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phoenixresistance · 2 years

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Phoenix Resistance- Chapter 10

London Streets - October 31st, 1997, 9:41 PM

“Come on, Paulo! He said not to fall behind!”

“But it’s Halloween! I want candy!!” Paulo whined as his sister grabbed his hand and pulled him forward and away from the house he was walking towards.

“This is serious Paulo. You are too young to understand but we aren’t safe here.”

“Don’t worry, the monsters won’t get me! I’m a superhero!” He exclaimed, his cape gently flapping and his arms posed heroically.

Alesia rolled her eyes and pulled on his arm again to keep him moving and to catch up with the dark haired man leading them down the wet London streets.

“Monsters aren’t real, idiot. It’s only kids dressed up as monsters.”

“Don’t listen to your sister, Paulo.” The man suddenly spoke up. “Monsters are definitely real, they just are disguised as people.” He said with a wink over his shoulder.

Suddenly he turned around, eyes darting around the street before settling back on the kids. “Why don’t you guys go to that house over there and get some candy? Come right back here when you are done.”

“Yeah!!” Paulo shouted and then ran to the door.

“Don’t you want some too?” The man questioned her.

“No, that’s kid stuff. I’m eleven now. I’ll be going to Hogwarts next year just like Julie! She’s my big sister.” Alesia said proudly, her head held high for a second before falling.

“Mom says she’s too busy at school to come see us but I’m not a child. I know that people like us are being hunted. I think she was taken. Just like we would be if we stayed with mom and dad. That’s why you are taking us somewhere else.”

The man was quiet for a moment, watching Paulo knock on the door. “You are very wise for your age, Alesia Rivera. That will get you far in life.”

“Between you and me,” Alesia whispered with a grin, “I don’t think Paulo is like us girls. I think he’s like mom and dad. Ordinary.”

“Sometimes ordinary is all we need. Magic will never be more important than family, and it doesn’t always save them either. You are way more important and powerful than your magic, Alesia, remember that.” His face grew more serious with every word, his boyish grin falling away to show a weary man, making Alesia think he’s older than she had thought.

“I will.”

A split second later he was young again, the grin taking over his face.

“Hey pal! How’s the candy?”

“IT'S GREAT! A NICE LADY GAVE ME THREE SUCKERS!” He giggled, one sucker clearly already in his mouth as he returned. “Here Alesia, you can have this one. The other one is yours!” Paulo held out his hand towards the man.

He chuckled warmly. “My name is Kaari, but why don’t you keep it? Maybe you can give it to Julie when she comes home.”

“That’s a great idea! Thanks Kaari!”

They kept walking, occasionally stopping to let Paulo get more candy. Alesia shivered in the cold evening air but she didn’t mind. Halloween was one of her favorite holidays. She loved seeing carved pumpkins flicker and glow but most of all she loved the supernatural.

The day Julie got her letter, she hoped she would be as special as her. Alesia knew that it was possible that she wouldn’t have inherited magic, but the day she accidentally slammed a door in anger with her mind was the happiest day of her life. Though, she was grounded for a week.

Alesia was admiring a witch costume across the street, imagining herself on the day she will get her own wand when she slammed into the back of Kaari’s dark coat.

“Quick, let's go this way.” He said hurriedly and hushed. Something was wrong.

They turned off the street and headed down another at a quick pace. Alesia started scanning around, looking for what he saw, but everyone she could see was wearing masks. She didn’t even know what she was looking for.

“Wait, where’s your brother?”

“He was right behind me! I’m sorry.” She said in a panic. She was too busy watching for danger when she should have been taking care of her brother.

Suddenly there was a scream behind them and they took off running, Kaari pulling out his wand from his pocket. They turned the corner just in time to see a man in robes and a mask grab on to Paulo’s shirt, his wand pointed towards him.

“Don’t move, or I’ll kill him.” The Death Eater hissed.

“It’s gonna be ok Paulo.” Kaari reassured him.

“I want to go home. Please!” He cried as he looked up at the Death Eater.

Suddenly his wand flew out of his hand and clattered to the wet pavement. Before anyone could say anything, Kaari reacted.

“STUPEFY!” The man was hit square in the chest and fell backwards in a heap.

“Come on Paulo let’s go!”

“Cool! Did you see that! I really am a superhero!” He squealed in excitement as both Kaari and Alesia pulled him away. Glancing down, Alesia noticed the man's mask had fallen away. Maybe Kaari was right. Monsters do exist, but they are just people.

“Uh, I hoped I wouldn’t have to do this out in the open but it looks like we have no choice. Hey kiddos, would you like to meet my best friend?” Kaari grinned and then he whistled sharply with his fingers.

A few seconds went by before a dark shape descended from the night sky and landed quietly in front of them.

“IT'S A DRAGON!” Paulo shrieked and ran up to pet him.

“Kids, this is Ryoko. Ryoko, this is Paulo and Alesia Rivera. We’ve got to get them back to the tavern safely. You can do that, can’t you?”

Ryoko tilted his head and stuck out his tongue, clearly enjoying the attention from Paulo. Alesia approached slowly but then gently stroked Ryoko's nose.

“He is magnificent.” She whispered breathlessly.

“Climb on kiddos and I’ll teach you how real wizards fly!”

Above London - 10:20 PM

Alesia could see thousands of glittering lights down below and just as many up above. Paulo had fallen asleep five minutes ago and was gently snoring in Kaari’s arms as they coasted downward towards Whitechapel.

“Mr Kaari? Thank you for saving my brother, and for this. It’s my new favorite day of my life.” Alesia said, laying her head on his shoulder.

Kaari chuckled warmly, looking over his shoulder. “No problem Mrs Rivera. He saved himself, he’s a brave kid.”

“If your sister is out there, I’m sure she will come back to you, safe and sound. While you are in our protection you will be safe. Once all this is over, you will be a family again. I promise.”

Eventually they would land at the tavern, Devon handing them an entire bowl of candy as soon as they stepped through the door. An hour and a half later they would take the portkey to Paris and be handed even more sweets from Charlie. Alesia only wished Julie could have been there to experience Halloween like they did.

#hphm #the phoenix resistance #hogwarts mystery #tpr #kaari arcano #alesia rivera #paulo rivera #rivera siblings #harry potter #harry potter hogwarts mystery #devon marlowe #chapter 10

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bemused-writer · 4 years

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VNC Chapter 41 Analysis

What a chapter! After reading this one, I was left reeling a bit, I won't lie. Certain things didn't surprise me all that much, but then there were revelations that I definitely didn't see coming whatsoever. So, without further ado, let's take a look at what took place. The first thing we see is Olivier and Roland fighting side-by-side without much success. We already knew they were comfortable with one another, but to me this sort of cemented it. They've fought together many times in the past and they're used to one another's ticks.

Contrary to what I've been thinking, Olivier is definitely the more high-strung between these two, even in battle. XD Not that I ever thought Roland was high-strung, but Olivier is the kind of character who could have easily been written as calm and collected above all else in everything. Instead, he very much is not: he seems to be barely keeping a lid on it, at least around Roland. I'm loving this about him, because it actually fits in very well with his portrayal in The Song of Roland. He tolerated Roland's antics there, but he was completely done more often than not. For VNC it makes for an interesting foil to Roland. Olivier is more serious about his job, but Roland generally has a calmer personality, even as he branches off to do whatever he thinks is right. Olivier still maintains his more sensible, responsible streak from The Song of Roland, though. He reminds Roland that they're short on time. Soon, they will have to kill Chloé. I find this interesting because neither of them is happy about it. They're just doing their jobs. It's not super obvious what Olivier thinks about vampires just yet--he's been a lot more concerned with Roland just being a good paladin and not rocking the boat, but he's never said Roland is wrong to question either.

[Volume 4]

[Volume 5]

He strikes me as someone who will do whatever it takes to make sure Roland stays out of trouble. He even says that he recommended Roland for Jasper because he thought some responsibility would help him settle down. Now, in The Song of Roland, Roland was engaged to Olivier's sister, Aude. I wonder if some of Olivier's concern with Roland is because he views him as part of the family, a brother of sorts.

He also knows that Roland cares very much for his own family; he has several siblings and it sounds like he joined the chasseurs as a way of providing money for them. Personally, I think this is nearly the only reason why Roland obeys the chasseurs whatsoever. Olivier was right when he said Roland "believes in himself as a follower of God." He will do what he thinks is right first and foremost, consequences be damned. But the consequences of disobeying here are retribution against his family.

I'm very curious to see just how long Roland will manage to keep this up. Things worked out well enough this time around, but his loyalties are essentially split between the chasseurs and Noé. That can't last forever. Meanwhile, Vanitas has realized saving Chloé will be a little more difficult than he'd anticipated. This is at least the third time that a specific malnomen has been brought up. The second was in the catacombs:

[Volume 4] Vanitas of the Blue Moon: It's a vampire's shadow made physical. The shadow of one under this curse begins to writhe as if it has a will of its own. Swelling and growing larger and larger, it swallows the vampire to whom it belonged in the end. Prédateur is a glutton. It kills and eats anything it can reach. Until the moment it consumes the last of the life force of the vampire who created it, its only goal will be to devour life. When I first read this section, I assumed Prédateur was simply a manifestation, a part of the curse. However, the description of Chloé's malnomen gave me pause:

Vanitas of the Blue Moon: The trouble with this malnomen is that it can't be cured simply by deriving the formula for an inverse operation. Unless the curse-bearer rejects the theater of their own accord, the link can't be severed, and you'll end up erasing them along with the closed space. It's finally struck me that we're dealing with names. Specifically, Prédateur, Millie, and Loup-Garou way back at the beginning. Malnomen aren't simply part of being a curse-bearer, they have a life of their own. Perhaps they are literally members of Charlatan acting through another living vessel or perhaps they're lost vampire souls trying to find absolution. Maybe there isn't a difference between the two. There's a lot to consider there. Also, Vanitas of the Blue Moon definitely has a teacher's aura about her. Everything Vanitas knows about the book comes from her; he didn't simply figure this out on his own. And the way Vanitas of the Blue Moon is teaching him... It's like she knew he would need to do something about curse-bearers at some point. Sure, it could have just been academic, but why mark him and give him access to the book's abilities if she didn't think he'd use it at some point? The mystery surrounding her only continues to grow as well as what Vanitas's relationship with her even was. Either way, Vanitas has to convince Chloé that she should be cured. I want us all to think about this for a second. The fellow who literally said "I'll do as I please, use methods I choose, and no matter what you people want, I will save you without fail!" is now having to reason with a vampire and convince her he should be allowed to save her. Truly incredible. Makes me wonder, what if his issue with VotBM is that she wouldn't let him save her? There's a thought... But getting back on track, Vanitas still isn't great at reaching people through tender methods. No, he berates Chloé and points out things will be awful either way, so she better make up her mind real quick. I'm... not sure he was convincing exactly, but I appreciate his urgency. It works though. The fact that it's her choice, that she has to choose, finally wakes her up and she sees the destruction around her. More specifically, she sees Jean-Jacques. Chloé has never wanted to hurt Jean-Jacques. She hasn't understood him all that well as he pointed out in the last chapter, but she genuinely wants to do right by him. Not an easy position to be in. We finally get to see how Noé's doing at this point in his battle against Astolfo. These two are interesting for two reasons: 1) This is someone Noé can't just "fix." Astolfo's issues with vampires run deep, far more so than Roland's ever did. Noé isn't used to being confronted with a problem without a solution. He's been able to solve everything else so far, so Astolfo is the first real evidence he's had that the enmity between humans and vampires is beyond him; he can't use diplomacy with him. He might not ever be able to. 2) Noé is a good person, but for Astolfo everything he says and everything he does reminds him of the night his family was defiled and killed. We're used to seeing Noé as the good guy, but for Astolfo it's impossible for Noé to ever be anything other than evil. Even though we know Noé would never do any of those things, through Astolfo's eyes we see Noé's image slanted as it becomes corrupt, all because of what he was born as. It's exactly how bigotry in real life works. We can understand why Astolfo hates vampires, but at the end of the day it doesn't make him right or his cause just. Roland goes out of his way to explain Astolfo's history to Noé regardless of it being impossible for Noé to change Astolfo's mind. Why? My guess is that he thinks we should all understand our enemy. Roland didn't understand his enemy, vampires, until he met Noé and realized they could be good. Likewise, Noé can't understand those he fights until he learns some of them are irredeemable. I like that Vanitas is initially outraged at Roland doing this:

Vanitas has been worried this whole arc that Noé won't be able to handle Astolfo as we can see from his reaction to Noé saying he can handle him:

Honestly, this entire arc has been Vanitas worrying over Noé, incessantly so considering who we're talking about. He let Noé fight him in chapter 35, but he also didn't have a choice. No doubt, he thought Roland revealing how tragic Astolfo's past would stir Noé's chivalric side and he'd have difficulty once more. Vanitas knows Noé is affected by these kinds of revelations. When he told Noé his own parents were killed by vampires, Noé took it pretty hard and things went downhill from there. Turns out, Vanitas was both right and wrong to worry about this. When Astolfo goes into the details of how he's suffered, Noé looks affected, but what really takes him off guard is when Astolfo starts bleeding from taking too much of the tonic. Personally, I think this is how Astolfo was able to trap Noé and Noé was forced to lose his arm in order to avoid being literally blown to smithereens. I'll admit, this was the biggest shock of the chapter for me, as I'm sure it was for pretty much everyone reading it. XD I'll get into more detail on that in a second, but I do want to point out that the fact Noé didn't die, didn't hesitate so much that he lost his life, is a big shift for him, and it's thanks to Vanitas, who must have known he had to do something to counteract what Roland had revealed. Vanitas: Don't hesitate, Noé. Don't think about whether Astolfo's hatred is justified or not. Both humans and vampires act on their own concepts of justice. One's just can be someone else's evil. "Being right" is "power." It can easily turn into violence, a weapon that's much harder to deal with than malice. Don't brandish it. Keep it inside. Justice should merely be the light that illuminates the path ahead of you. Vanitas hasn't been prone to giving good advice in the past (or at least not advice Noé would take), so Noé's reaction is understandable:

He's shocked into silence. Vanitas is giving genuine, heartfelt advice, designed to help Noé with a difficult situation. It's possibly the most open we've ever seen Vanitas. Sure, he's told Noé things about himself in the past, but it was always veiled in anger or resentment. This was simply to help without any strings attached. Between how he's been treating Noé this arc and even Jeanne, we're seeing a much softer side of Vanitas than we had previously. And the advice doesn't stop there.

Vanitas looks so fond here and just a touch regretful. I wonder if he knows this way of doing things would never work for himself; he's already devoted to himself to revenge; it's Noé who gets hung up on what's right and wrong and how he can help others. Maybe he wishes he had that kind of solid moral compass for himself. We also see Roland smiling as they talk; he honestly likes, and is inspired by, their friendship.

Another thing about these two panels is that Vanitas is being openly affectionate this arc, in front of Roland of all people, and I genuinely wasn't expecting it. This arc has been a whole lot of Vanitas fussing over Noé and everyone (except the person in question) noticing it. Behold my montage Let's take a look at how things have developed so far:

This isn't even including every single example, but you get the idea. Vanitas's way of caring is a mix of berating (because he doesn't know what to do with the fact that he cares), lying to anyone picking up on it, and opening up/being gentler when he's reminded that Noé really is on his side or by things he's learned about Noé more generally. Most of these events are prompted by Noé doing something first: Noé apologizes for wanting to drink his blood, Vanitas is nice to him on the train. Noé has a tendency to wander about, Vanitas tries to get the whole group to look after him. Noé has a hard time fighting against a particular type of person, Vanitas switches their targets/keeps Noé away from the problem, and reminds them of their goals. Noé is missing/kidnapped, Vanitas spends the entire arc worrying about where he is. Noé can't tell what is real, Vanitas assures him. Noé assures Vanitas that he doesn't look down on revenge as a motive, Vanitas wipes the blood off his face/promises to help Chloé. Noé learns the truth about Astolfo, Vanitas gives him the best advice he's given anyone in this entire series. If the catacombs arc was about Noé learning about Vanitas and helping him, then this arc is definitely about Vanitas caring for and helping Noé.

Also, the advice Vanitas gives Noé about how justice should be the light that illuminates the path ahead of you? Who was it Noé compared to light only a few chapters ago? And was symbolically represented as the only light Noé can see?

None other than Vanitas himself.

We’re definitely seeing how these two are inextricably intertwined for the rest of the series.

Anyway, getting back to the fight with Astolfo, Noé loses his hand and part of his arm in order to dodge the blast. The one thing he can't concede is Chloé and Jean-Jacques. More broadly, if Noé has the capacity to help someone, he can't back down, no matter what.

Dante's reaction to Noé's victory is one I wholeheartedly endorse. I, too, was pretty impressed. Even so, Noé's coming out of this arc a complete wreck. 8D

He still has a head injury, his shoulder seems to be pretty well sliced, and he's missing his forearm. I just... wow. But this raises several questions: How will Noé cope with only one good arm for fighting? Can he regrow it? Will it be missing the rest of the series? Can he withstand that much blood loss? Did Vanitas bring his medical kit? Because some first aid would be a good idea right about now.... Possibly the most interesting question to ponder out of these is "Can he regrow it?" The reason for this is that we already know Noé suffered some kind of extreme injury as a child:

For his entire left eye to be wrapped seems to heavily imply one of two things: it was either gouged out or otherwise severely injured. But we can see that as an adult he has both eyes and they both seem fine. If he was actually missing an eye, then he regrew it and the likelihood of him being able to regrow his arm increases. If it was simply injured, maybe not. But the one time Vanitas offered to give him medical aid, he was pretty nonchalant about it:

Even Vanitas thought that was a weird reaction. Perhaps Noé has unusually good healing abilities. Or he's stubborn. Guess we'll be finding out soon. 8D Also, I’m just going to hazard a guess that, seeing as it’s the same shoulder that’s been injured in both of these examples, the main difference will be that, while Noé turned away Vanitas’s help before, maybe he’ll accept it this time. It's also finally revealed that this whole time Chloé wanted to be human. I thought that must be the case; why go to all this trouble otherwise? It's terribly sad that she never felt like she was really herself once she became a vampire. She's never been able to accept who she is once her entire life. She's spent all these centuries trying to make her family, who has long since passed on, happy.

But Chloé's finally made a choice, and that choice is to remain with those people who are in the present, her new family: Jeanne and Jean-Jacques.

It's an almost suspiciously happy ending and I am fully expecting Mochizuki to take this down a darker path, but I kind of hope she doesn't. It would be nice to see these three get the happiness they deserve, and with how much attention has been given to Jean-Jacques and Chloé this arc, I think it would make a lot more sense for them to serve a role at the end of the series. The chasseurs (or maybe just Astolfo) might be the main problem, or possibly Charlatan itself. But right now, it genuinely looks like things have been taken care of, which would be great because I don't think Noé is going to last much longer if things keep up. Of course, this analysis wouldn't be complete without addressing "Luna."

I have two thoughts on what this could be. One, this is the name of the mark and marks might work like malnomen: they have a life outside of the purpose they serve. Two, Luna could be VotBM's real name and this mark is very literally summoning her power. When Vanitas uses his power, Noé remarks on the formula he sees:

This got me thinking, is he seeing the world formula itself right now or a physical representation of Chloé's name or soul so to speak? I'm leaning toward the latter if only because with Amelia we also saw a unique background when she was cured and it was completely different:

Flowers, which fits perfectly with her name. As for the next chapter, I'll admit I don't have a lot of guesses. I would think it would just be everyone recuperating and healing up. Probably some serious conversations will have to occur. I think it’s important to note that even if things go badly, Vanitas did keep his promise to Jeanne, which is huge. There was no guarantee, but he made the promise anyway and, lo and behold, he kept it.

As for whether the peace will last, I have no idea, but I definitely think this arc is coming to a close and we'll be moving on to the next fairly soon. I'm looking forward to what happens. ^^

#vanitas no carte #vnc spoilers #long post #Bemused's post

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murasaki-murasame · 5 years

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Thoughts on Fruits Basket 2019 Episode 15: “I Wouldn’t Say That”

The one and only thing this episode needed to do was succeed in making Hatori look fine as hell, so I’m glad they managed to do that, since this part of the story’s always been kinda forgettable beyond that, lol.

Thoughts under the cut. [Spoiler warning for the whole series]

Just to get right to the chase, this episode adapts chapters 25 and 26 of the manga, same as episode 16 of the 2001 version. It’s actually kinda interesting to compare them, since even though they’re about 99% the same, the comparison really highlights even more of the consequences of the stuff the 2001 version cut out as a whole.

I think I already mentioned this last week, but anyway, since the 2001 version removed the whole hat subplot and everything referencing Kyo’s connection to Kyoko, everything about Yuki and Kyo acting weird in this part had pretty much no context in that version, whereas at least in this version you have a pretty good idea what’s going on and how it connects to the previous episode, even if they’re both subplots that are largely still mysteries right now. And in addition to that, they also entirely removed Mayuko from the 2001 version, so the stuff with Hatori there was left on a more vague note. Which all just made this part feel super filler-y and disconnected from the rest of the story, originally.

But honestly even in the manga this part was always kinda filler-y and uneventful. It was just made even more so in the 2001 anime because it basically removed the few important story elements that were actually set up here. I think the series is really good at having every new story beat either introduce a new character, meaningfully develop existing ones, or just set up future plot points, but I’ve always felt like this is the weakest arc out of all of them, with the set-up mostly just being ‘wow, Yuki and Kyo sure are still moody for reasons we don’t fully know yet’ and ‘I guess Hatori will maybe hook up with the main trio’s teacher eventually’.

I do think it’s kinda funny, though, after seeing a lot of anime only people last week be like ‘I can’t wait to find out what’s going on with Yuki and Kyo next week :)’, when in reality this episode is like 90% Tohru going ‘I wonder what’s going on with Yuki and Kyo’. We’re not gonna find out what’s up with them, especially with Kyo, for a loooong time, lol. I hope that anime-only people don’t feel too genuinely let down or disappointed by this episode, but if there’s any one part where I think new fans might start thinking that the series is beginning to spin it’s wheels and needs to kick it up a notch, this episode would be it.

This whole part’s also always stuck out to me, even in the manga, as being just about the only part of the story after the first volume where we actually see Yuki and Kyo transform. It’s one of the things that make this part feel like a very episodic, filler-y ‘return to the status quo for a whole’ sorta part, if that makes sense. You’d think it wouldn’t be noteworthy that they transform here, but it sticks out in hindsight when you notice how they otherwise stop doing so pretty much entirely after the first volume. It’s not actually a recurring element of the story. Though I actually think it feels a bit more ‘natural’ in the 2001 version because they added some bits here and there in other episodes to have them transform when they didn’t in the manga, which made it seem like something that happens way more than it actually does.

Like always, I tend to be mostly ambivalent to these sorts of comedic breather sections [even though they’re necessary for the overall story flow], but I still really like the whole Jason joke. It reminds me that when I first read the manga I assumed that it must have been a localization of a reference to a Japanese horror movie, but nah, it was literally a Jason reference even in Japanese, lol. Which actually makes it feel a bit more understandable that Kyo doesn’t get it. Although, come to think of it, I wonder if this has more to do with how his sheltered upbringing lead him to being completely oblivious to a lot of ‘normal’ stuff. Which would make it kinda depressing in hindsight. But still funny.

Even though I still kinda don’t like the whole Mabudachi trio as a unit, Hatori’s still great, so I appreciate how this episode is actually more about giving him a chance to take a nap and read a book, more than anything to do with the main trio. I do still like how many parts there are like this that focus on the adult characters and their perspective on things. Even though, as much as it gets more relatable over time, it also becomes kinda funny, in the sense of ‘stop being such a drama queen, Hatori, you’re not even 30 yet, lmao’.

Also, it’s not like they really changed it from how it was in the manga, but I forgot just how immediately obvious it is that he’s gonna hook up with Mayu later on. Although I think it’s actually even more blunt in the manga since apparently she had a picture of Hatori next to the picture of her and Kana, which I didn’t even notice until I just saw someone point it out.

I’m actually pretty excited for the episode we’ll get later on focused on them, even though it won’t happen until season 2 at this rate. They’re one of my favourite side couples in the series, and it still bugs me that they cut Mayu out of the 2001 anime [even though I get why they did it].

Anyway I think that’s about everything there is to say about this episode, but in addition to all that, we now know for a fact that the next episode will be adapting Uo’s backstory, which is really interesting to me. I already guessed it based on the vague look we got a while ago of Caitlin Glass’ notes, but I’m still a bit surprised they’re shifting that part up so much. If I remember right, it’s chapters 39 to 41, so at least in the manga it’s a fair bit ahead of where we are now. But it’s also mostly a flashback arc so I don’t think it’d exactly be hard to shuffle it about.

I’m mostly curious to see how they’re going to adapt it and pace it out, partly because it basically wasn’t adapted in the 2001 anime at all so it’ll sort of be all new in the reboot, and partly because it’s a three chapter arc in the manga, and the reboot hasn’t adapted mote than two chapters in a single episode yet.

Caitlin Glass’ notes do seem to indicate that Uo’s backstory will cover the next two episodes, though, which would at least be better than cramming it into one. It’s a pretty substantial arc with a lot going on, so I’d be happy if they give it a two-part treatment here. Though if they do it across two episodes, it makes me wonder how they’ll break it up, and if they might flesh it out with some material from later in the series, to bring it up to effectively two chapters of content per episode, which would be in line with the average pacing of the reboot thus far.

If they do that, I hope they find a way to slide chapter 50 [the one where Uo and Kureno meet for the first time] into it. I think it’d be fairly easy to tie it into the present-day parts of the Uo backstory arc, and it’d be nice for the reboot to throw a curveball and formally introduce Kureno this early on. At the very least the alternative is that he probably wouldn’t show up until season 2, which would be kinda sad.

We’ll see how it goes, but at the very least the next episode will definitely be getting into the flashback portion of the arc, since the episode title is taken from when Uo first met Tohru. I wonder if it’ll adapt all of the flashback, or if it’ll stop halfway and finish off in the episode afterward.

Most of the series thus far has split very easily into single episode chunks, so it’s kinda exciting to get to a part that’s a bit less obvious in how it’d translate into an anime format. It’s the sorta thing I really like speculating about.

And as a reminder, going by what we know from the next episode preview, Caitlin Glass’ notes, and the official confirmation of season 1 being 25 episodes long, it looks like the structure of the season from here on out will be two episodes for Uo’s backstory, Kisa’s intro, Ritsu’s intro, Hiro’s intro, the episode with Hana and the Yuki fan club, Hana’s backstory, and then probably Tohru getting sick and then the whole Kyo arc across three episodes total. I wasn’t sure about it at first, but after looking back at the notes we saw, it looks like the two Hana episodes will in fact be two separate episodes back to back, so Hana’s backstory would be episode 22 at this rate, which leaves three episodes to adapt chapters 30 to 34. Which I think would work fine. I think they’re going to tie the set-up for the Kyo arc into the episode with Tohru getting sick so that it ends with Kazuma showing up, and the last two episodes can spend more time on the actual meat of the Kyo arc. But we’ll see.

Either way I’m really excited for the next two episodes. The reboot’s been pretty similar in execution to the 2001 anime for a while now, so it’ll be fun to get two episodes in a row focused on material that basically wasn’t in the 2001 version at all.

#murasaki rambles #fruits basket #I was busy with stuff yesterday so I'm only just getting around to this now

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snkpolls · 5 years

Text

SnK S3E15 Poll Results (Manga Reader Version)

The poll closed with 321 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that these are the results of the manga reader poll. Anime only watchers are suggested not to read if you do not wish to be spoiled about certain events! Anime only viewers, click here to view your poll results!

RATE THE EPISODE 308 Responses

Overall the fandom enjoyed the episode, with the vast majority of votes being at either a 4 or 5.

Best ep of the season thus far, Bert's monologue/transformation was amazing. Some fantastic VA work by Tomohisa and Inoue as well. CG CT also looked far better than I thought he would. These next few episodes are going to kill me. I can't wait.

Fantastic episode. Bertholdt's monologue was the best part.

Great episode, very dramatic, awesome OST. I am not looking forward to the next few eps, except for Floch's villain origin story!

Can’t wait for the next episode, this one was so good!

Editing was a bit choppy, voice lines cut half a second too quick a few times.

First ep of S3P2 to get a 10/10 from me <3

The animation was pretty lacking in this episode. R&B’s running animation on the wall felt pretty lazy, there was that reused shot of the beast Titan’s throw from season 2, Bertholdt’s character design felt inconsistent as well as Zeke’s. They really need to get the old team back on the animation cause the current team clearly doesn’t know how to handle aot. It’s getting on my nerves.

The episode was absolutely awesome.

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT? 308 Responses

The Bertl Bomb™ was the scene that respondents were most excited about. Following behind that was Mikasa’s brief skirmish with Bertolt, and closely behind that was Armin and Bertolt’s shouting match on the rooftops.

BERUTORUTO=GOD

I’m mikasasexual

As a huge Bertholdt fan, it was so great to see Bert as the centre of attention for once. It makes me really sad knowing what comes next.

Bert bomb made my bomb go off

I love Bertholdt's resolve. This scene made him one of my favorite characters.

Bertholdt vs. Mikasa was so fire 🔥

One of the best episodes without a doubt. Bertholdt's monologue before transforming was even more impactful than in the manga.

Explosion aftermath was disappointing. I expected a sea of fire. The one they gave us doesn't feel like something big just happened

That "Levi's 5 seconds of screen time" was good, too!

Why isn't "Mikasa comforting and protecting Armin" an option for favorite moment in this episode? Because those were definitely my favorite moments in the episode

The partner gesture between Reiner and Bertl is the death of me

Am I the only one who get's goosebumps in the scene before he transformed himself into the colossalus titan and said: 'I feel like, no matter how this all plays out, I can accept whatever happens. That's right, nobody's in the wrong. There's nothing we could do. Because this world....is just...that cruel.' This scene was impressive back in the manga and I'm proud how good Tomohisa Hashizume nailed it. He's an amazing voice actor, especially for Bertholdt.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE APETITAN AND YOUSEEBIGGIRL REARRANGES? 296 Responses

Overall the fandom was excited about the new versions of familiar songs with 71% of respondents feeling that they were “totally epic!” 18% agree that the rearranges were good, but that they can’t surpass the original versions.

The soundtrack was lit.

Music was awesome!

Ngl I've watched the episode many times bc the OST during some scenes is just SO GOOD!!

WHO WON THE SHOUTING MATCH? 308 Responses

Over ¾ of the fandom agree that Bertolt dominated the shouting match on the rooftop.

I feel Armin won the "debate" because Bertolt, in his zeal to convince himself that he wanted to kill people he used to see as friends, wasn't making any sense

HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT BERTOLT’S DEVELOPMENT AT THIS POINT? 308 Responses

46% of respondents were happy to see how far Bertolt had come as a character at this point in the story, while 34% were just happy to get more dialogue and thoughts from him. A small percentage had been curious where his character would go from here.

Godtolt on the way

He ditched the alter ego built up out of guilt, and it's cool to see him truly one of the strongest characters fighting off Mikasa while in human form

I wish we had more Bertl development! He could’ve been really complex, but just isn’t due to a lack of screentime. Compared to someone like Reiner or Annie, this was his one moment of pure raw character development

He reveals his true warrior colors

I loved it, one of my favourite chapters because of his resolve and how he himself was surprised about it.

He's only moving forward as a character and does what needs to be done. Bertholdt, your doing amazing sweetie!

With all this development just to kill him off was heart breaking.

Honestly, I’m so proud of him. He was amazing and it’s so nice to see a confident Bert. I don’t think it’s a development worth praising in terms of moral standards but it suited and made sense for his character

I feel like this is where his character peaked. It was pretty flat before season 2

I just don’t like bertolt in generalI really like his development but it's a shame that he severely lacked screen time before this episode

I'm not really a fan of Bertolt so I'm neutral on this

I still hate his traitorous guts and can't wait for THAT scene to be animated

Fucking loved it. It's one of my favorite chapters (and now episodes) just because he's talking so much and he's badass af. My boy is finally shining!

HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT ARMIN BLUFFING ABOUT ANNIE A SECOND TIME? 306 Responses

Just over half of respondents feel that Armin should have tried a different tactic with Bertolt, while 46% felt that it was worth another shot to try and manipulate Bertolt’s feelings for Annie again.

Has Armin ever convinced anyone of anything they didn't already believe?

He was so used to Bertholdt’s behavior and there was nothing that would’ve made Armin think Bertholdt would have the reaction that he did

Lame. He didn't use much of intelligence here.

It's low, I'm happy it didn't work again

He learned some pretty vital things - how far the Warriors are willing to go, what their priorities are, what Bert's state of mind is, and where his loyalties truly lie. I don't imagine Armin went down that track solely because he thought it would have the exact same effect, but rather to 'check something' - exactly the same as Bertolt.

I think it not only was a good attempt to take (it worked before, why not try it again), but I also think it is incredibly important to show Armin's flaws. Yes, he's an amazing strategist. He's also still sixteen and not always entirely confident. Having Armin make mistakes like relying on old ploys that worked keeps his character more grounded and realistic

Smart people tend to use the same tactics over and over again as long as they're successful and for good reason. After all, why wouldn't you use the same tactic if you know it brings success? If it ain't broke, don't fix it. It's only when said strategy or tactic doesn't work where the individual would entertain the prospect of changing it or never using it again.

That’s Very Unfortunate!

WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT CGI COLOSSAL TITAN? 306 Responses

36% of respondents aren’t very impressed with the CGI colossal titan, while 29% actually found the effect to be pretty awesome! 13% feel it’s disturbing and a small 7% just find it cringeworthy.

Alright

CGI doesn't bother me. What bothers me is how animators overly rely on it. Several decades ago animators made great masterpieces without cgi, all by hand. I understand using it because it makes things easier, but exceeding quality should still be top priority. If you can't make it better with CGI, then go old school and do it right.

Decent but could be better

U can still notice it is CGI but I think their CGI has gotten better compared to some of their earlier uses of it

Doesn't fit with the art style, which is as bad as unfair splitting potatoes

Not too bad but could definitely have been better. Understandable since there has only been one full body shot of it before and that was a sharp backwards, down looking angle.

Don’t really care much for cgi complaints, animating that would be a lot of work, their efforts are better elsewhere

It was necessary and didn't look appallingly bad.

I don't get why people hate it so much? I think it's fine

I hated it in season 2 and I hate it more now

Bad

Don't like CGI anything in any anime so take from that what you will

Most angles he looks fine! The only part that he looked off was when we got the face shot of him panning out to the rest of his body

Thought it looked solid. There were some really great shots of him this ep imo. Hopefully the action bits will look as good, and they mix in some 2D shots as well.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE 104TH RIDING ON TITAN EREN? 306 Responses

Over half of the fandom agree that this detail is something that’s very adorable, while 22% feel it’s just pretty neat. A combined 21% of respondents either feel it’s not that big of a deal or simply don’t care about it.

>AMJCS who cares?

Good boy protecting his friends? Hell Yeah!

I want to ride pieck - Not an innuendo, i just want a go in one of her turrets

It's gay

Lads you would never get me off that thing, I'd be saddling him up to go grocery shopping

Save me a seat guys!!

HOW WELL DID THE EPISODE ADAPT THE CORRESPONDING CHAPTERS? 306 Responses

Manga readers are overall happy with the adaptation of chapters 77 and 78, with over 90% saying that it was close to being perfectly done.

DID MARCO’S DEATH AFFECT YOU AS MUCH AS IT DID IN THE MANGA? 305 Responses

41% of respondents felt more heartbroken to see Marco’s death play out in the anime, while 31% say they felt more sympathetic toward Marco. 14% weren’t affected when this scene played out in either story-telling medium.

About the same level, still utterly heartbreaking, though

DEATH TO THE TITAN TRIO!

Didn't feel as much. Not because it was a bad adaptation, but just because I've already read it and knew what went down.

I felt more sorry for RBA than Marco in this version

I still had lot of emotions with the adaptation, but there's no compare to experiencing it for the first time

I was absolutely sobbing when I read it in the manga. Anime-wise I was more prepared to handle the scene

Watching Marco die again reminds me of why, even in current manga, I still completely and utterly LOATHE/DESPISE/HATE RBA. No, I don't care about their "tragic backstory", they don't deserve empathy of any kind.

It had the same impact when I first watched the trailer for the Lost Girls OVA, which spoiled me his death

It was tough to watch, but it was necessary to deepen Reiner, Bertolt, Annie (and Marco)'s characters. It was very well done, dramatically

Oh fuck it was WAY WORSE animated. Actually hearing his cries and screams is something that can never be duplicated in written form

I did not anticipate being as affected as I was by the Marco flashback. That doesn’t give me hope for how I’m going to handle the rest of the RtS arc. The emotions of the characters are being portrayed very well this season.

NOW THAT WE’VE HAD A CHANCE TO LISTEN TO ZEKE HAVE MORE DIALOGUE, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF HIS VOICE? 305 Responses

The majority of the fandom believe that Zeke’s seiyuu is a good fit for his character, although over half of the fandom had expected his voice to sound a bit different. 10% feel it wasn’t the best choice, while a small sliver of respondents don’t care for the voice at all.

I can't unhear DIO. Thanks Zeke, thanks Koyasu.

Zeke's VA also voices a lovely, kind character in Violet Evergarden, so his lines are making me really, really uncomfortable

WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT PIECK’S TITAN VOICE? 307 Responses

30% of respondents are excited about Pieck’s titan voice, while 28% feel it’s not what they expected to hear. 18% find the voice “acceptable” while 17% want to wait and hear more before making a final verdict.

Pieck's voice was unexpected in that it was terrifying, much like Ymir's Titan voice

Holy shit. I'm gonna hear it in my nightmares

I rabu Piku.

REGARDING CURRENT MANGA EVENTS, DO YOU THINK REINER STILL WANTS TO STAY TRUE TO HIS PROMISE TO YMIR? 308 Responses

Nearly half of the fandom believe that Reiner would still like to honor his promise to Ymir, but feel that he will never actually get to pull through. 15% believe that he’s still determined to save Historia no matter what, and 18% believe that he’s actually stopped caring about his promise (or perhaps just Historia in general) altogether.

Good question. I really want to have a scene with him facing Historia, his reaction to her pregnancy should be interesting

He doesn't want to save HISTORIA because he doesn't know her. The one he wanted to save was KRISTA. But she is already "dead"

I think Reiner has done what he needed to

I'm not sure, I think his main concerns are the kids and stopping Eren

It has to be real low on his priority list right about now given the circumstances

Of course not, Reiner only cares about his own manpain

He still calls her Krista and she probably has already chosen a side most likely Yeagerist

ARMIN HAD WISHED FOR A CHANCE TO NEGOTIATE AT THIS POINT, SIMILAR TO CURRENT MANGA EVENTS. IS THIS PROOF THAT HE HASN’T BEEN CHANGED BY BERTOLT’S MEMORIES? 308 Responses

44% don’t want to say either way whether Armin’s pre-titan behavior is indicative of the influence that Bertolt may or may not have over the Armin we know in the current manga. 39% believe that this is proof Eren’s words to Armin were total B.S., and 12% think this isn’t really proof of anything.

Armin Has always been the diplomat, while Eren is a man of force. Mikasa is in between. It has always been that way.

Past and future are influenced the same when paths are concerned so there's no way to tell.

I don’t think it’s enough to prove or disprove but this is an interesting idea

I don't get this 'changed' shit. Of course having access to someone else's memories has its own influence on a person, but that's true of anyone on the planet who's read a memoir as well. Everything has its effect. The titan shifter thing is obviously a bit more invasive than that, but it doesn't mean he's now suddenly possessed by Beartoto's fucking undead spirit.

I'd like to think it is but with everything Isayama's been throwing at us from out of left field who knows

he's always wished for negotiation, but he seems to have changed in his methods for negotiation. armin used to be more abrupt and upfront, whereas now he seems more tentative

No, he wasn't chanced that much. He understands RBA better and has more sympathy for Annie (maybe even has a crush on her) but it has nothing to do with being a slave.

SIMILARLY, MIKASA POINTS OUT HOW BERTOLT FEELS LIKE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PERSON. ARE THE MEMORIES OF HIS PREDECESSOR AFFECTING HIM IN THIS ARC? 306 Responses

Over half of the fandom feel that Bertolt’s current behavior at this point in the series is of his own will, and not influenced by any prior holders of the Colossal Titan. 38% think it’s possible he’s being influenced by memories of his predecessor(s) at this time, while a small percentage feel that he is definitely being influenced by someone else’s memories.

He was badass but I think he was affected by memories of the previous CT owner.

I think that Mikasa thinks he’s acting like a different person because he is. I think this is what Bertholdt is really like but with the 104th he was playing a role so he didn’t get too attached to them.

Still wondering if the "he seemed like a different person" comment was a note about development or supposed to foreshadow something about the Titans influencing their hosts.

I think it’s original Ymir controlling him through the paths

Probably. It seems like a bit of a drastic change to go from quiet, self-deprecating and remorseful to cold, outspoken, and trying to morally justify his actions. It's just too drastic a change.

Confidence boost is completely irrelevant to paths.

We don’t even know Bert’s previous predecessors!

Nope, that's have something to do with "character development", people change sometimes after time and grown more indepented and strong of their own shadow.

I always thought of it more as Bertie finally coming down on a side and the pair picking up on that. He was always so meek and indecisive, but now he's been forced to make a choice and to do it he has to shed his old skin and become more ruthless.

Not at all he ditched his guilt that made up the act they knew him for.

WHAT SCENE ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO IN THE PREVIEW? 307 Responses

The overwhelming majority of respondents are looking forward to the Survey Corps’ suicide charge against the Beast Titan and his flying boulders. Nearly 30% are looking forward to the moment that Levi gives Erwin his promise to kill the Beast Titan. A small percentage are most looking forward to Armin and Jean decide who’s going to lead the 104th to victory.

I am not ready for the next two episodes

I’m gonna get my ASS FUCKED SO HARD I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO. THERES GONNA BE SHIT EVERYWHERE. ERWINS GONNA FUCKING DIE. LEVIS GONNA BE SAD.

fuck next week's shit is good, hype

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

The "predecessor's memory affecting current shifter" is, as far as I'm aware, just a theory that I don't buy into. I've only seen a person "changed" because of the Founding Titan's vow. Otherwise, the shifter's personality remains the same. Armin has always been an advocate for talking and negotiation. We see this in the Trost arc when the Garrison nearly kill Eren with that cannonball. So no, I don't think anyone's memories are "affecting" anyone, including current Eren.

Loved pretty much everything in this episode except for the CGI CT. Didn't expect to see uncensored Reiner, which was weird because Mikasa cutting off Bert's ear was more censored. And I'm a bit disappointed we didn't see more shots of Bert with his V fringe off his forehead. He looked so cool in the manga!

This episode gave me anxiety 'cause I know what we'll going to deal in the next three ones. The soundtrack gave intensity in every scene that its put on it, plus the fantastic job of the VA, perfect work. And just thinking about how the next episodes will be.... *goosebumps*

Wit studio handled the cgi very well imo. It's very difficult to animate this action heavy arca with rubble, smoke, odm scenes etc. and I think they are adapting the manga very well with the right pacing per episode which is also a challenge to fit within 20 minutes.

Bertolt is best boi and this episode was the best of all 3. He deserved to survive and mature up. Hashizume nailed him JUST RIGHT and his interactions with Reiner this episode were on point. The scene where he outsmarted Armin and countered Mikasa was worthy of applause.

i wish it wasn’t too rushed some moments aren’t as emotional as they should be

mikasa looked so good this episode and i'm so happy with how wit isn't screwing her over

After seeing this episode and Marco's death, it makes me sad that Reiner lost his pal Bertolt. They should be suffer bois together. Even still, some of the animation this episode was reallyy not great, so I rated the episode a 4.

Bertolt has proved on this episode that he's one of the best character of the series

I miss berthold so much and seeing him at his best was awesome but it’s really hard knowing what’s going to happen next

This is shaping up to be the best season of Attack On Titan. Cheers for more!

zeke’s beard is the tenth titan shifter

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 295 Responses

Thank you to everyone who participated! We’ll see you again in a few days!

#snk spoilers #snk s3 #snk poll #snk polls #poll results

18 notes · View notes

rwbyremnants · 3 years

Link

WARNING: Monochrome kiss

NOTE: Sorry about the uhhh gap in updates, I really just haven't been in the headspace for a lot. Working on these fics isn't even that hard but life's been harder haha. I'm really going to try to focus up I promise - also going to work on the next White Noise-verse installment. Hope you've all been well!

=Chapter 41

It took a good ten minutes for them to get laughed out and all herded inside - Mrs. B remembering to hide their pistols again. Yang tried to make small talk with them for another five or so before Kali noticed how bad she was sweating and ordered her to go upstairs and take off at least some of the coats.

When she came back, it was much worse.

“Damn,” Blake whispered so softly that only Weiss could hear her as a very sweaty Yang came downstairs, wearing her jeans and a yellow tank top and nothing else. And Weiss had to agree; seeing Yang like that put one in mind of very specific activities that might lead to such a state. Only Kali seemed unaffected - by Yang. Her eyes had definitely flicked to Weiss and Blake to judge their reactions, and she chuckled and excused herself to the kitchen.

“So I guess it’s not gonna work out,” Yang admitted sheepishly, still panting a little. “Sorry.”

Shrugging shyly, Blake looked away from her as she muttered, “No big deal, Lucille.”

“I think it was very sweet,” Weiss said firmly, with a little nod. Then she stood up on tiptoe to kiss Yang’s cheek, earning her a hug. “Ew, get off - you’re a sweaty mess.”

Laughing, Yang squeezed her one more time before letting her go - just to tease. Then she turned to Blake and scratched the back of her neck. “So… I feel like…”

“You don’t have to say anything,” Blake reassured her with a polite smile. “Honestly. I just didn’t… I couldn’t let you think that I didn’t care about you, or that I was… that I didn’t know how it felt to be head over-”

“Yeah, I know. That’s what I was going to apologise for. I was out of line; I really said some dumb things, and I feel rotten. Assumed a lot when I should have…” A hand passed over her eyes as she tried to figure out what she was saying, and how to say it. “It’s my fault as much as yours that I never noticed, y’know? All this time…”

The raven-haired gangster sounded as defeated as a person could, but was trying to hide it behind a wry tone. “For you to notice, you’d have to be checking me out. Which is the whole problem, anyway.”

“Blake…”

“You and Weiss have a great thing going,” she pressed on, cutting through Yang’s obvious sadness. “I’m not trying to do anything that would threaten that. A couple of real cool chicks who absolutely love each other. So just… I’m happy with being friends, being in the Dragons.”

Yang was nodding, even if she didn’t look convinced. The tension in the atmosphere was fading. Weiss knew she should probably just let it do that… but Kali’s words kept nagging her. That they couldn’t fix the problem if they didn’t acknowledge it in the first place.

“Yang… I need to tell you something.”

“Huh? What is it?”

“I think…” The room felt like it was getting darker already. “Well, I didn’t mean for it to happen…” She wanted to cry, she wanted to run from the room. “I’m sorry.”

The room was quiet for a moment. Blake shifted uncomfortably next to her as they both waited for the fallout - for Yang to tear into them, or demand answers, or scream, or cry. Weiss almost couldn’t stand it, but this was the least she deserved.

“Uhhh, okay. Sorry for what, though?”

“Huh?”

“You didn’t even say what it is,” Yang pointed out with a soft laugh. “Must be pretty bad.”

Weiss was genuinely surprised. “I didn’t? Oh… I meant, um, that I almost kissed Blake.”

That certainly stopped her laughing. She glanced over at Blake, who looked frustrated more than anything, and back to Weiss - who suddenly couldn’t look at her. She wanted to vanish into the floor for hurting her girlfriend in this way, even though it hadn’t been on purpose… but there was no sense in splitting hairs. She messed up, it was her fault and no one else’s.

“Okay.”

“What?”

“I said it’s okay,” she repeated with a casual shrug, even though she looked sick. “Told you I don’t care if you and Blake… well, it’s fine. But you didn’t make it sound like you wanted to kiss her - more like do other stuff.”

Taking a step forward, Weiss rushed to explain, “I didn’t! I mean… it j-just happened, I didn’t plan it! I really like her, I m-mean, I’m sure you know why - you like her, too! And she just looked so sad and I couldn’t stand it, s-so I had to-”

“Schnee, I don’t need your pity,” Blake told her in a flat, empty tone of voice that broke her heart even more.

“Not pity. No, I promise,” she cut her off immediately. “It isn’t… well, alright, it is pity a little bit, but not that you’re ‘pitiable’! Just that you’re a really wonderful p-person, and it’s so unfair that… that you don’t get a happy ending.” The tears started the instant she uttered that last phrase. “She’s so sweet, and n-nobody sees it, and it isn’t fair!”

Both of the other girls were surprised by all the emotion pouring out of the third. Yang and Blake exchanged a glance, and Blake shrugged, as if not sure where it was all coming from. Weiss had no idea, either. Finally, Yang walked closer and put her hands on Weiss’s shoulders.

“I do see it, Weiss. Really. Just doesn’t mean I’m in love with her. And you aren’t, either… I hope. But trust me, I’ve always known Belladonna is one of the best.” She and Yang shared a smile; Blake’s might have been a bit shakier, but it was real. “But there’s only one way we’re gonna find out.”

The smile on Blake’s face faded, fearing some kind of fight again. “And what way is that?”

“Kiss her.”

“WHAT?!”

“Go ahead,” Yang said as she stepped back. She looked curious, and worried, and amused all at once. “I think you two are acting pretty strange about this whole thing, and if you don’t do something about it, this is probably going to hang around like a bad smell for the rest of the school year. Might as well just figure it out right here, right now. Isn’t that easier?”

Gulping, Weiss glanced at Blake and then back at Yang. “But I don’t want to kiss her, I want to kiss you.”

“I’ll still be here once you’re done,” she laughed softly, eyes a little sad. “Go ahead.”

“This is stupid,” Blake sighed with a roll of her eyes, stepping closer to Weiss. “And you’re a creep, Xiao Long - just want to watch us for a cheap thrill.”

“Hey, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t. But quit stalling.”

Now they all knew this was building to a moment. A certain electricity hung in the air as Blake raised her hands to grip Weiss around the waist, and she tried to back away but her feet didn’t seem to be moving. Did she want to do this? No, no she didn’t! Or maybe she did, at least in part. But this wasn’t how she wanted to do it. No - she didn’t want to at all, she just wanted Blake to get kissed by someone. Right? Then again, maybe there was a little part of her that did wonder what it would be like…

It was too late to back out. Another face was less than an inch from her own, the slightly taller woman licking her lips, shaking with nerves as she gazed down into her eyes.

“You’re sure?” Weiss whispered.

“We have to get it over with, Weiss. Or Yang will really think she’s gonna lose you to me, or whatever it is she’s thinking right now.”

One of her shoulders shrugged. “But what if we like it?”

“Oh, you’re gonna like it,” she rumbled with a tiny pinprick of her old confidence back. Then she leaned in…

Weiss wasn’t really sure what she had been expecting. Either to hate it, or to love it more than she should have - maybe. But the kiss was nice; gentle and sweet but there was a pressure, a passion behind the nervousness. And it certainly was nothing like ‘bad’. After the first second or two, she reached her hands up to slide up Blake’s chest, touching the sides of her neck…

The shift caught both of them so off guard that there were two little gasps of surprise as the kiss deepened, as the lips began to knead each other and thumbs dug into her hips. Blake was really giving it her all now, breathing heavily as she pulled Weiss’s body flush with her own. Her head was spinning with the force of the magnetic pull she had, pulse pounding in her ears, and she stood on tiptoe to get at more, to feel more of this, her lips parted when she felt a tongue poking against-

It only took a second or two of that before she pulled back, dazed and out of sorts. Ruffled beyond reason. The tongue had been too much for her to handle and she decided she needed a brief second to think before going back for more.

But she wouldn’t go back for more. Breaking the spell had her staring at a mesmerised Blake Belladonna - one still in the same position, as if frozen in time. The hands that were on her hips slowly curled in on themselves as reality set back in.

“Well… okie dokie.” They both turned at the sound of Yang’s voice. The blonde flinched away as if they had attacked. “H-hey, hey… I mean, uh… looked like fun.”

Blake swallowed hard. “It was. But um… it never has to happen again.” She turned back to Weiss and gave an awkward little bow. “I, um… thanks.”

“Thanks?!” Weiss burst out. “Thanks?! You really laid one on me! Wowwie zowie!”

“Yeah,” Yang laughed, though her laughter was clearly panicked.

“No, I… I’m alright now.” Pressing a hand to her lips, Blake turned away a little, began pacing back and forth. “Ohhh… okay, maybe not.”

“Belladonna, it’s fine,” Yang reassured her, brow creasing as she took a step forward, though it only took her closer to Weiss since Blake was pacing. “I told you to kiss her, remember? Pretty stupid of me if I was sore about it after that.”

Folding her arms tightly over her chest, she mumbled, “Way to pimp out your girlfriend.”

“Hey!”

“What exactly do you want me to say? That… that kissing her knocked my socks off? Of course it did. Just look at her! I never expected…” Her amber eyes darted toward Weiss, then back to Yang again. “She’s perfect. If she’s the one you picked, there’s no way she couldn’t be dynamite, Xiao Long. S-so congratulations.”

Meanwhile, Weiss was a blushing mess. But she also felt guilt beyond measure every time she looked at Yang. Should she kiss Yang now? To show her that it didn’t mean anything, that she still wanted to kiss her? But maybe she didn’t want to be kissed - maybe they had broken everything, just to “test” something that didn’t need to be tested.

Then she felt herself being pulled into a hug - with both of them. Blake seemed just as shocked as she was, and they both squirmed for a minute as the two strong arms of the blonde brute held them close, refusing to let them go.

“Why does this keep happening?” Weiss whimpered.

“What-” Blake grunted, then yelped, “Yang, cut it out!”

“It’s all gonna be okay,” the Dragon whispered into Weiss’s hair. “Sorry I pushed, I… I don’t know, I guess I thought you’d kiss, and we’d laugh, and it would be over. But it’s not over… is it?”

“It is,” Blake said firmly.

“No, it isn’t,” Weiss sighed wearily. “I’m not that dumb. We both felt… a lot in that kiss. But I feel a lot when I kiss Yang, too! And I’m in love with her, and… but Blake is such a good friend. Golly, what is wrong with me?”

Yang chuckled ruefully. “At some point, Weiss stopped talking to us and started talking to herself.”

“I noticed that,” the brunette murmured. “I wonder…”

“Wonder what?”

Blake pulled away, tapping Yang on the shoulder to get her attention. The poor princess watched as they exchanged some looks that she couldn’t quite figure out, followed by Blake pursing her lips and twitching her head in her direction. Yang nodded, they both turned…

And suddenly she had a pair of lips pushing into each of her cheeks. Very close to her mouth but held apart by a trio of noses intersecting. A little squeak fell from her throat as she tried not to overreact, but how was she supposed to keep her cool when two gorgeous, dangerous women were pressed up against her body, their mouths gracing her flushed skin?

“Ohhhh, heck,” she whispered as they kept it up, as one hand apiece from the Dragons began to slide up and down her stomach. “Hey! Whoa, whoa, what is- oh my gosh you’re driving me crazy!”

Yang pulled back with a huge grin. “Yep, that’s what I thought. She just likes being kissed a ton.”

“Seems to,” Blake confirmed. Her own smile was more of a dark smirk, but her eyes were dancing, full of life. Much moreso than they had been at any point during this discussion before that moment.

“Yeah. Anyway… I meant what I said, Weiss. About you and Blake.” Her grin faded to something a little more melancholy, but it was still a smile. “I know… it’s different for us girls who love other girls. You don’t have to be my ‘steady gal’, we can just… be together. And know how we feel. It doesn’t mean you have to stop seeing anyone else.”

Blake laughed nervously. “You sound like you’re giving Weiss permission to bed me.” When Yang didn’t answer, she swallowed and glanced at Weiss, then back to her best friend. “Wow. I, um, I didn’t expect that.”

“It feels like the least I can do, since I see you as a sister instead of a girlfriend. Which I kind of wish I could change, it’s not fair that only one of us is sweet on the other, but honestly…” Her smile grew a bit more, and the anxiety in Weiss’s chest eased by an equal measure. “I’m happy where I am. With who I’m with.”

This didn’t seem fair to Yang, either. Weiss knew she would just be lying to make her feel better if she said she had no feelings for Blake; a lie like that would only hurt everyone involved instead of fixing anything. It was true that her feelings for Yang were stronger, though - more like a traditional ‘boyfriend-girlfriend’ relationship. She didn’t know what Blake was to her. But at the same time…

“I just don’t want to hurt you,” she told her girlfriend baldly.

“Me, either,” Blake spoke up, reaching out to squeeze Yang’s bicep. “And you know how crushes are; I… I’ll get over mine. And probably over this little one on Weiss, too. I’m just dizzy with…” She looked annoyed to be admitting her mother was right. “Spring Fever.”

“Yeah. But… like I said, you guys are both really important to me. And I trust you.” Yang kissed both of their cheeks; it flustered Blake a little more. “Just, um… I don’t need to hear details. All I care about is if you two are getting along or if you’re not.”

Now that was more than fair. If Yang slept with someone else, Weiss knew she wouldn’t be nearly as calm as her girlfriend was; she would take it far worse, probably throwing a jealous fit. So it didn’t surprise her at all that Yang would be uncomfortable hearing any specifics.

“Yang,” Blake whispered again, eyes wide. “Are you really… I mean, I don’t even know why I want to be with Weiss. Sometimes I’m really worried that I just want to find out why you like her so much, and that’s a terrible reason to make out with a girl.”

The bruiser’s arms folded over her chest. “You know that if you used her like that, I’d kick your keister up one side of the street and down the other.” They both laughed a little. “Though… if that was the only reason, I don’t think you would be able to do it. You’re not Cinder.”

They all laughed at that one. While they were sharing the moment, Kali returned with a glass of water for the still-sweaty Yang, who took it gratefully and started chugging.

“You all seem to be doing fine in here,” she offered.

“Please, Mom. You were listening at the door again.” Kali only shrugged, prompting a disgusted sigh from her mother. “Ugh… can’t wait to graduate and get my own place.”

“Can you blame me, with what you three were discussing in here? I was worried I would have to break up a fight - keep the bloodstains out of my carpet.”

Yang lowered the empty glass, frowning into its depths. “Yeah, I guess I do have a temper. But this isn't… nobody's in danger or nothing. Mrs. B, can I ask you something?”

“Is it normal to have a relationship with more than one woman at a time?” By Yang's stunned silence, it was pretty apparent that Kali was dead on the money. “It isn't normal. Then again, neither is two women being together. So who's to say this can’t become normal for you girls?”

“That's a good point,” Blake admitted quietly.

“Besides, you shouldn't let an old woman tell you what to do. I think trying to ‘share’ Weiss sounds messy, but you seem half-convinced you can make it work. Why not try? All I ask…” She put a hand to one each of Yang and Blake's shoulders. “Don't forget how long you've been friends. And friendships are a lot more precious than whoopee.”

At that last word, Blake giggled. Weiss sighed wearily, even though her heart was beating a mile a minute. This was insane. A week ago, she wouldn't even have believed she had any feelings for Blake beyond friendship - or a kind of sisterhood, as Blake herself had mentioned… before that morning Blake got herself off, anyway. But a week of flirtations had changed so much.

“I just want Weiss to be happy,” Yang was saying awkwardly. “And, um… I've always wanted to look out for Blake, so… and if I trust both of them to take care of each other…”

Kali nodded, obviously a little bemused but holding back on her teasing. “Such good girls. I think you'll do just fine. Now, I also have a fresh pie waiting for us, and it looks as if you could all use a bite of comfort food.”

They leapt at the chance.

-------------------------------------

The pie was as incredible as they had all come to expect from the Belladonna kitchen by now. Weiss wondered how she could find the time and energy to spend all day cooking at the restaurant and still want to bake when she got home. A true culinary force of nature.

By the time Yang got ready to head home, they all felt a lot less frayed. Still, Weiss couldn't shake the feeling that her girlfriend might need a little more reassurance. So she stepped into the room where Yang was putting all of her many coats and pants back on.

“Can I come?”

“What?” Yang chuckled as she pulled on the boots. “Where? I’m just going back to my place.”

“Then back to your place. I really… I don’t want you thinking I’m just going to spend all my time with Blake now that we, um, we… whatever… we agreed to.” She dug her hands into Yang’s arm. “Please?”

The urgency surprised her, and her expression shifted. Became more guarded. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Do what?”

“Try so hard to make me feel… y’know. Less hurt. I’m not hurt.”

“Not ‘less hurt’.” Weiss grabbed Yang by the lapels and pulled her closer. “More loved. I just… want to show you that I’m not going to forget about you. Besides, I really do think we should spend more time together, even without what happened today.”

“But it’ll be you, me… and my mom.”

Giggling, she helped Yang into the rest of her winter clothing. “I don’t care about her. I want… I want to spend the night with you. The whole night. Besides, Raven is all bark and no bite; a big softie.”

“MY mom?!” Now they were both laughing. “But yeah… if you’re sure, then I say we go for it. The worst she’ll do is kick you out. I mean, the worst she’ll do now, since meeting your mom. And, well, your dad.”

The paper shaker’s expression darkened. “Ugh. Yeah, I would rather not earn her sympathy that way. Or anyone’s. But… if the result is she’s nicer to me, then it’s a silver lining I can live with.”

“Ditto that,” she whispered back with a little kiss on Weiss’s nose. When it crinkled, her grin only got bigger.

-------------------------------------

The ride was peaceful, though a bit unwieldy with Yang so bundled up. Given that Raven usually worked late, the two of them picked up some things to make spaghetti on the way over; it was one of the few things Weiss knew how to make, and Yang was even less kitchen-inclined.

And by then, of course, Yang was a sweaty mess again, and nearly fell in the door. Weiss left the groceries on the battered old coffee table and started helping her out of the many layers.

“You can’t strip me… in the living room,” she laughed weakly. “Mom would…”

“Mom isn’t here.” She tossed the second jacket aside, then put her hands on her hips and glared down at her. “I can’t believe you thought this was going to make Blake stop liking you. What kind of silly plan-”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Really does seem dumb now… I don’t know. I had to do something.”

As she finally got Yang down to her normal clothes, Weiss paused to look at her red-faced girlfriend. Yang looked as if she had run a mile, but also a little saddened. So Weiss unbuttoned her jeans as she said, “Anything I can do to turn that frown upside-down?”

The wolfish smile was subdued, but at least it was there. “Mmm, maybe later. I’m too hungry to think about rolling you over in the clover.”

“Well, first… you need a bath, you sweaty brute.” She finished pulling her pants down as Yang playfully struggled to keep them up; Weiss won eventually. “No, no, go on. I’ll get started on the pasta.”

“Awww…” When her girlfriend only glared, she finally nodded and grinned. “I know, I probably stink. Be right back - and it’ll be quick, I promise.”

So they went their separate ways. As Weiss got the water boiling for the spaghetti noodles, then turned her attentions to the garlic bread and sauce, she let her mind wander a bit. Reviewing everything that had happened so recently.

Blake wanted to be with her. It was such a huge leap from ‘I love Yang but have given up on her’ to chasing Yang’s girlfriend, wasn’t it? But then again, the longer she thought, the more bits and pieces that came back to her. Not only the flirting since they had that bedroom encounter, but also the flirting before. And that little something Blake had whispered once, when talking about women that held her heart: ‘One of them, anyway.’

Was it possible that the other one she liked was…?

That was crazy. No way! That had even been before she helped Blake blow off a little steam! Could Blake’s jealousy about Yang and Weiss’s relationship have been twofold all along? After all, Blake had been very catty with her at some points, over very trivial details. But she just thought that meant she mistrusted, or outright disliked her. The dislike masking other types of affections… that was unprecedented.

Or was it? Blake had been flirting with her from the moment Yang started flirting with her. In fact, she had openly stated that she found her attractive and would “make her see stars”, but that she wasn’t going to pursue her out of respect for Yang. Then there was that time she sat her on her lap because of her fresh branding - which was kind, but not totally necessary. Her other designs had been less noticeable behind all that attention from Yang, and Cinder. And Kali, for that matter! The difference was, as it turned out, that the attentions of Cinder and Kali had been playful and not at all serious. She had assumed the same of Blake, but now…

Blake was so sleek and fetching, with her olive skin and her hypnotic amber eyes…

“NO!” she hissed at herself as she stirred the spaghetti noodles in their boiling water furiously. “I love Yang! Why should I need to be with anyone else when I already have a woman who makes me so happy I could explode?!”

She almost hoped someone would appear from nowhere in the kitchen and answer her. No such luck. It looked like she would have to work through this one on her own.

Where was she? Olive skin, hypnotic amber eyes, long black hair that fell in gentle waves. Strong, quiet presence that made her feel like swimming beneath the surface of the ocean. While Yang, on the other hand, was like flying too close to the sun - she consumed her, lit her every pore on fire with heat and passion. And they were both so strong, and so dangerous but made her feel safe.

And both Yang and Blake loved her. Unfortunately, only one of them loved the other… and that simply didn’t seem fair, but it was reality. No sense in fighting against that. Still, it would have been nice if all three of them cared for each other in the exact same way. Convenient and tidy.

Once the ground beef was browned and drained, she started stirring in the tomato sauce as she suffered with indecision. Shouldn’t she be able to decide? Yes, being with a woman was unusual, but it still made more sense to be with just one of them - like a traditional couple. Especially since they were both taller, stronger than her. Maybe she had never said it, because she didn’t want to insult Yang, but she sort of felt as if she were dating a man anyway. Except softer. And prettier. And definitely way cooler than any of the boys in their school.

Beyond that, Blake was even more feminine, which she had expected to make it harder to be interested in her. It didn’t. The evidence was making it clear she had fully crossed over to the other side of the dating pool.

“I’m very homosexual,” she whispered to herself in complete disbelief as it hit her all at once.

“Glad to hear it,” said a playful voice behind her. “I’ve been counting on that.”

#princess and the dragons #freezerburn fanfic #monochrome fanfiction #rwby fanfiction #rwbyremnants

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cuthian · 6 years

Text

In Hell, We Stand By You Chapter Six

Hi!

Last chapter before I take a week or two off to work on the last two chapters and the sequel, so I can begin uploading that as soon as possible too!

Thank you so much for your support so far, guys, you've been awesome!

I'll see you soon!

Love, Annaelle

Thank you to my lovely Juuls for beta-ing and helping me wrestle this little thing into something remotely worth posting :D

Chapter Six

—————

The future has arrived!

Earlier today, Stark Tower was taken entirely off the grid and hooked up to a reactor invented by none other than Tony Stark, 41, himself. Stark, when he announced his plans for the Tower, said, “I’m going to make my tower a beacon of clean, self-sustaining energy.”

It certainly looks like he has succeeded!

… The Tower is powered 100 percent by renewable, clean energy and includes seventy-five floors reserved solely for employees of Stark Industries, now led by Virginia Potts, 38, while the twenty floors above will be reserved for Stark’s research and development and personal use. It is also one of the largest clean energy sites on the globe, though its spot at the top of the list is still threatened by Apple’s construction of a fully functional, green energy-powered campus for its employees.

… While there has been a lot of controversy surrounding Tony Stark throughout the years, from his image as the Merchant of Death to Iron Man, we can most definitely say we are excited to see where he will be able to lead us with renewable energy!

—M. Chapo, The Guardian, ‘Stark Tower Goes Off the Grid’, 2011

—————

S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjet, International Airspace Steve

The soft press of Bucky’s dog tags into his skin was more soothing than Steve liked to admit, even to himself, as he stood in the middle of a jet S.H.I.E.L.D. had arranged to bring him and Becca to the location of the mission’s debrief. He reached up and pressed his fingers to the grooves that spelled out Bucky’s name discreetly, through the soft fabric of the shirt he wore at Becca’s behest.

Barnes, James B. 32557038 T42 A P

He closed his eyes for a moment, drawing in a deep breath and holding it for a few heartbeats before releasing it again. He’d been pushed far beyond the comfort zone he had created for himself in the last twenty-four hours, and though he was well-equipped to deal with it, it was still overwhelming.

He plucked at the dark jeans Becca had insisted he wear because “you don’t have to dress like you’re actually ninety, Steve, God.” He’d only allowed her to guide him in what to wear a little, because his own fashion sense was hardly something to be spoken of, and he figured someone who’d actually been on S.H.I.E.L.D. mission briefings before might actually know what was appropriate.

The entire ensemble was much tighter than he preferred his clothes—he’d developed a healthy aversion after the goddamned tights they’d made him wear during the war—but they fit well and moved with his body comfortably, and Steve had to admit he cared very little about what he was supposed to wear as long as no one tried to take his dog tags, boots and his leather jacket from him.

He listened vaguely as the agent standing beside him—an eager fellow, who’d shaken his hand for a tad too long and grinned so wide Steve was worried he’d break his face—prattled on about the file Fury had left for him and Becca and the people featured in it.

He and Becca had split the packet evenly after Fury had left, switching out the respective files when they’d finished going through it. He’d been as surprised as Becca when her elusive friend Tony—Stark, apparently, Howard’s only child—had shown up in the pile, along with a detailed report of his past exploits and S.H.I.E.L.D. recommendations.

Of course, Steve winced a little, the recommendation had said something along the lines of “Iron Man, yes. Tony Stark, not recommended.”

Steve had to admit that he was wary of the younger Stark. He hadn’t been all too fond of Howard either, and from what he had read in the S.H.I.E.L.D. file, it sure seemed like Tony was a carbon copy of his father with absolutely zero tendency to practice any measure of discretion.

Of course, there was the fact that Becca clearly adored the man and that it had, apparently, been Stark who helped halt the Smithsonian showing of his personal drawings.

Steve had told himself, very firmly, to withhold judgement until he met the man.

He sighed and turned his attention back to the screen Agent Coulson was showing him, silently wondering if he had done the right thing by accepting the mission and dragging Becca along.

The people featured in the files all had certain capabilities that would definitely aid them in the fight against this… Loki, but there were those that made Steve feel incredibly on edge, even before he had laid eyes on them. There was, for instance, Dr. Banner, who was likely the sanest person represented in the files, but who still managed to both horrify and fascinate Steve with what he’d tried to do.

“So,” he interrupted when Coulson fell silent for a moment. “This Dr. Banner was trying to replicate the serum Erskine used on me?”

Coulson shrugged and smiled at him, nodding a little. “A lot of people were. You were the world’s first superhero.” Steve fidgeted uncomfortably at the praise and the way the man looked at him, attempting valiantly to ignore the way Becca was in silent stitches behind Coulson, tears of mirth rolling down her cheeks. Steve hardly thought he deserved the moniker of ‘superhero’, especially considering there had been people during the war who had risked life and limbs to save others—who had hidden people affected by Hitler’s hate-campaign and paid for their kindness and bravery with their own lives.

All he’d done was punch—and occasionally shoot—people in the face.

“Banner thought gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine’s original formula,” Coulson continued, unperturbed and likely unobservant of Steve’s inner turmoil.

“Didn’t really go his way there, did it?” Becca cut in sarcastically, leaning back against the quinjet’s hull, smirking in amusement when Coulson jumped a little when she spoke, as if he’d forgotten she was there too. Steve wouldn’t be surprised if the man actually had forgotten, with how excited he seemed to be to be talking to him.

“Not so much,” Coulson allowed, nodding towards Becca. “He’s a regular Stephen Hawking when you take away that little issue though.”

Steve frowned, trying to recall the name—he knew he’d heard it on the news before—before Coulson cut in with a sympathetic smile. “He’s like a really smart person.”

Steve narrowly managed not to wince at the unintentional taunt and nodded silently, glaring at Becca when she didn’t do anything to help him.

How was this his life?

“I’d hardly say it’s a little issue,” Steve remarked drily, ignoring Coulson’s last remark and eyeing the footage of the Hulk warily. “It seems more of the big, angry green variety.”

Becca snorted an undignified laugh while Coulson gaped, and Steve couldn’t quite suppress a grin. The pilot, a tall, pretty woman who had introduced herself as Agent Johnson, chuckled sardonically and offered Steve her fist to bump—a gesture Becca had taught him early on—winking at him when he did so. He grinned, and the tension that had coiled in his entire body loosened a little.

Becca winked at him, and Steve managed to smile back, before Agent Coulson started talking again, eyeing Steve from the corner of his eye. “It is an honor to meet you, officially.”

Steve stared at him, slightly bewildered, because he was fairly certain they had met officially, before Becca and Steve boarded the Quinjet. Enthusiastic as the man had been, would he not have mentioned this then?

“I sort of met you,” Coulson admitted, evidently reading Steve’s confusion. “I mean… I watched you when you were sleeping.”

Becca and the pilot guffawed in unison and Steve bit his lip hard to keep from laughing as Coulson stammered, somewhat abashed, “I mean, I was… I was present while you were unconscious from the ice, I didn’t—”

“Oh my God,” Becca laughed, clutching at her stomach. “Phil, please, just stop while you’re ahead.”

Steve chuckled at the slightly constipated look on Agent Coulson’s face as he leveled a glare at Becca—who gleefully ignored him and swiped Steve’s tablet from his hands before sitting down on one of the benches—and patted the man on the shoulder lightly.

While he definitely appreciated the sentiment, he still didn’t really think his presence or actions in the war warranted this kind of reverence from anyone. He had been a glorified showgirl for months before he got the chance to prove himself, and he had only done so then because it had been Bucky. He’d have done it even if he had still been 90 pounds soaking wet.

He’d probably have failed, but he still would have tried.

“Well,” he finally said, breaking the slightly awkward silence. “I hope I’m the man for the job.”

He did worry where he’d fit in between the spies, scientists and superheroes—as Stark had dubbed himself, in public, repeatedly. He’d felt entirely out of his depth as he read the files Fury had given them, unsure what value he could bring to the table.

“Of course you are,” Becca snorted, tossing an empty candy bar wrapper at him. “Fury wouldn’t have asked you if he didn’t think you were exactly right for the job.”

“Absolutely,” Coulson piped in enthusiastically. “And uh… We’ve made some modifications to the uniform. I had a little design input.” He sounded incredibly proud and Steve had no idea how he was supposed to tell the man that he hated that goddamned uniform with a burning passion.

He’d only stuck with it in the war because Bucky had been very… persuasive.

“The uniform,” he repeated warily. “Aren’t the stars and stripes a little… old fashioned?”

They’d been horrible back in the forties, and Steve couldn’t imagine people would like them any better today—although he supposed they might develop Bucky’s appreciation for it, no matter how the thought made his cheeks burn and his stomach twist uncomfortably.

Becca remained silent this time, though Steve could tell she was paying close attention to the conversation by the way her head was tilted their way, her slender fingers unmoving where they were pressed against the tablet’s glass screen. They had spoken about the war, sometimes, when they were both up in the middle of the night because of nightmares and their respective demons, and Steve recalled voicing his intense dislikes of the tights several times.

He’d hated the stars and stripes even more, because they weighed on him, with the many expectations and perceptions that came along with it. Sometimes, Steve wasn’t sure anyone would ever even care to know about who Steve Rogers really was anymore.

Coulson shrugged and said, “With everything that’s happening… the things that are about to come to light… People might just need a little old fashioned.”

Before he was forced to think of an awkward reply to that, the pilot called Agent Coulson over and left Steve standing in the middle of the plane. He heaved a sigh and joined Becca on her bench, thumping his head back against the metal wall softly. “You could have warned me,” he said in the most reproachful tone he could manage—which, admittedly, wasn’t very reproachful at all.

“But where’s the fun in that?” She drawled, knocking their shoulders together playfully as she tapped the tablet’s screen a couple of times. “Besides, Coulson’s harmless. He’s a great agent and an even better leader—you’ll like him. Once he gets over his crush, that is.”

Steve snorted, but didn’t comment further—he’d learned to trust Becca’s opinion on people a little in the weeks he’d been living with her.

If she said Coulson was a good man, he likely was.

“What are you looking at?” He quizzed, leaning in so he could see what Becca was looking at on the tablet. He recognized the file and photo immediately, and had to actively fight the urge to pull the tablet from Becca’s hands and toss it across the plane.

Natasha Romanoff.

Black Widow, highly trained S.H.I.E.L.D. operative and future S.H.I.E.L.D. liaison for the Avengers team, and Becca’s onenightstand.

“Ah, Agent Romanoff,” Fury said, looking at someone coming up behind Steve. “Excellent. Consider your current mission aborted. Report back to Agent Coulson, he has a new assignment for you.”

“Romanoff?” Becca said, confusion and horror blending together in her voice. “You said your name was Rushman. Natalie Rushman.”

His lips parted to speak—to say anything, because the expression on Becca’s face when she’d realized her date was actually a highly trained spy that had been sent in to infiltrate her life by her own boss broke his heart, even if she’d covered it up with amusement and forced laughter a second later—but before he could say something, Becca cut him off with a fierce glare.

“Don’t.”

The look in her eye was determined and somewhat exasperated, but he noted the way her knuckles turned white as she tightened her grip on the tablet. “Don’t say anything, Steve.”

“Becca,” he sighed, reaching out to gently pry the tablet from her grip.

“No,” Becca hissed, pulling on the tablet even as it slid from her grasp. “Steve, I don’t want to talk about this again. We’ve already discussed this enough.”

“But we haven’t,” Steve insisted, lifting the hand he held the tablet in out of Becca’s reach, even as she leaned across his lap to get it back. “We haven’t talked about it at all, and we should! Becca, this was a huge violation of our privacy—”

“I work with spies, Steve,” Becca exclaimed exasperatedly, slapping her hand down on his chest. “I took a very valuable asset from them, and I refused to let them near you. I was more surprised they hadn’t done something like this before. I didn’t expect yesterday, but it’s not…” she sighed and dropped back down next to Steve, sagging against him tiredly. “It’s not surprising at all.”

Steve shifted uncomfortably, but moved so he could slip his arm around Becca, squeezing her tightly until he could feel her tense frame relaxing and her fingers unclench against his chest.

He didn’t understand this… this world of spies and agents, where it was apparently more than okay to toy with someone’s life to get information, to get access to him of all people. He felt more insulted than Becca did, apparently, and though she’d brushed off his concern like it had been nothing, he cared.

He didn’t like the idea of people taking advantage of her to get to him.

He didn’t say anything though, taking her former words to heart. The discussion was not done, and he was not okay with what Fury had done, but he knew how to pick his battles. However much Bucky had liked to joke Steve liked to pick all the battles, he did actually know when to back down.

He just didn’t do it very often.

“If you two would strap in,” Coulson interjected, and Steve froze, arm still slung around Becca’s shoulders with her face pressed against his collar bone, unsure what the Agent would make of their apparent closeness.

We’re about to land,” Coulson said succulently, eyes trailing over Steve and Becca’s entangled forms before he turned and settled in the cockpit alongside the pilot.

Steve’s cheeks flushed as he realized what Coulson must have made of their position and quickly detangled himself from Becca. “They’re going to think we’re—”

“—sleeping together?” Becca finished, raising an eyebrow at him. “Steve, honey, I hate to break it to you, but I’m pretty sure they already do. Me breaking you out of HQ and then letting you move into my spare bedroom has to be the most exciting thing that’s happened all year.”

“But you’re—” Steve hesitated and glanced towards the cockpit, unsure of whether or not Becca’s preferences were known to S.H.I.E.L.D., despite how much she had claimed it wasn’t illegal anymore and no one would punish her for preferring those of her own gender over Steve’s.

“Gay?” She chuckled, patting his head. “Relax, Steve, I’m not in the closet. You think they would have sent a female Agent to seduce me if it was a secret? Haven’t been since I was twelve. It’s never been a secret, but people…” she sighed heavily and shrugged. “It’s a pretty heteronormative world out there. Unless they see proof, they’re going to assume you’re straight, and even then there are those who think you just ‘haven’t met the right one’.”

Steve huffed, frowning fiercely as he considered that; after talking about it with Becca and Karen-the-therapist, he’d done some research and concluded that he felt most at ease with the term ‘bisexual’ for himself, but he couldn’t even imagine being as blasé and open about it as she was.

If the world wasn’t even ready to accept someone like Becca was gay—or, as she had put it, preferred women ninety-nine percent of the time—how the hell were they going to take Captain America liking men just that little bit more than he liked women?

Becca shook her head and smiled sadly. “It’s stupid, but I don’t let it bother me. I have better things to do than to spend my entire day trying to correct people who assume you and I are sleeping together just because we’re a man and a woman who are not related and who happen to live in the same house. Plus you used to sleep with my… great-uncle. I think. Whatever. It’d be weird to sleep with you.”

Steve snorted, but nodded. He didn’t like it, but it did make sense. “Not to mention we’re both queer as fuck,” he added, finally managing to latch the complicated seatbelt.

Becca snorted a laugh and dug her elbow between his ribs. “Yeah,” she chuckled. “That too.”

They remained quiet while the quinjet landed, though Steve briefly shut his eyes and squeezed Becca’s hand as tightly as he dared before they touched down, because he might have been dealing with his issues, but this was the first time he’d been on a plane since he had crashed the Valkyrie, and his mind was doing its very best to remind him of the moment he crashed into the icy water over and over again.

Becca kept up a steady stream of nonsensical whispering as the quinjet touched down, and Steve had never been more grateful for her friendship—she didn’t even mention the way he’d flinched when the landing gear had made contact with the ground.

“We’re gonna be fine, Steve,” she whispered to him as Coulson gestured towards the opened ramp, squeezing her slender fingers around his briefly one more time before she let go to unbuckle herself.

He hoped she was right.

Then again…

How bad could it possibly be?

#my writing #lisa writes #In Hell We Stand By You #IHWSBY #Stucky #stucky fanfic #stucky fanfiction

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