tragedy in my life. As it is, the one little fanfic I was working on is on hiatus indefinitely and I might take it down. (Not that it has more than one or two readers who don’t review, as it’s a Horde-clone centric fic without Hordak and Horde Prime is only mentioned). Also, it’s a general fic, lacking any hot Horde Prime x clones or clone on clone action (I’ve always felt a little weird in the clone-fandom for definitely not being into that). What is more is that I am feeling ashamed right now for having too much of my life taken over by this fandom. I got in touch with an old friend. I hadn’t talked with her in a while because I thought she was too busy for me. It turns out that she had avoided me because she’d thought that I’d abandoned her for this fandom. We misunderstood each other. I got hyperfixated on She-Ra and she was not interested in it at all and I got too into my “She-Ra friends” (most of whom turned out to not be friends at all in the end) and had neglected my friendship with her. I, in turn, had thought she had gotten too busy with her work and family-life. I told her about my nephew because she had known him - not too well, but she’d met him. (She reminded me that, yeah, we’d all played Cards Against Humanity together - good God, my memory’s a bunch of Swiss cheese). We got to talking - I wanted to reconnect. Matt was basically my best friend, a constant in my life and we’d had our insular little family and I really need to rekindle with friends / this has made me realize that I need more real friends in my life. This friend and I used to be close before getting busy and my stupid hyperfixation drifted us apart. She was actually mad at me. I basically did the Entrapta “Are you mad at me?” type of speaking. (And informed her of my autism diagnosis, which i think is pretty much why I don’t read between the lines well at all and didn’t realize that she was actively avoiding me). This was a whole mess, but... we are talking again. It’s horrible that it’s a death that got us back to talking, but I do want to do the things I used to do with her, like our silly Legend of Zelda / Fire Emblem Awakening roleplays, and maybe if we mutually play Kid Icarus again (fandom where we’d met) we can have something again. Or she might realize she’s mad at me again. I do not know. As it is, I feel embarrassed that I’d let this fandom do this to us. I was a bad friend to someone who was an actual, real friend who cared about me for the sake of a bunch of fake friends here, my silly shipping-interest in something she just didn’t vibe with. Ultimately, my “friends” here scolded me when I was having clear mental health issues (and no, I am not claiming uwu victim blamelessness here, I was an asshole to some people on the Discords, but people whom I thought I was actual friends with who could clearly see I was in danger are what I’m talking about here)... And, well, I got accused of plagiarism over a mistake, continuing accusations of that after I thought the misunderstanding had been cleared up and I’d done what I was supposed to do to resolve the situation in regards to eliminating joint-fanwork, and ultimately someone infulential in the fandom doing a callout post on tumblr calling upon the entire Entrapdak fandom to not talk to me, telling everyone that I was just a manipulative bitch and insinuating that my very clear and public suicidal ideation was being faked. In other words, my “friends” in this fandom drove me to a stay in a psychiatric hospital which... was actually more traumatizing to me than the events I am describing here. Meanwhile, my late nephew was the one who contacted people to SAVE MY LIFE and my friend whom I was drifting away from because of the stupid fandom found out about what happened and was concerned for me and asked about me, even though she hadn’t talked to me in a while at that point. I regret not being a better friend to her. Reconciling might actually mean me giving up this fandom. (No, she has nothing in particular against it, it’s just... it being a thing that sucked me away from her). I probably will still participate some, because I like the show, the themes and the characters, but I’m realizing now that a lot of my new friends in this fandom are kind of arm’s-length friends still. I’m not in any core friend-group and I really don’t know any of you all that well. Certain former “friends” are absolute shit and Fuck You. (You won’t see this, you’ve blocked me). Some of my fandom-participation is just habit, or even a bit of spite, which is fading. I know who my true friends are. I have just lost one due to his health problems, which I had no control over. I lost another one due to entirely my own fault and I’m trying to get her back. I expect to become less and less interested in this fandom that has been incredibly painful for me as time goes on. Thank you / apologies for listening to my ramble if you clicked on it.

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ewaudreyhorne · 2 years

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(this is a repost, due to a few messages i’ve had requesting this list be all in one post on tumblr and not split, so here you go - here’s a link to the wordpress and the original tumblr posts)

So, I’ve been thinking a while about Ted x Rebecca. Duh. However, to be specific, I’ve been thinking more about the likelihood that they’re endgame (is that a term we even use anymore? am I showing my age?). I’ve been in many fandoms, years of different ships have sailed by… I’ve done this game so many times - I’ve been properly burnt, many gays have been buried, many women have ‘ended up alone’ because they’re ‘strong and independent’ and romance and a healthy loving relationship would ‘ruin that’ (am willing to give the many examples if you want).

I wanted to be pragmatic – because when I watched this show, I binged season 1 and 2 and I didn’t jump into any fandom nonsense until after and when I was watching – it seemed so obvious that they were going down the route of Ted x Rebecca that… I was properly shocked to see there’s quite a divide in the fandom (a lovely toxic split). I just didn’t…expect it? So, yeah, I wanted to create a combination of information that looks at… I guess almost everything? (I am, because of the person I am, going to focus on the fact that the intention is there – because I genuinely believe it is – whether the follow-through will happen…)

Anyway, welcome to:

Will Ted and Rebecca be endgame? (the listicle from Hell)

0. proof

I can’t take credit for this at all but just as I was putting parts 1 and 2 together into a post, I came across this post and it basically does an amazing job of collecting interview quotes, images to back up the quotes, just some really good stuff to dig your teeth into - honestly, read that and you probably wouldn’t even want to read the list below.

1. duck and avoid

I have never met a bunch that will seemingly jump and hide behind a tree to avoid answering any tedbecca questions, but the writers (here’s looking at you jsuds et al.) are masters of the:

This could be disheartening but considering part 2 of this list… it’s very telling. It’s actually a safety thing, too, ‘cause they don’t have to promise the fans a. thing. If they avoid talking about it, hinting about it then they don’t have to follow through on anything. It protects the interest of the show – it’s not stupid… However, the second reason (my preferred, optimistic and what I hope is more likely) they won’t give anything away this way. The payoff will be so. much. better. If we’re getting moments like we’ve had already had in season 1 and 2, that is fine. It’ll work. So, there’s been no lingering touches, almost kisses, being (overtly) jealous over love interests, no friends exclaiming (yet) ‘oh my god, you like [Ted/Rebecca]’… what we’ve had is quite weighty topics and connections between the two. What I will say about the subtle parts of their relationship and why it works… chemistry, honey. These two have the chemistry to pull. it. off.

It’s interesting, because the argument I see mostly against them as a couple is usually… that they make good friends. Which is absolutely true. They make amazing friends. The best. And as we all know, no good friends can ever get together. In fact, it is very important that all romantic relationships are based on couples not really being friends at all.

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There’s actually a really great meta post on here which I recommend everyone also read - that kinda sums up the vibe of Ted x Rebecca perfectly, too

[sidenote: I also want to mention, whilst we may not have had traditional will they/won’t they tropes - we’ve had massive gestures: most of the gala episode, the darts scene, helping with panic attacks (noticing them when nobody else does - twice), the biscuits, using the team to spell out ‘hi boss’ for absolutely no reason other than to make her smile, using tinsel to spell ‘hi ted’ for absolutely no reason other than to make him smile, singing at her father's funeral... ugh]

2. fake outs bastard fake outs

Okay, so, I know I mentioned above about like there’s been no ‘lingering touches’ or ‘almost kisses’ and any of the usual ‘oop’ tropes that typically we associate with will they/won’t they (cough het-)couples (I've mentioned some of the gestures they do do). This, the fake-outs… this is more of like a flip it and reverse it (shout out to Missy E) and more of a ‘wait, is it?’ Like I mentioned in the first point, this is like the part 2 to their not mentioning it in interviews etc. It’s another really smart way of holding their hands up and saying, ‘but we didn’t do anything’. It adds to the fact that later, once it’s canon, they can be like ‘did you enjoy these little hints and jokes and omg can you believe we made it like Rebecca was the one actually going to Ted’s room?!?!?’ but if they don’t make it canon – well, hot damn, it was Sassy at the door and Sam on the app and it’s not our fault we saw differently.

Look, the thing is… the bait and switch is sadly a thing (general queerbaiting for the last few decades, or the fact that I’ve not watched an episode of SVU in my life and even I want Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler to fuck and get married, jfc). Teasing the audiences is cute for the writers, it keeps them thirsty and well, come on, what’s more powerful than making people think/want something that “isn’t there”. Gaslight your audiences. Hot.

3. parallels, honey

The parallels and connections between the two is 100% in favour of tedbecca. PERIODTTTTT. It goes beyond ‘these two are both divorced’. We’re talking about two middle-aged people, their journeys are connected, and they meet at a pivotal point in both their lives - one has a rough marriage/divorce, the other has that sad soft divorce which is just as heart-breaking because:

They are soulmates. Sorry about it. Jason and Hannah have both mentioned it. I’m not trying to be cute or blurt out a huge ‘they’re made for each other’ statement. Their souls… are connected. On purpose. Their grief follows a similar path. On the exact same goddamn day, to the year, something happens to these two people 4 thousand miles apart that links them. An event that changed and shaped who they became, the choices they made from that point on (especially in regards to the relationships they have). The fact that this moment links them and they aren’t even aware of it – firstly, A* storytelling and secondly that’s all for us. There’s a chance that organically that conversation will never come up between them on screen – it took both Rebecca and Ted decades to talk about it after years of trauma – (these were two breakthrough moments: Ted coming to understand his trauma and Rebecca coming to realise that she has trauma, but heck… that’s a season 3 problem) – anyway, the fact that they may never (at least on screen) talk about this is even more important, because we (the audience) were shown this not just to further our understanding of the characters but mostly to give us another example as to why they're connected.

Ted signs his divorce papers on the same day that would’ve been Rebecca’s wedding anniversary. Ted and Rebecca have their first rebound sex post-divorce on the same night. Season 1 and 2 mirroring “truth”-scenes. Rebecca not being ‘enough’ for Rupert, Ted being ‘too much’ for Michelle. There are even parallels between their relationship and the relationship between Roy and Keeley (this tweet thread will explain it better than I can). We could even go into colour-matching clothes in scenes (or complementary colours) but… look… it’s there.

4. fan service

The year is 2019, the pandemic? Not even a thought in our innocent minds. There stood Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth, fucking (off camera, cowards) for half an episode and for what? Fuck all, that’s what. To give the fans something because at least they got something. I won’t get into it, not right now, it’s still raw - fan service, though. That’s what that was. Not that I’m saying it didn’t make sense for them to get together - but doing it for the impact of him leaving?

Look, it’s lazy storytelling. Supernatural fans know it. Game of Thrones fans know it (from fan service to... fan disservice, am I right?) So, what has this got to with Ted and Rebecca? I’ll be delving into a certain hard topic further on but... fan service could definitely be something that comes into play with these two.

There’s three that could happen and they all revolve around Ted leaving (ew, I know, we’ll talk about it later). We get the ‘declaration’ - ‘I love you’ before Ted gets on the plane. The kiss - probably just before he leaves (or near enough) or the worst one... the ‘you could come with me’ speech. The ‘throw caution to the wind but I actually know that’s not what you can do because you’ve created something wonderful here and I can’t actually expect you to give it up for me howeverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr’ speech. The opposite of this is the ‘you could stay’ conversation, which is always heart breaking, for the exact same reason. Unfortunately, one or all of these could play out. We could get a kiss in an earlier episode, a discussion later on when Ted doesn’t renew his contract and he ‘jokingly’ says ‘what if you came with me to Kansas?’ when she asks ‘what about... us?’ and then... the ‘I love you’ before he leaves, probably with a sweet little ‘I don’t know, Boss, maybe we’ll meet again’ and, I don’t know, bloody Vera Lynn plays in the background.

It’s... a possibility. All of these will feed wonderfully into many years of fanfiction from a broken hearted bunch of humans that just wanted to see a nice healthy relationship play out.

(Also, and it’s so goddamn stupid I know but I do believe the fact Roy/Keeley have this healthy relationship in the show could be used as an excuse to have a little heartbreak where Ted and Rebecca are concerned - like ‘look, we gave you one, what you thought everyone was getting a happy ending? LOL')

(Oh, also also - as this show has been linked to rom-coms and Nora Ephron time and time again - it could very well be that they do get together but all we get is the romantic ‘kiss’ at the end. The ‘I wanted it to be you’ moment - not the best but...)

5. no chemistry: they’re just friends

Okay, so I mentioned earlier about how people think they work better as friends. Ironically, these are the same people that also tend to claim that Jason/Hannah have no on screen chemistry. I guess I’m going to have to do an impromptu science lesson - that’s no how it works, gang. When people do a chemistry test together it’s not a bloody casting couch situation - they don’t just walk into a room and fuck. It’s all about whether or not the chemistry is there to pull off authentic scenes. This goes from anger, friendship, love, hate... so, uh, you actually cannot claim that they have no chemistry and say that they work better as friends. You can’t.

I see a lot of comparisons to Ron/Leslie (parks and rec) and Jack/Liz (30 rock). I know this is going to be painful to hear, guys but they also... had chemistry (and by chemistry I do mean, enough that the question of them getting together was something the writers/actors of both shows were asked if it was going to go that way). Now, I get it... Amy and Tina are both SNL alumni, it may be safe to argue that Jason wanted to create a show that had a similar sorta set-up, right? Yeah, sure, fine... A big difference is how the shows approach talking about these couples, the fact that the writers tend to avoid talking about Ted and Rebecca whereas in 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation any notion of romance between Ron/Leslie and Jack/Liz were. shot. down. and that in itself (see the first point) is very telling.

SEXISM. That got your attention? I wasn’t sure where to put this so I added it on. I’m just going further from an earlier point...

So, sexism is actually an issue I think people have with tedbecca - not the sexism between them... but the type of man Ted is vs. the type of woman Rebecca is. I’ve seen comments about Rebecca being too much of a woman for Ted, one comment mentioned her being too ‘spicy’ for Ted. Now, I don’t know about you, but there’s something about Ted that screams that he has never had an issue with how much of a woman any woman is (or how much of anyone... anyone is). He’s very in touch with his masculinity, femininity and his own ignorance (always willing to learn) - this is where the sexism comes in... people want either someone unthreatening to Rebecca (i.e. someone that’s not a main character, maybe a bit boring) or someone who will dominate Rebecca (i.e. someone... like... oh, idk, her ex husband). I’m going to talk about Ted’s relationship with Sassy later (and I’ll talk about the character later, too) ‘cause I know people will be like ‘but she’s a whole lotta woman and I want Ted and her to get together xoxo’.

In this sense, the sexism works as a tool to make Ted not “man” enough for someone like Rebecca and Rebecca “too” much woman for someone like Ted (do not get me wrong, we’re not saying Ted isn’t a strong male character here, but he’s just not the right type of strong male character). Funny, in this case (unlike with their on-screen exes) Rebecca is too much and Ted is not enough...

6. season 2

Season 2 as whole is very… it needs to be looked at. Ted and Rebecca don’t have as many moments together (at least arguably not alone). This could also be disheartening. After all, we’re watching a show so, we do need to be shown things (most of the time). However, like life, a good show can happen off camera. I’m going to focus for a moment on Nate’s storyline. Nick Mohammed posted an amazing tweet, where he goes through all the important (and intentional) decisions that were put in place for his character’s storyline. (in fact, that tweet alone should be enough to remind you that nothing is left to chance with the writers). There is one part of the tweet that stood out:

The divide and separation between Nate and Ted is very well thought out. It’s a part of his ‘demise’. Arguably, the same can be said for Rebecca and Ted. They both have different journeys that they go on through season 2 and, unfortunately, that keeps them on different paths. However, like I mentioned in point 3 – the show works to keep them connected, too. It’s intentional. Hannah Waddingham mentions it in an interview that she is aware that Ted and Rebecca didn’t have much screen time in season 2 – there is a big difference between how Rebecca and Nate perceive the distance with Ted, though. Nate feels betrayal but Rebecca se… wait, I’ll get there. Anyway, when Ted has his panic attack, Rebecca notices. Not only does she notice but her first thought is that she must get to him.

She leaves Ted a voicemail. Also, oh my God, okay, so I’m backtracking a little again, ‘cause as will they/won’t they go – missed/ignored voicemails is a good one (any fans of the newsroom in the house? you know what I’m talking about). Anyway, in the voicemail to Ted she both offers her concern and help and even asks for his aid in return. It’s safe to say, because as this whole point is about, this show is amazing at show don’t tell – that he didn’t respond to that message. In the next episode, we get this little exchange between the two. You know the one. The boot room moment. I’ll go through it, anyway. She enters the boot room, spots Keeley smoking, and joins her - Ted, off to the side, looks at her from the moment she enters, until she walks past him without sparing him a glance (ha haha ha, ouch, I’ll gif it below). Anyway, in that scene you can see how she keeps her eyes trained on Keeley, even as she sits, she’s in a position where her back is turned towards Ted (heck, even when she explains that the boot room is where they go to smoke, she’s directing what she’s saying to Higgins – a man who’s there with a smoking pipe… so already well aware of that – she only looks at Ted when he makes that ‘oh, really?’ disapproving Dad ‘hmm’ sound to that, and the cherry on top, he’s actually looking at Keeley not her in that moment).

It's one of those moments where you could easily miss it – because Rebecca’s not there being mean or cruel as she ignores Ted. Rebecca is absolutely in her right to be a little hurt by Ted’s avoidance – just like Ted was in his right not to… respond. He’s unwrapping a lot, it’s not something he’s able to work out yet it’s hardly something he can throw towards another person (he’s literally just starting therapy). Rebecca is protecting herself here (and because she understands Ted – she’s also not going to actively guilt him - plus in the conversation she makes a point to tell Keeley that she should open up and tell Roy about her issues with him and Ted actively argues against that - that it’s better to bottle things up, which she gives a knowing smile about... like I said, she understands Ted). You could even argue, that when Keeley leaves the room with Roy – as she’s left behind with Ted (and the others), there could be a moment before she or Ted leaves when she casually asks him if he’s okay (that’s very… Rebecca). Like Hannah said in the interview linked above “is [ted and Rebecca] have scenes where you don’t necessarily see them together, but you do see- the audience sees them together.”

Rebecca won’t hold it against him. That’s what I mean when I say the difference between Nate and Rebecca – she actively tried to help Ted and was, in fact, rejected – Nate didn’t even notice he was going through something (because Nate himself was going through a lot of internal dialogue where he was filling the gaps with negative shit because of his own damage – he was being left behind by Ted and because of his own relationship with his father, his (likely years) of bullying from football players that disrespected him… look, we’ll take a day to decode that speech he gives Ted in the last episode another day). Basically, Rebecca understands Ted. She gets him (soulmates, remember?). He’s so goddamn late to her father’s funeral, he walks in during her eulogy – just his presence is enough to get her started. Then he helps her get through it, too, ‘cause as Hannah says: ‘’It has to be Ted. It has to be Ted, even if he hasn't been there for the rest of the day, even if they haven't seen each other much on screen together at that point. It has to be Ted that picks her up and runs with it.” – and she takes the time afterwards to check in with him afterwards. Her Dad is dead, and she knows something isn’t right with him. She sees him.

I’ve got a section devoted to Sam later, but for now – it’s important that she goes to Ted when she admits she’s a little compromised when it comes to Sam’s future. Firstly, it’s holding herself accountable to what could be considered a mistake. As we also learned from Ted in this season – he won’t get involved in telling a friend when they’re in a relationship that is bad for them – so he just agrees with everything that she says about her relationship with Sam and when she asks for his advice, he’s earnest – because he sees her, too – and knows she’ll make the right choice… but it is her choice, in the end (and what is Ted if not someone who respects a woman’s right to choose - unlike certain men who like to make the choices for them).

7. the henry of it all: hello kansas

The elephant in the room. The enormous, adorable little, tiny elephant. Henry bloody Lasso. I’m not going to beat around the bush here. You want to know the biggest block in any Ted Lasso (person not show) ship? It’s that guy. He’s your problem. Well, more…where he is.

I’m going to take you on a brief (relevant and somewhat self-indulgent) interlude for a moment. Ashes to Ashes, sequel to Life on Mars, aired over a decade ago. Main character, Alex Drake (played by the wonderful Keeley Hawes), had a daughter, Molly. I’m not going to explain the plot of the show (or LoM) to you, but she ends up in the 1980s as a police officer and she has the goal to return home in the 2000s… to her daughter. This is where the Henry/Molly similarities lie. Both Henry and Molly represent, for the parents, an unavoidable fact: someone they love is in another place and they must return to them. For this reason, Alex Drake, despite the disgusting chemistry, fights any notion of romance with Gene Hunt because of that. She cannot, of course, allow herself to be emotionally compromised by doing something like… falling in love. [sidenote: This case is quite an extreme one, because basically… for her to stay in the 1980s… she’d have to be dead in the 2000s, leaving her daughter basically an orphan (deadbeat dad alert, heyyyyy) and wanting that for her, just so she could bang Gene Hunt was selfish (lol, we all wanted it, anyway). The reason it’s an extreme case – spoiler alert if you want to want and you haven’t – is she ended up dead anyway, not getting to be with her daughter, but also forced to ‘move on’ and not end up with Gene, either. I didn’t have to mention that, but it makes me angry over a decade later I just wanted to] The important part there was… Molly. She was a problem.

Molly, meet Henry. Of course, romance aside, Henry exists, like I said, to remind us that (along with all Ted’s other quirks, God bless him) that he is not from here. An important part of Ted is over 4k miles away. Ted’s kinda later in life bildungsroman journey – is all about coming to terms with his father and abandonment (even his platonic and romantic relationships and how he is with them, as mentioned in another point, is all down to his relationship with his dad’s life, death and everything that came afterwards). A very important scene happens in episode 6 of season 2. No, not the panic attack (although that is a very important scene) – no but it is a scene that links directly to his panic attack. It’s all about Henry and lunch.

It sucks but, in this moment, Ted is an absent father. Not emotionally, don’t get me wrong, but he is someone who cannot fulfil his role as father to his son (right then). Like his father couldn’t. There’s a lot of layers here because, for one, Ted is a very loving and devoted father. He loves his son, every choice he made coming to England was for his family… full circle would be going back to Kansas to his family (I’m talking just Henry here, do not even get me started on Michelle/Ted getting back together – but I will, and it’s in another point below). Ted’s journey, the three act play aspect of the show (which could still be the case or maybe not ??? will anyone ever give as a straight answer ??), it feels like if we look at it optimistically – everyone will come out of it a better version of themselves from having known Ted (and similarly, he’ll be a better version of himself having known them)… so he’ll go back to Kansas and yeah…

Okay, so there’s the argument that Ted will realise that he doesn’t have to be present to be… present. He is a good father. Henry isn’t suffering at all from the distance (except missing his Dad) and when he’s older, he can travel between the two – because what’s cooler than your Dad being absolutely loaded and living in London when you’re in school? I could talk about it more, but this one is firmly, I’d say, leaning more towards endgame for Ted is barbeque sauce and building Legos with his son.

However, that doesn’t mean in regards to Rebecca and Ted’s potential relationship there isn’t another option. Rebecca is... disgustingly rich. She comes from money, married money - got at least a premier league football club from that marriage (and probably the money she brought in)... like this woman has a yacht, private jet and a personal driver for her Rolls-Royce (but when she’s feeling a little down to earth, she’ll jump in her range rover and river herself around). She is LOADED. It is safe to say that, she could afford to take a step back from her active role as owner of the football club and move? I mean, considering Higgins knows the ins and outs and take from example Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds owning Wrexham AFC (and both living and working in America)... it's not beyond the realm of possibility that she shifts gears. Not completely giving the club up of course (lest it feed into the 'picking a guy over your career' narrative - talking about you, Rachel Green).

8. sassy, sam and everyone between

They’re not important. Bye. The end.

8.1 sassy smurf xoxo

No, okay. Sassy. I’m not going to get into (much) of a character dissection. I think, I believe she is one of the weakest characters in the show. Not a thing I like to say about characters in Ted Lasso ‘cause the show is amazing with even the smallest characters. But Sassy? She’s like a rebellious Mary Sue. A ‘Mary Sue’ (just saying in case ppl don’t know) is basically a fictional character that is so perfect, she’s boring. So, by rebellious Mary Sue – what I mean is like, she’s got no layers, but we’re meant to be like ‘wow, look how fucking badass she is’. So yeah, by gosh, isn’t she fun? Isn’t she basically meant to show us what Rebecca could’ve been like? She’s an independent, supposedly amazing child psychologist that swears like a sailor but is also extremely pretty and confident and sexual and bold and... snooze (see what I mean, Mary Sue). In arguably one of my least favourite moments, she lets Keeley (and the audience) know that the ‘real Rebecca’ isn’t what we’ve all grown to know. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s fine to imply someone who you’ve not seen in 6 years has changed (time, life and abusive relationships will do that) but the implication here is that she’s less. Fake. That doesn’t sit right with me. For an incredibly smart woman, seems to be a… well a bit of a shit friend…

Just in reference to Rebecca’s father’s funeral – Sassy is the only one that knew about what happened with Rebecca and her father and she’s about as supportive as a broken bra. That’s why she’s not important, imo. She’s not there for Rebecca. She’s there for Ted. 2/3 episodes she is in, is for Ted. She may be ‘Rebecca’s friend’. Someone who, technically, is the same ‘level’ as Rebecca but ‘undamaged’. Also divorced (just like Ted and Rebecca), also has a kid (unlike Rebecca but very much like Ted) and super interesting - she will willingly go and fuck a basic stranger with 0 invitation for… like… look, if we investigate it too much, it’s actually creepy (I still, to this day, cannot work out how she got Ted, the character we know, to fuck her – not because he’s not a sexual being, but imagining that conversation? It’s impossible).

Anywaaaaay, in a similar argument, the fuck happened at the funeral? She’s basically feral trying to get to Ted and it’s all about the sex (which, right, good on you jsuds, make you everyone knows your character has a big dick and knows how to use it – I appreciate it). Where does Nora go when she goes off with Ted? I know the assumption is that she goes and has a quick romp (what, in his flat? where it was in such a state? because he is – again – mentally very fragile?) – but I like the theory that they chatted… maybe she actually does have a degree in psychology (specialising in children but still) and puts it to some actual goddamn use? Maybe she spotted something in that moment where Ted helped Rebecca in her father’s funeral and asked him to look out for her? Maybe there is more to this character than… nothing…

Also, ew, look, finding someone attractive because you like damaged things is in no way a ringing endorsement for a long-term relationship. Bye.

[sidenote: Nora ‘No Last Name’ - when I say Sassy is here for Ted, I mean it... her character even lacks a motherly attitude (gives off more ‘cool aunt’ vibes), Rebecca has that episode with Nora - where they re-bond after the time apart - and we get to see her in the role of motherly figure... but Sassy...??? it’s because, like I said, no layers... she can’t be too ‘motherly’ because then she’s not that cool, badass, confident, sexual being that forgives her friend after six years of silence because she’s just so good (i hope you realise that’s the implication there - rebecca: bad guy for cutting sassy out. sassy: good guy for coming to her rescue after she was divorced -- all knowledge, talk, discussion about the abuse she faced because of her husband is pushed aside, because... sassy is just... so cool, you know?)]

8.2 sweet sam

Look, I adore Sam. I love everything he stands for (very literally) and his enthusiasm and admiration for life. I really, truly think he is a wonderful character. I’m not going to get into him at all, really (okay, I will a little). He’s lovely, I wish him great storylines and lots more scenes in season 3. Just, uh… you know… maybe not screwing around with his boss.

Okay, first, Sam being outside Rebecca’s house at the end of episode 8? Before she texts him? If the situation was different, that could’ve been creepy… No shade, obviously, it’s played as romantic because it worked out perfectly but... when Rebecca said to Sam it could never happen again (after kissing him) and the way she says ‘I have to mean it’, she is pleading with him to respect her, respect her wishes because she doesn’t know if she can be strong enough to do so alone… him being there, waiting outside, not taking no for an answer... that doesn’t sound respectful... don’t get me wrong, her texting him is her flinging herself into a situation she knows she shouldn’t get into. It’s messy on both parts (and I mean... I assume intentionally).

Whilst we can call Sam a man, he is the very definition of a young man, his optimistic nature is both lovely and incredibly naïve. He’s got so much growing to do (although, I will say, I feel it’s slightly out of character for Sam to not respect Rebecca’s wishes, you know? but whatever). I don’t want to make this post exclusively about the age difference but… it is, sadly, incredibly important. Like, the power imbalance here? The actual life altering damage their relationship could do… And, unfortunately (unsurprisingly) it would fall more on Rebecca than Sam (sexism and a dash of ageism, baby). Rebecca’s life would be ruined… and for what? Sam is in the beginning of his career, if they went public/were found out... he could swap teams because people respect him for his talent in football... rebecca? she could lose everything... also, his goal is to end up back home playing football for his team – is Rebecca, who could be around 50 at that point going to be travelling back with him? Does she want to leave? What about marriage? Does she even want to get married again? Does he want to get married at all? Would he want kids?

Finding someone attractive. Being loved by someone like Sam, for someone like Rebecca, must be amazing. He is… wonderful. He finds her wonderful, too. She deserves that love but… okay, as romantic as ‘love at first sight’ or ‘true love’ or ‘hot chemistry’ can be… sometimes love all boils down to choices. Think Alexis and Ted (eyyy) in Schitts Creek, two people who make a choice – despite being in love, their relationship cannot continue, not if they are to continue to grow as people (also, fyi: that scene… ma’am, I am not strong). Rebecca and Sam should make a choice... and thankfully, where they left it off, they could just line under the situation right there... we’ll see...

8.3 everyone else

Now, there are some people that uh, think perhaps Ted and Michelle would get back together. I... cannot comment. I didn’t think that would even cross people’s minds. Uh, look, I get it. It’s like he had to come to the UK, become a better person to be... what? Become a lesser version of himself so his ex-wife would not find him unbearable and get back with him? Hmm. Sounds great.

Don’t get me wrong, doesn’t that nuclear family image sound like just the perfect little Kansas life Ted always imagined he’d have? Sure. He did have it, though - and it didn’t work out... I don’t think therapy is going to make Ted change the fundamentals of who he is, just makes him understand why he is that way. So, the Michelle of it all - eh. Maybe she’ll come over and be like ‘omg, I want to try again’ and he’ll entertain the thought before realising that he is not in love with her any longer. (...maybe he’s in love with someone else, oh I don’t know... Sassy... hahaha kidding - always Rebecca).

I also read some fucker saying Rebecca anD RUPERT SHOULD GET BACK TOGETHER. Sir, that’s her abuser. No further discussion needed here.

We also have Dr Sharon and Ted. Okay. Right. Look. He was her patient - do not get me wrong, there’s many a true (and fictional) story where the lines have been blurred and patients have gone on to (usually when they’re no longer patients) get with their therapists, psychologists or whatever-ists. Completely legal and mildly morally grey. It’s about the power imbalance, like how I mentioned with Sam/Rebecca, Sharon has the most vulnerable knowledge of Ted’s past and also the tools in which to deal with that - it could be great, ‘hey, my gf was my psychologist and now she helps with my panic attacks’ but in reality... she will always have something over Ted. Not intentionally, but that power exists... it’s why even, sadly, them being friends is a tricky thing to navigate.

I’d be open to Trent and Ted, if that was on the table... I won’t lie to you... wanna know why? Chemistry, baby. They got it (not always intentional, see?)

Also, okay, I know someone’s going to be like ‘omg but Ted had sex with naughty Mary Sue, therefore Rebecca can’t be with him’ but like, guys, come on... there’s a whole scene in season 1 about not judging someone on their sexual histories...

Listen to Ted here:

Is that enough, do you think? I know this is incredibly bias and opinion based (I included references for a lot of it, though, okay... I’m bias but I’m also a fact checker). I tried for rational... eh, what can you do? Look... do I think the intention is there? Yes. Do I think there’s a very good chance it’ll happen? Yes. Do I also think it may not happen? Uh... I mentioned being bitten quite a few times, right? So, yeah... It genuinely may not happen... there’s a lot of factors here that could work against it, ugh... but it’s there. The most important thing is that. People who are shipping them aren’t pulling it out of their arses - if it seems like Ted and Rebecca getting together is ‘too obvious’ then I guess one day I’ll explain how storytelling works, too... anyway, if you got this far, god bless you

#ted lasso meta #ted lasso #tedbecca #ted x rebecca #rebecca welton #mine*#reposting this in one post all together because i've had a few messages about it #this is about 6k words btw #and will take about 20-40 minutes to read depending on your reading style #other than the new 0. point #this is all the same stuff in the other posts #my gifs #my edits #my meta #i guess #enjoy if you read

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idiopath-fic-smile · 2 years

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<3!

2. What fanfic do you wish you got more response on?

I want to preface this by saying that I am consistently blown away by the response my writing has gotten. There's a level on which the honest answer is "none" because I fully acknowledge that I am beyond lucky when it comes to how my stuff has been received.

That said, if I had to pick one fic, I'd say Impatient to Be Free is the story where the response that I have gotten feels especially, like, rare and precious. I think the reasons why it wasn't more popular are fairly straightforward—it was (tangentially) fic for a movie that had come out 8 years prior, the fandom had been pretty dormant for years and years, plus it reimagined the main characters as women and the sad truth is that f/f in general just doesn't get the kind of attention as m/m.

I think it's one of the best things I've written in a way—it's one of very few pieces that started with a solid thesis beyond "I want these two characters to smooch please", I did a ton of research, I think it covers some historical ground that you don't see discussed much and some issues that are still relevant today, plus I really worked hard on the period piece aspect. It might also hold a special place in my heart because I'd started writing it, put it aside for six years, and then finished it, which never happens for me. All of that aside, though, I always kinda knew it wasn't gonna be a blockbuster. I'm at peace about it, despite what this paragraphs-long answer might have you believe, haha.

4. Do you prefer writing multi-chapter or oneshot fanfictions?

I think all things being perfectly equal, I do like digging in my heels and lingering in a setting for multiple chapters. I really enjoy having the time to just hang out with the characters a bit, and include some low-stakes interactions that try to get to the rhythms of real life. Real life is not very efficiently plotted.

9. What’s your favorite line(s) or scene(s) that you have written?

Hmm, what a kind question. I think "...time is a slow, shitty bridge but it will eventually carry him somewhere else" (from World Ain't Ready) is something that's stuck with me because it is a lesson you have to learn in life, sometimes more than once, and I feel like that moment is very earned in the context of the story.

And then my favorite fic I've written is generally whichever one I've written most recently, so I'd say the diner scenes in We are Stardust, We are Golden, for the way it gestures at Steve both trying and not-trying to figure something out about himself.

#fanfic ask meme

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leiakenobi · 3 years

Text

Season Cycle

Fandom: Scenes From a Marriage (2021) Pairing: Jonathan/F!Reader Rating: Teen Word Count: 1.4k Summary: You meet Jonathan at the national conference the year after you give up on searching for a teaching gig. A/N: I actively avoid writing about characters and ships when I haven’t watched the thing, but that Scenes From a Marriage look is just getting to me and my academia-entrenched self. Since I didn’t have him on my taglist, I’m just tagging folks who signed up to get tagged in anything Oscar—absolutely let me know if you don’t want to be tagged in this character’s stuff in the future.

——

-1-

You meet Jonathan at the national conference the year after you give up on searching for a teaching gig.

It’s almost a relief to encounter a new face, exhausted as you are from all of the questions from the people who knew you before you became disillusioned by the whole thing. Questions about CVs and teaching demonstrations and how soon will you go on the market again, and it’s enough to make you scream.

(You do scream, a little bit. Into your pillow in the budget hotel room a fifteen-minute bus ride away from the conference hotel.)

And then he comes up to you after your paper, with a kind and thoughtful question about your research. Several questions, in fact, and only once does he start to make it about his own work but he shuts himself down fast. Instead, it is eager back-and-forth at the front of the room, until the next panel has to take over, and then it’s in the hallway until he asks, want to keep talking about this over dinner? and you find yourself saying yes.

That’s all there is to it, probably. Mostly. You do get around to discussion of his work, eventually, but in the dreaded moment when he finally name-drops his institution, he asks no questions about whether you have aspirations of finding your own permanent academic home.

In fact, there’s not really talk of any sort of permanence, of anything outside of the five-mile radius of the conference hotel.

It’s refreshing, to not feel as though you’re missing out on something integral. Or at least, it’s refreshing to not feel as though the person sitting opposite you in conversation believes you’re missing out on something integral.

Refreshing, too, when your meal is done and he asks you over the rim of his glass, “One more drink?”

His wedding ring is there, on full display, and there is a flash in your gut when you nearly refuse… But instead, again—yes.

You feel no shame about your real person job, or his hand at the small of your back as you leave the restaurant, and it’s damn refreshing.

-2-

You have no real reason to submit to conferences anymore, but you write another paper proposal anyway and tell yourself it has nothing to do with the lingering memory of his teeth on your neck, or the way he sighed into your mouth when he first pressed you into his mattress.

But then your paper gets accepted, and your independent scholar funding assistance from the conference comes through. You find yourself taking some of your precious vacation days to travel halfway across the country and at that point, it’s difficult to deny to yourself that you’re doing it in part to see a man.

A man who you didn’t even keep in touch with over those long, long months, so who’s to say he’d even care to see you?

The peculiar thing about conferences is how easy it is to run into the same person repeatedly, and how equally easy it is to miss someone all weekend—to go the whole damn trip without seeing a friend if you just happen to be in all the wrong places.

You don’t see him for two days and you tell yourself that you don’t feel foolish for hoping--

“I’m impressed.”

And then there he is, his voice soft and warm in your ear at the Columbia reception, which many folks have turned up for because of the offerings of tasty appetizers and decent wine.

You turn on your heel and smile playfully. “Impressed by what?”

“Paper session bright and early but you’re not back in your hotel room making last-minute changes?” Jonathan raises his eyebrows. “It’s brave.”

And your heart is pounding because he knows you’re giving a paper in the morning – he was looking for it – but you play it so remarkably cool when you answer, “Sometimes you can just feel that a paper’s done.”

“That’s a good feeling.” His eyes drift to your lips with these words, taking a long, pointed look before he meets your gaze again. “And you feel good about this one?”

“Good enough.”

It feels smooth and easy when you glance at your phone and say you should head back to your room, before your lips quirk up. “Want to join me? For some last-minute eyes on my paper.”

Jonathan’s already following you to the coat rack outside the reception hall. “I suppose if you need the eyes.”

Those eyes devour you as you shed your stuffy conference clothes that night and pull on a fresh outfit the next morning—your lucky presenting outfit, the same one he eagerly pulled off last year. They shine when he pulls on his wrinkled suit and asks, “Can I have your number this time?”

-3-

You don’t submit a paper, and you promised yourself—no paper, then no conference. You simply can’t justify spending all that money when it means so little.

That makes it hurt when you get a text that Thursday morning, on your way into work when you’d rather be on a plane.

Will I see you this year ?

Part of you knows that it’d be best not to answer, but the sight of his name on your phone – of Jonathan, just Jonathan, because your last names feel like a burden that only need exist on your name tags -- fills you with such a rush of…

He makes you feel untethered, in the very best way.

No. The struggle of an independent scholar.

You expect that to be the end of it. What use are you as a conference booty call when he can’t even rely on you to be there?

But then, fifteen minutes later: I’ll miss you.

-3.5-

Jonathan calls you at 2 in the morning, drunk out of his mind. You’re asleep, obviously, so you wake up to his voicemail and promptly put your phone away because you can’t handle that. Not bright and early with a full day of work ahead.

It’s during your lunch break, then, when he texts you for the second time ever.

I can’t remember for sure, but I think I called you last night. Sorry for anything I might have said. I was in a shitty place.

And after that… well. Perhaps you’re still at work, but hearing that voicemail can’t be any worse than wondering about it for hours.

“My wife’s been cheating on me. Is that weird for me to say? I mean, hi. Hello. I never know how to talk to you even though I’d like to talk to you when it’s not about work but it’s always felt so goddamn dangerous until right now and maybe it’s still not a good idea. I hope it doesn’t make you feel guilty. I mostly felt offended when I found out and I’m probably the one that should feel guilty but also she’s apparently been at this with a co-worker for almost a year and I… I mean, I just… this is different, right? Not even in a moralizing way just in a why do I feel so hurt right now sort of way. Because now she’s filled a whole damn suitcase we got as a wedding present and she’s gone to be with that co-worker while I drink in our basement with the kids asleep upstairs and I don’t think I need to feel guilty about this.”

There’s more, but it’s just… more of the same. More of your heart caught in your throat.

You didn’t know he had any kids.

-4-

When you submitted this paper proposal, you felt great about it, but you don’t have as much time to really comb through your materials as you hoped. So where you’d been so sure of yourself last time you presented, you now feel… so damn precarious.

It’s exhausting to want to exist in this world, when you’re trying to produce quality research on top of a full-time job. And you hate, desperately, that you can’t see yourself stopping. Not completely.

Not when you see Jonathan in the lobby when you arrive to check in, and neither of you even have the strength to pretend.

That ring is still on his finger when he tugs your shirt off, and when his hand curls at the nape of your neck, and you don’t ask about it, just as you didn’t reply to his text about the voicemail that still sits on your phone because you lack the strength to delete it, too.

——

interested in my other fics or my taglist form? you can find them on my masterlist here

taglist: @aellynera @alwritey-aphrodite @amneris21 @bdavishiddlesbatch @be-the-spark-flyboy @brandyllyn @dilfoscarisaac @fantasmicbelle6y6 @foxilayde @hayley-the-comet @huxdameron @hyperfixatingmenever @iflostreturntobudcooper @jitterbugs927 @knivesareout @leto-duke @lostgirlheather @louderrthanthunderr @marvelousmermaid @one-hell-of-a-disappointment @poedameronloverx @princessxkenobi @rosiefridayrogersunday @salome-c @starryeyedstories @yourbucky084

#jonathan levy x reader #jonathan x reader #scenes from a marriage #fanfic #my fic #created #i think i'm still shadow banned so pardon me for being lazy with the post tags

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lostsoulaltair · 4 years

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Genshin Impact - Twins Personalities

This is the second time I touch topics related to Genshin Impact, while it’s true Honkai Impact 3rd stays more to my heart than Genshin, I must say in terms of gameplay Genshin is pretty good, I’ve had fun like most players or so I want to believe.

One of the topics I’d like to discuss is the twins personalities which is something that I’ve noticed with time and how people tend to point out a personality related to PV or Update trailers.

P.S: Before starting, this analysis isn’t focused to discuss if Aether is the MC and Lumine is the antagonist.

Both are viewed as MCs since there are two sides to play the game; the game itself gives free will to choose who the MC of the story will be, therefore, I hope this can be followed suit with proper respect.

Analysis are held within a neutral view.

First of all, let’s talk about the intro of the game, when the twins appear for the first time along their fateful meeting with the Goddess.

But before we proceed, there’s something I must highlight.

Within the Genshin Fandom, I want to believe some parts tend to use EN VA, other part uses JP VA or CN VA; I don’t know in terms of KR VA but I must remark that VA change a lot the perception of both protagonists/antagonists.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhyRv8Ly1ag

(The video is not mine but for example, I use JP VA since I got used to the dynamic with Honkai Impact 3rd; and of course, the CN VA are really good as well, just by looking at Shattered Samsara which is HI3rd’s latest CG Animation, speaks a lot about the VA).

1. Combat

1.1 Aether’s Combat personality

Aether’s battlestyle relies a lot on his strength and energy, it is needless to say he’s the older among between the two and of course, he displays the protective elder brother figure, backing up his sister when it comes to fights. But, within this, it is to say that in battles, specially against unknown enemies, such display of talent leads to two issues:

Exceeding confidence and talent/weapon mastery

Within the trailer, one of the things many admired from Aether is how he displayed his sword technique, among this, there was a YouTube user that made a comparison between the twin’s swordstyle which relies a lot on how they choose to fight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb0ugVuVMtY

Aether and Lumine swordstyle and elemental abilities

In Aether’s case, he is straightforward within his swordstyle attacks, his first pattern can reflect his first goal which is to break defense from the enemy, following suit a horizontal slash, moving forward to more patterns that aim to break the stance of the enemy, following suit to gather momentum and lastly delivering the final strike along traces of elemental attack which depends of player’s choice.

It could be said that Aether’s swordstyle relies a lot in technique and mastery but within this, and focusing with the intro, it grows into overconfidence, but why?

The reason goes to how the intro is explained itself. It gives an insight that Aether and Lumine cover each other’s back to the point they only need themselves to make a good combination against any enemy that comes in front of them, but within this, it also goes to their weakness; such weakness is overconfidence against anything which is why they easily lost to the Unknown Goddess and why both got separated.

gif belongs to kumiiko

1.2 Lumine’s Combat personality

When it comes to Lumine, it must be said that she’s not focused on displaying her talents with the sword or how she manipulates it compared to Aether in the FIrst Cutscene which leads the players to choose one of the twins; instead, it is displayed that Lumine is more collected in battle, she is very aware of what her brother might have in mind in terms of combat which is why both rely on each others support to face down or strike down enemies.

Making a comparson again with the video provided by a YouTube user, Lumine’s attacks are indeed more refined and elegant, she uses her body in order to gain momentum.

Her first strike is an horizontal slash which of course, in combat scenario would lead to an evental clash against another warrior, followed suit, it goes Aether’s first strike, which is aimed to break the defense of the enemy she might be facing, leading to a spin that gives momentum to the sword wielder, delivering a strike with more strength and eventually, leading to the common release of elemental attack which depends a lot on the choice of the player.

In terms of disadvantage, Lumine’s attack patterns indeed are more refined, which of course, gives openings to the enemies and thus, it could be said that this gives away why both rely and are aware of their own attack patterns to cover each other’s back.

2. Personalities outside combat

It isn’t required to say that both hold a touch of sassy moments within the game, among this, it is visible which of them tends to be more expressive and this of course goes for Lumine.

P.S: I’m not saying Aether is not expressive.

Due to Lumine’s design, it is more visible to see her facial expressions easier or rather, it could be said her expressions are more defined compared to Aether, of course, there are moments on which Aether’s facial expressions give away the best laugh for many players.

But for this, let’s focus on each of the twins.

2.1 Aether’s personality

Thanks to the constant footage Aether recieves with each update, it is to say that Aether is a rather emotional character, he tends to have a strong calm demanor but nevertheless, he does have a soft heart when it comes to his sister; and this is heavily seen in the Trailer of 1.3 which took part of the Lantern Rite (which of course, was quite a down in terms of what it was expected inside the game)

So far, he displays a lot of sadness and specially grief, but why?

Due to the fact that Aether is the older sibling between them, even if they state they play rock paper scissors to decide certain stuff, Aether carries grief due to the loss of his sister; and of course, when it comes to celebrations, he wishes he could have his sister with him and due to the stream of 1.4 and that battle that will make many players shiver depending of the choice, his personality comes to full terror to see his sister on the other side, fighting with those who strike to destroy the peaceful days of Teyvant.

When it comes to positive aspects or rather, when there are good moments, Aether personality tends to be more calm, nevertheless, he does express happiness if anything’s going well.

2.2 Lumine’s personality

When it comes to Lumine, most people see her as a savage or rather as the beffiting girl for the role of the antagonist, and I must say, when it comes to people picking her as the traveller, she displays a different vibe.

Since there’s barely any trailer for her since the first game trailer was for PS4 platform along mobile devices.

Note: The trailer of “We will be reunited” in fact was released for the PS4 port, hence why it’s seen Aether as the MC of the story within versions BUT, this doesn’t mean Lumine isn’t an MC as well. On the contrary, due to the fact the game will be taken to PS4 and Nintendo Switch, it is required to have marketing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGMvTL9AedQ

The link above is the First Trailer for Nintendo Switch which has actually been delayed due to how they’ll port the game to such device.

Nevertheless, focusing on such short footage, it is to say that Lumine’s personality tends to display hope instead of grievance, does that mean she’s a not thoughtful sister?

No. In fact, this shows that she hasn’t lost hope about finding her elder brother, she is aware her journey will be long filled with hardships but that doesn’t mean she’ll dismiss the marvels of the world she was sent to, in fact, as travellers, both discover and acknowledge the beauty of the world of Teyvant and of course, within said trailer, Lumine’s adventure was just beginning to reach Liyue by having Paimon by her side,

Within the game, Lumine shows to be calm, thoughtful and reflective, giving a warm vibe when it comes to the characters that appear within the gameplay along having a sassy side just like Aether’s dialogues due to them being twins. But, within this, Lumine’s personality strikes more since she doesn’t display what lingers in her heart, of course, this doesn’t mean she’s heartless, instead she decides only to show such emotions is with Paimon unless the events that take place get the best of her which can be seen with Tartaglia’s character story along Dainsleif quest.

She enjoys the marvels within Mondstadt and Liyue but deep down, she misses her brother and wishes to find him. She gives the impression she will do anything to help just like her brother would if there were others in need.

And of course, within the Lantern Rite and Web Event that took place in 1.1; it is to said that Lumine is a hardworker, and of course, just like Paimon, she enjoys eating a lot, and this is due to the choices that are given within the gameplay whcih are protrayed very well for both sides.

3. Personality as antagonist

So far, many have seen Lumine playing the role of the Antagonist but of course, this doesn’t mean she’s the default villain within the story, so far, due to the fact that of how the trailers of each version has displayed her but of course, for those who play Lumine’s side, they see the same when it comes to seeing Aether as the abyss prince.

3.1 Aether Abyss Prince Personality

Aether as the Abyss Prince gives an impression that he changed due to the time he has spent within Teyvant, and of course, it is well known that one of them, depending of the choice, spent 500 years wandering around Teyvant which would explain why their clothing parts shine in a white color, meaning the unselected Twin traveled within Teyvant with the help of Dainsleif until the end of the journey was settled.

It is to said that Aether’s eyes reflect no mercy, he reflects his decision and will to work with the Abyss Order even if it stands against the moralities of the world. His emotions were hardened due to the time he spent in Teyvant without any trace of his missing twin and of course, his stare gives or rather displays power and indefinite strength to fight.

It is to said that the next time the side on which Aether plays the role of the Abyss Prince will be displayed in the new update version related with the continuation of Dainsleif’s quest.

3.2 Lumine’s Abyss Princess Personality

In contrast to Aether, Lumine gives an insight that she dwelled a lot in order to take such decision. That she dwelled until she reached the conclusion she’d take such footsteps even if it meant not seeing her twin brother again. Even if it meant they’d have to fight due to a difference or clash of ideals since the perception of the world will be fractured between them.

Due to her signature and design, it is to say that even if she tries to give a menacing aspect compared to Aether, she looks determinated but she does not give the vibe of being someone that will have no regrets. And this is heavily seen with the trailer “We will be Reuinited”.

In such trailer, it’s visible that Lumine gazes at her brother Aether with longing but of course, she can’t go to his side anymore due to her working and leading the Abyss Order, it shows there’s regret of her decision in contrast to Aether, of course, it would be a matter of time until mIHoYo chooses to give an insight of the Abyss Prince in the futrue.

What are your thoughts?

To be fair, this analysis is based on all the official media along recollection of people that made comparisons between the twins.

Is there a detail you might perceive from them in terms of personalities?

#genshim impact #mihoyo #aether #lumine #genshin impact hotaru #genshin impact sora #genshin impact ps4 #genshin impact nintendo switch #genshin impact analysis #abyss prince #abyss princess #paimon

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saltynsassy31 · 2 years

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My sister saw a video playing "rapunzel knows best" while someone did a gothel make up and it turned into us listening and singing to different Disney villain songs to just listening to tangled songs and now I have a rant to do about the tangled series

None of this will probably make sense but it's my page

So here we go ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Gonna put on keep reading cuz it's long lol

THEY HAD SO MUCH POTENTIAL AND THEY DIDNT DO SHIT WITH IT

And not only that they did my Rapunzel injustice! >:(

I've recently been coming across a lot of, well deserved, criticism of the show but for a long while I have been ignoring them I when I do read them I realise I start getting defensive, especially for certain characters (well, I'll be honest, I'm talking about rapunzel) and I had to sit down and stop for a moment when I caught myself doing that

They were valid criticism, sure, but because she was my comfort character (way before I ever watched the series) I started to get defensive, and then the series happened and I tried to ignore it's flaws and issues and pretended everything was a-okay but I could only do that for so long

It's another reason I avoided, and still do kinda avoid the fandom actually, amongst other reasons 😅

But it wasn't okay, and things that bothered me before are starting to rise again

First off, I was so absolutely upset and disappointed they never tackled further into Rapunzel's trauma with gothel, like, maybe a few episodes in the start of the season but never again until like, season 3 or sm and that was only to bright light to cassandra's issues and as I listen to the lyrics of "mother knows best" I am even more MAD that they didn't explore it

And I know, it's Disney, it's rare, especially then, for them to tackle on these topics properly but still, I have a right to be mad!

Especially since it was stuff that I went through! Years and years of being told the same things! By more than just my parents! Where are her body issues? Slight hesitations? Fears? They just brushed it off!

And they did her sooooo dirty too

Something I absolutely tried to ignore was how she treated varian in season one, both are my comfort characters and that single detail always lingered in my head

Why didn't rapunzel go after varian after the storm? I mean, she went above and beyond for Attila, why didn't she do the same for Varian? Thay was soooo out of character! And I was so mad that they wrote her like that and then ignored it like it never happened!

If they wanted Varian to be the villain they could have done something else? I didn't note down anything I had in mind but come on! You shouldn't have to change a character up just for the sake of plot!

Rapunzel cares for her friends, she'd do anything for them! It's proven time and time again but it's a double standard for Varian? I am soooo mad just UGH

Maybe put an obstacle that doesn't allow them to reach Varian in time, Niger has been proven to try and keep rapunzel from doing what she thinks is right (with the dragon stuff, though he changed in the end he still sent troops after them) maybe make Nigel convince rapunzel everything was fine? Every time she'd try to check on him she'd be stopped, so she'd send her friends but then again, obstacles keeping them

And when they do reach Varian it could be too late cuz he thought he was truly alone and acts against them

But then there is the part he comes to them personally in the alchemist returns, right? Maybe it could have been a miscommunication and stuff and when the fight ends is because they are able to clear up the miscommunication and, ya know, actually help him? Instead of throwing him to prison?

Ans it would have been nice to have him join season 2 since he's a fan favourite but if they really didn't want to add him, maybe he was left behind so that he could be left to his studies with additional help

But then there is the second villain arc, if they really wanted to add thay they still could of! They could have had that he was manipulated by the seporians and stuff

Or make it so, like many do, that the king didn't keep his promise to help varian and when he did one mistake the king thought that that was enough and locked him up

If rapunzel was there she wouldn't let that happen, but she isn't

I just

Idk

I'm just coming up with random ideas which probably has a lot of issues, I know, I'm tired and kinda doing multiple things rn so I don't have a clear mind but my point still stands

I don't want to defend whay rapinzel did, I want to defend rapunzel and how they butchered my girl

Idk it's so frustrating

And also cassandra just...why...he villain arc was so frustrating and not fun to watch, annoying really, and she went unpunished too? God danm it!

Ugh

My point is, I love this show, but it had a lot of lost potential

This rant probably doesn't make sense lol sorry

#i know this rant probably doesnt make sense #but its a rant #im just letting my incoherent thoughts and frustrations out #so gkdkksaka #no im not looking for criticism #but if you have your own thoughts about it you can leave them lol #idk just dont be mean please ;w;#if you disagree feel free to say it #i cant stop you obviously #but please be nice? kfskskakak idk #salty rants #tangled #rapunzels tangled adventure #tangled the series #tangled rapunzel #tangled series #tangled varian #tangled the series varian

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philliamwrites · 3 years

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killing me softly with his song | (Childe / Reader) [chpt.1]

Fandom: Genshin Impact

Pairing: Childe / Reader

Tags: #fem!reader, #from childhood friends to lovers, #reader is a fatui agent, #slow burn, #unresolved sexual tension, #mature language, #forbidden love

Words: 2k

Summary: "Lybuov zla, polyubish i kozla," sighs your sister as she wipes off the table, but that makes you feel even more miserable. Falling for a goat might save you from an actual heartbreak by Tartaglia's hands.

____________

Loosely connected chapters about you and Childe finding happiness. Maybe.

Notes: Part 2

Masterlist

***

childe? what a problematic asshole i hate him i- *trips* *thousands of pictures of childe spill from pockets* fuck those aren’t mine i swear i’m just holding them for a friend i- *slips on a pile of pictures* fu ck no they’re not mine i hate him i just- *more pictures fall out as i fall to my knees, desperately trying to pick them up* hang on a sec jUst LISTEN

Chapter 1

A cold gust of icy wind drives you deeper into the sheets and you swear by the name of Her Majesty Herself once you get up and find Alexei, you’ll smother him with a towel for leaving a window open in the middle of the night.

Somewhere outside, a rooster crows. Fine, not dead of the night then, but no one cares for technicalities like these when sleep is involved. Especially after a night like this one, when Alexei fucked you into oblivion and back, you need every minute of shuteye you can get before another day of exhausting missions in the Chechnaya Taiga of Snezhnaya claims your last strand of sanity.

It’s peaceful mornings like these that make it all worthwhile though—the quiet during the early golden hour when people slowly wake up to a brand-new day and get ready to do their chores, their factory work. The sheer number of possibilities stretching out before their hands, and hope rekindled every morning despite the harsh cold waiting at their doorsteps. You love how everything stands still, how even the uncaring universe seems to grant people a sliver of peace, allows them to be soft and vulnerable. To be kind to themselves by indulging in a freshly brewed cup of coffee or tea. Nothing can spoil this for you, nothing and no one—

An awkward cough sounds from the door. You close your eyes, willing him to disappear by simply ignoring him, but his eyes burn into the back of your head like two smouldering coals and eventually, you turn around to see Alexei standing in the door frame, shifting from left to right. “There’s someone out there who wants to talk to you,” he says.

Turning around, you try to disappear into your pillow. “Whoever it is, I’m sure they can wait until it isn’t such a damn unholy time.”

Alexei clears his throat. “It’s uhm … it’s someone from the Fatui.”

Your eyes snap open. Suddenly the warm, cosy blankets feel like a snake’s tight hold around your body, and you struggle out of its grip, grabbing for the dressing gown you carelessly threw around the back of your chair last night.

The sun hangs low in the east, painting the city of Kerch that stretches outside of your window a sheen of dusky gold. When the red-brown bricks of the dacha cottages come into view, you think of the gingerbread houses you used to make as a child every year in celebration of Her Majesty the Tsaritsa of the Zapolyarny Palace.

Cold already seeps into your bones even though the robe is tight around your body. You hiss when your bare feet hit the icy floor but can’t find your slippers. Time to die like a woman.

You brush past Alexei, who’s scratching his head, still just in his underwear and you think him crazy for walking around half-naked like that even though it’s minus 58F outside and the heating systems inside your barracks only start to work once outside temperatures drop to minus 75F.

Maybe what they say is true. People from around Noyabrsk in the north of Snezhnaya regularly dip into frosty rivers and you do remember him mentioning ice swimming is his hobby. It was one of the few things you thought attractive about him. Actually, it was the only thing you thought attractive about him.

Light streams into the floor from the kitchen, flickering once, twice in dangerous foreboding. It’s time to switch the lightbulb. Tomorrow. Tomorrow for sure, because that isn’t important right now. What’s important is Tartaglia sitting at your table, leaning back in a chair, both feet crossed on top of the table, and eating your leftover mayonnaise sandwich you saved up for breakfast.

His eyes slide lazily toward you, taking in your form—barefoot, shivering even though the fur from your bathrobe is of the finest white wolf fur obtainable on the market.

Tartaglia finishes your sandwich, smacks his lips and licks mayo off his fingers. He doesn’t even like it, and you know from time to time he can’t handle dairy all that well. He just eats it because he knows how it infuriates you.

“Alexei, huh,” he says in lieu of hello. “Didn’t know you’re into himbos.”

Behind you, Alexei makes a sound like a kicked puppy. You glare at him over your shoulder, then jut your chin towards the front door. “Out. Now.”

He doesn’t wait for you to repeat yourself. Surprisingly fast for a guy this big, he bolts into your room, gets dressed in record speed and leaves your little one-bedroom apartment without so much as a Goodbye or “We’ll hear from each other,” and you prefer it that way. It saves stuff from getting messy.

Speaking of messy, you really wish Tartaglia would have sent you a note before coming. The smell of icy wind and snowy forests clings to his clothes. He must have come straight from a mission, not unusual in the slightest, yet in most cases he sends a message your way just to make sure he doesn’t run into one of your one-night stands and it doesn’t get ugly.

Like right now.

“I thought you had a little more class than that,” he says nonchalantly. His feet keep wobbling from left to right until you make your way over and push them off your table. Not that you actually sit there to take your meals, no. But this is your home, you have to assert dominance.

“Well, I’m not picky,” you say, taking the empty chair opposite from him. “The nights of Fyrva’snezh are really fucking cold.”

“I’m sure Fire-Water will do the same trick.” He’s sulking, yet he has no right to it and knowing Tartaglia, that’s why he sulks even more.

Your relationship can be summarised with one word: complicated. Which is funny, because besides martial arts classes (taught by a teacher that is a real ball of sunshine who could easily snap your spine like a twig) and infiltration tactics courses (led by a grumpy teacher who once woke you all up in the middle of the night to do a spontaneous quiz about infiltration steps and everyone who failed or fell asleep had to run a marathon through the forest in their underwear) you had to take at the Fatui military school of Zapolyarny, they also teach mathematics and molecular physics, and that shit was complicated.

Growing up in a small seaside village—bless little Morepesok; how much you miss babushka Katya’s refreshing botvinia soup—with only a handful kids your age, gravitating towards Tartaglia was the natural development. He loves ice-fishing, you love eating fish. You gag just smelling solyanka, he wolfs it down like it might be his last meal on earth. Opposites attract each other, as they say, and how true it is for you two—you, the morning person and he, the night owl; his will of iron and your nerves of steel. Your bow, his sword, even though Tartaglia is a masochist who likes to make it hard for himself by trying to switch weapons solely because you’re better at it than him and he is a sore loser.

His worship of Her Majesty the Tsaritsa, your fear of Her Majesty the Tsaritsa.

“I don’t think you came all the way here just to call me a slut,” you say. He is in no position to do so anyway, because Camilla from the ptychy’moloko shop down the road that leads to the Sarov church didn’t shut up about blowing him for weeks until you sent her a liver of a pig and claimed that was the leftovers from the last girl that thought she could put a leash on the Eleventh of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers. Camilla quickly moved on to an inconspicuous merchant who sells matryoshka dolls for a living and all is well that ends well.

“What do you want?”

Tartaglia starts tapping a gloved finger against the wooden table, a nervous tick you don’t know he’s aware of.

“I’m leaving for Liyue first thing tomorrow.” His tone is low when he speaks, his earlier nonchalance replaced by a sense of urgency.

“Okay.” It isn’t the first time he’s leaving Snezhnaya by order of the Tsaritsa, but every time he does, something inside you leaves with him. “So, you want me to keep an eye out for Teucer and the others?”

“He’s really unhappy I’m leaving again already.” Tartaglia doesn’t mention the reason he was sent away just a couple of months ago to Inazuma was because he accidentally blew up an artillery factory belonging to a nobleman that secretly shipped orders to Fontain. The fallout from that was easier to handle with him not being anywhere nearby. Tartaglia is like a pair of hot tongues; no one is sure where to put him or how soon he would cool off, but if they just drop him, he might light the world on fire. Kid gloves are put on and a careful perimeter marked out.

“And what excuse did you make up this time?” You knock your foot into his leg, lingering on his calf just a second too long before withdrawing again. “Another business trip to promote your toys? You can’t hold up this charade forever, you know.”

“Why, your eyes feast on Snezhnaya’s greatest expatriate toy seller, now extending to the Liyue Branch of our Institute for Toy Research.” Tartaglia’s eyes have taken on a playful glint, and he leans forward as he speaks. “You wouldn’t be so cold to break a little boy’s heart. That’s not you.”

You want to remind him that you have no problem to put an arrow between a man’s eyes, or rip out his fingernails, one by one, to get the information that you want.

“You owe me, toy man.”

“Put it on my tab.”

Tartaglia looks like there’s something else he wants to say, but as always, he decides to swallow those words even though they must hurt like swallowing needles. You know that feeling, and so you help him sort out his tightly entangled yarn of emotions by figuratively pushing him off the cliff.

“Don’t forget to bring condoms. I hear the women of Liyue are beautiful.”

Tartaglia goes a sickly grey colour, like the ashes of a dead fire, but he’s been the leading role of this play too long to fall out of character now. He gets up and stretches like a cat getting comfortable in a spot of sunlight. His jacket rides up, showing a stripe of skin, and you quickly turn your head away before giving into leaning over the table and mark him with your teeth.

Patting his left pants’ pocket, Tartaglia says, “I’m always prepared.” He carries a grin that is dry, humourless, and for a brief moment, you two lock eyes, trading a look that feels like a dare. You allow yourselves to imagine how he picks you up and carries you to your bed where you two would proceed to fuck without abandon through the whole day and the following night, leaving the bed only to get food until Tartaglia leaves for Liyue and you’d send each other love letters until his return. What an idea. What an utterly stupid, naive, wonderful idea.

“Well, lucky ladies,” you say, not bothering to hide the jealousy in your voice because jealousy is easier to handle than regret.

“Lucky indeed,” he agrees and dons his easy-going smile, one that he’s perfected after hours upon hours in front of the mirror until it accomplished what he wanted: to mock people, infuriate them.

On his way out, he stops to ruffle your hair in an affectionate way, one typical for childhood friends, but the distance between you is like the ocean separating Snezhnaya from Liyue.

It was on the very first day of your conscription into the military organisation, Number Six of the Ten Laws that the Fatui abide by: Any physical or romantic relationship between Fatui agents is prohibited. As thou would not exchange flesh with thy brother or sister, so thou shalt not with your comrade, for he or she is thy brother or sister in arms.

And everyone knows Her Majesty the Tsaritsa’s word is law, and though the law is hard, it is the law.

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