#(tbh though I wonder if anyone reading caught all the references) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ajarofpickledtears · 2 years

Note

Darlin you are gonna be busy for the nosy asks 1 till 40

you know, in the preview it only showed this and was like "oh, it won't be that much"

anyway thanks bestie ily let's go

1. What’s your sexual orientation?

so far I've always said aceflux asexual, though I've been wondering if I might be grey ace or quoisexual lately

2. What are you obsessed with right now?

the Sinclair brothers 😭😭😭

3. Ever done any drugs?

only legal ones lmao (yes I am referring to my medication). nah.

4. What piercings do you want?

too manyyyy. I got a helix but it healed in a weird position and I suck at actually getting it out (cause unscrewing it is hard). my sister has a conch which is neat, and I'd love at least get my lobes pierced a second time, but a) money and b) I'm not sure if I can trust myself to actually take care of stuff during the healing process

5. How many people have you kissed?

oh sweet baby jesus

...eleven guys? maybe? if I'm not forgetting anyone?

don't be like me, children

6. Describe your dream home.

ufff

okay, if we're really only talking dream, no realism, rationality, or logic - a cabin/small house by the woods, just outside a small town, with a lake (and Kelpie) close by. a garden in the back, with mostly stuff like veggies, herbs etc. and cats.

7. Who are you jealous of?

who am I not jealous of 🥲

my sister, always, about everything. I'm trying to be more positive and only happy for her, but... it's hard. old habits die hard and all that stuff.

and in general everyone who (even just seemingly) has their life together. who manages to get shit done despite being a mental and psychological Mess (tm). even if their methods or motivations are super unhealthy and self-destructive. go me.

8. What’s your favorite show to binge?

don't have one rn, but I am watching a Fallout 4 Let's Play from 2016 (by Gronkh, a German YouTuber)

YouTube videos are probably as close as I get to watching shows like normal people lmao

with this, it changes. sometimes I only watch horror game let's plays, sometimes r/neckbeardstories and r/talesofneckbeards videos, or incels and nice guys, or DnD/tabletop experiences (all reddit stuff, usually)

I did have an anti-mlm phase

I'm basically all over the place 😂

9. Do you watch porn?

nope, only read smutty stories 😅

10. Do you have a secret sideblog?

not sure how secret any of my sideblogs are tbh

11. If you could teleport anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?

right now? it's 11.30 pm and I've been doing uni stuff all day, I'm fine in my room

though well rested and stuff, if it's not too hot, I'd like to be by the see maybe. go to Gunwharf again.

or my moots 🫂

pyjama party or something sounds great

12. What’s one of your fantasies?

I just wanna live in Ambrose with the Sinclairs and feel loved and not depressed and tired all the time 🥲

or be an author of bestselling books

13. Do you have/would you get your nipples pierced?

tbh just seems like a hell of a hassle with clothes? like, getting caught on stuff? plus what I mentioned earlier

14. How would you spend a million dollars?

probably not very responsibly cause I'm not good with money

I'd definitely donate and possibly give some to my friend? help all my moots who wanna get out of the US. the usual.

15. Are you in a relationship?

nope, luckily. last two really weren't worth it, I'm not sane enough for one (like, for real, I'm not mentally stable enough or fit for a relationship as of now, and it's not that important anyway)

16. Do you follow porn blogs?

uhhh... yeah

17. Are you angry with anyone right now?

I don't think so?

18. What tattoos do you want?

I wish I knew bestie. I had been thinking about the Portsmouth skyline, and/or the symbols from Divergent, but idk tbh. my sister got a cool thing with her zodiac sign done, and I sometimes think about something symbolising her/us, or her birthday but... well. got no money anyway lmao

19. If you could change your name, would you? What would you change it to?

probably not, I'm okay with mine. would maybe get a middle name, but that's about it. and the one(s) I'm thinking of don't go well with my first name I think.

20. What is something you’re obsessed with?

still, the Sinclairs 😂

if varies

a while ago it was mythological creatures, kelpies, fae, that stuff

sometimes plants

all kinds of things

but you can always talk to me about language, writing, and my OCs

21. Describe your best friend.

I don't have one. and I don't like the idea of only one specific best friend anyway.

22. Tag someone you think is hot.

my brain doesn't work this way, how does "hot" work? plus I don't even know what most of my mutuals look like 😅

23. Who are five of your favorite bands/musical artists?

oh dear

- Evanescence

- OOMPH!

- Santiano

- Faun

- Lindsey Stirling

24. What are three places you want to travel?

Ambrose, Goodneighbour, Haddonfie- oh, wait, like in the real world?

the city I was born in, Rome, probably, uhh... somewhere cold and snowy, when there's night for 24 hours?

25. Describe your perfect Friday night.

I honestly don't know, my world is just me doing the same every day, and that's fine. like, I do get lonely, but when I spend evenings with friends/family I do need to recharge the next day so.

26. What’s your favorite season?

autumn or winter

27. What’s your pet peeve?

I have quite a few but literally can't remember a single one right now

28. Who is the funniest person you know?

and my dad

also @slasherlouvre 😂❤

29. What’s the most overrated movie?

all MCU movies?

30. Tag someone you want to talk to but have been too shy to message.

I think I actually do talk to pretty much everyone I want?

31. Do you like paper books or ebooks better?

paper books

32. If you could live in a fictional world, what world would you pick?

it reeeaaally depends on how I'm feeling, rn I love Fallout 4 but to be honest? I couldn't live like that. the Star Trek universe is neat though.

33. If money was no object, what would your wardrobe be like?

if neither money nor space were an issue... probably a lot more goth-y? idk I'd also have to not be too tired to make an effort lmao

34. What’s your coffee order?

hot chocolate

35. Do you have a crush on anyone?

don't think I do

36. Do you still have feelings for any of your exes?

ehhh nah, don't think so

37. Have any tattoos?

sadly not

38. Do you drink?

cola? jk I did drink cider and cocktails but only with my ex to keep an eye on me. need someone I trust to look after me. and didn't get drunk or anything, just tipsy

39. Are you a virgin?

nope

40. Do you have a crush on any of your mutuals?

same as before, I don't think I do

#ask game #moon-of-desire #demy #friendo #cylas speaks #cylas replies #ask

5 notes · View notes

izzyizumi · 6 years

Text

Taishirou Fic Notes: REPEAT?_

(For Chapters/Parts 1+2) Under the cut!... (... There’ll be spoilers for the entirety of the fic) (This is a preliminary draft/outline until I can make it neater ? looking yeah pfft) (Also see the original fic outline for more earlier elaboration)

-- Chapters 1+2 --

- These chapters are somewhat partly self explanatory; the ‘prologue’ of sorts that set everything up. I think they were the third/fourth or so pieces that I wrote / outlined for this thing? (After the couple of chapters towards the very end...) - This entire idea spawned when I was thinking of Taishiro AU ideas [including previous ones I’ve had] and basically going ‘what’s a Koushiro AU I hadn’t thought of yet??’ - Somehow my mind went ‘ARCHAEOLOGIST ..... KOUSHIRO’ ??? ‘PLUS TIMELOOPS / KAGEDAZE TAISHIRO AU’ ??? PLUS ‘COLLEGE AU’ ???? - Essentially I was thinking of careers Koushiro could have in the real world that would a) be suitable for him b) satisfy his thirst for Knowledge [while also relating to how Knowledge is used in the timeloops] c) would take him a while to complete, but be very worthwile to him in the end d) would have some mystery / intrigue involved, especially when connecting to the Digital World e) would keep him close to Taichi [because he relates tech with it, and is involved in higher education / etc., eventually it could lead to him still becoming a researcher like in the canon epilogue in the end, or in other spinoff AU thoughts... also Taichi having a law-related career that keeps him close to Koushiro] ... etc. etc. - then my mind went ‘OH THAT’S A GOOD IDEA I CAN ALSO RELATE IT TO ‘THAT THING’ YEAH’ (i.e. THE WELL the well where HE FINDS HIS CREST) - however in the back of my mind I was probably also thinking of a super-cute old Cardcaptor Sakura series 1 episode / moment in which then still mostly newly introduced “rival” to Sakura, Syaoran Li, watches Fujitaka Kinomoto’s archaeology presentation. Syaoran grows more and more interested the point he’s internally [and externally, but ‘hiding’ it (well ? from Fujitaka, badly otherwise)] cheering over it when Fujitaka offers to show him more archaeology related things in the future - only to immediately find out next Fujitaka is Sakura Kinomoto’s father [hahaaaa]. Of course Syaoran x Sakura becomes the canon couple in the end anyhow [hahaaaaa. sorry Syaoran ilu but you were pretty amusing back then and also v. tsun in that ‘fail’ kind of way] (some of his early tsun expressions kinda remind me of Adventure Taichi too??) (...Our War Game Taichi even kind of ??) - So my mind might have subconsciously been ‘combining’ all those things (along with an image in my head of photographer Koushiro from Tri studying things in the Digital World) and basically turning that implied Syaoran/Sakura + Archaeology things [if indirectly] into Taishiro + Archaeology AU yes - (also I was following CCS’s new Clear Card Arc at the time in both manga form first and then anime form, so ... yes it was at the back of my mind) - The first lines that basically spurred on this AU were the opening rambles / summary but more notably what immediately came to mind was Koushiro’s “Oh, I’M adopted.” - line, in response to Taichi’s dumb question literally HE WROTE HIMSELF (Koushiro - unfortunately - never has a scene in-show where he actually talks about it with the other Chosen, not even in an 02 era cd drama where he was literally visiting his biological parents’ graves and right after on the way home runs into the other Adventure Chosen sans Taichi and Yamato - and he STILL doesn’t even bring his biological parents up at all, not even that he was just visiting them like ‘oh, I was just on my way back from...’ - so essentially this is him saying it right off the bat and startling Taichi indirectly with it while he’s at it.) - It also prevents having to take forever to set that particular reveal up ... while at the same time taking forever to set that reveal up in Adventure universe and with more impact otherwise hahaaa. (CRY) - So, these two chapters are the setup. - You may notice there’s a feeling of ‘something’s definitely not quite right here’ or ‘something’s up’ all through these parts, the writing style (I basically kind of... mentally storyboard, then translate that into an outline, then storyboard again, then attempt to write anything etc. etc.), (but also the kind of ‘limited’ writing style, too) and basically the entire fic. That’s the timeloops effect lingering in the background, impacting events / feelings / actions, etc. Even the slightest things like Koushiro’s expressions as he regards Taichi, the tiniest movements he makes, or Taichi’s mind running a little (A LOT) more wildly than usual. - When Taichi first hears Koushiro’s ‘(smooth) voice drifting through the open door’, that’s basically the timeloops effect slamming into him right from the get-go. His mind is running wildly subconsciously too like ‘WHAT? WHAT?? WHAT???’ because he’s so confused / startled / scared / basically majorly freaked out to the point of a feeling of dread / horror etc. l-lolll poor Taichi I’M SORRY I love you really (this is also the KageDaze inspired effect because poor Hibiya there, too, [the boy] is basically this through most of the song) [specific dialogue notes] - ‘ok, he's not really a "kid", he's a fellow adult, but Taichi's mind seems to insist on calling him that, for some reason....’ and all of the ‘his age’ bits etc. - Taichi’s mind is subconsciously relating Koushiro’s actual age to him (‘he’s younger than you think!!! you KNEW HIM IN SCHOOL!!! BEFORE!!!’) except he’s not fully realizing, of course. - short-cut spiky red hair and pure black eyes ('why are you staring so intently at his eyes, idiot!!') Again, timeloops effect slamming. Taichi’s recognizing Koushiro’s features right away and what stands out the most are his hair [dark red] and his eyes [somehow pure black (...lol fandom injoke?)]. This also relates in ch. 4, “Bridge” - when young Taichi notices Koushiro’s red hair ‘stands out the most’ in the light, and Koushiro’s (eyes are) staring right at him (because that young Koushiro’s becoming aware of the loops and freaked out / feeling dread crashing into him, himself). (also other similar parts of the fic) This also relates to novels Koushiro knowing he ‘stands out like a sore thumb’ in class (and how that line relates later with the Izumis / his adoption, as well.) - social sciences? Psychology? Health in general? Science itself? ARCHAEOLOGY??! Basically Koushiro is a freaking genuis [timeloops.... effect] [but also natural hhhh-ha] and subconsciously-or-not relating his career to as many ‘Knowledge’-gathering fields as possible, yeah. SLOW DOWN KOUSHIRO - and he's talking so animatedly and precisely and smartly because again, Child of Knowledge / timeloops. (He’d probably be an amazing professional teacher too negl) (and also how do both his seiyuu/voice actors sound so good HOW). Ok but for real, this is also simultaneously Koushiro’s ‘professional mode’ and / or his ‘mask’ so to speak. He’s enjoying it too, mostly, but... at the same time, it’s like going through the motions.... Koushiro ;A;/ - Taichi keeps staring at him, how is he so... pretty - ('wait what?!') ('but he kind of is, in that way where he has this glow about him-') Timeloops effect reminding him yes, Taichi, you are definitely attracted to Koushiro Izumi (maybe a bit too much) Koushiro’s ‘glow’ is basically him becoming animated / excited whenever he talks about Knowledge-related topics he’s particularly interested in! (But also kind of like... his inner... glow ehehhh....) - The presenter (Izumi?) turns around and stares at him directly, sharply, (kindly?) with those black eyes and says semi-brightly despite the situation he's in, in front of this room full of dumb college kids like Taichi himself - "Oh, I'M adopted." Dun dun dunnnn (hey, Taichi, did you REALLY get Koushiro’s last name/name or-) (...he didn’t) Now Koushiro’s directly focusing his attentions on Taichi, subconsciously recognizing him while he’s at it. He’s staring ‘kindly’ because of the warm feelings his subconscious / past self has towards Taichi; while also out of genuine kindness / intrigue from this universes’ Koushiro himself. Koushiro’s definitely feeling that ‘pull’ but at the same time warning bells are going off like crazy in his head too, and maybe subconsciously freaking him out too (although he’s a little more logical about it than Taichi, maybe... ...? or trying to not panic before he finishes this thing anyway) - After the presentation is over, the kid is gathering up his things outside the room, and fixing his slightly moved tie all neatly, and Taichi approaches him awkwardly from behind. THE TRUE MEETING and basically they’re both subconsciously knowing they were going to have to talk here but .... - "Izumi" turns to stare at him, more intently, now. "It's all right. ...?" (He was a little confused as to why this cool looking kid [??] bothered apologizing to him for that, but he accepts it...) Koushiro’s staring intently because he’s so hyper-focused subconsciously, but also because he likes giving his full attention where it matters in general, too. Also ‘cool looking kid’ is Taichi’s mind thinking maybe that’s how Koushiro might see him, basically. (TAICHI PLS....) (ok but he also added the ‘??’ because he realizes... yeah TAICHI PLS) (Koushiro was a bit surprised this boy actually did think to apologize, but....) - Koushiro smiles slightly. Actually smiles. KOUSHIRO’S SMILES ARE VERY IMPORTANT IN THIS FIC OK Koushiro smiles so impassioned-ly at the start of everything (especially in this verse, where he rarely gets the chance to smile AT ALL it doesn’t help that this Koushiro didn’t go to the Digital World, didn’t make any close friends, DIDN’T MEET TENTOMON OR TAICHI and etc....) - so that when this Koushiro smiles genuinely, it’s SUPER IMPORTANT, OK - "Are you interested? I'm afraid the next dig is already scheduled very soon, but..." "Wait, you're leaving, soon-?!" ('Shut up, you idiot!!') Koushiro is looking at him oddly now - Taichi’s mind is going even more wild with the warning bells and basically yelling ‘SOMETHING’S DEFINITELY WRONG HERE DON’T LET HIM GO IF YOU LET HIM GO HE’S GOING TO UP AND LEAVE AND YOU’LL NEVER SEE HIM AGAIN !!!!!’ (Also his mind running wild kind of parallels Ep 21′s inspirations too??) (don’t forget Taichi hasn’t had a lot of his ‘character development’ here as well) Koushiro’s looking at him oddly because he’s having a similar feeling but trying to figure out what the heck is up with this and ... this boy... ? - Koushiro is about ready to have to leave again, and Taichi thinks as fast as he can. Taichi’s not ... as known for his thinking deeply in canon when he’s younger (lol) (well, um, pre...? SkullGreymon ? anyhow maybe w-wah) and considering WARNING BELLS he’s basically thinking of the ‘last resort’ type thing he can say / ask / (yell?) / etc. (or - BAM, TIMELINE OVER BAD END). - "W-Wait, which area are you in-?" Koushiro turns with a raised eyebrow and another slight smile. Koushiro’s raising his eyebrow / smiling because he’s basically internally thinking ‘...This one, hmm ..... ‘ - He lives in fucking Odaiba. Literally a block away from Taichi. ('SHIIIIIIIIIIT') ('TAICHI YOU ARE AN IDIOT') ... oh. (yeah) (TIMELOOOOOOPS EFFEEEEEECT) (TAICHI YOU ARE AN IDIOT) -- Chapter 2 -- (kind of) - He doesn't know how it happens, but in some other universe somewhere, he probably ends up not walking Koushiro home and regretting it for the rest of his life when Koushiro just ups and leaves on an archaeology dig somewhere and Taichi never sees him again - ('Seriously, stop thinking!!') So yeah, that part about ‘YOU’LL NEVER SEE HIM AGAIN’ ?? [Taichi(+Koushiro) avoided the BAD END ?? ?] [to be continued]

#izzyizumi posts #izzyizumi writes #izzyizumi writing #izzyizumi rambles #izzyizumi text #fic: repeat #fic #taishiro #fic notes #(OK BUT FOR REAL)#(it was fun hinting at these things literally all throughout the fic wahhh)#(basically foreshadowing. foreshadowing everywhere)#(Taichi voice 'HELP')#(... also thinking of all the spots the plot could have gotten them here t b h)#(among others)#(tbh though I wonder if anyone reading caught all the references)#(or the foreshadowing yeah)

1 note · View note

clanwarrior-tumbly · 3 years

Note

Ahhh i love it!! Here some more Cookies for the peaceful human/witchs HCs!!

Rockstar, Vampire, Werewolf, Cotton, Herb, Fire Spirit, and Wind Archer-!

Rockstar

Although a bit wary at first, he totally vibes with you once you insist you're not evil anymore.

Ofc he doesn't hang out with you very long.

He's got fans to give autographs to (lucky for you, he signs one of your spellbooks) and concerts to play!

He couldn't keep his future audiences waiting. You can understand that.

But as a subtle reference to his encounter with you, he dedicates his next song to cookies who "believe anyone can be good if they tried".

Vampire

Oh? You're a friendly witch? Cool.

He's the most chill about it tbh.

All he's really interested in is your stash of grape juice. Nothing more.

He was dying of thirst (no literally, he snuck in through the window as his bat form just to get a taste of grape).

Most of the day he's just lazing around, watching you bake with no desire to leave anytime soon. And he asks you what it's like being human, getting into a deep discussion about it.

You're amused at how other witches' mistakes result in the creation of interesting cookies.

Werewolf

He hid near your hut after accidentally hurting someone, changing back to normal once they were gone.

But as he laments over his actions, he hears the door open. You spotted him.

Out of instinct he transforms again, though your magic aura calms him enough to change back--which exhausts him and makes him pass out.

Once he awakens, he sees you reading a normal book and wonders why you helped him.

When he questions you, you reassure him you're a good witch. And while skeptical he decides to believe you.

Even a witch like you was nicer than his own kind

Cotton

Lately she's been down on her luck with writing, struggling to find inspiration.

But when she overhears about you, a friendly witch, she grows to admire you (platonically of course) a lot! So she tries writing you sweet letters.

"Most witches are ugly inside and out, but you're not Most Witches...oh no this is bad."

After much trial and error she finally makes an...okay enough letter to send you.

It definitely warms your heart when you receive it, and you know the kind of cookies who'd write these.

So Cotton is shocked when a letter of thanks is sent to her this time.

Herb

When he's cornered by you, he's like "do whatever you want with me but PLEASE don't hurt my plants!!!!!!!"

And he's polite about it...even though he's sweating.

Man just wants to water his flowers in peace, but oddly enough you aren't threatening to eat him or anything.

Instead you ask about his plants and he awkwardly tells you about each one.

When he asks why you're so nice, you just calmly explain you'd like to make peace with the cookies, and talking to a gentleman like him seemed to be a good place to start!

Fire Spirit

He was definitely the most remarkable Cookie to come out of the oven (despite his claims of hailing from Dragon's Valley), being able to use the flames to his advantage.

When he confronts you in hopes of taking your kind down, he's caught off guard when you're just like "okay good luck on your quest, Great Fire Spirit!"

"...that means you, too!! I'm all fired up-!"

"I'm not your enemy. My neighbor, on the other hand..."

He's confused as hell when you speak ill of your fellow witches, but realizes you're serious.

He appreciates your compliment, so he decides not to burn your hut down. And instead burns your neighbor's.

Wind Archer

Witches are the main harbingers of darkness, so it makes sense that he seeks to eliminate your kind.

But to his surprise you have a change of heart, being humane and generous to cookies that you bake.

Even the Cookiemals seem to trust you a lot (they were naïve sometimes but would never be stupid enough to blindly trust their enemy), convincing him to visit you so he could see for himself.

He speaks to you with an abundance of caution, warning you to stay away from the Millennial Tree.

Of course, you promise and wish him luck on his mission.

#clanask #anonymous #cookie run x reader #rockstar cookie #vampire cookie #werewolf cookie #cotton cookie #herb cookie #fire spirit cookie #wind archer cookie #witch reader #headcanons

773 notes · View notes

jadequeen88 · 3 years

Text

Accidental Valentine

◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈

This is my fic for The Citrus Dome Server Lover’s Day Literature Collab! Please go check out The Masterlist and support all of the amazing artists and writers that have contributed.🖤

A/N: WHEW guys... I don’t think I’ve put this much work into a fic EVER. I’ve been feeling pretty bad about my body and wanted to write a reader who struggled with it as well. Who better to boost your confidence than DILF Kiri feeding your praise kink?! I was heavily influenced by this amazing drabble by @rat-suki and got permission to use it as my inspiration for this fic.🖤 (for reference, reader is 30 and Kirishima is 42)

Thanks to @afictionalwhore and my dear friend Orchid for the beta read!🖤

RetiredProHero!Kirishima x YoungerF!Reader

Word Count: 5.3k

TW: size difference, oral (both receiving), daddy kink, praise kink (lots and lots of praise), TBH the sex is pretty vanilla but very passionate, both are insecure about their bodies.

When you trudged into work this morning, you didn’t ever dream of meeting your childhood idol/crush, but here you are, staring up at a beautiful mountain of a man. Eijiro Kirishima, or retired pro hero Red Riot, had never come into your coffee shop before and you’d never imagined he would. He was huge. Nearly 7 ft tall and built like a brick house. His hair was back to his natural black with flecks of silver at his temples and hung long and wild around his shoulders. He had on a pair of glasses and wore a dark maroon sweater and jeans.

Even though he’s aged, he looks just as handsome as the young man you fell for as a girl.

The year he made his debut, you were only six, and like most other six-year-olds, you idolized the pro heroes. Most of your friends loved Deku or Dynamite, but you always loved Red Riot. His smile, warmth, and his fiercely protective nature made your tiny heart burst with admiration. Throughout his hero career, you kept up with all of his interviews, the battles he’d been in, the awards he’d won, and his hero rankings. You’d also gotten as much merch as possible over the years and still wore your worn-out, oversized Red Riot t-shirt to sleep in. When he retired a couple of years ago, you still scanned articles online trying to gather bits and pieces of information about the hero, but he wasn’t one to seek out the spotlight. You think that’s probably why he’d always been your favorite. He was a true hero. Serving the citizens and keeping them safe was his top priority. You didn’t want to admit it, but you kept up with him for one main reason… You wanted to know if he was seeing anyone.

You remember being eaten up with jealousy when you’d see his arm around another woman going to galas and award ceremonies. Your sixteen-year-old brain knew that of course, he’d date women. He was a grown man and a pro hero. But your heart would ache, wanting to be the one his soft eyes and pointy-toothed grin was fixed on.

Now those same eyes were fixed on you, his mouth moving and forming words, but you were too star-struck to hear what he was saying. When you snapped out of your daze and remembered you were supposed to be taking his order, you were mortified.

“I-I’m so sorry sir! Could you please repeat that?”

“Sure thing!” his bright smile was hypnotizing, “Just a venti-sized flat white. Have you had your coffee yet? Ya looked a little far away there for a second, kid.”

Your heart leaped at the little nickname. “Yeah, sorry about that! I guess I should get a couple of shots of espresso in me before I try to be productive.” You chuckle nervously as you scribble his order on the cup and turn to make his drink.

“Oh, uhh…” he peeks around the counter to get your attention, “Do you need my name? For the order?”

You freeze realizing you forgot basic, barista 101 etiquette…

“Actually,” you face him, a sheepish grin on your face, avoiding eye contact, “I know your name. You… umm, were my favorite hero,” you blush, and your eyes widen in embarrassment, “you know when I was a kid...”

You turn back to your work, kicking yourself for being so awkward.

“Really? I think you’re the first person to recognize me since ya know,” he circled his head with his pointer finger, “I stopped dying my hair..”

You turned your head to peer up at him through your dark lashes, a light dusting of blush still on your cheeks, “Well, I like it. It looks good on you.”

The retired pro’s heart was bursting at how damned cute you were. Was this pretty, young girl… embarrassed? Over him?! He watched your tiny hands move as they worked on his drink order, wondering how small they’d feel grasped in his massive ones. Your soft hair caught in the sunlight making you look like a literal angel and he sighed. You reached up to grab a canister from the top shelf and a sliver of soft skin between your t-shirt and jeans peeked through. His gaze became far away and he damn near drooled at the sight. Just how long had it been since he’d touched another woman? Kirishima wasn’t one for casual flings. He always got too invested in whoever he was seeing. So when he and his long-time girlfriend broke things off a couple of years ago, he wasn’t rushing back into the dating scene.

However, things were a little more… complicated than just not finding the right girl to commit to. He was getting older and it was starting to show. Over the past few years, he’d lost his confidence. He’s bulkier around the middle no matter what workouts or diets he tries. Overuse of his quirk has caused stretchmarks and scars all over his skin. He was starting to get crow’s feet and he was overall just TOO big and TOO hairy. He felt like some sort of gorilla walking around in human clothing. Kirishima isn’t stupid or trying to fool himself. A young, gorgeous thing like you wasn’t looking for anything from an old, washed-up man like him. But, fuck… It was nearly impossible for him to move his gaze away from your ass… Oh, the things he’d do to you if he were a few years younger...

You turned to look over your shoulder and notice his gaze… and it’s apparent that he’s checking you out. He looks like a man starved, eyes glued to your ass.

“Well, well, well… maybe he wasn’t so annoyed with my fangirling after all.”

When he realized you’d gone still, his eyes met yours and he quickly averted his gaze. His cheeks turned as red as his hair used to be. You busied yourself with the milk steamer to hide your big, goofy grin. With a new burst of confidence, you decide to take a chance and when you go to write his name on his to-go cup, you write

“Big Red <3”

You pause, bite your lip, and think to yourself, “why the hell not?” as you scribble your number underneath the nickname. You turn to give him his drink and your nerves almost make you retreat and make a whole new drink. Then he meets your gaze and your world stops spinning. His vermillion eyes crinkle at the edges as his scared lips turn upwards into a syrupy sweet smile.

When Kirishima takes his drink from you, your fingers brush his for the briefest second and he can tell they’re trembling. “Oh no, I hope I haven’t made her nervous or uncomfortable.” He wanted to go crawl in a hole… That was until he saw what you’d written on his cup.

He stammers, looking from the cup to your face like he’s checking to see if you’re pulling a prank on him or not. Before he can say anything, you bite your lip and look up at him.

“I’m off work this Sunday. Just… if you’d like to hang out or something.” your gaze shifts and you tuck a strand of hair behind your ear.

After a moment or two, his face lights up in a huge grin. “Y-yeah, great!” he turns and walks a few steps, then turns around and motions at the cup, “So… I should just, ahh… text you?”

You giggle and it’s the sweetest sound he’s heard in a long time, “That would be nice, yeah.”

“Okay, great!... Talk later then!” He waves and leaves the coffee shop, feeling light as a feather and ten years younger.

*****

Sunday rolls around and you spend the morning making sure the place is cleaner than it’s been in weeks. Your place was small but cozy. For a fleeting moment, you’re a little insecure about how modest your apartment is. You don’t know exactly how wealthy pros are when they retire, but you know he’s more familiar with much nicer places than yours. You decide he probably knew just what to expect on a barista’s salary and tried to put it out of your mind. You checked on the cookies baking in the oven. When you found out through your text conversations that he loved chocolate chip cookies with the large chunks of dark chocolate baked in, you went out and bought everything to make them the same day. You kept watching over them like a hawk to avoid burning them. They still looked pretty gooey, so you decided it would be safe to get changed into something a little nicer. Just as you were about to turn the corner into your bedroom, your doorbell rang.

“Shit!” you looked at your phone and sure enough, you let time get away from you. He was here and you were still in your cropped leggings and t-shirt, sporting a messy bun and dirty apron. You groaned as you realized you couldn’t leave him on your doorstep while you changed. Defeated, you hurried to the door.

You opened the door, hoping that you at least didn’t have flour in your hair, and looked up into the much larger man’s eyes. The realization that THE Red Riot was standing this close to you made your stomach flutter and a goofy grin slide across your face. While you stood there star-struck, he broke the silence.

“Wow, it smells amazing in here!”

“Oh!” you jumped a little then promptly ran over to your oven, “Sorry! Please come on in!” you said over your shoulder as you were pulling your oven mitts on.

Kirishima walked into your cozy apartment and instantly felt at ease. He couldn’t pinpoint just what it was, but something about your place felt more like home than any place he’d ever lived before. As he finished scanning your apartment, his eyes landed on you taking the cookies out of the oven. The comfortable, domestic feel of the place coupled with your ass on full display as you bent down to remove the cookies from the oven had his jeans tightening. You stood up and he averted his gaze before you turned around, not wanting to get caught checking your ass out for a second time.

“Fair warning, I’m not a talented baker by any means,” you removed your oven mitts after placing the cookie sheets on the cooling rack and flashed a sly grin his way, “But when Red Riot tells you what his favorite cookies are… Ya kinda gotta make them, right?”

Oh… If you only knew how pent up this man was… he debated bending you over right then and there and fucking you until you couldn’t walk. He really hit the jackpot with you… a hot, younger woman with the perfect ass who bakes him cookies and for some reason thinks he hung the moon? Kirishima would have given you a ring right then and there if he didn’t think it would scare you off.

“Well,” he radiated warmth as he looked between you and the cookies cooling on the rack, “If you’re not the sweetest thing! I, ahh… might have gotten you a little something too.” he then held up a 6 pack of your favorite cider. “Because when Y/N, L/N tells you what her favorite cider is… Ya kinda gotta get her some.” he winked and you felt your knees buckle and your cheeks burn. You felt like you were in a fairytale.

Then you remembered that the princesses in fairytales definitely did not wear flour-riddled black leggings, old t-shirts, and dirty aprons.

“OH! Umm, I need to go get cleaned up. I’ll only be a minu-” his massive hand wrapped around your wrist as you walked past him. It covered half of your forearm and a shudder ran through you. You wanted those giant hands to roam every inch of your body.

“Please don’t,” his eyes were half-lidded and his voice was low, “...I think you look beautiful like this.” his calloused thumb traced little circles on your skin not meeting your gaze. His deep voice was impossibly tender.

Now that you’d felt his skin on yours, you couldn’t contain your churning desires any longer. You wanted, needed, more. Rising up on your tiptoes, you curled your fist into Kirishima’s shirt collar and pulled his face toward yours.

You felt him tense up for a moment, then relax into the kiss. His massive hands found purchase on your hips, digging into the pliant flesh there. A needy whimper caught in his throat spurring you on to deepen the kiss.

It was like your bodies were working around each other in perfect harmony… lips parting at a slow pace, like honey dripping from the edge of a spoon and tongues meeting in the middle to taste each other. You both savored the kiss for as long as you could, eyes lazily drifting open and shared breaths causing your hearts to dance out of your chests.

You saw him falter, his gaze dropping, and you feared that you overstepped.

“Kirishima I-“

“Ejiro,” he stopped you with a hand against your cheek, “Call me Eijiro…” his thumb caressed your bottom lip slowly, back and forth. His touch held so much devotion in it.

“Eijiro…” you sighed, looking up at him with pleading eyes, “I need you…”

The giant of a man before you swept you up into his arms and began walking down your hallway. You quickly wrapped your arms and legs around his hulking frame as if you were climbing a tree.

“Second door on the right,” you were panting into his neck, leaving sloppy kisses all over it.

You blew a cool stream of air along his damp skin and felt him shudder. A giggle bubbled up from your chest at being able to weaken a retired pro-hero known for being a human shield against the worst villains Japan has ever known. Your little stunt resulted in a grunt and a firm, warning squeeze to your thigh.

“So that’s what we’re doing today, huh?” he tosses you on the bed just hard enough to make you bounce up a little… then he’s on you, placing light kisses all along your neck as he prods your sides looking for a ticklish spot. You can’t remember the last time you laughed this hard and the fact that it was your idol drawing it from you made you dizzy with joy.

“Mercy! Mercy!” you were breathless and your abdomen ached from the forceful laughs Ejiro was pulling from you. He blew a raspberry on your neck as a final tease then relented, sitting up to meet your gaze.

You were absolutely smitten. You caressed the lines around his eyes and the scar that split his lips as your eyes roamed across his features. Every crease, every scar… you wanted to kiss them all. When his gaze faltered and he pulled away to sit beside you on the bed, the feeling you’d done something wrong resurfaced. You sat up beside him and placed your hand on his thigh.

“Eijiro…” your voice was barely above a whisper, “I’m sorry, I know I can come on a little strong sometimes, and I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. I just…” your eyes meet and his gaze is unreadable.

“No, no…” his ruby eyes drop to the floor, “It’s just that,” he chuckles nervously, “Well, it’s been a while. I’m not very good with casual flings and the like. So I don’t really date much…”

You rise to your feet and move to stand in front of him. Sitting in front of you on your bed, you’re only slightly below eye level with him. You place your tiny hands on his thick thighs and nudge them apart so you can slot your hips between them.

“When I told you that you were my favorite hero,” you reach for his wrist and remove the hair tie from it, “What that actually meant was that I’d watch the news every day just to make sure you were safe.”

Slender fingers move through his wild mane of silver-flecked hair untangling any knots, “It meant that when that villain with the sludge quirk put you in the hospital for a couple of days, my mom let me stay home from school because I was so distraught,” you pulled all of his untangled hair to the nape of his neck and began wrapping the hair tie around it.

“It meant that my silly sixteen-year-old heart would ache when I saw you hand in hand with a girl in a magazine going out on a date,” you grinned at how silly you felt admitting that. Once his hair was secured in a low ponytail, your hands trailed along his broad shoulders.

“Now that I’ve thoroughly embarrassed myself, I’ll get to the point.” your intense gaze held years of longing for the hero in front of you, “Nothing about this is casual for me.”

Tears pricked the corners of Kirishima’s eyes. Had anyone ever showed him this much tender devotion? All the years he’d taken beating after beating, a glorified human shield, content with leaving most of the game to his friends. He was all rough edges and bulk. He was the one doing the protecting every time. Even in his romantic relationships, he was the one who would give, and give, and give… never asking or expecting to be taken care of. Being handled with such care was utterly foreign to him and it stirred up a deep need he never knew was there.

“Eji…” his glassy eyes met yours, “Can I take care of you?” you sank to your knees, hands sliding up his thighs.

“Please…”

Your hands made quick work of his button and zipper. He shifted his hips upwards to help you ease his jeans down his thick thighs and you pulled his jeans and boxers down in one slow pull. Nothing would have prepared you for just how huge he was. Your eyes widened for a fraction of a second, wondering how you’d get that thing to fit inside your cunt, much less your mouth… but it was something you were eager to find out.

Looking up at him from under your dark lashes, you made a show of lewdly licking your lips. You flattened your tongue and drug the wet muscle from his base right above his neatly trimmed patch of black hair, all the way to the swollen, red tip of his head. You felt the powerful muscles in his thighs clench as his head rolled back and a delicious moan escaped his open mouth. Making your hero come undone with one lick to his cock was intoxicating.

“Fuck, baby…” Kirishima fisted the sheets praying he wouldn’t come just from your teasing. He’s not sure his pride could handle it. It became a very real threat when he dared to look down at you kissing and licking all up and down his length. Once your mouth had gotten him wet enough, your soft hands joined your warm mouth in worshiping his cock. You met his gaze as you kissed his tip and licked up the pre that was escaping in pearlescent beads. When you had teased him to your contentment, you swallowed him down as deep as your throat would allow, wrapped your hand around his base, and moaned.

Kirishima had many blowjobs in his life. In fact, he’d had some that he would say were pretty amazing… but in all his adult life, he’d never been so thoroughly and enthusiastically devoured like this. He threaded his fingers of one hand in your loose bun and fisted your bed sheets in his other to ground himself. After a minute or two, he felt his release creeping up much faster than he wanted.

He placed his hands on either side of your face causing you to stop bobbing your head and look up at him. He ran his thumb against your swollen bottom lip and you leaned into his tender touch. He bends forward and places a kiss on the top of your head.

“Lay down on the bed,” he whispers into your hair. Nerves starting to catch up to you, you shook slightly as you stood from your spot on the floor. Before you lay down, you remember to take your apron off then lay on your pillows, heart pounding awaiting further instruction.

Kirishima hovers over you reminding you yet again just how tiny you are compared to him. His warm hand covers your knee and slowly travels up your thigh, stopping right before he meets your throbbing core. He runs his hand back down your thigh to gently nudge your knees apart. Leaning on his forearms, he positions himself between your thighs and you gasp at the friction created where your bodies meet. While planting tender kisses on your neck, he whispers, “I need you to promise that you’ll tell me if I need to stop or if something doesn’t feel okay. Can you do that?”

“Y-yes…” you moan as he nibbles on your earlobe, teasing with his sharp teeth but not breaking your skin.

“Mmm,” he places sweet kisses all along your jaw, your breath catching in your throat, “Good girl.”

Receiving praise from him made your chest swell. You wanted nothing more than to please this man you were rapidly falling for. He sat up, legs folded under his body, and slowly slid his hands under the hem of your oversized t-shirt. You felt his hands still on your stomach and looked up from where you were laying on your pillows to see what had made him freeze.

He met your gaze with a devilish grin, “Baby girl…” his thumbs run small circles on your skin, “Did you wear this for me?”

When you realize what he’s talking about, you hide your face and groan into your hands. You completely forgot that you were still in your old Red Riot t-shirt that you usually slept in. “Oh my god, this is so embarrassing!” you mumbled behind your palms.

Kirishima chuckled and shushed you, “No, no, no… This is the sexiest thing you could have possibly worn.” He pulls the hem of your t-shirt up to expose your tummy, burying his face in the soft skin there. Gentle kisses were placed all along the waistline of your leggings, every squishy part and every little stretchmark that decorated your skin like tiny spiderwebs were lovingly caressed with his plush lips. Having the part of your body you were the most self-conscious of worshiped like this felt more vulnerable than sex.

As the kisses traveled higher, they became sloppier and more desperate. You lifted your arms to allow him to remove your shirt, exposing your plain white cotton bra. The feel of his stubble against your skin as he moaned into your cleavage sent shivers down your body. Instead of paying attention to your neglected nipples, his warm mouth carved a path up the column of your throat, head thrown back to give him as much access as possible.

Kirishima whispered against the tender skin under your earlobe, “This okay, baby?” two large fingers dip into the front of your leggings. You nod enthusiastically, unable to form a coherent answer, “Mmm… I need words, sweet thing. You can do that for me, can’t you?”

“Yes… it’s more than okay,” your chests are touching as he works his hand down the front of your pants.

When Kirishima’s thick fingers slid between your drenched folds, you arched your back and grasped his forearm. Slowly, he spread your slick around, dancing past your clit with each stroke. His teasing was turning you into a whimpering mess underneath him.

He had all the time in the world and having you melt underneath his touch was the best way he could hope to spend it. After what felt like an eternity of him gently brushing against you, only slightly dipping into your needy hole and barely grazing your clit, you were openly panting and whining. A steady stream of praises flowed from his lips.

“You’re such a pretty girl… such a pretty little pussy.”

“Look at how wet you are for me. Like this, huh? My pretty girl likes my fingers teasing her?”

“I can’t wait to lick my fingers clean. You’re gonna taste so sweet.”

You were so worked up that tears began to form in your eyes, “Eji… I-“

“Hmm? What is it, baby girl? Need something?” His finger drags around your clit slowly, adding a fraction more pressure.

“Please, I need more Eji,” your nails digging into his forearm were leaving little crescents in his thick skin.

“Sweet girl,” he meets your mouth with a slow, wet kiss, “you can have whatever you want.”

Without hesitation, he sits up and pulls your leggings down with your panties. A groan rattles his large chest when he sees a thread of your slick attached to the crotch. Once his face is buried in between your thighs, it’s a real possibility he might come just from eating you out.

All the teasing had brought him to the edge as well and he was out of patience. With a few hurried kisses to each thigh, he dove into your dripping cleft. His tongue plunged into your core as he nudged his nose into your puffy clit.

You cry out and convulse around his face. His arms wrap around your thighs, firmly but gently holding your legs open to give him full access to eat you as thoroughly as possible. When he moves to suck your clit, you know you won’t last much longer. As he nurses on your sensitive nub, you feel the familiar tightening in your lower body. He picks up on this and moans into your skin as he greedily sucks.

“Ahh… Ahh, I’m- I’m gonna….”

“Oh that’s it,” he encourages you by praising you and massaging your thighs in his massive hands, “let me have it, baby girl. Come on, I’ve got you, I’ve got you.”

Your toes curl and back arches as you’re thrown over the edge. “Oh FUCK!! Coming, coming…. ooooh god… ahh D-daddy!…”

“Daddy, is it? Goddamn”

Kirishima felt his dick twitch and his breath caught in his throat.

He wipes his face on the back of his hands and makes a show of licking his fingers clean as he leans over you, nose touching yours.

“What was that baby?” His voice was strained as he pressed his dick into the warm, damp skin of your thigh…

You bat your lashes and ghost your lips over his as you whisper, “Daddy… please let me ride you. I need you inside me.” The nail in Kirishima’s coffin was when you licked his bottom lip then quickly followed with a chaste kiss.

You waste no time wrapping your thighs around his waist and twisting. He follows your lead and lays flat on his back letting you straddle him. You grab the hem of his shirt and similarly tease him, leaving a trail of kisses along his broad stomach. Kirishima flinches a little, self-conscious of his skin and how soft his middle had gotten over the years. You meet his eyes as you pull his shirt over his broad shoulders and run your hands back down his body.

“Mmm, you have no idea how long I’ve wanted this,” hands and eyes roamed over the expanse of skin in front of you, “It’s even better than in my dreams.”

He wondered for the hundredth time how got this lucky. You really loved his body? Maybe… maybe he wasn’t in as bad of shape as he thought…

“No,” his hands rubbed your hips, kneading your soft skin, “You’re better than I’d ever hoped to find.” He sits upon the headboard and pulls you closer into his lap, “Now,” he pulls your hair free of the messy bun, “Can you be a good girl and come on my cock?”

You lift your hips and place his tip at your entrance. That alone caused a delicious stretch and you knew it would be a slow process getting him to fit comfortably.

“Yes, Daddy,” your hands wrapped around his neck and he growled as he pulled you into a rough kiss.

“Good fuckin girl.”

He helped lower you onto his cock with lots of kisses, praises, and gentle squeezes. When you got closer to his base, the pain was too much for a moment. Kirishima used his thumb to rub circles into your clit, shushing you sweetly against your parted mouth.

“Are you okay, baby?” He brushes your hair off your sweaty forehead with his free hand while his other is still working your clit over.

“Yes, Daddy,” you whisper, “You fill me up so well. I love your massive cock filling me up.”

“You’re gonna make me crazy, you know that? Huh?” He pulls your lower lip into his mouth and sucks. You both sit for a while, exchanging kisses and whispers while you adjust to his girth.

“Are you ready to move now, sweet girl?”

“Yes, Daddy…” he helps you move, dragging your hips up and down his shaft.

After a few deep thrusts, you both increase your pace, matching each other’s movements. It’s not long before your head is thrown back, tears escaping the corners of your eyes. Loud moans and curses escape your mouth as one nipple is pulled into Kirishima’s mouth.

“Oh, Daddy! Fuck, fuck! Right there, right there… I… I’m… AHH!” Before you can even say anything, you’ve come undone, spasming around his cock.

“Oh, good girl, good fuckin girl,” you go limp and bury your face into his neck while he slams your hips onto his, chasing his release. The feeling of him using your body to get off makes you dizzy with joy. You lean into his ear whispering, “Please come inside me. Wanna feel you come inside me, Daddy… please, need your come inside me, Daddy.”

Your slurred pleas against his ear send him over the edge into a mind-numbing orgasm. As he comes down from his high and looks into your face full of adoration, he knows he’s caught… hook, line, and sinker.

*****

The rest of the evening is spent eating cookies on your couch, drinking cider, and watching your favorite crime drama. The sweet kisses and touches sprinkled throughout the night feel so natural… Like you’ve been together for years instead of hours.

You end up with Kirishima’s head in your lap, running your fingers through his hair as he closes his eyes and relaxes into your touch. The clock on your wall reads 12:30 am and it dawns on you what day it officially is.

“Eji?”

“Hmm?” He opens one eye and reaches up to scratch your scalp.

“Will you be my valentine?” You bite your bottom lip to stifle a silly grin.

He sits up and pulls you into a bear hug.

“What kinda silly question is that? Of course. I don’t ever want another valentine besides you.”

Your heart explodes and you kiss him, grabbing his cheeks in both hands.

“Sixteen-year-old me is absolutely losing her shit right now,” you giggle, rubbing his nose with yours.

“Well,” he grabs your ass and raises an eyebrow, “Forty-two-year-old me is losing his shit right now over finding such a sweet girl with such a sweet ass on her,” he nips at your neck and you squeal.

“Ooh, you ready for another round, old man?”

He growls and throws you over his shoulder. A swift spank to your ass causes you to burst into a fit of laughter.

“Oh, so I’m dealing with a brat now? You want me to show you what this old man does to little brats?” He squeezes your thighs as he makes his way to the bedroom.

“But I’m your good girl! Remember?!”

“Yeah, yeah… We’ll see about that.”

#bnha #boku no hero academia #mha #my hero academia #bnha smut #kirishima eijirou x reader #kirishima x reader #eijirou kirishima #kirishima smut #dilf!kiri #tw praise kink #tw daddy kink #vanilla #body insecurity tw #jade writes smut

2K notes · View notes

mymegumi · 3 years

Text

GLORY

pairing: suna rintarou x gn!reader

summary: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of god

genre: far cry five au, enemies to not-quite lovers, darker themes, villain au. tbh not really a ship fic </3

word count: 3.7k

warnings: heavy talk of religion, cults, cultish manipulation, dubious morality, use of guns, bad characters, haikyuu!! characters portrayed as villains, fake drugs, mentions of abuse, torture, injuries, implied noncon drug use and swearing

notes: i want to preface this by saying this is much darker than the content i normally write. it is not my normal content, and i am hopeful that i tagged everything properly; please tell me if i didn’t! also i dipped a bit into a character study of the main character’s fetch quest idea, in which you do all the work that other’s in game easily could! nonetheless, if you still wanna read—i hope you enjoy!

Hope’s County was a desolate piece of shit.

It was filled to the brim with cultists that seemed to think the Coming was approaching, in which the Lord would cast down those who did not repent for their sins. Truthfully, you weren’t even all that religious, but finding out about the self-proclaimed Sin family had turned you off to the idea even more, turning your back on the faith of a warped version of Christianity to instead focus on your job.

Called into the deteriorating county, you were a simple deputy—a rookie with barely a few years of work under your belt. You weren’t too keen on your police work, often finding the job as systematically fucked as the government officials that decided to turn a blind eye to the Sin family since the youngest of the bunch had more money to wave around than you did to pay your monthly rent.

“Rook,” an unfortunate nickname that’d stuck around against your protestations, your superior—Daichi was nice, if not a bit too optimistic—called out to you, waving you over to the map of Hope’s County, red marker furiously drawn all over, “you’re still new: y’remember what I told you about Suna?”

“Second oldest of the brothers, he’s considered the least of a threat due to the fact he’s often working in the Bliss fields.” You poke your head out the window a bit, eyes searching over the high reaching tops of ficus trees, “It’s not really known if he ingests the drug and experiences the hallucination of his followers, but it can be assumed that he doesn’t, to maintain the power over those that do.”

Daichi nods his approval at you, and you feel a flare of resentment somewhere deep in your belly. You try not to, really you do, you’re a good person who’s good at your job, and sometimes you go to church when it’s Easter, but in the same breath, you don’t remember the last time you’d ever even considered confessing your so-called sins to a Father.

The number one sin on your list, so Atsumu had taunted to you as he held a knife to your throat, was apparently Pride—too prideful of your supposed Savior of Hope’s County title you’d been given, pride thrummed in your veins after every member of his Father’s cult you wiped out. You don’t really remember what had happened after that, vaguely that his younger twin brother had to all but pry him off of you, reminding the blond of their Father’s purpose for you.

It was the only reason you were still alive, the Father’s so-called purpose for you—the fact he saw in his visions a future where you were a key piece, the final chess piece moving to keep a king in check. Even despite the list of sins Atsumu insisted that you followed, pride seemingly the one that harbored the most space in your person.

You, however, knew what your sin was. It flared red and angry whenever Daichi talked down to you as if your some odd years in the force were wiped clean, and you were a true rookie yet again, no smarter than a civilian to the dark ways the world worked. It made heat run through your body whenever Kita, the Father of the Sin family, called you his greatest masterpiece as if he had any say in the way you were slowly turning into a war machine—plowing through his followers with scary ease and accuracy.

Your greatest sin reared its head whenever you faced Suna, too laid back, too uncaring, and the antithesis of everything that you stood for.

Wrath, you learned, made your hands shake when he smiled at you, edges looping as if the Bliss he grew just poured from every pore of his body.

“Not that one can really want to ingest bliss,” Daichi murmurs into his palm a bit, leaning over his map of Hope’s County, “It’s more you get too close to it and the fumes of it will get you.”

Bliss was, just as the Sin family was, something you’d never even come close to encountering before. It was a drug that they’d found, or crossbred, and it had hallucinogenic effects on whoever inhaled the product it released.

Batches of it were found all over the county, but the root of the source was in Suna’s valley of the land, affectionately known as Heaven Valley by those who couldn’t remember the name, or didn’t try to. You’d seen more than one group of people in hazmat suits having to clear out fields of it, and just watching them made your head dip and spin with the would-be effects if you’d gone any closer than you already were.

Bush of full, green leaves with seemingly innocent white flowers on it, the plant itself was harmless, and yet when allowed to convert carbon dioxide, it made a lethal gas that made anyone who got too close go mad. It was said that the family had even begun experimenting with grinding it into a powder or melting it down to its liquid state.

“Bunch of fucking crazies,” You mutter the words to yourself long after you’d left the solace of Daichi’s office, somewhere out in the valley and far out of earshot of anyone that might wonder which group of people you were referring to—the ones producing cult members at a daily rate that was intensely concerning, or the ones trying to stop them, “God, I don’t get paid enough for this.”

“Hey, there, Dep, hope you’re tuned into my channel,” You could honestly groan, but you’re trying to make sure no one finds you on your perch in a tree somewhere, your 308 carbine’s scope not exactly focused on anything in particular, but at the ready. Suna’s voice is light and airy over the radio attached to your hip, though the sound is tuned to the earpiece you’re wearing, “Just wanted to let you know that ‘Tsumu’s missing you an awful lot. Says you left before he could have his fun, won’t stop pouting about it.”

You’re smarter than answering to a taunt that Suna sets out in front of you, and yet you can’t help but feel as if your lack of an answer is him winning. Maybe his so-called brother was right about the sin he’d tried carving into the flesh of your abdomen.

“You’d look real funny if I hadn’t picked up just now, Suna,” you whisper, eyes straying from the scope to the button that’s meant to be an answer to the other person on the line.

Suna’s laugh is a little grainy on the radio channel, but it’s not taunting like it usually is, joy written into the edges of his laugh, “And yet you’re on the other end of the line, answering me, dear Deputy. So who really looks funny in the end, hm?”

Fuck. The brunet had caught you, the lure of an unanswered challenge too much for you to pass up for your pride, a sin in and of itself. Maybe you should offer yourself up to Osamu and Atsumu again to get pride carved into your skin because apparently, your wrath wasn’t enough.

“Touché,” You start to climb down from the tree, slinging the gun over your shoulder as you huff into the receiver of the microphone. Your feet catch in the knots of the tree, and your hands start to blister a bit when you lose your footing, and yet Suna stays silent on the radio.

“Going silent on me, what was the point of the call—just to talk about your brother’s unfortunate hobbies with me?”

“Can’t a guy call out into the void and not expect someone to respond?” His smile is almost palpable over the radio call, however many times he flickers in and out of the call, “You’re always welcome to come visit my cabin, Dep.”

“Not in a million years,” feet now firmly planted on the ground, you have to right yourself a bit in orientation before you head towards the ATV you’d taken out to this part of the woods.

“I wouldn’t say that so definitely.”

Suna, of the Sin family, was often on the radio with you. He wasn’t always talking directly to you, no, sometimes he was just talking about idle parts of his day and there was a part of you that wondered if there was a part of him that just needed someone to talk to.

You always had to push the thoughts aside, however, tucking them somewhere deep into your chest so you wouldn’t sympathize with him. He was the cause for the murder of a multitude of people in Hope’s County, the root of the drug trade that went outside of the otherwise isolated county, and sometimes the despite it all, you sympathized with the man.

The Sin family was notorious in Hope’s County as not only being the leading members of the cult but because of their immigration status. Cast out of Japan in their early teens for following a faith so incorrectly, they found solace in the soil of a town in need of a direction, no matter how far off the beaten path it would take its members.

Kita Shinsuke, also known as the Father by those following their twisted version of Christianity, was the head of the operations. A prophet of fallacies or of forthcoming events, no one truly knew, and yet he claimed the words of God followed him in his sleep, that he couldn’t leave the Lord’s words unanswered.

The next of the group was often on his own, Ojiro Aran an isolated member of the family that preferred to stay in his section of the woods, away from the chaos that seemed to follow the youngest members of their little family. Ojiro was often known as the zookeeper, both for keeping the rowdy Osamu and Atsumu in line, while also because of his secondary role in the family—the trainer and breeder of wolves that were often used as indicators of one’s faith.

The Miya twins seemed to cause the most upfront issues for the Hope County Police Department, causing more than one silo to explode on the otherwise neutral farmlands. They seemed to have a flair for the dramatic, with their sins written on their bodies as if the Lord would accept their souls, rather than just their vessels. Sloth was scrawled across the younger of the two’s chest, with a matching Pride across the other’s, letters both a bit off-kilter.

The final member, of which enjoyed causing you, personally, the most trouble, was Suna Rintarou, genius beyond words and yet lazy beyond belief. For what he lacked in motivation, he made up for in creative and almost barbaric forms of punishment. His words were sharp around the edges, and yet they made everyone listen to the sermons he preached, like a moth drawn to the flame.

“My dear, sweet Rook, you seem to forget that this territory is mine,” you ignore the way he inflicts his claim on the land you’ve no right being on, and yet it sends something akin to fear down the lines of your spine, “You walk among these trees as if you’re hidden, and yet I always know where you are.”

“Sounds less like you know your territory,” you start, always willing to put up a fight with the brunet you’d not seen in at least a week, at this point, “and more like you’re stalking me—got a crush, Rintarou?”

“More like an infatuation,” his voice is just a purr, too velvety to just be jest, and yet there’s a part of you that knows you can’t trust a word this man says, “take what you want from that, darling, I’m not the one going to be thinking about it all night.”

Perhaps Atsumu had gotten your sin wrong, and perhaps there was a second option he’d never even considered—your human nature was multifaceted and ever-changing, and perhaps your sins were available in multitudes, rather than a singularity.

If he catches you again, you’d love to see his reaction to you saying you’d be willing to let him carve lust into your skin with his knife—love it even more if he asked who it was for.

Suna doesn’t say much more after that, just his usual spiel of the fact you need to atone for your sins, and that Osamu’s always willing to wash them from your skin in the river. You forget to mention your latest one isn’t one so easily erased from your skin, too deeply embedded in your bones, and you wear it like a second skin at this point.

That’s why you struggle, sometimes, against the Sin brothers and their outlandish claims of paradise meant for those who atone. You struggle because you know the weight of each sin you’ve ever committed—a book added to an already overflowing backpack of crimes against God.

Suna Rintarou, most of all, makes your blood simmer white-hot with unbridled rage—yet you’re not even sure why. It might be the lackadaisical smile that’s ever-present on his face, edges sloping and curving over his face as he taunts you, knives glinting in the sunlight of day. It might even be the way you want to press as close to him as possible, and run as far away from him as possible at the same time—ever the perfect contradiction, a paradox of which you’ve been unable to solve for your time at Hope’s County.

Perhaps the Sin family is right in the unmaking of the world, but your only proof is that God smites you by making Suna one of the most undeniably attractive men you’ve ever met.

Confident in a way that carries in the gait of his walk, and the way his shoulders settle on his frame, Suna knows that he’s got his claws deep in your skin—gripping you to keep you at a distance, and yet not letting you get any further away from him. As if you’d let him get away, your hands would be wrapped around the column of his neck—intent to kill or to offer pleasure, you’d just have to decide when the time came.

“Howdy, stranger.”

These woods must twist your sense of mind, pushing and pulling at the seams of your existence and the fabric that makes the foundation of your realities—the air must be contaminated. You’re not where you thought you were going: you’d been headed towards the Miyas’ territory with the sole purpose of destroying the sin of wrath that had been crawling its way up your throat, trying to escape at any chance.

Yet, you’ve ended up in Heaven’s Valley, and straight into Suna’s hand.

He stands before you, hands tucked into a pair of dark beige cargo pants with a loose leather vest as his only top, smooth skin covered in scars and tattoos on full display. For all that Atsumu spewed of repenting for your sins, confessions meant to be curled into skin with a blade, you had to admit that he was one hell of a tattoo artist.

Suna’s tattoos were unlike the harsh angles of Osamu’s, forgoing the looping script of the English language for the smooth strokes of Japanese. It was a harsh juxtaposition to the jagged letters of ‘greed’ splayed across the expanse of his lower belly, the bottom of the ‘g’ dipping underneath the waistband of his pants.

“Rintarou, what a surprise.” Your words slur a bit at the edges, and you’re not sure if it’s just from stepping into his land or being in his presence, but there’s a sinking feeling in your gut that Bliss dances in your system, “Can’t say I’m disappointed to see you.”

“How honest, sweet one,” his smile resembles a wolf, you come to the conclusion because despite the Sin family being described as a pack of foxes, there’s a carnal look in his eyes as he stares at you, “I like when you’re honest with me.”

“I like when you don’t shoot me on sight,” you vaguely remember a pistol at your hip, your carbine left behind in favor of a shotgun, “makes our little talks seem more personal.”

His laugh is clear, a bell in the fog that is your mind, “Do I often shoot at you, sweet one, for I believe it’s you that shoots first.”

“Mm,” you let your eyes flicker to his before you feel a crease form between your brows, “you still shoot back.”

“I never let a favor go unpaid, darling.” He’s closer to you now, a hand sliding along the curve of your arm, before resting just above your pulse point. His hand is warm, opposite of the cooling night air, “Yet you’ve done a favor for me I’ve not yet given anything in return for.”

“What?”

Your confusion is palpable even without your verbal input because Suna’s thumb is smoothing it away from your brow with his free hand. His eyes are darker now with the sun down, only the moonlight illuminating the outline of his face and there’s something about the sight that makes your skin rise, goosebumps lining your arms.

“Deputy,” the moniker is like a velvety purr against the exposed skin of your nape, “I’m a bit hurt that you don’t remember our very first meeting. It holds such a sweet spot in my heart, so for you to forget it cuts me deep to my core.”

You wrack your brain trying to remember the first time you’d met Suna, all those days ago at the beginning of the summer, when you’d been unscarred and unafraid of your allegiances. There was still a hopeful part of you, then, that had been so sure you could be the savior of these people.

“I don’t…” your voice trails off as you watch Suna walk back in front of you, his face calm as you worry at your bottom lip.

“Of course not,” a knife flickers in his hand, the silver blade gleaming in the pale light of the moon, “you were much too blissed out to remember, but there was information you provided that proved most useful.”

His hands trail along your arms, leaving goosebumps in his wake as you lean closer to him, drawn in as if connected by an invisible string. Suna’s leaned in closer now, close enough that you can feel his exhales fanning across your face gently; can see when his eyes flicker and dance on the lines of your features.

“Pretty little thing, too pretty to be fighting a war you never signed up for,” he muses softly as the back of his hand eases across your cheek, “my darling deputy, you told me you wished for an escape from the pressures, the responsibilities that the locals had forced upon you. You are but a single piece, yet you’re burdened with the work of a hundred pawns.”

You take a shuddering breath in, and you let the tension leave your body that had settled along the weight of your shoulders as soon as Suna let his presence be known. You let the need to shoot him rest, because despite this man being the suffering and cause of so many downfalls—he understood.

He understood your wrath, the feeling of it tingling in your fingertips whenever Daichi asked you to do a job that could easily be done by someone else. You were just a person who’d stumbled into Hope’s County at a precipice of change—down on your luck and thrust into a job and title that made you feel like an imposter. He knew your fists clenched whenever another civilian came to you, begging you to save their farm when indeed, it would do nothing in the end for the resistance.

Maybe he knew that underneath every mundane task that you helped others with, there was a vexation that ran along the lengths of your body at their inability to do things on their own. You loved the citizens of this county, you swore to protect them when you became a member of the police force, and yet an undeniable thrum of rage would flood your body when they leaned on you more than the other members of the resistance.

How lovely it was that someone else understood you, even if it was Suna Rintarou.

Why were you fighting them so hard? Your mind supplies this thought too easily, like shrugging on a hoodie on a cold night, and it flits around your brain and fills in the empty spaces that Suna keeps tearing in your psyche.

You remember the end of the sermon that Kita had spoken when you first went to arrest him, all those months ago when the summer was licking at spring’s heels. He’d been haloed in the rays of the evening sun that filtered into the partially broken down church, hands spread with a rosary wrapped tightly against his left hand.

“For all have sinned,” he had spoken softly, eyes locking with yours as soon as the doors opened, and you felt panic strike you still, Daichi pressing on your shoulder to make you continue walking, “and fall short of the glory of God.”

If you were a sinner already falling from His good graces, why not enter hell with a list of sins that made the Devil take a breath in? Were you not already marked for damnation—what good would siding with Suna Rintarou and his family of fucked up prophets do for you?

“Rintarou,” his name leaves your mouth breathlessly, “if I’m going to hell, I’m going to drag you and your family with me.”

His eyes flash with something you can’t quite place your finger on, and yet the feeling it gives you runs along your spine with a chill, “You’re making a mistake. My family and I will find you, no matter where you are, and no matter what trouble you kick up.”

You press a kiss along the curve of his jaw, not missing the way his hands clench at his sides, “Then come catch me.”

There’s a part of you that hates that Atsumu was right because pride sinks into your bones with the fact that you leave with the last word. The last laugh is yours as you leave Suna in the dust of your exit, not knowing if there was another way it could have ended, if you’d just taken the hand he’d extended to you.

t.list — @nekomabvc

#tw religion #tw abuse #tw torture #tw drugs #tw violence #tw guns #tw manipulation #tw cults #tw cult #suna x y/n #suna rintaro x y/n #suna x you #suna x reader #suna rintarou #suna rintarō #suna rintaro x reader #suna rintaro x you #grind for the wealth

15 notes · View notes

dappercritter · 4 years

Text

Random She-Ra Season 5 Thoughts: THE FINAL RAMBLING

Yep. I finally got all my crazy absurd thoughts about this gay adventure-romance-drama cartoon summarized into one incoherent yet fun to read computer document/article! ...four months after the show itself ended. Oh well, no one’s perfect. Anyways, there are a whole lot more insane observations than ever before, so I had to put it below a link so this thing didn’t back up my blog or any of yours. Hope you enjoy reading through these as much I enjoyed spouting them for no discernible reason other than I felt like it!

-I feel that since is the last season, I ought to talk about an important part of the show that I’ve been putting off: the animation. It’s… okay. It’s definitely smoother than what the original 80’s show and it’s brother series (heheh) looked like, but at the same time it still seems to suffer from similar limitations which causes some distracting moments of stiffness. But other than that, it’s pretty good. It’s no Titmouse or Studio Mir but it looks good and it gets the job done.

-After all, let’s not forget: “Imperfection is beautiful!”

-Even when things are at their lowest, Adora is a jock with a heart of gold.

-Horde Prime and the Galactic Horde’s aesthetic feels like a mixture of Catholicism, Scientology, Heaven’s Gate, and modern Microsoft, and honestly, that just makes him creepier.

-Speaking of Horde Prime, he didn’t waste any time with destroying Bright Moon. …apparently.

-Furthermore, on the topic of his giant holographic messages, WAS THAT A FREAKING MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE MOVIE REFERENCE?!

-Boy, Glimmer and Catra sure got along quickly! It’s almost like they magically understand each other because they both assumed leadership roles and screwed up big time! …I guess.

-Either that or this season is going to be a speedrun.

-Wow, the Rebellion sure got used to having a once-thought-dead king as well as a known enemy general/abuser running around their camp awful fast, didn’t they?

-Mara’s got a spaceship, a cyber girlfriend, a magic grandma, a dragon, a tragic backstory, AND a force ghost?! Dang, even in death, the girl’s got it all. No wonder everyone likes her!

-(*me looking at the TV rating at the start of episode*) “Why is language in there? Is there surprise cuss words or something in this season?” (*sees Horde Prime seize control of a clone for the first time*) “HOLY FREAKING SH—oh that’s why.”

-Applause to the crew for making the “dinner with Prime” scene for making a meal between a sparkly princess, a catgirl, and alien cult leader feel even more uncomfortable than it had a right to.

-(*me throughout the season whenever a clone was onscreen*) Is that Hordak? Is that him? Is that him? Is that him right there? Oh it is—oh no wait. … Is that h—

-Extra applause for having Glimmer learn from her grey-area wetwipe phase and refusing to sell out her friends again whilst telling the imperialist cult leader where to stick it.

-I would pay a sizeable portion of my life savings to hear what a Scorpia and Swift Wind duet would sound like.

-In fact, I’d double it if it was just Scorpia singing.

-Ah what the heck. I would triple it for an entire She-Ra musical!

-As happy as I am to see to see Entrapta interacting with the other princesses again, I have to say that their big reunion left me with some mixed feelings. Here’s a quick rundown:

-Entrapta, a grown autistic woman, being led around on a leash by non-neurodivergent teenagers—again: that’s bad.

-The Princesses confronting Entrapta about joining the Horde: that’s good!

-The Princesses blaming all their problems with the Horde bots on Entrapta’s actions and her hyper fixations alone: that’s bad.

-Entrapta explaining herself, admitting that she regrets her mistakes, and getting the Princesses to understand that she thinks and communicates differently, but in spite of that, she really does want help find Glimmer: that’s good!

-Entrapta never gets to call out the Princesses for how poorly they treated her: that’s bad.

-Entrapta saves the day and goes to space: that’s good!

-Scorpia and Entrapta still haven’t interacted even though the former is with the Rebellion in the first place because she went to look for her because she is her best friend: …can I go home now?

-How nice! Michah finally got to shapeshift!

-And he’s rocking that She-Ra outfit to boot!

-So is Darla a back up of Light Hope or do they just run on the same operating system and have the same voice?

-I could watch an entire season of Adora, Bow, and Entrapta going on space adventure in a rundown ship with their custom-made spacesuits, tbh.

-Is anyone else weirded out that Catra’s younger self looked at her in her flashback(?).

-Actually what WAS happening there, anyhow?

-(*watching Bow’s spacewalk to save Glimmer*) “Is that a Gravity reference?” asked the man who never saw Gravity.

-Speaking of spacewalks, how did Glimmer survive those precious few seconds in space? Does the teleporter teleport a breathable atmosphere too?

-Also, Catra, WHY did you think it would be a good idea to teleport Glimmer into space? I know you had a plan and the ship was right there but… Ah, never mind.

-Not that I’m complaining but Glimmer’s apology to the rest of the friend squad for her HORRIBLE plan last season went… surprisingly quickly.

-You know as cool as The Star Siblings are, being a quirky band of space-travelling siblings with cool powers and some trans rep to boot, I only have one small problem with them: weren’t there already Star Sisters on Etheria back in season 1?

-That doesn’t sound right, but I don’t know enough about Masters of the Universe characters to dispute it.

-Entrapta confirmed pan, objectum, AND horny on main. Dang girl, you’re gonna have fun whether you got Hordak back or not…

-“The Velvet Glove” is both a menacing and stupid name for a decadent overlord’s mothership.

-Wait, it’s from the 80’s canon? Oh. That kind of explains it, actually.

-Goshdangit, I wanted Catra to face punishment for her crimes, but I didn’t think that would involve going to evil alien conversion therapy!

-Nor did I want her to die! For a second. Actually, since it obviously wasn’t going to last I was… weirdly okay with that part???

-Horde Prime seems awfully okay with Catradora. I mean he’s still super creepy and manipulative about it, but also oddly progressive for an evil brainwashing cult leader.

-(*Adora transforms into a She-Ra through seer will*) First of all, called it. Second of all, WOAH MAMA now that’s a glow up!

-Wrong Hordak did not have to be a thing, and yet, I’m glad that he is.

-Hordak remembers the LUVD crystal and Entrapta… Hordak remembers Entrap—! It’s happening! Oh my gosh, it’s happening! Everybody stay calm!

-Wow, Entrapta didn’t have to be so forgiving of Catra for everything she’s done to her but she did. Only I’m not sure if that was Entrapta taking the high road or the low road.

-Or which road the crew took for that matter.

-I remember when I thought those “Chipped AUs” floating around here on tumblr were just something the fans came up with and that chipping people was not an actual despicable thing Prime does in canon. I miss those days.

-I know it’s not the same as before or the original design, but True She-Ra’s designs and powers? I think they slappin’.

-Hooray, Adora and Catra are finally making up! And it only took four and half seasons worth of communication failures, toxic villainous behaviour, and physical violence for Catra to snap out of it!

-…We can go back to Entrapdak now, right?

-Poor Elberon. First they unknowingly adopt a double agent then get invaded by the Horde and now they’re getting brainwashed and chipped by the Galactic Horde. They might be a cute village, but they got some pretty lousy security.

-You know it’s cute that Micah is doing his best to be friends with Frosta and get back in touch with his dad-side, but look I can’t be the only one worried about how the local King is a less proactive leader than the princesses or the known war criminal/abuser, right?

-“The Perils of Peekablue” or as I like to call it, “You Thought ‘Boys Night Out’ Caught You Emotionally Off-guard? Hah! Watch This.”

-You know I didn’t think Scorpfuma would be a thing aside that one moment of flirting near the end of season 4, but they really pushed for it to be a thing! This is… actually pretty great! Perfuma’s not perfect, and I would have appreciated giving them a little more time to bond and form some real chemistry, but at least she reciprocates Scorpia’s sweetness instead of rebuffing it in increasingly aggressive fashion.

-I’m not sure what’s more concerning: that Mermista set a boat on fire, that it’s worded like she had a fling as part of some experimental phase, or that Sea Hawk is turned on by this.

-Peekablue might not be real, (I think?) but he is one dapper dude! Female-to-male redesigns could learn a thing or two from him.

-It involved them getting stung and seizuring, but that was a heck of a way to reintroduce Double Trouble! I swear I got watching them cycle through their transformations in some sort of physical reaction.

-Or maybe that was just me worrying about their wellbeing…

-Okay, I get the Chips are huge, and actually rather clever threat, but how do these characters get chipped in the first place? I get there are chipped people who spread the chips throught the population but where do they get those from???

-Do one of those Horde Prime drones just sneak behind someone, slap a chip on their nape then hand them a whole bagfull and say, “Beep boop beep, Horde Prime’s Light, blah blah blah. Alright have fun, kiddo”?

-Or is it some sort of Alien: Covenant deal where they’re just floating around and Lord help you if one sticks to you?

-HOLY CRAP THEY ACTUALLY GOT SCORPIA TO SING! AND SHE WAS GREAT!

-Oh shoot. Guess I owe the crew twice my life savings now…

-Entrapdak might be what got me into this show, but it’s Double Trouble that kept me around, so you can imagine how happy I was to see them make their grand reappearance!

-Conversly, you can imagine my disappointment when they just disappeared until the finale.

-And on that note: HOW DID YOU GUYS LOSE DOUBLE TROUBLE?!

-You forgot to cherish them, didn’t you?

-So, Scorpia sacrifices herself just after finding a new girlfriend and gaining some newfound confidence, Mermista and Sea Hawk are split up,and Double Trouble didn’t join the main cast. Why can’t you just have fun like a normal cartoon, show?

-Gosh, I love me some shifting title cards!

-Is it just me or did they sneak in some more Annihilation references on Krytis?

(-Said the guy who was too chicken to watch the movie and just read about it and watched a few clips online.)

-(*audibly sighs*) FINE. I guess I like Catradora now. Are you happy now, SPOP Crew? ARE YOU?!

-Hooray, Catra’s got a emotional support animal! And they’re a shapeshifting magic alien cat. Those are the best kind!

-Is it weird that I knew that weird glowing stuff on Krytis was just magic all along, or was it just not hidden very well. Anyways, I like Krytis. I like that we got to see a truly alien world with its own form of magic.

-Plus, we got a logical advancement of the magic versus science subtheme with magic being Horde Prime’s weakness! Neato!

-Getting back on the “which is worse?” wagon for a second, I don’t know what feels less right: that Wrong Hordak’s big revelation and his resolution to free himself and his brothers and friends from Horde Prime’s control is played humorously, or that Real Hordak should be the one having this moment.

-That bit with Castaspella and Shadow Weaver where she tells Casta about Etheria being a living thing with inherent magical property, or whatever, while we got a peaceful shot of some boar creatures sleeping was actually kind of nice. It would have been nicer though if it wasn’t part of a power hungry abuser’s obvious scheme. If only there was a kindly old witch lady character who was in touch with nature and knew just what to say when someone was feeling downOH WAIT.

-Furthermore… Why did Shadow Weaver and Castaspella need to have romantic tension?

-Seriously though, where’s our Madame Razz quota this season? Where’s my supportive magic grandma timelord at, yo?

-Yup, they speedran this season.

-I’m actually really disappointed we didn’t see more of an intergalactic new rebellion rising up to fight Horde Prime’s forces across the universe. Especially if it meant we got to see more Star Sibling action!

-Again, I adore Wrong Hordak but I keep wondering what was keeping the crew from just bringing in Original Flavour Hordak. (You know, aside from teasing us Entrapdak fans and trying to distract us with a loveable new character in the meantime.) I mean he could have done the whole infiltrating the clone squads and tricking them bit, too.

-Heck, he could have done the wink, too!

-I’d gleefully point out Loo-Kee’s cameo this season but apparently, they already made some several seasons ago. That’s what I get for not rewatching the 80’s show and training my eyes first.

-(*sees Erelandians*) Are those freaking Toads and Toadettes?

-So, what’s keeping them from just hitting Spinerella’s chip again? Besides emotional baggage and gale force winds, I mean.

-Perfuma coming out of a cave scared out of her wits, demanding to know who’s there, clinging to her friends as soon as they come back, and balling her eyes out is a big, BIG mood.

-Frosta absolutely decking Catra in the face was nestled somewhere between cathartic and excessive.

-Netossa spraying her with a bottle of water on the other hand…

-Oh, so Greyskull was the name of a Rebel Squad! I think. Meh, the important thing is we got an explanation and it still sounds cool.

-Leave it to a couple of dads to make a secret message out of a dad joke.

-You know I made fun of Light Hope for being creepy, but I swear that avatar from the Spire is even creepier. I don’t know if it’s her face—those dang blank eyes, man—or just that it she’s less animated than the real thing, but it just felt… off.

-Aww, Noelle made Netossa’s princess weakness illustrations! So cute!

-Forget episodes that deserves Emmys, Keston John deserves one for voicing Hordak, Horde Prime, all the clones, and several minor villains and giving each and every single one a distinct voice! Where my king’s respect, eh?

-Yes, Catra you had a small disagreement with Hordak. …Over sending his girlfriend and your “friend” to DIE IN A LITERAL LIVING HELL.

-Sorry, I just had to get that out of my system.

-Why does Perfuma get pressured to get angry and go wild when Entrapta’s the one who’s had it the worst out of all them? Why can’t my gamer girl go berserk, dammit!?

-Okay, but really, how do these fricking chips work??? Are they parasite devices who store Horde Prime’s Baptizing Dew then slowly pump it into their host’s bodies? Do they have their own nervous systems? Are they technorganic? Also, how and why do we need to make these chips are bigger threat then they need to be?

-Horde Prime showing up on Hordak’s throne in grand Killing Joke style and casually throwing shades at his brother’s overblown attempts to impress him is pretty awesome, but it feels strangely underdeveloped. Hordak’s not there to have his hard work insulted and we never got to see Adora have any similar encounter with Hordak here before, so unless you look at it from the perspective of someone who has been here before in the Horde story like Catra it lacks the dramatic weight it should have had.

-Scorpia resisting the chip to save her new friends was pretty great, though.

-I swear, when they got to the scene where Adora and the others figured out that Shadow Weaver was grooming her so she could use her to get to the Heart of Etheria, I was mouthing “You B***H” through the whole thing.

-They really brought back Etherian deep magic just so they had something to make Micah threatening. …okay.

-Okay, the rest of “Failsafe” messed me up, so here’s a rundown on all the other messy thoughts I had while the show ripped my heart and ground it to dog food:

-Entrapta and Hordak reuniting: Yay!

-Swift Wind yanking her away before she can get through to him: Boo.

-Catra encouraging Adora to try and take care of herself for a change: Yay!

-Adora hurts Catra and she runs away: Boo.

-Adora finally calling out Shadow Weaver on what an utterly horrible person she is: Yay!

-Adora resolves to risk sacrificing herself to save the world: Bo—okay, seriously, was all this suffering really necessary, show?

-I know I mentioned in my previous She-Ra random thoughts that I supported Glimmadora, but I am okay with Catradora and Glimbow ending up canon. The only problem I have is how rushed they feel—moreso with Glimbow. With Catradora, the crew had an entire season to make it work again and they took it. Glimbow it feels like they were down to the last few episodes and went, “Oh right, we were gonna do something with these two!” then did their darndest to fit in some chemistry in between all the other stuff going down.

-As ominous as it was, the music where Horde Prime starts hacking Etheria honestly SLAPS.

-Okay, I know everyone is magic or something, but I am legit surprised getting electrocuted in water didn’t kill the heroes right then and there.

-Sea Hawk tries to flirt with his girl even as she’s trying to kill him. Truly, he is a man of taste.

-What do you know, Shadow Weaver can only do good when she’s (canonically!) punch drunk.

-You know a whole lot of this could have been avoided if Holo-Mara was Adora’s mentor instead of Light Hope.

-When I think about it, it was actually really clever to make Horde Prime the final villain for Adora to face: a domineering decadent man who’s been in power forever against a humble emotionally vulnerable compassionate young woman.

-Not to mention the divide between cult-like oppression and progressive freedom. Or something.

-Holy crap, did the First Ones get a great freaking a Great Old One for a guard dog?!

-So, you guys seriously didn’t bring Angella back to reunite with her family OR mention her all season after the impact her death had on everyone all last season until Glimmer needs a power-up at the last possible minute and then you never bring her up again. That is absolutely a dick move in bird culture.

-Entrapta’s hacker sticker gives me life. Gamer girl gremlin princess forever!

-On the one hand, I’m disappointed that Adora and Catra don’t get to have an awesome couple battle against the security monster and win. On the other hand, Shadow Weaver is finally dead. YAY!

-With apologies to the writers and especially Lorraine Toussaint. She did splendidly bringing this character to life and even if I hated Shadow Weaver, I adored the effort she put into making her one of the most emotionally complex villains I’ve ever seen.

-Words cannot, will not, and will never describe the pure joy that I experienced when I first saw Hordak’s big scene: standing up to and disowning his tyrant brother, saving Entrapta, declaring his love to her (albeit in a nicely lowkey fashion), and then throwing Horde Prime to his apparent doom Disney style with Entrapta cheering him with sheer glee. GOSH, it was everything I could have hoped for from this season!

-Now if only they kept the deleted scene where they got a moment to themselves before Prime body-jacked him again like the creepy sonuvabich he is.

-Horde Prime just wouldn’t be a religious villain if he didn’t tell everyone to burn.

-Bonus points for actually trying to burn the frigging planet.

-Aside from the idea of Adora switching to wearing a She-Ra themed dress everywhere in the future, the future vision was really quite sweet, and seeing Prime step in to ruin it made it all the more impactful.

-Can I just say that it’s absolutely wonderful that the show, for all it’s flaws, said “**** senseless heroic sacrifices”?

-BREAKING: Lesbian cat finally makes up with her jock ex, has a canon kiss so pure it saves the world!

-In other news, Catradora fans are still spoiled rotten.

-Wow, look at all those character comebacks they skipped through! Look, there’s the chefs from Dryl, Double Trouble, Huntara, the Horde Trio, Imp, Madame Razz—are you kidding me?!

-Grumbling aside, I actually find the idea of the Horde Trio and Imp getting involved in a G-rated science-fantasy version of the first Hangover movie quite amusing.

-Oh dang, they pulled a Castle in the Sky with the Velvet Glove!

-As nice as it was to see Aodra save Hordak from Horde Prime and destroy the latter through exorcism via sheer compassion, I’m rather disappointed we never got to see She-Ra go full Metal Gear Solid Rising: Revengence on any creepy old cult leaders.

-Yeah, it would have gone against the “love conquers all” set up, but love takes on many forms, does it not? So, why can it not manifest as cleaving your mortal enemies with extreme prejudice to save your loved ones?

-Furthermore, in addition to Holo-Mara being a better mentor, Hordak raising Adora instead Shadow Weaver could have prevented a lot of similar problems. Maybe. Possibly.

-Eh whatever, he has a lifetime’s worth of fanfiction to make up for it.

-ENTRAPDAK IS CANON, ALL IS RIGHT WITH THE WORLD.

-And so is Catradora and Glimbow! That’s nice, too.

-Aww, how sweet of them to skip through Catra and Scorpia, and Glimmer and Micah’s big reunions! It’s not like we’ve been waiting forever for this stuff or anything. HahahahAHAHAHDHAHAHFHAFHKSADJHFKAJHDfine.

-And so it all ends with everyone either friends, in love, or both, as heroes decide to make up for it all with a grandiose sequel promising more exciting space adventures we probably won’t see! HOORAY!

-All snarky ranting aside, I actually really enjoyed the finale. It was exciting, heartwarming, and above all it ended on happy, hopeful note without leaving too many frustrating questions unanswered. (*glares with utmost contempt at Voltron and Star vs. The Forces of Evil*)

-You know, this wasn’t bad for a final season, but I think this might have worked better as two seasons. Not in Netflix’s cheap “split a regular 13-episode season in two 6-7 episode long seasons” strategy, but I mean two full seasons with their own storylines leading up to the grand finale:

-First, one that starts out with Horde Prime’s arrival the downfall of Etheria, focuses on the space adventures, ends with their return to Etheria and gives the characters time to recuperate from season 4.

-Then, we have one final season that focuses on the Best Friend Squad’s Return to Etheria, Horde Prime’s plan, gives everyone more time to properly reconcile before ¾ of the entire cast gets chipped, sets up a new Rebellion made up of Princess Alliance and former Etherian Horde members, maybe even set up a proper Hordak redemption arc or something, and then our big happy ending.

-On a mostly unrelated note, I also feel that the whole show could have turned out even better if it had been either a dedicated science-fantasy war drama with some levity (like the good Star Wars shows or Avatar: The Last Airbender) or a lighthearted yet empowering slice-of-life action-adventure romcom (i.e. basically a well-made remake of the original show in the style of Adventure Time and Parks and Rec or something).

-My final random thought for this whole thing: we really could have used a triumphant end credits song or something. Aside from obviously recommending Fabulous Secret Powers, I would have also recommended the original 4 Non Blondes “What’s Going On,” a reprise of “Warriors,” Gorillaz’s “We Got the Power,” or (my favourite) Talking Head’s “(Nothing But) Flowers” since the ending scenes remind me of it.

Thanks again to the crew for giving me something to live for and/or complain about!

Now, let’s hope the He-Man reboots do as well...

56 notes · View notes

astarlightmonbebe · 4 years

Text

compilation of thoughts and theories on chain of gold

for reference here is my theories before reading

pls do not expect coherency i have never been coherent about books in my life

also spoilers! and it’s really long! you have been warned

- okay to start we are going to be talking about my MAN matthew fairchild because he’s making me hurt too much. you guys know how much i love him, but especially after reading chog i mostly feel super sad? because it’s so obvious that at this point he is so far gone, like he’s been walking the path of self destructiveness for so long and in the fact of his own internalized self hatred and guilt he ends up hurting other people along with himself--or he will, for all the much he loves his friends. i really feel that he needs to get a handle on himself, but he’s so afraid that if anyone ever knew his secrets that everyone would turn him away, but in the fact that he’s keeping them--he’s digging his own grave and i’m sobbing. someone needs to help him; while i feel it is important that matthew saves himself, i don’t think it’s something he can or should necessarily do alone.

- this is kind of about the grace situation? like wow i hate that girl. i swear she tears apart a flower every morning to decide how hot or cold she’s gonna be for the day. i felt like the slightest inkling of pity for her like maybe once in the book but in the end she’s sooo two faced and i can’t bring myself to like her knowing she’s the reason they are all going to practically fall apart (especially james/matthew/cordelia).

- i told you guys she was involved with some witchery huhhh...as expected, the bracelet is found guilty...i guess because of james’ demon blood, her regular magic doesn’t work, which makes me wonder if it is connected to demon blood (maybe warlocks??). anyways i hate her and making boys do things without consent. i do find it a little fishy that matthew hasn’t caught on, especially after the kiss? like despite all the secrets he keeps, i highly doubt he would do anything that would hurt james (with active realization; we’re not talking about mental states right now). and the fact that james knows something is bothering matthew and how matthew feels james’ pain so acutely? you can’t tell me their bond is breaking or fragile, because to me it seems strong even if the two of them are liable to break and take it with them as they do.

- can i just say. i was so disappointed. to find out. that CASSIE IS DOING ANOTHER love triangle like pls kill me now. i’m actually devastated and super unhappy about it because we a) already did this last series and b) just??? i don’t want another reason for those three’s relationship to become more strained? tbh, i kind of like cordelia/matthew if it wasn’t for the fact that matthew has his own issues, cordelia is hopelessly head over heels for james, and james has feelings for cordelia if you take the bracelet and grace a w a y. i do love how cordelia seems to see matthew in a way that nobody else does and she’s willing to confront him in a way that no one else does (looking at you, lucie). i mean, props to matthew for not going to intervene during their arrangement, but like...that’s another secret, too. anyways. i’m big sad over this.

- cordelia!! i have to admit, i have fallen for her more than i expected to. her pov was wonderful and i loveeee her character. she takes everything in stride and is really mature and in control of herself, which i like. plus there are a lot of sides to her, and i enjoyed getting introduced to them all. we really saw character growth throughout the book with her too--she definitely matured in her feelings, despite all the heartbreak she’s been put through, and i love how she changed her mindset when finding out the truth about her family instead of being, say, stubborn that her father was innocent.

- on the other hand...i like lucie and james but i also...don’t??? idk, i genuinely did enjoy reading their perspectives but i don’t feel that in love or connected to the two of them as i thought i would be. especially lucie. don’t get me wrong---i absolutely adore lucie and her writer self, but i definitely went into chog thinking i was going to be a lot more invested in her. i think cc did a good job with her character, despite some of lucie’s actions and views not really aligning with me. i don’t know, to me she just seems a little too naive. maybe it’s because cordelia is such a contrast to her. and shoutout to james, who is having a horrible time. i feel bad for him, but his character is alright. i just want him and cordelia to be happy honestly.

- lucie and jesse was nice, honestly. i really went into chog thinking that jesse disappeared and tatiana just said he died, but i guess actually dying is cool, too. i have to say, i was partially right about lucie’s power (even if it wasn’t the cool out there one i wanted it to be). jesse’s humor is actually right up my lane. i thought he was going to be dry, but i enjoyed his character a lot, honestly. i don’t see them as romantic though? to me he’s like another endearing older brother figure to her at this point.

- jesse so willingly giving up his last breath like !!! you can tell how painful it is to be trapped here, like that must suck.

- grace and lucie about to team up next book i see?? kind of looking forward to it, ngl. they have a common interest (jesse) who they would do anything for. i’m intruiged.

- also called it, villain was a prince of hell! wasn’t belial in a gotsm story? or am i tripping out because i think i’m tripping.

- when i said it was likely for barbara or oliver to die I DID NOT MEAN BOTH OF THEM!!! i was actually getting attached to barbara and her good eyesight. i want to know the tea with eugenia too.

- anna lightwood is forever an icon in my eyes. she’s a power unto herself and i can’t wait to see her in the next couple of books. i had a feeling ariadne was going to chase her...not that psyched about it but curious all the same. i love how anna’s first reaction was ‘oh so you heard that charles dumped you from me not him’

- anna and cordelia are awesome. i love how anna takes one look at cordelia and immediately decides she needs new clothes (thankfully, i swear, pastel is never a good choice for someone with cordelia’s complexion, like?? shouldn’t her mom know that.)

- charles. no words. why is he that kid in school, the one that has every answer and an obsession with wwii or whatever like TT. just run for president. (oh my gosh that’s it he reminds me of a politician in modern times)

- which moves me onto alastair. who honestly i love so much, 10/10. i honestly can’t remember why i liked him so much going into this book? but that’s not important because if i had any doubt in my heart, it is now gone and crushed. like the reason i like alastair and not grace is because alastair is such a prime example of character growth. not that his intrinsic personality has changed, but he’s realized he’s done bad things that he can’t exactly make up and that are not excusable, whereas grace keeps doing bad things continuously (and let’s be honest i think what she’s doing is worse. at least alastair is honest lol (jkjk)). plus he dyed his hair and that’s suddenly all i needed in my life.

- i love the carstairs siblings so much!!! they are my fave duo and i love how realistic their interactions are. idk how to explain it, but they really warm my heart. especially how alastair has been protecting cordelia all her life and she really had no idea. his speech when he told her about their father’s drinking habits made me want to cry. i love how he’s so endearing towards her too; he’ll be all annoyed and then one second later is panicking over the fact that he can’t find her and that she could be in danger. plus cordelia cares for him a lot, like how she wanted to leave during his and charles’ breakup, but stayed because she could feel he needed her, even when he let her go. i can’t wait for their relationship to continue to grow, especially with their secrets out in the air. sibling solidarity.

- and that brings me to *dundundun* thomas! i found myself really interested in him and liking his character a lot, not just because he’s a giant, either. (i will never stop laughing over the fact that thomas is a literal tree). i find him such a strong character, despite all the grief he must have been close to drowning in. he stayed away from his family all that time, too, but also he was with people who were basically his family and i stan that.

- a break to talk about christopher. i never thought he would get hurt, but thank goodness he had a cure all worked out. i love how he’s actually so coherent at times, despite being stuck in his own head. i kind of forgot he wasn’t spacey 24/7, so this was a nice reminder. he’s going to go places, mark it.

- on that note, i called the thomastair spain moment, though it was not in the way i expected it to be. i love how thomas so obviously caught feelings for alastair but like. had no idea what to do with them. he was just over there shivering and showing alastair his tattoo like boyyy. that kind of makes the engagement all that much sadder, because for one, i was glad that it finally got out (though tbh i kind of forgot alastair said all that other stuff and i was like ‘son, never say that again’) but it was so...heartbreaking??!

- like you can see that thomas was so stunned and hurt by the realization that alastair said that about his family behind his back at the academy, all while being somewhat nice to him in the face of it, especially considering that thomas was the one who always stood up for alastair in their friend group. and alastair--the fact that he was there to finally try to put it all behind them, to finally try to start something, only for it all to come crashing down. the fact that he was so resigned, knowing that thomas deserved the truth even if it meant he could lose everything.

- i just have so many feels about that particular scene. matthew’s bitter voice as he recounts everything alastair ever said. how thomas turned so hard and cold and was like ‘you’re not the person i thought you were’ and told alastair to never show up in front of him again. how alastair was so sad and he couldn’t even hide it, he didn’t even have words. how he cried when alastair is like, the person the you least expect to cry in a room.

- magnus though. he took one look at matthew and was like ‘oh gosh there’s another one of them self destructive men who drink themselves into oblivion’. like yes!!! pls save my son magnus!! he needs help.

- chog was filled with lapidary phrases though. there were a ton of good quotes.

- i said theories but i forgot them all, honestly. this is just a rant on characterization. *cries*

- if james is dishonest to cordelia in the next book he’s gonna have to catch these hands. he won’t even see me coming. i’m watching you, james herondale.

- also, great. tatiana and belial. great. (read: sarcasm)

thanks for reading !

273 notes · View notes

set-phasers-to-whump · 4 years

Text

all we can do

Prompt: carry/support (alt no.15)

Whumpee: Kurt Wallander

Fandom: Young Wallander

welcome back to my second fic for a fandom that barely exists! i finished the show today and i felt like we got so robbed of an ending that like. properly Dealt with the fallout of the explosion so i did this. unfortunately it’s not very good but oh well. what can you do. this is set in the night after the explosion and it could be canon compliant? the show isn’t super clear on the timing of everything so idk. whatever lol. hope you enjoy this if you read it for some reason!

Kurt is numb. His ears haven’t stopped ringing since the explosion. He’s still covered in dust and small pieces of debris. He sees the people around him cry, but finds himself incapable. He doesn’t feel anything. He’s running on autopilot.

His autopilot leads him to a bar, where he sinks down onto a stool and drinks and doesn’t even register the people around him staring and whispering.

He drinks and drinks and he doesn’t know why. Maybe he wants the alcohol to keep him numb. Maybe he’s hoping it’ll tear down enough of his internal defenses that the pain of reality will come screaming back.

Whatever his intentions might have been, he winds up drunk out of his mind with a bartender threatening to throw him out. He doesn’t want to leave. There are people here. If he leaves, he will be alone with himself, and he thinks that that is a remarkably bad idea at the moment.

But the bartender keeps insisting that he leave. That he’s had enough to drink. Finally, he asks if there’s someone he can call, and Kurt thinks, of course, of Reza.

His friend picks up on the first ring, asking him something like, are you all right?

“No, I’m smashed,” Kurt says. He thinks that’s kind of funny, for reasons he can’t explain. He laughs. “I’m so fucking drunk, Rez.”

He hears Reza say something, muffled. Then he hears Jasmine’s voice reply. “Hi, Jasmine,” he calls, and the bartender snaps at him to be quieter.

“Hey, Kurt,” Jasmine says, sounding subdued.

“Did you hear Hemberg got blown up?” he asks, because he knows she has.

“I did,” she says, and then Reza is back speaking to him. “I’m comin’ to get you, alright?”

He nods, and then says, “yeah,” when his alcohol-soaked brain reminds him that he can’t be seen over the phone. He hangs up, and then just sits there.

He stares at the ground, watching Gustav Munck’s car explode, hearing his own voice yell to Hemberg, over and over again, until a hand on his shoulder jolts him out of his memories.

Reza is standing there, and there’s this terrible look on his face and for a second Kurt tries to think of why, and then remembers. “It’s so sad, isn’t it,” he says. “One second, you’re there, and then...boom. Just like that, Rez. Boom.” The car explodes again. He tastes smoke.

Reza flinches a little at Kurt’s words. “You’re drunk, Kurt,” he says. “Come with me.”

“I am drunk,” Kurt replies. “I’m drunk and I can’t feel anything, Rez. Nothing.”

“I know. Let’s get you up, yeah?”

And then Reza’s arm is under his own, and he’s being lifted to his feet. The sudden change in position makes him dizzy, and he nearly collapses, saved only by Reza’s arm around him.

The walk out of the bar is extremely difficult. Kurt barely does any work at all, fully supported by Reza, who is half-dragging him along. All the while, Kurt is talking about Hemberg, Munck, the explosion, in a neverending circle, and all the while, the car explodes in front of him, and smoke fills his field of vision.

The car ride is silent. Kurt is staring out the window without seeing anything but flames. Reza is avoiding looking over at his best friend, hating what he knows he’ll see. Kurt’s in shock, he’d recognized that the second he’d called. Kurt can’t feel anything, and he’s too drunk to understand the words he’s saying, which are belaying how he feels under the layers of alcohol and shock.

Reza pulls to a stop at his house and opens the passenger door, but Kurt remains in his seat. Reza can’t tell if he looks worse than he did in the bar, or if it’s just the light from the car illuminating how badly he’s looked all this time: caked in residue from the explosion, because he’d refused to go to the hospital. Pale as hell, because his boss is dead, because he hasn’t caught the man responsible. Half-asleep, because he’d decided to go get drunk instead of do something as reasonable as reach out.

He pulls Kurt gently out of the car, hearing the other man make a faint, unconscious noise of pain, the first indication that he’s in any kind of pain at all. Reza looks him over worriedly, checking for any injury that Kurt had somehow not realized he’d gotten.

Sure enough, there’s a splotch of red slowly seeping through his shirt. “You’re bleeding, man, you know that?” Reza asks, sure that the answer will be no.

“I dunno,” says Kurt. “Don’t feel anything.”

“Can you walk?”

“I dunno,” is Kurt’s answer, again.

“If you’re not walking, I swear I’ll throw you over my shoulder and carry you inside,” Reza says, intending to say it as a threat.

It’s clearly not received that way. “Okay,” Kurt says, and he makes no move to stand.

Reza sighs briefly before reaching down and picking Kurt up, trying to be mindful of whatever injury he has. He carries Kurt up to the front door, and wonders, vaguely, if he’s always been this light.

He opens the door with the hand not holding onto Kurt, then shuffles inside and into the living room, setting Kurt down on the couch carefully.

Jasmine comes out of their room then, gasping aloud when she sees the man on her couch. “Kurt,” she says, softly, and goes to sit down next to him, putting a hand on his smudged cheek.

“He’s been like this since...since the explosion?” she asks, turning to Reza.

“Wouldn’t let anyone touch him,” Reza confirms. “He’s in shock, I think. Says he can’t feel anything.”

“He’s bleeding.”

“It doesn’t hurt,” Kurt interrupts. “Hi, Jasmine. Good to see you.”

She gives him a sad smile. “Hi, Kurt.”

Reza comes and sits down on his other side, reaching out to remove Kurt’s jacket, and then his shirt.

“What’re you doing?” Kurt questions.

“Figuring out why you’re bleeding,” is Reza’s reply, and Kurt lapses into silence.

“It doesn’t hurt,” he repeats, after a moment of Reza poking around a thankfully-not-too-deep shrapnel wound. “It doesn’t hurt, Reza, why doesn’t it hurt?”

Reza stops what he’s doing and looks into Kurt’s face, seeing emotion there for the first time. His eyes are wet with as-yet-unshed tears, and although his statements are to the contrary, he looks so incredibly pained.

“It doesn’t hurt because you’re in shock,” Reza explains gently, as Jasmine takes over tending to his wound. Kurt looks at the floor. The car has stopped exploding, but still, all he can smell is smoke.

“Can you make it stop?” he asks, not really sure what it is he’s referring to.

“You’ll come out of it on your own,” Reza says, wishing he could say something more comforting. “Dunno if you’ll feel better when you do.”

Jasmine finishes bandaging his wound, and for a moment the three of them just sit there, Reza’s hand on Kurt’s back, Jasmine’s hand in his hair.

“Would you mind if we cleaned you up?” Jasmine asks, pulling a piece of something out of Kurt’s hair.

Kurt shrugs. He doesn’t care. He pokes at the newly-bandaged gash in his stomach, wishing that he could feel it. Reza’s hand pulls him away from that particular task, and he feels Jasmine stand up on his other side.

She returns after a second, and then there’s a warm washcloth rubbing gently against his face and another one dragging across his torso. Slowly, they begin to take away the smell of smoke that’s been following him all day, and by the time they’ve finished, he feels different.

Less drunk, for one. Cleaner, for another. But the most notable change is the sudden stab of pain in his stomach.

“I can feel it now,” he says, feeling his voice shake. “Oh god, I feel it,” he says, and then it’s not his voice shaking but his body, and he’s crying and whimpering and in a matter of seconds his world has gone from cold and numb to brutally hot and painful, and then he’s crying so hard that he stops making any noise at all, and all the while he feels hands on him, gentle and warm, rubbing his shoulders and touching his face.

At some point, the pain reaches a crescendo, and Kurt almost pitches over from the force of the emotions that are pouring out of him unhindered. Before he can, though, an arm extends across his chest and another one grips his shoulders, both of them supporting him, keeping him upright.

Reza and Jasmine hold onto Kurt as he breaks completely, and they keep holding on when he finally cries himself to sleep. They share a look over his head.

“Poor guy,” is Reza’s only observation regarding Kurt. “What a way to go…” he adds, shaking his head. He can’t believe any of this. That Hemberg is really dead. That Kurt watched him die. That his killer is most likely never going to be brought to justice.

“I can’t imagine,” Jasmine says. “And Kurt being there…” she trails off, reaching out to grab Reza’s hand. “How do we all get through this?”

“I don’t know,” Reza confesses. “We just have to be there, I think. Like you two were for me. It’s all we can do, really.”

Between them, Kurt makes a soft noise in his sleep, wrinkling up his face. Jasmine returns a gentle hand to his hair, in an effort to calm him down without waking him. Reza places a hand on his chest, feeling Kurt’s heart beat just slightly too fast.

“I’m so sorry, man,” he says quietly, and feels Jasmine lean over to press a kiss to his cheek. “I’m so sorry.”

i’m very sorry if my depictions of shock were not accurate i did not feel like being accurate lol. anyway this ending sucks butt and tbh the whole story kinda does too...but whatever hope you enjoyed anyway? not that anyone is gonna read this lmao.

#whumptober2020 #altno.15 #carry/support #young wallander #fic #kurt wallander #shock #aftermath of explosion #emotional whump #crying #supported walk #i say things #my writing #supported

29 notes · View notes

sagemoderocklee · 4 years

Note

⭐the most recent chapter of taol with shadow!shikamaru⭐

ohhhhh thank you for asking about this chapter! this is definitely my favorite non-gaalee chapter! it was also the chapter that I was probably the most nervous about because of the direction I took Shikamaru in!

it’s been a while since i published that chapter, so i had to skim before i could really touch on the elements of it that I really wanted to talk about, so sorry this took so long to get to. again, not something i could really reply to in the midst of having my tits tattooed. and i was too tired last night after my appointment to reply to this cause i knew it was gonna be long.

anyways, director’s cut for chapter 11 of The Art of Love is below the cut:

so a quick breakdown of what happened in this chapter to refresh anyone’s memory:

This chapter was a Shikamaru PoV chapter, (and aside from Gaara and Lee, he’s actually one of my fave characters to write. It’s hard to rank who I love writing the most, tbh, but I really do love Shikamaru as a character and enjoying writing from his POV.)

With this chapter, things are really starting to progress in a very material way--we’ve got Shikamaru’s fake arrest, Chouji taking his place in Iron, Shikamaru’s team for a secret mission is formed, and his escape from Konoha takes place. He rendezvous with Team Eight and Sai, and they begin a long journey, posing as civilian travelers who’ve been impact by the outbreaks of violence throughout the last five years.

First they go to a town I made up for this fic, Kōten Outpost, where they uncover a small bit of information. Here, things take a drastic turn: Shikamaru makes a pact with Shadow Kami--a pact that hasn’t been made in hundreds of years, and the records of which are unclear and incomplete. This reveals something about the Nara clan otherwise unknown. They’re abilities to manipulate shadow comes not from chakra specifically, but from ancient pacts, magic that has since been forgotten by shinobi.

This pact poses a danger to Shikamaru, to his teammates, to the world, but he takes it on because he is more than determined to rescue Temari. He cannot possibly predict the consequences of the pact, but he knows it will give him unimaginable power. Power he definitely cannot control.

After this, they move northward, making their way out of Fire Country and into, first Steam Country (originally Hot Water Country), and then Crystal Country (originally Frost Country). Their goal is to make their way to Kumogakure in Lightning, but posing as civilians means traveling slowly. And Shikamaru is no longer in the best condition as he struggles against an unimaginable force that now lives within him.

The journey from town to town, and village to village takes months. They disguise themselves in numerous ways, and eventually they do make it into Lighting, a harrowing feat made possible by Shikamaru’s growing strength and understanding of the Shadow Kami.

The chapter ends here, after they’ve crossed the boarder into Lightning.

So, brief(ish) recap.

I think the main things I’d really love to talk about are Shikamaru’s pact with the Shadow Kami, the team he put together, Hinata’s role, some of the minor worldbuilding that went into this chapter, and his relationship to Temari. Which is obviously a lot to talk about lol but i really love this chapter.

So, to start with, I wanna talk about the less in depth stuff, which would be the team he put together and Hinata specifically.

I think it’s obvious that Team Eight and Sai were the best choices for this incredibly covert operation. Sai with his experience in ROOT and Team Eight as a team of trackers were the best candidates, even though Team Eight doesn’t necessarily specialize in undercover work. My thinking is that every shinobi has to have at least a basic grasp (cough except Lee) of undercover work and disguise. We obviously don’t get a lot of that in the series proper, but the series sort of takes the fact that these characters are ninja as more of a loose concept. ANBU and ROOT are really the closest to actual ninja, I’d say. Whereas Genin, Chuunin, and Jounin are more like your standard military personnel, I guess.

But that all being said, I don’t think you could really have someone be a successful Chuunin or Jounin without some experience and skill in these areas. I mean, as we saw in the first Chuunin exams, one of their tests was literally intelligence gathering without getting caught.

The team itself is large, but I didn’t want to skip out on using any of these characters, because each of them offered something vital to the team, and I don’t think Shikamaru would want to risk not using all the skills available to him that Team Eight and Sai offer. Sai’s obviously the best and most likely to fit into this role, and I think Shino is also well suited to this kind of work, but Kiba and Hinata are a little harder to place here. Kiba because he’s rather brash, and Hinata because she’s so... meek and bland. But Kiba is honestly easier to justify than Hinata from the off.

Hinata is always the character I struggle with the most because she doesn’t really offer us much in the canon. I’m sure someone will tell me I’m wrong or whatever, but Hinata exists specifically as a vehicle for male fantasy fulfillment. She’s fan service. Big tits, sweet, meek, totally devoted to the hero. Her arc revolves around Naruto, she exits to prop him up.

And that was a big reason why I wasn’t going to avoid writing her into TAoL. I couldn’t. I needed to address the issue of her relationship to Naruto, for starters, and I wanted to give her the chance to grow. I like her more when I separate her from Naruto--whether that’s presenting their obviously imbalanced relationship as detrimental to her and thus something she needs to finally let go of, or just not having her interact with him at all (like in Kado).

Shikamaru wondered if Naruto would even care that Hinata's acceptance of this mission was her way of breaking up with him.

I wanted to make it absolutely clear that this was the end of her relationship with Naruto and the start of her becoming her own person. We don’t get her PoV in this story because she’s not a central character in the grand scheme of things, but she has her own journey, and that revolves largely around her being a more competent shinobi and defining herself separate from Naruto. She’s faked an illness without telling him and he never went to see her--their relationship is over, and Hinata can finally move on.

And she starts to come into her own within this journey. She’s not in Konoha anymore. She doesn’t have her father to contend with or her sister or Neji’s death. And she doesn’t have constant reminders of Naruto (except when Kiba’s being an ass). Writing her as a more confident shinobi is... difficult to say the least. I personally don’t think she’s actually suited to shinobi work (politics, sure, but not actual combat), so even though I’m writing her as a more competent shinobi, it was very hard for me to suspend my belief for that. But that’s always been my problem with Hinata, and I kinda had to push myself past that hurdle of “is this recognizably Hinata?” because 1) she isn’t the central figure and 2) I need her to not be too much like Hinata because otherwise their cover is blown. So I can accept that she might come across as a lil OC. She’s undercover anyways, so she’s not gonna act like herself. And again, I want her to be more interesting and more dynamic than she is canonically.

But it definitely was a struggle.

Setting aside the issue of Hinata, I think the most fun I have when writing Naruto fics is really the worldbuilding aspects. For TAoL, I have like countless reference books and my kanji dictionary is always on hand. You can bet that any original towns and characters, I spent a lot of time scouring my kanji dictionary for a good name. Even if the name is fairly innocuous in meaning, I didn’t just pick it at random.

So for instance, Kōten Outpost uses kanji 995 in my kanji dictionary which mens ‘take a turn for the better’. Kōten is at a four way crossroad, and it’s specifically a place for travelers, merchants, etc.

Kōten Outpost was a quaint, sprawling town at a four-way cross-roads and the oldest settlement in Fire.

Long before Konoha or the rule of shinobi, before the daimyo, before the Warring States era, Kōten Outpost had sat like a picturesque painting. In the midst of wars and battles, in the midst of political upheaval and petty squabbles over boarders, Kōten Outpost had withstood the test of time for long centuries and would most likely continue on well after the age of shinobi.

Obviously, if you’re reading TAoL or just about any canon setting fic I write, you know I like worldbuilding. Kōten is a small piece of worldbuilding, whereas Gyokukakushin is a much larger piece, but Kōten still has it’s place within setting the stage and developing the world of Naruto. I really liked coming up with all the different towns in Fire that were affected by the skirmishes, and I really enjoyed imagining what the towns not run by shinobi would be like. What the people are like, what their culture is like, how they feel about shinobi. I think Kōten is a good example of a snapshot of worldbuilding--not a lot of depth per say, but enough that you get the sense of what it’s like.

With this chapter, however, the focus isn’t on the places and the culture of those places, so it really is just snapshots of places. Yugakure, Shimogakure, Kōten Outpost... This chapter is about the desperate hunt for information and doing whatever it takes.

That being said, the worldbuilding element comes into play again in a big way with Shikamaru and the Shadow Kami.

Admittedly, this was not in my original outline of this fic at all. It was something I came up with in the midst of writing this chapter, and it did make me kinda nervous to take this mystical route with Shikamaru given that nothing in the canon supports it. But then again, nothing in the canon supported aliens, and yet we have canonical aliens. \

Anyways, I felt that, despite my anxiety over the reception, Shikamaru was at least suited to this because I think it’s much easier to pull off mysticism with something like shadows. Plus, we don’t have a lot of canonical backstory for most of the clans, and I enjoyed bringing something new into the canon history, something wholly different.

Precautions had been noted in the scroll for this ritual, warnings from the first ones to perform it of the dangers it posed; his ancestors reaching from beyond the past to guide him through a long forgotten practice: Never look upon the Summoned, for they are more than mere shadow. Never show weakness to the Summoned, for they do not borrow hearts and souls, and will not show you any compassion. Never appear before the Summoned without an offering, for they are bottomless voids and will take you if you have nothing to give.

I really wanted to emphasize that the Shadow Kami do not follow human laws and are entities outside of human conception. There’s a lot more planned for Shikamaru and the consequences of what he does here are far reaching. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I can promise that what Shikamaru’s done doesn’t end at the end of this fic. This isn’t a one time deal, like “oh you can use our power for a little while and then we’ll slip away and you can be a normal shinobi again.”

Shikamaru has unleashed something that will live within him forever. And it will pass on to future generations (assuming he has children at any point.) He, of course, knew the risks, but Temari is everything to him, so what’s being a vessel for Shadow Kami if it means having the power to save the woman he loves?

I wasn’t entirely sure how successful I was in conveying these consequences and I really worried over how OP Shikamaru would be, but the questions I always ask myself are:

1. Is this errand? 2. Are there consequences?

And the answer to both of those questions are yes, in this case.

Shikamaru is a genius, and he’s in line to be the head of the Nara clan. He has access to the scrolls that contain these guarded secrets, and he absolutely doesn’t care about the consequences even though he knows there will be heavy ones.

While yes, at this point, Shikamaru has essentially achieved god-like powers, he cannot control them, and he is always going to run the risk of losing himself completely to the shadows. Shadows aren’t human. They don’t have human rules. They don’t have human wants. And the Shadow Kami, like I said, are bottomless voids. They take and take. Shikamaru has to rely on his own willpower to not be lost.

I imagine that the next Shikamaru chapter will explore more of the Shadow Kami history and the Nara clan history, but I think overall, the introduction to the Shadow Kami was good. It’s a hard balance though for sure because on the one hand, the Shadow Kami are a HUGE plot element that needs to be explored and talked about, but I also don’t want to take away from the immediacy of what’s happening in the overall story--the danger that Temari is in, which is always at the forefront of Shikamaru’s mind.

Which brings us to his relationship with Temari.

She’s his motivating factor in all of this. He does care deeply for Kankurou and Gaara as well, but Temari is the love of his life. That’s his everything. I personally am not a fan of maintaining Shikamaru as this like misogynistic person. He was twelve at the start of the series, and I think it’s safe to say he outgrows that, and also his desire not to get married. I think he genuinely values Temari--as a person and as a shinobi. She’s his equal and his partner.

And I think she’s sort of the great equalizer between him and the Shadow Kami:

Shikamaru's resolve hardened. He wasn't shadow, he wasn't just an empty void for them to fill. He might have given up his body and his humanity to them, but he would never give up his love. He sat back down, and forced the shadows to recede from his veins.

I personally feel like Shikamaru as this sort of embodiment of the lazy genius, this very blase and carefree “i wanna look at the clouds” character has a lot of potential to fail and become uninteresting. I think Temari makes him more interesting because she challenges him, and I think that the focus on their relationship really helps to highlight the pull of the shadows. Now he’s in this constant dance between giving himself over completely, and not forgetting Temari.

The antler that comes up repeatedly throughout this chapter is a symbolic link to Temari.

The antler ring tethered him; it was a blinding light to chase away the darkness; a necessary reminder of who he was and what mattered to him.

I think by the end of the chapter it’s fairly obvious what this is meant to be: an engagement ring.

I decided that it was a Nara tradition to make a ring out of antler, and Shikamaru carries this with him, making the ring when he has downtime on the mission. It’s not just a symbolic link to Temari to help him stay grounded, it’s also his assurance that he won’t let her die.

The repetition of the ring as an item on his person is inspired by a creative writing assignment I had back in college. There’s a story called The Things They Carried, and it kinda reminds me of being in theatre and having object work for a character you play. But the idea is that the things a character carries tells you a lot about them. It’s a window into someone’s soul, a way of communicating something about them without outright telling you about them.

So Shikamaru carries this piece of antler, that starts out as nothing more than a piece of antler and slowly turns into a ring, because he’s lost any and all reservations about marriage in the face of losing Temari. His love for her drives him onward, and his love for her is why he can’t fail. The ring is his refusal to fail.

I think that the ring is one of my favorite elements in this chapter. It’s obviously very subtle and small compared to like the Shadow Kami, but it’s such a desperate and beautiful element of romance. The image of Shikamaru awake late into the night, whittling down the antler until it becomes a ring, his promise to Temari whispered into the night. I think that’s powerful, and I think the ring really does highlight that in a way that not even the pact he made does.

And.... that’s I think the main stuff I wanted to talk about!

This particular chapter was actually supposed to cover their time in Kumo, but the chapter itself had gotten so long at that point that it didn’t make sense to keep going. Plus, the way this fic is planned out, it made sense to move everything that will happen in Kumo to a later Shikamaru chapter.

Thank you so much for this ask! It was fun to talk about this chapter! <3

#naruto #shippuden #nara shikamaru #hyuuga hinata #taol #fanfic asks #shikatema

13 notes · View notes

typewriterghcst · 4 years

Text

Title: In the TV Light Rating: G-ish tbh Characters: The Cat King, Natori, Haru, and a bit of Natoru at the end Pairings: None except for mentions of Lune and Yuki, but I hope you’re prepared for a tender heart-to-heart where one of the participants is the Cat King. Summary: Not one to be appeased by flimsy substitutions when he really wants something, the Cat King drags a protesting Natori into the human world sometime after midnight in the hopes of obtaining a midnight snack worth getting out of bed for. Notes: Written for the TCR 2020 Birthday Bash. I mean. Mostly. It actually first began life as a response to being given the one-word prompt “Glow.” Which at the time I had intended to be a reference to the glow of the convenience store lights on pavement or something pretentiously poetic like that lmao i’ve also decided to go ahead and split this enormous rambling fic into pieces in the interest of making it more. uh. Accessible. however, there may be erratically. Long periods of time in between updates, aha rip

Chapter 1: In Which Haru Makes A Questionable Decision

Natori’s face is pressed against one of his paws. Rather uncomfortably, he should add, as it’s a gesture that anyone who wears glasses will tell you is difficult to pull off without some vexing little issues, feline or not. After a moment or two of this private mourning for the nap he’d been at least absently looking forward to, he finally lifts his head again so that he can look his Issue in the grinning, odd-eyed face. The king is waiting for his answer. No doubt he’s already convinced himself it will be a favorable one, despite Natori’s show of exasperation. If not immediately, then… eventually.

Frustrated with the swell of helplessness that washes over him at this prospect, Natori turns his attention instead to the window, inadvertently looking out over the mess of still-crumbled tower, stone and rubble. He supposes it might count as a grounding, a ruined emblem to remind him why Claudius must have this voice of reason.

When he does reply, it’s with the long-suffering tone of an overworked schoolmarm.

"...You want me to organize another official procession into the human world— and at such alarmingly short notice, I might add— just so you can, if I have this right..." Here Natori's deadpan gaze falls directly on his royal employer's (ex? royal employer's?) hopeful, oblivious face, and he prays he looks just as judgmental as he's about to sound, "...pick up a bag of chips or two..?"

To both his relief and everlasting resignation, the Cat King only snorts at this prospect, or perhaps its ridiculous (but no less accurate) wording, but he does at least step back a bit, wobbling heavily on one foot and waving one paw in overconfidence at the same time. "Nah, babe— forget all that frilly procession baloney. This cat ain't the king anymore, is he? Not on paper, anyway. I say we just ollie on out there, grab what we want, come back, and eat like—” he snorts again, "—kings."

And, then, before Natori can protest again, unimpressed by the other cat's... joke, he continues, head canted, one eye squinted just so that he looks playfully critical of his ex-advisor's apparent poor memory. "And you know me, Natty— I ain't about that bag of chips life. Heh."

The Cat King snorts again, gaze drawn to his paw as he does. "...For all the walking I'm about to endure for it, you know it's gonna be oden or bust."

"Your Majesty, please, to— for you to travel in such a way—! It's—! I-It's.." Natori's objections fade when his old friend looks him in the eye, expression molded into what one would be forgiven for reading as wholly blank were it not for the underpinning of steel mixed in with the ennui. He sees it then— how nothing he says is going to hold any weight, how there is no way for him to make the king understand just how remarkably—! Immature! Unseemly! The Cat King is an old man, a retired one, at that, who is in the process of passing on his crown and livelihood to his more capable son, but he's certainly not supposed to ostensibly sneak out of his own lavish home like a delinquent teenager now that the pressure is off him! ...Is he?

The king is smiling widely at him again— the same smile he's always sported whenever he's gotten his way, or known he was about to get his way, and Natori— steels himself! He huffs; his eyes narrow. He's not defeated just yet!

"...But it must be after midnight in the human world right now." Ah. That came out fainter than he intended. Shoot.

More frustrating still, the king adds a peace sign to his goofy smile.

"Don't worry about it, babe. I had a plan for that all along."

&&&

"...This is your plan..."

"This is the plan, babe."

They are lingering outside a familiar home in the human world, perched solidly atop the fence surrounding it. A street lamp down the way they came flickers. Natori turns from that omen and instead regards the modest house with no small amount of dubious chagrin. Yet his companion only chuckles at his overt lack of confidence.

"Your Majesty, I— what on Earth makes you think Miss Haru is going to be willing to assist you in this venture?" Natori doesn't say as such, but her indignant disdain toward the Cat King after his, er, less-than-eloquent proposal had seemed quite clear to him.

"Because I'm the king."

"I quite clearly recall you saying you're not the king anymore, Si—"

"I'm the king," the Cat King repeats, more firmly this time, "And if she pulls a favor for me, that means she has me in her debt, right? Who could say no to that, uhh?"

Ah. That feels like a trap. Natori bites his tongue, but he's far from placated. This is not going to go the way his employer has envisioned it to in his head. Haru, he imagines, cares little for playing nice with the king and his... eccentricities, and an eventual confrontation between the two seems obvious to the bespectacled cat. Acting as the battered neutral party between two stubborn forces of nature is a far cry from how Natori would prefer to spend his late night, but he supposes there are few other cats as practiced as he is at the balancing act.

"Come on, time's a-wastin’—"

Without any other warning, his employer suddenly hops off the fence, disappearing within the cattails that are still growing in the yard (much to Natori's utter bafflement, at least, so Haru surely can't blame them for that), and takes off.

"Wait—!"

"Well, hurry up!"

By the time Natori catches up to his king, he's already practically glued to what Natori guesses is Haru's bedroom window. Her lights are off, which is to be expected, given the time. He catches only the smallest glimpse of the lump snuggled under the comforter before he's distracted by the king's less than courteous attempt at waking the poor girl— an open-palmed smack on the glass of her window, muted only slightly by his plush fur. To Natori's horror, the king raises his paw to try again, but he somehow manages to stop him before he gets the chance.

"Your Majesty, plea—"

"It worked!"

Indeed, it has. A quick glance back to the window before the two of them reveals that Haru (her face at least, the rest of her still cocooned within her duvet like a caterpillar) has emerged from under the covers and caught sight of the pair of cats currently sitting on her window sill as though they own the thing (...and at least one of them most certainly is the type to think so). And, Natori notes, she's regarding them in much the same way one might a forgotten four-month-old bento at the back of the fridge. That's about all the information he has time to absorb before cold, hard glass collides with his glasses and nose (vaguely, he's aware also of the surprised feline yowl that erupts from the king somewhere beside him).

He comes to seconds later on all fours, once again buried in the sea of cattails that at the moment constitutes Haru's family's yard. Haru herself is leaning nearly halfway out the now open window, pointing out at the two of them accusingly.

"What are you doing here?!" She hisses.

The Cat King pops up from out of his unintentional hiding spot among the tall brush, arms outstretched as if he has any right to be indignant, or perhaps is trying to placate an affronted ex.

"C'mon, babe, what'd I do to deserve that kinda greeting..?"

Natori, still crouched somewhere to the side of his king, can only stare up at Haru's form in the window. She seems to be reluctant to raise her voice, which he supposes is reasonable enough. Meanwhile, an inner voice of his own sees fit to mention to him that he must look like something of a helpless bystander, if not a pitifully frightened kitten, and it's that realization which ultimately tugs him to his full height.

"Don't go acting like you don't know! I almost died because of you!"

"But you didn't!"

"That's not the point!"

Natori distracts the king with a soft tap to the arm.

"...Sire, perhaps it might help defuse the situation if you politely tell her why you've come to... er, visit her..? Politely," he adds again for good measure.

The Cat King is silent for a good moment or two, purring to himself, but finally he nods in approval.

"Good idea, Natty. There's no telling how long we'll be here otherwise."

"...politely..." Natori echoes faintly as he moves away, almost certain his advice will prove too demanding for the king to follow.

Haru, for her part, has at least receded from hanging halfway out the window and instead stands with her arms tightly crossed, looking back and forth between the two with an expression that promises great adversity should they try anything shifty, and for just a brief moment, Natori finds himself struck by a difference he can't quite put a time-frame to. She's quite an image removed from the shrinking violet he'd first spied hiding behind her front drive's stone pillar.

It’s a wonder the change hadn’t registered as a more permanent shift in confidence to him before now.

As if she hadn’t just impulsively knocked the two of them off the very same ledge upon merely spying them sitting there, the Cat King clambers up the side of Haru’s house, depositing himself right onto her window sill like a particularly large and unkempt robin and making himself at home all over again. Haru herself looks less than pleased with this development, but the fact she hasn’t shut her window and gone back to bed seems a good sign to Natori. After a moment of hesitation, he eventually follows his old friend.

"'Kay, here's the thing, babe—"

Natori opens his mouth to nervously correct the king's… vernacular as he arrives, but in the end merely closes it again, thinking better of it. By this point it's just a nervous tic, not a true term of romantic endearment. Otherwise, he'd refrain from referring to Natori himself in such a way. (...wouldn't he? Well, he doesn’t have time to puzzle that one out.)

"—human food is delish, right? But some of us don't have the right, ehhh, savoir-faire to get it for ourselves. Get it? We hafta ask for help. And that's where you come in, babe."

And then, silence. Haru’s previously crossed arms have loosened, and she seems to be trapped somewhere between quizzical and skeptical.

“...that’s really all you want?”

“Would I lie? A king’s word is gold, babe.”

Haru looks from him to Natori, and the old cat struggles valiantly to keep a straight face and not allow even a shred of doubt in the king’s honesty show. Finally, some of the hard suspicion in her expression starts to fade, though a softer relative is still left behind in the form of uncertainty. When her gaze moves back to the king, it seems she has but one question left.

“Why do you need any help? Lune managed to get a gift for Yuki all by himself.”

To Natori’s surprise, the king then copies Haru’s gesture from just seconds before and looks to him, though in his case it’s with rather striking naivete (striking in its apparent authenticity, if nothing else), as if he’s waiting for an explanation on that mystery himself. Somewhere, an old, exasperated resignation creeps over Natori… Mm. Claudius has always been only too eager to leave the truly arduous questions to him, hasn’t he? Still, he answers readily enough, shoving that unexpected rise of resentment down into the depths from whence it came.

“I’m afraid Prince Lune is something of a— ah, special case. He’s quite well-known in the Cat Kingdom for spending a surprising amount of time in the human world.” Something he now realizes was likely Yuki’s influence. “It’s not at all a difficult stretch of the imagination to presume he must have cultivated a number of hospitable bonds here in the process.”

“Lune’s a networker,” the Cat King adds proudly.

“Unfortunately, well, we haven’t quite had that same opportunity,” Natori finishes. Were he more truthful, he might add that he and the king perhaps have relied a little too heavily on Natoru’s ingrained street smarts in the case of traversing the human world in the past. Haru at least appears amused by this explanation.

“...so, what you’re saying is you’re a couple of clueless, old tourists, is that it?” She eventually deadpans.

“Ha! That’s not a bad way to look at it, babe.” And yet, in a faint pout, the king eventually also adds, “I’m not that old.”

Haru’s brow rises. “No?”

“Natty’s older than I am.”

“Sire—”

“Well, that I’m not surprised by.”

The Cat King turns to survey him before Natori can get another word out. “I thought he was carrying his age pretty good myself.”

That actually gets a small laugh out of Haru, though it’s quickly stifled. Natori, meanwhile, can’t help but feel at least a little like the two are ganging up on him.

“No, King, that’s not what I meant.”

This friendly banter seems to be the last of the encouragement necessary to get through her defenses. Shifting her weight to her other foot, gaze drawn to the night sky in thought, she concedes. At least. Slightly.

“Alright… if it’s just a matter of some snacks…” She murmurs first to herself. “But that’s all! I’m not letting you rope me into some harebrained marriage scheme again, understand?”

The Cat King is already rubbing his paws together in anticipation of his beloved convenience store oden, but he at least remembers to nod in agreement.

“Sure, sure, babe. No funny business. Cross my heart.”

“And stop calling me babe.”

#the cat returns

6 notes · View notes

mychemicalficrecs · 4 years

Note

sorry to bother you but do you know of any fics like the unholyverse??? i read it and absolutely loved it & would like to read somethinh similar lol

Hi there!

Tbh I kind of haven't (yet) 😅There's a whole bunch of fic with religious themes, horror and/or supernatural elements though, I'm sure you'll find something interesting!

Here's a link to the Unholyverse series again for everyone interested.

And just for the record: you're not a bother, I love making these lists!

If You Liked Unholyverse...

Not A Saint by happilyappled, Frank/Gerard, 6k, Explicit. Father Way is not just a priest and Frank is not just any other man.

Tell Me I'm an Angel by SeraphStarshine, Frank/Gerard, 205k, Mature. Gerard thought that committing suicide would finally end it: no more pain, no more sorrow - nothing. The last thing he expected was to wake up in Hell, reborn as a demon under Lucifer’s control. He is planning on ending himself - for good this time - when he runs into an angel named Frank. Even though it is forbidden, he can’t resist spending time with him, and before he even realizes what is happening, he has fallen in love with this mysterious angel. Little does he know that their innocent romance is a part of something much greater which could ignite an all-out war between Heaven and Hell.

Father Way. by Frnk, Frank/Gerard, 6k, Not Rated. Father Way was the youngest priest in the parish, he had only joined a few months ago and Frank completely stopped going to confessions. Its not that Father Way was some old man, it was the opposite. He was around 25, fresh out of training when he joined the church.

Won't You Light My Way? by FallOutFromGrace, Frank/Gerard, 6k [WIP], Explicit. The land of the living became all the more interesting when one of the humans he was trying to turn to his own desires happened to have a spark of the divine. Well, for Gerard, at least. To everyone else, it was a horrific disaster and possibly and end to an era ruled by the spirits and entities down below. To him, it was an improvement to a boring existence.

Hunting With Bullets by Oni216, 21k [WIP], Mature. Having a band is the perfect cover to fight evil that lurks in the dark. It provides distraction, a reason to live, and decent lyrics for no one to fully understand. And it takes its toll. It always takes a toll.

From Grace by blood_infexions, Frank/Gerard, 40k, Explicit. “The connection a guardian angel will have to their human surpasses anything mortal man could fathom. It is pure, untainted love.” Frank is Gerard's guardian angel... until Gerard attempts suicide. Consequentially he is sent down to earth to live as a human again.

Desecrated Kids by wellthisisprettyrisque (collettephinz), Frank/Gerard, 144k, Explicit. Everyone moves into a new town and thinks it's strange. Stepping out of the car with a weird feeling tingling down the back of your neck isn't actually that unheard of, but finding that unmarked grave in the woods behind your house is. Frank Iero wonders if his mother moved him here so he'd disappear off the face of the planet, or if she actually wants the body to be found. All he knows is that this town has some horrible things happening to it, and no one seems to care enough to lift their heads and actually see. He has no idea what's going on, and is one of the few people that wants to find out. Luckily, Gerard is a few steps ahead of him.

Howl (Frerard Werewolf AU) by FrerardAndTheAssbutts666, Frank/Gerard, 18k, Teen And Up Audiences. In a small village, the townspeople all live together in harmony. But when a young woman is found dead, a wave of fear washes over the former peaceful village. Especially when signs of Werewolves, and Witches are linked to the murder. 17 year old Gerard Way is a young man who is well liked by everyone in the village, partly due to his families status in the village. Despite the fact that his village is a God fearing one and he wears dresses. And when another murder is committed, showing the same signs as the first, the village turns to full blown panic, and reinforcements are sent in to help. A Werewolf hunter and his son have traveled to help save this village from the belly of the beast, all while Gerard begins to question everything. The only person he could truly trust during this time of fear, is his boyfriend and lover, Frank. Frank and Gerard have been having a secret relationship, fearing they would be condemned to death if anyone knew. But as more blood is shed and more bodies hit the ground, Gerard begins to piece together that the beast is closer than he thinks. (Loosely based off Red Riding Hood with Amanda Seyfried and Gary Goldman...Okay more like its pretty based off it :p.)

Written in the Sand by Scarlet_Cross, Sarah/Brendon in a later fic, 28k, Teen And Up Audiences. Desert is brutal, it gives no second chances. It demands respect, sacrifice, and blood. (It's set in a super AU danger days pre-music videos universe. Mostly centered on the MCR boys, but there will be cameos, references, and side shoot offs into different bandom areas.)

The psalm of David by ratfromasewer, Frank/Gerard, 6k, Teen And Up Audiences. There's the world that's "after" and there's the world that's "before". After the slippery road, the accident, the almost-becoming-an-angel.

Stairway to Heaven by fleurdeliser, tuesdaysgone, Frank/Grant/Gerard, 58k, Explicit. Father Way accidentally taps into the memories of an angel, and stumbles into the middle of a millennia-long doomed romance.

Shadows In The Parking Lot by cellphonecharm_au, Frank/Gerard, 61k, Explicit. In which there’s a mass grave under Frank and Ray’s apartment complex, Frank doesn’t believe in ghosts, & Frank’s ex-boyfriend is, conveniently, a paranormal consultant.

Shadowplay by theoretically_yours, Frank/Gerard, 74k [WIP], Explicit. Malimore is a small town in Southern California where ghosts are as common as any other household pest and vampires come out to steal the souls of humans at midnight. Frank Iero is a young paranormal investigator whose interest in the supernatural began after the bizarre and untimely death of his parents. One day, when he and his partner take on a particularly gruesome case, all hell breaks loose with Frank caught at the very center. This is the story of how it all happened.

When Both Our Fates Collide (Frerard) by A_A_Dolan, Frank/Gerard, 11k, Mature. Frank Iero is a loner traveler who is a demon hunter. He is part demon due to him having to sacrifice part of his soul to save the life of his son, Miles, after losing his wife and twin daughters to demons. Along the way, Frank has a quest to save the life of someone who can save humankind from death and destruction. A man by the name of Gerard Way. Frank ends up finding Gerard...as a professional, exotic dancer in the bad part of town. Gerard is special and unique and it’s Frank’s job to protect him at all costs. Eventually Frank discovers that Gerard is an angel and has powers stronger than all demons combined...when that news gets out, all demons and angels are on the search for Gerard.

Love will scares us apart by francoantoniohierro, Frank/Gerard, 56k, Mature, Explicit. Haunted House AU. Frank Iero is looking for answers after the death of his best friend. The only people willing to help are the Way brothers. On the other hand, the Way brothers are two paranormal experts looking for amusement.

Famous Last Words by SaskiaK, 22k, Mature. The Paramour Mansion is not for the faint-hearted. Mikey recalls some of events that almost tore him apart

Stay out of the Light by orphan_account, Frank/Gerard, 10k, Explicit. Reserved bookworm Gerard, and arrogant, conceited boyfriend Frank are best friends, though they share little in common. They share even less in common when Frank mysteriously gains an appetite for human blood. As their classmates are steadily killed off in gruesome attacks, Gerard must uncover the truth behind his boyfriend's transformation and find a way to stop the bloodthirsty rampage before it reaches his own brother Mikey. Jennifer's Body AU

The Brandy of the Damned by Nokomis, Gen, 15k, Teen And Up Audiences. An ill-advised detour leads My Chem to a town populated by the dead.

Get Up and Kill by MontyKarl, 10k, Teen And Up Audiences. The zombie apocalypse is upon us. The Way Brothers may well be our only hope...or at the very least their only hope.

In The Walls by thesamefire, Gen, 72k, Teen And Up Audiences. When My Chemical Romance move into the Paramour, they get a lot more than they bargained for. All they want to do is write an epic album, but Mikey is falling apart and Gerard isn't sure what to do about it—or about the fact that they're trapped inside the house with no escape from the increasingly strange and terrible things that are happening to them.

Break The Walls (And Kill Us All) by tabulaxrasa, Frank/Gerard, 27k, Mature. Frank owns an antique store, but he's not very good at it. About the only thing he IS good at is having a crush on his best customer. Until Frank unknowingly unleashes something into his shop— something that doesn't like him very much. And it's not going away any time soon.

the house that dripped blood by addandsubtract, Frank/Mikey, 11k, Mature. “When do we leave?” Mikey asks, and Gerard steps back. “Two weeks,” he says, and Mikey sees flashes of empty hallways and open doors as Gerard pulls his fingers away.

#fic rec list #frank/gerard #frerard #frank/grant/gerard #gen #frank/mikey #frikey #unholyverse #alternate universe #religious themes #horror #supernatural #also i'm sorry this took so long #i was on vacation

34 notes · View notes

makeste · 5 years

Text

BnHA Chapter 244: Have You Read This Book

Previously on BnHA: Deku visited his mom on New Year’s Eve and was all “here’s a new letter from my ever-expanding fanclub of adorable preschoolers whom I saved from trauma” and Inko was all, “I’M SO PROUD OF YOU IZUKU I FEEL LIKE I DON’T HAVE TO PROTECT YOU ANYMORE” because she doesn’t watch the news at all or keep track of ominous plot developments I guess. The next morning, a.k.a. New Year’s Fucking Day, while other kids their age visited shrines or sat at home watching TV, Izuku, Shouto, and Katsuki were bussed off to go be child soldiers at Endeavor’s hero agency. Katsuki was all “HEY ENDEAVOR YOU’RE KIND OF A DICK,” and Endeavor was all “SHOUTO IS THIS VULGAR AND PUGNACIOUS YOUTH REALLY YOUR FRIEND” and Shouto was all “TOO LATE DAD, YOU SAID!!” and Endeavor hmmphed and booked it out of there and the kids all followed him and there was this old dude with a beard floating around screaming about END TIMES!! and Hawks was there and, what?? Seriously does anyone actually know what’s going on?

Today on BnHA: Endeavor chases down the old man (who may in fact be an actual prophet, though? Horikoshi what games are you playing) and sets him on fire and tackles him and it’s all very violent. Hawks then appears out of nowhere and breaks up BakuDeku’s tag team effort all “SAVE IT FOR THE MOVIE YOU TWO!” and is then all “hi Shouto” and “hi, you must be Midoriya, Tokoyami told me all about you, I wanted to work with you too, BUT -- [stares off angstily into the distance].” Then, because I forgot that Hawks never shuts up, he’s all, “Hey Endeavor have you ever heard of this book, ‘Paranormal Liberation Front’? Don’t let the really dumb-sounding title put you off, it’s actually a rousing tale full of hidden clues about all the bullshit I’m actually up to. I highlighted the relevant portions if you can’t be assed to read it, well anyways, Hail Hydra.” “Well that was a strange conversation,” Endeavor thinks to himself as he stares uncomprehendingly into the void. Sob someone please help them why are they so bad at this oh god.

(All comments are my unspoiled reactions from my initial readthrough of the chapter. I did a quick edit for grammar and clarity immediately afterward, and added a few ETAs in the process, but aside from that there are no changes.)

so thanks to that little stunt Horikoshi pulled two weeks ago, our chances of finding out Bakugou’s hero name any time within the next dozen chapters are slimmer than ever. probably he’ll reveal it at the end of the arc instead. it’s like he doesn’t even care about the databook. whatever I’ll have plenty of time to sulk more about it after I get to readin’

anyway the title of the new chapter is “Recommendation”, so... actually that does sound fairly promising, though? am I just eternally doomed to get my hopes up? is this referring to Shouto pestering his dad to take on his two best friends as fellow interns? what’s going on here

anyway so we’re opening with this

I love that it’s the two supposed goody-two-shoes kids who are actually being vocal about blatantly disregarding Endeavor’s orders. Shouto is just not having it to begin with, whereas Deku at least is trying to rationalize his own reckless behavior. Katsuki meanwhile is too focused on doing this fancy kick move to switch his suitcase from his left hand to his right to bother talking right now. reminds me of him playing with the soccer ball as a youngling

also the fact that his case is number 17 and Deku’s is number 18. have I talked about this before? I think I have but it was with some other numbered thing. anyways love the symbolism of him trying to stay one step ahead of him and Deku always being right on his heels. or maybe I’m reading too much into it but anyways rivals, yay

damn Endeavor is really determined to get ahead of them though

uh oh Horikoshi how much action did you pack into this chapter. starting to run out of time to finish all your panels again huh. you had a whole extra week! how fucking insane is this arc going to be holy shit

anyways Endeavor way to leave your brand new interns behind minutes after meeting them for the first time smdh. this is exactly how it went down with Hawks and Tokoyami

okay so like, I know a flash fire is an actual thing, but for a second I started wondering if in this kind of context (with him speeding off), it might also be a reference to the DC hero. then I remembered that the name of Endeavor’s technique is different in Japanese and the pun probably doesn’t translate. ah well

anyways dude is fast. but I wouldn’t count the kids out yet, they’re all pretty fast too!

so now we’re back downtown with Old Man Doom And Gloom, and oddly enough it seems that this isn’t actually an out-of-the-ordinary occurrence?

fucking quirk society. you guys are just so desensitized to the most bizarre fucking things. but I guess we in the 21st century are hardly ones to talk ourselves sigh

anyway now he’s being a bit more extra than usual and they’re starting to worry

?? the fuck is that? that sure as hell isn’t Hawks or Endeavor lmao. IF IT’S SLIDIN’ GO I SWEAR TO GOD

or wait, is it still the old man talking? should I actually be paying attention to his ramblings, my bad

is that a fucking Spirit Bomb

(ETA: in truth this is the most badass attack name that has ever existed or will ever exist and I should give it its proper due actually.)

so now I guess he’s hurtling it at them??

...hold up one sec

“revelations from the universe, I have received. flee, flee good citizens. the Dark Lord’s lips curl into a wicked crescent” -- holy shit, this all tracks?? IS THIS DOOMSDAY CRACKPOT MOTHERFUCKER ACTUALLY RIGHT ON THE FUCKING MONEY HOLY SHIT. ARE YOU A WITCH GOOD SIR. DID YOU WRITE A BOOK OF HIGHLY ACCURATE AND DEVASTATINGLY WITTY PROPHECIES BY ANY CHANCE

“the end is nigh! the wicked stars are conspiring against us! we must stop them! the earth is on the verge of being engulfed by darkness! flee, my fellow citizens! I am the one who shall destroy this source of darkness! be revealed! servants of the dark lord, come forth!”

okay listen. if he’s aiming this fucking thing at Hawks, though, after a speech like that? fuck it, I’m a believer. I’m sorry old man, I wrote you off without a second thought and here you are being the only one who’s actually like “HELLO!!!? PEOPLE!!!? THE LEAGUE OF VILLAINS!!?! THEY HAVE AN ARMY!!? AND NOUMUS!??! FUUUUUUUUCK”

and I don’t know where you’re getting your information, but those are some legit-ass universe revelations. fucking even talks about the “Dark Lord” specifically only describing his lips. because he doesn’t have anything else to describe nowadays, face-wise. shit that is spooky

anyway so that sure was unexpected. let’s see what shenanigans Master Roshi here is gonna get himself into next

did my boy just get fucking flashfired. jesus Endeavor show some fucking mercy

...

someone want to explain to this man the concept of a proportionate response? anyone? ...

fucking Todorokis I swear to god. if they weren’t all so good at being amazing superheroes, they could easily fall back on a career of being dramatic bitches for hire instead

anyways when did Endeavor change his clothes. this dude was wearing a turtleneck and slacks thirty seconds ago. did he literally just burn them off. how. what. fucking plot holes left and right

lol imagine if like on the next page the interns finally catch up and they’re like holding his fucking jacket and looking peeved

-- holy fucking shit, Endeavor

not cool, dude!! what the fuck. this isn’t a fucking Noumu for fuck’s sake THAT IS A HUMAN PERSON

(ETA: I guess he ended up being okay, but shit, for a moment it looked like we were going full blown Raiders of the Lost Ark over here. anyways the moral of this story is that Endeavor is terrifying, fuck.)

so now of course Nostradamus is trying to get the fuck out of there, because if he sticks around Endeavor apparently has no qualms about burning him alive. fuck me Endeavor, I’m still rooting for your redemption arc my dude, but tbh if Dabi happens to pop up out of nowhere here looking for some revenge I’m not gonna say no to it right now. quit burning people alive!!

so now 12/21/2012 is zooming down an alley and Endeavor is zooming after him and telling some extra with a sword to stay and lead the evacuation

oh??

Endeavor have you flown yourself right into a trap?

oh my god what the fuck is this

it’s like Dabi VS the Liberation Army all over again. fucking check all these motherfuckers who apparently want to get themselves deep fried. this one guy really thinks he’s going to clock the Number One with a piece of fucking PVC pipe

LMAOOOOO

LOOKS LIKE WE GOT OURSELVES A RUCKUS, BOYS! you better believe I have the Powerpuff Girls theme song playing in my head right now

-- !!!

HAWKS!! I WAS STARTING TO WONDER IF YOU REALLY WERE THERE TOO OR IF THE PANELS IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER WERE DELIBERATELY MISLEADING

LOOOOOOL

pour one out for these poor sobs who somehow got themselves caught up in an accidental pincer attack between the dynamic fucking duo and fucking Angry Bird here. where the fuck is Shouto btw. or is he the one that got stuck carrying Endeavor’s jacket

loool look at Hawks out here making friends

SURPRISE BITCH

oh my god though you guys look at this??

HELLO SURPRISE NEW FAVORITE SERIES OF PANELS, CAN I JUST TAKE A MOMENT TO LOVE ON YOU A BIT HERE, BECAUSE

1. Bakugou and Deku IN PERFECT SYNC, not even thinking about it. just effortless. that was an amazing tag team thing you guys had going on before SOMEONE stepped in and ruined it all omg. do you want me to talk to Hawks for you. I’ve been meaning to discuss some other things with him anyway so it’s not like it’d be going out of my way. can you believe this fucking pigeon blocked my number. WHERE IS JEANIST YOU BASTARD

anyways 2. “I thought Endeavor might have been in a tough spot” that’s a funny way of saying “I was lonely and missed my angry arson dad”! and fucking look at this ridiculous bantering between them. “did it look like I was in a tough spot?” I FUCKING CAN’T YOU GUYS PLEASE STOP

and 3. Shouto just watching. is he impressed by his dad? or just trying to figure out whether Hawks is his dad’s adopted son or boyfriend. I’m pretty sure it’s the former, Shouto, but I don’t blame you for being confused, Hawks just has that kind of energy with everyone

oh my god

somebody arrest this man. I can’t fucking deal with your cheeky fucking face Hawks

is Skeptic getting all of this?? are they sitting there with bowls of popcorn back at the League of Pliff HQ trying to figure out whether Endeavor and Hawks are dating

...and shit, I just realized the League officially knows now that the disaster trio is interning with the number one. so that’s fucking great. not that it would have been a secret for long, but still, things are officially starting to get real. in hindsight, after the Kamino arc we had a nice long stretch of chapters in which Deku, Kacchan, and Shouto were not in immediate danger from the main fucking villains, so that was nice while it lasted I guess. those days will soon be behind us

ahhhklkljkl

fucking shit Hawks could you be any more ominous. oh my god this arc really is going to kill me

so now we’re cutting away to somewhere. Pliff?

-- oh, nope, still in the same place, we just fast-forwarded to the part where the police came to haul all the bad guys away

and now the manga is being all clever and foreshadowing-y and would you look at this

BUT IS HE TALKING ABOUT ENDEAVOR, OR HAWKS omg. or hell, he could even be talking about Deku. or AFO even though he’s not actually there. point is, you know he’s not actually wrong. but what is he actually trying to tell us ahhhhhh Servant of the Stars please reveal your secrets

(ETA: in all seriousness you guys, I’m fully down for counting this as a prophecy. it’s already canon that future-seeing quirks are a thing, so. the only problem is that this is some Game of Thrones-level ambiguity as far as who he’s actually talking about. it seriously could be anyone. anyways at least we’ve got some shiny new theory material to play around with here so that’s nice.)

LMAO

HAWKS YOU BASTARD, JUST LIKE THAT I’VE FORGIVEN YOU FOR THE FUCKING JEANOCIDE

how does every single person Deku meets not greet him this way?? I sure as hell would. “well if it isn’t the kid who just. fuckin blew up his own hands on live television, multiple times. salutations”

anyways where’s Katsuki, the boy whose previous hero mentor you murdered in cold blood but he doesn’t actually know that yet. when are we gonna start in on that?

Hawks says he’s heard about Deku from Tokoyami. and he even says he would have liked to work with Deku too, wow. that’s high praise

ffffff here it comes, THAT GOOD HAWKS ANGST. WE WERE WAITING FOR THIS BUT IT’S STILL BRUTAL GAH

is this entire arc just going to consist of Hawks saying cryptic things with double meanings known only to him and then glancing sideways at the camera all broodingly omg

AH, THERE HE IS

Katsuki’s natural instinct to dislike 100% of newcomers on sight might work out to his advantage here. Hawks’s maxed-out Charisma stats VS Katsuki’s middling Perception stats which nonetheless have a tendency to land high whenever he performs an ability check! I might need to back off from this metaphor though before it becomes really obvious that I don’t actually play D&D

lol

omg Endeavor can’t a guy just drop in on his grumpy pal out of the blue to make sure he’s doing okay without having some sort of ulterior motive? why are you so sure that Hawks showing up means that plot must be happening. because you’re not wrong, is the thing. but he’s probably just being standoffish for show

holy shit and now Hawks is just pulling out the Liberation Army’s book just like that?? IS HE ALLOWED TO DO THAT

(ETA: “let’s see, what’s a subtle way I can try and clue Endeavor in on the fact that I’ve become an undercover agent in the Paranormal Villain League of Liberation Front Armies. ... ...shit I’m not good at this.”)

and since when was this book called “Paranormal Liberation Front”?? did they change the title to match the new name?

and what’s Hawks’s game here, though? is he going to play it as though he’s secretly investigating Pliff? you know, like he actually is doing? is this some kind of hiding in plain sight thing or what

guys. is Hawks just... actually really bad at being a secret agent. omg

so he’s all “DESTRO’S IDEALS ARE EVERYTHING WE COULD ASK FOR” and lol what. fucking look at Endeavor’s face though

this motherfucker could use a boost of his own wisdom stats, fff

(ETA: swear to god he’s two seconds away from a Katsuki-style “hah?!”)

oh my god

fucking fuck me. he better have highlighted a really obvious section of that book, because otherwise I’m not gonna hold out hope for this message getting across at all. at least we know what that “recommendation” title was referring to now I guess

(ETA: Endeavor: [reading the highlighted section backwards] “‘‘it’s fun to smoke marijuana’!? what in the --”)

loooool

the fate of the world now rests upon Endeavor’s abilities to See Underneath The Underneath and somehow decipher that when Hawks says, “ENDEAVOR I CHASED YOU DOWN IN ORDER TO GIVE YOU A COPY OF THIS BOOK THE VILLAINS WROTE, I THINK IT’S REALLY KEEN AND YOU SHOULD CHECK IT OUT”, what he’s really saying is, “ENDEAVOR I NEED YOU TO INVESTIGATE THIS SUSPICIOUS ‘LIBERATION FRONT’ THAT’S BEEN COINCIDENTALLY GATHERING A LOT OF ATTENTION SINCE THAT SHADY INCIDENT IN DEIKA CITY WHERE ‘TWENTY GUYS' BASICALLY DESTROYED AN ENTIRE TOWN. IF YOU’RE TOO DENSE TO PICK UP ON ANY OF THAT, I HIGHLIGHTED THE RELEVANT PORTION OF THE BOOK SO HOPEFULLY EVEN AN OBLIVIOUS DUMBBELL LIKE YOU CAN FIGURE IT OUT.” jesus christ

at least Endeavor now has some nerdy interns who fucking love to read. hell, Deku has probably already read the book. please help this dumb jock to understand his bird son’s coded message, Deku-Wan Kenobi, you’re our only hope

and that’s the end of the chapter! except that I heard there was a new poster for Heroes Rising that was released as well! how come it wasn’t included here now I have to go hunt it down

son of a bitch is this really the best quality that’s available? damn

well all right. not really much going on here that’s a big revelation or anything, aside from the surprise inclusion of Hawks in the upper right hand corner. did we know he was going to be in this? and like, even if the anime does make it as far as his debut in season 4, will it have reached that point by the time the movie premieres in December? glad I caught up beforehand if they’re gonna start spoiling things like this

so that’s all she wrote for this week! databook is due out next week so that should be fun! we’re finally going to get Hawks’s real name from what I understand. so I can start yelling at him using his full name like a disappointed mom. I have a feeling that’s going to come in handy a lot during this arc. go to your room young man

(ETA: and just watch it be the Japanese equivalent of “Judas McMurder” or some shit. smh. y’all. we stan a shady bitch.)

118 notes · View notes

im-not-corrupted · 4 years

Text

Safi, No (A Witchlands Fanfiction) - Chapter Nine

Written with @un-empressed, who wrote Aeduan’s POV!

Chapter Summary:

The group chat is a mess. Iseult and Aeduan end up talking a bit more.

Also on Ao3!

Aeduan was doing a great job of ignoring his phone. He could tolerate it lighting up every now and then, signalling a message from the insane group chat he decided to ignore.

It was going very well until Iseult called him. He didn't know it was her at first. She probably got his number from the group. It was weird, but Aeduan found he didn't really mind.

"Stop them," Iseult said as soon as he answered the call. Aeduan didn't even need to ask who 'they' were at this point.

"What are they doing now? Is somebody trying to bribe and corrupt people again?"

"Well, yes, but they want - Just read the messages. You'll see what they want," she said. Aeduan went to respond, but the call was already done. Aeduan shook his head to himself. Out of all groups he could've gotten himself involved with...

Aeduan opened the group chat and scrolled up to the beginning. Apparently Vaness's friend joined the group chat. Aeduan couldn't believe how well this whole thing was working for such a petty cause. Merik Nihar had better watch out.

Aeduan rolled his eyes as he read the first few messages. They weren't that bad, but since Safi sent them, they were... Well, what she considered hilarious, and everyone else considered over the top. Still, Aeduan had to admit how she referred to everyone in the group was sort of funny, if the slightest bit offensive.

But who wouldn't laugh? She kept referring to Iseult as her favourite partner in crime, and called Stix a 'traitor, but tbh I get it, imagine being loyal to Merik'.

Aeduan himself was 'Polly's moody friend who tolerates only Iz'. It was the truth, really, but something about the way it was phrased made Aeduan uneasy. And after all, he did 'tolerate' Vaness as well. She was unwillingly thrown into the whole mess, after all.

It was harmless, considering what Safi was capable of doing. Aeduan wondered why Iseult called him, but as he continued reading, he understood.

Iseult: Seriously? Nobody minds the nicknames?

Aeduan most decidedly minded his, but looking at the time stamp of the message, he was twelve minutes late.

Stix: Not really. Get me 'Traitor' on a jacket and I'd wear it

Safi: Oooooh! That's a great idea! We should all get jackets! Does anyone know someone willing to make us jackets?

Lev: I have this theory that Caden can sew

Aeduan snorted out loud. He hoped Caden couldn't sew, though. Safi was definitely not above getting them jackets.

Safi: I'm intrigued. Continue

Caden: It's been months! Just let it go already! I genuinely don't remember where I got the shirt!

Lev: suuuuuureeee

Safi: No, but this is perfect. We need some kind of motto for our group

Vivia: I thought Bribery and Corruption was the motto?

Stix: No, that's the name and main policy

Vaness: You are all insufferable

Aeduan had to agree with Vaness on that. They were all worse than the last. He wouldn't be surprised if Vaness's friend chickened out after a week. He certainly wouldn't blame her.

Safi: Thanks

Safi: Does anybody have suggestions for the motto?

Lev: "This guy's not even worth digging a hole"

Zander: We aren't using that one

Stix: I've got 99 problems and at least 73 were created by Merik Nihar

Safi: And the other 28?

Iseult: *26

Safi: Oh well forgive me for not being a math magician

Safi: So?

Stix: I am literally half blind

Safi: ?

Stix: Nearsighted

Vaness: Then why don't you wear glasses? It must be hard to get around with bad vision

Stix: First of all, glasses would ruin my whole aesthetic. Second of all, I'll have you know I have at least a mediocre vision and that I do not deserve to be made fun of like that

Vaness: I fail at feeling even remotely apologetic for insulting your eyesight

Safi: You could've just said "fuck you too" but okay

Aeduan rolled his eyes. He really didn't want to keep reading, but he did regardless.

Safi: Do we get them personalised for each of us or should they all say the same thing?

Iseult: Saf, we are not getting jackets

Safi: But Iz!!! It's what the people want!!

Vaness: It is absolutely not

Stix: I mean, it kind of is

Lev: It definitely is

Safi: See?

Iseult: I do, unfortunately

Safi: Why are you so negative?

Aeduan could list a few reasons why. The first few were perhaps a bit rude and subjective, but he didn't really care anymore.

Iseult: Maybe because you're setting up a plot to get revenge on someone who only kind of unintentionally wronged you?

Vivia: Knowing him, it was definitely intentional

Safi: See???

Iseult: Still, you don't even know him.

Vivia: Lucky her

Stix: Amen

Aeduan had never talked to Merik, but surely that many people couldn't all be exaggerating the same thing on the same level. Or maybe Leopold paid them to, just to mess with Aeduan. He was certainly both rich and insane enough.

They were all amazing actors if that was the case. Aeduan was genuinely afraid of Safi making him wear a personalised bribery and corruption jacket. He was really, really afraid.

Safi: I found a good website for ordering custom clothes

Iseult: No

Safi: Yes

Vaness: Safi, No

Safi: Safi yes

Stix: Safi definitely

Caden: Safi maybe? Depends on how the jackets look

Iseult: We are not getting jackets

Vivia: I mean, if they're subtle enough I wouldn't be opposed to it

Vaness: I thought you were sensible

Stix: She is. Those were words of a sane woman if I've ever heard some

Safi: See? My revenge plan is a great opportunity to make friends

Zander: That sounds almost like a commercial

Stix: "Break Merik's leg and you get the satisfaction of breaking Merik's leg"

Safi: 9 out of 10 doctors don't recommend it but that's what makes it fun

Iseult: Why would one doctor recommend it??

Caden: Because Safi bribed and corrupted him.

[x]

"You're a monster," she told Safi once again. 'You're a monster' was the only accurate way to describe her friend these days, even if Iseult said it with fondness.

Safi grinned and winked at her. "Thanks."

"And you're insufferable."

"Again. Thanks."

Safi confused her when she did things like that - when she took everything as a compliment, even when they certainly weren't intended as a compliment. There wasn't much of a difference to Safi, though, and Iseult had to admire her confidence.

Safi sat at the edge of her bed, staring down at her phone with a glint in her eyes that Iseult recognised and did not trust. "Who else could be bribe and corrupt?" She asked Iseult, who rolled her eyes.

"I already told you, I'm not taking part in the revenge plan. And that means I'm not helping you decide who to bribe and corrupt next." Iseult shook her head. Really, how many times did she have to repeat herself? It was beginning to get annoying, though she would never say that.

Safi pouted. "Oh, come on. Please?"

"No."

"Wait!" Safi grinned again. "What about that Ryber girl? Or Ryber's friend, Tanzi? They're friends with Merik. It could work to our advantage."

"No, it will not work to our advantage," Iseult stated matter-of-factly. "Do you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because they're Merik's friends."

"Stix was Merik's friend, and she was more than eager to join," Safi pointed out.

Iseult rolled her eyes. It was an action she caught herself doing often around Safi. "Stix wasn't his friend."

"Then why did she sit with him?"

"For her actual friend, Kullen, who happened to be friends with Merik." She sighed. "Didn't you listen to a thing Stix said earlier?"

Safi stared into the distance for a second before shrugging. "Apparently not. To be fair, I was making a mental list of who else to bribe and corrupt."

"Don't you have enough people in on the revenge plan?"

Her friend stared at Iseult in horror. "Iseult, darling, there is never 'enough people' when it comes to making Merik's life hell."

"I'm just saying," Iseult replied, raising her hand in mock-surrender. "It will be a whole lot easier for someone - for Merik - to find out about your plan if you 'bribe and corrupt' more people."

Despite having a very good point, Iseult's words weren't actually paid any attention. No, instead of listening to the voice of reason, Safi was grinning down at her phone, typing something quickly. At first, Iseult thought that maybe Safi had decided who she wanted to bribe or corrupt next, but when Safi looked up from her phone and Iseult's didn't show any notifications from the group chat, she quickly changed her mind.

"Iseult," Safi began in a sing-song voice. It was a tone of voice that would've sounded innocent if it wasn't coming from Safi.

She sighed. "Yes?"

"Leopold wants to discuss strategy at the ice cream place."

Iseult snorted. "'Discuss strategy'? We aren't fighting a war, Saf."

Her friend glared at her. "This is war, Iseult. Merik is a plague upon this earth. War is the only way to rid of him."

"Okay then," Iseult nodded along, giving up. Safi was clearly set in her ways.

"Good," Safi nodded. "Now, are you in? Aeduan will be there."

Iseult was going to say 'yes' anyway, but the promise of Aeduan being there made it sound somewhat more appealing. She shrugged. "Sure."

Iseult was an idiot. That was the only thing she could think as she sat opposite Aeduan in total silence - the same state they had been in for the last ten minutes.

To be fair, Safi made it very easy to trust her. Too easy. She had walked to the ice cream place with Iseult, waiting for Leopold and Aeduan to arrive. But before they did, Safi claimed she needed the toilet and disappeared, leaving Iseult there alone.

Until Leopold had arrived with a very unhappy-looking Aeduan in tow. They talked for a bit, not long, when she received a text from Safi. Sorry, had to head home. You guys have fun! ;)

Iseult hadn't thought anything of it until Leopold stood from his seat, a mask of innocence plastered on his face as he said, "Oh, sorry, I'm needed...elsewhere? Yeah, elsewhere. See you tomorrow!"

That's when it dawned on Iseult. Leopold's mask of innocence did not discuss the mischief in his eyes.

Leopold and Safi had set them up.

That's how her and Aeduan ended up in this predicament - sat opposite each other, with no idea what to say. All their interactions so far had been focused on the revenge plan, so now that they weren't forced into talking about it, they didn't know just what to talk about.

"Is Safi late?" Aeduan asked her. It sounded like a genuine question, and that was almost enough to make Iseult bang her head on the table in front of her.

Apparently, it hadn't quite dawned on Aeduan yet.

Iseult rolled her eyes. "No, she just had to head home."

Aeduan nodded, though he looked confused. "Okay then. Do you want some ice cream? I'll get it for us."

"Sure thing. Might as well since we're here," she answered with a slight shrug, relieved that they were no longer stuck in silence.

Aeduan didn't move. "What flavour?"

"Oh, yeah." She forgot flavours were a thing. "Strawberry, please?"

"Sure." Aeduan left to get their ice cream, leaving her alone, though not for long. He came back a few minutes later, two ice cream cones in hand - two scoops of strawberry for her, and mint-chocolate-chip for him.

"Thanks," she said, taking the cone from him.

"No problem," he replied, and took a bite of his ice cream.

Iseult stared at him in horror. "You just - did you just bite into your ice cream?"

"Yes?" He answered, though it sounded more like a question in his confusion.

"How the fucking hell? Didn't it hurt your teeth?" She took a lick of her own as Aeduan's confusion only intensified.

"Uh, no?"

"You alien."

He laughed slightly. "So, what should we talk about?"

Iseult shrugged. "Literally anything would do."

"Okay." He took another bite, an action that still baffled her, and seemed to consider his question carefully. "Let's start with something easy. How did you and Safi become friends? You two seem like polar opposites."

"What can I say? Opposites attract, or whatever people say." She shrugged, licking her ice cream again. "We've been friends since we were kids. Some kids were picking on me - I don't really remember it now - and Safi stood up for me. We've been friends ever since."

"She sounds like a good friend," Aeduan replied.

"She is. I'd ask about you and Leopold, but I already know the story behind that one." She laughed a little, and he smiled a little.

"Yeah, I don't feel like going through the many questions there," he joked, taking another bite. He surveyed the rest of the room - there were few people there, and it was very quiet. "Hey, do you want to get out of here?"

She contemplated that for a second, then shrugged. What was the harm? If he turned out to be a serial killer and murdered her, Safi was to blame for the not-so-subtle set up. "Okay."

Read the next chapter here: Chapter Ten

5 notes · View notes

izzy-b-hands · 4 years

Text

Christmas Morning

A Soft Xmas morning fic with Sledge and Snafu for my friend @peachessir! Thank you for the prompt, and I hope this fic makes your day better!!

This song came up while I was writing, and I feel it fits p well with the emotion of this fic, so here it is for y’all as well!: https://open.spotify.com/track/5b43XehPlGYoOGjl9AncUV?si=pVQhOYuaQiyh-PPLL6WgYQ

re: part of this fic, here’s my reference for it. Also just a cool reference to look through, tbh: https://vintagedancer.com/1940s/1940s-mens-accessories-history/

For reference, this is set as like, their second holiday back home after the war. So they’ve got a routine kind of, but home still doesn’t necessarily feel like home yet. Written sort of out of my other hc where I have them in Maryland for a bit after the war,in this one they are already in Mobile, having taken over Eugene’s parents old house as their home, his parents have a new house elsewhere in town. Still keeping all their pets though because...well, I want to lol.

Okay, that bit of housekeeping done, below the cut is the fic!

The bed was shaking, violently, as he woke.

“Get your ass up, we got presents to open!”

Eugene attempted to mumble the thoughts in his head, from ‘but didn’t we open everything at my parent’s house last night?’ to ‘is four o’clock in the fucking morning??’, but was too half-asleep to manage it as Snafu helped him downstairs, the cats and dog traipsing after them, meowing and barking for an early breakfast.

“Okay kids, simmer! Lemme get your papa sat down here and then I’ll get you fed, let you outside for a bit,” Snafu soothed as he led Eugene to the couch near their Christmas tree.

He blinked to try and wake up as Snafu went off to tend the children, and looked to the tree.

Presents. Why were there more presents? Not many, only four actually, but they’d taken everything they’d bought for each other over to his parent’s last night, to be opened on Christmas Eve. Today, Christmas Day, was their recovery day after having been around family so much.

“You ready?” Snafu dropped onto the couch beside him, nearly in his lap.

“I think so? But where did those-”

“You’ll see once you start opening,” Snafu interrupted, and went over the tree, nearly tripping on the edges of the too-long open bathrobe he wore over his pajamas. “Here, you go first.”

Eugene barely caught the gaudily wrapped box., and read the tag. “To Sledgehammer from...Burgie? How the hell-”

Snafu only smiled at him expectantly, so he tore into the paper and opened the box.

Inside were two of the nicest crystal glasses he’d ever seen, engraved with their names, and a note: ‘I know you might not be able to have a church wedding, but y’all are essentially married now and deserve a nice wedding gift. My pa is the one who did the engraving, he wishes you all the best as well. When you two next come out to Texas, wrap these up and bring ‘em with, and we’ll have a toast to you both, and to being home. All my love, Burgie.’

“Next one’s for me, from one of the...” he sighed, and his voice shook just a bit. “From one of the boys I fought with in Gloucester. His mother sent it along this year, said it was meant for last but she...she wasn’t ready to send it yet. Guess he’d had her save some things, so he could send ‘em to us after we all got home.”

Eugene carefully set the box with the glasses in the kitchen, away from where the cats liked to jump, and joined him on the floor near the tree, wrapping him in a gentle hug.

“This asshole,” Snafu laughed, even as the tears dripped down his face. “Look.”

He took the box from Snafu, and bit back a laugh. It was a set of poker chips, and a note: ‘Next time you can come around my neck of the woods, we’re gonna play again, and I’m gonna win this time. You just got lucky, last time. Can’t wait to see you again, Snafu.’

“Nah, you won buddy,” Snafu said softly, his eyes somewhere else as they filled again with tears, and he set the box near the tree. “He should have too, I really did just get lucky that game. God I miss him.”

He held onto Snafu for the next few minutes, letting him sob and remember. He hadn’t gotten to meet this particular company member, but he wished he had.

Snafu pulled away from him, and handed over another box. “Next one is for both of us, technically. But I want you to open it.”

He took the light box, so light it seemed nothing would be in it, and opened it carefully.

He nearly dropped it then, but held on with shaking hands.

It was a letter. From Ack Ack, to both of them. Talking about how while neither of them had come straight out with how they felt about each other, he was glad they weren’t really hiding it otherwise, and he promised them safety, from other soldiers and anyone who might say anything to him about it. How he knew war was pain and loss and fear, but he was glad all the same it had brought them together, and he hoped they’d be happy together once they made it home, because he knew in his heart they would.

Snafu was crying again when he looked up from the letter. “Read it before I wrapped it. Burgie found it, and saved it when they were packing up Ack Ack’s things to send home. He sent it along with the glasses, and asked me to make sure it was a separate gift. Said Ack Ack would have wanted it that way.”

They fell into each other’s arms again, openly weeping. It was a wound that they both knew would never fully heal, none of the losses would. But it was still so open and fresh now, that as wonderful as it was to have more of Ack Ack’s words, it almost hurt just as much, because he would never get to say them to them, never meet them in a city in the States for a drink and reminiscing.

Once they’d both settled again, holding back the rest of the tears, pushing the hurt back down to where it usually sat, Snafu took the letter and walked to the desk in the corner of the living room. He pulled a frame from the drawer of it, and placed the letter in it.

“Bought this for it as soon as I got Burgie’s stuff in the mail. Wanted to wait till you’d seen it too before putting it up somewhere though. Can you imagine what he’d say, if he knew we were hangin’ his letter up? He’d rag on us for ages,” Snafu sniffed, but smiled as he brought the letter back over, and settled it on one of the spare nails in the wall near the entrance of the living room that they’d not yet managed to fill.

“He would,” Eugene managed a laugh, and though it hurt it felt good all the same. “Wish he could see it.”

“Me too,” Snaf sighed, and went back to grab the last present. “You get to open this one too.”

“This is from you,” Eugene smiled. “You already spoiled the hell outta me, what else did you possibly get me?”

“Something that I didn’t have with me overseas, but that I wanted to give you. Part of courtin’ your cute ass, that I finally get to do, even though we’re past that.”

The box was small, and gorgeously wrapped. How on earth Snafu had even found the paper, Eugene didn’t know. He notoriously hated the shops as it got close to the holiday, but all he could envision was Snafu having gone in specifically to find the blue and white paper, with artfully drawn snowflakes on it. He half-hated to tear it, but he was also curious as could be, and Snafu was clearly just as excited.

He opened it carefully as he could, and opened the box.

“Had my family in New Orleans send it to me. One of the only things I left there. Shoulda heard them on the phone, going on about how they knew I’d never give it to a girl like the other boys did. But I finally found the person who’s supposed to have it,” Snafu said. “It ain’t much, but-”

Eugene interrupted him with a kiss, before returning to the box, which held Snafu’s ID bracelet. It had been and as far as he knew for some still was a common thing for a man to give to his girl, to show they were together and that it wasn’t a passing fling. And him and Snafu certainly were no passing fling.

He put on the bracelet, then gave Snafu another kiss. “Be right back.”

“Where are you goin’?”

“Gimme a minute!” Eugene called back down as he found his bracelet, and jogged back downstairs, dodging the cats as they trotted by him.

Snafu took the ID bracelet from him with a reverent look. “This...this is big. Everyone’ll know. I mean, I think most of ‘em know already in town or suspect and everybody’s kind enough to keep any thoughts to themselves, but-”

The tears were back again, happy tears this time as Snafu put on the bracelet.

“I know,” Eugene interrupted. “I know...we have to be careful. But most everyone knows us round here now, and we’ve been fine. So I want them to know now. If I’m gonna be wearing yours, I want you wearing mine, along with our rings, and I want everyone to know you’re mine and I’m yours.”

It was half warm embrace, half tackle as Snafu climbed into his lap, nearly tipping him over with the enthusiasm of his movements, shrugging off his robe as he kissed Eugene like it was all he knew how to do.

Eugene fussed with his own robe and pajama top, trying to get them off and tossed behind him to soften the hardwood floor somewhat as he lay back, pulling Snafu with him.

In a few moments they were down to just their underwear and the bracelets and their rings, the jewelry glinting in the soft morning light from the sun just starting to rise, and Eugene thought if he would ever see an angel in his life, then it would look like Snafu did now. Warm and soft and transcendent, moaning every time Eugene ran his hands through his curls, sighing with every kiss, heated skin melting against his own.

By the time they’d finally paused enough to toss aside their underwear, they were both too close for much more, Eugene knew that for sure. In the way Snafu rutted against him, whining sweetly, whispering love and admiration in his ear as he left hickeys on his neck. In the way he wanted nothing more than to come across Snafu’s stomach and to feel Snafu come on his, to reach that high together and lay in the heat of the moment after.

He didn’t have to wait long for it, between their continued feverish kissing and roaming hands and the occasional nip on his chest and shoulder from Snafu (who loved nothing more than leaving marks and having marks left on him.) It was perfect in its timing, both of them coming within a moment of each other, Snafu moaning into his shoulder as his hips and cock crashed against Eugene’s, while Eugene used a hand to pull them as close together as he could.

It was silent then. The cats and dog happy moving about the house on their own, no cars on the road outside. Just the sunlight streaming in, and their limbs intertwined as they came down together, kissing gently. It was another world, and Eugene never wanted to leave it, to look anywhere other than Snafu’s gorgeous eyes.

For the next few minutes at least, he knew he didn’t have to. Snafu was clearly just as comfortable and enamored with the moment, smiling and running a hand through Eugene’s hair while the other pulled him near, though they were about as close as any two bodies could be. But it was never quite close enough for them, and if closer ever existed he knew they’d jump on it in a heartbeat.

“This was a good Christmas, wasn’t it?” Snafu asked, breaking the silence.

“It was,” Eugene sighed. “Know what I’m lookin’ forward to, though?”

“Can’t be cleanin’ up what we just did,” Snafu smiled. “Only downside to doin’ anything down here. Least we had your robe down for part of this.”

Eugene nodded. “True. But I’m lookin’ forward to havin’ more good Christmases like this with you.”

“Me too,” Snafu replied, snuggling close. “You know we can’t fall asleep down here like this, right? I’m gonna get up in a minute, get us cleaned up.”

“Sure,” Eugene chuckled as he wrapped an arm around Snafu, and watched Snafu’s eyes flutter shut, fighting to keep himself awake. “I’ll wake you in ten.”

“Mmhm,” was Snafu’s only response as they snuggled amongst the torn wrapping paper in the sun, warm and happy.

#text post #LeeH writes #Sledgefu

6 notes · View notes

fairyroses · 5 years

Note

ok but going about the logic of comics history isn't it brainy and dreamer a thing in the comics too? like i get that some people have different preference for ships and that's ok what i don't get is why you guys are always saying that if brainy and nia get together he is gonna mess up the timeline but dating kara it is okay isn't that double standard? I mean brainy soon or later have to go back home how do you see that play out if he dating anyone?(And sorry if i sound snappy )

It’s okay anon, I don’t think you’re being snappy. And I’m sorry if I sound frustrated at all, I promise I’m not frustrated with you. I’m actually just frustrated with the show’s apparent refusal to make these really important things clear to people who aren’t familiar with the comics.

(Though I have to be honest, I don’t actually read comics myself (yet). I just have a lot of friends who do. Most of the things I know about this stuff comes from @kara-querl, but I’ll do the best I can to explain the basics and hopefully clear up some of the confusing stuff for you. Again, it’s not your fault that you don’t know these things - it’s the show’s fault for not explaining them.)

Now, as for Brainy/“Dreamer” being a thing in the comics… you’re sort of right, but not in the way you’re probably thinking.

There is one version of Brainy (from a comics run called the Threeboot) who ends up with Nura Nal, aka Dream Girl. I’d highly recommend reading this summary of their story on twitter (just prepare yourself, because it’s a looong thread, and also, uh, the story is probably not what you’d expect it to be… especially towards the end).

However, Nura Nal is not Nia Nal. They’re two completely different characters, and both of them very much exist in the CW show’s universe. A lot of people watching SG don’t seem to know about this distinction (because the show has not outright explained it yet), so when they hear that Brainy had a relationship with “Dream Girl” in the comics, they assume (like you did) that Brainy/Nia is a comics canon couple like Kara/Brainy is. But that’s not actually true.

Nura is also the reason why so many people are worried about Brainy/Nia messing up the timeline. But more on that later.

For future reference, this is Nura (with a bonus Brainy in the background):

She’s not really anything like Nia, in either personality, looks, or her dynamic with Brainy. They have basically the same powers (though Nura could never shoot “dream energy” out of her hands), and the writers seem to have borrowed aspects of Nura’s relationship with her sister Mysa for Nia and Maeve’s storyline, but that’s pretty much where their similarities end.

(The rest of this is gonna go under a cut, because it’s a LOT of information. I know you didn’t ask for a meta, anon, but that’s just kinda what happened, sorry. Hopefully it’s not too overwhelming.)

Nura is a descendant of Nia, the character that we have on the show. She lives in the 31st century and is a member of the Legion of Superheroes, just like Brainy. The fact that Nia is Nura’s great-great-etc-grandmother has been confirmed in multiple interviews. Here’s a quote from Queller (one of the show’s EPs) from SDCC, before the season even started airing:

Hints about Nura were dropped in the show as early as 4.02 (which was probably close to being filmed around the time of SDCC). In that episode, Brainy asked Nia if he already knew her because she “looked familiar”, and then there was that look of recognition on his face when she told him her name…

Then in 4.08, when Alex asked Brainy if he knew about Nia Nal in the 31st century, his only reaction is this:

Because it’s not Nia that he knows, it’s Nura. But he didn’t want to reveal too much about the future by saying that.

However, Brainy isn’t perfect, and eventually he slipped up. He accidentally called Nia “Nura” later on in the episode, showing how closely he associates them in his mind.

This is the moment in which Nura’s existence was officially made canon on the show.

There’s also the moment towards the end of 4.08 where Brainy told Nia that she “contains greatness,” but he couldn’t tell her how he knew that. This isn’t directly a reference to Nura, but it stands to reason that Nura is the “how” answer to how he knows this about Nia/her family.

Nura is also presumably the person that Nia and Brainy were arguing over in 4.13, whom he refused to talk about. (Tbh, I think the fact that the show apparently skipped over Nia first learning about her descendant is a grave oversight, because for non-comics fans it probably appeared to come out of nowhere.)

So, just to be completely clear: Nia has never been Brainy’s love interest in the comics (in fact, she doesn’t even exist in the comics at all - she’s an original character created for the show), and Nura, Brainy’s actual love interest (again, specifically only from the Threeboot comics run) definitely 100% exists in the CW show’s universe. We know this because there have been multiple references to her on the show throughout the entire season.

Based on the fact that Brainy is so familiar with how Nia’s powers work and how to train her, it stands to reason that he and Nura are rather… close. We just don’t know how close yet, because Brainy refuses to say anything about her to either Nia or us, the audience. At the very least, they’re teammates and friends. At most… well, they were engaged in the Threeboot, so…

So, to get back to your original question about shipping: From what I’ve seen, the fact that Brainy and Nura had a romance in the comics is actually a big reason why a lot of comics fans don’t ship Brainy/Nia. I can’t speak for everyone obviously, but I know that for quite a few people, the idea of Brainy dating Nia basically feels like him dating his girlfriend’s great-grandma (especially since Brainy’s references to Nura have made people wonder if they might actually have a romantic history on the show, too). It’s not quite on the same level as Marty McFly’s mother trying to kiss her own son in the first Back to the Future movie, but it’s still just… kinda squicky in a smiliar way, you know?

Nura’s existence is also what people are typically referring to when we talk about Brainy/Nia disrupting the timeline. If Brainy were to get with Nia, then that would essentially erase Nura from existence. We know that Nia’s timeline would get seriously messed up if she got together with Brainy, because she has a traceable lineage of descendants going at least 1,000 years into the future. If Brainy got in the middle of that, if he changed Nia’s destiny by allowing her to fall in love with him, then that whole timeline - Nia’s entire legacy, which Brainy is clearly familiar with - would be drastically altered.

What kind of person would Brainy be if he agreed to date Nia, knowing that doing so would erase Nura (and her sister Mysa, and anyone else related to them) in the 31st century? Knowingly and willfully wiping out an entire lineage, including someone that he personally knows and cares about? Does that really sound like something Brainy would do?

This is probably the biggest reason why Brainy/Nia just doesn’t work for a lot of us, particularly comics fans who have caught all the Nura references so far this season. It’s not about personal ship preferences - it’s about character consistency, specifically Brainy’s. We don’t want him to get with Nia because doing so feels wildly selfish and out of character for him.

(In fact, Brainy interacting as much as he already has with Nia personally stresses me out, because by pushing her to be a superhero and training her himself, he’s already altered her timeline in some unknowable way. We just have to hope he knows how far he can push it.)

We’ve already seen Brainy caution Nia about them potentially creating a paradox, and it seems like they’ve had a similar argument to this one at least once before off-screen. He must know what the dangers of doing something as serious as getting romantically involved with her would be, because he listed them all off to Alex and Kara in 4.08:

His Keanu Reeves movie quote excuse in the most recent episode (4.15) was flimsy at best, but when he says that he and Nia can never be together, his tone of voice noticeably changes to become more serious, making it obvious that he means it.

With all of that stuff in mind now… do you see why so many of us are confused and even upset by the promise of more “will they/won’t they” for Brainy/Nia?

Why would the showrunners make Nura’s existence canon if they’re not going to even touch on the issue of how Brainy and Nia getting together would obviously erase her? It’s almost like the Brainy/Nia thing has to conclude with them not ending up together, because otherwise, what does that say about Nura, and the future that Brainy knows? It would change a lot - Nura, who has existed in the comics since 1964, would be GONE - and given how much Brainy has been shown to care about the future and the timeline, I just can’t see him going along with that. I just can’t. (And neither can a lot of other people.)

But of course, this is Supergirl we’re talking about here, so I don’t have a ton of faith in the EPs or writers. They could very well just ignore all that stuff and shove Brainy and Nia together anyway. So, this isn’t me saying that Brainy and Nia will definitely not get together. After all, I don’t write the show.

This is just me explaining why a lot of people don’t think that this Brainy/Nia storyline makes sense, given the show’s own references to Nura, as well as their establishment of Brainy as a character who cares deeply about the timeline. Brainy dating Nia would directly contradict both of those previous writing choices.

And why would the writers do that? Why would they directly contradict their own setup? Fans who are familiar with Nura and have picked up on all these clues are just frustrated because we don’t understand this.

TLDR: Brainy/Nia is not comics canon. Nia Nal is the ancestor of Nura Nal, Brainy’s actual love interest from the comics, who also exists within the show and lives in the 31st century. And Brainy/Nia getting together would erase Nura, and thus mess up the timeline.

Okay, that was a lot. Hopefully that cleared some things up for you about both the comic history, as well as the whole Brainy/Nia timeline issue. I’m gonna address the rest of your questions more briefly bc I’m tired now lol.

Why won’t Brainy getting with Kara mess up the timeline like it would with Nia?

The simplest answer to this one is that we don’t know what the future is supposed to hold for Kara. The Legion made a point of saying last season that their knowledge of the events of Supergirl’s future are vague and largely unknown. We don’t know anything about her having any descendants, or a specific legacy that needs to remain intact like Nia clearly has. (If they didn’t want to create this problem for Nia, then they didn’t have to establish those things for her either… but they did.)

What about Brainy going back to the future eventually?

I kind of already talked about this whole thing here, so you can just read that post to see my take on it. The bottom line is, I don’t think that’s the biggest issue here, largely for BTS/casting reasons. Basically, I think it’s very unlikely that Brainy is going to go back to the future anytime soon. And because of that, I don’t think it’s really necessary to bring it up as an argument against either Brainy/Nia or Brainy/Kara.

And finally, with regards to the whole “why do people keep saying that Kara/Brainy is THE comics canon ship when other ships like Brainy/Dream Girl also exist in the comics?” thing, which is kinda the whole point of your ask from what I can tell, I recommend that you check out this post and these tweets, which (briefly) outline all the different versions of Kara and Brainy that have existed in various media over the past 60 years, and how many of them have ended up with each other. (Spoiler Alert: There’s a very good reason why most comics fans are also Karadox shippers.)

So, in conclusion, can people ship Brainy/Nia if they want to? Of course. People can ship whatever they want. I ship Brainy and Winn after all, even though that’s not ever going to be canon, because I like their dynamic and shipping is supposed to be fun. If people want to create fanart or fics or whatever for Brainy/Nia, then they can totally do that. My issues aren’t with what ships people personally prefer. My issues are with what the actual show is doing in canon, especially within the context of the entire Supergirl mythos.

Look at it this way: If the show doesn’t have Kara eventually fall for Brainy, then CW Kara will be the only version of Kara who had a version of Brainy in her story, and did not fall in love with him.

Like, wow. Talk about going against history.

#I actually lowkey ship brainy/nura I think their banter in the earlier part of their comics story is cute and fun #the end of the story is Yikes but we don't need to talk about that #anonymous #asks #///#my meta #salt tag #(okay this isn't really salt but that's where I've been putting anything I post that goes against brainy/nia so I figure I might as well)

47 notes · View notes