#as well as hoping for games that really highlight and focus on the bond between humans and single partner digimon like survive did | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

borkthemork · 3 years

Text

Finally cleaned up this draft based on @/popcornbee’s art and it is now officially on AO3 as well, so I hope all of you enjoy!

---

There were numerous pathways for a sparrow to travel. Following their migration patterns, they'd travel down to warmer lands, typically somewhere protected for the nights. In doing so, they'd rest in the winter and return back all new. Refreshed for the upcoming springs and summers.

For American Tree Sparrows, these patterns were necessary to survive.

For Joe Sparrow, the true information depended.

He liked to flit about on rapid wing beats. He preferred curdled mealworms due to previous battles hurting his digestive system. For migration, he remained stubborn on whether he liked the warmer breezes or if the Newtopian stables were of true home than anything else.

Newtopia had a history of domestic birds. Joe Sparrow was the mixed case when he grew all-natural, got captured and owned by one or more owners who called him previous names, and then found Marcy in the middle of sweltering rain. Where a mission lead to something new and surprising, bold and unorthodox, and the moment Joe saved her — chose her hand of all people — Marcy promised to keep him safe. Safe, protected, cared for.

And nothing had pulled these two away from each other. Not even the fleeting concept of gravity. Or the fact winter threatened his nests.

Anne asked about him before. On one occasion, where Marcy groomed him under Plantar barn shade, Anne looked at his big, round, puffy belly and wondered out loud where the scar above his eye fit in out of all things.

Of course, Marcy had the answer.

“Oh, you know Joe,” she sighed. “He keeps pushing his limits. You won’t believe how many scars this bad boy got during his old career. For the eye one, he actually got that scar back when he was just a fledgling, but this was during the morally ethical times where amphibians didn’t really care for mounts unless they were battle resistant.”

Her hand parsed through his plume, giggling when Joe tweeted pleasantly against her skin. “But now he’s in a morally ethical place, aren’t you, boy? Yes, you are.”

Anne snorted. She ruffled Joe’s feathers too, and the two giggled quietly when the sparrow seemed to lean into the touch. Almost as if the sparrow connected immediately to Anne.

And Anne teared up over the thought. “It’s just like mother nature intended.”

The week afterward reminded Marcy of her sparring days, but instead of swords and smoke bombs, she had worms and patience. Lots of patience as Anne attempted to feed some mesh into Joe’s beak — and ultimately got stuck when she leaned too hard into his mouth.

It was funny how all this bonding time left her blind to anything else on the schedule. Marcy could instruct Anne to direct the mealworms to Joe for hours and still find Anne’s laughter to be the highlight of her day. Maybe Joe would sit on Anne, and leave her yelling and laughing under floof-fulls of bird, and Marcy would sketch that scene than the typical mission schematics Lady Olivia instructed her to look through.

Marcy hypothesized that Joe's love for attention spurned her focus. It made sense for birds to tease if they didn’t get the proper reaction out of people. It made sense for a bird such as Joe to find affection in someone who exuded goodness from their heart. But then Marcy would remember Anne. For Anne had Joe’s affection at the palm of her hands but irritated the bird enough to prefer dipping her into a nearby pond just for the sake of playfighting. And that enough had gotten her intrigued.

Was it another phenomenon she needed to analyze? To understand fully until the cusp of discovery?

Perhaps. Not right now though.

Marcy had found a breakthrough. A breakthrough in Animal-Human Sociology. But her focus lingered elsewhere, came down to how she rested next to a bucket load of dirty feathers — snoring into her best friend’s shoulder until the moon rose high above the Amphibian mountains.

---

When Marcy stared through the sky, and the act alone reminded her so much of Kid Icarus. If she ignored the wings branching out from the corners of her eyes, and only focused on the colors then she thought of herself as flying. Flying through skies that bled yellows and reds like Aivazovsky, framed so well against the crisp horizons that Marcy could almost paint the perfectest picture in her mind.

And when wind buffered her hair, parted the clouds with her hands, she swore that the taste on her tongue was of fresh saltwater.

Navigation. Freedom. The fades from orange to blue to maroon. Marcy loved riding for a reason. She held onto Joe’s reins with the utmost quickness, spelled out her name with short dives and leaps through cumulus tufts. And in the aftermath, she wrung her coat dry of moisture.

At least, until Anne became a priority.

Anne Boonchuy. Friend of ten years. Friends since the term friends became part of the Merriam Webster. Now, the latter sounded silly, but friendship could be a frank concept at times, it was something Marcy had no clue how to navigate, and yet Anne found her and decided Marcy was worth her time.

So they were here now: One readying an avian saddle, the other petting Joe’s tufts with the heaviest affection. And aw, Joe seemed to like it, what with the amount of cooing he’d been doing for the past hour.

Not like Marcy didn’t want to get in on that action. She just needed to finish clipping on the latches — and when she did that, it would be go-time, her a-game.

“Anne, can you push me that satchel?”

“Sure thing, Marce.” With ease, Anne somehow lugged a chair-sized bag over to where Marcy was, and they remained silent afterward as she finished the remainder of preparations.

What preparations? Well, the kind that remained out of her league.

“Sooo, where are ya’ going, exactly?” Anne asked. She had the same perturbed look to her ever since she whiffed the scents from the bag itself.

Marcy couldn’t help but rub her neck, not knowing how well to respond. “Well, I’ve been planning to scout an area somewhere high up in the Southern sect of Amphibia. I got wind that some bandits plan to use a route to jump ambassadors from here and there on the pathways, and I just wanted to make sure that doesn’t happen again, you know?"

“For sure, dude. I mean, you are the boss after all. That stuff’s gotta be pretty important if you’re getting loads of homework for it.”

“Well,” Marcy puckered her lips. She was right in some sense. Chief rangers plopped themselves into some high category up in the Newtopian ranks. It made sense. “Correct, kinda. I don’t really call it a boss position, more so a job. A very fun job, actually. You’d be surprised at how many prefer office desks to infantry, it’s nuts.”

Although, the more she thought about it, being able to stay safe in a big ole’ cube than getting skewered by bandits did sound appealing. Less probability for harm, sure. But Marcy loved the hunt way too much for her own good.

If Andrias gave her another objective, she might as well do a little dance at this point; there was always something exciting to partake in.

And with Joe, the fun always doubled with him.

At least, until she remembered that Anne had been staring at her, snapping her fingers in front of Marcy’s nose. “Marbles, you good? Another zone-out moment again?”

“Oh yeah, definitely. Thanks, I was about to get worried, the internal dialogue I had was getting way too extensive for my taste."

"Well, now that you’re out of your internal dialogue stuff, I got to ask.” Anne peered at Joe again. “Can I get on your bird?”

Marcy blinked at her. “Oh. Of course. You don’t really need to ask me if you’re curious about riding him.”

“I know, but he’s a big softie, really wanted to make sure I got your permission before anything else.” She coughed. “Plus I’m not gonna take any vehicles without permission. Tried that once. Didn’t go so hot.”

Somehow, Marcy found herself giggling. She couldn’t pinpoint why; Anne’s honesty must’ve just been that funny. “Well, if you want to jump on the SS Joe Sparrow, I’d be happy to show you around and get you a front-row ticket to some action.”

“For real?” Anne beamed, only for her expression to melt into a frown, scratching her chin at the thought. “Aren’t you on ranger duty though?”

Okay, she had a point there. “I mean, yeah, but I’ve mainly done this stuff solo. Sure I’ve got Joe to accompany me but it’ll be interesting to have a second person on board for the ride.” Without a skip in her beat. “And why wouldn’t I have you go with me? Of course, I would. You’re always the best on road trips.”

And with that, Anne’s smile grew tenfold. Oddly beautiful. Oddly hard to describe. Weirder to even have herself think those things in the first place. “Count me in, then. Let’s go, Marbles!”

Oh well. She’d think about that later.

---

Joe softened his landings in-between. And at certain points, when the mountains dipped to valleys he rocketed around and buffeted the gales just for the heck of it. He had the heart of a little kid sometimes, every moment he swooped through some current or plummet forward if he got the chance. He liked to make himself seem so grand when he cheeped. And Marcy confided in the idea that no matter how aged this sparrow would become, he’d still be the softest avian around.

Always there. Always playful. Always…eager for potential mates. He was the total package for best mount in all of Amphibia, and Marcy didn’t want it any other way.

So with Anne, Marcy became delighted when Joe kept that same kindness. It wasn’t just Marcy doing rough landings against solid ground or her zipping through the air. There were two people, two people to consider on the back of his saddle.

And Joe never disappointed her. He pivoted, swerved on command, and coaxed giggles from the girl behind her, whose arms pressed tightly to her waist until their hair puffed out from the wind.

“Keep your arms locked in, Annie B!”

Marcy’s hands whipped the reins, whooping at the top of her lungs when the dive pushed oceans of air into their faces.

The straps and belts dug into their laps when Joe pulled up, braced them in a loop-de-loop that had their eyes rolling when they finally exited out to a steady level.

And Marcy could hear the laughter behind her.

The laughter spoke of so much joy and happiness, of a symphony that Marcy had heard so many times before, and Marcy leaned into her warmth when they passed from the hallowed groves to the shimmering Newtingale creaks.

All throughout the Southern sect, all throughout the faint rattle of Marcy’s heart.

---

The ride home had been a lot darker than Marcy expected. For most of her trips in and out of the valleys, a lot of her path-finding culminated in something one could describe as an adventure. If one described her and Anne beating up an entire bandit group disguised as a clown posse to be an adventure, then yes. That was what happened.

They went head-to-head, toe-to-toe. All while decked out in white makeup and smelly rotten clown noses. This all sounded ridiculous, but out in Amphibia, one should never ever underestimate a theatre group.

For entertainment was their cruelest weapon.

Anne had been the first to ambush the bandits during the mission. With the agile reflexes of a cat, she deflected each oncoming slash with ease while Marcy took aim, calculated her crossbow trajectory until the enemies all knocked unconscious in the mud.

If one ignored the clown get-up, then what she talked about seemed like a typical day for Marcy. Always saving someone. Always doing her best. Always making sure no newts got chewed up by some toad or frog dressed up in rogue wear.

But the difference today was that she had someone to accompany her. Or how that same someone jumped onto Joe and gave that feisty bird a few scratches to his feathers, trying to wash her face in the water bucket they stored earlier today.

It all seemed domestic-like. The kind that Marcy dreamed about in fantasy stories, where the protag had a close ally to travel the world until their dying breaths.

And gosh, it was so cool that Anne became that friend.

She seemed to enjoy it too, what with the close embrace when they finally took off for the night, her chin propped on her cloaked shoulder, or the fact her exhales drifted in crisp Amphibian air.

A sign that she was enjoying everything. Everything from the swoop of Joe’s wings, the purple haze of the night, or how the moon cloaked their forms in red lighting — masking the landscape in darkness like a blanket over bedding.

Anne sighed contently. Her face nestled close to Marcy’s neck. She didn’t show that she regretted being here.

Not one bit.

“I’ve never been this high up before,” she mumbled. “The only times I did were when some creature flung me up into the middle of nowhere.”

Marcy hummed to that. Anne's fingers ghosted the triceps of Marcy's arms, left goosebumps to form and bristle in the cold, it made everything feel weird. Comfortable. Safe. “So is this less traumatizing and more exciting then?”

“Oh yeah, definitely.” Her voice rang, all charmed and sweet. “By a long shot.”

And Marcy was glad about that. Ever since she found Joe, a lot of her adventures had gotten easier to deal with. From zooming over to the Dry Swamp to the many forests hidden deep underneath solid canopies, one of the many pros of having a steed like Joe was of the view.

A view that made scouting ten times easier. The kind that entangled her in clouds, the song of avians, and the dance of the breeze. The kind that chilled her nose, left cumulus droplets on her thumbs, and when she settled down from grazing the upper layers of oxygen her body’s equilibrium warmed her up like it always intended to.

To have Anne feel that same experiences — the same elation — made the trip all the more worth it. Especially when Marcy’s skin grew warmer under non-equilibrium circumstances. All due to the cuddly contact.

Oh, Anne.

“If you want, I know a froggy pitstop nearby that sells slushies twenty-four-seven,” Marcy said softly. Joe went into a descent, already maneuvered by Marcy’s quick hands at the reins. They weren’t going to land yet. At least until Anne said so. “Wouldn’t hurt to take in the view on a full stomach.”

“That sounds amazing.” Anne pressed closer, and Marcy tried not to think about the murmur, how low it rumbled against Marcy’s ear. Gosh, she must be really relaxed by now. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m ready for some grub.”

“Well, they aren’t really grubs more like a mish-mash of every insect on the palette.”

“I try not to think about it.”

With laughter escaping them, Marcy directed Joe into the forest space below, her heart synced with the beat of sparrow wings.

#amphibia #marcanne #annarcy #Finally it's its own standalone fic #anne boonchuy #marcy wu #I mainly just placed this stuff in the drabbles comp but I loved this one too much that I had to clean it up #I FORGOT TO PUT THE MARGINS

57 notes · View notes

sweater-daddiesdumbdork · 3 years

Text

Attack Of The Winter Wolf: It Can Be Fixed

Summary- 8.9k Alpha Steve x Little One Reader. Packs are being destroyed and Alphas taken. The danger is hovering closer, its just a matter of time till it falls on Steve’s doorstep. For now he is enjoying his life as a Bonded Alpha, making the most out what peace he has found with his Little One. Divider made by @firefly-graphics

Warnings- Weapons, mass murder, language, m/f sex.

A/N- Hey everyone, thank you for sticking with me through this and THANK YOU for all the support shown. I hope you all enjoy this next section in the Alpha’s life. Happy Howling 🐺💙

Prologue / Masterlist

“You know what you need to do.” The Hydra Agent now known as Soldat snarled at the smaller woman next to him. Her eyes flashed red while never moving off the target in the bar, her fingers swirling beside her, wisps of red energy dancing between her fingers. She pursued her dark red lips, as she focused on the man slouching against the bar.

Her target. This would be easy, she might not even have to put a compulsion on him to trust her. She thought to herself studying him. A weak wolf drowning his meaningless misery, seducing him wouldn't be an issue.

“Attract the target, have him bring all of us onto his pack lands without the Alpha being alarmed. I have my orders.”

Soldat growled in response, turning away to go back to the truck to wait for the woman known as Wanda to carry out her mission. Now she was nothing more than a mindless Hydra Agent to be told her orders, Wanda nothing more than a memory for the woman now.

On her neck, she adorned a thin chain, tight against her throat. All of them did, someone would have to really look to even notice the restraints. Those chains were powerful, controlled magic from Hydra. Touched with a power no Wolf should possess. Inside they were trapped, Wolf and Person, unable to break loose from the mind control forced on them. Wanda lifted her fingers to trace the collar, the vibrations coming from it barely felt, but reassuring to the controlled hostage. Hydra had full control.

Wanda readjusted her low cut blouse, smoothing her hands over her leather skirt, and entered the bar. Her boots clicked on the old hardwood floor of the building, the air was filled with stale nicotine, made her over sensitive nose curl in distaste, and a jukebox wailed some rendition of Ac/Dc Back in Black. When she passed, men looked her way, momentarily distracted by the vision they saw, something personal for each, the woman of their dreams.

But the Scarlet Witch ignored them, there was only one man she was focused on, one Wolf she needed to ensnare. And luckily for her, he happened to catch sight of her just then, half sputtering in his bottle.

The Wolf she was now had growled deeply in satisfaction, streamlined as the beast crouched in her mind, hunting him just as much as Wanda was right now. The Witch ignored her corrupted beast aching to kill. Instead she sidled up to him, taking his bottle and pressing it to her lips all while watching him as she drank his last few swallows.

His nostrils flared to scent her, trying to figure her out. He was swarmed with the heavy scent of arousal, a female in heat and it made the Wolf in him lick his muzzle in interest. She shook her head lightly to let her hair fall away from her shoulder, the length of her neck flashing so he could really have his senses assaulted. He would smell everything he desired, in this case his Wolf started howling for the scent of hot sex and whiskey. Another deep inhale and his eyes snapped open, simmering a yellow as his beast reared its head for control. Wanda smirked as she set the bottle down.

“Looks like I owe you a drink.” She said with such an innocence, and he smirked, clearly ready to play the game.

“That you do Babe, but what kind of man would I be if I made the woman pay?” He dug out his wallet and put some cash down. “Another two beers please. What's your name? Mine is Tommy.”

Wanda let her hands wander to his arm resting on the bar, her nails softly trailing down the top of his arm to his wrist and back up. “Wanda.”

Once they were alone, he turned his stool to face her, giving his full attention to Wanda, looking her up and down once while rubbing his hands against his spread jean clad thighs. “So Wanda, what brings you in a place like this?”

“Just going through town.” Wanda stepped in closer, between his thighs, and slid her hand up behind his neck, letting her fingers dance in a sensual way, planting images of their bodies colliding, grinding, him laying a claim on her. “A few friends and I were looking for a place to stay. I came in, hoping someone would have a suggestion.”

He shook his head a bit, reaching for the bottle just dropped off and took a drag off it, hoping it would calm him down, cool the eager snapping Wolf in his mind and the semi hard on in his jeans.

“There ain't much as far as motels in town, but how many people you got that need a place to stay sweetheart?” Now Tommy’s hand drifted to Wanda's waist, letting himself get familiar with how she felt, the images still sweltering in his mind of mindless sex. Wanda let her hand curl onto his shoulder, biting her lip while whispering just before his lips. “Not many, three men.”

“Three men?” He pulled back a bit, a look of uncertainty at bringing competition for him onto pack lands. “I really only have space for you Sweetheart.”

Wanda let her lips press against his, drawing him to lean into her a bit before pulling back, whimpering just soft enough for his Wolf to want to change his answer, pushing for the man to give in.

The Alpha will be pissed if I bring four Wolves onto our lands.

“Well, okay. I will tell my brother and friend’s that we will have to go to the next town.” She went to pull away when his hand shot out, grasping Wanda's wrist.

<She’s ours, she wants us. Wants to be our mate, you can’t let her go. Besides, one of those males is her brother.> The Wolf snarled and Tommy’s fingers flexed around her slender wrist.

“Now hold on Sweetheart, maybe… maybe we can figure something out.” He pulled her back to him, and let his hold lay claim on her ass, arching her into him.

“Come home with me, and your friends, they can stay in my camper out back. There's plenty of space for them in there, I got it hooked up so they can do what they need to.”

Wanda gave a quirk of a grin and lapped her tongue over his lips as his reward. “Deal, lead the way? We will follow.” Without another thought, her victim yanked out some crumbled bills from his wallet, and led them out the door. Sealing his fate.

Bouncing down a dirt road, Soldat was going through his gear, handing stuff off to Wanda and Pietro. Clint followed the tail lights closely, making the turns when necessary.

“Pietro, as soon as we're in the clear of any alarm, shift and start flushing people out of their homes.” Soldat picked up a wickedly lethal blade and fitted it into the holster. “Wanda, you mind fuck as many as you can. And NO ONE FUCKING TOUCH THE ALPHA. They want the Alpha back all intact. Clint, see if you can't secure another means of transportation.” Grabbing a face mask, he fitted it over his face, and went silent, turning to watch out the windshield as they approached, done giving orders. Tommy waved the van through and directed them up to a house nearby, jumping out.

“So uh, Wanda, I will show you where you will be staying.” He said, as she slipped out, and the back of the van opened to let out Pietro and Soldat, suddenly he started to look worried. “These are your friends and brother?”

“Oh only one of them is my brother.” Wanda said with a smile as Soldat reached for his blade and flung it to land in the unsuspecting wolfs chest. “And it's not him.” Clint got out to, scanning up in the trees.

“Get up high Clint. Any stragglers break for the trees, end them.” With a nod, the archer broke away and went into the trees. “Pietro, start flushing people out.” Soldat started instructing as he reached to grab his blade from the man's chest and wiped it on his shirt till it gleamed again.

Pietro nodded, as he shed his clothes, dropping quickly into a sleek silver wolf, his speed almost making him a blur in the dark as he raced forward, starting his howls. They were sharp and dangerous, warning the pack. Several members stepped out of their homes, clearly having been asleep in the state of their dress when Soldat held up his sniper rifle and started to pick people off, Wanda following along, slamming demands in each of their minds thanks to her powers.

GIVE US THE ALPHA.

Her warnings started crippling families in agony, screaming as the pressed hands against their heads at her mental onslaught. Wanda twisted her hands in the air, snapping open fingers into fists, and people started shifting, their wolves released to scream their pain she inflicted on them instead. Soon the night was filled with horror. Those that managed to escape the trio working through their homes were met with piercing cool blades flying from somewhere in the trees.

Soldat was almost lazy walking along this pack's compound, some memory started to stir in his mind, reminding him of another compound, sunlight shifting through the trees to dapple along a dirt road, a man’s laughter behind him from someone. “Buck, wait up!” Ahead was a sparkling lake and he glanced over his shoulder to see someone running towards him from a distance. He shook his head to dispel these memories.

The White Wolf paced the edges of his consciousness. <Follow your orders Soldat.>

The memory was hazy, and it slipped away from him once more. He snapped his head again to focus on the task at hand.

Back to the present, moonlight was shining bright and highlighting bodies scattered around. Except for one, a woman bolting out of hiding trying to get away from him. Lazily he swung his rifle up and sighted her in, his finger slowly easing against the trigger. For him it was all slow motion, the woman pitched forward with a cry as she fell forward in his path, and he stepped over her as she bled out. Soldat growled in irritation as the Alpha still hadn’t made themselves known.

“Alpha, are you okay with sacrificing your people?” Wanda came up beside him, panting slightly with exertion of the use of her powers, listening. A pained howl came from a nearby home, Pietro pacing around it waiting for the occupants to come out. The door creaked open, and out stumbled a woman, a flare of Soldat’s nose told him exactly what he wanted to know, the Winter Wolf growling in a menacing way at the approaching victim. Finally the packs Alpha was surrendering. She was flanked by a nipping Pietro to speed her jog up, blood streaming down the back of her calves from where she didn’t move fast enough.

“Stop, what do you people want? We have done nothing wrong to the council to warrant a removal like this.” Her eyes were wild as she looked at her packmates, the smell of blood and death so heavy, she heaved a gag.

Wanda looked her up and down, arching a brow. “She's an Alpha? Doesn’t look much like one.”

Soldat’s hand wrapped around the woman's neck, dragging her forward, and inhaling along her face, the tip of his nose dragging up from her chin to her temple, sorting her scent to be sure. A shuddering gasp fell from her, laced with fear. It made Soldat smirk behind the mask. The acrid scent of fear was something he was accustomed to. Beyond the fear though, she was the prime scent of health. This Alpha did not lead her pack on force and strength, but respect and knowledge. He could imagine the battle she was going through with her wolf right now, the conflict to shift showing in her eyes, fear sweat rolling down her temple.

“Where's your mate?” Soldat growled and gave her a slight shake when she sobbed.

“G-gone! She's gone. Visiting her old pack across the country. She won't be back for another month.”

Inhaling again, Soldat sneered, his voice laced with it. “You lie girl. Your efforts to keep her safe, pointless. I can smell her all over you, fresh.” He hissed in her ear and turned to the twins. “Find her. She won’t be far.” They nodded, wolf and sister splitting off towards the Alphas house and she tensed in Soldats grip, starting to fight to break out of his hold.

“What do you want?! Who are you?” she was gulping in air, possibly scenting him, trying to figure out where he came from. Soldats hard eyes went over her once, and did not find her worth answering. Instead his grip tightened around her neck and he whipped her around, her back slamming into his chest and making her gasp in loss of air.

“They are close.” he reached up, taking off the mask and stuffing it away. Her whimpers made his teeth snap at her neck, she might be Alpha of this pack, but she had nothing on him. The Winter Wolf paced, fur bristling as Soldat eyed her steady pulse, resisting the urge to rip at the throbbing vein, killing the Alpha. But he didn't, he had orders. “Can you smell your mates' fear from here? Cause I can.” Instead his tongue lapped up her neck before he tilted his head. “Or maybe that is yours?”

A cry from the woods along with snarling made Soldat straighten and the Alpha tense in his hold, soft “no no no no…” uttered from her and a sob in which Soldat snapped his fingers tighter around her neck to shut her up. Her mate stumbled from the woods, continuously trying to break away, but between Wanda and Pietro, they kept her moving forward. Soldat dropped his hold on the Alpha, letting her spring away to run towards her mate, and drag her into her arms, sobbing into her hair. “I told you to run Alicia, I told you to get away from here.”

“We couldn't, we couldn't just leave you to them Alpha.” Alicia responded, all three of them watching as the Alpha regained her composure a bit, wiping at her face and turned to face Soldat.

“Anything, whatever you want, it's yours. Just let my mate and the rest of the pack leave unharmed. They won't try anything.” Soldat arched a brow, and reached into a pocket on his tactile vest.

“Then you will put this on without any trouble.”

He let a thick silver collar and muzzle fall from his grasp, and the Alpha swallowed hard seeing it. She gave a nod in acceptance and a plea from her mate made the Alpha’s eyes well up with tears, but rounded on her growling at Alicia. “Be quiet, listen to your Mate and Alpha.” Alicia’s begging quieted with a nod, her head bent in submission to her partner. The Alphas hand came up to cup her face in praise, and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead and dipped to her ear, whispering to her for a moment while Alicia’s eyes welled up again and closed as if she was trying to remember the words. Soldat waited patiently, watching this moment between bonded mates without any feelings. All it showed him was a weakness in the Wolves. Their devotion to their mates could always be a weapon he could exploit.

Soon enough the Alpha turned back to Soldat to strip out of her nightgown, quick to shift into her Wolf. Padding over to him, she sat in front of him and lifted her head to fit the collar and muzzle on. It was all so final with the click, binding the muzzle to the collar, completely in Soldats control now as he hooked a chain to her like a lead, wrapping it around his hand and shortening it.

“Kill the rest.” Soldat said and the Alpha at the end of a leash started thrashing as much as allowed, growling in fear and rage, her head straining to look over her shoulder while Soldat dragged her away. Helpless while having to watch Wanda and Pietro round on Alicia, her screams for her Alpha dying out and the smell of her death hit the Alpha. Blood and the sting of fear struck her, and she sank to the ground, losing her trapped mind. Soldat never even noticed her body going limp behind him, and that he was dragging her across the ground while she howled in pain at the severed bond of her now dead mate.

You were sitting behind the wheel of the pickup, Steve on the other side of the hood poking his head around. “Okay, start her up Little One.” he ordered, and you went to flick the key, listening to the whir whir sound of the engine before it sputtered, choked, and gave a mighty shutter, dying down. Turning the key back to off, you leaned yourself out the window.

“Steve… You might have to call it. I don't think there's any saving this one.” Opening the door, you slipped out, landing lightly on your toes, and closing the door shut with a squeak. You could see your mate standing at the front, wiping his hands on a rag, staring down at the engine. Not yet in defeat though. If there was anything you knew about the Mountain Packs Alpha, it was that Steve Rogers did not stop till every last thing had been tried. That meant one thing. He was going to take this engine apart piece by piece if he had to.

You leaned against the side of the truck, looking down in the mess of engine parts, and then back to Steve who spared a glance upwards at you and giving a sigh. “Leave no man behind, or woman in this case. This trucks a girl.” His hand slapped against the side of it affectionately and you snorted, folding your arms over your chest.

“First of all, it's a truck Alpha…” you started.

Steve reached up and slammed the hood down, scoffing. “It's her, and her name is Lenore, and she's not just a truck. I have had her since I was 15.”

“Safe to say this is your first girlfriend then?” You giggled as you tapped your fingers teasing along his arm and skimmed your fingers along the back of his neck, while he wiped his rag lovingly against the hood. Little did he know he had a scuff of dirt on the back of his neck, and it was distracting you now.

Fuck…

The Little Wolf snickered at your reaction. <See something you like?>

Sure as hell do, our Alpha looks fucking good like this.

She yipped in agreement and spun around with excitement.

You pressed your nose in against his shoulder, inhaling deeply while gently sinking your teeth in against his shoulder. Steve growled softly feeling you press against him and looked over his shoulder with an arched brow. “Nah, but she was around with the first girlfriend, and watch me get her fixed to keep her around with my mate.” He pulled you around, his hands circling your hips and easily lifting you to perch on the edge of the truck's hood, making you giggle, and grasp the front of his shirt to pull him in closer. Steves fingers dug into the curves of your hips and pulled you to the edge of the hood.

“Your awful confident Alpha.” you wiggled your brows and leaned forward to nip at his lips. “What makes you think you're that good of a mechanic?”

Steve hummed, his hands slipping under your shirt to dig his fingers into your waist as you wrapped your legs loosely around his hips. “Think you can do better Little One?” he teased back while the tip of your tongue dragged along his bottom lip and he rumbled slightly as you sucked on his bottom lip before pulling back.

“Give me a wrench, I get Lenore running like brand new.” You exclaimed with a wriggle of your brows, wrapping your arms around his neck and leaning into Steve’s chest. The Alpha laughed, dropping his head to your neck, and rubbing his beard against the column of your neck and kissing over the bonding mark deeply, his tongue tracing the slight scar he had left there that night and letting his teeth sink in enough to make you whimper in a happy way. He tilted back to look at you.

“Little One, I give you a wrench and she will be like new, back before they even put her all together on the manufactures line.”

You scowled at him, and playfully pushed him away from you, which resulted in him backing up and stepping back into you, kissing on your neck as you tipped your head back for him so that his lips could skim the column of your neck, his inhales making you drag your teeth along your bottom lip with a whimper. “I'm a little insulted that you think I would tear Lenore apart.”

Steve lifted his head, and arched his brow at you. “You wouldn’t?”

“Hell no Alpha, Sams have been teaching me the way around an engine. He said I got the magic touch, and can make them purr.” You stated proudly, and you saw his pupils flare suddenly. You scooted closer and leaned in close to whisper against his lips, your forehead leaning against his. “Is that true Steve, Do I… have the magic touch?”

Your Little Wolf connected on the Alphas bond, the two wolves teased each other back and forth in your minds. You and Steve started nipping at each other's lips, growling as he had you open your mouth to him, and your hands fisted into his hair at the back of his head, rubbing your chest in against him. Steve inhaled your taste and scent, the way you softened under his touch, allowing him to touch you however, and wherever. Fingers flexed, smudging motor grease against your skin and your hands twisted in his dirty shirt to start tugging it off him, pulling away to drag it over his head. Your hips rolled into meeting his groin and he hissed feeling your core rub against his erection “Yes Little One, You certainly do have the magic touch.”

His hand snaked up your top and palmed your breast through your bra till you also lost your shirt, the heavy scent of your arousal drenching your panties along with the stinging mechanics grease tainting his senses. It smelled dirty, and Steve was fucking raging from it.

Wanting to bury his cock in your heat, he pulled back from your embrace and jerked you off the truck's hood twisting you around. Your hands slamming against the hood and Steve grasping the back of your neck to press you against the hood. His thumb feathered back and forth over his mark, your neck arching under his touch. You could feel his hips slotted against yours, and your ass pressed back to grind into his erection. Your ass, firm and soft in those jeans pressing into him made him growl and bite against your shoulder, arching his hips forward to pin you against the grill of the truck.

You groaned when you felt the sting of Steve’s bite against your shoulder and his weight keeping you in place. Steve lifted his head suddenly hearing you, easing back slightly. “Is this okay? Too much?” You could still feel how hard he was behind you, but his voice was laced with gentleness and concern. You arched your head back and took a deep breath.

“Steve Rogers, you have me pinned against Lenore, you better fuck me or else.”

Steve’s concerned look melted with a devious smirk before he moved to suck a spot just behind your ear, his hands slipping to the front of your jeans to snap your button open and wriggle the zipper down.

“Or else… Fuck Little One, that sounds like a promising threat.” Steve growled against your ear, and he tugged your jeans and panties down around your knees, you lifted a leg to kick your pants off, shifting to the other to get rid of your clothing. His hand flexed against your neck before pulling it away.

“Might be in your favor Alpha.” You shifted your legs back and forth to spread them, Steve running a finger through your slick and spreading your folds to stroke you a moment, feeling just how ready you were for him. Licking his lips he could almost taste you as he knew intimately just how good you were.

You panted while your cheek pressed against the truck's cool hood, a contrast to your mate behind you all hot and bothered. “Steve, Fuck. Me.” your voice went muffled as his fingers filled you and you tried to arch in his hold, but he flexed fingers against the back of your neck once more, keeping you still while he took you apart with his fingers. Your velvet walls fluttered around his fingers, and you moaned in pleasure.

“Is that what you wanted Little One?” His chest pressed against your back, making your breathing shallower, your whines sharper with need. “Your soaking me Omega Girl. I gotta be inside you. Cum for me first.” His hips rutted against you and you shuddered underneath him, slamming your hand sharply against the hood of the car while nodding that you heard him. Your cunt made squelching noises and his fingers scissored you open, he kept uttering for you to let go when you finally did, an explosion of pleasure humming through you while you cried out his name, falling apart around his fingers.

Steve raised you off the hood and pulled you up against his chest, kissing on your neck hungrily while your orgasm made you whimper, trying to squeeze your thighs closed around his hand. “Good girl Little One, you are so good to me.” He growled against your ear softly before dragging his tongue to mark his scent on you, he let you lower back to the hood of the truck.

Pulling his hand away from you, he undid his belt and worked his pants open enough to pull out his cock, using his slick covered hand to rub himself. “Hey Little One, are you still with me?”

You nodded as he wrapped his hands around your hips and shifted your ass to where he wanted it while sliding his cock through your slick folds sure to press against your clit before sliding back closer to filling you.

“Fuck Steve…” You exhale and he thrust into you, one fluid motion had your cunt swallowing him, pulling him in to feel you gripping him tightly in a way that made the Alpha growl possessively over your form underneath him, his fingers digging in your hips in a bruising way. Your body shook with the effort and his hand smoothed along your side when he arched his hips to grind into you. “Your so fucking good Little One, I can just stay buried in this sweet pussy all day.”

Pulling back and thrusting to split you open, your chest crushed against the truck's hood, and you wouldn't want to have it any other way while Steve started to rut into you faster, the only thing keeping you in place was Steve's unforgiving hold on your hips and the truck's hard surface. The metal underneath just proved to help Steve punch the air from your lungs. One of his hands slid up your back and moved to grasp your shoulder and pull you back harder, taking angled strokes to make you fall apart around him.

So pretty you were, sprawled against the hood of his truck, doing your best not to scratch at the paint. You were balancing on your tip toes and starting to plead in a muffled tone “Steve- fuck-oh oh- I need to- ah right there.”

Steve pulled back on your shoulder, bringing you up to brace against his back, and wrapping his arm across your midriff. Reaching up to cup and squeeze a breast in his palm while biting your shoulder with a growl made you arch in his hold. You were still raised to your tiptoes, and could feel yourself fluttering around his cock, clenching and aching to find that release.

Aiming for that sweet spot he knew would push you over the edge, his hand covered the front of your mound and rubbed his fingertip in a vigorous circle, making you squirm in his hold. “Don't fight it Little One, you're almost there. Just a little more. You're being so good for your Alpha, taking my cock so good.” He praised and your head fell back against his shoulder, letting him move you now.

“It feels so good, it hurts.” You whined out while reaching down to where his fingers were rubbing at your clit, you explored further down in your heat, until your fingers found the tender spot where his cock pushed into you, feeling him slide in and out made your belly clench at the sensation.

“Do you feel how you made just for me Little One?” Steve grunted while kissing the corner of your mouth till you rolled your head to meet him, both of you biting at each other's lips and easing into a deep hungry kiss.

“Steve, I’m-” You sobbed into his mouth as you fell, and intense pleasure fluttered from your core and spread through your body while your hearing buzzed, and your vision exploded in sparks. He groaned as he rutted into your breaking body, his arms locking around you and his teeth sank into your mark, just making your orgasm explode all over again, tilting your head and crying out in a howl while he filled you with his seed, spreading it through you till he knotted. When he finally stilled with his forehead against your shoulder, you let your head roll forward and took a deep breath to refill your lungs. Your hands dropped to his hands still holding you with a tight grip and let your hands rest over his. Feeling your touch he eased slightly and lifted his head, breathing in against your neck, the expand of his chest with each breath scratched lightly against your back.

Your eyes lifted and you could see the sweaty imprint on the hood of his truck, and then looked down to see grease and dirt smudged all over your skin and your bra, making you chuckle. Steve lifted his head up, careful how he moved behind you while straightening. “Care to share Little One whats got you laughing?”

You tilted your head over your shoulder to look back at him while he loosened his hold. “You got me dirty, and then you got me really dirty.” You emphasized, and he looked over your shoulder to see the streaks against your skin. “We also got Lenore dirty.” You nodded towards your imprint against the hood, and then he finally laughed, his shoulders shaking amused.

“I've never seen Lenore look better Little One.” He muttered while kissing your neck deeply, flexing his hold around you again and you bit your lip giggling while dipping your head back to his shoulder. You two waited till he went soft again and was able to pull out from you. You bent down and picked up scattered clothes to pull them back on while Steve zipped up his jeans and buckled his belt, you grabbed his discarded tee and tossed it to him. While he was picking up the garage with the tools he was using, you happened to check your phone, and noticed a text from Caine.

“Hey how do you feel about going to see Caine and the rest tomorrow morning? If we leave tonight, we don't have any plans, do we?” You ask after reading Caine’s message asking them if they would come visit. Being a fairly new Alpha, learning how to properly set up a pack was a daunting task, especially to that group and he was leaning heavily on Steve’s guidance in that case here and there. Steve wanting to see the young wolf succeed had allowed the bond to form, which was unusual but not unheard of, especially now that the Wolves were depending so much more on pack relationships. He hesitated a moment, but it had been quiet for months since the last attacks from winter.

“Let me get cleaned up Little One and we can head out, haven't been over that way in ages, and would love to see the changes he has made to that place.” Steve came over, reading the text while you held your phone up for him to see, and he nuzzled against his mark, nipping the scar on your neck gently.

You turned in his hold, wrapping your arms around his waist and looking up at him. “Thank you, for making it work Steve.” You said softly to him, hugging him a bit in the process. “They are no longer my pack, but I still have a connection with them.”

You were the other reason Steve kept himself available to the new pack, he knew that you had survived with these wolves, had faced things no wolf should have to, and it in some way reminded him of his time with the howling commandos. No longer were they “family” but in a way they always would just be that. If any of them contacted him still to this day, he would be there for them, that was what happened when you went into a war with someone. And that is partially how he saw your whole ordeal, it was a fight for your life. As important as you were to him and his wolf, his better half, his partner, there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for you. His hand smoothed along your back and he kissed your forehead. “Always Little One, come on, lets go get ready.”

Once it was established that Sam and Sara would take over while you two were gone, Steve filled up the pickup while you packed a bag for the two of you and were on the road soon enough. Steve easily drove through the night while you either kept him company talking, once in a while falling asleep with your head on his shoulder, snuggling against his side while he would hug you in closer whenever he felt a slight chill run through you. Your wolves remained twined around each other with the bond you now shared, and Steve loved feeling traces of your wolf in his mind.

He thought of a time before you, when the sensation made him cringe. Your wolf fit there, was a warmth that his own Alpha settled into easily, no longer a pacing beast in his mind. Alanna’s wolf was so much more different, the hair on the back of his neck would raise, and the Alphas' own hackles would bristle. The bond they shared was sick from the start, the she wolf would be looking for a fight with the Alpha, who was more then willing to return the favor. There were no playful teasing or quiet grooming moments that the Alpha shared with the Little One.

Steve did back then what he thought was right, trying to make it work when he had impulsively bitten Alanna, but now he could see how wrong it was. What people like Bucky and Natasha had tried pointing out to him for the years he forced it to work. That it could be better. How it could be what he had now. You softly sighing against his shoulder while you two went to help another pack, not fight against them.

As the sun started to rise, Steve couldn't help compare it to his new chapter in his life, stepping from the darkness of his past into the bright promising start of a new one. One he looked forward to.

<It will one day be even better Steve.> The Alpha commented as he groomed the sleeping Little Wolf, nibbling along her neck and shoulders before his pink tongue ran over her fur till it was soft and fluffy.

I don’t know how it can get better, our life is finally calmed down, my mate is settled and happy in her life, and our Pack is strong.

The Alpha just continued his gentle grooming for a few moments before he moved up to stretch, his tail giving a slight wag at the next words he said.

If it happens, it happens.

The Alpha wasn't wrong, Steve did always want a family. Some part was the connection that Wolves always had, packs were nothing more then large family units surviving. But there was more, Steve wanted to give that love to another, and he could see you already, fiercely protective over any children.

The idea of you pregnant stirred some primal things in him, more primal then even the Wolf itself. It was a part of him that wanted it more than anything. But the time would come, where you two would really sit down and discuss it. Feeling you stir under his arm, he was pulled from his thoughts and glanced down. “Morning Little One.” he chuckled watching as you groaned while pushing to sit up more, rubbing at your eyes.

“Ooh, sorry I fell asleep, what time it is Steve, are we almost there?” Your hands rubbed against your face, and you blinked rapidly against the bright light of the new morning sun.

“7 AM, and we're a few miles out still. You want to stop for some breakfast first? I know we will be passing a diner here shortly.” He offered and you perked immediately hearing that.

“God that sounds amazing.” You hummed just as your stomach made the loudest grumble noise, making you both bust out laughing, and Steve stepped on the gas a bit more to make the truck pick up speed.

The diner was one of those little country diners you see in small towns. Along the wall were booths with the little quarter jukeboxes, and in the middle was a long counter scattered with displays of pies and pastries every few stools. When you and Steve first entered, you were first hit with the smell of diner coffee, which you tilted your nose up appreciatively to inhale the aroma, while Steve wrapped an arm around your waist to lead you to a nearby booth. You slipped in first, and Steve just sat next to you, leaving the other side unoccupied.

“Alright kids, what'll it be.” The waitress came around, an older woman with a tall grey beehive style hair-do, a pencil tucked behind her ear which she plucked her fingers against to use, as well as dug for a pad of paper from her apron. You couldn't help smiling at her, as she was just a sight to see, and Steve himself hid a laugh while he filled in with what he wanted. “Eggs, sunny side up, with toast, bacon and sausage. Coffee, black and a side of orange juice.” She was quick to jot it all down, and paused her rapid writing. “And for you sweetheart?” her accent took on a sweet tone, and you filled in with what you wanted.

“Short stack blueberry pancakes, some sausage links, and a glass of milk, and coffee?”

“Sure thing” the waitress was sure to jot it down and leave the two of you alone, Steve’s hand reached under the table and took yours to weave his fingers through yours, giving a light squeeze. It was just a few moments when their waitress came back around with there beverages.

“Cook will be just a few minutes with your food. But here, we made some extras.” She winked as she left a small basket with piping hot donut holes at your table, leaving you two alone again after thanking her. Steve picked up a cinnamon sugared one to pop in his mouth. Lifting the mug to your lips, you blow on the steaming mug and sip on it while your eyes dart out the window to watch other patrons start to arrive.

“I've lived here my whole adult life, and never knew what it looked like outside of the pack boundaries. Pierce hardly let us leave.” You mused and Steve slid a hand along your thigh, squeezing reassuringly before you turned towards him with a warm smile on your face. “I'm glad we came, it will be good to see Caine and everyone else again.”

“He has good makings to be a strong Alpha once he washed the taint Pierce left in this area.” Steve agreed as his arm moved from your thigh to wrap around your shoulder, dipping his head to place a light nuzzle to your temple as you leaned into him. It wasn't long till the waitress was back to drop off the hot plates of breakfast.

Bites were shared between the two of you, you nipped off the tip of Steve's bacon and you offered an extra syrup drenched bite of pancake, where droplets of sweet syrup caught in his beard which he wiped away with his napkin. Before long plates were being pushed away with groans of being too full, Steve dug for his wallet to leave a nice tip to their waitress as well as the bill and headed out of the little diner.

Soon you two were pulling off the highway and along a familiar bumpy road leading deep into the forest, away from the town. You cranked down the window the closer you got, the warm spring air was alive with fresh growth, along with the familiar scents of the pack. Steve started to slow down when the road grew rougher, the truck bouncing on its struts as remnants of mud and snow bogged the road down. You were quick to grasp the ‘oh shit’ handle, noticing streaks of shadows running alongside the road, and howls started announcing their arrival.

It was getting familiar and Steve reached over, sliding his hand with yours to weave his fingers through yours and pull your hand into his lap, his thumb sliding over your knuckle. “You okay Little One?” His gaze tilted towards you, and you smiled at him with a nod.

Your Little Wolf stirred and moved over to her Alpha, brushing up against him once the other packs scent grew stronger the closer they got, reaffirming that she belonged to him now. He curled around her, pressing his muzzle against her while thumping his tail loudly in approval.

<It doesn’t even feel like ‘home’ anymore.> The Little Wolf said softly and you hid a smile hearing her, squeezing Steve’s hand back.

It hasn't been in a while now. It was hard to think it was just about a year, another month and it would have been the first time you met Steve. Bucky allowing you to cross from No Man's Land into the pack boundaries. You could still remember that first time, how Steve went to your level and offered you sanctuary before even actually hearing why you were on the run. And you knew he would do it again with another if the time came. Soon the road curved and you two came up on the all to familiar grey building that had the underground expansion where you were kept. You could hear the Alpha growling softly seeing it, and Steve’s features hardened as he picked up speed driving past it till you two started to come more towards the homes that spread through the grounds. Neither one of you wanted to step foot in there, and did not plan to ever again.

Caine came trotting out to greet them, and you hopped out to rush around the truck, springing at your former packmate in a hug. Steve took his time, although the Wolf didn't much like it, he waited to give you two a moment before intruding. You weaved yourself back into Steve’s hold, grinning happily.

“Driving all night I’m guessing?” Caine asked and you shrugged, jerking a thumb at Steve. “He was, I was the co-pilot. In charge of the radio.”

Steve winked. “And did a good job of it to Little One, you only passed out on me for a couple hours.” He teased while you poked his side a bit for ratting you out and Caine laughed heartily.

“What I figured, since I messaged you last night. The house at the end is vacant for now if you two wanna rest a bit to settle in.” Caine offered, and Steve was thankful for the offer after the long drive. Steve pulled up the truck to the house while you and Caine strolled to the quaint house, talking about how each respective pack were doing. You noticed his eyes lifted to your neck when you lifted your hair off your neck, and his brows arched.

“Is that what I think it is Y/N?” the young Alpha asked and your hand pressed against Steve’s mark, nodding.

“Yes, Steve and I bonded, made it official. It was time to put Pierce and all that behind. It wasn’t natural trying to force us to bond with anyone willing to pay for us.” You stalled a bit, slowing down while watching Steve grab the duffel you had packed from the back of the truck and brought it inside. Caine hummed in agreement, having faced the same ordeal you had. Your Little Wolf stirred in her nearby Alphas' care, feeling your emotions rolling and soon felt her brush along your mind, a calming presence that brought you back to the present. Caine smiled at you, brushing his hand along your back and giving a half hold hug around your shoulder.

“I’m happy for you Y/N, that you found Steve. I mean… well for us to. If you hadn’t gotten away from Pierce, who knows where we would be now.” Caines gaze flashed to the grey building for a second, the heavy chain strapped against the door to keep it shut.

“What are you using that for now?” You asked, noticing where his gaze went. Caine continued the two of you forward.

“Storage, once we cleaned it out. Stark took any of the medical equipment besides the basics we could use for emergencies. All the shit they used on us. After that office was cleaned out, the computers taken, I locked up the underground floors, and we have been using the top as storage for gear and such. Might just seal off that underground and tear that top part down. I don't know honestly. It's like a sickness here still, seeing it. But one day if anything was to happen, it could be useful.”

It was easy to tell that Caine was unsure of what to do with it, and you nudged him lightly to lighten his heaviness. “You will figure it out.” Glancing up, you could see Steve gathering the last of the overnight stuff from the truck, the door snapping shut. “We will see you later, I'm gonna go get some proper shut eye.” Splitting from Caine, you went inside first and Steve chatted a few moments with Caine before excusing himself.

Going inside, it wasn’t home, but it wasn't bad. Sparsely furnished with the minimal comforts, he tilted his nose to inhale, searching you out. You had gone through the downstairs while he was outside from what Steve could sense, but he heard your soft footfalls above him, turning him to go up the old stairs to the tiny upstairs. A single bedroom with a double bed and a bathroom graced the upstairs. Dropping the bag on the end of the bed, he glanced over to you unpacking on the other side.

“Not quite like home.” You observed, while looking around. The bed just about took up the whole bedroom. “But cozy.”

Steve chuckled as he moved around the bed, wrapping his arms around your hips and pressing his face in against your neck, nibbling while his hips pressed against your curves and his chest to your back. You sunk back into him while refolding one of his shirts, tilting your head to feel his affections with a close of your eyes and a satisfied hum flowing through you. “Yes cozy, you are gonna have to sleep on top of me in this bed.” You chuckled hearing his teasing, the two of you swaying in the early morning light streaming through the window at the head of the bed.

“That's never been a problem before.” You smirk while feeling Steve laugh softly behind you and you twist to nudge at him. “You're tired, I can feel it. I'm gonna go take a shower, why don't you lay down. We can meet up with Caine this afternoon.” You removed the bag off the bed, and Steve rumbled slightly.

“Shower? I could join you Little One.” His hands moved to lightly grasp your hips, fingers flexing. You shake your head and turn to face Steve, your hands cupping his face and tilt up to place a kiss on his lips, keeping it simple and affectionate.

“You were up early yesterday, because I remember your little wake up.” You smirked at his lopsided grin, all proud of himself for his methods. “And up all night bringing us here.” Your hands pressed against his chest, gently pushing him down on the bed and reaching for your shower bag. “So sleep Alpha, we can mess around later.” You nipped his lips and pulled away, while he groaned, tilting his head back to the mattress while you left the room to go down the short hallway to the bathroom at the end.

“That's teasing Little One.” He growled out as he pushed back to a sit, undoing his belt on his jeans while you called back.

“Make me pay for it later Alpha, learn to take a command once in a while.” You firmly shut the bathroom door on him and the Wolf laughed hard at Steve’s predicament.

You were sidelined too. Steve growled out softly although he knew you were right, his body was tired. The heaviness started to make his eyes ache to close.

<Mmmh, actually no. I can go to my Little Wolf whenever.> The Wolf shook out his fur and padded away from Steve's consciousness, in which the Alpha rolled his eyes at his inner beast and proceeded to strip down to stretch above the comforter.

It wasn't long till Steve felt the bed dip at the end and you crawled over him, settling down to lay your head on his chest, and his hand smoothed against your back to rest against the dip in your lower back. Your face rubbed against one of his pecs and he half turned to give you some more room on the mattress, your legs tangling with his and the rest of the morning was spent in lazy half sleep snores and readjusting in the smaller bed to get comfortable.

Finally the afternoon sun was just too bright shining down on the two of you, spring softness had picked up more heat and was starting to feel hot in the small bedroom. You groaned and pushed off Steve, who growled feeling you move away while waking up further, his arm slinging over his eyes to block out the light. You quietly get dressed and descend down the stairs to let him wake up in his own time. Going through the kitchen, you grab a glass to fill with water to inhale quickly and parch your thirst. Above you, you can hear the bed creak under Steve’s weight, then the slap of his feet against the hardwood boards above you. You start to go through the house and pry open windows, and the front door you opened wide to let the fresh air in.

“Mmh, how late is it?” Steve rubbed at his face and you pulled your phone out.

“3:30, we're gonna be up all night.” You chuckled while checking a message from Sara, complaining that she should have gone with you and Steve, Sam was driving her crazy making you chuckle while answering back. “Sara checked in, said everything is going good at home.”

Steve as well sought out some water, draining the glass with deep gulps, he wiped at his mouth with the back of his arm and nodded. “I’m sure we can find something to do tonight.” He winked in a tease. “Good, how about we go see the rest of the pack?” His hand went through his hair, pushing the longer dark blonde locks back from his face, looking every bit of Alpha that he was. You could have whimpered right then, sure he wasn't even aware of how it made your stomach clench. You were just grateful that the Little Wolf was preoccupied with her mate to be paying attention to your reactions.

“We better, I’m sure he's forgotten were here.” You move to step out the door, blinking in the bright afternoon sunshine, bouncing off the steps with Steve right behind you.

“Unlikely, his wolf won't be letting him forget I’m here.”

#attack of the winter wolf #winter soldier #winter wolf #alpha steve #amber writes #sweater writes #steve rogers au #bucky barnes au #steve rogers #bucky barnes #shifter steve rogers #shifter bucky barnes #marvel fanfic #marvel au #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x you

302 notes · View notes

johannas-motivational-insults · 4 years

Text

“Friendship” in the Horde

Season 4 raised some interesting questions about how people who grew up in the Horde define friendship. Kyle claimed that his squadmates were his friends, despite how we've seen them bully him, and Scorpia admitted she didn’t even know how to be a good friend. We also saw further developments in Catra and Lonnie’s dynamic that have some interesting implications about their bond, both past and present. However, while these themes became more explicit this season, they are hardly new. The Horde worldbuilding is really quite brilliant, as the writers have been laying the foundation for these revelations by showcasing certain patterns since season one.

This got a little lengthy on me, but there was a lot to consider. The lack of healthy emotional expression and relationship modelling is one obvious problem in the Horde, but the hostile environment has also led to some very specific power dynamics and social structures. These structures, while potentially helpful in hostile environments, are maladaptive in terms of fostering healthy relationships. Ultimately, every character who grew up in the Horde is emotionally crippled. (I’m not even going into Adora, an excellent example, because her repression and communication problems are well-documented and I wanted to focus on characters still in this environment.)

Scorpia

Let’s start with Scorpia. Her revelation that she doesn’t understand what friendship is was a big moment for her, but for those of us who have been watching closely, it’s no big surprise. Scorpia was so desperate for a meaningful connection that she latched onto the first person who showed any signs of considering her a friend, ignoring all the red flags indicating that the relationship was not healthy. Actually, she didn’t ignore them so much as not recognize them, because she didn’t even know what a healthy relationship looks like. To her, the fact that Catra invited her to her room and chose her to accompany her on a mission was enough for her to dub them the Superpal Duo.

Of course, we all know how that went for her. She continued to support Catra unconditionally despite the latter’s tendency to use Scorpia as her emotional punching bag. They did settle into a somewhat more reciprocal and caring relationship after Scorpia saved Catra against her orders during 2x05, proving that Catra was more important to her than the mission (even if that wasn’t what Catra thought she wanted). It’s sad when you think about it, because that was probably the first time Catra ever experienced her wellbeing being prioritized above all else.

Unfortunately, the revelation that Shadow Weaver had gone running back to Adora after betraying her triggered a trauma response and made her clam up again, lashing out at Scorpia and shutting her out even though she had done nothing to betray her trust. It took Catra blatantly attacking and insulting Scorpia when she failed to bring back Entrapta’s recordings (and some well timed reality checks from Emily) for Scorpia to realize that Catra was being a bad friend and she couldn’t win her over by being a good friend.

And actually, Scorpia’s confession in 4x10 that she “thought” she was being a good friend to Catra implies that she had since realized that she wasn’t actually being a good friend to Catra either. She knows the scorpions were a loyal people and she ascribes to that ideal, and she has so much love to give and always tries so hard to be positive, but not setting boundaries with people or demanding a measure of basic respect does nothing for them or you. Also, you can’t ignore the fact that Scorpia forced her affections on Catra, inserting herself into Catra’s life in a way that made her uncomfortable, and continued to ignore Catra’s attempts at setting boundaries with her (which is also very disrespectful). While Catra was certainly the aggressor, she was not the only one who failed in this partnership.

Let’s go back for a moment to Scorpia’s earliest indication that Catra might want to be her friend, when she confides in her and enlists her help coming up with and then executing a plan. Being chosen as Catra’s wingman seems to be important here, and perhaps she was wilfully ignoring how she was the only person who could make Catra’s plan work, but being confided in and trusted was huge to her. And since Horde soldiers are so used to being used, they don’t see it as a red flag. Catra actually flat out said Scorpia was the only person she could trust. How could a lonely gay not interpret that as a sign of being special to someone?

The squad

The importance of trust also becomes evident when considering the interactions among the main squad. Loyalty seems to be paramount in the Horde, not just the scorpion kingdom. Adora defecting to the Rebellion and leaving her squad behind was seen as a huge betrayal, and not just by Catra. Did anyone else want to cry when Lonnie struck back at Adora with “we were your friends” in 1x09? Lonnie was deeply hurt by Adora’s abandonment, feeding into her disillusionment with the Horde. Similarly, when Double Trouble revealed they had double-crossed Catra, her devastated reaction was not that her plans were ruined, but that they had betrayed her. That no doubt was also related to her previous betrayals, but also serves to highlight the importance of loyalty in their subculture.

While all the Horde characters were interesting to watch this season when it came to the themes of friendship, the arc was most pronounced in Lonnie. As I’ve mentioned previously, Scorpia had a short arc over one episode where her rosy worldview was destroyed, causing her to leave (much like Adora), while Lonnie was already a cynic who was aware of the Horde’s imperfections and had to go through more extreme hardships to detach from this unhappy but familiar environment (much like Catra, we hope).

Though she and the boys didn’t leave the Horde until the finale, her disillusionment was already evident in her first episode this season. After Catra berated them for something that wasn’t their fault and demanded they risk their lives to fix it (big Hordak energy), she had her first big revelation: “Catra doesn’t care about us, Adora left us. Everything they taught us in the Horde about loyalty is meaningless. It’s everyone for themselves.” In the next episode, she was frustrated by Scorpia’s naïve enthusiasm and trust in Catra, but it took a big blow up between her and Catra for her to finally decide she was done with her, done with the Horde in general.

Kyle represents a sort of middle ground between Lonnie and Scorpia in terms of outlook. He was not treated well in the Horde, but still believed in the ideals of loyalty and squad unity. He wanted to believe Catra had sent them out on a mission into the Whispering Woods because she trusted them and wanted it to be a team-building exercise. His take on it was: “She may be mean, but we’ve always had each other’s backs. Ever since we were kids.” He saw the squad as his family, including Catra (and previously Adora). It took Catra baring her claws and threatening to attack Lonnie outside of a battle sim for him to lose faith in her.

Bullying, the pecking order, and squad unity

As is clear by this point, the Horde defections this season were driven by Catra mistreating the others, but we can’t lose sight of how mistreatment is a fact of daily life in the Horde. And as I mentioned above with Lonnie, it’s those who were most aware of and desensitized to the mistreatment who had the hardest time naming it and leaving the toxic environment. Call it Stockholm Syndrome, call it the sunk cost fallacy, but either way once you’ve submitted to a system that dehumanizes you, it’s hard to admit that that system is wrong and leave it for a better life. Scorpia and Adora grew up somewhat privileged in the Horde in that they were destined for greatness, so they were never abused overtly and they had a level of protection from power-hungry cadets looking to claw their way to the top of the heap. They were already at the top and couldn’t be taken down, so they didn’t have to bully or be bullied.

The importance of pecking order is much more evident when considering people like Kyle, Catra, and Lonnie. Within their squad, Kyle is obviously the omega of the gang (get your heads out of the gutter, that is not what I mean), the one who gets blamed for everything that goes wrong and is constantly getting picked on. Lonnie shits on him, Catra shits on him, and even Rogelio gives him shit and goes along with the blame game. Despite all this, Kyle considers them his friends, his family.

This starts to make sense when you consider it in terms of intra vs. extra squad relations. Maybe the squad didn’t show Kyle any respect or treat him with kindness, but they did protect him in battle sims (sometimes lol) and rescue him from the spore storm. You also kind of get the impression that although they bullied him and asserted their dominance on the regs, they would protect him if other people tried to hurt him. You might say he’s the pet of the gang – he has no power within the structure and it may not be pleasant, but the structure still offers advantages. Having allies was still good for him even if he was at the bottom of the pecking order within the alliance.

Through a sociology lens, you might say the squad (and the Horde in general, given it’s a military society) follows the stereotypical male model of friend groups with clear pecking orders that everyone buys into (with exceptions for blatant power struggles), as opposed to the stereotypical female model that appears less hostile and more cooperative outwardly but involves a lot of underhanded infighting. (Obviously those are broad generalizations and it can be argued how much of it is nature vs. nurture, but they are observable patterns that boys and girls are socialized into in many human societies.) This ties in interestingly to @jaelav3‘s observations about masculinity equating to strength and femininity equating to power in the Horde (a meta she really needs to write, because it’s brilliant). The hostility of the Horde forces soldiers into these rigid pecking orders in order to find protection in a dangerous place. When everyone knows and accepts their role, it is easier for the squad to function in a unified manner and protect each other, even if it’s at the cost of their mental and emotional health.

Now, when not everybody buys into the pecking order or it’s ambiguous, and/or if there’s a sudden power vacuum, that’s when things get interesting…

Catra and Lonnie, the perfect case study

Catra also suffered a lot of bullying and abuse in the Horde, but in a very different way than Kyle. She was in a unique and kind of contradictory position where she was somewhat protected by her close friendship with Adora, but she was also Shadow Weaver’s favourite chew toy and everyone knew it, which made her a target as well. If Shadow Weaver abused her, she wasn’t going to care if the other cadets abused her as well. Catra’s defensive body language and general distrustfulness and hostility gives the impression that she was bullied behind Adora’s back and Shadow Weaver turned a blind eye, perhaps even encouraged it.

This was all illustrated in 1x03, when Catra and Lonnie butted heads and Catra was forced to back down when two other cadets backed up Lonnie, then Lonnie told her to watch it because Adora wasn’t around to protect her anymore. That one line alone told so much of their story. This was also one of the few times we saw cadets using people from other squads to affect their own squad’s dynamics, as – like I said – that seems to be kept mostly in-house. It may have had something to do with Lonnie’s overall standing among the cadets or how Kyle and Rogelio rank lower in their little hierarchy and seem uninterested in getting involved with the power politics, but I digress.

The argument itself was meaningless, really - the whole thing was a pissing contest, an attempt to assert dominance within their squad’s sudden power vacuum. Lonnie fancied herself the new leader of the squad, and she ended up getting her wish in a backwards way when Catra was promoted out of the squad and given official power over her. Catra, of course, took every opportunity to rub this in Lonnie’s face, perpetuating the cycle of abuse she’d fallen victim to.

The reason they had a power struggle in the first place wasn’t just because Adora left, it was because their pecking order was previously unclear. Catra wasn’t very cooperative and tended to go rogue, so she didn’t slot nicely into the power structure. She was also perceived as lazy, as she had adopted an air of nonchalance once she realized she’d never get the recognition or praise so easily heaped on Adora. (Why try when failing hurts so much?) That being said, she was Adora’s best friend and basically her sidekick, so in a way that made her second-in-command of the squad.

On the other hand, Lonnie was devoted to the squad and was always around to provide tangible support, so she was also kind of Adora’s second-in-command. Combined with her harder work ethic, this also gave her a very legitimate claim to the throne. She was obviously pissed when her teammate she saw as a lazy asshat got promoted, but to her credit she lived up to her own personal ethics, buying in and not pushing back against Catra’s authority until late in season 4.

Despite the power struggle, however, Catra and Lonnie do seem to have a bond. Even if they don’t like each other, they have a certain level of trust in each other. When the princesses invaded the Fright Zone in 3x04 and shit started to go sideways, the first person Catra was looking for to try to get support and/or answers was Lonnie. Then in 4x10 when she was starting to lose her mind amid a lack of sleep and Scorpia’s defection, she pulled Lonnie aside and demanded to know what was going on among the soldiers, what they thought of her.

This was an incredibly interesting scene with some deep implications. Because while it was on one hand an expression of trust in Lonnie, it was also an acknowledgement that Lonnie was one of her bullies and held clout among the people who have demeaned and abused her in the past. It also showed that Catra still has social anxiety and her sense of social power (as opposed to power in terms of rank) is very fragile, which is extremely characteristic of a bullying victim. Also, the fact that Catra said, “Just leave. Like everybody else.” implied that Lonnie leaving would hurt her emotionally, which is rather illuminating.

As for Lonnie, her loyalty meant she bought into the system and expected to Catra to do her job running the place, taking care of the Horde. And Catra certainly succeeded early on, taking territory and increasing productivity. In return, Lonnie was a loyal and obedient soldier, even if she never hesitated to give Catra a bit of attitude. But she became frustrated in season 4 when Catra went on her sunk cost fallacy spiral and ended up making things worse for everyone else as well as herself. This failure was a huge betrayal to Lonnie, and it’s important to note that she wouldn’t feel betrayed or disappointed if she had expected nothing of Catra in the first place. It’s one thing to be kind of a dick about your superior rank, another entirely to endanger your squad/friends (or anyone you are responsible for, really) and run them into the ground as a remedy for your own anxiety.

The breaking point of course was the scene in the locker room in 4x12, when a lonely Catra tried to be “friends” with the squad again and was briefly successful in mending fences a little until she snapped at Kyle and then at Lonnie, calling them pathetic. This prompted Lonnie to shove her, which in turn made Catra bare her claws and rush Lonnie. There was really no coming back from that, even though Kyle intervened before anyone got hurt.

As an aside, Kyle stepping up in this scene was amazing - this season in general was everything I wanted for him. And it’s important that it was him who intervened, because he was really the only one who could ask Catra, “We used to be your friends, why are you treating us like this?” It makes perfect sense for Catra to push back at Lonnie given their history, but Kyle doesn’t have a history of bullying Catra (quite the opposite). And wow, it had an impact on Catra. You could just see the confusion and regret on her face before she brings back the façade of anger and kicks them out.

When the squad left the Horde, Lonnie said that they were done protecting Catra. This assertion is interesting, given their checkered past – since when was anyone protecting Catra? Lonnie bullied her, and none of them protected Catra from Shadow Weaver, not even Adora (though bless her heart, she tried). But this does make some sense when you consider how much of the idea of friendship is based on loyalty, and how important that adherence to the structure is for protection. In Lonnie’s mind, even if Catra was now their commander, they were still a unit in a way. And she saw standing by and obeying Catra to be a form of protection, helping her stay respected and carry out her plans. Lonnie is a good support person, and by removing her support, she was in a way removing her protection as well.

(After the series is over I might just go all out and do a huge-ass meta about Catra and Lonnie through the seasons. I am absolutely fascinated by this relationship, if you can’t tell.)

Allyship

Overall, you can’t help but get the impression that the Horde’s version of friendship is more akin to allyship. It’s protection, unity, loyalty. However, that doesn’t mean they don’t get emotionally attached, it’s more that how you feel about someone is less important than what that relationship can do for you. That’s why Scorpia doesn’t even understand what friendship is. That’s why Catra tolerates “friends” who annoy her, because they’re useful to her (not that she doesn’t get attached in time, but that’s not why she tolerates them in the first place).

Catra’s one of the few people in the Horde who has experienced real friendship, as her bond with Adora was much more emotional than practical (even if it was both). And that explains why she eventually lashed out at Scorpia and said they were not friends when clearly they were by the Horde’s definition. Her and Adora really had taken the friends thing to a different level, and she was missing that dearly.

It will be interesting to watch the interactions between the Horde characters when they are thrown back together in new circumstances, out of the Horde’s rigid power structure. Honestly, the redefining of these alliances and friendships is one of the things I am most looking forward to in the final season.

#spop #she-ra #she ra #meta #the horde #catralonnie #scorptra #catradora #horde squad #catra #scorpia #lonnie #kyle #rogelio #adora #bullying #abuse #sociology

720 notes · View notes

harrysweasleys · 4 years

Text

seekers keepers // h.p

Summary: Hi lovely! I'm not sure if request are still open but would you write a Harry Potter x reader where the reader is a Weasley and is Fred and George Triplet? reader has a crush on harry so they tease her about it (with him being younger and that) but she doesn't know that harry also has a crush on her and is just a cute oblivious mutual pining until they realize their feelings for each other? i really liked this idea in my head and i hope you liked it too, send you my love and best wishes!

Warnings: language? idk

Word Count: 3.6k

A/N: requests are still closed but will eventually reopen! (sooner rather than later, don’t worry!) enjoy. xoxo

———————————

Being a triplet was hard. So very hard.

You loved your dear brothers, they were quiet a blast to be around, but there was just one tiny problem. People quite often never saw you as you. They saw you as Fred, George and Y/N. Your name always came with theirs, just like you did. You’d spent most of your life surrounded by these two boys — so much so that every friend they had was a friend of yours.

Not that you minded, especially when that friend was Lee Jordan, who was quite possibly the most optimistic, bubbly person you had ever met and easily became your best friend as well. No, that you didn’t mind. But what you did mind was that when your younger brother Ron befriended Harry Potter, Fred and George decided to pal him up as well.

Harry was lovely. Awkward, intelligent, and quick on his feet. Always had been, even as a young wizard with little to no knowledge of the magical world.

You had met him in your third year, when he was in his first. Ron had talked about him non-stop since then, really, so when Harry himself reached his third year, Fred and George decided the three of you would take him under your wing and pass on the legacy of the Marauders Map to the adventurous dark haired boy.

And in that moment, when Harry thanked you with everything he had, you knew you were done for. What was it that made you fall for him, you can’t pinpoint. But as the years progressed, Harry just got more and more intriguing. You had nearly lost your marbles completely when he was chosen for the Triwizard Tournament. When he had given your brothers his winnings, your heart completely forgot all the worry it had experienced in the past year and became filled with adoration.

But in your final year, when Harry had founded Dumbledore’s Army to retaliate against Umbridge’s evil reign, you knew in that moment that there was no chance you’d ever find someone as kindhearted as him. And if it was even possible, you feel for that boy even more.

The only thing holding you back from confessing to him was the fact that you were a triplet. Would Harry see you as just another Weasley? Would he see you as just Fred and George’s triplet? Was that all you were? He was the Chosen One, the boy who lived, quite possibly one of the most famous young wizards of all time. How could you be good enough for that?

Fred and George, naturally, knew about your crush from the get-go. Just like you knew about all of their crushes from the moment they bloomed as well. As a triplet, being so connected to your siblings creates this mental and emotional bond — you can easily tell how the others are feeling just by being near them.

They took every chance they could get to tease you about it. Like right now, for example, as the three of you walked down to the Quidditch pitch on a cloudy spring afternoon.

“Oi, there’s your man,” George nudged your shoulder, an annoyingly teasing grin plastered on his face as the three of you entered the Gryffindor tent, “You gonna go tell him you love him and all?”

“Shut your trap, George,” you snapped, glaring him down as you walked to your cubby, “Or should I tell a certain someone about your feelings? No? Don’t want that? Then shut it.”

George raised his hands in surrender, narrowing his eyes at your comment, “Fine, I’ll stop.”

Fred reached your other side, opening his own cubby and grabbing his robes, “Oi, Harry!” he called out, eyebrows raised and a smirk on his face, “C’mere.”

Your heart sunk as you glared at Fred, who was glaring right back at you with an unreadable expression. He was obviously doing this to rile you up, and you’d be lying if you said it wasn’t working.

“What is it?” Harry jogged over, already donned in his Quidditch gear.

Fred looked between you and Harry, placing his hand on your shoulder and giving you a sarcastic smile, “Lovely sis here wanted to tell you something.”

You glared daggers at Fred. If looks could kill, you’d happily be watching him lying motionless on the floor right about now.

“What’s up, Y/N?” Harry asked, clearly nervous. You figured it was just due to the upcoming match. After all, it was for the Quidditch Cup. And it was against Slytherin.

“Uh—” you completely blanked as you turned your attention to Harry, “Just wanted to say good luck. The usual.”

Harry grinned, but it didn’t meet his eyes, “Right, thanks. You too.” He continued to look at you, nodding awkwardly as silence filled the tent.

You had never wished to be further away from the tent than in that moment. You could hear Fred and George stifling laughs in the background. Oh, how badly you wanted to turn around and jinx them.

“Uh, anyways,” you broke the silence, clearing your throat, “See you on the pitch.” Harry bid you a good game once more and took off in the opposite direction. You spun on your heel, turning to face your brothers with pure frustration.

“You two are right gits, y’know?” you glared, storming over with your hands placed on your hips.

“C’mon, we reckon you two just need a bit of a push,” George smirked, motioning a slight push with his hands, doing a terrible job at trying to pretend he was no longer laughing.

You shook your head, turning to your cubby and grabbing your robes, “Don’t blame me if I give you a slight push off a cliff, dear brother.”

They continued laughing as you walked into the changing booth, switching your comfortable, warm clothing for your Quidditch robes. You loved them, you really did, but they barely did the proper job of keeping you warm.

After changing and neatly folding your clothing, you exited the booth and stuffed your clothing in your cubby. You could hear the loud audience starting to fill the Quidditch stands, the heavy footsteps above echoing throughout the tent.

“Big game,” George leaned in beside you, a grin on his face, “Last chance to win the cup.”

“I know,” you grinned, forgetting your previous anger towards him and focusing on the game ahead, “We bloody well better win.”

“Why wouldn’t we?” Fred appeared on your other side, also grinning like an idiot, “We’ve got your boyfriend on the team.”

Your eyes shot in his direction, throwing your hand over his mouth to prevent him from saying anything else. Luckily, you noticed, Harry was too busy talking to Angelina to notice the commotion.

“Oi, what did I say about pushing you off a cliff?” you spoke through gritted teeth, Fred’s wiggling eyebrows only adding fuel to the fire bubbling in your belly. You couldn’t stand them sometimes.

“Freddie, let her be,” George snickered, trying his best to be the better brother in the current situation, “Sometimes, you can’t help falling in love.”

“I’m fed up with you two,” you groaned, slapping a hand to your forehead and glaring back and forth between the two of them, “Not a word, you hear? I’ve had enough.”

They both nodded understandingly, “Fine, we’re sorry.”

You didn’t believe them, but you dropped the subject and focused on the sound of the cheering audience above you, Madam Hooch calling for the teams to join her on the field.

You followed Angelina out of the tent, the deafening cheers being amplified now that you were out in the open. Much to your pleasure, the clouds seemed to have vanished and the bright sunshine was beaming down on the pitch.

Angelina and the Slytherin Captain shook hands, and the match begun.

You flew up to your goalposts, taking your position as Keeper and letting your eyes rapidly scan the field in order to prevent Slytherin from getting on up on you.

Nearly half an hour into the game, Gryffindor was up by seventy points. It was thrilling, but you were beginning to get anxious. Harry was zooming around rapidly, stopping ever so often so scope out and search for the flicker of gold. But it didn’t appear as if he had seen it just yet.

You had found yourself struggling to focus, despite the pressure and weight that this particular match held. You could see Harry zooming by your goalposts out of the corner of your eye, smiling at your whenever you made eye contact. It was pleasantly frustrating, but you knew that the team would have your head on a stake if you didn’t stop Slytherin from scoring.

“Keep your eye on the Quaffle,” Fred’s voice nearly scared you off of your broom, zooming by you to knock the Bludger in the opposite direction.

You scowled, “And you keep yours on the Bludger, you bloody wanker!”

He chuckled as he flew off, leaving you be to continue your duty. Quidditch games were usually nerve wracking, but cup games were a whole new level.

You had won the cup back in your fifth year — one of the highlights of your time at Hogwarts — and you wanted nothing more than to complete your time here with another victory.

“Gryffindor scores!”

The crowd cheered, causing you to grin widely, shooting a thumbs up to Alicia Spinnet who was boasting proudly about her goal. You watched as Harry went over to congratulate her, wishing that you could fly over and be a part of the fun as well, but you sat by your goalposts and celebrated by yourself.

The game started up again, your team up in a decent lead, until you noticed Harry zoom down towards the ground in a determined dive, Malfoy following his move to try and catch the Snitch before him.

You had been so distracted by the neck to neck fight that you nearly let in a goal, luckily stopping it a second before it went in. You tossed the Quaffle to Angelina —

“Harry has caught the Snitch! Gryffindor wins the Quidditch Cup!”

If the audience was loud before, it was nothing to how loud it became after the announcement. Your heart did a gleeful summersault and you left your post, rushing to join your team on the pitch grounds to celebrate.

Harry was beaming proudly, holding the Snitch high in the air. You couldn’t help the smile that rose to your lips as well as you watched him in his element, the pride radiating off of him and becoming contagious.

You felt someone nudge you from behind, causing you fall into Harry’s body with a slight ‘oomph.’

“Blimey, sorry, Harry,” you mumbled, pulling yourself off of him and hiding your face, knowing damn well it was either Fred or George who had knocked you over.

He grinned, clearly unbothered by your fall, “It’s no problem, Y/N. Congrats on the win!”

Your previous embarrassment faded quickly, “Yeah, same to you.”

Before you could register his movements, he pulled you into a bone crushing hug. All the coldness you had felt out and about in the chilly spring air completely vanished, warmth surrounded your body. Whether it was from your flushed state or his body, you couldn’t tell. But it was comfortable and you didn’t want him to pull away.

“Where’s our hug, mate?” Fred smirked, opening his arms wide and facing Harry, who pulled away from you hastily and flushed a light pink.

“He’s only jokin’,”George knocked Fred’s arms down, “How are we going to celebrate?”

You pursed your lips, narrowing your eyes and trying to think of something, “We could just do a small party. The common room couch is calling my name.”

Harry nodded appreciatively, “I’m not in the mood for anything too big, guys. Common room party sounds brilliant to me.”

“Lame,” George scoffed, “But if it’s what our star wants, it’s what our star will get.”

Harry chuckled awkwardly at George calling him a ‘star.’ It took everything in you not to smack your brother over the head.

Sometimes, they knew just how to push every last button.

——

The Gryffindor common room found itself incredibly packed that evening. People were scattered across the couches and the empty corners, practically shouting to their friends over the blasting noise coming from all directions.

Mellow music was playing, curtesy of Lee who had stolen the record from McGonagall’s office that afternoon. Groups of friends laughed and cheered as more and more members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team piled in, each looking as pleased about the win as the rest of the House.

“Oi, Y/N, get your arse over here,” Lee shouted at you from the corner of the room. You groaned, walking over and raising an eyebrow. You loved Lee, but you were currently searching the room for any signs of Harry.

“Yeah?” you asked, not focusing on him.

Lee seemed to notice your distracted state, “Am I not interesting enough for you?” There was no hint of offence in his voice — he seemed intrigued by what you were focused on.

“Huh?” you turned your attention back to him, blinking rapidly to clear your mind, “No, sorry, I’m paying attention.”

He cocked his eyebrow, “Sure. You’re looking for Harry, aren’t you?”

Your eyes shot open and you were nearly certain your face was now completely drained of colour, “Bloody hell, how do you know about that?”

“Fred and George, of course,” he shrugged as if it was no big deal, “Those lads tell me everything.”

“Oh, I am going to jinx them into next year,” you grit your teeth, anger overpowering the embarrassment you were feeling, “They had no right—,”

“Hey, if it makes you feel any better,” Lee cut you off with a chuckle, “They only told me so I could help set you up with him.”

You gaped at him, suddenly rendered speechless, “They — you — what?”

He placed his hand on your shoulder before pointing to where Harry was standing in the corner talking to Ron, “They wanted to set you two up.”

You turned away from Harry and faced Lee with wide eyes. You couldn’t believe that after all their teasing about your crush on Harry and the fact that he was both famous and younger than you, they still tried to set you up with him. And they had even gotten Lee involved. You weren’t sure if you were flattered or pissed off.

“Well, their plan hasn’t worked, has it?” you muttered quietly, “Pretty sure Harry just sees me as Y/N Weasley. His best friend’s older sister.”

Lee shook his head, “Do you not see the way he looks at you when you’re not looking?”

You furrowed your eyebrows, turning your head back in Harry’s direction. You immediately locked eyes before he turned away quickly, cheeks becoming tinted light pink.

“Point proven,” Lee smirked, crossing his arms and leaning up against the wall behind him, “Oh, here they come.”

You were about to ask who he was talking about, but your question was answered when Fred and George appeared at your side, holding a box of products that they were bound to test out on unsuspecting students.

You grinned to yourself, already excited to see if the products would go as planned. The three of you wanted to open a joke shop after graduating. However, you felt yourself too occupied by Harry’s presence to want to be involved with their shenanigans tonight.

“So, dearest sister,” Fred winked at you, “Charming young Harry is sitting there waiting for you, why don’t you go join him?” He nudged you in the ribs, causing you to glare at him.

“Sod off, would you?” you groaned, nudging him right back, a lot more forcefully. The last thing you wanted was Harry to overhear. Sure, it was loud in the common room and you could barely hear Fred who was right next to you, but maybe he’d hear. You could never be too safe.

“Y/N,” George placed his hands on both your shoulders, turning you to face him, “Go speak to him. We’ve been watching you pine for the lad nearly two years now. It won’t do you any good to sit back and let him be. Just go chat with him, yeah?”

You thought over his words, hating the fact that he was right. You wanted to leave Hogwarts with no regrets, ready to live your life to the complete fullest. You wouldn’t be able to do that if you regretted never speaking to Harry when given the chance.

On one hand, if Harry felt the same, you’d get to spend your last month here with him. On the other hand, if he didn’t feel the same, you’d only have a month left before you’d only get to see him on the rare occasion.

The pro’s outweighed the con’s, really.

“Fine,” you gave in, ignoring how the two boys grinned knowingly, shooting each other a thumbs up. You glanced back in the direction that Harry had been previously standing, only to notice that Ron and Hermione were the only ones there.

You walked over, collecting your nerves, and tapped your other brother on the shoulder, “Ron, where’d Harry go?”

Ron shot you a quizzical look before pointing right behind you, “He’s right there.”

You spun around on the spot, heart caught in your throat as you stared into Harry’s eyes. He was awkwardly smiling at you, fidgeting his feet and looking between you and Ron.

“Hey, Y/N,” Harry nodded, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. You thought he looked nervous, but you couldn’t figure out why he would be. If anything, you should be the one nervously looking down at your feet, not him.

The only reason you weren’t feeling overwhelmed was because of what Lee has just told you. Maybe, just maybe, there was a chance Harry was attracted to you as well.

“Hiya, Harry,” you grinned, pushing your hopeful thoughts out of your mind, “Having a good time?”

You flushed at your embarrassing question, but he seemed to slip right past it, “Yeah, I am. I hope you are too.”

“Oh, yeah, it’s great,” you nodded, pursing your lips. The tension was unbearable. You could practically feel Ron and Hermione cringing behind you, and if you weren’t staring dead on at Harry, you’d probably be cringing too.

“Do you uh, want to go somewhere more quiet?” Harry asked, his eyes darting back and forth between your eyes and his own feet.

Without thinking, you quickly replied, “Yes.”

He seemed taken aback by your speedy reply, but he brushed it off and nodded his head up the stairs, starting to walk up. You followed suit, still ignoring the grins that Lee and your triplet brothers were shooting your way.

Once you two reached the opening at the top of the stairs, where it was still loud but reasonably easier to hear properly, he took a seat and motioned for you to do the same.

Under the light of the window, Harry’s eyes had never looked so blue and it was taking your breath away.

You sat next to him, eyes practically glued to him, and smiled nervously, “So...” you trailed off, unsure of what to say.

“I actually want to talk to you about something,” he sighed, looking at you so intently you swore he could probably see into your soul, “I uh, have heard that you may or may not take a fancy to me.”

You had never wished to be dead more than when he said those words. Had your two idiot brothers spilled to Harry how you felt about him? Had they told Ron — who couldn’t keep a secret for life of him — that you had a crush on his best friend? You didn’t think you were that obvious. How could he know?

You ducked your face, hiding the growing blush, and cursed everyone you knew. The pounding in your chest picked up exponentially, uneasiness settling through your whole body.

“Uh — I’m sorry,” you said the only thing you could think of, wanting to smack yourself over the forehead.

Harry’s eyes widened, “No, don’t be sorry. I only brought it up because I—,” he stopped to take a deep breath, closing his eyes, “I actually fancy you too.”

Your heart suddenly stopped completely. Was Lee right? Had Harry actually felt this way about you the whole time?

“You — you do?” you asked, clearly starstuck. You didn’t know what to say. What did people usually say when their crush told them they liked them too?

“Yeah,” he chuckled nervously, running his hand through his hair and shaking it slightly, “I couldn’t find the right time to tell you and I thought I might as well just do it.”

It was as if your entire body had gone numb. It made no sense, but at the same time, you didn’t want to overthink it. He liked you back, and that was the best news you could have received. Despite winning the Quidditch cup, this here was the best feeling.

“I’m glad you did,” you grinned, your voice coming off shaky as the nerves continued rambling through your body, “I probably wouldn’t have said anything, to be honest.”

He chuckled, “So, uh, do you want to go to Hogsmeade together next weekend?”

You nodded before you could even properly process his words, “I’d love to.”

If it was any quieter, you could have sworn you heard George’s forced whisper from down the stairs saying, “We’re the best matchmakers.”

Grinning like an idiot, you rested your head against the wall and continued to gaze adoringly at Harry, who you were now going on a date with next weekend.

There could be no better feeling.

#harry potter #harry potter imagine #harry potter imagines #harry potter one shot #harry potter one shots #harry potter x reader #harry potter reader insert #harry potter fic #harry potter fics #harry potter fanfic

221 notes · View notes

imaginedhaven · 3 years

Text

Rules of Engagement: Chapter Ten

Link to Masterpost

This is the point in my outline where the story really starts to pick up. We’ve almost definitely reached the halfway point in terms of points I want to hit, and we’ll see if that corresponds to being halfway through actually writing as well lol.

But without further ado...

~*~*~

Aelin let out a dramatic sigh as she studied Captain Westfall’s face. “I don’t suppose there’s any convincing you that I simply have one of those faces, is there?”

“I saw you with my own eyes, Your Highness. There is not.”

“Very well,” Aelin replied. She leaned forward, inviting Captain Westfall closer into the room. “I do hope that what I’m about you can stay between us. It could be messy, and I don’t wish to implicate Dorian in any of this.”

“That’s why I came,” he said. “My duty in all of this is to protect the crown prince, and I need to know he’s not under threat from your… antics.”

“He’s not,” she declared. “It’s all rather embarrassing, actually. I fear one of my own countrymen has relocated to Rifthold and is beginning to cause trouble for you. He is an assassin and a trainer of assassins, loyal to no crown but that which is stamped on the coin he makes, and I fear he has overstepped his bounds. You may not be familiar with the name Arobynn Hamel, if your duties are mostly limited to the palace.”

Captain Westfall’s eyes narrowed. “It’s not a name with which I am familiar, no,” he admitted.

“My intelligence suggests that he owns a substantial interest in the Vaults,” Aelin revealed. “By making an appearance there under an assumed name, I hoped to attract his attention so that I could deal with him quietly, before he becomes a problem for Adarlan.”

“Is there a reason that I should believe you?” he asked.

Aelin grinned. “Of course, I wouldn’t expect you to believe me without evidence,” she purred as she reached for one of her bags and pulled out a few papers. “Here you will find copies of directives in his own hand that my agents in Orynth intercepted, as well as correspondence concerning his interest in the Vaults.” Of course, the agent had been Aelin herself, but Captain Westfall didn’t need to know how personal this was for her.

The captain reached for the papers, but Aelin held them up with a teasing grin. “Before I give these to you, I would like your word that this remains as quiet as possible. If Arobynn learns that there is a larger investigation I fear we’ll lose his trail. I’ve already lost him once.”

Aelin hid a wince at that last revelation. That was too much, too personal, and of course the captain noticed the slip immediately. “What is a crown princess doing trailing an assassin herself? Surely you have others to handle that.”

“Precious few I can trust, after an incident two years ago,” she replied, and she breathed an internal sigh of relief when he seemed to accept this. “When Prince Dorian invited me down to Rifthold to affirm our courtship, it was a perfect opportunity to finish this sorry business as well.”

Captain Westfall sighed. “If this investigation of yours endangers Dorian at all, it will gain the full attention of the guard. Until then, this information will be for my eyes only. That’s the best I can promise.”

“I understand, Captain Westfall, and I appreciate your discretion,” she smiled as she handed the papers over to him. He glanced at a few of them before tucking them away—to be more thoroughly examined later, she was certain. “If you have any questions, I am happy to share with you what I know. After all, my hope is that we deal with him quickly and quietly, before word can get out about what he’s been doing here.”

“If what you say is true, then it would appear that our interests are aligned in this matter,” the captain replied. “I’ll return in a few hours to escort you all to the evening meal.”

Without a further word, Captain Westfall let himself out of her rooms as quickly and quietly as he had let himself in.

A few minutes later her door opened again, and this time it was Rowan. “Is the captain going to be a problem?” he asked.

“If I said yes, would you help me deal with him?” She wouldn’t ask him to, of course, but she had to admit she was curious as to his response.

“In a heartbeat,” he replied, and she felt a thrill of surprise at his lack of hesitation. “I do feel I must advise it could cause political complications, however.”

Aelin smiled. “Luckily for politics, I think he’s on our side. He may even help us, though that remains to be seen. His focus was on making certain Dorian isn’t any part of it, and I intend that as well.”

Rowan’s eyes narrowed and his head tilted slightly as his gaze caught on her hand. “Speaking of the prince,” he said, “I may not be overly familiar with human courting customs. However, don’t rings usually come after the marriage?”

Aelin blinked, and then looked down at the plain gold band that was still around her thumb. “Oh. Yes, at least in Terrasen. Dorian said that in Adarlan there’s usually a gift given at the beginning, but he didn’t specify it had to be a ring. He said he chose this because it belonged to my ancestors.”

Rowan seemed unimpressed by this, but didn’t voice any further concerns. Instead, he stood. “For now, we’ll have to assume your new guard friend won’t actively assist us. I’ll circle the palace before the evening meal, and attempt to learn the patterns of castle security. There should be a weak point we can use to sneak out as needed.”

“And if there is, I trust you to find it,” she smiled. “And what of your days? I apologize, but I didn’t consider what you would do once you actually got here.”

Rowan’s eyes grew bright and his lips curled into a grin. “Oh, princess,” he drawled, “did you truly believe you could escape your training simply because you’re in another country?”

Before she could say a word in response he had already left, and she could swear she heard the sound of laughter as the door closed behind him.

~*~*~

Rowan’s amusement faded as he returned to his own room and saw a piece of paper sitting on his desk. The guardsman who had visited Aelin had come to him first and given it to him, saying it had arrived shortly before they did. The letter was unsigned, but the pulling sensation in his chest and the tingling at the base of his neck told him exactly who it was from and what it contained.

A quick glance at the dark seal confirmed his suspicions, and he wondered for a moment exactly how long he could delay reading the letter before the oath he had sworn deemed him to be in defiance of his queen. In the end, though, he decided it wouldn’t be worth it to test the limits of the blood oath on something such as delaying reading a letter.

A quick flick of one of his smaller knives broke the seal, revealing a short and unsigned note.

I have read the signs in response to your reports. Doranelle does not approve of the potential match between Aelin Galathynius and Dorian Havilliard. Do what you can to subtly discourage the continuation of this courtship, and notify me immediately if they decide to proceed despite my disapproval.

Rowan sighed, letting the note fall to the surface of the desk as he considered his options. The tug of the blood oath meant that he couldn’t ignore it altogether, but the command for subtlety granted him some leeway in how he chose to proceed.

It made sense to Rowan that Maeve would disapprove of the potential match. Aelin had a powerful fire gift, though he had done his best to downplay the full extent of her powers in his reports and instead focused on her lack of control. While he was uncertain if Maeve knew the gifts of the Havilliard prince, he knew it was entirely possible that she had foreseen something in their future that would indicate the extent of his raw magic. It was equally likely that she was basing her decision off of the knowledge that magic ran in the Havilliard line as strongly as it did in the Galathynius line. Without directly asking, it was impossible to know, and Rowan had absolutely no intention of asking.

Truth be told, Rowan wasn’t certain he approved of the match either, though he had no valid reason to feel one way or another about it. Perhaps it was the carranam bond that was so freshly forged between them that was causing him to feel so unsettled, or perhaps it was simply that no matter what he did he could still taste the wildfire of her blood. Whatever the reason, he had felt ice flood his veins when he had seen that flash of gold on her finger.

Rowan sighed. Even if their courtship failed for whatever reason, he still needed to deal with whatever this uncertainty was, and quickly. He would not be permitted to stay in Terrasen or in Adarlan indefinitely, and once he had deemed her training complete it was incredibly likely that he would never see her again. Likewise, he would not be able to get around the oath indefinitely by prolonging her training needlessly. Maeve would only send another of her blood-sworn to get a secondary report, and he would be punished all the worse for his defiance.

Gods knew he was already courting enough danger as it was.

Despite the dangerous game he found himself playing, he couldn’t bring himself to regret his decisions. The fire that burned in Aelin so brightly commanded loyalty and admiration from those close to her, and despite his best efforts he had found himself no exception. She was a bright spark compared to the sea of darkness in which he’d found himself adrift, and without him noticing a part of him had latched onto that brightness and didn’t want to let it go. She would be a great queen one day, with or without a consort at her side, and her brilliance only served to highlight the darkness of the queen he currently served.

It really was quite a mess in which he’d found himself, and he found himself longing for the insight of his companions and fellow blood-sworn. Fenrys and Connall would have been unlikely to have much insight; Fenrys had made his disdain of their situation well-known and would be in favor of any form of rebellion, while Connall was more soft-spoken and a better listener than advisor. Vaughan was similar to Connall in that regard, and unlikely to say much of anything. Lorcan…

Rowan snorted out a quiet laugh. Lorcan would have nothing but disdain for him and his current situation. He loved their queen and had spent centuries devoted to her, and would have little tolerance for what Rowan was doing to work around his oath.

Truly, the only one who might have insight worth considering was Gavriel, and Rowan was determined not to bring him into this mess. Matters were complicated enough already.

He had known immediately, of course, that Aedion was Gavriel’s son. Their scents were too similar to leave any doubt, but even without that Aedion’s parentage was evident in his features and in the strength of his heart. The corner of Rowan’s lips twitched into a brief smile; truly, only someone with Gavriel’s immense patience and devotion would have been able to remain by Aelin’s side for as long as Aedion had without questioning her once. What was less clear, though, was whether Gavriel had hidden him away or whether he was completely unaware he even had a son. Either was equally likely; his companion had never once mentioned a child, and it would’ve been incredibly dangerous for him to father one knowingly given his oath.

Whatever the story was, the only safe plan was to carefully avoid saying anything to either father or son, and to leave it out of his reports entirely and pray to whatever god chose to listen that Maeve didn’t ask him anything about Aelin’s cousin. That also meant not asking Gavriel for advice even if he thought there was a possibility his letter wouldn’t be intercepted. No, he was truly on his own.

With a sigh, Rowan carefully lit a candle and burned the note. Then he shifted and flew out of his window to observe the palace walls. Better to focus on the short term, since there was nothing he could do today that would solve his larger problems.

~*~*~

Lysandra let herself into Aelin’s room an hour before the evening meal was to be served, laughing when she saw the stack of books her friend had on her desk in addition to the one she was currently reading. “I see the prince wasted no time in trying to impress you,” she teased.

Aelin smiled and set her book aside. “These were waiting for me already when Dorian led us here. How’s Evangeline settling in?”

Lysandra smiled back, warmth coursing through her. “She’s sleeping right now. Still overwhelmed, I think. Aedion’s watching her.”

Though he had had no real reason to do so, Aedion had fully embraced caring for the young girl just as quickly as he had declared his intentions toward Lysandra herself. Although it had unnerved her when they had first met, she had come to admire his ability to love so fiercely so quickly. It was simply a part of who he was, just as her own need for independence as well as the uncertainty that had demanded he prove his intentions were a part of her.

Aelin’s smile softened. “You know, growing up with him I never thought I’d see my cousin in any kind of parental role. Not through any fault of his own, but he was always so dedicated to the crown and to being a soldier.” Dedicated to Aelin herself, although her friend did the courtesy of not saying as much. “I have to admit it suits him.”

“It truly does,” Lysandra agreed.

“So does this mean you’ve decided to accept him?”

The shifter laughed. “Oh, no, you don’t get to know before he does. I promised him that ages ago. Besides, you’re far more interesting right now than we are.”

“Oh?”

“You and Rowan seem to be close now, after that trip,” she grinned.

Aelin glanced down at her hands where they rested in her lap. “Well, I suppose we couldn’t try to kill each other forever,” she replied. “That would be boring, and I loathe boredom.”

“There’s a great deal of ground between not trying to kill each other and sneaking out together.” Lysandra watched as Aelin’s eyes widened briefly before she regained her composure. Her friend’s tells were subtle, but Lysandra was a master of reading people’s expressions. Her life and livelihood had depended on that skill for so long, after all. Now that skill allowed her to know Aelin was hiding something. “I know you didn’t want to tell Aedion, but…”

Aelin took a breath, carefully not looking at her. “I had some unfinished business,” she said simply.

Lysandra frowned. That was a look she hadn’t seen on Aelin since… “Oh, gods, this is about Sam.”

Aelin went perfectly still where she was sitting, and Lysandra immediately knew she was right. “But that was all in Orynth,” the shifter protested. “What could be happening here that you think is related?”

She watched as Aelin bit her lip thoughtfully, obviously trying to decide how much to share. “Sam wasn’t from Orynth, as you know,” she began. “His former employer is here in Rifthold, as is the person I believe gave the order for his death.”

Lysandra sighed. “I know you won’t tell me what’s going on,” she admitted. “Ever since you brought me into the palace, we haven’t talked about it at all, and I understand why. But does Rowan know what you’re leading him into?”

It wasn’t a lie, even though she could admit it upset her that her friend felt she couldn’t talk to anyone about this. Gods knew she had a difficult time talking about her own life those last few months on Orynth’s streets, and Aelin had gone through so much more.

As Lysandra watched, Aelin finally met her gaze. “Rowan knows everything,” she said simply.

Lysandra could feel her face transform into a shocked expression as her body went numb. “Everything?” she asked, voice sounding faint and distant to her own ears.

Aelin nodded. “I was… out, gathering evidence, and he found me. I explained everything.”

If Lysandra had come into this room with questions about the bond between Aelin and Rowan, that statement alone confirmed most of her suspicions. The only reason Lysandra herself knew about Sam was that she had met the two of them at the same time. For Aelin to have told this Fae warrior about her deceased lover, there must have been more than either of them were willing to admit. “And he didn’t drag you back to the palace and drop you in front of Aedion?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

Aelin shook her head, smiling. “He offered to assist me in my investigations, and in bringing justice to the one responsible.”

“That’s what changed,” the shifter realized. “Isn’t it? That’s what made the two of you stop fighting as much as you did.”

“It is. We… reached an understanding.” Aelin glanced away again, a certain sign that she was still keeping secrets, but it appeared that rather than hiding her own secrets she was keeping Rowan’s safe.

Lysandra decided to allow it, but she had to warn her friend nonetheless. “You’ll have to tell Aedion eventually, you know. He’s worried for you.”

“I don’t want to lose his respect or his trust,” Aelin replied. “If he… if anyone found out about Sam, about what we were planning…”

Lysandra cut her off. “He loves you, Aelin. He’s your family. If anyone would understand, I would think it’d be him.” Even as she said the words, though, she realized that was precisely why Aelin felt as though she couldn’t tell him. Telling Rowan, as upsetting as it must have been, would’ve had fewer possible consequences than revealing something so important to someone who had always been so close.

To her credit, Aelin just smiled and shook her head before changing the subject entirely. “If I’m not mistaken, we have an evening meal to prepare for,” she grinned.

And so the two friends both moved to the closet of Aelin’s room, Lysandra choosing to let it go for now. She couldn’t help but wonder, though, how long this tenuous peace could last if Aelin opted to maintain her silence.

~*~*~

The next few weeks passed with only minor incidents, for which Rowan was grateful. His mornings were spent training Aelin further in her magic, focusing primarily on control while performing smaller tasks as he and Aelin both agreed that it would be disadvantageous to display the fullest extents of her power. They had found a small courtyard on their first morning in the palace and quickly learned to secure it, ensuring that no one could go near them and risk injury. If that also meant the court was on edge about the princess spending so much time alone with a currently-unmated Fae male, well, that only furthered his queen’s command to disrupt the potential of her union with Prince Dorian.

In the afternoons he worked on his reports to his queen, carefully selecting his words so that he was concealing as much as possible while still adhering to his oath as Aelin did whatever it was she normally did with the Havilliard prince. He also rested as much as he could, since his mornings were devoted to training Aelin and his nights…

Every night he and Aelin snuck out of the palace gates and into the slums of Rifthold, each time selecting a different location. Sometimes she brawled with cutthroats, others she bought and sold information like she was born to do it. Once, they had returned to the Vaults and started a barfight that left the entire building trashed and the safe in the office cracked open. As far as he was aware, the owners had decided they would be unable to recover their losses and simply closed down.

She had done all of that to catch the eye of the most dangerous man in Rifthold, and soon they would know whether their efforts had been worthwhile.

Rowan groaned at the sound of someone pounding on his door, hand scrubbing at his face as he stood. Despite his best efforts, he had slept terribly that night, and the noise only served to set him further on edge. He finally opened the door and dodged the fist that had been about to pound on it once more, completely unsurprised to find Aedion there.

The younger male’s eyes were wild and his hair a tangled mess, clear signs of his evident distress. “Is she with you?” he demanded.

Rowan simply shook his head, watching as Aedion’s face fell.

The warrior began to pace. “She’s not in her rooms. No one in the guard can find her, though I did ask their captain to be discreet and it’s possible they haven’t had a chance to look everywhere—”

Rowan decided to give him what little mercy he could. “I know where she is,” he revealed.

“Then you can take me to her, right?”

“No. She asked that I give her twenty-four hours before I send anyone looking.”

“What?” Confusion emanated from Aedion as he froze in his tracks.

Rowan sighed. “Fair warning, you’re not going to like it if I tell you.”

“I don’t care,” he insisted. “Tell me everything.”

“I can’t. Most of it is Aelin’s secret to keep, and not mine to tell.”

“Then tell me what you can!” Aedion demanded, grabbing Rowan’s shirt before realizing what he had done and backing off as Rowan snarled.

With another sigh, Rowan began to speak. “You’ll want to fetch the guard captain before we begin. I’m only saying this once.”

~*~*~

Aelin awoke in a cold and dark room, with no windows and multiple locks on the door. When she moved to inspect them, she stopped short when her wrists didn’t move with the rest of her. She was chained or otherwise bound, then, she realized as she fought the urge to panic.

Her boots had been taken away and she was left in a thin shirt and trousers, every knife she’d had on her presumably gone as well. As a test, she reached inward for her magic, wincing when she only found embers instead of the wildfire that usually lived within her. Iron, then. She was bound in iron.

As she continued to take stock of her situation she was relieved to find she was mostly unharmed. Her head still ached from the initial blow when she had been taken, and her shoulders and wrists were screaming at her current position, but there was nothing beyond what she had expected.

Aelin allowed herself a small smirk as she carefully rotated her wrists as much as she was able. It seemed phase one of her plan had gone off without a hitch.

Footsteps sounded outside her door, audible even to her currently-human ears. She had only seconds to decide how she was going to present herself, then. She carefully shifted back in the chair on which she was seated, grinning to herself as the chains slackened slightly, and crossed her unbound legs.

The door opened and Aelin closed her eyes briefly to allow herself a moment to adjust to the sudden light of a torch without flinching. When she opened them she saw a man closing the door behind himself. Either the locks were on the other side of the door or he wasn’t foolish enough to bar the way should he require assistance, for he ignored them completely.

The man wore expensive, though unadorned, clothing that was loose enough to allow him to move unrestricted. The material of his dark grey shirt was fine enough that it draped along muscled arms, all the way down to elegant hands. He had clearly carefully planned his outfit just as she would have, for the color perfectly offset the long auburn hair he had tied back. When he turned, silver eyes gleamed above high cheekbones in the light of the torch he carried.

“Celaena Sardothien,” he murmured, voice a low purr that barely held any trace of his former country of Terrasen. “What a pleasure to finally meet you at long last. Or perhaps I should call you Aelin, Your Highness?”

It was a calculated move, intended to unsettle her, but she had already expected that he would guess who she was once he looked closely enough. Instead, she flashed him an inviting smile and relaxed further into her chair. “Hello, Arobynn,” she drawled.

~*~*~

Tagging:

@ireallyshouldsleeprn @queen-of-glass @fangirlprincess09 @sassys-world @morganofthewildfire @superspiritfestival @perseusannabeth @sis-it-dont-add-up @jlinez @julemmaes @emilyoftheshadows

#rowaelin #haven writes #rules of engagement

38 notes · View notes

littlemisssquiggles · 3 years

Note

I'm just absolutely sick to death of how the main character couple always seems to get together at literally the last minute in everything, and I'm so worried that's how it's going to be in RWBY with rosegarden. I just wanna see my adorable cinnamon rolls be an awesome battle couple One Time, is that really too much to ask???

…Hmmm…I don’t know about that anon-chan. While I’ve always favoured and been a firm advocate for the possibility of a Rosegarden romance given the focus and development that the pair received over the volumes, I wouldn’t go as far as to say that Rosegarden will be endgame and Oscar will ultimately grow to become Ruby’s partner in love.

I don’t even know what the final payoff of Rosegarden is going to be anymore. Outside of a potential romance, I initially pegged that the main reason why Rosegarden was pushed so much over the last few seasons was because I expected at some point for Oscar to be captured and taken prisoner by Salem with Ruby being the one to lead the charge to rescue him---mirroring Dorothy Gale who led a rescue party to save Princess Ozma after she was kidnapped in the Lost Princess of Oz.

I thought this was what the showrunners were building up to with Ruby and Oscar but as we saw of this season---while we got Oscar being Salem’s prisoner, Ruby was left out completely from that storyline (despite her connection to Oscar and her own connection and history with Salem who formerly targeted her because of her silver eyes in the past).

Instead we got Jaune Arc being the one to lead the charge to save Oscar…despite the fact that prior to V8, Jaune was never really the one to look out for Oscar before. At least not until V7 following Argus in V6. Up until that point, it was mostly Ruby always looking out for Oscar’s well-being and that aspect of their friendship remained consistent even up till this season. But as of this season, Ruby was omitted from Oscar’s side of the story with Salem which I felt was completely off.

Even episodes in, it still bugs me to no end how Ruby was kept away from the Salem side of the PLOT on Monstra for V8. This was done despite her being a target of Salem back in V4; despite her connection to the wicked witch regarding her mother’s death and despite what we know about the Hound in respect to what Salem did to Silver Eyed Warriors including Summer Rose.

Here I was banking on the showrunners using Ruby’s bond with Oscar to give her another incentive to pursue Salem and finally confront her face to face in the flesh. But no. Salem was in Atlas and instead of Salem targeting Ruby too---she only targeted Oscar and…Penny???

Instead of watching Ruby confront Salem over Summer, we got Yang encountering Salem and being the one to call her out for Summer’s death…despite the fact that up until this point, Yang has not spoken of Summer since V2????

Heck, the last time Yang spoke of Summer Rose in V5, she addressed her as “Ruby’s mom” instead of her mom too. This is why I find myself becoming increasingly frustrated with the writing of RWBY. The inconsistencies in some of its most important character and plotline details are so maddeningly bothersome at this point.

But going back to the Rosegarden dynamic----yeah I was expecting Oscar to be made into a martyr to force Ruby to come to Salem. However; as I’ll reiterate, Ruby was completely left out of any subplot for this season involving meeting Salem.

So if all the development between Ruby and Oscar from the previous seasons wasn’t leading into a confrontation between Salem and Ruby for Oscar’s salvation then…the question I ask now is what was even the point of pushing the Rosegarden dynamic in the first place for all of those seasons, huh?

As this volume stands, I genuinely don’t know what the showrunners are doing in respect to the Rosegardening pair anymore. I don’t know what the payoff of the Rosegarden bond is going to be anymore. While I still would love a love story to blossom between our two smaller, more honest souls (since I’d imagine it’d be no different than their budding friendship---wholesome , unique in a meaningful way and absolutely precious with every bit of teenaged innocence as one would expect from these two as they are the youngest members of the team with the most weight on their shoulders in spite of their young age), I’ve been trying my best not to bank too much on that possibility given how the showrunners developed the BlackSun friendship for five consecutive seasons before dropping it in favour of Bumblebee without giving that pair even an ounce of the proper fleshing out that they did for BlackSun.

At this point, it doesn’t even matter to me anymore if Rosegarden becomes a couple in the canon or not. As I mentioned in a previous post, I don’t just like Rosegarden ONLY for the shipping side of it. My admiration for the bond between these two beans stemmed from how much I adore Ruby and Oscar both individually as characters since they are my favourites in RWBY. Thus I’ve been excited to see what the final payoff of their budding bond would be since they met back in V5 as I’ve been observing the show highlighting it over the seasons especially in relation to Oscar’s side of the story.

Now I’m just confused.

I don’t want the showrunners to play games with Rosegarden like how they treated BlackSun. That would honestly hurt me as a fan of both the characters and their dynamic. The Rosegarden hug interruption still bothers me even after the episode long passed.

Some fellow Rosegardening Pineheads and Rosegardeners have urged me to remain optimistic since they’re anticipating Ruby and Oscar’s actual hug moment to come from a very important “meaningful moment” for them to clock off Oscar’s arc for this season---y’know a moment like Oscar unlocking his semblance to save Ruby or something like that.

And as much as I’d love to see that…I dunno. So far V8 hasn’t hit any of the Rosegarden story beats I was expecting. I was expecting Oscar to become Salem’s prisoner and be saved by Ruby since she has always protected him over the seasons AND has her own beef with Salem. That didn’t happen. Instead Ruby spent the majority of the season cooped up at Schnee Manor and was totally left out of this subplot despite all the opportunities that it had for her story and character and that hurt me a lot.

I was expecting Ruby and Oscar to at least share ONE nice heartfelt reunion hug. That’s all I wanted. Just ONE hug between these two beans ESPECIALLY after Oscar returned from being tortured for hours on Monstra and…that didn’t happen either. Instead the showrunners felt it best to have that reunion be the one and only hug to be interrupted and they even framed it nice and pretty to make sure that we the audience got that that hug moment was interrupted. And that bit hurt me a lot too.

I don’t think my poor fragile shipping heart could take another disappointment with RG. Outside of his conflicting feelings regarding not being ready for the merge with Ozpin, the only other thing to look out for with Oscar is him possibly unlocking his semblance for the finale. If Oscar doesn’t unlock his semblance because of Ruby …even though she’s been the character pushed to be of importance to him for several seasons and was the one he even discussed unlocking his semblance with back in V7…

If THAT is not done then…I don’t know what else to say anon. I want so much to remain optimistic for the continued growth of my favourite pair; whatever it may be---friendship, romance, something else or between---I dunno. I want to remain hopeful like I always have but these showrunners are playing games with my beans for this seasons and this squiggly Rosegardening Pinehead just…isn’t having fun anymore =( I’m sorry.

~ LittleMissSquiggles (2021)

#squiggles answers: rwby #oscar pine #oscar and ruby #rwby rosegarden #rwby volume 8 spoilers #Anonymous

11 notes · View notes

tsukikoayanosuke · 3 years

Text

Editing Highlight - I Can Finally Tak About Therapy Arc (where I Basically Copied Half of the Chapter and May or May Not Ramble too Much ^^')

Jonah let out another sigh. Winching, he threw his legs over the bed, slightly trembling when his shoeless feet touch the cold floor. His knees were shaking, but he kept walking toward Rosehearts’ bed, gripping the sheet to balance himself. He looked up to the redhead’s face. His eyes were still close, but listening closely, the breathing tempo was a bit off. “Are you awake, Senior Rosehearts?”

Nothing happened for a few seconds and Jonah was about to go back knowing he was wrong, but then Rosehearts let out a groan. Slowly, he opened his blue eyes, blinking slowly at him. “How did you know?” he whispered, voice slightly cracked.

Jonah shrugged. “A lucky guess.” He walked up closer to his head. “How are you feeling? And please be honest.”

Another groan came out of his mouth. “Terrible…” He tried to get up but the pained sound that came out made Jonah move and help him up.

“It’ll pass. I hope,” Jonah chuckled, trying to lighten the mood as he sat beside Rosehearts.

There was silence between them. The air was awkward. Jonah noticed the way Rosehearts kept clenching and unclenching his fists. Did he want to say something? Jonah himself wanted to say something. Maybe he should start first.

Jonah cleared his throat. “Senior Rosehearts. Can I ask something?”

The prefect looked up, a bit surprised but then he nodded. Jonah nodded back. “Is there something you want?”

Rosehearts tilted his head to the side, brow furrowed in confusion. Of course. That was a weird question. Jonah let out a weak chuckle before twisting his body so he was facing the other prefect for more focus. ”I mean… If you have the chance, is there something you really want to do?”

Rosehearts shook his head. “I’m not-”

“It’s okay.” Jonah reached out to hold Rosehearts’s right hand, frowning when the other flinched. “I won’t judge you.”

Rosehearts bit his lips and looked down, his left hand kept playing with his blanket. After a while, which Jonah thought he wouldn’t answer, Rosehearts finally whispered, “I... I really wanted to eat that mont blanc too...”

Jonah smiled. “You should try that. Maybe we can try making those.”

“Was it fun?” There was a small blush on Rosehearts’ cheek and he averted his gaze. “The baking… I mean.”

“It was.” Jonah chuckled. “Deuce had trouble with the piping and you should’ve seen Ace’s face when he nearly drops the hot pan.” Rosehearts looked confused, but that was okay. Jonah was just happy he managed to make him react to something. “Anything else?”

“I... I like white roses, too.”

“Do roses have different colors other than red and white?”

“They have pink, and yellow too. Also, green and orange. Sometimes lavender, novelty, salmon, peach, and cream. I heard that someone is trying to cultivate blue roses. They’re considered to have magical power.”

Jonah whistled. “Wow, that’s a lot.”

Rosehearts nodded. This time he looked up to him. “I once saw the lined them up to make a rainbow rose arc.”

“Must’ve been pretty.”

Rosehearts smiled a little, feeling nostalgic. “It was.”

“Speaking of colors, what color do you think is good on a flamingo?”

“Well, the Laws of the Queen of Heart-”

“No.” Jonah held Rosehearts’ hand tighter. “What do you think is good for the flamingo?”

Rosehearts blinked again in confusion. But then, he looked down again. “Pink. I like the pink flamingos. It’s natural for them.”

Jonah nodded. “One day, you should teach me how to play that croquet game.”

“Trey taught me when we were kids. I had fun playing with him. I want...” Rosehearts gripped his blanket tighter. His voice began to crack. “I always want to play with them more... But, Mama...” He sniffled. “Mama always says not to play too much... If I play too much, I wouldn’t have time to study... And if I don’t study... Then I can’t make my family proud...”

“Why is that?”

Rosehearts whipped his wet eyes with his sleeve, but the tears just kept on flowing. “The... In the Rose Kingdom, women are superior to men... That’s why... Mama always says that I have to be better... I have to be better and better... If not... I’ll be left behind from the other... And I can’t...”

Sobs began to fill the room. Rosehearts didn’t even bother to wipe off the tears that fall down his cheeks. Jonah pulled Rosehearts down, letting his head rested on his lap. He didn’t mind if his pants became wet, Senior Rosehearts needs this. He probably never experienced this. Never had the chance to actually cry.

“You must be tired, huh?” Jonah whispered, running his hand through Rosehearts’ red hair.

“I’m tired...” he whispered back between his sobs and sniffles. “I’m so tired... I want to sleep... I want to play with the other... I just want to talk with more people... I just...” Rosehearts turned his head and looked up to Jonah. “Is there any rule... Is there any rule for me to get rid of this pain...?”

Jonah knew he can’t answer that. Nobody can, not even the Law of the Queen of Heart. “To be honest,” he sighed as he kept brushing Rosehearts’ hair. “I don’t know.”

Rosehearts bit his lips, disappointed by the fact that he would not be able to enjoy all the things he had said. Forever he would follow his mother’s rules and teaching without being able to take a break. He wouldn’t be able to have a moment like this again. Just to speak everything he wants, being comforted by someone who would listen. By the time they were able to leave the infirmary, both of them probably wouldn’t be able to see each other again. After all who would’ve wanted to befriend the Crimson Tyrant?

“I would.”

Rosehearts looked up again, blinking in surprise. Did... Did he say all of that out loud?

Jonah smiled down at him. “You are not the Crimson Tyrant.” His hand stopped brushing Rosehearts’ hair, but slowly help him sit up again. They faced each other, with Jonah’s hand on his cheek. “You just need someone to guide you along the way. I know you’re a good kid, Senior Rosehearts.”

“You’re a good guy, Senior Rosehearts. You just need the perfect guidance. Therefore, Riddle Rosehearts… You are free from any punishment.”

It is him.

Tears came out from Rosehearts’ eyes again, this time wasn’t because of sadness, but relief. Maybe he could... Maybe he could find a way to make up the time he had lost... Maybe he could finally get rid of this aching feeling in his heart... Jonah pulled him into a hug, and he just let him. He wanted to feel the warmth of someone’s hug. He wanted to have a shoulder he could lean on. He wanted to have a comforting hand, running down his hair, erasing all those anxiety away...

He wants to have a dear friend like him...

To premise this, I am not a therapist or a school counselor. I'm just a regular math education college student who barely understands one-way ANOVA. But, I'm always interested in students' problems, more specifically their mental ones. Again, I'm not a therapist, so my knowledge of this and what I wrote above may come out as shallow.

This fic 'Therapy Arc' in the beginning is a way to fill the few days gap between Riddle's overblot and the Revenge Unbirthday Party. It's essentially the calm after the storm where the reader can breathe for a moment, for the character to take a rest, heal their wound, and just reflect their action. If my memory serves correctly, Riddle is the only victim who pours their feeling in the aftermath. Jamil's speech in the aftermath feels like a rant instead and Kalim is the one who actually reflects on his treatments toward Jamil. Azul doesn't say anything and most everyone around him is convincing him that he's better than he thought he is. but I appreciate the small moment in the museum. Leona doesn't even talk, like at all, about his feelings. This is why Riddle's aftermath is my favorite because of that moment of him telling what he wants (a small moment of vulnerability) and his growth after that is satisfying to watch.

Back to the Therapy Arc, it has some influence from the typical visual novel's 'Character Route' where the MC spends time with a potential waifu/husbando, going through their scenario, solving the problems, and eventually become a couple. My fic Therapy Arc is essentially that. A moment for Jonah to get to know more about the victim, giving them some time to rest, and mending the bonds that were ruined before that. In turn, Riddle becomes more open and more expressive, and it doesn't feel out of character because we have a good reason for it. This is why the next four episodes are important. This is why Break & Gosh is written. I just need these kids to take a break and talk about their feelings dammit!

Also, I'm not trying to change the character, they can still be assholes, but I know they have potential, I just want to explore them. What matters after that is the willingness to change, will they be like Riddle who changes for the better, or like Leona who seems constant but still has that little changes. I just want to see how far I can make them grow. Character development is a major key that I always want to strive for.

This is what I want to try to make my fic a bit different. Personal character interactions for both MC and canon characters, and between canon characters, which is why I have Jonah-Riddle and Trey-Riddle, also Jonah-Leona-Ruggie. Every action will affect them in some ways. And I'm not making this for the sake of shipping. Yes, there are some potential and some are leading to that, but that's never the goal.

In the end TW:OPT is a story about the bonds between these boys. Second chances, forgiveness, growth, and the power of love and friendship. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

Also, Ace screaming in front of Riddle's face just doesn't sit well for me. He still gets his Revenge Unbirthday Party but only after Riddle is calmer.

Also, ALSO! There is a hint of worldbuilding but I won't touch about it yet.

#twisted wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #twst #twisted wonderland fanfiction #twisted wonderland fanfic #twisted wonderland fic #twst fanfic #twst fic #riddle rosehearts #jonah argentum (my oc)

20 notes · View notes

violethowler · 4 years

Text

The Elephant in the Room

In my previous essays, I have covered how the Kingdom Hearts narrative follows Maureen Murdock’s template of the Heroine’s Journey, as well as how various characters and story elements tie in with the overarching themes of the framework. Before I can continue to dig further into other themes and archetypes, there is something I need to address first. While I have avoided directly touching on the topic in my previous essays, I have now reached the point where it is no longer possible to talk about the Heroine’s Journey in full without acknowledging the elephant in the room:

Romance.

In ongoing serialized stories such as TV shows and video games, conversations about potential relationships in canon are often treated as inconsequential to the overall story. Something that is separate from the main plot. At worst, I have seen fans who openly center a ship in their analysis and theories be dismissed and criticized as biased - or worse, delusional. They are treated as being so obsessed with their pairing that they try to make everything about their ship and jump on any excuse to declare that it’s viable in canon.

Among the Kingdom Hearts fandom in particular, this has often taken the form of someone trying to dismiss other fans’ hope for a ship to be canon by saying that the series is about friendship, not romance.

While friendship is absolutely an important theme in the Kingdom Hearts series, to insist that this is mutually exclusive from depicting the development of romantic relationships ignores the continued presence of canon Disney romances in almost every game in the series. In each “main” game where Sora is playable, he has directly or indirectly been involved in getting those Disney couples together in the KH universe. So it’s not out of the realm of possibility for the series to turn the tables and give some attention to his romantic interests for a change.

A story having other major themes is not mutually exclusive from showcasing the development of a romantic relationship. There are many popular movies, shows, books, comics, and video games in which a romantic relationship plays a central role in the narrative but there are still other plotlines going on that are equally as important as the romance. This is especially true for Disney and Square Enix.

The reason why it’s impossible to fully talk about the Heroine’s Journey without acknowledging romance elements is best encapsulated by this quote from She-Ra showrunner Noelle Stevenson about her show’s endgame pairing in an i09 interview after the release of the final season:

“The show’s not a romance show. It is about a lot of things. It’s about choice, destiny, fighting, tyrants, you know, all of these other things. I grew up with so many stories—like sci-fi and fantasy—that I was so passionate about. And it would be considered no big deal to have the hero get the girl and to have a kiss at the end, without it suddenly becoming a romance or ‘Oh, the shippers got what they wanted.’ It was just a part of the story. And to actually see it be a central part of the plot and to fulfill the arcs of the characters in a way that felt satisfying. I really want to take it beyond ‘Oh, the shippers got what they want.’ Like, it’s not just a ship for me. It is a plot point. It is the necessary conclusion of each character’s arc, separate and together.[1]”

While not every story known to follow the Heroine's Journey features a romance for the main protagonist, those that do make the romance an integral part of the narrative. It’s not something thrown in at the end to please shippers, but a central component of the story. Therefore, when analyzing a Heroine’s Journey story, it is vital to acknowledge and discuss textual support for potential romantic relationships in order to have a full understanding of the narrative.

Even if one is not aware of the Heroine’s Journey, Sora’s repeated interactions with Disney romances indicate that there is a high probability that he will be in a romantic relationship himself by the end of the series. Every story I know of that follows the Heroine’s Journey broadly adheres to a pattern in regards to how the romantic relationships of a main character are set up.

By examining the series through these patterns, we can narrow down who Sora’s endgame romantic partner will be.

Because the themes and character dynamics emphasize resolving internal conflict through balance, the Heroine’s Journey lends itself extremely well to Beauty-and-the-Beast, rivals-to-lovers, and enemies-to-lovers relationship dynamics. A major component of the Heroine’s Journey is the main character learning to accept themselves, and since the Animus as a Shadow figure can represent the parts of themselves that they haven’t accepted yet, it is simpler to symbolize that self-acceptance via a romance with the Animus rather than attempting to build a separate relationship on top of the existing story framework.

For these reasons, the Animus is more often than not the main character’s endgame love interest, their feelings for each other made into critical aspects of their respective character arcs. The only Heroine’s Journey stories with romance that I know of where this wasn’t the case are ones where executive meddling resulted in the finale being rewritten to kill off the Animus despite established narrative set up for them to have a happy ending together[2], while the protagonist was either forced into a relationship with a different character or left single.

And like I said in previous essays, the one character in the series who fulfills all criteria for the Animus role within this storytelling framework….

Is Riku.

[Image Description: Sora supporting Riku as they walk toward the ocean on the Dark Margin at the end of Kingdom Hearts II. End Description.]

As mentioned in my earlier analysis, this narrative framework emphasizes the importance of balancing contrasting attributes, which fits in extremely well with Kingdom Hearts’ focus on balance between light and darkness. For stories that follow the Heroine’s Journey in a visual medium, that dichotomy is often incorporated into the characters’ look. Height differences are common, while their color schemes and outfits are designed to make them complement each other. Further adding to the focus on balance between light and darkness, the visuals of the story frame the romantic leads with imagery associating each one with light or darkness to create Yin-Yang symbolism when they are finally in balance.

In Re: Chain of Memories, Vexen openly calls Riku the “Hero of Darkness[3]” as a counterpart to Sora’s role as the “Hero of Light”, and their combination attack in Kingdom Hearts II utilizes moves that reflect both elements. In the Ultimania for the original game, Tetsuya Nomura said that Riku’s look was intentionally designed to balance Sora’s[4], and the contrast between their respective color schemes is maintained in each of their new outfits. In Kingdom Hearts II and Dream Drop Distance, Riku wears white and blue, while Sora in those same games wears black and red. Two different pairs of contrasting colors. Kingdom Hearts III has them both in outfits that are primarily black and grey, but still emphasize the blue and red that have been part of their respective outfits since the first game.

In a Heroine’s Journey, the love interest is typically an active character in the story and usually serves as the deuteragonist. This fits with Riku having been a mandatory playable character in multiple games since 2004. In addition, series producer Shinji Hashimoto said before the release of the HD 1.5 Remix collection[5] that the main focus of the series is how Sora and Riku develop both as individuals and as a pair, which fits with how the central conflict of the Heroine’s Journey revolves around the dynamic between the Protagonist and their Animus.

A common viewpoint held by many fans of the series is that Kairi is Sora’s love interest, and it’s not hard to see why people get that impression. He has sacrificed himself to save her in two separate games now. He’s charged enemies head on in order to rescue her whenever she’s been captured. He even got down on his knees and begged for her freedom when Saix demanded he show how important she was to him. Multiple characters have talked about how special she is to him, and Roxas refers to her as “that girl he(Sora) likes.”

However, there are multiple elements in the narrative that point to them not being the endgame romance. Kingdom Hearts III foreshadows the final shot of them sitting on the paopu together at the end of the game with Sora disappearing from the cover of the 100 Acre Wood storybook, textually framing Winnie the Pooh as a parallel to Kairi. While many fans regarded their sharing paopu fruits in the base game as the beginning of a relationship between them, he still only refers to her as a friend in Re:Mind, and even compares his bond with her to the bond between Ventus and Chirithy.

Sora also does not treat his promises to her with the seriousness he would if they were going to end up together. The promises to return her lucky charm and to come back to her that he makes in the first game are never treated as anything urgent when he awakens in Kingdom Hearts II. Instead, he declines the opportunity to return to the islands and check in with her in favor of searching for Riku. When Kairi says in The World That Never Was that they’ll be together every day, Sora agrees, yet he was content to spend the rest of his life on the dark beach at the end of the game as long as he was with Riku.

Meanwhile, the most consistent theme regarding Kairi in relation to the Destiny Islands trio is the idea of childhood friends drifting apart as they get older[6][7]. This is particularly highlighted in Kingdom Hearts III, with Kairi writing letters to Sora that she never sends, thereby keeping her thoughts to herself. Merlin also emphasizes this when he talks about forging new connections after Sora’s visit to 100 Acre Wood. This parallel frames the ending of Re:Mind as the two of them recognizing they’ve drifted apart and choosing to put in the effort to renew their friendship by spending time together.

On a structural level, her portrayal does not fit with how love interests are typically depicted in the Heroine’s Journey, both as an individual and in relation to the main protagonist. There is no contrast between her and Sora’s designs or roles the way there is between his and Riku’s. Her color scheme is predominantly pink, which does not have the same contrast with Sora’s red as Riku’s blue. Because she’s a Princess of Heart, there is no dark and light contrast, and the combination attack she shares with Sora in Re:Mind only utilizes light-based moves. It took 17 years after her first appearance in the series for her to be made a playable character, and even then, playing as her is not mandatory. They are never portrayed as equals, and she is not an active force in his emotional growth.

The Heroine’s Journey was crafted for narratives revolving around identities that have been Othered by society for one reason or another. Murdock designed her template as a tool to help women deal with being shamed by society for expressing and pursuing their desires. In a similar way, LGBTQ+ people also face stigma from society for expressing and pursuing their desires. So it makes perfect sense that a framework for narratives of people overcoming internalized stigma against important parts of themselves would be ripe for stories featuring LGBTQ+ protagonists of any gender.

As mentioned in previous essays, stories that follow the Heroine’s Journey challenge the biases and blind spots of the audience. A relationship between Kairi and Sora does not challenge anything because she has largely been regarded as the endgame love interest by default since the beginning. Meanwhile, a romantic relationship between Sora and Riku challenges players to recognize heteronormativity within themselves and in the media around them. It challenges people to examine the lens through which they perceive the story and rethink how they look at what’s happening in the narrative.

In summary, the portrayal of Kairi and her bond with Sora is not consistent with how love interests are commonly depicted in the Heroine’s Journey, while the portrayal of Riku and his bond with Sora is. If Sora’s story is going to continue on this storytelling formula to the end, the structure of the Heroine’s Journey narrative leaves Riku as the only thematically viable candidate for the role of endgame love interest.

Now, as some people bring up in conversations about Soriku, there is a potential obstacle in the form of corporate executives. It is entirely possible that Disney will drag their heels and try to force the development team to downplay or remove any open same-sex relationship the series may try to depict. They do not have a strong track record of LGBTQ+ representation that isn’t a minor character who only appears for one scene. Given that their last IP to follow the Heroine’s Journey - the Star Wars sequel trilogy - crashed and burned at the end, executive meddling is my greatest fear for this franchise.

But the thing to keep in mind is that Tetsuya Nomura is stubborn as hell. One of the reasons the long gap between Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts III was because he was holding out for permission to include Pixar movies in the game, outright refusing to start work on KH3 until they were given that go ahead[8]. If you want further proof of how stubborn he can be, this is how he described the meeting where he first pitched the series to Disney in a 2012 interview with the late president of Nintendo[9]:

Iwata: Their ideas were different from yours, naturally…

Nomura: Yes. They appeared to believe that we would make whatever they wanted us to make and came up with rather specific requests such as, "We'd like the game to feature this character." They were really excited, explaining their ideas... To be honest, though, I wasn't really interested in any of them. (laughs)

Both: (laughter)

Iwata: You wanted to borrow Disney's characters in order to make a new game that could compete with Mario 64, and you already had a vision of what this game would look like. I suppose their ideas didn't fit in with this vision.

Nomura: They didn't, no. In the end, I actually stopped a presentation halfway through. We didn't have that much time, and it looked like it was all going to get taken up by various Disney presentations. So, I interrupted them and told them the conclusion by saying, "I won't make such games."

Talk about nerves of steel. This man basically said “we do this my way, or we don’t do it at all” TO MOTHERFORKING DISNEY, AND. HE. WON. If there is any human being with enough force of will to make the Mouse House cave in and allow the depiction of an openly LGBTQ+ relationship in the Kingdom Hearts series, it is Tetsuya Nomura.

I cannot say with 100% certainty how things will go. But everything I know about storytelling patterns and narrative structure is telling me that Kingdom Hearts is a textbook Heroine’s Journey with a romance between Sora and Riku at its core. A relationship between the protagonist and the Animus does not truly begin until the “Integration” stage at the end of the Journey, and we are rapidly approaching the point in the narrative where the two leads traditionally become aware of and acknowledge their feelings in order to be on the same page for the finale.

Sources:

[1] “She-Ra's Noelle Stevenson Tells Us How Difficult It Was to Bring Adora and Catra Home” May 18, 2020

https://io9.gizmodo.com/she-ras-noelle-stevenson-tells-us-how-difficult-it-was-1843419358

[2] “Death of a Dark Youth, Desecration of the Animus”; December 20, 2018. https://www.teampurplelion.com/death-of-a-dark-youth/

[3] Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories. Square Enix, 2007.

[4] “A Look Back: Kingdom Hearts Ultimania Gallery Comments Part 1″; August 30, 2019;

https://www.khinsider.com/news/A-Look-Back-KINGDOM-HEARTS-Ultimania-Gallery-Comments-Part-1-15519

[5] “How Kingdom Hearts III Will Grow Up With Its Players;” September 24, 2013.

https://www.ign.com/articles/2013/09/25/how-kingdom-hearts-iii-will-grow-up-with-its-players.

[6] “E3 2018: Tetsuya Nomura on If Kingdom Hearts 3 Is the End of Sora's Story”; June 14, 2018.

https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/06/14/e3-2018-tetsuya-nomura-on-if-kingdom-hearts-3-is-the-end-of-soras-story

[7] “Character’s Report Vol. 1 Translations”; Jul 16, 2014

https://www.khinsider.com/forums/index.php?threads/characters-report-vol-1-translations.195560/

[8] “Edge Magazine Features Kingdom Hearts III Cover Story”; January 9, 2019. https://www.khinsider.com/news/Edge-Magazine-Features-Kingdom-Hearts-III-Cover-Story-14331

[9] “Iwata Asks: Nintendo 3DS: Third Party Game Developers, Volume 12: Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance], Part 2: It’ll definitely be fun”; April 2012.

https://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/3ds/creators/11/1

#kingdom hearts meta #kingdom hearts theory #kh speculation #kingdom hearts analysis #kingdom hearts and the heroine's journey #soriku

71 notes · View notes

beneaththetangles · 3 years

Photo

Reader’s Corner: Springtime of My Life, Fly Me to the Moon, and the Star Collector Audio Manga

The Springtime of My Life Began with You, Vol. 1

It is honestly times like these where I wish I could collect digital manga in paperback. The Springtime of My Life Began with You is a new digital title from Kodansha, and while I’m excited we have this new story to read in English legally, I’m bummed that I can’t go to the store and pick it up because I want to be able to flip pages to my favorite scenes and dialogue. But enough moping! This delightful volume gives me a lot of When We Shout for Love vibes (which I LOVED!), and I caught myself leaning a little closer to my computer screen to keep reading. I love these kinds of stories where the shy main girl steps out of her shell into becoming a young woman she’s always dreamed of being. Suehiro is such a relatable character and I absolutely love her love for books and desire to celebrate that love with other friends. While I feel Takasago may appear to be the typical popular guy falling for the shy girl, I was actually surprised how this plot point turns into something deeper. He’s not just this super popular dude who just “happens” to fall in love. The bookish aspect, the characters, and the hopeful journey of growing self-confidence makes this a manga one I would recommend and read again! ~ Laura A. Grace

The Springtime of My Life Began with You, Volume 1 is published by Kodansha.*

Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower, Vol. 1

If you’re looking for something like The Apothecary Diaries but with more cooking and less sex, or something like I Will Cook With My Fluffy Friends but with an imperial China flair, then the light novel Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower might be for you. The setting of an imperial China-inspired inner palace is there, as are all the consorts, eunuchs, and an emperor and his servants. However, the focus here is more on Rimi, a consort from not-Japan as she has to deal with an emperor who thinks her country’s offerings of unique cooking “ingredients” are trash and thus worth beheading the poor girl over. This leads to Rimi literally having to cook for her life, with the help of a handsome cuisinologist, a beautiful eunuch with a strained relationship with the emperor, and a cute “mouse” who may be more than just mere ratatouille. Rimi herself is a solid protagonist who does struggle emotionally with the difficulties of being in an unfamiliar environment, but is also plucky enough to deal with everything that comes her way, even including the emperor’s personal problems, and she is very passionate about cooking. Add in some hints of romance and of course some cooking details, and you have an interesting series with a fair amount going on, and one that I definitely want to read more of. ~ stardf29

Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower is published by J-Novel Club.

Star Collector (Audio Manga)

Voice actor Todd Haberkorn’s (Natsu, Fairy Tail) considerable talents are highlighted in this audio version of BL OEL manga Star Collector, in which he voices the two primary characters. With a run time of a little more than two hours, Haberkorn, who also produced the recording, is joined by the always-welcome Caitlin Glass in various roles as he narrates the story of delinquent, chain-smoking Fynn and his budding relationship with classmate and stargazer, Niko. The voiceover work, along with whimsical music and well-timed sound effects, brings life to a story that is inconsistent, at times providing picturesque descriptions that, when combined with the excellent performances, evoke a sense of theater in the listener’s mind, but which at its worst comes across as an amateur’s attempts at clumsy, erotic fan fiction, with characters that feed a romantic’s imagination at the cost of coherent characterization. Still, there are far worse ways than to spend two hours on the road than to listen to Haberkorn’s dulcet tones—just make sure you’re not pumping the audio manga through your speakers while with someone else. Just trust me on that. ~ Twwk

Star Collector is published by TOKYOPOP.

Fly Me to the Moon, Vol. 5

What can I say? Fly Me to the Moon continues to be hilarious and sweet. If you read it, you will laugh, and you will get warm fuzzy feelings. This manga’s pop culture reference game remains strong, with nods to The Six Million Dollar Man, the Sega Dreamcast, the infamous “off course” typo in Final Fantasy VII, and more. “If this were a romantic comedy, disaster would be sure to strike!” Spoiler: Despite being a romcom, the only disasters are the ones Nasa imagines. Then there’s Tsukasa’s sage observation: “With a smartphone, the warlord Nobunaga really could have gone places” (which bears at least passing resemblance to more than one anime out there). Other highlights of this volume include Aya going full mother-in-law before bonding with Tsukasa over video games, Nasa’s junior high teacher getting the wrong idea about Tsukasa, and Tsukasa and Kaname trolling Chitose. It’s a small moment, but also I appreciated the realistic detail of getting confirmation that Tsukasa really was injured back when she saved Nasa from Truck-kun at their first meeting. I heartily recommend this manga. ~ JeskaiAngel

Fly Me to the Moon is published by Viz.*

In Another World With My Smartphone, Vol. 22 (light novel)

So all of the major threats to the world are dealt with, and Touya’s married to his girls… what else is even left to do in this story? Well, for most of the volume, it’s just more of the usual filler hi-jinks: some matchmaking events (including a side-character mini-harem that’s not in the orientation you might expect), silliness regarding the BL-writing princess, and the like. They’re the kind of small adventures and happenings that filled the space between major events in previous volumes. Likewise, towards the end of volume 22, the next major event of this story is revealed, as Smartphone pulls a Fire Emblem: Awakening and introduces children from the future! Obviously, with no huge danger to deal with, they’re just here to play around and meet the parents, but it still adds the the sort of fun little twist that should please anyone who’s enjoyed this series enough to still be reading it over twenty volumes in. ~ stardf29

The light novel of In Another World With My Smartphone is published by J-Novel Club.

Golden Japanesque: A Splendid Yokohama Romance, Vol. 2

Sometimes we need people to come alongside us and show us who we could be and stir our hearts to change despite the adversity we may face from others (or even in Maria’s case, family too). I found this to be very much true for Maria in the delightful second volume of Golden Japanesque: A Splendid Yokohama Romance. Maria is such a sweet character, but due to the constant negativity she has had voiced to her, she’s so fearful of doing the wrong thing, offending someone, or upsetting her mother. Yet that fear doesn’t completely define who Maria is, and I loved seeing her slowly grow a little bolder in this volume! She has a hidden “brass” to her as others have claimed and a little more boldness then even she realizes, though thankfully Rintarou is helping to bring that out (Speaking of, glad he is still his teasing self!). I hope Maria continues to bloom and grow as a person and not just in romance. Seeing her bravery near the latter part of the end made me want to get up off my couch and cheer for her! I could imagine I’ll being doing a lot more of that based on the teaser we were shown for the upcoming volume! ~ Laura A. Grace

Golden Japanesque: A Splendid Yokohama Romance, vol. 2, is published by Yen Press.*

Trapped in a Dating Sim: the World of Otome Games Is Tough for Mobs, Vols. 1-2

You’ve probably seen the reincarnated-into-an-otome-game story premise before (especially the kind that takes place at a school for nobles and royalty), but Trapped in a Dating Sim manages to put some fun twists on that concept. The protagonists of these stories are usually girls, but this book’s MC, Leon, is a guy. And he isn’t reincarnated as a major character from the game, but as a nobody who doesn’t actually have any connection to the game plot. The setting is downright dystopian, with slavery, classism, and rampant sexism against men. The world is also illogical in other ways, due being based on the wonky mechanics and shallow world-building of the game. Leon eventually meets the game’s protagonist (Olivia), antagonist (Angelica), and five love interests (Greg, Chris, Brad, Julius, and Jilk), but something has gone awry. The love interests are barely even aware Olivia exists, instead fawning over some other girl named Marie. Did I mention the snarky AI sidekick, or the fact that since the original otome game included airship battles and giant robots, the isekai world has them too? I enjoyed volume one enough that I dove right into volume two, and while I find Leon obnoxious at times, overall I like Trapped in a Dating Sim enough that I’ll continue reading. ~ JeskaiAngel

Trapped in a Dating Sim: the World of Otome Games Is Tough for Mobs is published by Seven Seas Entertainment.

With the Sheikh in His Harem, Vol. 1

When I first saw the cover and title of With the Sheikh in His Harem, I was admittedly nervous that it would be about a young woman joining other wives/concubines for one (handsome) man. Thankfully my fears were unfounded. It’s probably the first manga I’ve read with an exotic location and I’m totally here for it! Another one reason I found this to be such a compelling story is because of the character Sanagi, who is such a diligent worker. I absolutely love how that even if her situation changes, Sanagi still seeks to be true to herself and work hard. Prince Lui is another fun character; I enjoyed how he is discovering the beauty and joy in life with Sanagi. I like how passionate he is and how he not only wants the best for her, but that he will also do whatever it takes to keep her around (and safe). One of the best parts, though, is how the mangaka includes mini-travel guides. I LOVEDDDD that! It was a very fun feature to this manga and definitely “bumped up” my enjoyment of this story. Overall, I really enjoyed With the Sheikh in His Harem and thought it to be a fun escape and highly enjoyable, recommended to anyone who enjoys reading shoujo manga but is looking for something that combines a good romance and Arabian-like setting! ~ Laura A. Grace

With the Sheikh in His Harem is published by Kodansha.*

=====

Reader’s Corner is our way of embracing the wonderful world of manga, light novels, and visual novels, creative works intimately related to anime but with a magic all their own. Each week, our writers provide their thoughts on the works their reading—both those recently released as we keep you informed of newly published works and older titles that you might find as magical (or in some cases, reprehensible) as we do.

3 notes · View notes

formashimataichi · 4 years

Text

Chihayafuru | Why read it?

This is a comprehensive, non-spoilers review I made of the series on Goodreads recently, and I thought I would leave it here for potential readers as well. As the series will come to a close within the next year or two, there’s no better time to pick up Chihayafuru than now. The following review covers: a basic summary of the series, a brief explanation of karuta, highlighted aspects of the narrative, and common misconceptions. Enjoy!

Chihayafuru primarily follows three childhood friends—Chihaya, Arata, and Taichi—and their journey through karuta, a Japanese sport inspired by one hundred classical poems found in the famed Hyakunin Isshu. The trio bonds over karuta as children before they're inevitably separated due to a number of circumstances, until their paths cross once again in high school. Their efforts to rise to the top of the sport's hierarchy in Japan parallel to their personal relationships with each other, as well as their insecurities, hopes, and fears for the future as they grow up. REP: visually disabled SC. TW’s: verbal parental abuse.

Karuta (or more specifically, kyogi karuta) is a Japanese card game. The poems of the Hyakunin Isshu are transcribed onto two sets of one hundred cards each—the yomifuda, or reading cards, have a full poem transcribed onto them, while the torifuda, or grabbing cards, have only the second half of a poem transcribed onto them. Each player has a territory with twenty five cards, and the object of the game is to grab the correct torifuda as soon as the corresponding yomifuda is read. There are also a few more complex rules, but ultimately, whoever clears all of the cards in their territory first wins. Karuta is a game that tests memorization, agility, hearing ability, strategy, stamina, etc.

The following are aspects of the series that I think really make it stand out!

The expansive cast. Karuta is an all-ages competitive sport. People from all walks of life compete against each other, so there's a broad range of characters introduced across the course of the series: old doctors, married women, high school teachers, elementary students. It makes the personal experiences and learning points of the various characters all the richer. The appearances of background characters are also consistently recurring, which makes the fact that the cast is so expansive even more enjoyable, because no one is truly forgotten or cast aside.

The emphasis on teachers. An experience Chihayafuru especially explores in depth is that of teachers, both literal and figurative. They are constantly brought into focus: as competitors capable of displaying as much persistence as their juniors, as mentors who do their best to nurture the younger generation, and as people of a past era fighting to hold onto what grasp of the present that they have left. Their insight is invaluable to the younger characters that the series primarily focuses on, and they can hardly be called backseat players.

The exploration into parent-child dynamics. Although the angle from which Chihayafuru explores parents and their influence on their children is a little different, it's also a just as valuable portrayed experience that I adore. There are parents who give their everything for their children, parents who don’t understand their children’s ambitions but support them as best they can, parents who demean those ambitions and create everlasting insecurities, parents who use their children’s ambitions for their own gain, etc. I think in that sense, there’s at least one parent-child dynamic that every reader could potentially relate to and find catharsis in reading about as these relationships grow and change.

The series' refusal to treat karuta as insular. A lot of sports manga have a tendency to focus almost exclusively on the sport in question, with no thought given to the characters' real-life problems, their families, or their future after high school. Chihayafuru, rather than making karuta the object of its story, instead makes it the narrative medium by which the characters' life stories are told. It's a series about people and their problems more than it is a series about the sport, which is what best sets it apart. The characters are constantly faced with the reality that they will have to confront their future and the need for a career at some point, because karuta isn’t a sport that pays nor one necessarily super-famous in Japan.

The use of poetry to parallel the events of the narrative. On the surface, karuta is just another card game; but what makes Chihayafuru special is that the poems being read at different parts of the story actually further contextualize what is happening. Although the course of the story can be understood without looking up what each mentioned poem means, there’s no denying that looking up the meanings adds so much more to the experience. It's one of the best Easter eggs the series has to offer, and it also lends further understanding to why players must cherish the cards for what they mean in order to truly love the sport. (Also, if you are into classical poetry and/or the use of nature-associated metaphors to illustrate life, this will definitely appeal to you!)

The analysis of the human psyche. There are several types of relationships and personal problems Chihayafuru explores. In particular, the friendship between Chihaya, Arata, and Taichi is complex. Their love triangle is deeply entrenched within each of their individual relationships with karuta and their individual insecurities, which is what makes it stand out to me as one of the best of its kind. Each of these characters undergoes expansive development as an individual, and yet the three of them are also inextricable of each other in terms of that development and their goals. There’s extensive exploration into what it means to truly love a sport, whether natural talent or hard work is more valuable, how ambition and success achieved at the cost of loneliness is to our own detriment, and whether the expectations of an older generation will define all that we are capable of becoming.

The exploration of playing as an individual versus as a team member. Karuta is a sport that can be played in teams (up through the end of grade school) or individually. Both aspects of play offer different insight into the nature of sports in general, about the characters' personal goals or desires, and about their complex relationships with the support systems that surround them, or lack thereof. There’s a huge emphasis put on the fact that ultimately, while experiences garnered while playing alone are valuable, karuta cannot exist on the backs of isolated individuals alone. Human camaraderie is necessary in order for the sport to thrive. One of my favorite quotes from the series is regarding this complex theme: Team matches are solo matches. Solo matches are team matches.

The women! Among its equally (or more) famous peers, Chihayafuru is perhaps the series that emphasizes on uplifting of women and women's friendships the most (an advantage lent to it by the all-ages, all-genders nature of the sport). There's a vast cast of female characters, and Chihaya and Shinobu in particular are protagonists whose strength is never undermined by the fact of them being women or the object of someone's affections. The women of the series are strong, air-headed, determined, lazy, ambitious, lost. There’s a vast array of experiences illustrated by them, and they’re allowed to embrace their womanhood while also refusing to be limited by it.

Here are some misconceptions about the series that I have seen encountered by both dedicated and casual readers (or viewers):

It's a series with little emotional payoff. As I mentioned before, Chihayafuru is most prominently a series about people and their problems. The personal journeys the characters undergo span hundreds of chapters. I've noticed before that some people give up on the series as a result, because their favorite character isn't where they want them to be within whatever span of chapters, but I want to encourage potential readers to not give into this inclination! This is a series where you need to be in it for the long haul, because the emphasis is that these emotional problems characters face are not ones that they can solve within the span of a few months. Sometimes, they take years (aside from the first volume covering a flashback sequence, the main narrative takes place over the course of three years).

Perception of the love triangle. A lot of people tend to zero in on the love triangle and make it their focus of reading, and especially for readers who attach themselves to Taichi, this often leads to disappointment in where the narrative leads (as he is a character who struggles immensely on his journey towards growth and self fulfillment). It's important to remember that each member of the childhood trio is their own individual! Issues tied to the love triangle are certainly important, but readers often miss out on crucial emotional development for characters because they're too focused on who they think Chihaya should end up with, when that's not even remotely the point. The narrative almost always emphasizes that at the heart of it all, Chihaya, Arata, and Taichi will always have each other. What matters more than the outcome of the love triangle is whether their friendship will ultimately heal and thrive, and whether they will grow as individuals who can support each other rather than act like crutches for each other.

This is not a series about sports! This may be a confusing thing to say, and it may not even be something that other Chihayafuru fans would agree with me on. But again, I'll reiterate: Chihayafuru is most prominently a series about people and their problems. Some matches can span several chapters, while others barely last a few panels. The focus is not so much on the sport as it is on what the sport or match is doing emotionally for the individual. In that sense, it's a bit different from its contemporaries, where almost every important match is covered in detail, from one move to the next. Although there are plenty of moments where karuta matches are covered in detail, don’t be surprised if there are moments where they proceed too fast, and think to yourself why showing the whole match may not have been necessary!

These are the main points that I could come up with, but if you have any questions, feel free to send me an ask on my blog. I hope any part of this can convince you to read Chihayafuru, as it’s a wonderful story that offers a lot of layers to dissect to its audience. There’s always something new to discover with it, and that’s what makes it special.

#chihayafuru #ayase chihaya #mashima taichi #wataya arata #wakamiya shinobu #meta #i'm just tagging them all so it gets spread gjfkgjfkdhl #but uhhh. i hope this is comprehensive #also if you disagree with anything pls send me an ask!#rather than reblog onto it with an essay or something gjfkjhlgdf #since this is a recommendation post i want to keep it clean #and as accessible to others as possible

40 notes · View notes

littlepurinsesu · 4 years

Text

V Watches MagiReco - Episode 9 Review

*Spoilers for Magia Record Anime Episode 9*

I... have mixed feelings about this episode O___O While some parts were definitely well-done (like, REALLY well-done), there were some others that left me a bit underwhelmed and wanting something more?

Don’t get me wrong, by no means was it not a good episode, because it was. But I’m gonna try my hardest to pinpoint why I felt that while some parts were amazing, others really could have been done better.

The phone conversation with Iroha and AI had some top-notch imagery going on in the background. As expected of a PMMM spin-off, every single frame probably has some deep and profound symbolism if you really wanted to pause and analyse each one. There’s never a dull moment on screen; even when all that’s happening is a phone conversation, they know how to hold your attention by giving your eyes a feast with that amazingly trippy and surreal kind of art style that PMMM is known for.

I, too, was a bit disappointed that Madoka and Homura didn’t show up, and by the looks of it, they probably won’t be making their appearance during Sana’s arc at all, which makes yet another major deviation the anime has made. But it’s not that huge of a deal to me because I know they’ll appear at some other point and I’m sure they had their reasons for making this change (hopefully for something better!). I’m happy to let the new characters take the spotlight; I actually think it’s a better choice than constantly relying on the Holy Quintet to build hype and satisfy the fans, which could actually draw attention and focus away from the main plot sometimes. This is how I personally feel, at least ^^;;

That being said, although I didn’t mind Madoka and Homura not being there, I did have some issues with Iroha’s entrance into the Rumour. It just happened... way too quickly and suddenly? I expected a bit more dialogue between the characters, especially since Yachiyo’s expression and comment about jumping off the tower not killing magical girls should have been a big indicator that she knows something (wink wink). I think that might have been a good chance to foreshadow the reveal that comes with Chapter 6, and maybe add a bit more mystery to Yachiyo’s unrevealed past. But the biggest problem I had with this scene was the way Iroha jumped lol. She just... jumped. Like it was no big deal. And it was even weirder because she technically “fell” while reaching out to catch Lil’ Kyubey, but there was hardly any reaction xD She also happened to be in the middle of a sentence while talking to Yachiyo LOL clearly that “jump” wasn’t a planned or prepared one xD I just really felt like the dialogue wasn’t finished or something was cut somewhere in there? They were talking and suddenly down she goes. I know I probably sound extremely nitpicky and this is just a minor detail that doesn’t really make much difference to the story (none at all, in fact), but I just found her apathy somewhat unrealistic and strange, which broke the immersion for me during what should have been a very crucial and heart-pounding moment. Unless Iroha’s just super brave and isn’t afraid of heights at all? Maybe? xD

Anyway, back to the positive stuff! Sana’s backstory was depicted really well. Again, absolutely amazing visuals (I especially liked the use of shoes and dinosaurs). And Sana’s bond with AI was portrayed even better than in the game, in my opinion. It was the most heartwarming and bittersweet relationship, and it’s amazing to see how AI slowly changes in Sana’s company. By the way, their chess game with little puppies and kittens was adorable omg x) I’d love to write more on Sana and AI, but I don’t really have anything specific to say except that I just really, really loved how their relationship was portrayed. Definitely the best part about this week’s episode.

And now comes my biggest complaint: Alina’s debut. As one of the most popular and interesting MagiReco characters, I’m sure the entire fandom was looking forward to how the anime would go about introducing her. I don’t know if I just set my expectations too high or anything, but her entrance was extremely underwhelming for me. And a lot of the reasons were exactly the same as my dissatisfaction with Iroha’s jump: too rushed and too many missed opportunities. She just kind of appeared out of nowhere, and while I do appreciate the “shock value”, what annoyed me was the lack of of a proper “introduction” she got. AI stated her name, and Iroha questioned if she was a member of the Wings of Magius, but we didn’t get any answers. There was no explanation on who she was or what she was doing there, how she got in and what her relationship with AI was. Game players would know, of course, but I’m concerned that anime-only viewers will have no idea what’s going on and probably also have no idea that they just met one of the most important and popular characters of the franchise right now. Essentially, they’re just gonna be seeing a very flamboyant and crazy girl enter and wreck havoc but with no explanation about why she was doing what she was doing or what her connection was with the current situation and the bigger picture of the plot thus far. She just comes in and steals the spotlight, and while game players know that she definitely deserves the spotlight given who she is, anime-only viewers are probably going to be left wondering why this random green girl just came in, who the heck she is, and why everything is about her all of a sudden.

Another crucial piece of information that got lost in that very rushed and chaotic introduction was the fact that Alina actually used the word “Doppel”, which is the first time the term has been dropped in the anime. But again, no one even responded or reacted in any way (at least do the cliche thing where the protagonist repeats “Doppel?” or something LOL), but no she just keeps rambling on and yet another crucial piece of information is lost in the shuffle. What makes it possibly even more confusing is that her Doppel really doesn’t look like the Doppels we’ve seen so far; it could pass as her shooting random bits of paint-like oozy stuff instead, so I’m really struggling to see how anime-only viewers are going to make that connection and put the pieces together.

And if her entrance was underwhelming, then her “exit” was probably even worse lol. She just... disappears xD It’s quite anticlimactic considering how it looked like we were gearing up for Sana vs. Alina, and then she just suddenly gets kicked out lmao. I get that she’ll be back really soon, but it still felt way too abrupt? I think my main gripe about everything to do with Alina’s debut can be summed up in two words: too rushed. There’s so much about her character that’s interesting and vital to the story, but everything either gets glossed over really quickly or just dropped here and there with no response from the other characters. Even if they didn’t want to get into details right away, which is also fine, they could still have slowed down and built up some mystery and tension so that we’ll want to find out more about her because we’re interested and curious, and not because we have no idea what’s going on. Her appearance should have brought some answers to the questions raised throughout the story thus far, but instead she just brought more confusion and chaos lol.

But her entrance wasn’t all negative! They absolutely nailed her mannerisms. Basically everything that makes her so infamously crazy was delivered flawlessly. Her expressions, her movements, her voice, her speech, her word choice... she definitely entered with a BANG and she’s no doubt going to leave a deep impression on viewers, whether they understand her deal or not lol. The voice-acting was also top-notch, as expected of her seiyuu. Alina’s one of those characters where you really need to hear her speaking and see her moving to experience the full extent of her "charm”, and I’d say the anime definitely delivered in that respect and portrayed her uniqueness in a strong and memorable way, so props to them for that :D

^ I really wanted to use this image for this week’s review, but it’s technically Sana’s episode so I stuck with Sana xD Oh, and another thing I definitely loved about her entrance was hearing her saying so many of her lines from the game battles ^^

... Wow I just rambled and ranted for four whole paragraphs about Alina’s introduction, sheesus... Onto some other stuff now, shall we? ^^;;

One of the most interesting things to me about AI was how her appearance changes to become more and more like Sana. This is another example where the anime is able to illustrate things that the game isn’t capable of, and while I’m not sure if it’s a change or I simply missed it in the game because of the static AI sprite, I definitely liked this little detail. It not only shows how AI slowly becomes more and more human, but also highlights the fact that her form resembling Sana implies the influence that Sana has had on her. Sana is all AI has really ever known about humans and the “real” world, and all the human feelings and emotions she gains are because of Sana. It makes perfect sense that when she takes on a more human-like appearance, it’s going to resemble Sana in some respect. The little detail with the crown near the end was also really sweet ;___;

I really do think “mixed feelings” is the best way to describe my overall impression of this week’s episode xD Sana’s backstory and her relationship with AI had me in tears, but Iroha’s jump and Alina’s debut definitely had me raising my eyebrows a few times. I can overlook the Iroha part as just me being nitpicky over a trivial detail, but I really do hope that they step up their game with Alina next week. They definitely did her justice on a surface level, but in terms of her significance and relevance to the plot, not so much. She’s such an important character and her appearance marks a major plot point, so I hope we get the explanations and clarifications needed soon.

I have even higher expectations for next week, since not only is the showdown with Alina something I’ve been looking forward to for a while, but I’m also hoping that they “rectify” some of the issues this week lol. Fingers crossed that Alina gets some better writing, and they continue doing the amazing job they’ve done so far with Sana’s story! ^^

Sorry I’m so much more “negative” this week compared to how I usually am with my reviews, but I was looking forward to Alina’s appearance so much and was really sad to feel any ounce of disappointment :( Hopefully next week’s review will be back to just me fangirling throughout hehe~

#magia record #magireco #puella magi madoka magica #puella magi madoka magica side story #pmmm #fandom #mine #anime #review #magia record review #v watches magireco

35 notes · View notes

thesummerstorms · 4 years

Text

Rev Recaps Hard Contact (Chapter 20)

Final chapter at last!

CW: Violence & blood. Decapitation.

TL;DR Recap: Darman and Etain make it back to the gunship with the injured Atin and Uthan in tow, but Etain refuses to let Zey leave without Omega. Niner lures Hokan into a trap and Hokan is decapitated. Zey offers Etain a choice, but 12 years later the framework still makes no sense.

Beginning Kal Count: 39 Ending Kal Count: 42

This post includes my favorite scene in the book, and has probably double the expected word count because of that. Long-Ass Post.

We open with a Kal Quote. I am ignoring Kal Quotes this far into the game because I am already very informed on Traviss’s opinions, but that does raise the Kal Count to 40 already.

Instead, we focus on Darman writing poetry to a gunship.

:’) Dar has similes and metaphors down at least. Some unnamed clone troopers (white-armored) and a medic come running out and dismiss Darman when he tries to tell them everything that happened to Atin because he’s already adequately marked Atin’s armor. They’ve also taken Uthan, so with, finally, nothing left for Darman to do, he turns around to watch Zey and Etain.

So Etain doesn’t ask who Zey is at all anywhere in this scene, which even with the Force telling her he’s a Jedi and logical clues telling her she’s outranked, you would think that she’d want his name. She also uses his name in her narration later without being told it on screen at any point. So that makes me think they’ve met before this, at least briefly.

On the other hand their greeting is “formal”/ “etiquette” , not Etain being relieved that fucking finally, here is an adultier-adult whom she knows and trusts, so I don’t think they know one another well.

I’m sure the formal greeting vs “scene from a nightmare” thing is meant to be pointed, but whatever, we’re moving on. Well, except, I do have to point out:

The ARC, who I am calling Maze until I have evidence he’s not, takes off his helmet, doesn’t say shit to Darman, just stares at him. I don’t know why that makes me laugh.

Valaquil departs off the gunship, Darman praises Jinart, and Dar hopes the Republic will keep their word to the gurlanin because “they deserve it”, but we’ve long passed the point where I gave a shit about the gurlanin.

Zey’s priority --> mostly tactical, get this shit show of a mission over, but does try to reassure Etain

Etain --> where are my people???

I love how Dar expects Etain to “soften” because he knows that she longs to be confirmed as having worth and value, has learned this even after a very short mission, but Etain is also deeply loyal and her priorities have shifted.

Um, Maze, buddy? You want to chill?

OH OUCH MY HEART.

We as readers know that their helmets were shut down by the EMP, but here’s Darman, assuming that he’s just lost another half a squad and that just like Geonosis, he’ll never know for certain what happened to them. The flashback is heartbreaking.

Etain’s ability to use Force-sense is so weirdly inconsistent and plot-selective in this book, but I love her already being able to tell from a distance that Omega squad is okay, even to tell where they are. This is the precursor to her being able to feel Darman “across star systems”, but on some level she’s formed some version of this bond with all of them.

And you know, no one in this book ever explains why the Republic wants Uthan so bad, but knowing from Order 66 that Palps wanted to use her for his personal goals always pisses me off.

Darman has become familiar enough with Etain and her expressions that this expression immediately sets off his “oh shit” radar, and it’s not even the first time.

The one boot on the gunship and one on the soil is actually a nice tiny bit of symbolism- caught between what the Jedi expect of her and what she’s learned under fire from Omega- if you chose to interpret it that way. And I can actually sympathize with Zey’s annoyance here because Etain, tactically, is being pretty stupid here. If Uthan dies before they can get her proper care, if they can’t get off the planet, then it’s all for nothing.

But. I wouldn’t want her to react any other way. This is exactly my favorite moment of hers. (Which is why I have the entire damn thing highlighted before anyone calls me out for that lmao.)

Listen, Zey, you know ilu, but bringing up her dead Master in a less than complimentary way was supposed to... do what exactly for your argument? He also completely ignores Darman’s attempt to keep the peace, but we just upped our Kal Count to 41 with the talk of Etain’s loyalty being a mirror.

Again, tactically pretty dumb I’m sure but oh holy hell do I love it. Especially that underlined bit in red. “Darman thought she had changed her mind, but that wasn’t Etain at all.”

Darman desperately not wanting Etain to be targeted by whatever Jedi mind powers he thinks Zey is about to use on her. Darman thinking about how Zey doesn’t know Etain at all, that Zey is taking 100% the wrong approach, but if Darman was just allowed to talk to her-

That bit in red? That and the response Zey’s about to give are two of my favorite lines in the entire book.

Zey gives in. Darman tries to get Etain to stay anyway, I think because he’s worried about the fallout of this moment landing on her, although it’s kind of too little too late for that. But Zey, as tactically expensive as this could be, as annoyed as he has been, is still proud of Etain.

It’s just one little tiny moment that says so much about Dar and about Etain and even about Zey. That little moment of pride lets me think they were better suited to Master and Padawan that maybe either of them recognized or would later accept.

Unfortunately, we now have to leave my favorite scene ever and return to Hokan’s POV. Hokan is injured and doesn’t know where Fi has gotten to, but as expected, Niner’s screaming has caught his attention.

Hokan has this weird double consciousness, this deeply rooted aversion to mercy or anything he sees as weakness or softness. It’s still a really... delicate little moment?

Listen, I know that Niner’s not wounded and this still is upsetting.

Kal Count 42.

Hokan still is vacillating between thinking of Niner as an it more than a person, and “abomination” and thinking of him as a Mandalorian man who’s been unfairly used. Again, it’s this weird moment of double think, but it works in Niner’s favor, because nobody wants to know what would have happened if Hokan hadn’t taken the time to talk to him, or had decided to use the lightsaber.

The sheer irony of Hokan avoiding the lightsaber because it was too much like what happened to Jango on Geonosis... and then Etain decapitates him... with a lightsaber.

Niner says he doesn’t like to complain, but. Also, still very fair. And a much needed laugh after that last moment.

“Probably okay” Fi.

Also This raises SO MANY questions because Mando armor is supposed to hold off Jedi if it’s beskar, but this isn’t, which means Fi spends the rest of the series hoarding and or wearing armor that isn’t beskar.

Etain is trembling, we’ll find out from her POV, because she’s still reacting to hearing Niner scream like that, and it rattles her deeply. Which again, I sympathize with, because it makes me upset.

But I mean, even if Traviss forgets it... there has to be a lot of emotion to being handed Kast Fulier’s lightsaber. He was the only one who was kind to her in the Order, at least from her point of view, she failed him, he was tortured to death with that lightsaber, and now it’s being returned to her. This is the closest she’ll ever get to closure, because as with Omega’s original brothers, there are no bodies left for burial. KT completely ignores the weight of that... but I think about it a lot.

Darman being gentle with her and praying that Fi doesn’t open his mouth makes me feel soft, though. And Niner gives her a tiny bit of the acknowledgement/respect she's wanted.

We go to her POV next:

Same, Etain. Same. Again, as she points out... Niner’s heard that before. And none of the rest of the squad who was there for it even really seems fazed?

She’s also guilty about not being Jedi enough of course, but that’s nothing new at this point. And I’m sure Fi and Niner can appreciate her not-Jedi instincts. (Or does Zey’s tacit approval mean actually her stunt with the gunship is rooted in some Jedi ideals, even if it’s tactically stupid? idk.)

Maze & Zey take turns doing the pacing, confirmed. It’s just funny because earlier Zey was annoying the shit out of Niner by pacing and breaking up the holos at the briefing.

ZEY BACKSTORY! ZEY BACKSTORY! IDGAF ABOUT KAL; WHERE’S MY ZEY BACK STORY.

Ahem.

Anyway, the conversation turns to what actually happens to Etain now. She is, after all, an orphaned Padawan in the middle of war time.

“Etain could think of nothing worse than staying on Qiilura, with its terrible memories and uncertain future... She was alone again and scared.”

Okay, so we can debate what Etain’s duty is in this scenario. As Zey says, she knows better than anyone what Qiilura is like, and that’s info Zey can’t attempt to replicate, even if he reads Omega’s reports. It wouldn’t be the same as having Etain’s first hand experience.

But that... still leaves Etain “alone”, “scared”, stuck on a planet that is “full of terrible memories” and is associated deeply with at least three months of trauma. And she’s going to accept that, because she’s being guilted with the Jedi values of non-attachment and duty to the Republic. But I don’t know that this is the healthiest way for her to finish out her training. Like. Do the Jedi not have counselors or something, Zey?

It’s just... really sad to me.

a) Note to self about the body language here again. “dug her nails into her palms”, tried to compose herself.

b) oh shut up about what’s expected of soldiers; not everything has to be comparative

c) I had a conversation with samwichwilson about this scene that’s probably still in the tags somewhere.

But the framework of this choice makes absolutely ZERO sense to me.

Like, my kingdom for the AU where Etain chooses to go with Omega squad and spends the next nine months learning to blow shit up with them. I have no idea how that would work since she’s a Padawan and still technically needs a Master’s supervision, but I would enjoy it. She would definitely be happier than she’s gonna be on Qiilura.

But... while the narrative is presenting this as serious-ish options... like, there’s no way Zey would have actually go through with that last one, right? Point about working undercover aside, if he’s offering to let one clone stay, he might as well offer all 4, and he specifically narrows it down to one of the squad, not all of Omega.

So while Etain typically seems to believe an even lower opinion of her than KT actually writes (to match her low self-esteem) I have to assume that she’s right and she’s being tested here? But Zey, what the hell were you going to do if she said yes and asked to go with Omega? Much less if, when she accidentally caves here in a moment, Darman had said yes and agreed to stay with her.

She would have failed the test, and you can’t really let them start dating under your supervision... so what are you gonna do about that?

Anyway, it doesn’t matter. As unfair as it is, the choice is not really a choice, and Etain has been guilted into remaining in this place she hates. She’ll probably even end up working with Jinart again. Bleh.

Etain seems to be taking these options as if they’re really, truly serious here, but as a reader, it’s incredibly hard to see them that way. Because again. What’s Zey gonna do if she fails the attachment test.

(Unless you want to argue that the predilection with Jedi non-attachment and rules breaking is 100% in Etain’s head here and her guilt and mental conditioning just won’t let her see that Zey is 100% truthful and kindly letting Etain go off with these people she’s become so desperate to attach herself to. But that doesn’t fit like... any canon about the Jedi Order. Or ANY of Traviss’s writing tbh.)

I mean, at least Etain knows herself pretty well here. Her brain is going “abort abort, abort” but can’t actually stop her from doing the stupid thing. She’s also trying to communicate to Dar that this isn’t her abandoning him, this is her still caring.

Listen, you can point out Dar’s lack of experience and still miss all the “child” bullshit. And honestly, his response to her saying that she’ll miss him comes off... almost a little cold. “You’ll miss me. I’m going to die in ten years, but don’t worry about me because I’m going the closest I have to home.” Maybe he’s trying to reassure her / also not to admit to someone who is now an Officer again that he’ll miss her too. It just sounds weird, even if we get the line that he was “considering it seriously.”

Or I guess what really annoys me is that in this moment that should be really personal and painful for these two characters, this just sounds... weirdly preachy?

Also...like... again Etain had to know that it wasn’t an actual option, even if the rest of the series will pretend that it was, including when she looks back at it in Triple Zero. But I’m choosing to read it more as a mark of her desperation- being so desperate and lonely, and, yes, a little trapped that her emotion overrides what she knows to be true.

💔💔💔

There’s some lines about how she’s a better Jedi Forever now because of “a soldier faith in her” but I have mixed feelings about those because they’re followed up with a bunch of bullshit about how she should learn from him because he had accepted his fate and had no self pity, and I don’t have time for ANY of that. You are allowed to feel bad when bad things happen to you, even if you are a woman or a Jedi.. Fuck off, Traviss.

Sweetheart.

Listen, you know and I know that she’ll see them again, she and Darman will fall in love, she isn’t trapped on Qiilura, a place of her nightmares, forever.

But it still feels like a real fucking downer of an ending.

Still, we have now officially made it to the end of Hard Contact. I haven’t decided if I’ll make posts for Triple Zero or if they’ll follow this format if they do. (Your thoughts/comments/feedback are welcome, as always.)

Final Kal Count was 42, which is actually impressive for a 20 chapter novel in which he DOES NOT APPEAR.

#Rev Recaps RepComm #Republic Commando #Hard Contact #RepComm #Etain Tur-Mukan #Darman Skirata #Niner Skirata #Atin Skirata #Fi Skirata #Arligan Zey #Captain Maze #I think

17 notes · View notes

mahalkitajohnnysuh · 4 years

Text

Housemates (Jaehyun)

Of course, I had to do my version of having Jeong Jaehyun as a housemate. Expect fluffy happenings and realizations on his part in this piece.

As always, here’s a Jaehyun GIF for you. I just want to poke and squish his cheeks here!

Mahal ko kayong lahat! :)

–––

Summary: Like the previous ones, this story is inspired by this post. There was one item that I wasn’t able to write about, and one of the scenarios here is inspired by real life. Can you guess what that is?

POV: This has a mix of both 2nd and 3rd POVs since I wrote them at different times.

Word count: 2,100 + words, which is the longest I have for this series.

Warning: Truthfully, I wrote this piece sort of a prelude to their affair, so expect that he’s quite sweet with Essie on this.

–––

There was a time in Essie’s life that she and Jaehyun were housemates before their affair. Maybe that experience was why the guy fell for her but still didn’t do anything about it until it was too late.

Essie stayed in Jaehyun’s old place when he and Taeil were still housemates. This time, Taeil was staying with Donghyuck since they became closer over time. Not that the old roommates weren’t friends anymore; they just grew apart.

Essie and Taeil loved bonding over music and cats. Jaehyun will observe them from afar, with his trademark dimpled smile, as they played with kittens while listening to Frank Ocean.

“Are you guys hungry?” The pink-haired guy interrupted their moment, moving closer to them so they will notice his presence. “Yeah, we are!” Essie and Taeil said at the same time, which made them giggle afterward. “Aren’t you hungry too, Ying?” The girl cooed at the white kitten on her lap. “I’m sure Yang is hungry!” The guy beside her said, stroking the fur of the black kitten he now carried in his arms.

Jaehyun chuckled at his housemates before grabbing his coat. “I’ll get you your favorites, please wait for me.”

“Okay, bye! Take care!” Both voices said at the same time, along with the soft meowing of kittens.

\\\

“I can’t sleep,” Essie whined one evening when she appeared in Jaehyun’s room. The girl was dressed in men’s pajamas, which she probably swiped from Johnny.

“How can I help you sleep?” The guy asked, motioning her to come further into his room. She walked hesitantly towards the small chair beside his shelf of knick-knacks, her eyes roaming all over his room.

“Your place looks cute and cozy, it’s very you,” she commented before taking a seat on said small chair.

Jaehyun had just closed the door to his room and was now standing in front of Essie. “Thanks sweetie, that’s very thoughtful of you,” he sat across from her on the edge of his bed, “but what would you want to do now?”

She assumed a thinker’s pose – hands cradling her chin – and hummed. “Are you watching anything right now?”

“A series? Let’s see,” he got his phone and checked Netflix. “Just re-runs of ‘Friends’. Would you like to watch it with me?”

She nodded eagerly, and he set up the television. “Thanks, dude. Maybe watching a series might make me sleepy,” she mumbled as she was now seated on one part of his bed.

“No problem, my sweet Essie. I’m happy to help you out,” he said as he plopped on the space beside her as the iconic introduction of the series now played.

A few episodes in and Jaehyun noticed that the girl was yawning. “Okay, I think you’re sleepy now,” he whispered. She gave a small nod before yawning loudly. “Thanks again, Jay. Sorry if I had to crash here just so I can be sleepy.”

“Anything for you, sweetie.” He squeezed her hand, which she returned. “Just drop by when you have a problem or something.”

She got up from the bed and waved silently before leaving his room. This was one of those moments that he felt weird and warm at the same time – he was slowly falling for her.

Maybe he should stop giving her pet names? That might be the reason why he found her more attractive each day. Or maybe he’s just making an excuse because he has always been interested in her from the start.

\\\

“Good morning, honey,” Jaehyun greeted Essie, who looked like she needed more hours of sleep despite sleeping for more than the recommended 8 hours.

“Honey? Yesterday I was sweetie,” she mumbled while rubbing her eyes. “You never seem to run out of nicknames for me, eh?”

“Yup, as long as I think of anything to call you, I’ll call you that.” He said, smiling at her as he handed her the box of cereal. “Do you want anything else?”

“Milk, of course. How am I supposed to eat this without it?” Essie shook the box in front of him in annoyance.

He chuckled at her reaction and handed her a carton of milk from the fridge. “You just want some milk, okay then,” he muttered.

This got her laughing as she remembered a viral video of him studying for his English oral exams, and netizens highlighted that line as one of his iconic moments.

“Don’t you dare bring it up, honey,” he grumbled as he got a bowl and spoon for her.

“But that was really funny, Yoon Oh!”

His only response was a glare, which didn’t faze Essie at all. Instead, she burst into laughter and even slapped the table for emphasis.

\\\

“You poor baby,” Jaehyun said, brushing the strands of Essie’s hair away from her face. “I’m sorry you had to see me like this, usually I get better with meds and rest,” the girl replied, her voice a bit hoarse.

Essie got sick during the second week of her stay in Jaehyun and Taeil’s apartment. The latter was out, and it was just her and the former at home.

At first, she was just sneezing more than usual. Then, she was coughing. Soon enough, she had to wear a facemask despite her aversion to them. Jaehyun noticed that her eyes were red and watery as well.

When he decided to check on Essie a while ago, he saw that she was completely wrapped in her comforter even if the AC was on. He took matters into his own hands, and that’s why they ended up like this.

“I heard from Johnny that your mom always made you warm calamansi juice whenever you got sick,” he said as he reached for the mug on her bedside table.

She got teary-eyed as she took the mug from him. “You didn’t have to do this for me,” she said before taking a sip. “I just needed more rest, that’s all.”

“You’ll get better faster when there’s someone to take care of you.”

Essie felt her insides warm up even more with Jaehyun’s comment, and she drank more of the juice he made her.

“I also made some chicken noodle soup. Everything to get your flu out of the way, okay?” He flashed her a smile and patted her thigh.

Essie was practically burning from his touch but did her best not to show that she felt such. She smiled weakly and went back to sleep.

Despite Jaehyun’s good intentions, his actions made Essie’s temperature go higher.

“And I thought you’ll be better faster with my warm offerings,” he said the following day as he got the thermometer from her.

“I’m sorry, but as I said, I need more rest. But you can make me more of that warm calamansi juice though. Please?” She attempted to bat her eyelashes at him, which made Jaehyun giggle.

“Alright, I’ll make you more of that. I’m glad you love it though,” he said as he kissed her temple.

“Thank you, Jay. You’re the best. Your future girlfriend will be so lucky to have you,” she murmured before closing her eyes.

He took one last look at her before going to the kitchen to prepare her drink.

Yes, Essie. You are lucky to have me.

\\\

One of the things that irked you when you were roommates with Jaehyun was that he always had to put his game on loudspeaker.

You groaned as you heard the sound of machine guns, a female voice screaming ‘Victory’, and conversations between the characters of the game.

“Jay, would you turn it down a bit? I’m trying to focus here,” you said as poked your head in his room.

He was intent on killing the enemy on the screen, and it took him a couple of seconds to respond to your request. He paused the game and flashed you an apologetic smile.

“Sorry about that, I’ll just lower the volume. I like playing games with the sound on, it gets me more in the mood.”

You rolled your eyes at his answer and closed the door. You hoped that he would do what he said since even your noise-canceling headphones weren’t strong enough to block the noises of his game.

Maybe it’s about time that you replace that Bose hand-me-down from your sister.

\\\

You were surprised to see two shirts, a pair of joggers, and a hoodie that wasn't yours in your hamper.

You examined the tags and realized that these clothes belonged to Jaehyun. Your rooms were just beside each other, with your hamper placed outside your room.

Since it was just outside, it was convenient for you to dump your laundry there. And maybe he thought the same since he also did with his clothes on your hamper.

“Jay…” You started as you poked your head in his room again. He was lying on his bed scrolling through his phone. He wore his headband, a black shirt, and a pair of shorts. He looked comfortable in his position – a bit of his torso showed as the shirt had risen.

“Yeah?” He said without turning around. When you squinted your eyes to look at what he was doing, you chuckled. He was responding to tweets from friends and fans.

“May I ask why you put some of your laundries in my basket?”

This got him to stand up immediately and rush to the hamper outside your rooms. “Sorry about that, Essie,” he said, plucking out his clothes that you have now carefully folded on top of yours. “It’s just easier to dump them there than put them in my hamper inside the room.”

“Then why not just put your hamper outside then? I’m sure ours don’t look the same,” you said, peeking into his room for his basket.

Shoot, it looked like yours as well – a wicker basket with a lid and linen lining inside.

“No wonder you’ve been putting your clothes in mine,” you groaned as you dragged the basket outside. “I’ll just put a label on which one’s yours and mine, okay?”

The guy nodded, opening the lid of his hamper and dumping his laundry in. “I’m sorry, Essie. This won’t happen again.”

But of course, it still happened again even if you have put labels on your baskets. Maybe that’s just the way it is with Jaehyun – you’ll always have to segregate what’s yours and his in your respective hampers.

If you only knew that he liked to put his clothes in your basket so it could mingle with the scent of yours. It’s a little bit creepy and sweet at the same time – who knew that the heartthrob has a side like this, eh?

\\\

“I can’t sleep again.”

You said, hoping your voice was loud enough for him through the wall.

“Well, we can talk if you want. Do you want to come here?”

Jaehyun answered, his voice loud enough to penetrate through the wall.

“I’m too tired to move, dude. My legs feel like jelly from bowling, which I haven’t played in ages.” You rubbed your thighs in hopes that they feel a bit better.

You heard him chuckle first before he responded to your comment. “Well, I suppose you didn’t stretch first?”

“Ugh, I forgot about that! I’ll take note of that next time. Anyway, what’s up with you?”

“I’m trying to compose something. I’m talking to you as I sit in front of my keyboard right now.”

“Do you have any chords in mind to start it off?”

“Well, here it goes,” he said, pressing a couple of chords that sounded melancholic. “That seems fitting for an emotional song,” you commented. “Have you thought about the lyrics?”

Your conversation continued even if there was a wall separating you two. Taeil wasn’t at the apartment right now as he went home to his parents. Lately, it’s always you and Jaehyun who hung out. You missed Taeil since only the two of you loved cats, and he brought Ying and Yang home.

As you and your housemate worked on a song together, you couldn’t help but feel warm inside. The AC in your room was on, but the warmth blooming inside you rendered it almost useless. It was nice talking to Jaehyun like this. You were able to collaborate on a song together even if you didn’t have to see each other’s faces.

Before you knew it, sunlight peeked in through your curtains. “Wow, dude. We’ve been talking for what, four to five hours straight? It’s now 5 in the morning.”

“Yeah, Essie. I can’t believe it as well,” he chortled. You heard the sound of a chair being moved and took it as a cue to wrap things up.

“Thanks for talking to me, Jay. And I’m glad that I was able to help you out with your composition.” You said, now lying on your bed instead of sitting on it.

“Sure thing, anything for you. Like I always say, right?” He never seemed to stop chuckling at his words, but you didn’t let it get to you for now.

“Good night, Jaehyun.”

“Good morning, Essie.”

–––

FIN

If you guessed that having warm calamansi juice while being sick is inspired by real life, then you are correct. I miss it though!

#nct drabbles #nct au #nct 127 fanfic #nct 127 scenarios #nct 127 au #nct jaehyun #jeong jaehyun #jeong yoonoh #jeong jaehyun fanfic #jaehyun imagines #jaehyun scenarios #jaehyun au #yoonoh fluff #yoonoh fanfic #jeong jaehyun au #jeong jaehyun scenarios #jeong jaehyun imagines

8 notes · View notes

ruby-x3 · 5 years

Text

Is Suyin the child of Toph and Sokka?

Disclaimer

I tried to get as much "true" information as I could, but because I have not much time I couldn't write down all the sources. If you need the proof you can easily find it on the internet. Sorry for that!

This entry has more or less comments of my personal opinion. Therefore I want to highlight those parts in purple.

EDIT: It's confirmed, that Sokka and Suki lived in the suburbs together after ATLA. It was confirmed at ComicCon in an Q&A. Thanks to the cautious readers out there :) I hope you still enjoy the text!

OK so I have stumble upon this theory on what happened to Sokka between the end of the comic arcs (yet) and the beginning of LoK. Therefore I found a pretty interesting picture on Instagram from somebody, who tries to find evidences that Toph and Sokka have a child and it's Suyin Beifong.

As you can see the person compares to facial and body proportions as well as skin tone and similarities. Especially between Sokka and Suyins children you can see a good amount of similarities. I can also agree with the point that Suyin have facial similarities to Sokka. For example if Tophs and Sokkas gene mixed, the skin tone would fit and Suyins heart-shape face would make sense (Toph has a square/round face and Sokka a pointy/oval face shape). The only thing I can't agree is the shoulders? I mean they are just shoulders? You can't tell that they are pointy because Suyins shoulder pads are obviously pointy, but Sokkas are just normal shoulders?

Anyway the text also says that Suki died in a war (it's right according to Google but please feel free to correct me) so there could be room between Sokka and Tophs relationship.

So first of all I want to show parts of their relationship in ATLA and then slosh to the comics.

As we look in the past, there are some points where Toph and Sokka seems to have a bit of chemistry - at least they really care for each other.

At the beginning I want to take emphasis on their trust to each other. In the episode "The Runaway" in Book 3, Sokka and Toph both shared some deeper feelings and fears of themselves to each other. As friends, this is nothing new, but still a great moment of their bond.

Secondly on the war ship Sokka protects Toph and holds her. Again, this might be just a thing between friends. I see nothing romantical here, because she can't see the falling rocks and she also did the same thing for Sokka at "The Serpent's Pass" in Book 2.

Now going a bit deeper Toph is holding Sokkas arm as they went back to Ba Sing Se with Appa and Aang after he went to the Guru in the episode "The Guru". The same thing happened in the boat in episode "The Painted Lady", book 3. Usually Toph doesn't need a helping hand on Appas back as you can see in various episodes. This hug also doesn't seem very much on a friendship base but more "romantically". It's a pose you would usually do to a crush in my opinion.

Especially in the last picture after Sokka went to master Piandao she showed affection towards him because she missed him after only one day. She mentioned her missing of Sokka before in the Gaang part, which nobody else did. They also tent to trust each other, because they didn't fear to tell their fears and problems. She even complimented his drawings (more as a joke), but they sort of picking on each other a lot. Toph also seems to have some sort of interest in Sokka, because she thought he saved her in the water and wanted to thank him with a kiss.

To be honest this isn't very typical for Toph. Yeah, she has also shown some affection towards Zuko, when they tried to find Aang. But this was more like a kind act, because she wanted to know Zuko better and also have some adventure with him as everybody else. She also tried to kiss "Sokka" on "his" lips, because in the she goes towards them with her face. This is no "this just naturally happens", because animators take a long time to animate a few seconds. Therefore there was an intention in this gesture by the creators, leading Toph to show her soft spot, which she usually doesn't show. She rather appear very hard (like a rock) and is indeed very badass, but you should also consider her as a girl with an interest in boys. She also should have hit puberty around this time and the only guy in her reach would be Sokka. We should not forget that Sokka is kind of a "playboy" - at least he has the most relationships in the Avatar universe. Therefore I guess that she could have developed some feelings for him. Maybe not that far, but I think the interest was definitely there.

There are also some other scenes where their bond shows even further, but first I want to talk about the characters. I am mainly talking about characters who have something to do with the Tokka theory.

First I want to talk about Sokka

Well you all know Sokka as an womanizer. He had an relationship with Yue, a princess, he is/was together with Suki and even in the comics girls had interests in him. In LoK we literally know nothing about him. We only know that he was a member of the console in Republic City and that he died before we started with LoK. This is very strange, because people thought he would have been with Suki, but she wasn't mention in Lok at all. I want to talk about her later.

Did Sokka has an interest in Toph?

Well, I can clearly say no, at least in ATLA. We can see by the pictures and gifs above that Sokka had just friendship in mind. For the fact that around this time he was in a relationship with Suki, he never thought of Toph as a potential girlfriend. He was just protective around the last arc, Zosins comet, because they were friends. Nothing more, nothing less. But, as I said, I can still sensor some deeper trust between them, because Sokka told her she saw her mother in Katara, which is an information that he is not keen to speak about. This changed a bit in the comics. Their interaction were much more present than in the series. A part of it is because in the series the focus was much more in Aang. In the comics they clearly have more interactions because the focus on Aang serving the world went away. In the comics we saw a lot of Zukos life in the palace and how he rules. We also saw an arc, where Aang wants to spread the air nomads culture to volunteers and the issue of avatar Yangchen. Katara and Aang being busy being a couple and Sokka and Katara only come together at the Northern Water Tribe.

Sokka has, more or less, plenty of time to spend. Because Suki worked as a guardian for Zuko, Sokka didn't see Suki on a regular basis. Sokka helped Toph with her metal bending academy in "The Rift". Also in "North and South" Sokka spend time with Toph.

He even gave her all the soft toys he won. In my opinion this is a typical boyfriend-girlfriend moment. He could either safe the toys for Suki, but he doesn't. Also in other situations he wants to be with Toph instead of Aang and Katara. He also praises Toph a lot during the series, in the comics and even LoK you can see it (when Yakone was in court).

Now to Toph Beifong

As a blind, but a noble girl she was restricted by her parents to do any physical work or task due to her disability. She also hates authority and rules a lot due to her parental treatment. In the series, she was 12 year old, as old a Aang. In this time many hit puberty, so I guess she may be in puberty at this time and also starts being interested in the opposite gender. So therefore I asume she had a crush on Sokka for various points (examples) mentioned above.

In the comics she found a metal bending school. For the first time in "The Rift" we get to know a man called "Kanto". Toph seems interested in him as well.

If you read the comic you'll notice that she clearly wants to be in a relationship with him. I think he is the father of Lin, because he has the same hair colour and wavy structure, but also her father's name is "Kanto".

As we know in the end Toph was chief police officer of Republica. She has a second child, who is Suyin.

So indicating Sokka might be the father, what speaks for this theory?

After the end of the war we were sure Sokka and Suki will be together and in the comics and they still are. But according to Google Suki died in a war, so this leaves space between Sokka and Toph to develop a relationship. Furthermore Suki seems to have an interest in Zuko.

This actions are, sure, typical for friends, but the way of acting is hinting of an interest. I wouldn't deny it, it seems very suspicious. Also Zuko might be interested in Suki as well, since they see each other everyday and Mai broke up with him. He still have eyes for Mai, but it's not completely impossible that Suki and Zuko are attracted to each other since they both are very badass and attractive characters.

Due to this fact the relationship between Sokka and Suki might have crumbled, leading to a break up between them. We don't see something about Suki in LoK at all. She just vanished completely, which could indicate her early death. Since we know that Toph has interest in Sokka and he maybe has an slight interest as well, so they might end up. The next hints are in the appearances of Suyin and her children, who have heavy resemblances to Sokka.

I first thought that the resemblance is heavily of Bataars side, the father of them. But the similarities to Sokka are stronger!

Therefore, many of those "evidences" turn into the favor of their relationship.

But what speaks against ist?

So basically I would say that it's still a theory. Sure, there are times where many theories were right, but not all. We are speaking in a room of speculations and as you might know, not all things are clear. For example the mother of Izumi is not mentioned at all. There are things, which should(?) be a mystery or unimportant. Maybe for spicing up the series or just because the authors forgot and made it up later on (e.g. J. K. Rowling does every time).

Secondly I want to point out the strong friendship game everyone has in ATLA. We see a lot of strong friendships, which could hint an interest towards the person, but mostly they stay friends. One reason could be that the authors want to trick us, but I believe that the friendships are strong on purpose, because they want to show how much they connected through the war and their experiences. Having a bit of a chemistry does not mean anything relationship wise, that's nothing new for sure.

Third and lastly I want to stick out that shipping everyone with everyone not only does ruin the atmosphere and characters of the series, but also makes it kinda awkward? I mean I have nothing against ships, but not every gesture means love from both sights. That's nothing new in the avatar world and also in ours. We sure can make ships like we want, but if they happen to be real, wouldn't that make their whole situation somehow awkward? Like Suki and Zuko having "an affair" while Sokka doesn't know anything. Or Sokka making up with Toph because they don't have anyone left. This does not only bring some people in a bad light, but also let the characters seem desperate. I wouldn't like the idea that Sokka lost a love again or that Zuko and Suki cheating, which speaks against their natural characteristics and morality.

So what's the conclusion?

As mostly seen many aspects are based on personal preferences. There are hints of a relationship, but there must not be one. This vision is clearly on the readers mind whether they believe the signs or not. I wouldn't doubt the possibility of their relationship though. There are evidences and there is no clear story in between the comics and the start of LoK. I wouldn't mind if Tokka really happened, but I would not state it as the only truth. As a Tokka shipper, I would say yes to the theory, as a Sukka/other Sokka-ship shipper probably no. Feel free to have your own opinion based on this entry, because that's only what's left.

1K notes · View notes

digiconjurer · 4 years

Text

Examination of Mahoutsukai Precure’s ending

(A majority of this was written close to a year ago before Star Twinkle Precure wrapped up and Digimon Adventure Kizuna came out. If you enjoyed this, maybe pledge to my patreon so I can write more articles like this)

The second-to-last episode of Mahoutsukai Precure is an oddball, unlike a lot of the other ‘endings’ for past Precure seasons. Usually, the big focus is on just beating the big bad and then goodbye. But here, goodbye is not the end. It’s just the beginning. So let’s talk about it.

The final battle of any series, whether that be a book, an anime or even a fanfic is usually meant to be the highlight of that particular work. A culmination of all the events that have occurred in the story with usually higher production value than everything that’s come between - the last hurrah for the team before they head onto the next season.

But as final fights go for Pretty Cure, Mahoutsukai can be described as … alright. In a season where the focus has been less on exciting battle scenes and more on world-building and the characters, the next couple minutes are no different. Sure, it’s refreshing to see the multiple forms of our heroines in one fight. But it doesn’t really show off all the tools that our heroines have. For example, where are most of the minor linkle stones that the show made a huge deal out of in the early half? Surely those could have come in handy here. Maybe they could’ve been used as additional attacks for giant Hana’s bracelet shooter. Just throwing it out there.

But with the dust now settled and the big bad, the time has come for both worlds to separate. But not before Riko casts just one more spell - a promise that the pair will meet again. They click their wands together and part via the forces of gravity pulling them to their respective worlds. Which is the perfect time for Mofurun to monologue about talking to Mirai. Then Riko joins in - talking about the prospect of them meeting up again, with Mirai finishing it all up by promising to meet both Ha-Chan and Riko on the sixteenth-day moon (the 16th lunar day). All while the background goes down the same street - starting with a shot from the first episode and progressing through the trio's journey. Then just Mirai running at the end.

Of course, there are a number of things to compare this ending too - a lot of yuri manga/anime endings (the ones where the main couple doesn’t get to be together/or one of the girls decides to marry to guy), Princess Kaguya, even Mahoutsukai Sally (one of the first magical girl ‘anime’ and also created by Toei Animation). Heck, a big part of previous Pretty Cure seasons endings is that our heroes need to give up their powers and fairies with the promise that maybe they would get to see each other again. Time marches onward and that doesn’t happen, our heroes growing up. Sure, Hugtto did play with the idea of said precure coming back. But then promptly deaged most of them. Because then they could use all the stock transformation sequences.

But there’s another parallel I would like to highlight here. One that probably is going to sound bizarre and out of left field. So let's talk about Digimon Adventure Tri of all series. More specifically, the relationship between two of the side characters - Daigo Nishijima and Maki Himekawa.

Part of the first group of humans to ever ‘visit’ the digital world on top of ‘saving’ it from the Dark Masters, they too were forced to give something up - their digimon partners. Unlike the chosen children/digidestined that would come after, their digimon were to become the Sovereigns - guardians of the Digital World… who get themselves captured and do jack shit in their home universe. Like seriously, by the time that the events of 02 occur, all of them are trapped away and the digital world is once more in disarray

For Daigo, that meant letting Bearmon become Azulongmon and actually be plot relevant. But Maki isn’t as lucky. On top of serving as a vessel for Homeostasis, she is forced to watch Tapirmon be turned into a beam of light in order to defeat the Dark Masters and seal them away for a couple decades. At least till the cast of Adventure comes around and solves that problem.

Much like those precures, Maki and Daigo’s ‘ending’ serves as a beginning for their story. What little is actually shown on screen.

In the years that followed, the pair finish their education, go to university, graduate and get married. We'll come back to them later, though. For now, let’s return back to Mahoutsukai Precure and see what it has in store for us.

Following a commercial break, we return to 'adult' Mirai heading out for the day. She takes a ride on the subway to a university in Tokyo for her classes. You know, normal adult stuff.

At first glance, this sequence makes it appear that Mirai has ‘given up’ on the promise to reunite with her friends and accepted that such magic could not work now. But, we are only seeing the events at the 'end' of this separation. It's quite possible that she spent a good chunk of time holding on to that belief at first, in the hope that she can reconnect with Riko and everyone else. But eventually, she accepted (partially) that it isn't time yet for them to reunite - that a time will come for both the magic and non-magic world will one day be reconnected.

After her classes, Mirai meets up with her friends to watch a soccer game that involves one of them. While late, she does get to see one of her friends score a goal and cheer him on.

After, our heroine walks home with two of her friends. One of which gets to the subject of seeing witches back in middle school. While Mirai doesn't really say anything in regards to the matter, it does spark something within our heroine's head. A reminder of days long gone.

Back at home, Mirai gets to helping her grandma make dinner. At some point, the conversation turns to talking about how Mirai still carries around Mofurun and how her grandma brought the bear to Mirai in the hospital. The conversation shifts, with Mirai thanking her grandmother for the stories she tells and telling her that’s the reason she met ‘her’.

Let’s take a second to take what she just said. Not Riko. Just ‘her’. While her memories of Riko and time as a precure are still there to an extent, huge parts of it have fallen through. Even in the face of everything laid before, she holds onto that wish - that spell she and Riko cast all those years so they could

But then Mirai’s grandmother says this:

Earnest bonds are your strength. When our feelings are connected, we can make miracles.

On paper, that sounds vaguely philosophical, but not world-changing. But in the context of our finale, it’s the message that Mirai needs in that moment.

After a quick dinner, night falls on the town. Our heroine, however, is suffering from insomnia. There’s no music playing in the background. Just silence. In a way, we’re put right into Mirai’s shoes.

Mofourun takes a tumble, forcing Mirai up. She puts her teddy bear back up, only to be greeted by a gust of wind and a view of the 16th day moon. Which layman’s speak means it's the 16th lunar day on top of it being nearly midnight. Our heroine gets excited, but tries her best to temper her expectations.

She makes a beeline for the park as things come to a head. This is to some extent, a routine that occurs once a lunar month.

What follows is Mirai walking ‘backwards’ - in a more of a metaphysical way. For most of this episode, her mind has been in the present - pushing forward into an unknown future. But here, she ‘fills in’ those on the other side of everything going on. Well, just Riko. But you get the idea. Then she finishes it off by telling the sky above that there’s so much to tell her as the music finally picks up. But it’s not the regular ost we’re treated. No, instead we get the movie insert song ‘Two Wishes’ as Mirai says she misses someone and heads off. Finding a tree of sorts, she gives it a touch. Which results in a strangely-shaped twig falling out. Picking it up, she gives it a wave and says the magical words. Nothing happens. Unsatisfied by this outcome, she drops the twig and begins to make the walk back. But as our heroine reaches the end of the path, she remembers her grandmother’s words. Which is timed for the midway point of Two Wishes so that you hear ‘I want to tell you, I love you’ Damn. You’re not being subtle here, Toei.

Mirai makes the journey down the path once more, culminating in her picking up the twig and running over to the fountain. Once there, we get another

She says the magic words in front of the fountain, asking to see ‘you’ again. So she shouts that sequence again. On her third shouting, Mirai pauses mid-sentence and get treated to a sequence of images from the first episode. The fourth is a similar story, with images from episode 3 through 5 and 9 appearing. From our perspective, it looks as if the show is recapping previous episodes. But from Mirai’s, she remembers all of this to the best of her abilities. It’s like watching something you were in, but you’re manning the camera instead of being in the shot. Or something like that.

Mirai shouts her spell twice more as tears begin to fall down. This time, we are treated to a scene from episode 22 (our main couple reuniting with Ha-chan) and a scene from episode 44 (where our trio are holding hands and cuddling together). After, she repeats the magic words and asks to be together with ‘you’. Then it’s back to her default cry as the scene of Ha-chan disappearing from earlier in the episode plays out once more. Followed by the scene of our heroine looking up at the rainbow. Back in reality though, Mirai shouts the magic spell seven more times. After the seventh uttering, she tells the ground she just wants to see ‘you’ again and finishes off with a please.

Silence comes over the area once more as our heroine’s pendant flashes and the twig becomes covered in light. Mirai says the magic words one more time, followed by ‘Riko...all of you...I want to see you again…’

With that we have silence once more as the twig reverts back to. Mirai is then caught by complete surprise, which is the perfect opportunity for a gust of wind to come out of nowhere and launch our heroine up into the sky. Just ignore the fact that she would be suffering from a possible lack of oxygen, but no matter. At the very least, the silence has finally been broken by the arrival of music.

She falls for a couple seconds, only for the train to make a sudden appearance. Then it’s back to falling. Except oh no! Mofurun is hurtling back towards the earth. Strangely, the music comes to a stop and a hand grabs hold with a solid thud. Well, something like that. Then…

You should be more careful. Mofurun is your dear friend after all, right?

A smile forms on Mirai’s face. We flip around and find ourselves staring down an adult Riko. All while ‘Sparkling Star 100 Carats of Miracles’ starts up.

Their pendants flash one more time, allowing for the pair to float out and have what’s essentially a romantic embrace - confirmation of their wish grant as we’re treated to a shot of the train’s passengers.

Back with Mirai and Riko, they do a twirl around in the air. The tears begin to fall as they continue to hug. Which is promptly interrupted by Mofurun complaining that they were smushing him. So the couple break away and let the teddy bear have some air. Following their arrival is Ha-chan. Which culminates in a twirl around with a still picture of our trio. The episode ends, but there is still much to talk about.

Let’s back up a little though - post the battle and the sequence of Mirai growing up. Outside of the voices of people talking, the music is missing for most of the episode. Taking the place of it is ambient noise - the sound of a subway, people chatting in class, etc. Stuff like that drives home the big difference between the Mirai of the pre-time skip to that of the Mirai of the post-time skip. Mirai has accepted (to an extent) that Riko is gone for now. Instead of moping about how much she misses her girlfriend and trying to continue living within the memories of those ‘good times’, Mirai chose to move on with her life and seek out new opportunities in the non-magic world. Paradoxically though, she still held onto some parts of those days long gone. Her hairstyle is more or less unchanged, with the same to be said about her choice of clothes. All the same people still hang out with her, even taking the time to cheer each other on at sporting events or just engage in small talk. Mofurun still tags along wherever Mirai goee. But now they are just a passenger in their messenger bag instead of their one and only ‘friend’ that gets treated to one-sided conversations.

Even the music heard here adds to this feeling. Two Wishes is a song about a person telling their lover all the things they love about them and how much they want to confess their true feelings to. To connect once more after such a long time after realizing far too late their feelings the first time around. While the person singing the song with Mirai is Mofurun, they are serving as a stand-in for Riko in that moment.

Sparkling*100 Carat of Miracles on the other hand, is a bit more of an enigma. Sure, it sounds like a song just announcing the various forms our two heroines can take. But within all of that, a line is repeated - ‘Future Miracle! Shine strong and bright like a diamond’. Once near the start of the song and then right near the end.

Judging by the moment it starts up, the song is more in reference to the event that had just passed - the future miracle finally happening after both parties have waited patiently for that one moment to see it occur.

And while we don’t get back to Riko until the very end of the episode, we can surmise that she went through a similar process as Mirai did. She stuck around with her friends and colleagues, trying her best to make it through life. While we're never actually told what upper education (High School and College/University) is in the Magical World, Riko was able to score a job as a teacher. All so that when the time comes, she is able to see Mirai again on top of possibly helping support her financially. Like some sort of old married couple.

Which brings us right back to Maki and Daigo. When we last left off with the pair, they had gotten married. Such bonds were sadly not meant to last, however. The marriage fell through and they got a divorce after an unknown number of years

Now in Tri proper, they’re two divorcees reluctantly working together as part of their government job. Said job involves keeping an eye on the cast of Digimon Adventure except for Kari and TK for some reason. Well, that’s Daigo’s job at least. Maki though, never really left the moment of Tapirmon’s death. A little girl trapped in the body of an adult, her only wish is to reunite with her partner and be useful in the eyes of Homeostasis. A task that she put all her eggs into one basket, pushing everyone and everything else out of her life out of her life until her goal was all that remained. But in pushing everyone out and holding onto her good memories, Maki allowed darker forces in and was swallowed up by her own misery by way of the darkness in a parallel version of the dark ocean.

Daigo didn’t get out so lucky either. Getting swallowed up with Tai (one of the main characters of Tri), the two take a tumble down a large hole. Where offscreen, Daigo manages to impale himself on… something. Or perhaps someone stabs him on the way down. We're never told what happened in that fall or how exactly Tai of all people managed to stay unscathed.

Nonetheless, our pair find themselves in a mysterious laboratory. Except it's holding the main cast of 02 and Gennai for some reason. Tai finds Daigo, who reveals that he’s been hiding things from Tai and crew on orders by way of Maki. And that Maki has ties to Yggdrasil.

Then a guy who looks kind of like Gennai appears and turns off life support for the tubes and announces that he’s going to blow up this lab. Thankfully, one of the tubes is coincidentally left empty. But there’s two people and just one tube. Meaning one of them has to stay behind.

Tai examines one of the tubes, only for Daigo to lock him in. When Tai asks why Daigo just trapped him in said tube, Daigo is all like ‘it’s the end of the line for me. I’ve fucked this all up, so remember me and let my time with you mean something.’ Then he presses a button and shoots him and the other tubes out, expiring from his injuries mere moments later as the explosion passes through the laboratory. While the exact state of his body is not shown to the viewer, it’s likely he was reduced to

As endings for characters go, this is a far cry from the happy one found in Mahoutsukai Precure - preaching on the danger of holding onto those dreams and the possible self-destruction that can result from letting that dream be the only guiding force in your life. On top of pushing the people who care about you out of your life by way of a dream that will possibly be the death of you. A perfect counterbalance to this happy end of sorts.

#Mahou Tsukai Precure #digimon adventure tri #analysis

4 notes · View notes