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#Please watch this i put so much effort into it I even translated the son into my native language orz
nenyunavi · 5 months
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Happy new years everyone I spend the last 5 days working on an oc mv to one of my favourite songs
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The former God of Magic resents The Mother for sticking him on Earth, and plans on causing as much havoc as he can to punish Her;
Version 2, Dark!Merlin
INTRO
(Version 1, Good!Merlin)
TW: A lot of emotional manipulation, a little violence, a lot of angst.
~
“You’re late.”
The woman’s well practiced blank mask falls into a scowl as she stares at Merlin with mistrust:
“Well, perhaps I was putting off coming to see you, no matter how necessary it is.”
The gang can see the bob of Merlin’s head as he lets out a low chuckle, and they have to stop themselves from recoiling; they’d never heard a noise like that from their young friend before, it sounded almost... cruel.
He lifts a hand to cover his heart as he says in faux offense:
“You wound me, sister. You didn’t want to see your favourite sibling?”
Everyone frowns in confusion, Merlin doesn’t have... siblings. That’s not even mentioning the fact that this woman barely seems human.
The woman doesn’t hide her slight disgust, taking a step back from Merlin and letting out a harsh breath:
“I came here to tell you that you need to hurry up. Time is running out.”
Merlin chuckles again, turning to the side and taking a few short paces, his hands held leisurely behind his back. The amusement on his face is disturbing, and Arthur gulps, not noticing the way Mordred is growing paler and paler by the second. Merlin doesn’t turn to look at the woman as he speaks, and his smirk stretches wider:
“But I’m having so much fun, Ava!”
The woman, Ava, huffs again, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest. If the gang weren’t so semi-sure that Merlin wasn’t dangerous, they’d think she looked scared:
“Mother sent you here to complete a task. Get it done, and you can come home. Isn’t that what you want? To come home?”
Merlin’s smirk falls, and the snarl that the gang briefly see on his face before he whips around to face Ava takes their breath away. They barely notice the thunder, snapping in the distance in time with Merlin’s anger:
“Mother’s the one keeping me here in the first place. She could accept me back any time.”
Ava takes another step back, and Merlin tilts his head ever so slightly at the movement, but waits for her to speak:
“As punishment for your cruelty. She isn’t happy, you’re making a mess of things.”
Merlin chuckles again, tilting his head even further, and his words have an immediate chilling effect on the group hiding in the bushes:
“Well, if she insists on sending the God of Chaos to fix a problem, perhaps she should expect a little mess. Plus, I’m having more fun here than I’ve had in centuries. These humans... so gullible.-”
Ava shakes her head mournfully, but before she can say anything, Merlin continues, now pacing calmly around the clearing, waving his hands and grinning in his excitement:
“-I mean, they’re just so... easy. To play with, to manipulate. You know they all trust me? They all come running to naïve, innocent, loving little Merlin, spilling all their secrets as they go. Did you know, the drunkard is the son of a noble? “Fuck nobility” my arse, he is nobility.-”
Gwaine clenches his jaw and looks to the floor, ignoring the stares of Arthur and Leon, but before anything can be muttered, Merlin continues, listing their greatest secrets off on his fingers:
“-The gentle giant is terrified that someone’s going to find out that his preferences lie with men, which is ridiculous considering the way he stares at the aforementioned drunkard when he thinks no one but little old me is watching. The blacksmith, even years on, is terrified that his whore sister will never forgive him for... something or other, I wasn’t really paying attention. Camelot’s first, The King’s most trusted, has a debilitating fear of heights, and oh if it isn’t just hilarious to watch when he has to patrol the city walls. And then, there’s the-”
Ava rolls her mournful eyes and interrupts him:
“Your point, Em?”
Merlin laughs, fully and from the belly, but the sound doesn’t bring the gang joy like it normally does:
“My point, is that I’ve got these idiots wrapped around my finger. Mortals: the universe’s most fun toy. I haven’t even gotten to half of them yet. There’s the noble one, who thinks he holds my trust, the Druid boy, whose only redeeming feature is that he’s destined to kill the King Prat one day; believe me, if it weren’t for that I’d have killed the annoying little twerp years ago. Then there’s the King Prat’s magical sister, who is full of such terror. I play with her dreams some nights, force visions of pyres and hatred and destruction to play over and over in her mind. It’s rather amusing, watching her thrash and sweat and whimper in her sleep.-”
Arthur’s head had whipped around to Morgana when Merlin had mentioned her, but the tears streaming down her face and the way her hand was clamped tightly over her mouth stripped his anger from him. Which left him with no distraction, no way to ignore the simple fact of what was happening right now. Merlin was... not what they thought. He was powerful, he was using them. He was playing with them like puppets and pulling their strings this way and that, watching as they could do nothing but follow. Arthur didn’t know what to think, and he definitely didn’t notice the tears on his own cheeks.
Mordred was pale to the point of looking like he was about to faint and Lancelot had a deep frown on his face, tears in his eyes but not quite falling, not yet. This was... a misunderstanding. He... he knows Merlin, this is a trick, or a trap, he’ll explain later and everything will be just fine. He just has to... to trust him. Everything will be fine.
Gwaine keeps his gaze on the floor. A small part of him was feeling a little prideful that Percival liked him back, but the rest of him... had no room for anything but grief. He had suspected that Merlin had magic, but this was something else, this was... a whole new person. Did he ever really know Merlin? Did any of them? 
Elyan and Gwen sat pressed together tightly, though Gwen had one hand on Morgana’s shaking back, and her other was reaching around Elyan, gripping Leon’s shoulder tightly. Leon was just staring blankly at the scene in front of him, though anyone that knew him well enough would be able to see the tight clench of his jaw and the anger (and grief) in his eyes.
Ava interrupted Merlin’s gleeful ranting, the tears in her eyes a little more prominent as she took on a slightly more desperate tone:
“Please, Em, just... stop. They’re important, they have destinies, you can not destroy them or push them too far; this is cruel, even for you. This... you never used to be like this.”
Merlin turns around, facing away from his sister and giving the hidden group full view of his rage-filled face. His voice is quiet and clipped and angry as he asks:
“Oh?”
Another roll of thunder echoes through the clearing, closer this time, and fat droplets of rain fall harshly from the sky, mixing with the tears on everyone’s face. Ava sighs, tears overflowing as she gulps before answering, her voice shaking slightly as she takes a step towards Merlin:
“You’re meant to be the God of Magic, not Chaos. You were so... beautiful, balanced. You saw wonder in everything, every little spark of magic and every single prayer put a smile on your face. You loved humanity even more than Mother did. Now look at you, you’re tormenting them, torturing them. This isn’t you, Em, please. Help them, and things can go back to the way they were, help them and you can come home.”
The anger on Merlin’s face had only grown as she spoke, and each individual hidden in the bushes had to make a concerted effort to stop themselves from bolting. None of them had felt terror like it, and the fact that it was Merlin they were all so scared of... well, it didn’t help.
Lightening streaks across the sky and wind howls violently through the forest, calming only when Merlin shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath, straightening his back and smirking slightly before he replies, still not turning around to face his sister:
“You’re right. I loved humanity, I was desperate to see them succeed. And then they butchered me. I gave them this universe to frolic in, and in return they call me a monster, a beast, they call me evil, they make nightmares out of me. I still listen to every little prayer, and do you know what I hear? I hear my people, my wonderful little creations, my creatures of magic, begging for mercy, begging for the pain to stop. The humanity I so used to love turned on them, began to burn them, out of spite and fear and hatred. I will not show them any more grace than they have showed me, I will give them exactly what they deserve, and that blonde idiot is at the top of my list of people who have to fucking pay. I won’t destroy him entirely, because ultimately I want my creatures to stop suffering, but I will break him. I will rip him apart piece by piece for what he has done to me.-”
The absolute fury in Merlin’s words, the hatred, translates to thunder in the sky and agony in Arthur’s chest. The King can barely breathe, muffling the sobs tearing from his mouth with both hands, both terrified of being discovered, and desperate to... to let Merlin punish him for the pain he has caused.
Leon settles a shaking hand on his shoulder, but Arthur doesn’t look his way, his blurry gaze focused on Merlin, now finally turning back to his sister:
“-You know, I’m this close to getting that big blonde idiot to fall in love with me. How pathetic is that?? All it took was a few touches here, a few lingering stares there, saving his life occasionally. The man is so pathetically starved for attention I imagine he’d fall for anyone who showed him the barest amount of affection. That is how I will break him.-”
The only thing stopping Arthur from sobbing aloud is Leon collapsing behind him, pulling the young King back into his chest and wrapping a tight arm around his torso, one hand clamped over his mouth as he mutters desperate reassurances into his ear. Morgana pulls Gwen close in a similar way when the servant’s cries grow harsher, her brother burying his face in her shoulder.
Lancelot barely notices Gwaine gripping his arm hard enough to leave bruises for weeks, or Percival pushing his forehead into Lance’s shoulder blade. All he can do is sit and stare at the ground, his breathing slow but shaky, tears streaming silently down his face as he rethinks everything he’s ever known.
Mordred sits on his own, rocking back and forth rhythmically as he tightens the clutch he has around his knees. Tears drip from his young cheeks, poisoning the ground beneath him as he struggles to consider his faith. His faith in magic, in Emrys, who was meant to be balanced and beautiful and giving. Emrys, who he now knew was twisted and angry and desperate for revenge.
All of their hearts are splitting, cracking down the middle.
“-It won’t be physical pain, no, that’ll be down to the Druid boy. He doesn’t want to kill Arthur now, but he will, one day, when I give him one final push. He’ll fall so far into the darkness there’ll be nothing of him left to save, and when he plunges his sword into The Pendragon’s chest, I’ll sit back and watch with a smile on my face, and Arthur will realise that the man he loves, the man who claimed to love him in return, hated him all along. Tricked him. I will watch the life drain from his eyes, and he will spend his last few moments on this world in every kind of agony imaginable, lost in the knowledge that I wanted him to suffer, that he is being punished for his sins.”
Ava shakes her head, silver tears dripping from her emerald eyes as she stares at the floor:
“Are Sir Mordred and the Lady Morgana not your creatures? Do you not wish to save at least them?”
Merlin chuckles darkly:
“I had faith in them once, but they made their decisions. They sided with a Pendragon over me. Mother may be fond of her precious Once and Future King, but to be fair, she’s fond of anything with a pulse, and I, for one, can not wait until she’s not quite so fond of him anymore.”
Ava gulps, taking a desperate step towards her amused brother, but before she can say anything, before she can make one last plea for mercy on humanity’s behalf, Merlin tilts his head, smirking dangerously:
“Do you think they’re scared?”
She halts in her tracks, blinking in confusion, and Merlin’s smile grows into a chuckle as he gestures behind him:
“The King and all his little friends, hidden in the bushes. Do you think they’re scared?” 
The gang barely have time to look up in shock before their bodies are moving, out of their control. They stand rigidly and walk single-file out from their hiding place, coming to stand in a line at the side of the clearing. Merlin hasn’t even looked at them, but his hand floats in the air, a sickly looking yellow mist swirling around his fingers as he tilts his head at his sister, staring in horror at The King, the knights, the Lady, and the servant.
Merlin drops his hand and they all fall to their knees, not even bothering to be brave as they sob. The angry God finally turns, and the serene smile on his face is chilling as he walks towards them, coming to stand in front of Lance and Mordred first. The two of them are the calmest, though calm in the way that they don’t really look... present. They stare blankly ahead, breathing shallow and tears still falling as Merlin crouches in front of them, gripping a chin in each hand and shaking their heads roughly. His voice comes out a whisper, the frown on his face looking more disappointed than anything:
“So much faith, so much trust. It’s a little pitiful, if I’m being honest.”
They don’t react to his words and he smirks before letting them go and standing, moving on to Elyan and Gwen, gripping the knight’s shoulder and saying with mocking sympathy in his voice:
“You were right, by the way,-”
He glances at a fully sobbing Gwen with disgust:
“-she’ll never forgive you, but she’ll never tell you that. You’ll just spend the rest of your life wondering why your relationship was never the same.”
Next, he shuffles over to Gwaine, not even bothering to see the siblings’ reactions as he passes Leon and Percival with a look of disinterest on his face. He leans down in front of the knight, running a soft hand through his hair, waiting for the man to relax slightly before gripping his hair harshly and yanking back, so he has to look up at him. Merlin gives him a blindingly cruel smile:
“You're grateful that Percival is just as in love with you as you are with him, but don’t think yourself too lucky. You’re a hypocrite and a drunk, and my dear old Percy has too much self respect to put himself through that. I’d go for a good tumble in the hay and give up while you’re ahead.”
Once again, he moves back, his sister having to look away in her grief, her empathy drowning her. The God comes to stand in front of Morgana, who is desperately trying to look brave but failing miserably:
“And you. You’re meant to be The Darkness, but I couldn’t very well have you outdo me, could I? Try your hardest, I’ll still be the end of you, and I wait with baited breath for the day you fall, and the day soon after that, when I get to kill you.”
She break down in tears again at that, horrified with the idea that she might one day be on the same end of morality and cruelty as this monster in front of her.
Merlin smirks before rolling his eyes and finally coming to stand in front of Arthur. The King calms his breathing just enough to look up at a smirking Merlin, his voice cracking and barely-there as he mutters:
“Please... Merlin, please...”
The smirk drops from Merlin’s face as he brings his hand up, the sickly yellow mist back again. Arthur rises from the floor, hands clutching at his throat as the air is drawn from his lungs. Merlin steps closer to his with a snarl, his free hand gripping Arthur’s chin like a vice, though his voice eerily calm as he murmurs:
“You. You and Uther were so desperate for a scape-goat, for a villain, for a monster. And you picked magic, you picked me. So stop being so fucking pathetic, I’m just playing the part you gave me to perfection. You picked the premise, I’m writing the ending.”
Ava finally speaks up, her voice loud, despite the waver:
“Brother please, this is... this is beyond cruelty, please just stop.”
Arthur is dropped, and The King can barely find it in himself to choke for air as Merlin turns back to his sister, the amused smirk back on his face:
“Why? None of them are going to remember in the morning anyway. I’ve had my fun, this has been cathartic, but I can’t have them ruining my plans. So run along now sister, tell Mother that her precious task is being completed, I’m just taking the scenic route.” 
She shakes her head in defeat, staring at the floor. She lifts her head, opening her mouth to make one last attempt, but she closes it, realising that there’s nothing she could possibly say to persuade him to suddenly have mercy, mercy that no one had ever shown him. She gulps, letting out a deep breath before shaking her head again and turning around, walking back into the trees, the way she came.
The God looks back to his puppets, shivering in time with their knotted strings, smirking once more before he clicks his fingers and everything goes dark.
~
Arthur wakes the next morning feeling oddly refreshed and surprisingly unannoyed at his idiot manservant’s lateness. He rolls his eyes at the bright sunshine glaring through his curtains, the sun certainly a lot higher in the sky than it should be at the time The King wakes, but oh well. Merlin has been chipper lately, and the warmth that Arthur feels in his chest at the younger man’s happiness makes him more likely to forgive him his tardiness.
As if thinking of him had summoned him (wishful thinking on Arthur’s part), Merlin bursts through the doors, not bothering to knock as per usual, a breakfast-laden tray in his arms and a cheeky grin on his face. Arthur rolls his eyes again, chucking a pillow at Merlin half-heartedly as he grumbles, also half-heartedly:
“You’re late.”
Merlin chuckles, setting the tray down on the table before jogging endearingly over to Arthur’s bedside, grabbing his hand and pulling him to stand upright:
“Something tells me you don’t mind all that much, Your Pratness.”
Arthur huffs, but only to stop himself from smiling, and resolutely ignores the way Merlin’s hand is still in his. The servant squeezes his palm softly, and Arthur gulps, pulling away and walking towards his meal, hoping the food would squash the butterflies in his stomach.
He rubs the sleep from his eyes, smiling to himself softly at a whole range of things: the good night’s rest he’d had, the bright sunshine, Merlin’s good mood, the sensation of Merlin’s hand in his own, Merlin’s dazzling smile, Merlin, Merlin, Merlin...
Merlin stares at his back as he goes, noting with a dangerously satisfied smirk the red blush of his ears.
The scenic route indeed.
~
THE END!!
Oops I made myself sad. Sorry to say but I hope this makes you sad too.
This was SUPER fun to write and I’m so glad I decided to do two versions😅
Link to the Good!Merlin version (much MUCH fluffier, I promise) at the top!!
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tmrrwppl · 2 years
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Gabriel had not taken long to request a meeting with Dumbledore after the term started. His youngest son’s letter clenched tightly in his fist as he gave the password and strolled up the stairs, a quiet energy crackling around him. His knuckles rapped lightly at the door before a voice called for him to enter. 
Dumbledore, as always, had barely changed from the time the ambitious young Gabriel had first met him. Perhaps his beard was longer, but the twinkling eyes remained the same. “Gabriel, please have a seat.”  Gabriel nodded, immediately making himself at home in the high backed chair in front of the headmaster’s desk. “I must admit,” Albus began slowly, “When I received your letter, I thought this would be a call regarding Alejandra’s latest incident with Mr. Flint, but I don’t believe that is so... since your request came before Professor Snape was able to remove Mr. Flint’s lips from his own backside... again.” 
Gabriel had allowed his lips to lift in a smug smile, not even ashamed to admit his pride in his only daughter, “I assume my daughter had her reasons, and if a detention was warranted, I would not fight it. However,” He paused, thinking over his words for the next moment, smoothing the letter open on his knee. “I received this letter from Alejandro, not even the second day of school. And have had a long and proper think on it. If you would be so kind to let me translate you an excerpt.” Albus nodded, folding his long fingers under his chin with an air of indulging.
“Father, the term has started, and so far, not much news to report. Another Weasley was sorted into Gryffindor, perhaps you can congratulate Mister Weasley, though I must admit the twins are still Ale and I’s favorites, though you would have to kill me before I would admit it.” Albus chuckled as Gabriel paused, his own amusement when he initially read the letter having caused the same reaction. 
“However, as you asked me to always be honest and voice my concerns, Harry Potter was also sorted into Gryffindor. And there are whispers he grew up with a muggle family. The boy seems nice enough, and with how the Malfoy boy goes on about his ‘not wanting to be his friend’, he seems reasonably intelligent. My issue is thus: He is tiny. Small. And in my honest opinion-- He has been abused. Whether by the muggles or something else, the savior of the wizarding world that defeated Voldemort looks like he could be knocked over by a light breeze. And Alejandra agrees. It is our disappointment that he did not get sorted into Slytherin so we could keep a closer watch on him, though Ale is debating reaching out to one of the Gryffindor girls she is on speaking terms with to do so on our behalf.”
Gabriel folded the letter back up, leaning back in the chair and staring Dumbledore down with a quiet intensity. “Harry Potter. The boy who lived. Was sent to a muggle home... and abused?” Gabriel knew Albus was peering into him and made no effort to lift shields, he wanted Albus to feel and understand his quiet rage. A boy, not just because he was so important to the wizarding world but because he was a child, was put into an unsafe environment. For what? For why? 
The two men were locked in their stare before Albus finally nodded, understanding why Gabriel was truly here. And knowing he was one of the only people in the world who could at least understand the intentions of it. 
“When Lily Potter died, she gave her life for her son. As you of all people would know, this created a blood ward over the boy. Which has protected him for as long as he calls his blood relative house his home.” Gabriel bristled at that, holding back a diatribe that threatened to escape as Albus raised his hand to placate him. “I understand your frustrations, Gabriel. I had mistakenly believed that leaving Harry with his muggle relatives would have been better for all, and that his mother’s sister would have loved him as her own. As surely as Lily would have loved her sister’s son. This was the mistake. However, it cannot be undone.”
Gabriel slammed his hands on the desk, “To Hell with that, Albus, you know damn well it can be undone. The boy deserves to grow up feeling safe and loved. And not an undersized child who would flinch from a raised hand instead of embracing it. You left him with muggles to keep his ego underinflated. You left him there so he would not be some little spoiled prat, despite many families that would have taken him in and raised him to be strong and loved him like their own son and accomplished the same thing. I would have taken him, Guillermo would have taken him. Even my aunt would have taken him! It is in our family’s history.” He could hear over the quiet murmurs of the portraits, his own ancestor’s voice, agreeing with him as Vindictus chimed in, the Spanish accent thicker than Gabriel’s own, “He should have been raised in his world, Albus, Gabriel is correct. The Viridians have always taken in muggleborns in our past and protected them, this would be no different with the Potter boy.” 
Albus leaned back in his seat, contemplative. “I have heard your argument many times, Vindictus, I do promise you, I remember it.” He glanced up at Gabriel, and Gabriel found himself both intrigued and annoyed that the twinkle was still there. 
“And would you still take him in? After all these years?” Gabriel swallowed thickly, “I would with no hesitation. My twins already want to protect him. It wouldn’t take but a single look from my oldest to want to do the same.” Albus gave a small nod, “And this would make the Viridian family no longer neutral in potential conflicts with the remaining followers of Voldemort?” 
The words bit at Gabriel and he scowled. “We were never neutral, and you damn well know this, Albus. No one trusted the foreigners back then, so we stayed out of it by request. Your request if I remember correctly.” 
Albus nodded, an amused smile on his face, “Gabriel, I am old. I make mistakes, mine are commonly much more severe than a normal man’s. Clearly, to have made a few of them during the war and after it ended. In regards to both your family, and Harry’s. So, entertain me if you would. How would you go about protecting the boy who lived? As you know, Voldemort is not truly gone. And I have a few suspicions as to why and how he is not. As I am certain you do as well.” 
Gabriel was silent for a moment, before his hand reached into his coat and pulled a sickle blade from his belt, showing the shimmering silver instrument. “Give me a lock of the boy’s hair and the protection Lily left on him would still present itself. I tie his hair to my children’s, mine, Guillermo’s, Maria’s. And he’s ours. And no one, not even Merlin himself could cut through the magical bond.” Albus tapped his fingers together, his eyes locked on the knife. Gabriel knew the old man was thinking it over deeply. “So, you would use the old magics to bind him like one would bind a coven?” Gabriel nodded, “Family, coven, at the end of the day, they were all the same. Blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb, as the muggles say.” 
Albus gave a small chuckle, “They usually shorten it to ‘blood is thicker than water’ and get the meaning wrong anyways.” Gabriel tucked the sickle back into his belt, crossing his arms adamantly, now fully invested in taking the boy in and already planning to add another room onto the villa, possibly next to Ale’s. The two could share a bathroom amicably he was sure. And Harry would immediately have two older students at school that would be there for him as much as he wanted them and Nicolas to help him during the summer, Guill could teach him quidditch and Maria, well, she would terrorize all of them equally he was sure. 
He was at least fully certain his twins would bend over backwards for him if presented the opportunity.
“Let me adopt Harry, if he agrees to it, Albus, and take him under our protection. If we are both right, and Voldemort does come back, I think we both know you would prefer he knows as much as he can to protect himself...” Gabriel gave a small sad smile, “And, knowing Voldemort, well, that’s 6 more bodies to stand in front of him and shield him. Six times the familial love. Six times the protection. But he would be hard pressed to get past Maria, Guill and I to get to the children.”
Albus looked into his hands for a moment, giving the slowest of nods. “If he agrees, Gabriel, I will let his muggle family know.”
Gabriel nodded, “Let me speak with him and explain... And your involvement in his placement will not be a focal point, as I assume you need him to trust you. For the benefit of his survival.”
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lordoftherazzles · 3 years
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If you're still taking prompts, bilbo and thorin being exasperated by each other's families? ("What have I married into?" "You have no room to talk, I married into the TOOKS.")
I absolutely adored this prompt, it made me cackle as soon as it floated into my inbox. I knew what I wanted to do with it right away. I hope you enjoy!
prompt "What have I married into?" "You have no room to talk, I married into the Tooks!"
word count 1618
relationship(s) thorin oakenshield/bilbo baggins
character(s) thorin oakenshield, bilbo baggins, fili, kili, dis, drogo, primula
additional notes let them eat cake!
translation(s) amrâlimê – my love
-----
Anniversary parties were supposed to be fun. Thorin knew that, Bilbo knew that, and anyone who had any concept of celebrations knew that. It was Thorin and Bilbo’s one year anniversary, and you can bet that no one in the Shire was going to celebrate in half measures.
The same would have been done in Erebor, there was no escaping it.
What had started out as the idea of a quiet evening at home, certainly had turned into anything but. Drogo and Primula were to blame if you asked Bilbo, and yet Dis was to blame if you asked Thorin. At the end of the day, both Bilbo and Thorin had come to agree that it was a group effort to throw a large party in honor of Hobbiton’s most notable citizens.
Thorin had become something of a hobbit himself after opting for an early ‘reshirement’ away from the mountain, abdicating the throne and his nephews following suit. That meant Erebor’s seat of power had gone to Dain. Based on the occasional letter that came flying in from Erebor, the mountain was doing just fine, and no doubt Dain was creating no small amount of headaches for Thranduil and Bard in the long haul.
That always brought a small grin to Thorin’s face.
“This is not what I expected,” Bilbo finally voiced as they stood near the ledge of where the party had been set up, jostling the dwarf from his thoughts. Lights and decorations littered the party field, and even part of the large tree just off to the side! It was a grand spectacle that neither Thorin nor Bilbo had any part in helping with. Aside from showing up, of course.
“Nor I,” Thorin agreed quietly as they looked more like outcasts than the guests of honor. “What happened to a quiet dinner for two at home?” As stated, they both knew the answer.
“Do you think anyone will notice if we don’t stick around long?” Bilbo asked good-naturedly while jabbing his elbow into Thorin’s ribs.
“It most certainly will be noticed!” Primula chimed as she approached, Drogo on her arm and both wearing bright smiles. “You’ll not be sneaking away from this one. That goes for both of you. We spent far too long planning this, and I think all of Hobbiton will be present!” Prim exchanged looks with both Bilbo and Thorin. These were the relatives of Bilbo’s that were most enjoyable. 
“Is Mirabella bringing her famous lemon bars?” Thorin asked like an excited youth, earning a small sigh from his husband. 
“Do you ever not think about sugary foods?” Bilbo wasn’t actually annoyed. In fact, he was more pleased that those relatives of his were getting along with Thorin quite well. No one seemed to look at him differently just because he wasn’t from these parts - or a hobbit. “Though her lemon bars are to die for, I will give you that.”
“Now, lemon bars can wait. Please go mingle once more people arrive. They are all here for you, you know!” Prim chimed yet again, far too pleased with her good work today to be the slightest bit sour.
“Or you know, they’re here for the food,” Drogo teased at her side, earning a look from both Bilbo and Prim in unison. “What? It’s true. It’s why I go anywhere.” 
Well, who could argue with that? The promise of a good party and free food.
“Oh! Prim, look! The cake! Another one of Mirabella’s masterpieces!” Drogo was already pulling Primula off, leaving Thorin and Bilbo to their own devices. 
Though the hobbits weren’t the only ones mesmerized by some ridiculous looking cake with multiple tiers that would probably give Bombur and his baking skills and run for his money. Fili and Kili were sticking near wherever this cake was going, being shouted at by Dis and ultimately causing some sort of loud yelling match. All in love though, that was just how...their family seemed to be. It was all in good fun but left Thorin shaking his head.
“You’d think at this age they would learn,” He mused, finally offering Bilbo his arm as if to give the silent invitation to work the party. 
“You didn’t, why should they?” Bilbo replied cheekily, more than happy to take Thorin’s arm, even if the idea of being in the thick of socializing with all of Hobbiton made him want to turn right back around and head home.
-----
“We should have just stayed home.” Bilbo grouched as he sat slumped in a chair and watched the madness unfold. It wasn’t that the party was bad, but he hadn’t done this much talking since...well, probably since he returned to Hobbiton with a dwarf in tow after those thirteen months he’d been gone.
“It’s not that bad,” Thorin idly remarked, taking a sip from his mug that had been filled...oh about twice now. It was starting to make him numb and tingly to the social ongoings of the evening.
“Fine, let me rephrase. I should have stayed home.” A proud sniff came from the grumpy hobbit who was more keen on grouching than inhaling food and drink like everyone else. 
“You need to lighten up, it is our anniversary, unless you’re beginning to regret that just as much as this party?” Thorin finally let out a grumbly sigh of his own as he looked towards Bilbo, arching a brow and noticing that no longer Dis, Drogo and Primula were out in the grass dancing among other hobbits. That should have been a red flag in his mind.
“No! Of course not, I just…” 
“Bilbo! Thorin! My lovely brothers who are constantly avoiding conversation out here,” Dis chimed as she approached with two plates in her hands. Pieces of white layered cake sat on those plates before they were placed before both Thorin and Bilbo. Dis took her seat to the side, crossing one leg over the other and looking...a little too amused.
Thorin knew that look. He’d known it since Dis was but a little pebble that could barely speak. She was up to something.
“Don’t look at me like that, Thorin. I just want you both to have a decent evening. Everyone’s been rather delightful, and put their best effort forward to ensure you both had a night to remember. Even that Sackville-Baggins woman, oh...what was her first name? Lo...something.”
“A disease,” Thorin coughed before dropping his gaze from his sister to the generous helping of white fluffy cake that sat before him. If ever there was a dwarf with a bigger sweet tooth, it would be a miracle. 
“Brother, before you dive into that cake, I have to ask. Do you remember how back when Fili and Kili were young, whenever their birthdays would roll around and we presented them with any whipped sort of sweet you would generously dunk their faces into said dessert?” Because Thorin was the fun uncle when the boys were young, right? Frerin likely would have done the same thing.
“I do-” Thorin had started, but that was all he managed to say.
“Uncles!” Fili and Kili both practically screeched, though in unison with a call from two other voices.
“Happy anniversary!” Drogo and Primula, also from behind.
Far too many sets of hands landed at the back of Thorin and Bilbo’s heads respectively, pushing down and getting far too much satisfaction at the sound of a face being smashed into a whipped pastry. 
Bilbo was the first to lift his head, blinking through the whipped frosting and clawing his fingers at his eyes while sputtering nonsense. The laughter from those behind him were far too loud, but quite contagious. 
“You look good enough to eat, Uncles!” Kili cheekily commented as he patted one hand on Bilbo’s head, and one on Thorin’s - who also was trying to claw cream from his eyes.
“What have I married into?” Bilbo whined, but there was a small chuckle in all of that.
“You have no room to talk, I married into the Tooks!” Thorin retaliated while finally getting a good look at his frosting covered other half. 
“And the Bagginses, don’t forget them!” Drogo pointed out rather chipperly before being swatted by Bilbo. 
“You look absolutely ridiculous, Thorin. I hope you like scrubbing sugar out of your beard!” Bilbo took the remainder of the cake and frosting that his own face had been smashed into, promptly sending a handful of the rather ruined pastry into his husband’s face. 
And here Thorin had just gotten the frosting cleared from his eyes!
“I told you this would put them in higher spirits.” Dis of course sounded way too pleased with herself before ushering her sons away and taking her leave as well. “Best leave the messy children to their games.” She cooed in a motherly tone before ruffling the curls on both Thorin and Bilbo’s heads.
Neither of the men could find themselves annoyed, even with their faces full of frosting. 
“Oh look at you…” Bilbo reached forward and tried wiping a bit of that frosting away from the bright blue eyes he so adored. 
“Me? Look at you.” Now that the dwarf could actually see again, Thorin was pleased to appraise the hobbit before him. “I’ve never been more excited at the idea of taking food to bed-“
Bilbo swatted at his husband rather quickly. “I know you have a sweet tooth but try to mind your manners. At least in public.” There was a gentle warning to Bilbo’s tone, but he genuinely couldn’t find a single thing to be grumpy about anymore. “Happy anniversary, love.”
“Happy anniversary, amrâlimê.”
One year down, and many happy ones to go.
81 notes · View notes
mariana-oconnor · 3 years
Note
Could you please write medieval king!clint/prisoner!bucky
Since you asked so nicely, nonny.
This was a weird one. It turns out it's difficult to get into Clint's head and to keep a medieval sort of tone. My characterisation of him has a very modern voice, and I'm not sure how well I translated it. Also, I'm not sure this is exactly the dynamic you were looking for... But it is medieval, and Clint is a king and Bucky is a prisoner.
*
This… was not exactly unexpected. King Francis III of Brooklyn, known as Clint to his friends, which at the moment was a number approaching zero, did not know what he had expected from being king. He hadn’t even expected to be king in the first place. The younger son of a youngest daughter, betrothed and shipped off before she was fully grown, he should never have come nearer to the throne than kneeling before it.
But war, sickness and a childless marriage had paid their toll and now he was king.
Well, now he was being marched down to the dungeons surrounded by what was supposed to be his royal guard, so he’s not entirely sure whether he is king anymore. It’s one of those thorny legal issues that either get solved by the executioner’s axe or a long bloody civil war.
But no, this isn’t entirely unexpected. Clint had really tried to be a good king. He’d put in the effort, he’d worn the silly hat and sat on the uncomfortable chair. He had listened to his advisers, even when they seemed interminably stupid and made decrees and tried to help his people. Unfortunately it seemed that people didn’t really like that. His advisers, particularly. His second cousin’s wife especially, and so now he is (maybe) not king anymore.
He won’t miss the crown, or the throne. He definitely won’t miss the advisers, but he can already see where this is going. The greed he knows is hiding there, behind courtesy and protocol, will eat the land alive. They are not a large country, the treasury is stretched already, but they will borrow and spend and tell themselves, as they told Clint, that spending more will bring more money and Clint might not have paid much attention to his lessons, but he doesn’t think that makes a lot of sense.
Oh… and he’ll miss his head. Not that he’ll be in much of a position to think about that, but he’s watched the executions, he knows that sometimes the heads blink even after they’ve fallen from the block. He imagines in those last couple of seconds that he’ll really miss his head. Or his body…
A door is swung open and the guards step back. One of them even looks a little guilty. Clint peers into the darkened cell. There is straw on the floor, a wooden pallet with a moth-eaten blanket, a chamber pot and not much else. The window is high above his head, a narrow slit that cuts out a thin strip of the sky for him.
“Get in,” one of them says.
“I really think I’d prefer to stay out here,” Clint says. “Do you have any other options?”
A hand is planted in the middle of his back and for a second Clint considers twisting to the side, letting the man fall forwards and into the cell.
It is possible he could take these guards out. He knows how to fight, probably better than the guards are trained. He could take them out and run - but where would he go? It’s not like anyone in the castle wouldn’t recognise him immediately. There are guards all over the place and servants, too.
So he lets himself be shoved unceremoniously into the cell, and sighs as the door is slammed shut behind him and there is the rasp of the key in the lock. Then the guards’ footsteps fade away and he’s alone. In his own dungeon.
As Clint surveys his new home, a rat scuttles across the floor.
“Well, at least I’ll have some company.”
“Talking to yourself already?” a voice asks and Clint jumps, grateful that there’s no one around to see him.
“I was talking to the rat,” he says. “But apparently I am hearing voices now, and I don’t think I’m a prophet or a witch, so that’s slightly more concerning.”
“Well, I’d hope I’d be better company than a rat,” the voice says. “I’m in the next cell. Welcome to our humble abode. We hope you enjoy your stay.”
“The company is already better than the last place I stayed,” Clint says, sitting on the hard wooden bed, and thinking about the thick mattress and silk sheets of the royal bedchamber, high above.
“A rat and a criminal?” the voice says. “Your previous company must have been terrible.”
“Well, they’re the reason I’m in here, so…” Clint sighs.
“Ah, innocent, huh?” There is a note of amusement in the other prisoner’s tone.
“Aren’t we all?” Clint asks. He certainly doesn’t remember many prisoners who admitted their guilt.
“Not me,” the voice says. “I did it, and I’d do it again.” He sounds so certain that Clint blinks. He’s not sure he’s ever been that certain of anything in his life. Except that he doesn’t want to have his head chopped off.
“What did you do?” Clint asks.
“Punched Baron Zemo in the face,” the voice says.
Clint blinks and stares at the wall, towards where he thinks his new companion must be. He knows Baron Zemo, had seen him only a short while ago in the throne room, supporting the coup. A man with strange ideas about bloodlines and national sovereignty, as he recalled, a man who stared at you without saying anything and always left an unsettled feeling in Clint’s stomach. He recalls the two dark black rings around the man’s eyes, always so disdainful. It was a lot more difficult to look down your nose at someone when your nose was broken. Clint bursts into peals of laughter.
He laughs too long, until he cries, until amusement turns to desperate hilarity at the ridiculousness of his situation.
“Are you alright?” the voice asks. “I didn’t think it was that funny.”
“Thank you,” Clint says after he’s managed to regain control of himself. “I needed that image.”
“The good baron is not a favourite of yours then?”
“Definitely not.” Clint screws up his face in disgust. The only reason he hadn’t stripped the man of his title was because it turned out that was a lot more difficult than it seemed, even for a king.
“Then you and I should get along. I’m James Barnes, but most people call me Bucky.”
“I’m-” Clint pauses, because he doesn’t know how his full name will be taken down here. He doesn’t want to put off his only company so early on. “People call me Clint.”
Some people. Most of whom are dead.
“Well, I’m likely to be in here a good long time,” Bucky says. “So it’s good to have someone to talk to.”
“The rats aren’t good enough for you?” Clint asks.
“They tend to scurry off when I’m telling them my worries,” Bucky says. “And they eat my food. It’s very rude of them.”
“Not the best dinner guests, then?”
“They don’t make good conversation.”
“Sometimes people talk too much,” Clint says, thinking of royal dinners and at court, listening to people talk on and on for hours, until the noon bell and evening bell had both rung, and still they argued petty points of order while ignoring anything actually worth doing.
“I can shut up-”
“Not you,” Clint says. “Just often at dinner, people talk about nothing for hours.”
“Honestly, after three weeks in here, I would give my eye teeth to talk about nothing,” Bucky says.
“There’s nothing and there’s nothing, though,” Clint says. “There are different types of nothing.”
“You know, most people are in here a bit longer before they start talking like that.”
“You’ve only been in here three weeks, what would you know of that?”
“How long is your sentence?” Bucky asks.
“That depends,” Clint says.
“On what?”
“On whether they schedule my execution before I manage to escape.”
There is a pause that hangs in the air. No one has said the word execution, but Clint knows what happens to kings who aren’t king anymore. He even manages to say it easily enough, just another word that rolls off his tongue. But in the silence it falls heavily to the floor and sits there.
“I’m sorry,” Bucky says, and he actually sounds like he means it. How strange that someone he’s never seen, who has known him so short a time, should care more for his fate than the people who have known him all his life.
But perhaps Bucky’s opinion would change too if he knew who it was he was really talking to.
“Yeah,” Clint says. “Escaping is going to take time out of my busy schedule of talking to rats.”
“What are you-” Bucky pauses. “What did you do?”
Clint stares up at the darkness of the ceiling and the faint wisps of cobweb he can see clinging to it.
“Tried to be good at my job,” he says.
“Sounds about right.”
*
No one has ever escaped from The Tower. That’s what everyone has always told him, but the way Clint sees it, just because nobody ever has, doesn’t mean that nobody ever will.
Of course, with a window that’s too small to climb out of, a door with a lock on the other side that he has no way to pick, and walls six foot thick, he cannot say that escaping is easy.
Some of the guards seem sympathetic to him, but many of them see his fall from grace as way to take out their frustrations with the world and to ingratiate themselves with the new regime. Clint doesn’t really blame them. But they treat Bucky just the same. For every guard that gives him an extra chunk of cheese, or a cup of wine or ale, there are two that tip his food out onto the floor and mockingly bow as they sneer at him.
Clint imagines taking his longbow and shooting each and every one of them through the eye. That takes up a few hours of his time.
It’s not a terrible life, really, he supposes. At least he is mostly left alone, and Bucky in the next cell is good company. They teach each other bawdy tunes - the kind that kings are not supposed to sing, and tell each other stories of better times. Bucky, Clint learns is no mean shot himself, and they compete over who had bagged the best prize at hunting. It also seems that Bucky was not above poaching on the king’s land, but Clint supposes that it isn’t exactly his land anymore, so why should he care.
He knows Bucky thinks that he’s exaggerating his stories, but he’s pretty sure Bucky’s exaggerating his.
It’s strange to have a friend he’s never seen. Who doesn’t know who he is. Clint carefully edits his stories to avoid anything that might give himself away. He is not Francis, King of Brooklyn, just Clint. He hasn’t been just that since his brother left him to travel to court when he was twelve years old. Maybe he never really was.
There is a curious freedom to their conversations as well. Whether it is the darkness, or Bucky’s lack of a face, Clint talks freely, and Bucky talks freely back. About his friends - Steve the baker, Tony the smith, Sam the falconer, Natasha who has half the men in town begging for her time but who never gives them the time of day. Clint feels like he almost knows them.
Every morning he wakes up and wonders if this will be the day the priest comes to his door and takes his last confession. And so far every day he has been granted a reprieve.
One evening there’s a noise in the corridor and Clint looks up to the tiny barred hatch in the door to see one of the guards grinning at him.
“Someone sent you a gift,” the guard says, and Clint sits up a little straighter. He wonders who and what it could be. “Nice little cask of the best wine.” Clint frowns. He doesn’t know anyone who would send him that, except perhaps as some sort of power play. “Me and the others just wanted to say thank you for being so kind as to share it with us.”
The door opens and an empty cask, still leaking red, is thrown in at him. Clint dodges out of the way as the door slams shut again, and looks down at the cask with interest.
It might be possible to take it apart and use the pieces to make some method of unlocking the door. Perhaps.
Prying apart a cask is a lot more difficult than he would have thought. If he ever does get out of this cell, he will have to commend the royal cooper on their skill.
His fingers are bleeding, and the cask is stubbornly unhindered by his best attempts.
“Foiled by a barrel,” he mutters.
He hears the sound of the key turning in the lock and he hefts the cask in one hand. If it won’t be useful in other way, perhaps he can use it as a weapon.
The figure silhouetted in the doorway isn’t wearing the uniform of the guards, and doesn’t clink with the ring of chain mail. Clint squints and sees a man as filthy as he is, with a tangled beard and long greasy hair that hangs around a face that might be handsome.
“...Clint?”
“Bucky?” Clint says, staring at him, and then at the cask he had been intending to throw at his head.
“You…”
“What?”
Bucky stares a few seconds more, and then fumbles down onto his knee. “Your majesty.”
“Oh. Right... that,” Clint says. He had almost forgotten he was king (sort of). “How did you get in here?”
Bucky stands up and holds out a strange looking key.
“My friend baked this into the loaf they gave me,” he says. “And the guards are knocked out with drunk wine that they sent to the ki- To you.” Bucky shifts uncomfortably. Clint looks down at the cask again, considering that it did indeed have its uses, although possibly not as a lockpick.
“I know the way out,” Clint offers. Bucky nods and steps back.
“Should I call you-”
“Clint. Call me Clint. I wasn’t really lying about that. Everyone’s always called me Clint since I was a boy. They insisted that I had to be King Francis, though.”
“Right,” Bucky says.
They slip down the corridor as quietly as they can, and come across the guards slumped over each other, snoring heavily. Clint considers himself for a second, then goes for the guard that looks closest to his size and starts to tug off his uniform surcoat and armour, pausing only when the man comes a little too close to waking from his stupor.
He glances over to see Bucky has done the same. Except for their wild beards, they look enough like guards to pass muster. Clint fastens a belt around his waist, sword hanging from it, and grabs a crossbow.
“My friends are meeting us at the Eastern gate,” Bucky says. “You are welcome to join me, if you wish. Although I can’t guarantee it will be what you are used to.”
“I’m used to a dark cell and mealy porridge,” Clint points out. “Whatever your friends have to offer, I’m sure it is far better than where we have been. But, I should go my own way. You and your friends don’t need the kind of trouble that I would bring to you.”
Bucky looks at him as though he’s a madman, driven past his edge by his imprisonment.
“I may not be noble,” he says. “But I would call you my friend, too. You’ve been the only thing keeping my mind intact in this place.” He holds out a hand and Clint looks down at it, then grins.
“Friends, then,” he agrees. “I’m even more against dragging my friends into my trouble.”
“Don’t be an idiot,” Bucky says, then adds “sire,” as an afterthought.
“My brother always said I wasn’t born an idiot, but I’d die trying to become one.”
“Your brother,” Bucky says. “King Charles.”
“Barney,” Clint says. “We always called him Barney.” Bucky shakes his head letting out a breath.
“We should go,” he says.
The Eastern gate is the closest, which Clint is grateful for, because it seems the castle is buzzing with people, despite the late hour. Luckily, the darkness is enough to cover their faces and as long as they stride as though they know where they are going, people are eager enough to leave them alone.
There is one risky moment where another guard - drunk and off duty, thinks he recognises Clint, but then declares him to be Edward, and apologises for not yet repaying his gambling debts. Clint barely manages to extricate himself with assurances that he does not care about the money.
They finally reach the gate and the gatekeeper looks at them curiously.
Clint angles his face into the shadow, hoping the beard and the helmet will hide him well enough. To come so close to freedom and then falter at this point - it would mean death for both of them. He realises his is holding his breath as the gatekeeper considers them, then nods and shuffles to open the gate for them, which swings open with an almighty creak.
Clint steps through the gate and into the world outside the castle and he feels as light as a bird. They are not free yet, but he feels freer than he has in years. He shoots a smile across at Bucky, who stares at him for a second, then tugs him along the road to where a wagon is waiting.
A woman with long red hair eyes the pair of them as they approach.
“I don’t remember us saying anything about bringing friends,” she says.
“You must be Natasha,” Clint says. “I’m-”
“Not here,” she says, cutting him off. “Get in the wagon before-”
The clanging of the Tower bell is bright and clear in the night air.
“I think someone has discovered we’re missing,” Bucky says.
They jump into the back of the wagon, pulling down the cover and it is seconds before Natasha urges the horses into movement.
“There are some clothes back there and some things to make yourselves more presentable,” she says.
The whole time Clint is changing, pulling off the guard armour and bundling it into sacks, he is waiting for someone to stop the wagon, to demand to know where Natasha is going and to see inside the back of her wagon. No one does.
There is a sharp knife, an oil lamp and a small silver mirror, tarnished and dented, but useable, and they take it in turns to trim their hair and beards down to a more manageable length.
Clint looks over at Bucky and stares at the change a few clothes and a knife have wrought. In the prison he had looked half wild, but now he has shorn himself down to something that could be called handsome, his beard all but gone - as clean a shave as could be managed in the circumstances, and his hair short, the chaos of it serving to hide the unevenness. He is watching Clint sharply and his gaze feels piercing.
Clint is reminded suddenly of how much of himself he revealed through that wall between them. Not his title, perhaps, but himself.
“What will you do now?” Bucky asks, and Clint just keeps staring. The thought had not crossed his mind. He supposes that is what he needs to think of now.
It is tempting to hide away in obscurity. To live out his days well rid of the court and its greed and power plays.
“You’re welcome to come with me,” Bucky says. “We can find somewhere. It won’t be much - certainly not a castle. But it will be better than a prison cell.”
Clint wants to believe that’s possible. He remembers Bucky’s stories and he can see how he would fit into them. It wouldn’t be easy, but it would be simple, and he thinks that maybe that would be better.
But he knows what will happen if those now in charge are left to run things. As much as he hates the crown and the thought of being king again…
He scrubs a hand over the back of his head, feeling the odd sensation of freshly cut hair against his fingers.
“I wish I could,” he says, with complete honesty. “But… you know when they put the crown on your head you swear an oath. The thing everyone remembers is that people swear fealty to the king, but when you become king you have to swear this oath of fealty to your land and… And I swore that I’d protect this land and its people, and I’m not very good at it, but that doesn’t mean I get to stop. It’s my country. And if I thought it would be better off without me, then I’d run away and never look back, but I may not be good at it. But at least I’m trying. Someone has to try.”
Bucky is staring at him, like Clint is speaking another language, and he shifts uncomfortably on the wooden bench.
“I mean. I’m king… sort of.”
“You really are,” Bucky says. “Nat, did you-?”
“Hear that you made me an accessory to treason?” Natasha says. “Yes. I heard.”
“He was king first,” Bucky says. “It would have been treasonous to leave him in there.”
“My life was simple before I met you and Steve,” Natasha says. “I have a feeling it’s about to get even more complicated.”
“You can just drop me off somewhere,” Clint says.
Both Natasha and Bucky scoff loudly.
“We’ve already committed treason,” Bucky says. “We might as well see it through.”
“You can’t just-” Clint begins.
“You know what happened to the last nobleman who said that to me?” Bucky asks, and Clint frowns. “I broke his nose.”
“I just don’t want anyone-”
“If you want to be king, you’ll have to get used to people being in danger because of you,” Natasha says.
“I can’t ask you to risk your lives for something that isn’t even your problem.”
“I mean, we live in this country,” Bucky points out. “It is our problem.”
Clint stares at him and Bucky stares back, a small smile on his face.
“You’re never getting rid of him now,” Natasha says. “Him and Rogers, they’re like limpets. Once they’re stuck on you, they never come off.”
“She’s not wrong,” Bucky says, grinning even wider now.
Clint looks at him and thinks that maybe that doesn’t sound too bad.
55 notes · View notes
thatasianstereotype · 4 years
Text
Shit. I Got To Deal With This Bitch (Again). 
The third installment of my Adrien x Damian AU. 
First: Fuck. I’m Gay. 
Second: Damn, You’re Looking Fine. 
Well, would you look at that? I’m not dead after all. And this took a while to put together understatement of the fucking century. The reason is because life is a busy little shit the English language will not cooperate. I’m thinking of a scene I want to write and somehow words are lost in translating that into the computer and I end up with a white blank screen in the end. 
But moving on to the fic. At first, I was going to have the whole Gabriel-being-put-in-jail and former-friends-thing put as an aftermath because I really wanted to write Marinette and Adrien meeting the Waynes. But I decided to make the aftermath a full-blown fic from @michaelshadow7779′s ideas and extend the trilogy into a four-part series. 
This part will be focused on what happened to Liar-la, Ms. Bustier’s class trying to gain back their friendship with Marinette and Adrien, and Gabriel getting a special visit from both Robin and Ladybug. 
Again, this is a crack writing where creative liberties were definitely taken. 
.
.
.
Lila Rossi is a fucking bitch and everyone —Like everyone this time— knew it. 
Her reputation was now in shambles (she’s now known as that pathological liar or that lying bitch) and Ms. Bustier’s class could only stare at her with hatred and anger —feelings that were once directed at Marinette. 
No one entertained her lies anymore. No one really hung out with her anymore. She sat at the back of the class, staring daggers at both Adrien and Marinette all day (just wishing for an akuma that will never appear).
Unfortunately for her, Lila couldn’t transfer out of class and with only 2 more months of the school year left, she couldn’t transfer out of school so she was stuck dealing with the consequences of her actions: being a fucking social outcast.
Because the class was not at all happy with their supposed friend. Tensions ran high during school. Things took a turn for the worse when Ms. Bustier tried to “fix” things in her own way, mentioning how the only reason Lila lied was because of her “disease” and the girl simply wanted to make friends. 
Needless to say, the class did not appreciate their teacher making them out to be fools all this time. 
It was Alya who ripped her a new one. Césaire definitely has a set of lungs on her. And Adrien would be lying if he didn’t say how utterly satisfying it was to watch.
Karma was a bitch. 
Payback was a bitch. 
And Adrien was fucking living in the aftermath. He wondered if it was mean (probably but he didn’t care) that he wished he had popcorn right now. 
All in all, life returned back to normal. 
Well, kind of. 
.
Unfortunately, with the 2 months left in the school year, Ms. Bustier couldn’t exactly be let go because apparently Mr. Damocles didn’t want to deal with the whole paperwork, trying to find a new teacher to replace her, and dealing with the so-called Akuma class. 
That fucker. 
So essentially, he left her at the mercy of her unhappy class, saying she will be let go at the end of the school year. 
Ms. Bustier was unhappy with the arrangement. The class was unhappy with it too. Probably even more so. Since they still got to deal with Rossi’s bitch ass on a daily basis. 
The remaining 2 months of school were spent in a passive-aggressive war. Teacher vs. Students. Where technically the teacher should be respected and they should learn from her but the class was unleashing their collective pettiness. 
And Caline Bustier was fucking done with this job. She wanted to go back in time to when she thought being a teacher was a good idea and shake her past self silly. At this point, she was just counting the days until she can leave for good. 
“Kim. That’s the third time you slept in class this week. If you don’t pay attention, you won’t pass the test next week.” 
“Hold up. I got to ask the certified pathological liar where I put all the fucks I give.” 
“Ok. Don’t forget to ask Marinette if you can actually trust her answer.” 
It was glorious. 
Adrien and Marinette were definitely enjoying the show. 
.
Marinette put down her sketchbook and stared at Damian for a minute. “You’ve been here for a month and a half already. Are you still doing business for your dad?” 
Damian Wayne became a common sight around Françoise Dupont High School and can usually be seen around Adrien and Marinette. After a week of constantly seeing him hang around lunch or in after school activities/clubs, seeing a Wayne soon lost its novelty and people accepted it as the new norm.
“I’m already done with what I need to do at WE’s Paris branch.” He casually plucked flowers from the ground to make a crown for his mon amour who was happily chatting with Luka and Kagami.
“So why are you still here? Don’t you have your own education to finish?”
“My schooling is of no concern. I already earned my diploma a few months ago. It was not at all difficult when I’m already light years ahead of my peers in regards to the dismal educational system my Father forced me to attend."
She raised an unamused eyebrow. “Uh huh. And your family isn’t worried at all about you, a minor, being in a foreign country all by yourself?” 
“They know I’m here. I already informed Father that I will be extending my stay here.”
“And he just accepted it? Just like that?”
"I’m responsible enough to handle myself. I surely do not need Batman watching over me. And you don’t need to worry at all. I’ve been away from home for far longer.”
“You’re completely missing the point.”
“On the contrary, I thought I answered the question perfectly.”
.
When they weren’t playing a petty war with Bustier, the class was trying to get back into Marinette and Adrien’s good graces by inviting them to everything and trying to include the pair in their lives again. They wanted to be friends with their Everyday Ladybug and Sunshine Child again. 
“Want to do homework together?”
“How about a study session?” 
“We’re having a sleepover at Juleka’s place, Marinette. We can talk about each other’s love lives like the good old times.” 
“Wanna see the new movie that came out, Adrien? I’ll even pay for your favorite snacks.”
“Come on you two. Let’s hang out in the park. We can get Andre’s ice cream too. It’ll be fun.” 
Spoiler alert: It don’t work. At all. 
.
“Hey Marinette, Adrien! Why don’t you sit with us today?” Alya eagerly waved at them from where she was sitting with Nino. 
It was a part of a long list of efforts that the class is trying to include the pair in. And it would be nice if it was just to be nice and friendly, you know. Adrien wasn’t going to be outright mean to them even though they fucking deserve it after how they treated the beautiful and kind goddess that was Marinette because Mari asked him to “Play nice, kitty”. 
But the class kept trying to slide the whole Liar-la thing under the rug as if it was nothing. As if they didn’t shit all over their good name for a two-faced bitch. As if they had no part in making them feel like outcasts just weeks before. As if they didn’t called them hateful names or gave them scornful glares. 
And that’s just fucking wrong. Because it wasn’t nothing. And they weren’t good pals anymore. So stop fucking acting like it. 
Adrien was so done with his former friends/classmates. Marinette even more so. 
Because apparently, saying “Yeah, We want nothing to do with you anymore.” is not fucking clear enough that the pair wanted nothing to do with their former friends. 
Like what the actual fuck. 
Luckily, Mari can sense her kitty’s bad mood and quickly laid a hand on his arm and led them to their seats in the middle row since Liar-la took the back and they will be damned if they sit next to her. 
Alya was utterly aghast. She and the others were trying their best to have things be back to where they were before. Doesn’t Marinette and Adrien want things to be like they were before? When everyone was friends and they were making happy memories together? 
Why won’t they accept their olive branch? They’ll be friends again and everything will be okay just like it was before Lila came. 
Let it be known that Alya Césaire was not a patient person. Like at all. 
She was fuming (like you could see the smoke coming out of her ears) as she walked up to Marinette’s desk, just bursting at the seams with frustration. “I don’t get it. Why are you so cosy with Adrien instead of us? Did you forget he supported Lila too? 
“That was—” Marinette spoke up in defense of her everything-that-actually-matters brother. 
But Alya ignored her and bulldozed right over, slamming her hands down on her desk. “Yeah. He changed his mind later on but the point still stands that he was on Lila’s side just like us so why are you willing to be friends with him but not me and Nino? We were best buds.” 
“Adrien was friends with Lila unwillingly, unlike you guys. His douchebag of a father wanted him to play nice with that harlot for some reason and he had to go along with it or risk being pulled out of school.” 
Alya rolled her eyes (She literally rolled her eyes at that) before crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Please. That’s probably a pretty little excuse he gave you be on your good side again. We all know Gabriel will never actually do it.”  
“Are you perhaps referring to the man who rejected the idea of a birthday part for his own son or makes Adrien attend constant photo shoots and a crazy schedule to follow that makes it hard for him to hang out with his friends regularly. That Gabriel?” 
At that, Alya faltered a bit as she uncrossed her arms. 
“Look, Alya. I’m fine with being friendly classmates but I’m not going to be your friend again.” 
And Alya —who wanted things to just be okay again and wanted to go back to being Marinette’s best friend, who was tired of days trying to put so much effort into being Marinette’s best gal again only to be rejected every single time— just let whatever came into her mind to slip out of her mouth. She didn’t watch what she said next and in doing so burnt the last bridge she ever had to Marinette. 
“Maybe Lila was actually right for once when she said the only reason you’re close to Adrien was to use him to get ahead in the fashion industry.” 
Oh shit. 
She really done did it now. 
It was at this point that Marinette’s infinite patience and kindness snapped. Adrien scooted his chair back a bit to get out of the crossfire. He’s a dumbass kitty but he still has self-preservation. 
The grip on her pencil tightened as her eyes narrowed and grew darker, her voice ice cold.  
“You were the one who decided we were done being friends, Césaire.” 
Alya was taken aback, frozen at the biting harshness Marinette directed at her. Whatever comeback she had died in her throat. 
Mari let out a deep breath and her voice was back to neutral. “Look. Maybe someday in the future we can be friends again. But not right now. Please respect my decision.”
And that was the end of that. 
Well kind of. 
Because the ice queen treatment didn’t deter her at all. Alya still persistently tried to get Marinette to be friends with her again until Nino pulled her away and forced her to stop it with her ridiculous antics which aren’t working. 
The rest of their former friends now classmates got the message and left the pair alone. They were friendly and cordial with each other as common courtesy dictate but they had no interaction beyond that. They were nowhere near as close as they once were before Liar-la happened. 
Anyway, school went back to normal. Well as normal as it could be with all the recent changes.
Nothing was as it was before. 
And Marinette and Adrien were fine with that. 
.
Mari was hanging out with Aurore and Mireille for the afternoon so Damian and Adrien had Mari’s room all to themselves. They were currently playing video games. 
And although the Wayne boy was the perfect gentleman who doesn’t let his hormones rule over common courtesy and a proper courtship, Plagg was there to supervise the lovebirds (with a boatload of cheese to keep him company of course). 
He likes to think of himself as laid back and chill who cares deeply about his kittens. And Adrien is a pure innocent little bean. 
Don’t get him wrong. He does like Wayne as a person. The kid’s attitude and personality is a fun riot to witness. But the major plus is how it is beyond obvious Wayne adores and cares greatly about Adrien. He is a good boyfriend to his chaotic gay sunshine baby. 
But after all the shit and drama that went down with his scumbag of a dad, Plagg was just feeling a tad protective of his kitty. 
Just a tad. 
.
They have been dating for close to a month now. He wonders if they are going to do a one-month anniversary. Is that excessive? Or was that normal? But Adrien still can’t get over how he landed such a hot and amazing guy as a beau. 
If only he could go back in time to visit his insecure and confused little self and reassure him that they had game all along. 
“Fuck. I lost.” 
Dami smirked. “That makes it 7 to 5 in my favor.” 
“I don’t care if you’re drop dead gorgeous. I’ll beat your pretty face in the next round.” 
Hot-And-Sexy had an amused grin on his face. “I love you too, babe.” 
.
Marinete and Damian are finally making a plan to get Hawk Moth to answer for his crimes. Needless to say, they have their differences on how to handle Gabriel Agreste.
“I vote to have Hawk Moth taste my blade.”
“We’re not killing Adrien’s dad no matter how much he deserves it.”
“I can get away with it.”
“So can I. But murder is still illegal.”
Naturally, discussing how to confront Gabriel and coming with a good solid plan that satisfies both teenagers took some time.
.
Adrien entered Mari’s room, humming a bit as he carried a tray filled with homemade snacks. He perked up seeing his two favorite people in the world getting along so well.
“Hey guys! What are you up to?”
Damian and Marinette glanced at each other for a split second. They didn’t want their Chaton to worry about Hawk Moth so they didn’t share any specifics.
It was Dami who spoke up. “We are discussing the legalities of assassination.”
Mari facepalmed.
Luckily, Adrien was a pure oblivious child. “That’s nice, babe.”
.
With all the strange things he’s seen (namely, the Miraculous and getting powers from tiny little talking animals), Gabriel will like to say he shouldn’t be surprised. 
But he was. 
Luckily, he had enough self-control to not show his surprise in an obvious way, just a raised eyebrow towards the two superheroes standing in the middle of his office. 
“To what do I owe the pleasure, Mademoiselle Ladybug and Monsieur Robin?” Pleasant and neutral. 
Ladybug he can kind of understand her presence. He is a supervillain after all. Wait. Maybe ex-supervillain now. Because he hasn’t been doing villain things for a while now since he misplaced Nooroo’s brooch and couldn’t find it no matter how many boxes of unsold Miraculous replicas he went through. And he went through a lot (that is not an understatement). Amazing how much free time he has when he isn’t stalking on the watch for negative feelings. 
But what was Robin doing here? He wasn’t aware the Gotham sidekick was in Paris in the first place. 
“We are aware of your alter ego, Hawk Moth.” 
He sighed internally. This wasn’t going to end well. But he hasn’t gotten this far by bowing down easily. 
“Just because I am a genius recluse does not mean I have supervillain tendencies.” 
Ladybug was unimpressed as she crossed her arms and stare at him with a deadpan look. “But you do have supervillain tendencies. I have yours and Nathalie’s miraculous who told us all about your plans.” 
Huh, no wonder he couldn’t find them. 
But anyway, the gig was up. Nooroo and Duusu were very emotional blabbermouths. The main reason why he couldn’t let them out of his sight —besides needing them to transform into bad guys of course. 
“Then you know I had a good reason why I became Hawk Moth.” 
“To bring your wife back. Yes, I am aware of your ‘master’ plan.” 
Maybe he can appeal to their sympathy. After all, heroes got to have empathy, right? “It was for Adrien’s sake to have his family back together.”
Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. 
Because next thing he knew he had a razor sharp sword against his neck. He didn’t even see Robin move. 
“Do not speak of his name, you traitor scum.” The Gotham hero growled. “How dare you preach about your son’s happiness when you are the one who have been neglecting him for the past years. Do not say you care for the boy when you never once showed an ounce of love towards him.” 
Why is Robin so protective towards Adrien? Do they know each other well? 
But Gabriel’s questions were immediately banished to the back of his mind. Because right now, he was righteously fearing for his life. Prison sounded better than death. He glanced towards Ladybug. He knew she, at least, wouldn’t let him die. She was the picture perfect hero after all. 
Who was facepalming at the situation. “For the last time, we are not killing Agreste.” 
Unfortunately, Robin did not remove the sword. “And as I keep saying, no one will have to know.” 
“I will. I am literally standing right here as a witness.” 
“You may look away if you are squeamish.”
“...That’s not the problem.” It was time for Ladybug to pull out the big guns. “And if you go through with this, you will make your boyfriend cry and he will no longer want to date you.” 
It took a few seconds but Robin eventually lowered the sword and addressed Gabriel. “Do not presume that because you have no received death today that you do not deserve it. The only reason why your guts have not decorated this room is because I do not wish to make my mon amour shed tears for such a despicable man.” 
Ladybug spoke up next. “We are going to report you to the authorities. Robin and I have enough evidence to put you away for life.” 
To live for another day, Gabriel makes the smart choice of quickly surrendering right then and there. 
.
“Mon amour, I come bearing both good and bad news.” 
Adrien looked at Dami confused. “Okay? What’s the bad news?”
“Your sister have unfortunately stopped my attempt to slay your wicked father.” 
Aww. 
Adrien’s squishy little heart filled with endearing fondness at how much Hot-And-Sexy cared about him. 
“Killing my father isn’t worth going to jail, Dami. I’m sure you can pull off orange but Mari will probably bar me from ever visiting you to teach you a lesson.”  
He considered that for a moment. “That is true. Marinette is a frightening terror.” 
“She’s the greatest thing to happen to me.”Adrien swooned at his goddess before remembering his boyfriend was with him. “You’re a very close second.” 
But Dami was smiling fondly. “I know. I knew what I was getting into when I asked you out. I will never get in the way between your sibling bond.” 
Aww. 
He could feel his squishy little heart almost explode from all this sugary cuteness from his vain and egotistical Adonis.  
“You’re adorable. So what’s the good news you have for me?” 
“Marinette and I have finally dealt with your father. He will answer for his crimes in front of the Parisian authorities and you will not deal with the repercussions of being related to someone as vile as he.” 
“Does this mean I don’t have to legally change my name to Dupain-Cheng after all?” 
“You’re already one. Not sharing their name does not make you any less of one.” 
Adrien beamed, smiling brighter than any sun. He loved being part of the Dupain-Cheng family and it was nice to be acknowledged as one of them. 
“Of course. Being a Wayne is an honor too.” Damian said casually as if he was simply talking about the weather. Only the twitch of his fingers belied his nervousness. 
Adrien interlocked their fingers together. “You have to buy me a pretty ring first, Mr. Hot-And-Sexy.” 
.
The next week was kind of crazy to say the least. 
Gabriel Agreste was outed as Hawk Moth and Natalie as Mayura to the public. They were promptly put in jail. 
For all their contingency plans, Marinette and Damian had nothing to worry about after all. Adrien being a literal sunshine and Paris’ darling model was what saved him from being a pariah and outcast. The public knew that Adrien was the victim here and not part of Hawk Moth’s plans at all (Be serious. Can you imagine Sunshine child actually having an evil streak in him? No? That’s right. Because it is impossible). People were more sympathetic about Adrien having such a douchebag as a father than the possibility that he was evil like said douchebag. 
After that whole drama mess, Ladybug and Chat Noir announced their retirement to Paris’ dismay. But eh. Without akumas running around, they can leave Paris’ future to the police (since it’s you know, their job to keep the peace and not teenagers who is still winging it as they kick ass). 
Marinette and Adrien just wanted to focus on their future without any other crazy shenanigans.
He already said it before. But it still bears repeating.
Lila Rossi is a bitch.
The only thing Gabriel did right was throw her under the bus when he was caught. He told the police and superheroes how Lila helped him cause akumas with her lies and manipulation. Who knew her destroyed reputation could plummet even further? Understandably, her mother was not at all pleased with her daughter’s antics.
For being a terrorist and an indecent person, Lila was immediately arrested and deported to Italy (and that’s the last they ever heard of her thank everything Mari thinks is holy). 
.
With the whole Hawkmoth thing out of the way and he didn’t have to worry about his shitty dad ever again, Adrien can now focus on his biggest challenge yet. 
School will be over in a few days and summer will be here. Which means: It’s time to finally meet the Waynes. 
Oh fuck. He was going to meet the Batfam. 
And even though Dami assured him that his family will like him, he was still nervous. 
Fuck that. He was absolutely 100% freaking out!
Thank goodness Mari was coming along for the ride. 
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mymelancholiesblues · 3 years
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No, Mia isn’t  "low-tier" compared to Ada (morally speaking, or w/e) – a measured answer?/essay
So, a couple of Ada haters tried to put up a false symmetry between both of these characters there on twitter, and it inspired me to put my own thoughts down in a more articulate essay as to why that's (Ada's somehow being morally worse than Mia) not sustained by canon in Resident Evil.
standing there, killing time
can't commit to anything but a crime
all the good girls go to hell
'cause even God herself has enemies
and once the water starts to rise
and heaven's out of sight
she'll want the Devil on her team. ⁕
First things first: let us debunk the false symmetry that they tried to establish between these two characters with extremely distinct archetypes – and worse, the following replies to this false symmetry and its poor arguments trying to validate it, pointing out that, in fact, no, character B (that would be Ada, btw) – which is so evidently and ridiculously different from character A (and that would be Mia) – is, in fact, WAY WORSE than character A, and then proceeding to assert some unsupported propositions about misogyny in Resident Evil (which, tbh, definitely IS a recurring problem in the franchise, but that in this case particularly, little or does not apply AT ALL) and how Ada contributes to "the perpetration of a biological cold war".
Starting with what differentiates Mia from Ada grotesquely: we know NOTHING of Ada's true alliances in RE's world. Mia, however, canonically worked for a group that participated in the importation and exportation as well as the manufacturing, testing and marketing of biological weapons: "The Connections", a CRIMINAL SYNDICATE which, amongst other things, was also involved in money laundering, assassinations as well as weapons and drug trafficking. I don't care at all about Mia, so I don't intend to waste much of my time going on about her role in the plot, but people should've already realized by just that much how infinitely dishonest is to try to put these two characters as "similar" ones, or argue that Ada is somehow worse.
Another detail that shouldn't escape anyone's attention too, are the origins and nationalities of both – and yes, I intend to briefly bring up racism against eastern-Asian looking characters (a silent plague that takes form by each passing day in all fiction fandoms) and anti-China xenophobia, but for now, hold this tea there just before I drop it: Mia is canonically American, and previously a Texas-state resident; meanwhile, we have no confirmation of Ada's nationality except for her pretty evident Chinese ancestry. But, as I said, hold it there for a while.
i) espionage — the job
red so silent
wait a minute
or just a little while.
what are you looking for? ⁕
At all times that Ada's "job" was brought up in this franchise, in ALL of her cameos, she has NEVER been called a mercenary in the original Japanese. She's always referred to as a SPY. Even in RE2R, the most recent title in which she's featured in, the original text of the game makes a point of labelling her as a SPY (and not a mercenary) in the dialogue that transpires between Annette and Leon.
It's the North-American translation and correspondent localization that now and then falls for the equivocal use of this other term. This distinction is important since espionage NECESSARILY implies operating in an organized service for, perhaps a country, or a political cause, or a class/group, or a corporation, or whatever. While a mercenary is someone who's acting per their self financial interests, indiscriminately selling their specialized "labour" and skills to anyone who'll offer more.
Ada's not a mercenary, she's a spy. But Mia, in addition to being hired to a canonically criminal company, was also the handler personally assigned to Eveline. I don't care how exactly Mia got in that predicament but the fact is: Mia was canonically employed by a company that profited over illicit activities and directly watched as a family was destroyed and toyed with by this new killing machine (Eve). Yet, we can't state for sure that we know to whom or to what Ada is truly affiliated with.
ii) sources — check them
who's a heretic now?
am I making sense?
how can you make it stick?
and I'm on a trial
waiting 'til the beat comes out. ⁕
This fandom should put a little more thought into which translation and localization of the game texts, dialogues and files they are using to support their arguments. I know that in some cases the United States people have a bit of an inclination to think of themselves as the owners of the planet and deem English as the only language that matters in this world, but let's not forget that RE is a Japanese franchise (wow, insane, right?!). Therefore, the most valid script, with the greatest amount of details, and highest credibility, is the Japanese original. Throughout these years, there have been several errors in translation and localization of the Japanese original to North-American English. And, believe me, curiously enough, plenty of those concern Ada, since she's often mentioned or referred to in a very vague way – without the use of pronouns or adjectives or adverbs that could help in indicating gender. This ended up causing those details and mentions to her to get overlooked, even though in the Japanese text it was a clear reference to her character (per observation of context).
iii) the good guys — one of
head in the dust
feet in the fire
labour on that midnight wire
listening for that angel choir
you got nowhere to run
careful son, you got dreamers plans
but it gets hard to stand. ⁕
Yes, as much as haters try to minimize it, it is SIGNIFICANT that Ada saved so many important characters and stood for unquestionably heroic actions in so many moments - like stopping everything she was doing so she could help completely random Chinese civilians with the helicopter she managed to pilot in that chaos in China (yeah, I know you haters love to forget about this, but it happened, it's there in canon, and no, it wasn't her direct OR indirect responsibility what was going on in China: REPLAY RE6 and for the love of GOD, never again argue that what she did was somehow "the equivalent of evacuating a city after selling a WMD to destroy that same city". It's a case of pure intellectual dishonesty to say such a thing. It's canon that Carla was the one who caused what happens in China, PLEASE, PLAY RE6).
Furthermore, Ada shows compassion on some occasions even for characters who are directly putting her in harms ways, like Annette (in RE2 OG, right after - in order to defend herself - she slaps Annette leading her to lose balance and collapse over the sewers fences, Ada makes an effort in trying to pull Annette back and prevent her from falling) and Carla.
Replay RE4 and pay attention to it, pay attention to her solo campaign: getting involved with Leon's journey in Spain hasn't brought any real benefit to her mission or herself: Ada deviates from her main path several times due to worrying about him and trying to help him and almost ends up dead in several of these occasions over her insistence in doing so: by saving him from Bitores Mendez, by helping him and Ashley against Sadler, by confronting Krauser and stopping him.
It's so lazy to only read/listen to a file in which she says in English that "Leon might be useful to her plans" (this is way more nuanced in the Japanese original of Ada's Report), and ignore everything that was SHOWN in the game: every effort she made to ensure that Leon could rescue Ashley, remove the parasite from his and her bodies, and escape from that hell-island.
The jet-ski she left for their escape was ALREADY there before she was captured by Sadler (or you think she arranged it while she was caught?). Leon having to intervene and save her from Sadler WASN'T her plan. It WASN'T her plan to take the sample from Leon's hands. She wanted to help him get out of there with Ashley and she guaranteed he could do so, she wanted to get the sample by herself and escape too while sending that hell to kingdom's come. But, because she chose to help Leon rescue Ashley right in front of Sadler, she ends up captured.
On her end, Mia never did anything minimally compared to that, and all of her "selflessness" or self-sacrificing actions involved a much, MUCH smaller scope than Ada's: wanting to help her husband and HERSELF is not at all comparable to saving a few dozens of unknown Chinese civilians. So no, they aren't "cut from the same cloth". They don't come from the same place, nor do they share the same intentions or goals, and their contributions to the RE storyline are quite different.
iv) unknown true purpose (shades of grey)
lining up in the background
waiting for the crowd shot to be seen
in the shadow of the big screen
everybody begs to be redeemed. ⁕
In databooks, Ada is recurrently described as "a Chinese spy with extraordinary physical abilities, vigorous health and composed mind and spirit, capable of coping with grim situations and handling even the most difficult requests without losing composure". If we are paying attention to the storytelling ingame, however, we know that this isn't always the case: Ada did let her mask of unswerving emotional and physical strength fall and showed a very fragile side under strenuous circumstances a couple of times already.
Also, in these databooks, they often point out that "she has her own 'true purpose' and has FREQUENTLY betrayed organizations and clients to achieve it". Huh, we can AGAIN, by this only, see how completely different she's from Mia, who personally watched an entire family being driven to insanity by Eveline's hand.
Furthermore, in these databooks, it's often said that "this true purpose is still obscure and whether she truly cared for anyone or simply used her charms to manipulate people that crossed paths with her isn't ever clear". If people are willing to be open-minded and exercise their text comprehension skills, though, they'll see that in multiple occasions of emotional confrontation it has been established time and time again that yes, Ada DOES care. She wasn't capable of shooting Leon and there has been a couple of other times that failing to choose a cool, sociopathic calculation and pragmatical demeanour over empathy and humanity towards others has put her in harms ways: nonetheless she still chose it.
v) positive impact
I'm gonna break the cycle
I'm gonna shake up the system
I'm gonna destroy my ego. ⁕
To this point, RE's plot systematically leads us to believe that Ada has been covertly acting behind the scenes of multiple biological incidents COLLECTING INFORMATION (the job of a spy, who would've thought! lmao), that is valuable to numerous organizations, companies, groups and different contexts, but at the same time of allegedly offering to handle this knowledge for the right price to the big players involved with bioterrorism and clandestine trading of bioweapons, she's also working to sabotage said players.
This is evident throughout the franchise: she intended to hurt Umbrella's business. She outwitted and deceived Wesker multiple times. She even undermined Simmons, someone who was in a position of power in the US government and actively using that position to lead bioterrorist ventures on the parallel side.
There's no concrete evidence or hint as to what she does with the information she collects, and for all purposes and effects, I can presume that she's gathering this knowledge to assist in the discovery of countermeasures and vaccination studies. I might as well argue that she is a Chinese spy who is working against European and North-American capitalism and the imperialism that creates such monsters like the biochemical and bioweapons industry and that her real objective is to dismantle the market for bioweapons and bioterror supported mainly by the USA (see: Simmons and The Family).
That is, as long as it is unclear what her true purpose is, I have the freedom to surmise whatever the heck I want and that all of what she's been doing was for the sake of the greater "good" - and I'll even have canon moments to support this reasoning as it's clear that she regularly sabotages her customers (customers that are unquestionably established as playing for the "evil" side, with perverse intentions) - throughout the franchise. She did this on RE2, RE4, RE6 and Damnation. It's there, transparent in canon, people just choose to ignore it.
She laughs in the face of whoever she's talking to by the end of Damnation, saying she doesn't intend to deliver the Plaga; she scoffs at Simmons; she betrays Wesker and kills Krauser. She had been sabotaging Wesker for so long, that he sent Krauser to be the main agent in the mission in Spain, and Ada was just a "side effect" that he didn't have in control and had to keep an eye on, so he ordered Krauser to keep tabs on her. It's not a mutually beneficial dynamic. Ada doesn't want Wesker to succeed, she despises him; this is clear in the games in which they interact. There are even files that indicate that she was trying to double-cross and get in the way of his plans for at least 2 years before Spain, and he was constantly catching up with her. See here and here.
On her end, Mia was employed by and consciously working for a criminal syndicate.
vi) a (secretly) helping hand
oh, I'm a master pretender
just felt more alone
the further I'd go
but I'll stick around
I'll be your master defender
yeah, I'll stick around. ⁕
Ada approached characters such as John Clemens and Luis Sera, and both had a canonical intention to, in addition to putting an end to their connections with the criminal companies and organizations they've been working for, also expose and denounce them for their crimes. It's in this context that Ada comes into contact with them. And why is that?
Check John's background: he had made up his mind about disclosing Umbrella's crimes to the public. Check Luis' background: Ada went to Spain to assist in his extradition since he feared for his own life if he resolved to turn his back on the cult of Los Illuminados, and also dreaded the consequences of the liberation of Las Plagas on an international scale.
Keep in mind that Ada handed over to Wesker a USELESS Plaga sample. Wesker only got the sample currently circulating in the underground market because he went after Krauser's body. We don't know what Ada did with the master Plaga sample she obtained. We only know from Ada's Report and the Plaga Recovery file that she didn't deliver it to Wesker, and he needed to go out for a plan B to get it.
Even the G-Virus sample that fell into the hands of the clandestine business, it's possible to argue that Ada's involvement in it was flimsy, since Simmons CANONICALLY made over a thousand laboratory tests in Sherry, and, as we know, he was a leading figure in bioterrorism and bioweapons trading with the aid of his position in the US government.
But, guess what, Ada clearly is a non-white character with obvious Chinese heritage and Mia is white, so of course, OF COURSE, someone can so nonchalantly affirm that Ada, this "vile bitch", is somehow WORSE than Mia. The same Mia who watched the Bakers being destroyed. Right.
Also: trying to validate one's point by claiming anything related to the misogyny present in RE franchise, while IN THE SAME BREATH AND TWEET reducing Ada's entire character arc to that of "a sociopathic bitch cured by the magic dick of her love interest" is supposed to be a joke, right? No, really. Joke.
conclusion and a word against misogyny
we are waiting on a telegram to
give us news of the fall
I am sorry to report
dear Paris is burning after all
we have taken to the streets
in open rejoice, revolting
we are dancing a black waltz
fair Paris is burning after all. ⁕
To any Ada fan that has been reading this so far: PLEASE, I ask to consider refraining to use the "oh yes, Ada did some bad shit, bUT" take to defend the character because that isn't sustained by canon in RE, lmao. She didn't do anything evil that had an indisputable bad impact on the plot and other characters arcs. For one, I myself do love some villains, but that isn't the case with Ada.
She did do some unconventional shit yes, since she's a morally GRAY character and an anti-heroine, but by the end of the day, each and every action of hers had a positive impact on the journey of other characters and main plot. Just pay attention to it.
Like idk man, Black Widow, Elektra Natchios, Scarlet Witch and Black Cat from Marvel, Catwoman from DC, Yennefer from The Witcher (some pop culture examples that come to mind).
Saying that this is an "extremely selfish prototypal bad bitch except when it comes to the magical redeeming dick of her love interest" it's a grotesque reduction of a complex female character, and, in its attempt to critique the misogyny present in RE's franchise an expression of misogyny in itself.
Remember: Ada has actions and impact on the franchise ASIDE and IN ADDITION to her romantic involvement with Leon.
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blulemonades · 4 years
Text
The Training Scene
 Edited 8-21-21
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Prompt Scene to the Series: Rising Sun
Description: Y/N and Jasper are in charge of training both the other Cullens and Uley Pack, how to fight an army of Newborns. Still on touchy ground, Paul realizes the cruel severity of his imprint previous life and the rest of the pack seem to gain more respect for the tiny leech.
Word count:1902
DISCLAIMER: I USED SOME OF THE DIALOGUE WRITTEN BY MEYER IN THIS PROMPT. I USED THEM AS A WAY TO FIX MY STORY IN WITH HER STORY MORE FLUIDLY.
Warnings: physical fighting, foul language, talk of death
a/n: Paul and the rest of the pack will be wolf form for most of this scene anything in Bold will be the conversation between the pack.
I avoided looking at anyone in the pack as they walked through the tree line. While my family gawked and stared at the large pack, I stood tensed, swallowing the pings and pangs of guilt I felt for not sharing this detail with my family. However this wasn't my information to give them.
Trying to refocus my thoughts towards helping Jasper with plans of training. It became hard to drift from the grey-silver wolf that held my shattered heart in his hands. Anger and Embarrassment still flooded through my system from our last conversation. I was hurt that he had thought so low of me and that he felt the need to scream at me in front of the whole pack.
I flinched as the memory of what I said popped back in my head. 
~
“Do you really think I wanted to be this monster?” I spun around to stare at him. Ignoring the eavesdropping teens behind me. Paul's face still held the ame disgust, as it did after Jacob told everyone of the newborn army.
“You honestly think that I asked to be this bloodsucking filth.” Paul's face flashed in shock at my phrasing.
" I had a life." I stressed the last word " A good life. With a doting husband, who I only recently found out, killed himself because he couldn't protect me." 
I never told Paul about Jonathan...or anything about my past because…Well he never seemed to care. Hell, Alice and Jasper are the only ones that even knew about Jonathan's suicide...maybe Edward but- \
Finally looking and registering the blank look that was Paul’s face now. I felt nothing but anger as I tried to bite my tongue from telling him anymore. He doesn't deserve to know about Jon. He doesn't get to use that against me like he uses everything else to attack me.
He just doesn't understand the fuckery that I've had to deal with. “ Did you know that one of the uhh-” I looked back at the ground “side efforts~” 
I almost laughed at my word choice. “Of being a leech is that you can’t kill yourself.” I could hear his heart skip a beat. “ Yeah... we can kill each other just not ourselves.”
A laugh escaped my throat, then another , then another. I shook my head, trying to pull myself back together. “And I know that because I tried every single method of the book."
“Even lighting myself on fire, did nothing but tickle me.”
"Y/n" I heard him breathe, then I felt the tiniest brush of a touch on the top of my shoulder. Jerking away from him, and looking back at his face. I saw the disgust that had laced in his expression and eyes were gone. In its place, was an expression of remorse. 
Full on laughing I tried to continue my speech, “It’s hilariously fucked up isn’t it” If I could cry I would be. I swallow the dry sob in the back of my throat. 
“Well my whole entire existence is fucked up actually.” I started to calm down. “ If it wasn’t, I would be 6 feet under right now.”  
“ Y/n” He started but I held up a hand to stop him, but he squeezed out “ It was a bad choice of word-.” 
"Of course!" I blew up. " Because you didn't know." I raised an eyebrow as he raised a hand to touch me again. He put it back down as when he saw the flames in my eyes. I continued "Because you never gave me the chance to explain to you what I went through. You just assumed that I asked for it ." 
"I'm done with having to defend myself, morally from you."   I turned and headed back to my vehicle, ignoring Paul's yells, as I slammed the car door. Bella would just have to get a ride from Jake. 
~
A wave of calmness hitting my system pulled me from the embarrassing memory. My eye shot up to Jasper, who was on the other side of her. He was still staring straight ahead. 
“Welcome” Carlisle spoke, I let my gaze settle on his relaxed stance out in the middle. My father has always amazed me with his calm appearance. 
"I know it must be a difficult thing for you to come." Then he went on to explain that Edward would be acting as a translator, so that way they don't have to phase if they don't want to.
“Thank you” Edward replied in a gruff tone. “We will only watch and listen, but no more. That is the most we can ask of our self-control.” I was thrilled more by that statement than I should be. I was hopeful that maybe I would be able to leave this place without a glance at a certain wolf.
“That is more than enough,” Carlisle smiled calmly. “My son Jasper” his right hand moved to gesture  “And daughter, Y/N '' his hand then shifting slightly to me, I nodded in acknowledgement to Carlisle gaze.
If I was still human, I would have had thousands of tiny goosebumps, up and down my arms right now. It felt like there were at least a thousand eyes on me.
"-have experience in this area. They will teach us how the newborns fight, and how they will be defeated. I’m sure you can apply this to your own hunting style." I heard a low rumble among the wolves 
“They are different from you?” asked Edward. Or Sam? This is getting confusing already. Carlisle smiled, “How about I let them explain.” again gesturing toward Jasper and me before stepping back to stand next to Esme. Jasper and I both walked up from the back to where Carlisle stood in the middle. 
I took a quick glance at Jasper and knowing, he would want to talk more than I did but I promised to speak mainly to the wolves if he explained more to our family. So that meant this question was for me to answer. 
Directing and keeping my attention to Sam, I tried to stay unfazed as I spoke “Yes, as they are still very new to this life. The Newborns will be full of frenzy driven by the brute strength given to them from the blood that still lingers in their system."  
"The newborns will fight amongst themselves. As of today we know that their numbers sit at 20. Ten for us and ten for you, with that it shouldn't be too difficult. but it's highly likely that their numbers will either lower farther or raise. ”  A rumble of excitement seems to run through them. 
“We are happy to take more than our share. If necessary” Edward translated, I notice the change in the tone. I smiled, “We will have to see.”
“ What makes you two more qualified on this matter than any of the others?” Edward spoke again. 
 There was a rustle next to me as Jasper took a step forward. Arms behind his back, his stance reminded me of my first meeting with him after I changed, posed and ready for a fight. 
“Y/N and I were forced into this life for the same reason as these newborns were forced. Except developed a conscience that our creator-" spoke with clear disgust in his tone. " -did not have control over." 
I heard a small gasp behind me and a small rustling of feet behind me. Clearly Bella did not know this strange detail. Jasper began to pace. I always picked on him when he did this. 'Your military is showing', I would say. But right now, it was nothing short of intimidating how he stood. 
“We know how to defeat them because we know what it's like to be them.” “Thank you” Edward quickly cut him off. “We will watch now.” Nodding Jasper turned to face back to our family. 
“There are 2 things you need to know, 1. Don’t let them get their arms around you; they will crush you instantly. 2.” He stopped turning back to face the wolves.
I flashed a look at Sam, the black wolf stood taller staring back at the ex-major. 
“ Don’t go for the obvious kill “ Jasper spoke clearly emphasizing each word wanting them to understand him. “ They will be expecting that. “ Jazz relaxed “ and you will lose. “ Sam let out a huff in response. 
“ Y/N and Emmett, you are up first.” I heard a mumble pass down the wolf line as everyone spread back leaving me and Emmett at different ends of the field.
“This should be good” Emmett spoke now, seeming to warm himself up, rubbing his hands together. 
“Emmett relies on his strength very much like the newborns.” Jasper said “ so he will be a good example for you.” He looked between Emmett and I. "Start whenever you are ready." I smiled at Em “Don’t hold back” cockily,  he let out a bearish laugh at ending it with a smirk. “Not in my nature” and he charged.
I felt the wind as he chucked me in the air, quickly catching myself in a landing spin charging back at him. It seemed not even a long second had passed before I had his large head smashed into the ground. 
“Again” Emmett growled. Smiling, I pushed away from him. I tried to ignore the huffs and snorts coming from the wolves' side.
“Don’t lose your focus” I told him “Following your emotions is only making your moves more predictable.” He nodded, standing up and heading over to his end of the field again. I nodded toward Jasper who agreed with my assessment, gesturing to continue with Emmett.
Taking my place again, Emmett charged and within the next minute he was already calling for another rematch. 
"Don't turn your back on your enemy." Jasper spoke with an eye roll. 
**Paul’s Pov**
"Y/n is kicking his ass." laughed Jared. Silently laughing with him I watched as Y/N jumped on top of the big Cullen twisting him mid-air and slamming him into the ground again. 
"That she is, " agreed Sam lightly chuckling.
Watching her first stand across the field from that large Cullen made my insides twist in worry; however, as I watched her pin him in no time flat, it seemed to bring a sense of pride in me. It only made me feel even more guilty. I shouldn't be happy to finally see her again. I didn't deserve it. Not after what I said about her.
"God, please just apologize to her already" spoke Leah, before I could reply Sam growled softly
" Leah," he warned.
"Shut up" I replied harshly. "I'll keep my thoughts to myself."
"What? I am only trying to help! Out of all of us. I'm the one who knows best how to handle the emotional range of a woman." Quick to defend herself, I realized Leah made sense.Before anyone could really respond to her statement. We watched as Gruff-man walked off the field. Leaving only Y/n on the field...undefeated. Edward stepped up, Jacob tensed as Edward's death flashed in his thoughts
"Jake" Sam barked
Watching all the Cullen's fight each other it was clear to anyone that both Y/N and Jasper were the only experienced ones. Either of them lost a fight with any of the others. It made me wonder…
"We're done for the day"
------
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lluvguts · 3 years
Text
Cool Blue ; Chapter Three
⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫。˚۰˚☽˚⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫。˚۰˚☽˚⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫。˚
recurring visions of such sweet days
⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫。˚۰˚☽˚⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫。˚۰˚☽˚⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫。˚
☽ warnings: slight nsfw (wet dreams, unresolved tension)
☽ fic masterlist
⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫。˚۰˚☽˚⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫。˚۰˚☽˚⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫。˚
He stashed the photos--really he flung them like a frisbee--onto his unmade bed and slammed the door shut before Giulia could inquire about his back pressed to the door, hands on the knob, a cross of a nervous grin and a suspicious glaze over his wavering eyes. But, after careful consideration and with both his sister and father's backs turned, Alberto wiggled back into his room to retrieve the precious pictures and put them carefully on the nightstand. He felt dirty knowing he'd tossed them onto his rumpled sheets, sitting there like he didn't care about them.
But he did.
He didn't expect to register all that had truly happened until tomorrow. His eyes dropped to the glass of tepid water from that morning and the pile of photos next to it, the memories coming back.
Luca's expectant yellow eyes watching him as he traced his shapes and scales with a paintbrush on the canvas.
When Luca grinned like a little puppy and pointed at the painting Alberto had propped on his knees, of none other than the boy himself.
Luca's chin jutting out in defiance when Alberto offered to take Luca's picture home, since keeping it at his home would only result in ruining it.
And, equally defying, the sharp curve of Luca's jawbone as he stuck his tongue out at the sky, leaving Alberto still. He could see his soft features working under there. The faint pulse of his throat, a thrumming instrument but all the same slightly animal. When he had rolled his eyes and begrudgingly scooted his own painting over with a claw, splattering water on the edge, Alberto's eyes fixed on his scales ripple and shift on display when Luca moved.
Somewhere on the surface of the ocean, (the ocean skin as Luca called it fondly, but Alberto couldn't possibly think of that now) a boat's amber light hung in the darkness, the only thing to see from outside and, Alberto bit his lip, holding one meaning.
They were hunting for sea monsters on that boat. Ercole's parents, no doubt.
He walked by the bed to the window, almost in a trance, and slammed it shut. The smells of the sea were cut off, night sounds silenced. He wished he wasn't able to see it anymore, but Massimo's aged house hardly had the proper plumbing to operate let alone some goddamn curtains. It frustrated him that though the mental image of Ercole's father on the boat had lifted, that glowing yellow light remained to taunt him.
Luca said he had a family. A mother and father who cared for him and maybe loved him enough to keep him safe from the surface. But where was he now? These men, more monsters than people, with spears and blades sharper than Massimo's, scanning the calm sea with searchlights? Would the lights scare Luca?
He caught himself on the ledge of the windowsill, holding the wood frame tight. He felt it sigh under his weight it was so old.
What was happening?
"Fratello! Papa is not happy that you're letting his dinner get cold! Again!" Giulia, as Alberto could tell by her voice, was pressed to his closed door and resorted to gleeful knocking again and again.
Alberto slid the lock into place on the window, staring out into the night for a breath. Once, twice, then cleared his throat and called back.
"I'll be just a minute!" He tried to wipe the thought of Luca thrashing in the grip of a fisherman's net from his mind as he spoke, but his words came out wobbly and restrained.
Giulia's annoying pounding on the door stopped. "Okay, but I'm not doing your stupid chores for you anymore! Papa says so!" He saw her shadow hover by the bottom doorframe then whisk away to the light of the kitchen.
But through all of the sweaty panic Alberto cherished the quiet moments spent eating. Neither asked where he'd hurried off to so early in the morning while he wolfed down his dinner. (Truly Alberto wasn't sure of the answer himself, he only figured that if Luca was indeed a sea monster, maybe he was up with the rising of the sun like the fish Massimo and Alberto caught at dawn). But they, mostly Giulia, did however beg to know where that pasta was going if all Alberto did during his free time was sit and draw. They didn't know it took grueling work to paddle out to the island, and equally challenging talent to wrestle your way out of a sea monster's grip. He kept that to himself, of course, even if Machiavelli was snippier than usual at Alberto's presence when he thought about it, bringing a suspicion on what he did during the day that neither Giulia or Massimo seemed to care about.
Alberto nudged the pouchy white cat with his bare foot and Machi bit down on his heel. He pulled his legs back under the chair as far as they could go and as an apology for the fishy smell on him, and for trying to make him move, he dropped a few pieces of sausage down on the floor. He was sure that if no one else in the house was to know, Machiavelli was on Alberto's case, but the cat only growled and ate the peace offering.
He sighed. He was safe for the time being. That made him laugh around his bite of salad.
"Think of something funny, son?" Massimo looked up from his plate. Giulia had finished long ago and was only spinning her fork around in circles on the tablecloth.
Alberto nodded with a smile. "The cat."
"Speaking of cats! There's one that I keep seeing in the alley by the Gelataria, Papa, and I think that Machiavelli likes her!" Giulia perked up and was speaking with passion to Massimo now, Alberto's little quip forgotten.
"The black cat? Giulia, they're bad luck," Massimo put on his best apologetic face but it only spurred Giulia on. Alberto stared at his empty plate and debated whether now was the opportune time to slip away to his room with them distracted.
"But please, Papa! We could have kittens!" Giulia pleaded, hands splayed on the table for effect. From under Alberto's chair Machi was stewing. He stood from the table and took their plates, looking calm. Massimo was holding Giulia's small hand softly in his larger one, but it looked as though the girl was next to tears.
Alberto knew she was faking it, though. He listened smugly with his back to them while rinsing the plates and cutlery.
"Kittens are a lot of work."
"Alberto is a lot of work, but we still keep him around!"
"Giuletta. Manners."
"Sorry, Papa."
"Where would they sleep, Giulia? In your bed with you? You are allergic, my dear."
"Only mildly! And besides, if I start sneezing or something, they can stay in Alberto's room! Plain and simple."
"Excuse me?" Alberto whipped around. "Who said that I was okay with having roommates?"
Giulia giggled until her nose went pink. "You've been sharing that Pescaria smell with the two of us since yesterday, and last I checked, we didn't ask. So think of it as an upgrade."
"Like you smell any better!"
"Actually, Alberto." Massimo turned to him. "It...is an odd smell on you. It's not entirely fish."
"Yeah fratello. It's worse."
"Okay, that's it. I'm excusing myself now. Giulia you get to pick the record to play tonight."
"Go take a shower!" Giulia hollered at him, earning a grumble of disapproval on Massimo's part.
"Y-Yeah, sure thing!"
But the whole time his mind was reeling. Massimo had caught it. Giulia had caught it. Even the cat noticed it, too. Alberto pulled his tank up and over his head once the door was shut, bringing it to his nose. It smelled like sweat and salt, the usual things, but he was right. There was something else. It was mild with his nose so close, but still sharp and tangy, as if the sea-sprinkled wind had a personality that stuck to his clothes.
But that wasn't it. It was...oh no.
It was Luca.
Despite his efforts, it took him a solid ten minutes of scrubbing in the shower to get rid of Luca's smell. It wasn't that he hated it, he was used to smelling like fish from hours spent on Massimo's boat--but Machi had kept Alberto up almost all night yesterday, growling and scratching at Alberto's door because of the smell on him.
From in the kitchen, Giulia had chosen one of Massimo's more upbeat records to listen to while they finished cleaning up. He could hear her off-key singing, and Massimo's baritone jumping in with her, which made him smile.
The polaroids were still there, sticking out from underneath a sliver of the water glass. But of course they were, why wouldn't they be? Door locked, window overlooking the sea mostly covered, Alberto let his bath towel fall to his ankles. A line of shower water tickled his chin, or maybe it was sweat, he wasn't sure. He needed to get dressed. But he picked up the first of five photos.
A blurry little square of the pool that morning, just to test the camera, but around the edges sprigs of grass sprouted up through cracks in the island rock, making the picture much more beautiful than he thought.
The next three were of Luca. All taken as close to the top of the water as Alberto could get, too afraid to stick a hand under and gesture Luca to the surface, and also because it wasn't his camera. Body curled under the water, examining things along the walls of the pool too far to see, tail moving slow and practiced. His dorsal fins were the only things that translated best over film, a brilliant cool blue that Alberto had checked (and double-checked) he had the right color paint for.
He let out a tiny sigh at the final photo. Luca facing him from below, his expression a scowl, looking so human it was hard to believe that he wasn't.
But, as Alberto's fingers pinched the corners of the photos, of Luca, holding his breath as he knew it was definitely sweat he was now feeling on his neck, wasn't he human?
His chest ached, drumming a painful harmony from his frantic heart all the way down his abdomen, and if he moved the photos from his line of vision and looked down--
Oh no.
He relentlessly put everything he had into hurrying to throw on some clothes and turn off the lights. crawling into bed, so transfixed on the polaroids and—was it possible? Really? Had he just…?
No. He refused to encourage that line of thinking.
Luca was a sea monster, and probably asleep someplace far below the surface with his family, dreaming of seaweed or whatever else things that were not human thought about.
But, as Alberto lay there rigid and aching, staring at the ceiling waiting for that to go away, part of him wished he could be there with him. To make sure he was okay.
Pfft, sure. Make sure he's alright. That's all.
/ / /
Luca was not dreaming of seaweed.
But he was convinced he had died in his sleep, over a dream of soft touches. Phantom hands running down his scales, someone's calloused fingertips grazing the hollow of his throat so tenderly it made Luca squirm. Luca grabbed his imaginary person's forearm, begging to be touched. One hand remained tracing patterns on his chest while Luca felt another take hold of the side of his face, rubbing circles into his gills until he was sure he was going to pass out from the stimulation. He was so...sensitive there. Around his cheeks and his gills and especially his tail. But all he could do was tilt his face back in guilty bliss and allow whatever was happening to him to continue.
He'd never in all of his years had a dream quite like this.
"P-Please..." Luca whispered. Please stop, or please keep going? Even he didn't know.
He swore he heard a chuckle echo, a familiar chuckle, a confident one, but some sort of reaction all the same.
Luca blinked in his dream, almost crying out because the touch was gone, but then he realized it had only moved. The imaginary touches returned, this time a cool fingertip along his dorsal fin to his tail, while Luca shivered around it, biting his cheek. His legs twitched, and his tail curled around the forearm of this imaginary hand, feeling safe and comfortable enough to do so even if it was touching him in ways his mother had warned him about. The air around him (around them? no one was there) felt absurdly warm, but he realized it was only coming from his scales. The smell that hung in the air was overpowering, thick and heady in sweetness with just a trace of salt that Luca could almost taste in the air. A familiar smell...
He couldn't take much more of it. He had to wake up before...something happened. Something bad.
The cold water of his bedroom startled him into consciousness, the subdued blues and greys in much starker contrast to the tropical greens he'd dreamt of. That white-hot feeling came back, this time stronger and with a ripple of pain that burned in the pit of his stomach. When he opened his eyes the water around his bed felt warmer, like it had in the dream, and when Luca stretched out a hand his fingers were cool though his forearm was not, as if he was the one causing all of this heat.
Huh. Weird.
The last memories of the dream were still a thick haze on his thoughts, racing around and replaying the scenes over and over again until Luca buried his face into the sewn kelp of his bed to keep from whimpering.
He let his hand press to his belly, where it hurt the most, then slip down the waistband of his pants to rest between his legs. His fingers came back covered in something slick.
"Alberto..." Luca whined, rolling onto his stomach to alleviate some of the discomfort.
His eyes flung open. Alberto?
Oh.
Oh no.
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ayuuria · 4 years
Text
Yashahime Translation: Animage December 2020 Issue (Part 1)
Please do not repost this translation without my consent! This includes screenshots. If you wish to share this translation, simply link to this post.
For more information regarding the use of my translations, click here.
This month’s Animage article was quite loaded with 6 pages of content. It consisted of an illustration with Kohaku and Hisui (2 pages), an interview with Kimura Ryōhei and Urao Takehiro (2 pages), and an interview with Uru (2 pages). That being said, this translation has been split into two parts.
Part 1: Interview with Kimura Ryōhei and Urao Takehiro Part 2: Interview with Uru
Click Here to read Part 2
The Demon Slayers Have Arrived!
While butting heads with each other, the strength of unity between Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha slowly increases. Watching over and supporting those three girls are the uncle and nephew demon slayer combo.
Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha return to the feudal era from the modern Reiwa era. Lately, they have been slaying more demons together. In episode 5, they defeated one of the “Four Perils”, Tōkotsu; in episode 6, they subdued the demon cats nesting in the old temple. Each has a different goal: Towa’s is to break the spell of the “Dream Butterfly” cast upon Setsuna, Setsuna’s is to fulfill her duties as a demon slayer, and Moroha’s is to defeat demon bounties in order to pay off her debt. However, from spending time together, their teamwork seems to be slowly improving.
Supporting the girls’ efforts are demon slayers Kohaku and Hisui. The two of them show concern for Towa and the others by doing things like taking care of Towa who came from the modern era or providing hints to Setsuna on demon subjugation. Especially Kohaku who has relations with their parents in that he joined forces with them to defeat Naraku. Given that, that could be more reason why he pays attention to the girls. Starting from the reason why the Tree of Ages requested the three girls to “Defeat Kirinmaru and Sesshōmaru” to the existence of Rin sleeping within the Tree of Ages, the circumstances surrounding the three girls is full of mystery. Surely Kohaku and Hisui’s existence will become of help to the girls as they overcome trials.
(Character Bios)
Kohaku When he was a boy, it was said that he “Wasn’t suited to be demon slayer” but now he serves as the head of the clan. He was the one who accepted Setsuna as a demon slayer.
Hisui Miroku and Sango’s child and a demon slayer who fights with Hiraikotsu as his weapon. He did not know Setsuna was a half-demon until he was told by Kaede in episode 3.
Higurashi Towa In order to free her younger sister, Setsuna, from the spell of the Dream Butterfly, she returns to the feudal era. Due to having lived in the modern era for so long, she is somewhat hesitant about fighting demons.
Setsuna A demon slayer who had her sleep and childhood memories stolen by the Dream Butterfly. While she pushes away her elder sister, Towa, who for some reason involves herself with her, she also seems to be concerned for her (Towa).
Moroha In order to repay her debt, she bounty hunts. When she puts on rouge, she becomes “The Country Destroying Beniyasha” and displays unparalleled strength but she falls asleep less than a minute later.
Miroku A monk who previously traveled with Inuyasha. Defeating Naraku, the Wind Tunnel in his right hand disappeared. After the battle, he married Sango and became the father to three children which includes Hisui.
Sango Kohaku’s older demon slayer sister. She previously traveled with Inuyasha and her weapon at the time was Hiraikotsu. She had three children with Miroku: Kin’u, Gyokuto, and Hisui.
That Kohaku Became a Dignified Adult
The Role of Kohaku: Kimura Ryōhei “Kohaku is a character that also appeared in “Inuyasha” but he matured well. When one’s impression of him changes this much, I don’t have to keep Akko-san (Yajima Akiko who voiced Kohaku in his boyhood) in mind so he’s easier to play which is nice. As of now, he has the impression of an adult who doesn’t get into a tight spot or loses composure. They handle him with dignity so I think I can play him without worry.“ (translator’s note: Not sure if I translated that last sentence correctly…)
Kohaku During His Boyhood
Sango’s younger brother. He lost his life to Naraku’s trap but was revived with the power of the Shikon Jewel shard. At first, he was being controlled by Naraku but he regained his memories later on.
Kohaku and Sesshōmaru’s relationship
In the story of “Inuyasha”, Kohaku was always in danger of demons targeting the Shikon Jewel shard. At one point, Sesshōmaru saves Kohaku who had been captured by Byakuya of the Mirage and afterwards, Kohaku accompanies Sesshōmaru on his travels. Normally Sesshōmaru does not get close to others but he did not object to Kohaku travelling with him. It could be that to Sesshōmaru, Kohaku was someone that he could allow to stay near him.
What Did He Inherit from His Father, Miroku?
The Role of Hisui: Urao Takehiro “While Hisui is a little older than Setsuna and the others, he has quite a calm impression. It’s just that he is still young, so he has an unknowing and inexperienced side to him. His uncle is teaching him in that regard. I think Hisui’s strong personality resembles his mother, Sango. The lecherous side of his father, Miroku, hasn’t appeared in Hisui yet so I wonder what I’ll do if he has that kind of a side to him (laughs).”
The Reliable Uncle and the Inexperienced Nephew
— From the start, what sort of impression did you have of the work, “Inuyasha”?
Urao: I’m definitely part of the “Inuyasha” generation. I think I was in upper elementary school when “Inuyasha” started broadcasting. I really liked it and I would watch it every week while eating dinner. The first CD I ever bought with my own allowance was V6’s “CHANGE THE WORLD, Inuyasha first opening song” too.
Kimura: I think I was in high school at the time, so I was right on the cusp of the age for watching anime on a daily basis. I felt it was about time I moved on. It’s just that in regard to “Inuyasha”, it left the impression that it was a work that could be enjoyed not just by kids but also by high schoolers and older. In addition to it being the work of Takahashi Rumiko-san, the creator of my absolute favorite “Ranma ½”, I was working in the industry at the time but I enjoyed it as a viewer.
— Which character left an impression on you?
Urao: My favorite was Shippō. In any case, he’s cute. At the time, I was a real scaredy cat so whenever the demon battles began, I would always look away from the screen (laughs). Within that, Shippō was a comforting existence. I also liked the romantic comedy, so I enjoyed watching the exchanges between Miroku and Sango.
Kimura: The one who left an impression on me was Naraku. At a glance, he didn’t really feel like a final boss. When you look at Sesshōmaru, you know “This guy is strong”. But with Naraku, it’s like “Is this guy strong?  What?!”. He could probably win in a fist fight but that air that he has of not allowing you to punch him is something I actually found creepy.
— The current work continues the world of “Inuyasha” but apparently, you were offered the role rather than auditioning for it.
Urao: I was extremely happy. I knew the work, “Hanyō no Yashahime” was being created before it was discussed with me so I was looking forward to it as a regular viewer. It was then that I was asked to play Hisui and I was really surprised and honored.
Kimura: I didn’t know that they were moving forward with this work so I was all the more surprised (laughs).  It’s not often that you get to be involved in an anime that you watched as an average viewer during your childhood, so I was happy. I had a connection with Rumiko-san from a previous work called “Kyōkai no RINNE” so I’m thankful that I get to have another connection via this work of completely different nature. If I had to say, though they’re the same in that they’re works by Rumiko-san, “Ranma ½” and “Kyōkai no RINNE” left a strong comedic impression. However, I was very excited to take part in the fantasy adventure world that is “Inuyasha”.
— How did you feel about the concept of “Continuing the world of “Inuyasha”, drawing the story of the next generation”
Kimura: Continuing a great work is exceedingly difficult so I don’t think it’s something that should be done at a moment’s notice. It’s just that “Inuyasha” was a big hit work that was drawn by the famous artist, Takahashi Rumiko. It was watched by many and loved for a long time. If the staff who created a work of that level decided to do a continuation, there’s no way they could create something half-hearted. Upon receiving talks, I just reminded myself to that level on my own and thought “It will definitely be okay!”
Urao: The generation that watched “Inuyasha” in real time are now adults and there are some that have children. That’s why I think “Hanyō no Yashahime” is a work that can be enjoyed by two generations. Adults can watch a new story together with the kids while explaining to them “”Inuyasha” was this kind of story”. I’m hoping I will be able to assist that kind of work. Actually when episode 1 aired, my high school senpai contacted me saying “I’m about to watch it with my son”.
— That’s a wonderful story. When playing the roles of Kohaku and Hisui, do you keep in mind Kohaku’s boyhood days in “Inuyasha” or Miroku and Sango who are Hisui’s parents?
Kimura: Actually, I don’t keep that in mind one bit.
— I see.
Kimura: For example, even if I were to keep Akko-san (Yajima Akiko who voiced Kohaku in his boyhood) in mind, if asked if I could come near that, the answer would be no (translator’s note: not too sure I got the translation of this sentence right). It’s just that when I was told that Akko-san said “Oh my~ he’s become a fine man”, I was relieved. I’m glad she didn’t think “Tsk!” (laughs).
Urao: I completely mindful of that! Especially in episode 2 when shouting while throwing Hirakotsu; I recorded the voice of Kuwashima Hōko-san (the role of Sango) saying “Hiraikotsu” and the whole time I was riding the train, I listened to it and did image training.
Kimura: I see. It certainly is something like a signature move.
Urao: First, I thought I needed viewers to acknowledge “Hirakotsu!”. Also, since the image of Miroku being able to calmly assess and explain the situation was strong, I’m really conscious of that in explanation scenes. I rewatched the anime and researched the way he spoke.
Kimura: There’s a lot of scenes where Kohaku and Hisui give explanations on demons while splitting lines (amongst themselves).
Urao: Indeed.
Kimura: Kohaku and Hisui probably meet up beforehand. Something like “I’ll explain up to here” (laughs).
Urao:  Responding “Then I’ll explain the next (part)” is something they might be doing (laughs).
— How do you view each other’s characters?
Urao: Kohaku has always been a person who’s known that he was being manipulated and yet still moved in secret; but I also got the impression that he had a strong heart. It means that Ryōhei-san is playing someone like him and it’s really reassuring. As an average viewer of “Inuyasha”, I’m deeply moved that “He’s become a reliable man!” and as Hisui, I feel that “He’s a reliable uncle.” Calling him “Uncle Kohaku” felt kind of fresh (laughs).
Kimura: The impression I got from Hisui was “He’s a good young man.” Although I can say the same for the main three and not just Hisui. At the beginning, I wondered how Kohaku and Hisui would balance out but thanks to the scenario, lines, and Urao’s acting, it became “While he’s gaining experience as a demon slayer, there’s still a part of him that’s inexperienced.”  That’s why I was able to grasp the balance between the two naturally instead of being strangely conscious of it. I became convinced of this in episode 2 in their first appearance scene.
He Can’t Use Any Other Weapon? Hisui Is Still in the Midst of Growing (as a demon slayer).
— Next, please tell us your impressions of Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha.
Urao: Even though they were raised in the feudal era, all of them have some “modern era girl” touch to them. Like the chattering ambiance (laughs). Also, I think each of them has an aspect that they inherited from their parents. Setsuna is the daughter of Sesshōmaru; you can feel that Moroha is Inuyasha’s daughter; Towa’s easygoing aspect gives you the sense that she was raised by Sōta.
Kimura: In a sense, Towa is the hardest to grasp. I think that gives her that protagonist feel.
— You feel she is hard to grasp?
Kimura: She’s full of energy and has an overflowing sense of justice but she has moments where you don’t know what she’s thinking. There, other characters and the readers get tied up… I think you see that a lot in protagonists of thrilling shōnen manga. I think Towa has that sort of precarious aspect. Heck, a modern middle schooler going back to the feudal era; that’s when you think something’s wrong with them (laughs). However, the story won’t progress if you don’t have that and it’s because they’re like that that they can remain the protagonist. Setsuna is cool and of few words but it’s easy to see what she’s thinking. I think the energetic Moroha is the easiest to understand.
Urao: My favorite of the three is Moroha. I can really feel that she inherited Inuyasha’s blood. Like how she’s a little hasty and the way she talks.
Kimura: The way Moroha’s voice actress, Tadokoro-san (Azusa), skillfully plays her is nice. Listening to her talk at a nice tempo feels good. Also, the voice actress for Setsuna, Komatsu-san (Mikako) is able to properly incorporate a sense of inexperience to a character that is prone to appearing boorish; I thought that’s her for yah. With this work, this is my first time working with Matsumoto-san (Sara) who plays the role of Towa and she’s good at acting! During today’s test recording when she said the line “Setsuna!” she got directed once, but the “Setsuna” in the actual recording came out sounding good like bam! I feel something like a synergy effect as the three work each other up which I think is splendid. It seems that the three cast members get along really well too.
Urao: The three of them act wonderfully don’t they. Just, I wonder why Setsuna is somewhat cold towards Hisui (laughs). As of now, Hisui calls Setsuna’s name the most but she looks away from him a lot… I hope they can close the distance between them moving forward!
— Kohaku and Hisui’s role is sort of like a guardian to Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha right.
Kimura: That’s right. It’s like the two of us are watching over the three girls.
Urao: We are sending them to slay demons after all. Hisui should’ve gone with them (laughs).
— In episode 5, due to Hiraikotsu not being effective on the demon they were taking on, Hisui had to stay behind.
Kimura: You know, Hisui is a pro so make him be able to use other weapons! What is he going to do when he doesn’t have Hiraikotsu on hand! (laughs)
Urao: You’re right (laughs). He might get more from here on. He is in the middle of growing (as a demon slayer)!
— Hisui’s development from here on is something to look forward to (laughs). Today (at time of the interview) is right after the televising of episode 1 but Urao-san was posting live on social media. You reacted to the line “Don’t cry Hisui~”
Urao: That’s the line that Hisui’s older twin sisters (Kin’u and Gyokuto) said. Hisui was still a cute baby!
Kimura: They seem strong if they fight as twins. I wonder when the grown-up sisters will show up. Could it be that they’re part of the demon slayer team?
Urao: I’m sure they will make an appearance. The content within episode 1 made “Inuyasha” fans very happy. You could feel the “Inuyasha”-ism everywhere. For example, the program sponsor background image, heads mercilessly flying off, and the background music that makes you go “When this music plays, the demon can be defeated”; everything was nostalgic.
— Yasumura Makoto’s role as Miroku was a topic of discussion as well.
Urao: I was moved. He played the role he inherited from Tsujitani Kōji-san (played the role of Miroku in “Inuyasha”) with great respect. He made me think it was actually Miroku and as his son, I got fired up even more.
— Lastly, please give us your thoughts on the illustration of Kohaku and Hisui published in this month’s issue.
Kimura: Both of them look so reliable!
Urao: Yeah, they look cool. When I see them like this, they really look alike. Uncle Kohaku has a big scar on his nose but I wonder if the one who gave him that scar will make an appearance in the future? The freckles he had as a kid are gone too which is impressionable.
— In the future, is there a situation you would like to see in a copyright image?
Kimura: This is a staple but Kohaku and Hisui in swimsuits?
Urao: (laughs) For me, I want to see the whole family lined up. Like a family photo with the parents, Hisui, the older sisters, and Uncle Kohaku.
Kimura: I like that! The family getting together doesn’t seem like something we’ll get to see much in the actual show. Also, I might want to see the two’s desperate expression. As of now, Kohaku and the others have an air of composure about them; it would be nice to see their forms in action. I’m sure something like a strong enemy will appear and the figures of them fighting valiantly will be drawn in the show. However, there are three protagonists, so our turn probably won’t be for a while (laughs).
Which scene up to episode 6 left an impression on you?
Kimura: Mistress Three Eyes that Nabatame-san (Hitomi) played was scary. She was a formidable foe. She looked just like the demon that first appeared in “Inuyasha”; it was amusing that they continued that.
Urao: Apparently, she’s the grandchild of Mistress Centipede.
Kimura: That confirms a second and third generation. The part where “That thing also had children!” is surprising too though (laughs).
Urao: For me, it had to be the scene where Hisui and Kohaku make their first appearance that left an impression. To think the day would come where I could ride Kirara and throw Hiraikotsu… I was deeply moved like we’ve crossed over eras.
Kimura: Even if you encounter a wonderful new work, it’s not often that you get to experience the same things the people playing the characters in the wonderful preexisting work felt.
Which character are you curious about?
Urao: Kirinmaru who has that mastermind aura. How is he going to move from here on?... There’s a person named Kirin Osamu-sensei in the modern era too so I’m curious as to the relationship between that.
Kimura: There’s no way that that’s the only screen time Hosoya-san (Yoshimasa who plays Kirinmaru) is getting. There’s this feeling of expectation that he will appear again.
Urao: Yeah
Kimura: Not only is there a chance that his existence is connected to the feudal era, but maybe there’s a possibility that he’s actually someone’s descendant? Well, we know absolutely nothing about the scenario ahead so we can just say whatever about the (plot) progression from here on (laughs).
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schrijverr · 3 years
Text
Translation Error
Bakugo’s mom is Dutch and at home, he speaks Dutch. He hadn’t realized the class hadn’t caught on yet, until he’s calling with his mom. After that, they notice more Dutch things.
(AKA, I’m Dutch and I’m having fun with making Bakugo Dutch as well)
On AO3.
Ships: none
Warnings: none, but tell me if I missed anything!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bakugo Mitsuki had not always been a Bakugo, she’d not even always been Mitsuki. Before she was a Bakugo, she had been a Jansen, Marjolein Jansen, and her parents had moved from the Netherlands to Japan for her fathers job.
But that had been when she was eleven and she was fluent in Dutch, teaching it to her son when he was young.
They were a multi-lingual household with Mitsuki swearing in Dutch as she stubbed her toe while Masaru told Bakugo to put on his shoes in Japanese.
Katsuki took great pride in the fact that he spoke two languages, often teaching swearwords in Dutch to the other kids on the playground.
However, after a few years the novelty had worn of for most and it became just another fact of life that Kastuki would sometimes swear under his breath in a different language or forget an easy word only to grumble a weird word until he had found the translation.
Being in a Japanese school and watching Japanese media, however, ensured that Katsuki was much more comfortable in Japanese than Dutch. Even if Dutch was the language he spoke at home, so by the time he entered UA, he hardly ever spoke Dutch outside of his mom and grandparents.
Since he hardly ever spoke Dutch, it took a long while for everyone in his class to even notice that he could speak another language.
Of course, when you were running for your life it was hard to notice that your friend was chanting “kut, kut, kut, kut,” under his breath instead of a more familiar swear and you didn’t see them talking to their mom at school.
So, it wasn’t until they moved into the dorms together that people started to notice it.
The first instance was mostly brushed off. Bakugo and Midoriya had been talking about hero training classes when Bakugo said: “We never really did more- more- more,” he snapped his fingers, obviously annoyed, and grumbled, “godverdomme, reddingswerk, wat is dat ook alweer?” he looked at Midoriya and repeated, “Reddingswerk?”
Midoriya shrugged, he didn’t know what the Dutch word meant. Bakugo groaned, before explaining: “What we did with Thirteen.”
“Rescue?” Midoriya offered.
“Yeah, that’s the bitch,” Bakugo said, “We never really did more rescue work after that, now did we.”
“Hmm, yeah, we should ask Iida about that, as class rep, he might be able to do something about it,” Midoriya agreed and the conversation continued normally.
He already knew of the Dutch and hadn’t been phased by it, while most the class had only heard the tone Bakugo used, which was as usual annoyed and angry, not really registering the language as different.
The next time someone could have noticed, but didn’t was when he was helping Kaminari with his English homework. Kaminari groaned: “How can you keep track of all these letters? It’s so confusing.”
“I already knew the alphabet,” Bakugo shrugged, remembering how his mother had showed him how to write down his name differently and the fairytales she used to read to him.
“That’s nice, wish that were me,” Kaminari said miserably, looking at his homework.
“It’s still fucking confusing,” Bakugo huffed, thinking of the English pronouncing ‘a’ as ‘e,’ while pronouncing ‘e’ as ‘i,’ or why they couldn’t say the ‘w’ like a normal person. He blinked out of his thoughts and said: “Oi, focus again, Battery-boy.”
Kaminari startled and whined, but turned back to his homework with much displeasure.
A few days later, Bakugo stubbed his toe on the table near the couches when he got up to grab himself something to drink. He grabbed his foot and swore: “Godver de tering zooi. Kut, kut, kut. Holy shit, godver. Wat een tyfus tafel. Fuck that hurt. Klere ding.”
Everyone blinked at the outburst, before Mina asked: “What the fuck was that?”
“That’s called swearing, Raccoon,” Bakugo glared at her, “Who even put this table here?”
“The school, idiot,” Jiro shrugged, not really looking further into the weird noises that had come out of Bakugo’s mouth, because she didn’t think it above him to know obscure swears, just to add to his repertoire.
Bakugo glared at her as well, but the throbbing in his toe had subsided and he wasn’t really looking to pick a fight when they were about to watch a movie. So he dropped it and just went to grab himself a drink.
It was not until his mother called him that people truly caught on to the fact that it was an entirely different language, instead of some weird swears here and there. His phone rang while on the couch and he groaned when he saw who was calling.
Kirishima asked: “Who’s mama?”
“It’s my mom, dumbass,” he said, before swiping to pick up and saying: “Hallo met is Katsuki, waarom bel je me, heks?”
The person on the other side of the line said something, while Kirishima and Mina stared in confusion at the incomprehensible babble coming out of Bakugo’s mouth.
“Kon dat niet wachten?” Bakugo replied after a moment, getting up to get a bit of privacy as he spoke, “Ik zit hier beneden nu met mensen, we zijn ons huiswerk aan het doen. En dat is pas over een week, ook nog, by the way. Waarom val je me daar nu mee lastig?”
Midoriya came in and Mina whispered to him: “What’s he doing?” with a nod to Bakugo.
The other boy looked at Bakugo just as he said: “Nee, ik heb het al met Aizawa besproken, ik kan gewoon dat weekend naar huis komen. Hij snapte ‘t toen ik uitlegde dat opa en oma van ver komen.”
So, Midoriya shrugged: “Talking with his mom, I suppose. I don’t speak Dutch, sorry.”
“Why is he even speaking Dutch?” Kirishima asked, completely confused.
“Because his mom is Dutch.” Midoriya was confused by Kirishima’s confusion, surely they knew this already?
A few more people walked in and looked between the three confused teens and Bakugo, who was oblivious to the stares Mina and Kirishima were giving him.
He nodded even though his mom couldn’t see and said: “Ja, dat weet ik. Ik heb het opgeschreven. Ik ben niet achterlijk hoor, heks. Natuurlijk vergeet ik ‘t niet.”
A silence fell, in which the newcomers also had a chance to be confused. Then Bakugo hung up with a: “Ja, ja, doei, spreek je later. Doe de groeten aan papa enzo.”
Bakugo turned back to see half the class looking at him and he snapped: “What are you all looking at, eh?”
Midoriya, god bless his heart, spoke up for everyone and explained: “I think they only just realized you’re half-Dutch.”
“Why? Are they dumb?” Bakugo frowned, he hadn’t made the conscious effort to hide it.
“Oi, we’re not dumb,” Mina got out of her stupor.
“Yeah, Bakubro, you could have told us,” cried Kirishima.
“What is that thought?” Bakugo said, “Should I have made an announcement out of it? Do the klompendans while hanging out the Dutch flag? Like what do you want from me? I didn’t even try to hide it.”
It was quiet for a moment as most had to concede that was a pretty solid point. In the end Tsu asked him: “Can you say something in Dutch?”
“Am I a circus monkey or something?” Bakugo growled.
Hagakure jumped in as well: “Please, Bakugo, I missed most of the phone call, I wanna hear what it sounds like.”
More people rallied behind her and Bakugo gave in, saying: “Jullie zijn allemaal stom en ik haat het hier.”
“What did you say?” Mina asked.
“I said that you’re all stupid and I hate it here,” Bakugo said, before turning to walk away.
During dinner that evening more people nagged him. Mina and Kirishima wanted to know what the phone call was about (it was his mom asking if he had gotten permission to come home to see his grandparents next weekend) and the people who hadn’t been there to see wanted to hear what Dutch sounded like (Bakugo hit the closest of said people and told them nothing).
After a while, Momo mused: “I thought your mother’s name was Mitsuki. That’s a pretty Japanese name.”
“Her actual name is Marjolein, but no one ever pronounced or wrote it right, so she just says it’s Mitsuki,” Bakugo shrugged.
“How do you even spell that?” Kaminari wondered.
“You’re not good enough at the Roman alphabet for me to spell it out to you,” Bakugo told him, before adding: “And I’m not sure if it’s the long ij or the short ei.”
Kaminari frowned at the insult, then said: “You just made the same noise twice.”
“Yeah, but one is i j and the other is e i,” Bakugo explained, “It’s the same sound, okay. You just write it differently. I think it’s the short ei, but I never use that name for her. I’ve only heard opa en oma call her that.”
“Who?” Kirishima asked.
“My grandparents, like grandpa is opa and oma is grandma,” Baugo said, hoping they would stop asking him questions, because he was tired of explaining and he just wanted to eat his dinner in peace.
Luckily most had caught on to his annoyed tone and left him alone, but Bakugo could feel that this was something new and interesting that would hold their attention for a while.
He was right, because that week he was often asked what the Dutch word for something was or what the thing he just said was (it was usually swears), but he managed to survive ‘till Friday when he got to leave campus for the weekend.
They were walking back to the dorms, so that Bakugo could grab his stuff, before leaving to go see his grandparents, when he got a notification. He looked and said: “Fuck yeah, m’n opa en oma brought me hagelslag.”
“What is that?” Kirishima asked.
“It’s- uhm, beleg- stuff you put on bread,” Bakugo explained, knowing this was very a Dutch thing and was already pretty weird in countries that ate bread regularly, “I’ll probably bring it with me Monday.”
The others nodded and Bakugo said goodbye, before leaving, excited to see his grandparents again after so long. They had moved back to the Netherlands when he was five, saying they missed their country. He didn’t understand, because it always rained in the Netherlands when he’d been there and he got nearly hit by a bike multiple times.
He had a blast that weekend by excluding his dad from as many conversations as possible while catching up with his grandparents.
Returning on Monday, he had to do a double take when Kirishima greeted him in Japanese and asked how his weekend had been, before he remembered that it wasn’t all Dutch anymore. He said it was good, before sliding into his seat.
That lunch break he got out some sweets from his bag, reluctantly sharing them with his friends: “They gave these to me, something about their youth and shit. Whatever.”
Mina held up a little brown stick like candy and asked: “What’s this?”
“A kaneelstokje,” Bakugo answered, seeing her helpless look, he expanded: “It’s - what that fucking word again - kaneel, uhm… ah, yeah, cinnamon. It’s a cinnamon stick. When you bite it feels weird, but they’re nice. I also have the cherry version.”
With a curious hum Mina stuck it in her mouth, then she bit and grimaced, before mumbling: “That was harder than I expected.”
“Your mistake,” Bakugo shrugged, shoving a stroopwafel in his mouth.
A few tables over Midoriya spotted them and skipped over, asking Bakugo: “Did they give you those pig head candies?”
“Biggetjes?” Bakugo asked, “Yeah, here. I don’t like these, but they keep giving me them. I would much rather have the monkey ones.”
“Those have licorice on them, Kacchan,” Midoriya made a face.
“They’re nice, now fuck off, nerd,” Bakugo grumbled.
“Pig heads?” Hagakure asked.
“Yeah, it’s in the shape of a pig head and it’s a fruit gummy,” Bakugo shrugged, “The ears are slightly different and the monkey version is part licorice.”
“That’s weird,” Mina told him.
“Then you’re not getting more candy,” Bakugo shot back.
“No, I wanna try the cookies. I’m sorry,” Mina quickly said.
With an eyeroll Bakugo handed her a stroopwafel, explaining that it was a hard waffle with hardened syrup between it. He had eaten them hot and soft once and he didn’t get the rave about them fresh of the hotplate, he much preferred them cold.
They ate the foreign candy with interest asking about them and laughed about the guttural pronunciation that it had to them, marveling how Bakugo could make the hard ‘g’ sound, while they struggled.
And the next morning the whole class came together to stare in horror at Bakugo’s breakfast. He had put butter on a slice of bread, then put chocolate sprinkles on it. When Jiro had asked what the fuck he was eating, he scowled and said: “It’s hagelslag, okay, Earbuds.”
“That’s hagelslag?” Kirishima asked, stumbling over the word.
“Yeah,” Bakugo, “Almost everyone eats it. You also have vlokken, but that’s just hagelslag except flat and a bit bigger, though they also have hagelslag XL. There’s also a fruit version, but that’s just flavored hardened sugar.”
Uraraka looked at Bakugo’s plate and said: “This just feels off.”
“Well, then don’t look at, ey, Round-face,” Bakugo growled as he hunched protectively over his plate.
“Can I try?” Kirishima asked.
Bakugo eyed him suspiciously, before handing him a bit of his bread. He watched as Kirishima tried it, face morphing into a grin as he said: “Dutch kids are lucky. They get to eat chocolate for breakfast. Are you sure parents condone this?”
“My grandfather has never eating anything different for breakfast in his life,” Bakugo said.
“Nice.”
And with that they decided that this wasn’t really something to get on the blond’s nerves about, since it wasn’t really a big deal, and the conversation moved on to different topics.
But the knowledge that Bakugo was multilingual settled as normal in the group over time and explained how here and there he would say something incredibly weird, seemingly thinking it’s normal.
No one had commented on it before, but now it was easier to understand why.
For example, when they were having a collaborative training with class 1-B, Kirishima punched Bakugo’s arm and said: “You should give a pep-talk. Come on, Bakubro, inspire us.”
“Nah, Midoriya is better at sticking a heart under someone’s belt than I am, he should do it,” he replied.
“What?” Kirishima asked, confused
“You know, encouraging people and shit?” Bakugo asked, only getting more confusion back, “No, not Japanese?”
“No, bro,” Kirishima grinned.
“Well, it still makes sense,” Bakugo grouched.
“I would say no,” Mina commented.
“Shut up, Raccoon,” Bakugo huffed, “It makes sense. You give someone your heart for courage and the best place to store it is on your belt. Like in Medieval times.”
“Still weird.”
“And you still have to shut up,” Bakugo shot back, “Just focus on beating those pompous motherfuckers.”
Because in the end, it didn’t matter which language he spoke, he stayed Bakugo. Swearing and competitive Bakugo.
~~
A/N:
Fun fact: a lot of foreigners have trouble with our ‘g’ which somehow can also be written as ‘ch’ as well as our double vowels, like ‘aa’ and ‘ee’
As for all the translations:
Kut means cunt, literally, but it is used like you would use shit (and yes, learning the verb cut in English class was very fun and completely misused)
“Godver de tering zooi. Kut, kut, kut. Holy shit, godver. Wat een tyfus tafel. Fuck that hurt. Klere ding.”
Goddamn the [swear] mess. Cunt, cunt, cunt. Holy shit, goddamn. What a [swear] table. Fuck that hurt. [Swear] thing.
When I put [swear] it’s bc I cannot explain why we swear with it and I do not want to put in the mental effort of explaining it and just saying it will make it sound worse than it actually is
The phone convo isn’t really interesting, but if anyone wants to know what Bakugo said:
“Hi, het is Katsuki, waarom bel je me, heks?”
Hi, it’s Katsuki, why are you calling me, witch?
“Kon dat niet wachten?”
Couldn’t that wait?
“Ik zit hier beneden nu met mensen, we zijn ons huiswerk aan het doen. En dat is pas over een week, ook nog, by the way. Waarom val je me daar nu mee lastig?”
I’m sitting downstairs with people right now, we’re doing our homework. And that’s in a week, as well, by the way. Why are you bothering me with that now?
“Nee, ik heb het al met Aizawa besproken, ik kan gewoon dat weekend naar huis komen. Hij snapte ‘t toen ik uitlegde dat opa en oma van ver komen.”
No, I already talked about it with Aizawa, I can just go home that weekend. He understood when I explained that grandpa and grandma came from far.
“Ja, dat weet ik. Ik heb het opgeschreven. Ik ben niet achtelijk hoor, heks. Natuurlijk vergeet ik ‘t niet.”
Yes, I know. I wrote it down. I’m not an idiot, witch. Of course I wouldn’t forget it.
“Ja, ja, doei, spreek je later. Doe de groeten aan papa enzo.”
Yes, yes, bye, talk to you later. Say hi to dad etc.
Only when translating this phone call did I realize how many filler words we have that don’t make sense in translation, so I just left them.
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wsgeon · 3 years
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hey everyone! ummm this is peyton (also the mun of lee hyeon) taking a second shot at a second character — i have a lot of muse for this one, so i swear he’ll be around for a while… 🥵 this is ryu geon, yes his name rhymes with hyeon’s & no i do not care ♥️ he’s the lead guitarist/vocalist of meta and also the son of a former nobody rockstar, but i’ll get into all that below! like this post if you’d like for me to come into your ims to plot, click the read more for more info on geon, and/or click here to be taken to his pages: CAREER, DOSSIER, PINTEREST.
HISTORY.
born in autumn ‘97 to a “budding rockstar” (translation: “no yeah i swear our band’s really starting to take off, we sold twenty-three tickets to our last show!”) & a woman with commitment issues ♥️ geon’s dad always told him that his mom left because she had some dire matters that needed to be taken care of and SWORE that she cried the last time she held her dear baby boy, but all of his dad’s bandmates say that she was just some groupie and had to be persuaded into carrying her child to term… who can say for sure?
naturally, there are no pictures of this mystery woman. there was one (1) of her holding infant geon, but then he found out that that was actually a sound tech who worked for his dad’s band… and he just never corrected geon’s assumptions LOLLLL
anyway! he was always really close to his dad, considering they were a two-person family. he has a set of grandparents, an aunt and a couple cousins but they were never involved with geon’s life because his dad is the #blacksheep of the family. geon and his dad against the world, am i right?
uhhh geon was also kind of a black sheep growing up, but he didn’t really notice? he was a happy kid, very energetic and enthusiastic. a lot of adults in the area looked down on him & his dad, but he was SOOOO blind to it because his dad’s a god in his eyes and HE’S always been nice to everyone, so why would they not like him??? because his clothes smelled a little like dad’s cigarette smoke??? big deal
wasn’t troublesome (beyond talking too much), but a lot of people still expected bad things from him :/ “his father’s a dirtbag, i’ll be surprised if that boy doesn’t end up in jail by 20”, “he won’t amount to anything without a proper role model in his life”, “his dad is teaching him how to slack off”, “he won’t contribute anything to society”, etc. he kindaaa picked up on this as he got older but pretended not to because it was more rewarding to play dumb and keep being a good kid(tm) to prove them wrong
was basically a mini version of his dad. same style, similar features, birthmarks in the same places, same “live today, die tomorrow” approach in life, same affinity for singing & playing rock music. ummm he loved his dad a lot. a lot. a lot. wanted to make him proud SO BAD, started his first band when he was 15 and they sucked so bad but his dad was their biggest fan… you know how it is. a lot of people misunderstood him, but he was a very good guy and such a great parent
TW DEATH unfortunately he passed away just shy of geon’s 18th birthday and your boy still hasn’t forgiven the world for taking his dad when he was in the middle of his angsty teen phase — had he known that their time together was dwindling, he would’ve been so so so much better to him END TW
his dad’s band actually rocketed into the charts after he passed & suddenly they were getting loads of publicity, lots of “what a shame that he went under-appreciated” which pissed geon off SOOOO bad because why couldn’t they have had that energy when he was still alive? he’s still mad about it five/six years later
this is getting kinda long, so uhhh tl;dr, he ended up staying with the drummer of his dad’s band until he was old enough to live alone/READY to live alone, but he changed quite a bit. was really going through it, quit his band, stopped putting effort into school. barely graduated. went from being a social butterfly spending every weekend at a gig or with friends to spending all of his time on a pc or in front of a tv, playing console games. the internet comforted him when nobody else would/could and then he met the future members of meta <33333333 #newbeginnings
present day geon is still struggling, has to go to counseling bi-weekly but he’s coming back out of his shell! he wants to fall in love with life again, just wants to tread carefully... outgoing & will talk to absolutely anyone, but he still spends most of his time alone. hard to reach by text, so if you wanna talk to him, you better call/facetime LMAO. talks a mile a minute, especially if you get him going abt something he really likes. laughs a lot, smiles a lot, more habitual than actual signs of happiness but yk. ummm he has a really loud voice, mostly controlled nowadays but he still gets carried away sometimes. an absolute menace during long drives/flights, sorry meta.
funny but only when he’s in large groups. feeds off of other peoples’ energy, really good at reading a room and breaking the ice/making everyone comfortable, but if you meet him 1-on-1, none of his jokes land quite the same.
i envision him as being the kind of guy who carries himself in such a way that you’d assume he’s really popular/out of reach/maybe even full of himself, but he’s... not like that... at all... in fact, he’s kinda irritating when you get to know him. the personification of a flood followed by a drought and vice versa, always either too much or not enough. gets used/ghosted/dropped/dumped/whatever a lot because he’s soooo fun in the moment (if he isn’t in his feelings), but draining long-term.
really emotionally intelligent, in touch with his feelings in a way that a lot of people never thought he would be (probably thanks to counseling tbh). he’s very very rarely the type of person who will make you wonder what your place in his life is — he’s communicative, kind, honest. ummm he thinks that intimacy between friends needs to be more common, so he’s really affectionate with the people in his life. type of guy to tell you he loves you every chance he gets (calling you when he’s drunk, sounding like a clingy ex type beat) & greet you/depart with a hug. losing his dad kinda fucked him up in the way that he won’t leave/hang up until his friends say “i love you” back, gets kinda (re: very) upset if he’s denied that and/or a hug.
TRIVIA.
has been playing the guitar “longer than he’s been walking” (not really, but he swears it’s true).
uhhh he really likes nail art, but he’s kinda hesitant in what he tries? mainly sticks to black polish (or other plain colors), but sometimes he’ll get little designs added in as well. mainly does it himself because he still doesn’t feel comfortable in salons... if his work looks bad, leave him alone <3 he’s trying
inspired by people like kurt cobain, nicky wire, yungblud, billie joe armstrong & damiano david in the fact that he’s not against wearing dresses or skirts on stage. doesn’t do it ALL the time, but often enough that it doesn’t go unnoticed. some people say that he does it for attention because he doesn’t dress like that elsewhere and tbh they’re probably kinda right
interested in history (only SOME... dinosaurs, ancient civilizations, specialized areas like the history of circuses/clowns/skateboarding/punk, stuff like that yk), stand-up comedy & documentaries. could spend a whole day watching documentaries and would say he had fun, has a lot of useless knowledge that nobody gives a fuck about and is kinda dumb when it comes to things that matter
when it comes to music, he prefers playing really fast and heavy rock or punk over anything else, but he actually listens to a lot more soft indie on his own time... he’s too tense these days to be listening to anything else RIPPP
the vibe: homemade tie-dye, ripped slipknot t-shirts, frosted tips, neon crocs with alien & peace-sign charms, chipped black nail polish, calloused hands, cheesy pick-up lines used NOT to land a date but to pull a smile, driving until he’s lost, stupid socks paired with pressed suits, dramatic poetry in an iphone note, etc. 
PLOT IDEAS.
people he met through online support groups about coping with grief
uhhh an on & off relationship that’s been going for who-knows-how-long. the reason for this is up for discussion, but i imagine that he hasn’t given up yet because the constant highs and lows are a good source of inspo 🤪 artists must suffer for their art!
opposite side of the coin — someone he’s interested in, but he’s NOT disloyal so it’s a pattern of persistent courting when he’s single vs intense friend-zoning when he’s not and they’re getting tired of trying to figure out what he wants from them
someone else who likes nail art & can convince him that NOBODY cares if he goes to a salon
someone (probably female but doesn’t really matter tbh) who feels like his feminism is entirely performative… maybe they attack him directly for it or maybe they just REALLY don’t like him and they’re super vague about it idk. either way, please tell him that activism is much more than recommending one female artist a year and saying “clothes have no gender 🤪” so he can be praised for the bare minimum (his heart is in the right place but his skull is empty)
someone super introverted who comes out of their shell with geon! uhhh maybe they think that he’s the one doing them a favor, but in reality spending time with them has been doing wonders for his mental health
other people who like to skate. let’s congregate at the local skatepark and scare the middle schoolers away
someone who inspires him musically, for whatever reason. lots of late nights in studios, idly strumming his guitar and writing lyrics that definitely aren’t about how their eyes look in these dim lights… umm maybe he thinks he has a crush on them but really doesn’t and ends up hurting them eventually, maybe he really DOES have a crush but will (probably) never do anything abt it or maybe it’s entirely platonic and he just admires them a ridiculous amount
someone who likes to make music as a hobby, prob won’t publish/release any of it but it’s fun to imagine. spontaneous meetings with geon in the middle of the night, recording songs together and keeping the WORST takes for the laughs. there’s probably a diss-track of them going in on each other floating around somewhere even though geon can’t rap for shit
night owls who keep him company on the phone, even if they can’t be there physically. them talking really quietly vs geon shouting at them while he plays games LMAO
gaming buddies. come over, maybe you can carry geon through his game of the week or you can both fail but have fun while you’re at it… or you can scream while he fends off that hoard of zombies behind you
i’m typing this at the last minute (literally) so i’m gonna stop here, but i will get a proper plots page put up asap with a wider variety of connections!!! but as always, please do let me know if you have any other ideas. i’m always happy to plot and write with you all 🌚
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hp-crossgenfest · 4 years
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2020 HP Cross Gen Fest Masterlist & Reveals
And now the moment we've all been waiting for…​ reveals!
Thank you so very much to everyone who has made this fest such an amazing success! Everyone who submitted stories and art, and those who read, reviewed and recced: You guys are the best! And an extra big thank you to those of you who made that extra effort to comment on all the wonderful creations. <3 <3 <3
It's been so much fun getting to post everybody's works and seeing so much wonderful support for HP cross gen; I hope you all enjoyed the fest as much as we did! 
Without further ado, here's a list of all the wonderful participants who worked so hard to create such glorious things for this year's fest!
ART
MyWitch drew absolution [Aberforth/Severus | Mature] Snape is released after a couple of years in Azkaban; the terms of his parole include apologizing in person to Albus Dumbledore’s brother. His stoicism falls apart in the face of Aberforth’s forgiveness.
@paulamcg​ drew A Portrait with Someone New [Luna/Remus | Teen] Luna and Remus happily expecting (in 2004).
@gee-nx​ drew Extra Credit [Hermione/Teddy | Explicit] Teddy has trouble concentrating in Prof. Granger-Weasley's class. However will he manage to make up the extra credit?
@defenestrationisthekey​ drew A day in the sun [Harry/Severus | General] Severus has been turned into a merman without his consent. Harry still accepts them and helps them reconcile the change, see its benefits, and get some of their own back.
@paulamcg​ drew One Bright Day [Amelia/Tonks | General] Amelia and Tonks meeting under an umbrella and a rainbow.
@motherofmercury​ drew What Lily Knew [Draco/Lily Luna | General] Draco and Lily attend the same adult art class, but it isn't until he sees her finished piece that he understands what Lily knew all along.
FIC
@ac1d6urn​ wrote Talk to Me [Harry/Severus | Explicit] Sentenced to serve his time in Azkaban after the Battle of Hogwarts, Snape is startled out of his depression by the inevitable fights during Potter's frequent visits. What will he say to the man when he is free to walk out into the Wizarding World and speak his mind?
@malenkayacherepakha​ wrote Everything he's ever wanted [Harry/Teddy | Explicit] Teddy had hoped that a few years in Australia would be enough to cure him of his feelings for Harry, but when he returns home and gets some unexpected news, he can't stop the feelings rushing back. The only difference is, this time he might actually have a chance.
ThePeanutButterKid wrote The Apprenticeship [Draco/Lily Luna | Explicit] Prompt: Draco always gets what he wants. Even if he has to take it by force.
@gracerene09​ wrote Battleline [Draco/James Sirius | Explicit] The wizarding world believes James Sirius Potter works for his uncle as a Curse-Breaker, but the truth is that he's one of the Auror Department's most effective undercover agents. After months of waiting he's finally got a new case, but this assignment involves him going in as himself, without the disguises he's come to rely on. More importantly, he's meant to be taking down the one person long-suspected of being the most influential wizard in Britain's criminal underworld: Draco Malfoy.
@theslytherinheart​ wrote Truth from Dare [Harry/Scorpius | Teen] During a late night game of Truth or Dare after a fun Saturday out with Albus, Rose, and their friends, Scorpius finds himself being kissed by Harry Potter as a dare. But it's just a game, right?
Evandar wrote we who walk in shadows black [Harry/Lord Voldemort | Mature] In which Harry Potter is a vicious little gremlin who knows too much, and Lord Voldemort adores him for it.
Lilian wrote Advanced Lunacy [Harry/Severus | Mature] Luna accidentally discovers something, and now the whole Wizarding World is abuzz about it. Meanwhile, Snape keeps appearing in Harry's dreams frequently.
@siriuslythatbitch wrote There's No Such Thing as Getting Out of Hand [Narcissa/Pansy | Explicit] When Narcissa Malfoy finds herself confronted with a tempting treat all grown up, will she quash her appetite or sink her teeth in?
@lordofthegoods wrote The Most Expensive Date [Harry/Scorpius | Explicit] Harry just wanted a quiet evening at home, instead he is being auctioned off at a charity event like a piece of meat. Prepared to have a terrible night, Harry is incredibly relieved when the highest bidder turns out to be none other than Scorpius Malfoy—a nice boy who couldn’t possibly have an ulterior motive... right?
@likelightinglass wrote the gentleness that comes [Harry/Severus | Explicit] There's something bothering Severus, and Harry wants to help. It's easier for Severus to let go when he's exploring his submissive side, so Harry plans a weekend to show him just how loved he is, and how much Harry wants to care for him.
@ivyentwined wrote A Technicality [Hermione/Rabastan/Regulus | General] A ritual to cleanse Hermione's new house has unexpected consequences.
@sistersblack wrote a little bit of grit [Draco/Severus | Mature] Draco is a contract potioneer who specialises in medical research. Severus is... not dead, for one.
@freddie-fox-baxter wrote Vacanze Romane [Harry/Scorpius | Explicit] When he let Scorpius help plan his vacation, Harry had no idea just how involved he would be.
torino10154 wrote Her Pleasure [Draco/Lily Luna & Harry/Narcissa | Explicit] He likes to please his woman.
ivermectin wrote no wrong answers [Harry/Remus/Sirius | Explicit] It's almost five years since the war ended, and after an intense bout of aimless wandering and travel, Harry's come back home and is living at Grimmauld Place with Remus and Sirius. Their relationship fills him up with warmth - they deserve to be happy, and it's obvious that he wants what they have. But maybe, just maybe, Harry wants more than a relationship like the one Remus and Sirius have. Maybe he wants that relationship. Maybe he wants them.
@sportivetricks​ wrote Gouge Away [Millicent/Victoire | Teen] The Weasley girl has developed a keen fascination with Millicent's woodworking shop. Millicent can't seem to get rid of her, no matter how hard she tries.
@articcat621 wrote Late One Night [Hermione/Kingsley | Explicit] Late one night, Hermione finally makes her move. 
slowroad wrote Hyperion [Harry/Scorpius | General] Scorpius is a Veela and Harry is his mate.
Evandar wrote Summer Rain [Harry/Regulus | Explicit] A rainy day gives Harry the perfect opportunity to seduce Regulus.
pauraque wrote Summer Heat [Lily Luna/Luna | Explicit] A unexpected visit from Lily's godmother makes a boring summer weekend suddenly a lot less boring.
@liladiurne wrote On the Deficiencies of Translation Spells [Harry/Severus | Explicit] Divorced, single, and free, Harry lives a completely unapologetic life in Paris. Between casual hook-ups and an easy, comfortable job, he likes to think he is as close to happiness as he'll ever be. And when he gets offered a teaching job at the prestigious Académie Beauxbâtons, he thinks he may have found exactly what was missing. But Harry is thoroughly unprepared for what he finds there - a familiar face that's been haunting his dreams for six years.
@goldenzingy46 wrote Save Me From Her Stone-Cold Gaze [Harry/Tom Riddle | General] Tom Riddle has spent years looking for the Chamber of Secrets, and he's glad he can finally purge the school of Mudbloods. At least, that was the plan. It turns out the basilisk wasn't happy to be controlled, and Tom is forced to make a deal with the Master of Death (and maybe fall in love with him).
@epsilonargus wrote break on me like light [Charlie/Sirius | Mature] When the Order brings Sirius Black to Charlie, the man is still covered in the grime of Azkaban. A story wherein Sirius is still a little broken, calls Charlie kid, and Charlie is far too sweet.
@lordofthegoods wrote Fire for You [Harry/Scorpius | Explicit] Nothing can make them keep their hands off each other.
@evenmyzefronposter wrote Waving Through A Window, Suddenly [Harry/Severus | Explicit] Severus Snape was alive and free and perfectly satisfied with his life. He stayed away from other people and he did what he wanted. And if he felt like he was looking through a window at everyone else, that was alright, because he didn't need them anyway. Until Harry Potter moved in across the street, that is. Suddenly, just looking through the window wasn't enough for Severus anymore.
azyxy wrote Trying not to think [Hermione/Teddy | Explicit] She couldn't even remember the last time her and Ron had left the lights on during sex, let alone the last time he’d complimented her, so watching Teddy struggle to keep his hands to his side while she stepped out of her dress was quite the ego boost.
mindabbles wrote Puddlemere’s New Man [Oliver/Teddy | Explicit] Teddy is willing to put in the work. He’s willing to practice twice as hard as anyone else, except that no one can out-work Oliver — a fact that Teddy finds he doesn’t mind in the least.
@clemandben wrote Maybe I'm Amazed [Albus Severus/Draco | Explicit] Albus Potter never set out to fall in love with Draco Malfoy. A small story telling how Albus and Draco came to be married. On their wedding night they dance, talk and make love.
@dwell-on-dreams wrote Learning to Fly [Harry/Severus | Mature] Post-war, Severus is found not guilty, but due to the stigma in the Wizarding world, he decides to live life as a Muggle, leaving everything (but his wand) behind. Harry is overwhelmed, barely having any time to grieve, he keeps being recognised in the street and strangers ask too much of him. He finds solace in the Muggle world, finally exploring who he is without the threat of death, he finds himself in a Muggle kink club watching Severus Snape tying up a young man, and he wants.
@theslytherinheart wrote Best Man [Harry/Scorpius | Mature] In the years since his divorce from Ginny, Harry Potter hasn't cared much for dating, let alone had feelings for anyone strong enough to pursue. Now that his son's wedding is on the horizon, the Best Man, Scorpius Malfoy, has been spending extra time getting input from the Father of the Groom. And Harry finds he doesn't mind Scorpius' constant company one bit.
hannelore wrote The Ache For Love Was Palpable [Lily/Minerva | Mature] Lily once had a crush no one ever knew about. She thought it was just a schoolgirl pash on a favorite professor, but working for the Order throws her and McGonagall constantly together. Even though she's a married woman now, Lily's feelings for Minerva come back in a rush, even stronger than before. "I didn't know then what I wanted, but the ache for it was palpable." - Sue Monk Kidd, The Mermaid Chair
@emansil wrote Fields of Strawberries [Harry/Remus | Explicit] As much as Remus has done for Harry over the years, this is the least he could do. Little did Harry know what he would discover about himself when he volunteered to marry Remus so he could keep custody of his infant son Teddy.
@avioleta wrote Writing Harry [Harry/Severus | Explicit] After the war, Harry Potter begins writing letters to Severus.
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winchesterandpie · 4 years
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Reminders (Thorin Oakenshield x reader)
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Pairing: Thorin Oakenshield x reader
Sort of Modern!AU
Word Count: 1517
Warnings: some angst, mentions of death (nobody actually dies though)
A/N: So, I watched the Battle of the Five Armies when it was on TV as part of a Hobbit marathon... naturally this included Thorin, Fili, and Kili all dying and I was Not A Fan, so I had this fix-it imagination/thing. The reader (that’s you!) got transported to Middle Earth, and saved our boys and now those three dwarves plus you watched BOTFA (don’t ask me how they got transported to and from Middle Earth, because idk, it just happened). The two lines of dots are just my way of maintaining space on the mobile version! Gif is not mine (I got it from google, but it appears to have a credit in the top corner)! Love you all and hope you enjoy!
Shoutout to the lovely (hehe) @legolaslovely​ for helping me bounce ideas and get unstuck!!
The movie was over but I could barely push myself to my feet and through the halls of my house, muttering an excuse about needing to use the bathroom. It’d been dreadfully hard to live through Thorin and his nephews nearly dying, but to have to watch them actually die over again? It was just too much. 
Why did I let those blasted dwarves talk me into watching this movie with them? I could’ve just been faster to turn it off and we could’ve avoided this whole thing but noooo. 
Even now, they were watching the beginning of the first Lord of the Rings movie, unaffected by watching their own on-screen deaths and unaware as I tried desperately to force back the tears I could feel welling up. Without paying attention, I came to sit before a window in the other room, staring out at the yard and the streets as I tucked my knees close to my chest. I sucked in a sharp breath as flashes of memory struck.
.   .
.   . 
This one dies first.
Then the brother.
Then you, Oakenshield.
You will die last.
Ice filled my veins at the words I had heard so many times before in the movies. Now, though, it was real. Fili was real and a real friend, not just a fictional character.
Helplessly, we watched from below as Azog jammed his cruel blade through Fili before letting him fall to the ice. Instinctively, I reached out, trying to slow the blond prince’s fall. Miraculously, I somehow managed to catch him, though the limp weight of him knocked me to the ground. He lay unmoving atop me as I struggled to get out from under him.
.   .
.   .
Kili charged recklessly towards Tauriel’s voice, hearing her cry out as she was attacked by Bolg. I saw him move from across the ice, separated by a horde of goblins and orcs. Muttering curses under my breath, I followed, cutting my way through the army as quickly as I could, ignoring the cuts I received in the urgency I felt to get there before it was too late. 
Alas, fate, it seemed, was against me as Azog’s son threw Kili onto the stone steps. As I reached the ledge, I saw the dwarf’s head hit the stone hard and he didn’t get back up. My last throwing knife leapt of its own accord into my hand, where it was sent with deadly accuracy and force into an unarmored part of Bolg’s head. 
My knees were almost buckling under the weight of losing both of the dwarf princes, under the weight of my own failure to save them, but I forced myself to keep moving. There was yet one more son of Durin who drew breath on this hill, and I had to try. No tears, not yet, I told myself.
.   .
.   . 
From across the ice, I could see that Azog had some dwarf I couldn’t identify pinned beneath him. My breath caught in horror as I realized it was Thorin, trying desperately to stave off Azog’s blade. I had already used most of my arrows, leaving only two in the quiver. Still, I could tell I only had time for one shot. One shot in which to pull the Pale Orc’s attention to me, as I didn’t trust my aim to kill him.
Unconsciously, I had drawn the bow, the fletching on the arrow brushing my cheek as I aimed carefully. One shot. One breath. One smooth release. The arrow flew on its way with a hiss.
It slammed into Azog’s upper arm, and his head whipped in my direction, just like I’d been counting on. Thorin’s attention was dragged to me, distracting him from Azog, which I hadn’t counted on. The orc moved to stab Thorin again, but I snapped off my last arrow before I started sprinting in their direction. The arrow tore through his stub of an arm, pushing his sword stroke aside. Or so I had hoped.
I thought I saw my arrow shift where his blade struck, but it didn’t stop him and I was still too far away. I saw the blade sink into Thorin, who couldn’t block it in his exhaustion, and the sight hit me like a physical blow. The loss of the brothers had hurt, but not like this. Not him, I begged to whatever deity would listen, Please, not him.
.   .
.   . 
I was brought out of my thoughts suddenly by a hand on my face, brushing away a tear I hadn’t realized was slipping down my cheek. My mind slowly processed and understood where I was, though the grief lingered heavily. They hadn’t actually been dead, thankfully, though that knowledge hadn’t been part of the memories I’d recalled.
“Come back to me, ghivashel.” Thorin’s voice filtered over my ears, I pulled my gaze to his face, still staring without seeing. With conscious effort, I forced myself to focus on him, registering his furrowed brow and concerned gaze.
“There you are.”
“Sorry,” I replied quietly, not wanting to disturb the quiet.
“No need to apologize. Where were you?” His hands, cupped around my cheeks, held me there as he gazed intently into my eyes.
“Erebor,” I hedged, hoping he’d leave it at that. I’d managed to keep my voice from cracking, but only just. He was worried enough about trying to get back to Middle Earth to have to worry about whether I was breaking. I was, however, betrayed when another tear slipped from the corner of my eye.
“What’s wrong, lass?” Thorin caught the tear with a gentle brush of his thumb. “I’ve been homesick, I’ve seen you homesick. This is something more. You don’t need to hide from me.”
“I… that movie… I didn’t expect… didn’t expect to watch you die today, Thorin.” My voice finally cracked as I put words to the painful thoughts.
“And you were remembering the battle.” His gaze became impossibly soft as he looked at me. Carefully, he pulled me into his chest, his fingers winding through my hair. I felt the gentle press of his lips to the crown of my head as I sucked in a shuddering breath. 
“That part of the movie always hurt, but this time…” I trailed off with a helpless shrug.
“It is understandable to be troubled by reminders of such times. You are not weak for that,” the king murmured soothingly as the hand that wasn’t cradling my head to him began to trace little patterns on my back.
“I don’t see you, or Fili, or Kili so troubled, and you were the ones who nearly died and then watched your own deaths!”
“Different things trouble different people. Besides, you were the one who watched what you believed to be our demise unfold before you in the real battle. Watching it now was as though you were reliving the memory.” 
I nodded slightly, supposing that what he said made sense. Safe now in the dwarven king’s strong arms, the tension and grief slowly loosened their hold, helped along by quiet reassurances that he was there, that they were alive. Every inhale brought Thorin’s scent into my nose, another reminder that he was real and alive. 
“What happened to Aunt Y/N?” I heard Kili’s quiet question but didn’t move. 
I didn’t really pay attention to Thorin’s reply, just the soothing rumble of his chest as he spoke. 
“Is there anything we can do, Uncle?”
“What do you think, love? What do you need?”
I shifted my head a little as I thought, feeling the soft brush of Thorin’s lips against my forehead. “Maybe we could watch something else? Something to take my mind off it?” I only paused briefly before my jumbled thoughts slipped from my mouth. “I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t be-”
“No apologies, ghivashel,” Thorin cut me off gently, pulling back enough to lift my chin in his hand and look me in the eye. “You don’t ever need to apologize for having feelings. You are not a burden for them.” As usual, the dark-haired dwarf saw through me to where the immediate guilt was coming from. I nodded, closing my eyes and leaning into his hand as I tried to burn his reassurance into my mind. 
“We don’t know how to get to a movie, but we’d love to watch another one with you,” Kili offered after a moment had passed.
“Yeah, I should probably man the remote.” I chuckled weakly at the thought of them trying to work the unfamiliar technology.
“Fili, Kili, you get some food to eat while we watch. We’ll be there in a moment.” 
The brothers bounced toward the kitchen, jostling each other playfully as they went. I smiled at the sight before turning back to see Thorin watching me adoringly. 
“Thank you,” was all I could say. 
“Men lananubukhs menu,” was all Thorin said in reply. His hand found the back of my neck, pulling me in so he could rest his forehead against mine with the utmost care, and I knew that he knew everything I was failing to convey. 
Somehow, he always knew.
Translations:
Ghivashel: treasure of all treasures
Men lananubukhs menu: I love you
Hope you enjoyed!!
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the untamed is on netflix, right? i think i've seen it. i'm enjoying your posts about it and my mom would love if i watched a chinese show (it looks chinese, i might be wrong though) but i'm kinda short on time so please pitch to me why i should watch it so i will be convinced and look past the lack fo time
Anonymous asked:
ok the untamed looks cool af how doesone watch it 
A L L R I G H T I’m finally going to make a rec post, I’ve put this off long enough.  You’ve definitely already started to watch it, clever, so please forgive me for using this as an excuse to pitch this show.
So, for starters, Anon, The Untamed is indeed on Netflix!  It is in Chinese!  If you (like me) do not understand Mandarin Chinese, the Netflix English subbing is…fine, it’s fine, but I recommend poking around in the fandom because every single form of address is changed to the character’s full name.  And maybe I just spent too much time doing translations for my old Spanish and Chinese and especially Latin classes, but I think there are some things that, A, shouldn’t be translated or, B, should be translated awkwardly over being translated incoherently.  
I digress.  My thoughts about maintaining forms of address in their native language for the sake of clarifying levels of respect/etc are not relevant here.  Chuck a note in my inbox if/when you get confused about everyone’s three names and I’ll write/link you a guide.
POINT IS.  The Untamed is an adaptation of the novel Mo Dao Zu Shi, which is generally translated as “The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation,” and my quick pitch for it is: There’s a plot, sure sure, it’s the story of Wei Wuxian (his fall from grace to Most Hated Person In Magic!China, and then his resurrection and efforts to solve a murder), and if you like character-driven fantasy narratives you Will Like This
B U T
You know that post “but is he…you know…your narrative foil?”  That’s this show.  If what you crave is “one character committedly pines over another for twenty years even when the entire world hates that person,” please let me interest you in Lan Wangji, the love interest.  They have a kid together.  It’s a great romance.  Literally what else do you want from me.  I love a narrative foil, I love a tragedy, I love an epic love story, I love a found family.  And good GOD do I love a character who self-destructs in an effort to do the right thing.
Wei Wuxian isn’t evil.  He’s not even especially malicious.  But when the chips were down and he needed to survive, and to save people, and to figure something out, he took the only avenue left to him, and it was—it was inevitable, really, that it make him the villain of the piece.  He saved a lot of lives.  Everyone except Lan Wangji hates him for it.  He’s already thoroughly despised by the time he starts actually doing things that are objectively bad.  Talk to me about it forever.
My usual list of free-form associative Things I Like That You Will Probably Also Like under the cut:
Wei Wuxian!  I know he’s the main character but I love him so much that he gets a bullet point!  He’s the kind of lighthearted goofball who’s perfected the “I Would Honestly Die Before Showing Emotion To Anyone, How Dare You Imply That I Am Not Sincere In My Perpetual Good Humor” mask, and it hits like a sledgehammer when that mask cracks.  I would watch this actor flip between smiles and homicidal rage all day.  He gets a hug from Son Boy in the last episode and I almost cried.  50000/10.
Lan Wangji!  A great love interest!  Noble to the core!  Incredibly bitchy!  I want five more just like him!
This is where I mention that China has strict censorship laws, so, despite the fact that they kiss and have sex and get married and the whole nine in the book, the show is all Intense Staring And Love Declarations Where They Never Say The L-Word.  But like.  Please trust me, it’s actually So Romance.  If anything I think I like the  romance in the show better.
Wen Ning!
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I don’t have anything else to say about him, I just love him so goddamn much.  He and his sister Wen Qing are stars and the rest of these sinners don’t deserve them.
COMPETENT. VILLAINS.  I’ve spilled a lot of ink on this one lately, but I love competent villainy, I love villains who have Goals and plan to Achieve Them and actually pull it off.  Jin Guangyao, the big bad of the “present”(the part where Wei Wuxian is resurrected and kicking around trying to solve a murder), is actually phenomenally good at his job and I support him even though I enjoyed watching him go down in flames.  There are enough villains in this show for everyone to have their preferred type of villain, from Devoted Right Hand Man to Megalomaniacal Overlord to Freewheeling Engine Of Death.  GREAT villains in this show.  Which brings me to…
YI! CITY! ARC!  I’m not going to tell you that much about it, but it’s dark and tragic and features my very favorite villain in the entire show, Xue Yang, who is just.  *chef kiss*  A horrible monster of a man.  An unapologetic, cold-eyed shriek of a villain.  The very best at what he does, and what he does is absolutely horrible, and I would watch an entire series about this five-ish episode arc.  Also, I’ve adopted Song Lan/Xiao Xingchen from the Tragic Ships Shelter and someone should toss me a headcanon ask for them.  Any AU your little heart desires.  I love them.
THE MAGIC!  I know it took me a long time to get here, but it’s a very character driven show and I am a very character driven person and I just wanted to yell about characters for a minute.  But anyway, I’m told that the Untamed is a great onboarding point for this genre of Chinese fantasy novel, because they do a really good job of making the necessary points accessible.  I had no familiarity with wuxia/xianxia/etc when I started watching this and everything about cultivation made sense to me, or at least enough sense to be going on with.  It’s very lovely and fascinating and it’s where they put their Entire Non-Clothing Budget.
This is where I mention that their effects department clearly used their entire funding for, like, cool sword stunts and beautiful clothing.  The wolf puppet in particular is just.  Almost adorably terrible.  If that’s going to severely impact your enjoyment, Idk what to tell you, man.
Related to the above, I love plotlines about characters losing control of their magic.  That’s all I’m going to say about it.
Unreliable narrators, baby! They set up a lot of concrete facts about Wei Wuxian in the first two episodes that become obvious as complete bullshit as you go on, and it’s very satisfying to watch!  See also, Nie Huaisang, the most unreliable narrator of them all, whom I adore.
Beyond all those things…it’s just got a lot of great relationships in it.  It’s hugely driven by the affection people have for each other, or the places they feel they’vebeen deprived of that affection.  It has a lot of iterations of the same relationship in wildly distinct ways, if that makes sense—offhand, there are maybe four major sets of siblings, five if you count the Jins, and they are all radically different and insanely compelling.  The basic structure of Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji, the “black cultivator/white cultivator on a crusade to change the world” thing, appears a lot of times, and goes horribly awry in a slightly different way for all of them.  That kind of in-universe repetition of themes, doing the same thing over and over again looking for the Right Path, is one of my favorite things to appear in a story—see also, the Kencyrath (twins, Dreamweavers, Knorth lords, loyal Kendar, etc), the Animorphs (warrior teams, deaths on the field, etc), any number of other things I yell about.
TL;DR: The story is great and the cultivation is fascinatingand the schemes are elaborate, but
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makeste · 5 years
Text
BnHA Chapter 252: Suplex of Feels
Previously on BnHA: Deku, Kacchan, and Shouto visited Todobrook Heights one time, just the one!!, so of course it just so happened to also be the one time that Natsuo got straight up kidnapped by a villain for no reason because THAT’S JUST HOW LIFE GOES. Thankfully for Natsuo, the Terror Trio had kind of a Cinderella thing going on where if they didn’t beat a villain before Endeavor by midnight, their character development would turn back into a pumpkin, and I’m not really sure I stuck the landing on that metaphor but anyway! So Shouto used Flashfire to roast the villain alive, Deku used Blackwhip to save some hapless civilians who got caught in the crossfire of everything, and Kacchan used his cool fast explosions which don’t have a new name yet because he’s focused on more important things to rocket over and save Natsuo from becoming roadkill. And then Endeavor gave him and Natsuo a BIG OL’ HUG and my heart went, oh.
Today on BnHA: Horikoshi grabs a handful of raw, squishy feels out of a bucket and just full on slaps me across the face with them. Endeavor has a moment of agonizing, excruciating vulnerability and apologizes to Natsuo for everything -- like, everything -- and says Natsuo doesn’t have to forgive him, and that in fact he doesn’t want him to forgive him, and that he just wants to atone for everything he’s done. And just, I can’t even describe the scene, but it’s just perfect down to the last detail, and exactly what I wanted. And meanwhile Deku, Shouto, and Kacchan stand there watching, and then Kacchan has a fucking epiphany and FINALLY DECIDES ON A HERO NAME!!, and I completely lose my goddamn mind, only to then be brought down to the lowest of lows when he immediately says that he’s not going to reveal it yet because THERE’S SOMEONE ELSE HE HAS TO TELL FIRST. So once I’m done sighing, we cut to later and Endeavor is all “Fuyumi I’m gonna buy a house for you guys so you can all live a happy life with your mom and never see me again,” and yeah. You guys I am in shambles.
hey everyone, whoever is doing Mangastream’s thumbnails every week deserves a raise though
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especially since they’re not actually getting paid for it at all lol. their resolve to find the most ridiculous Kacchan expression every week and slap it on their home page is 100% a labor of love. AND IT SHOWS
lol and here I was half-worried the chapter would pick up after all the dust had settled, and we’d miss out on this glorious scene of Kacchan acting like he’s the goddamn wicked witch of the west and the sprinklers just turned on. anyways, I know what I’m thankful for this holiday
HAHAHAHAHA
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I’D LIKE TO TAKE A MINUTE AND THANK ALL OF OUR SPONSORS AND OUR GREAT CREW WHO MADE THIS ALL POSSIBLE. SHOUT OUT TO ENDING, YOU’RE THE REAL MVP. BIG “HEY WHAT’S UP” TO TOUYA, WHO STRAIGHT UP DIED JUST SO ENDEAVOR COULD HAVE ANGST AT A CRITICAL MOMENT AND FORCE KACCHAN TO BE THE ONE TO SAVE NATSUO INSTEAD. AND A HUGE FUCKING “YOU THE MAN, BRO” TO THAT MORON SPEEDING BLINDLY IN THE TAXI CAB WHILE ON HIS PHONE AND NOT PAYING THE SLIGHTEST BIT OF ATTENTION TO THE ROAD IN FRONT OF HIM! WITHOUT YOUR RECKLESS DISREGARD FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY AND THAT OF OTHERS, THIS NEVER COULD HAVE HAPPENED. OH GOD, THEY’RE PLAYING THE MUSIC NOW, I GOTTA HURRY UP... AH... I’M SO GRATEFUL TO ALL MIGHT, GIVER OF SO MANY LEGENDARY HERO HUGS, AND TO SLIDIN’ GO, YES REALLY SLIDIN’ GO, WHO ESTABLISHED THIS GAG BACK IN CHAPTER 219. YOU BOTH WALKED SO ENDEAVOR COULD RUN. AND LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, TO HORIKOSHI KOUHEI, WHO IS ABSOLUTELY FUCKING DETERMINED TO HAVE EVERY PRO HERO IN THE COUNTRY HUG KACCHAN BEFORE THE SERIES IS OVER. YOUR TIRELESS EFFORTS ARE THE REASON I GET OUT OF BED EVERY MORNING. GOD BLESS YOU ALL AND GOOD NIGHT
anyway
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sorry Kacchan this is just your life now. you’re just stuck here. by the way, Endeavor really is just an absolute MOUNTAIN of a man, though?? like, a whole, absolute unit. like remember a few chapters ago when I was joking about how he was eight feet tall? well Natsuo is 5’11” according to the wiki, and you can tell by looking at him that he is a solidly built guy. like, he eats his fucking Wheaties. and Endeavor is still able to FULLY WRAP HIS ARMS AROUND both him and Katsuki together WITH ROOM TO SPARE and just. ?????? WHAT EVEN IS THIS MAN good grief
anyway poor Natsu looks close to passing out though so maybe you fucking should let them go Endeav
SDLFKJSDLFKH
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1) seriously though look at how big his hands are jesus christ is he even a human!?!?
and 2)!! the amount of sheer detail which was put into this panel, with the facial expressions and the shading and all, only for Katsuki to open his big fucking mouth with ABSOLUTELY NO REGARD! like, this could have been one of the most heartrending panels in the entire series. but instead it’s forever immortalized with Bakugou fucking Katsuki and his brutal fucking speech bubble interjecting with the most vicious insult his angry toddler brain could think of. this panel has the same energy as Deku receiving a heartfelt thank you letter from a child whose life he saved only to unfold it and read that iconic opening line, “SORRY FOR PUNCHING YOU IN THE BALLS LOL”
oh my
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boy took matters into his own hands. after Enji just STRAIGHT UP IGNORED HIS PLEAS lmao. this entire chapter is a gift, and we’re only on the second page. also that katakana there is all “SUPON”, which I don’t know what that means, but I have to tell you that to me this felt more like a “ZWOOP.” but that’s just how I personally read it
eyyyyy and there’s our half-naked lukewarm boi
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and look, I’m not advocating for Shouto to actually be walking around half naked, because this is a children’s manga and Shouto is just a baby, and that kind of thing is obviously inappropriate unless you’re [checks notes] one of his female classmates, who just like Shouto are also only teenagers, but it’s okay for them because they have boobs. hey wait
but anyway, I will say that I appreciate that his uniform really did burn off just as you would expect, and that he used his ice quirk to preserve his modesty lol. quick thinking on his part
meanwhile all the people Deku rescued are stumbling out of their cars nauseously and thanking him. I like how all of the other traffic on this highway has apparently just come to a halt now. I wonder if the Endeavormobile also came equipped with some traffic cones and road flares that launched out of the trunk along with the costumes
oh hey a BakuDeku interaction, don’t mind me, I’m just... [folds hands on desk and leans forward]
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someone please tell me what he actually called Deku here because I’m dying to know. anyways whatever it was, “dumb-ku” is a great translation. it’s just the right amount of stupid and immature, and I love how Deku just fucking answers to it anyway like shrug, whatever
also love how the first thing Katsuki asks is whether anyone is hurt. swear to god this kid makes me love him more with each passing week
fond sigh
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okay guys, I’m getting more and more excited here now, and let me explain why. it’s because Katsuki, despite having achieved (as Deku points out) a complete and perfect victory here, is very obviously agitated and angry still. and I think the reason for that is because even though he’s achieved the goal Endeavor set out for them, he still hasn’t achieved what he wanted from this internship. the other two have! Deku accomplished his goal of gaining more control over Blackwhip, and Shouto is now well on his way to mastering Flashfire. but Katsuki specifically came here with the intent of discovering something intangible that he couldn’t put a name to. and even though he’s gotten stronger just like the others, he still hasn’t achieved what he set out to do yet, and I think he’s getting frustrated by it. and the reason I’m so excited is because I think we’re inching closer and closer to seeing that finally get resolved. ahhhhhhh
(ETA: THIS CHAPTER IS THE MONKEY’S PAW WISH OF CHAPTERS.)
anyway I’ll shut up now and read. here’s Katsuki bragging to Endeavor, and Endeavor doing his best All Might impression what the fuck
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that line could have come straight out of All Might’s mouth and it would have sounded 100% natural. well everyone, we did it. we fucking broke Endeavor. I hope you’re happy. lol what the fuck is happening what is this
DFKLSLDGHK
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I fucking see those wobbly speech bubbles Endeavor, are you crying, because -- !! holy shit this chapter is taking my emotions all over the place
lol Kacchan’s pissed off that Endeavor isn’t more pissed off about being shown up by some punk kids
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Deku’s eyes. this chapter. I just
ohhhhhhhhhhhh shit here we go
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for everyone out there who was worried that Natsu would just forgive Endeavor outright after the events of this chapter, I think we’ve arrived at the part where your fears are assuaged. I pretty much expected this was how it would go down, because for all the criticism he’s been getting week after week, Horikoshi has been writing the Todorokis realistically and consistently throughout this entire arc, and this was the natural conclusion based on what we’ve seen up till now. Natsuo won’t just forgive Endeavor just like that, because why would he? and Endeavor just has to deal with it. and it’s all very sad and painfully real
SON OF A BITCH
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the fucking words “I’m sorry” really just came out of his mouth at last, holy shit. this is the first time, right? as far as I can recall, anyway. oh shit
oh shit
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my fucking jaw. just dropped. just. fuck me, I wasn’t ready for this. sure Enji, just go ahead and pour your heart out. lord
imagine if his voice actor goes all out in this scene like Katsuki’s did in episode 61. holy shit, I never thought the thing that destroyed me would be a sad confession in a fucking shounen manga by the character I used to despise. life is funny
ohhhhhhhhhh
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[awkward glance around the fandom] soooo. how’s everybody doing? aheh. [coughs]
oh shiiiiiiIIIIItttt
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oh look at that, Endeavor didn’t actually murder his child, who could have predicted that. but maybe I’ll just shut up now though since I’m not here to start any shit
and the pain train to feels junction just keeps on chugging. fuck
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YOU SEE!! BRUTAL!! RUTHLESS!! SO REALISTIC IT HURTS. Endeavor is genuinely sorry, but it’s all coming way too late to be of any use! and Natsuo is so pained because he honestly probably would like nothing more than to be able to forgive his dad, and for them to all just be a happy, normal, loving family again, but he can’t. because they’re not. and apologies can’t erase the past, or make up for it. there is no way to change what happened. Touya’s still dead, and the scars from all those years of neglect and abuse are still fucking there, and they’re not just going to go away, even if Enji is remorseful. Enji becoming a good man now doesn’t make up for all the years that he wasn’t! he can’t just undo it! and that’s the tragedy of it!! you feel so bad for the man -- or at least, I do -- but at the same time, part of the atonement process is to accept the consequences of everything he did!
and also, for everyone saying he hasn’t faced any actual consequences yet -- one person in particular sent me a very detailed and thoughtful ask, which I apologize for not responding to yet -- I say this with all due respect: there. look. there are your consequences, right there. everything he will never have. everything he can’t salvage. the pain of knowing he was the cause of all this. the pain of seeing the misery in his son’s eyes and knowing he can’t fix it, and knowing the hurt he’s caused to the ones he loved most. that is karma. that’s a fucking punishment. that’s an agony beyond any physical torture that anyone could ever possibly dream up. his punishment is that after all these years, he finally gets to feel all of the suffering he’s inflicted on them, and he’d do anything to take it back now, but he can’t. that’s it! and we all fucking hate it, and no one is happy! and it’s not fucking fair! haha! but that’s how it fucking is, though. and I swear to god, I keep saying it, but it’s some of the most brutally realistic shit I’ve ever seen in a fucking manga. fuck
anyways, I need to stop monologuing or else I’m never going to finish this fucking chapter, but rest assured my soul is being ripped the fuck apart. hmm
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:’)
(ETA: note the conspicuous lack of a Kacchan reaction panel directly after the “I’m never gonna forgive you” panel. everyone else gets one. but not him. in fact, there are no more reaction panels of him until this speech ends, and then we get one zoomed far away where we can’t really see his face. but I’m sure that’s all just a coincidence and means absolutely nothing! oh baby. what a chapter.)
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:’)))))))
by the way, quick shoutout to that person in the taxi giving them the Rock Lee Eyes and having just no idea what the fuck is going on sob. thanks to you for keeping me from breaking into full on sobs here. I’m holding it together for you, random deer-in-headlights citizen
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[INHALES!!!]
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that’s it. I don’t. fuck. anyways. I ranted about all my feelings already, so just. ... you all get it by this point, right?
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oh Kacchan. penny for your thoughts. I’m almost done with that essay I keep rewriting. you have a lot to think about right now huh
and Shouto. oh Shouto. safe to say this is a side of his father he’s never seen nor imagined he would see before
YOU GUYS THIS IS SO FUCKING IMPORTANT THOUGH, SHIT
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[GRABS THIS PANEL AND FRANTICALLY WAVES IT ALL OVER THE BNHA TAG] I’M!!! JUST!!! SAYING!!! THOUGH!!!!!!!
oh, we’re still going? SURE WHY THE FUCK NOT
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WHATEVER HORIKOSHI!!! JUST KEEP COMING AT ME, THEN!! GO AHEAD AND FINISH ME OFF WITH A FUCKING SUPLEX OF FEELS!! YOU SON OF A BITCH
and now Ending’s freaking the fuck out and screaming for Endeavor to stop. lol it’s like the villain version of Can’t Ya See-Kun. Endeavor you jackhole, this isn’t on brand! CUT IT OUT
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forget it, Jake. it’s Character Development
now the police are arriving and Deku’s like THANK GOODNESS because the awkwardness was about to go critical here. meanwhile, pay no attention to how Katsuki is staring at him despite having no real reason to be in this panel!
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[sidles up next to Kacchan] so hey fella. did any of that hit a nerve, perchance. did it open any metaphorical eyes. dust off any momentous revelations that you’ve been valiantly trying to keep shelved in your mental basement. have the SEEDS of your PERSONAL GROWTH been CULTIVATED. are the JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES of NOT BEING A DICK knocking at your inner door!?
anyway so now we’re cutting to Endeavor talking with the authorities while Chauffeur Armstrong tells him he needs to watch his back
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friendly reminder that a bearded hermit flew around town on a glass hoverchair singing a song about Endeavor bringing darkness to the world or some shit not too long ago. that’s still a thing! better watch it Enji
HOLY FUCKARONI
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(ETA: shoutout to that “neither does the light” line because that’s some straight up Harry Potter quotable bullshit and I love it and Endeavor’s character development continues to slay me that is all.)
FUCKING!!! CHRIST!!! OH GOD!!! OH JESUS!!!!
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HMGGHHHHAAAA SOMEONE HELP ME OH MY GOD I’M SHAKING, AHHHHHHH
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(ETA: listen you guys, in all of my “!!!!” I didn’t stop to appreciate all of the other things about this scene. but Shouto has changed into his hero costume which is a great little detail that I love because he obviously didn’t feel like standing around freezing his butt off and being oggled by the crowd. and then we have Natsu coming over to thank them all for saving his life, which is great, and he’s such a sweetheart. and then Deku actually saying “Bakugou” for probably the first and only time in his life lmao. and then, finally, his fucking face when he realizes Kacchan has finally chosen a hero name. he’s fucking ecstatic. he can’t wait!! anyway so Deku is me.)
NO BUT I’M FULLY SERIOUS YOU GUYS, I’M TREMBLING LIKE A FUCKING LEAF, IT’S PROBABLY THE CAFFEINE IN ME BUT STILL, OH MY GOD, I’M PARALYZED, I CAN’T SCROLL DOWN, MY HEART IS POUNDING, MY LIFE IS ABOUT TO BE FOREVER CHANGED, OH FUCKSTICKS, OH SHIT
NOOOOOOOOOOO
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FUCK MY FUCKING -- WHERE IS HAWKS!!?!? WHERE IS HE!?!? I SWEAR TO GOD IF THAT FUCKING MAGPIE DOESN’T SWOOP DOWN RIGHT THE FUCK NOW WITH JEANIST IN TOW ALL “HAHA IT WAS ALL A MISUNDERSTANDING” I’M GOING TO --
(ETA: but lmao at the fact that Shouto was all “okay, so you’re not going to tell him, but what about me, your Best Friend?” like he really heard “DROP DEAD ASSHOLE” and thought “well, that was Midoriya though, LET ME TAKE A STAB AT IT.” this is the most earnest child in the universe and this OT3 continues to bring me boundless joy.)
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FUCK
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LISTEN YOU KNOW I LOVE THAT TODODRAMA, BUT YOU CAN’T JUST DO THAT TO ME!! I’M A HUMAN BEING!! IF YOU CUT ME I BLEED!! WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS. I’M GOING TO STRAIGHT UP CRY ALL OVER AGAIN YOU HEARTLESS PIECE OF SHIT
looool
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“and his friends.” you hear that, Kacchan. now COME BACK OUT HERE AND TELL US YOUR HERO NAME RIGHT NOW YOUNG MAN!!!
Endeavor you better save this chapter. I’m counting on you dog
oh. oh shit
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hahaha. well fuck
first of all, look at Mr. “la dee dah I’m just going to build my family a new house on a whim because I’m so fucking rich” over here, like, damn, Endeavor. and second of all my heart is just a bludgeoned hemorrhaging mass of feels at this point and I’m not even going to try to salvage it. and third of all, this is exactly the type of resolution I wanted, pain and all, and I’m so goddamn satisfied with it it’s almost ridiculous. because the man fucking gets it. for everyone who continues to doubt Endeavor’s intentions, look no fucking further than this. this isn’t a narcissist trying to gaslight his victims and get back in his family’s good graces and make it all about him yet again. this is a man who understands that the best thing for his family right now is for them to be allowed to piece their lives back together without him. and so he’s enabling them to do that, and voluntarily stepping out of the picture while still providing for them. and damn but I respect that so much. fuck yeah, Enji. this was the right thing to do. it doesn’t make up for all the mistakes you’ve made, because nothing can do that. but you’re a better man now, and this right here is exactly the type of thing people mean when they say actions speak louder than words. so, respect
and that’s it! we’ve officially experienced all of the human emotions in this chapter! oh and also that’s it, as in the chapter is done. so yeah. well that sure was a whirlwind now wasn’t it
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