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capesandshapes · 3 years

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Goodbye (LoveSquare)

Summary: Marinette gives up the Miraculous box and forgets. Adrien is left behind as a result.

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“How did I know that I’d find you here?” She said, and for a moment it was so easy to pretend that she was someone else, that he was in another time, another place in which things went right.

But he wasn’t.

And it was Rena Rouge beside him, that pitying smile on her face that she always had, her long legs covered in orange instead of red and her eyes brown instead of blue as she looked at him, a million things she wanted to say and not the time nor courage to say them.

He could only swallow, because he knew why she was there, and that he was supposed to be anywhere else.

But he couldn’t help it.

It was just like it always had been for the past year, him sitting on that rooftop, his legs hanging over the edge—so close to falling, but so far from it at the same time—and his green eyes trained forward, resting on the windows of a bakery that he had not been to in a year, on the room of a girl who he had not truly known for even a few months before he lost her. Wishing. Waiting. Wanting.

“I guess it’s better that you’re here than over there,” Rena said, slipping onto the ledge beside him, her hands braced on the cement edge as she sighed in that over-dramatic way of hers. As the Guardian of the Miraculous, she should have said more, the Order of Guardians would want her to.

But Rena was always soft on him—Alya was always soft on him.

“She still doesn’t remember,” Adrien said, pulling his knees up to his chin, watching as the girl in the window went about her day, pinning a dress into shape atop the cloth form she had only just bought.

“They said that it was unlikely that she would,” Alya reminded him. “Magic is pretty steadfast, Adrien.”

He, of all of the people, did not need to be reminded of that.

It took a long time to understand that his mother was gone.

And even longer to accept that Ladybug, as he knew her, was gone.

They had just a few months together.

“If you would only let me go over there,” Adrien began the same argument that he always made. Because he was so certain that up close, if she really looked at him, she would see him and remember. They would have back their Ladybug, they could pull her miraculous out of the box—

“Adrien, it’s better this way,” Alya reminded him, frowning as her eyes moved to look where exactly he was watching—taking in the black-haired girl that toiled over yet another design.

“For who?” He asked, but he already knew the answer.

For her.

Because the new Papillion hated her, because she targeted her, because Marinette had to give up the box—because she had to give up everything, and now she was content as Marinette.

But it was easier for Alya to think that, because she remembered her. Because Alya wasn’t so tied up in the Miraculous box that all hints of her vanished from memory, that she was demoted from a partner to this… an acquaintance.

Marinette hardly even knew Adrien’s name anymore.

“We used to dance on this rooftop,” he informed Alya, unable to even look at the place anymore. “Ladybug and I.”

“You’ve said that before.”

“I don’t want to forget it,” he informed her, because memories were fragile, fleeting things as it turned out, and they could leave you with a single beat of a moth’s wings.

“She’ll approach you someday.”

“When?”

“Soon.”

“Not soon enough,” Adrien said, and once again he had that urge to climb onto her rooftop, to knock on her trap door like the old days and wait for her to grab a blanket and sit out with him. Those days were better than nothing. Those days were better than now.

How was it that losing one person felt like losing everything? How was it that he was the only person meant to feel like that in the world?

Alya and Nino still had each other, and he?

“Don’t do anything stupid,�� Alya begged, because if he did approach her, he would lose his miraculous. The Order of the Guardians practically demanded it. Over and over again, he couldn’t help but think that it would be worth it to forget as well, that Paris could be damned, and so long as he didn’t have to feel like this anymore it would be okay. But that was such a selfish and callous thought, the kind of thing that Gabriel Agreste would think of, rather than Adrien.

He wasn’t like him. He would never be like him.

So he had to sit and wait. Every single day.

***********************************************

He knew it was her when she came out with a black, Agreste-branded umbrella.

Actually, he didn’t know, he just hoped.

Because when she looked at him with those sky-blue eyes, the rainwater trickling off of her lashes—all he wanted was for her to be Marinette.

And then he said her name and it was true.

And then she whispered his and his life was complete.

A few months. Only three months of that. Of his lips on hers, of her hand fitting in between all the spaces in his—and then a new Hawk Moth, a spiteful Papillion.

And then being alone once more, the empty space beside him feeling more devastating because he knew what it was like to have it filled.

He’d find the miraculous someday and put it away, lock it deep within the box that Alya kept hidden in her room. He would never let it see the light of day, just let Nooroo out and the token he was tied to be lost to time.

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Whenever it rained, he thought of her.

Whenever it rained, he thought of walking up to her, a new umbrella in hand, and pulling her under it, protecting her from the downpour. He thought of kissing her, like he should have done so many times before, and of her pulling away and warning him that they should get inside, then him asking why, telling the stupid joke that ‘lightning never strikes twice’.

Because the chance of her kissing him again always felt abysmal, and when she did he couldn’t help but gape.

Because now, as a year stood between them and she always acknowledged him last amongst her friends, the idea of his lips touching hers was once again an improbability.

But still, he couldn’t help but think of it, he couldn’t help but get lost in the idea. Even as the rain sank into his skin and made his t-shirt cling to his body, his eyes trained forward as his mind trailed off.

He hadn’t gotten enough sleep again, he’d been too busy watching her the night before. He’d forgotten that Marinette was some miracle of nature, that she almost never got tired.

He could barely keep his eyes open even in a torrential downpour.

“How did I know that I’d find you here?” Said a voice from above. The same song, the same dance as always.

He could only swallow.

The black shade of an umbrella eclipsed the sky over him, providing a momentary reprieve from the cold sting of rain, as a familiar pair of blue eyes looked down at him in amusement, the same as always.

The same as always.

Because he did this too often too, he sat at the bench where she could see him in the rain, waiting for her to realize that he was there. He let the rain wash away any hope of her knowing just as well as it washed away the tightness that always filled his lungs when he thought of her.

And he said goodbye, just as he always wanted to, just as he always wished that he did. She would bring the umbrella over him, he would thank her as he always did, and he would tell her goodbye.

I’ll see you again sometime soon.

God. This was insanity wasn’t it? Repeating the same action over and over again, hoping for a different outcome? But it was always the same.

And somehow it was better than sitting in his old house with his father, who was in just as bad of shape as her, and remembering when things were better all alone. That house could burn up with him inside it and he would have felt nothing, he wouldn’t have even noticed the smoke.

“Hey, are you okay?” Her voice filled his mind, and he could only close his eyes at the sound. “Adrien?”

There was a thump next to him, but he couldn’t be bothered to notice, because, today more than anything, it was too hard.

One year.

A whole year without her. A whole year like that, in that quasi friendship state, waiting for her. One year waiting at the beginning, wanting to start it all over again.

One year remembering when he told himself that he could have had his mother and her, then the crushing realization that in the end, he walked away with nothing. With a father who couldn’t even properly apologize for what he’d done, with a father who couldn’t even remember the past five years. With a dent on the side of his bed where she used to lay and talk to him, one that slowly faded away over time.

With a broken heart, one that he feared would never be repaired.

Was it stupid to cry? He couldn’t help but fear that it was, but that didn’t do much. He cried all the same, wishing that he didn’t.

And then her arms were around him, cradling him closely, and he could pretend that they meant more than they did.

“Adrien, I’m here… I’m right here…”

But you’re not, he wanted to tell her, but you never will be again.

Instead, he held her a little closer, clung desperately to her skin like he could save himself from the raging current threatening to pull him away, from the dangerous thoughts of loneliness that echoed in his mind. He wanted nothing more than to touch her, to press his lips to her forehead and know her skin once again.

But he was just Adrien, and she was Marinette—stuck in the hellish in between.

“I really did love you,” he admitted, the words tearing so softly out of him that he wasn’t sure anyone else could hear him, and her hands only tightened in response, some small part of her calling back, I really did love you too.

#my fanfic #lovesquare #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #miraculous ladybug #miraculous fanfiction #mlb fanfic #idk it's a warm up fuck it #post reveal #post relationship

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dontcallmecarrie · 3 years

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Downward Descending

the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and every villain is the hero of his own story.

Justin Hammer didn’t consider himself a good man.

Kind? Yes. But not good.

aka thanks, commenter, I blame the plot twist my brain came up with on you because I had zero inspiration for this AU up until I saw your comment

probably won’t make sense if you didn’t read part one to this mess and heads up, the protagonist becomes a villain here. Under the cut because it ran away on me, again.

Above all things, Justin Hammer was a realist.

Kind of hard not to be, considering; between their [fading] memories of another world, and the life they’d been stuck with this round as the heir of Hammer Industries, they’d never really had a chance to get their head in the clouds.

Other people could dream of a better future, and he really did wish them all the best— but in the meantime, he had work to do.

Justin didn’t understand these people.

Sometimes, he wondered if he ever would.

Justin didn’t think much of his family: oh, sure, they were loaded, but...well, for obvious reasons, he didn’t think very highly of some— okay, most— of their parenting choices.

Look, some people just aren’t meant to be parents, okay? But at least they try and give a damn.

These guys didn’t even bother.

Not when their heir turned out to be a normal kid instead of a once-in-a-generation child prodigy and genius [no hard feelings, though, Stark].

Eh. Whatever.

Might’ve been for the best, actually; at least it was him and not some other poor kid who got stuck with dealing with all the crushing expectations and comparisons to a frankly impossible ideal, and at least they didn’t try to pull any of that shit with his little sister because if they had then...he wasn’t sure what he would’ve done, but it would not have been pretty.

[they were an older sibling twice over. some things were etched into their soul.]

It wasn’t like Justin had set out to quasi-adopt just about everyone remotely his age, okay? It just sort of...happened.

Okay, look, it’s not his fault everyone his generation looks like a kid to him, they’re all brats and for some reason, all their parents came in different flavors of shitty because their IQs were sky-high but their collective emotional intelligence wouldn’t have filled a teaspoon so looks like it was up to him to step up.

Look, it made perfect sense at the time!

Sometimes, it’s funny how Justin is the most mature person in the room. Other times, it’s just pathetic.

Especially when it’s two grown men half a second from duking it out while in public, like they weren’t supposed to be setting an example for their kids.

Justin couldn’t help his dark look at the spectacle, even as he ushered Stark and Pym to the buffet tables on the other side of the room, all the while trying to keep the conversation light. He didn’t really have the time for hobbies, not with all the private tutors his parents kept foisting on him, but it was still nice to hear what other people his age got up to.

...unless said kid was Stark, in which case they all got regaled with an overenthusiastic spiel on something that went way over Justin’s head but hey, he’d had plenty of practice nodding along to Steph’s chatter so this was nothing.

Looking back, it’s kind of sad how something as simple as giving half a damn was enough for Stark to consider them lifelong friends.

Even sadder, because Justin hadn’t even realized it at the time; he’s just been his usual self.

But apparently, that was enough for some people, was significant enough to be remembered even decades later— long after Justin himself had forgotten all about the encounter.

There weren’t a lot of things Justin put actual effort in.

Emotionally, that is; he was not afraid from hard work, never had been, but there was a world of difference between brushing up on engineering terms and being there for someone.

Not like his mother, who’d apparently thought giving birth to him and his sister was enough involvement in his life, and proceeded to spend all her time in the Bahamas whenever she had the chance. Not for his father, who constantly tried to make him into something he was not, and finding him wanting [when he wasn’t being a sexist piece of shit who regularly cheated on his wife, anyway, but that was a whole other mess entirely].

But maybe that’s why he tried to be kind, why he tried to be there for the people around him.

...oh, and apparently he’d been known for giving good advice in boarding school to anyone who asked. Which was weird, but whatever. At least he’d helped?

Justin tried to be a good older sibling. Really, he did, trying to be as supportive as he could be of Steph as he could.

Sometimes, though, that landed him in some...interesting situations.

Such as her infamous ‘fashion design’ phase, which lasted for five very memorable months, during which he wore even her most dubious of creations without complaint even though he really, really couldn’t pull off that particular shade of orange.

There were probably pictures still floating around, actually, but he was in no particular hurry to dig them up.

Not that he was ashamed, because he’d like to think he pulled off some of those combinations remarkably well, but... well, if it were anyone other than his sister asking, he probably wouldn’t have done it.

Goodness knew how long it’d taken for some of the other guys at boarding school to look him in the eye afterwards.

Several decades in, and Justin Hammer had yet to express interest in anyone.

Oh, he was perfectly polite and charming to everyone; courteous and charismatic, but...well.

'Gentleman’, some called him; ‘in the closet’, dismissed others with a scoff.

The truth was somewhere in between: Justin couldn’t help but see everyone his age or younger as kids, and between that, his natural older sibling instincts, and his own personal issues with his body that came and went, well...

At least Stark was always a good distraction, nobody paid attention to him when the guy was around.

Justin worked at his company long before he became its CEO.

It was a bit awkward at first, because everyone seemed to be uncomfortable with the idea of the boss’ kid looking over their shoulders, but once they saw he did good work and pulled his weight [and didn’t regularly make tasteless jokes about kitchens or whatever bullshit his old man was up to these days], things picked up the pace.

He bounced between departments a bit because he wanted to get a better feel for the company, and it was during his brief foray in the marketing department that he came across something that gave him pause.

Now, he knew Hammer Industries followed federal guidelines on who they did and didn’t sell to, officially, but...there were a few grey areas sometimes.

Normally, it wasn’t something he’d have blinked at, but he recognized the names on this particular proposal.

“Von Doom? Latveria? Geez, Victor, what’ve you been up to?”

Once upon a time, there had been a boy who appreciated silence when studying during a time when most children his age were anything but.

So when another brat showed up, he hadn’t exactly been happy about it at first.

But they were quiet, and seemed to prefer to keep their nose in their book, and so they’d come to a wordless agreement to share the space.

For over three years, they studied together and shared exasperated looks when the other brats got loud, and so it was that a friendship was born.

It wasn’t until they stopped showing up one day that Justin learned that there was turmoil in that student’s country that’d forced them to go back, and only then that he learned his silent studymate’s name.

An unusual childhood friendship wasn’t much to go off of.

But it was something.

And knowing what he did about Victor, and the pull his country had in the international sphere... it was a risky gamble, but he was fairly certain he could pull it off.

So Justin quietly but firmly took that particular proposal from the ‘reject’ pile, and took it to his father to look over.

He was still fairly new at this, but he knew how to play the game. It was a risky gamble, but if this panned out, they’d have a significantly stronger foothold in places their rivals couldn’t even dream.

Worst comes to worse, well... everyone was so focused on what was going down in Yugoslavia, it wasn’t like they’d particularly care if a few shipments went missing, now, would they?

It wasn’t pretty, but then, Justin wouldn’t get anywhere in the world if he was afraid of getting his hands dirty.

Latveria’s reputation as an unstable country ended when the scion of one of their most eminent families went and united its people, kicking out all of the outside factions vying for territory as he did.

Then he promptly turned around and revitalized its economy, infrastructure, and gods knows what else because seemingly overnight, Latveria turned into one of the richest countries on the planet.

Sitting back in his chair, Justin smiled as he put down the newspaper.

“Huh. Sounds like someone’s been busy.”

He got a very slick cell phone via courier, not long after that.

That, and a slip of paper with a simple ‘Thanks’ in Victor’s signature scrawl.

Years passed.

Years passed, and shit went down, but no matter what hurdles life threw his way, Justin powered through them nonetheless.

Like when his little sister had a kid and their parents freaked out because she wasn’t married, and then freaked out even more when little Timmy turned out to be on the spectrum and Justin wasn’t remotely surprised when she cut all contact with them after that.

Goodness knew he’d have done the same long ago, after all the shit they’d pulled over the years.

He was just happy she chose to keep him in her life, and that Timmy seemed to really like him as an uncle.

Stark was a bona fide hero, was talking about privatizing world peace.

Justin wished him the best of luck.

But...well, he hadn’t been the one to propose their rivalry, but if Stark wasn’t in the industry to compete against, then... oh, bother.

Looks like he’d have to change up his plans.

Stark was acting weird. Well, weirder, he’d never really been able to understand him in the first place.

“What’s wrong?” Justin asked as he pulled him to the side. Sure, it was probably rude to ignore the gala’s host, but he did not like the look in Stark’s eyes, no matter how bright his smile was.

“Hey, Justin! How’ve you been? Long time no see, but—”

“You’re not okay.” He said, making sure his tone brooked no argument because he knew Stark, had known him since they were kids and he was not okay.

It was like a switch flipped: Stark’s smile vanished, and he reached out towards him for a moment before he sighed and were those tears in his eyes? “Yeah, you could say that.”

The government wanted to take Stark’s super-fancy suit, and...this, he could work with. Somehow.

Damn it, he’d need to tweak some of his plans even more...

For a few seconds, Stark looked very betrayed when he caught sight of him in the courtroom.

Then his face went blank in the way Justin had long known to be his ‘I am screaming internally but I refuse to let the cameras see’ look, and he felt bad for him even as he submitted his own findings to their audience.

To be honest, they were a long ways off from developing anything close to what Stark already had in hand, but it never hurt to be prepared for the future. If one man could do it, what was to stop another?

They were all lucky Stark was a good man who didn’t abuse his power.

Justin was no hero, but if lightning were to strike twice...better him than a potential threat.

Besides— Stark needed competition if he didn’t want to stagnate. Who knows? Hopefully, they’d be able to push each other to greater heights.

Ivan Vanko was a dangerous man. Just as brilliant as Stark, but with an edge that could only have been gained from a hard life.

Dealing with him would be like playing with fire, Justin just knew it.

[Like knew like, after all.]

But he knew people, knew how to work them, and considering that little display at the race track?

He could work with this.

It takes a handful of phone calls to put out all the fires from the past few days.

Perk of being a well-known and respected figure in the defense industry, Justin supposed; Stark’d once mentioned his contact list was classified six ways to Sunday, so really, having a few senators on speed-dial was nothing.

He had to do some extra sweet-talking to calm down some of the generals, and may or may not have made mention to some of his older contracts to get Stern to ease up, but whatever.

Why he was invited to Stark’s birthday celebration, he didn’t know.

But he brought a bottle of apple cider and champagne anyway, because why the hell not.

This party was really, really not his style.

So when he was pulled aside by the man of the hour, he raised an eyebrow when he noticed he was out of his suit and— wait.

Justin whipped back to where the piece of equipment that had been the source of all this mess was dancing on the table, while Tony was in a rumpled suit not three feet from him.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”

Stark looked like shit.

...and was apparently dying, because he’d passed up Justin’s offer at a toast, even though it had been an inside joke for almost as long as they could remember.

Also, he’d looked stricken when Justin had tried to joke about it, that was another pretty big clue.

They weren’t normally one for hugs, but this time they didn’t hesitate to offer— and so felt very very awkward when the closest thing they had to a childhood frenemy proceeded to break down in their arms.

Justin’s older sibling instincts flared to life and they tried to murmur reassurances the best they could, but.

Wasn’t like there was much they could say, now, could they?

Stark was dying, and there was nothing they could do about it.

Something inside Justin was screaming, and the part of him that wasn’t trying to be there for someone absently wondered why...then he noticed what he was saying, and kicked himself for not paying attention earlier.

“—ever give up, I’m here, know you are not alone—”

Geez. Talk about sappy, normally they only got like this around their sister or nephew.

But whatever it was they’d said, it apparently helped.

Or something, because Stark was honest-to-goodness crying but after a few minutes, started to calm down and pull himself together.

“I’m so, so sorry about this—” Stark started, and Justin cut in.

“Don’t be, looks like you needed it.” And he clearly had; already he looked a lot better than before.

“I...should get back to the party, shouldn’t I?” Ah, looks like Justin wasn’t the only one feeling awkward now.

“It’s gone on for a while, and you look pretty tired. You sure you don’t want to wrap it up instead?”

“...yeah, that’s... probably a good idea. See you around, Justin. Hopefully.”

“See you later, Stark.”

Stark apparently invented a new element in his basement.

He knew this, because Stark called him up to say he wasn’t dying anymore.

Once he hung up, he felt torn between immense relief, and exasperation that he’d need to rewrite his plans again.

...aaand kinda ran out of steam again. Long story short, yes, this is the AU where Justin Hammer maybe sort of becomes the Lex Luthor of the universe and may or may not end up accidentally creating a League of Evil of sorts because he’s frenemies with Tony and Victor von Doom ends up having a similar dynamic with some grad student and Ivan has some really good ideas and loves sticking it to the man.

Said club only grows when the Avengers Initiative forms, and Loki escapes custody and joins for the sole purpose of pranking Thor and giving Fury a headache and Justin may or may not end up getting a crush somewhere along the way.

No, I’m not sure how we got here either.

#No Hero [And Not Made Of Stone]#No Hero [Downward Descending]#fic ideas #fic idea #does it count if said 'fic idea' is over 2k long?#My writing

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hello-nichya-here · 3 years

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Zucest - Is It Really Flirting?

(Originally posted on AO3 as chapter 43 of Defending and Analysing Zucest)

@azdaema-does-art asked: So I think a big stumbling block for me with this ship is that I very much adhere to the reading of the show that holds:

Quasi-Seducer!Azula (as seen virtually anytime) and Quasi-Seducer!Zuko (as seen in "The Waterbending Scroll") are not actually expressions of desire from them. Rather, this is Zuko and Azula trying to be intimidating by modeling their behavior off their father (circling, personal-space-invading, low seductive tones, etc)

When actually trying to flirt neither Zuko nor Azula acts anything like that. When Zuko goes on that date with a girl in the Earth Kingdom, or Azula flirting with that guy on Ember Island, they're both awkward disasters.

I'd be curious to hear you address this. (Or point me to some awkward disaster!zucest fanfic.)

***

That is a really good point and I'm glad you brought it up. While I understand that reading of the show, I disagree with it slightly for a few reasons (beyond my own bias).

Need to be in control: No one can argue against the fact that neither Zuko nor Azula know how to have "normal", healthy relationships with others, mainly due to how unequal 99% of the relationships in the Fire Nation are since imposing your own will over someone else's has become part of their culture. Both Zuko and Azula accepted being treated like mere tools/punching bags by their father, Zuko was constantly insulting Iroh over the smallest things and Azula full on threatened Ty Lee's life to make her join her on her chase after her brother and the Avatar - both were scenarios where desire wasn't a factor at all (thought I know many fans that would like to think otherwise XD)

However, during The Beach, we saw how both of them try (and fail) to deal with romance. Zuko was extremelly paranoid that Mai was interested in another guy, for no real reason, and was constantly trying to intimidate her into either admiting to it or into saying she disliked the guy, even though she had clearly said she was completely indifferent to him. And Azula, after her kiss with Chan, decided, on her own and not giving a damn about his feelings on the matter, that not only would they be officially a couple, but that they'd dominate the earth together. Control is, more often than not, a major factor in all of their actions and relationships, so Azula wanting to intimidate Zuko in the bedroom scene (which she very much tried to do and succeeded at) doesn't automatically rule out the possibility of atraction.

Mixed feelings: While "I wanna fight/kill my sibling" is sort of these two default state, there are moments that show that they do have at least some positive feelings for each other. Zuko doesn't give a shit that Aang is going to kill Ozai, but seeing Azula falling "to her death" and then chained up and defeated after their Agni Kai quite clearly made him emotional, even if he tried to control himself. Azula's positive feelings for Zuko are so obvious I had to do an in length discussion of it in chapter 12 "Is Zucest just about sex?" Combine all of the conflicting emotions they have for each other with their need to control the other, and some scenes end up getting some connotations the writers weren't planning them to have... supposedly (I'll get into that in a bit)

Awareness and familiarity: Don't get me wrong, Zuko and Azula are two extremelly traumatized, socially awkward teenagers who have no idea how to flirt (or how to fit in with people their age) but we also need to take context into consideration, especiall when it comes to Zuko's date with Jin and Azula's interactions with Chan.

In Ba Sing Se, Zuko was outside of his comfort zone, away from home, in enemy territory, and so paranoid that he assumed Jin came into the tea shop so often because she knew they were Fire Nation, not because she had a crush on him or simply enjoyed their tea. And while he liked her and the date was nice, Zuko was very "stiff" and even looked a bit uncomfortable (not to say very uncomfortable) at some points - which is oddly simmilar to how he was acting during the bedroom scene (hell, Azula was quite clearly looking at him just like Jin did, as I pointed out in "The most important parallel in Avatar"). Finally, we cannot forget that, even though he was awkward as fuck during 90% of the night, Zuko did manage to do something kinda romantic by lighting up the place, meaning he isn't completely oblivious to the concept of flirting (which is proved by his relationship with Mai).

Now, when it comes to Azula, the poor girl has almost no idea how to flirt. Almost. Talking about Chan's sharp outfit shows she's got some of the basis down, like "say something nice" - the problem is that her concept of "nice" is very different than that of most people. She did sort of know what to do once Ty Lee gave her some tips... but she quickly reversed back to her regular ways - which once again shows that flirting/seduction has an element of control and intimidation for her. She probably doesn't always mean to act in ways that could be considered flirty, but that doesn't mean she is completely oblivious to the implications of, let's say, invading her brother's personal space and talking to him in a low tone while wearing nothing but a robe.

And since I mentioned Azula going back to what she knows, that leads us to another thing to take into account: the fact that Zuko and Azula quite literally knew each other their whole lives - meaning if they were to ever flirt with each other, it would probably look at least somewhat different than when they were out of their element. Azula was the one in control, so she was far more comfortable and confident than she had been with Chan, and Zuko was the one being intimidated, which explains why he kept his guard up. Once again, that "theory" is sort of confirmed if we compare how Zuko acted while flirting with Mai on The Headband versus how he tried to interact with her in The Beach - when he used a non-traditional, but very Mai-esque "You're so beautiful when you hate the world" he got her equivalent of an "I love you" when she told him she didn't hate him, but he tried to do more "normal" things like getting her a pretty shell it blew up on his face. He knows Mai since they were both kids, meaning he usually knows how to deal with her, just like Azula usually knows how to deal with him.

Intensity: While a lot of Azula's behavior can be explained by her copying Ozai, we need to remember that there's only so much he could affect, especially since her way of "intimidating" Zuko was far more touchy and incestuous than his, and lasted a lot longer. Azula gets close to people when she's intimidating them (see how she toyed with Aang in The Drill), but not as close as she did with her brother. The sole exception to that being Sokka on The Day Of Black Sun - but that is on somewhat shaky ground despite the accidental sexual tension since the first time she got close to him she was being launched by the Dai Li and he just happened to be standing a little bellow the direction she was launched at, and the second time had him pinning her to the wall (which is in character since Sokka usually goes straight at his foes to intimidate them while fighting), and as soon as she had her firebending back she pushed him away. On top of that, she was trying to distract him, Aang and Toph, meaning he wasn't her focus at all, and she ignored him on all the other times their groups were facing each other.

With Zuko on the other hand, she was going full force, like I said on my analysis of the bedroom scene. She played coy, stared at him in a very intense, weird way, circled the pillar on her bed, stretched in front of him, got on his personal space touching his shoulder and chest, and bit her lip while talking basically purring her words. That is all a bit too much for me to believe it was just about intimidation. And the touching gets even more suspicious when you notice Azula does enjoy and is willing to give physical affection - she hugged both Mai and Ty Lee after seeing them again, pulled Ty Lee close while conforting her and apologizing for her harsh words at The Beach... and put her hand on Zuko's shoulder while saying he restored his own honor to reassure him after he was feeling bad for betraying his uncle.

Intention of the actors/writers/animators: Avatar is no stranger to parallels. It also isn't a stranger to adult themes/jokes, fanservice, and ship teasing. For instance, even thought they didn't end up together and were never canonically interested in each other, there was A LOT of hints/teases of Zutara - dude fucking took lightining to the heart for her.

Just like the writers and producers were aware of Zutara, Tokka and many, many other ships, they were also aware of Zucest and even jokingly shipped Azula and The Blue Spirit at a panel. The animators habit of sexualizing the characters speaks for itself, so I won't even go into that. Finally, Grey Delisle, Azula's voice actress is a Zucest shiper, has brought it up many times, asked people to send her fanart and fanfic of it, created the phrase "Zucest is best cest", and has full on said she voiced the scene as if Azula was trying to seduce Zuko, - which regardless of whether or not the writers intended for the character to be doing, means that there is a very strong incest subtext to the scene and that, in a weird way, "Azula" herself confirmed her motives to act the way she did.

#zucest #azuko #shipcest #meta #azula #zuko #fire siblings #atla #avatar

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ecoamerica · 1 month

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Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!

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rachelbethhines · 3 years

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Tangled Salt Marathon - The Return of the King

So we’re back to the quasi-filler stuff. This episode does set a few things up for the finale, like bringing Edmund to Corona, but none of those things are actually good and it’s still mostly filled with irrelevant shit alongside the more important stuff.

Summary: King Edmund arrives in Corona to see his long-lost son, Eugene, and to give him the royal sash of their bloodline. Eugene wants nothing to do with him, but Rapunzel invites him to stay. Later, the sash is stolen and a ransom note is left behind. Edmund and Eugene decide to go and retrieve it. Meanwhile, the Stabbington Brothers plot revenge on Eugene as they are both viewed as a joke by the other criminals.

So How Did the Stabbingtons Escape the Prison Barge

Last we saw them they were stuck on a prison barge along with Lady Caine and all of the other season one villains. How did they escape? Did Lady Caine or anybody else make it out? If so then where are they this season?

We’re not going to get any of those questions answered are we?

Man this is just sloppy continuity. Which ironic, because these two were only brought back this season because of continuity. They need to be “redeemed” so that they can be at the wedding. I guess it just sucks to be you if you’re an original villain for this show and not named Cassandra.

Why Is This Deserving of Ridicule?

Like...We’re talking about a world renowned thief and adventurer and his magical royal girlfriend who are well known enough outside of Corona to be mentioned and there for no doubt people know how they both defeated monsters, daemons, and several criminals besides just there two guys, right?

This plot point makes no sense.

You could just kick these dumbasses butts and be done with it. I doubt they’d bother picking on you again if you did.

Did we really need even more motivation for them to want revenged against Eugene?

Rapunzel is Back to Being Her Bossy Self

Rapunzel has not earned the role of “wise administrator” yet. She’s only been out of the tower for two years now and she has yet to prove to the audience that she has managed to learn anything since then. By jumping the gun and forcing her into a role that she hasn’t grown into, and by ignoring that this whole show started out as a coming of age story, it just makes Rapunzel unpleasant to be around. All her “advice” is just her ordering people about with a veneer of chipperness to try and mask her controlling nature. People who should know more about their own lives than she does and have no reason to listen to her.

So We’re Showing Rapunzel Being Responsible... By Having Her Avoid Responsibility?

Part of why the writers made her “acting queen” for the first half the season was to get her to grow into the role of becoming full time queen. However they screwed this up by not having her actually learn anything and having her avoid the real duties a queen preforms.

What Rapunzel is doing her is just being a socialite busybody. The only administrative thing she does is approve some low-scale building plans for a small business. A thing that would have been handled by a lower official in an actual functioning government.

Once again Rapunzel is being selfish and doing what she like, ie bossy people around while having them kiss her ass, as the real work of running the kingdom is left to someone else. This isn’t being responsible, it’s being hypocritical, but don't expect anyone to ever call Rapunzel out for this.

Pointless Action Scene is Pointless

At this point, the low stakes action sequences are just cringe. Like is this an adventure show or not people? Stop forcing crap like this and give us some real conflicts instead.

How Did You Get Here So Fast Edmund?

It took Rapunzel and company nearly a year to get to the Dark Kingdom. Even if Edmund wasn't delayed with pit stops like they were, it would have still taken him several months to get here by horse.

Did he take a boat, or have four to six months already past since Rapunzel’s Return?

I would argue that this episode was aired out of order and should have been later in the season, but Cassandra’s appearance at the end of this story, and Hamnuel’s appearances in later episodes, would suggest otherwise.

Crap like this is why season’s three timeline doesn’t work unless you stretch everything out to two years instead of one.

Read the Room Rapunzel

One could argue that Rapunzel is just trying to be polite, but that doesn't really hold water.

For starters Eugene is clearly upset and has every right to want to set boundaries between himself and Edmund. Ignoring that is incredibly rude and if my significant other ever did such a thing, well they wouldn’t be my significant other for very long.

Secondly, Rapunzel could have offered other accommodations if she felt pressured to be polite to Edmund. Not only are their lots of inns in a port town known for trade, many of which are probably well-to-do, but there’s also that convent that was mentioned back in season one. It has to be somewhere in Corona itself and as the so far only mentioned major religious organization in the country it would no doubt have stately quarters for when royalty and nobility would visit.

So not only would it be a suitable place for a visiting king to stay in, as it would be made for such things, but it’s also far enough away that Eugene wouldn’t feel like his space is being invaded but close enough that Edmund could come and go as he pleases.

By that point it’s still between Edmund and Eugene and Rapunzel can stay out of it, like she should.

Eugene is Right

These are all valid reasons for cutting someone out of your life. Furthermore, you don’t even need a reason. If you don’t want to associate with somebody then just don't associate with. It’s your life. You don’t have to justify how you choose to live it and people who actually care about you should respect that.

Unfortunately no one respects Eugene.

Not Edmund, not Rapunzel, and most certainly not the writers.

Then Why Don't You Get Closer to Edmund, Rapunzel?

I understand Rapunzel’s viewpoint here. Edmund is the only person she’s ever met who has experienced the same isolation that she has. He’s one of the very few people whom she can empathize with.

However that doesn’t give her the right to force her views upon her boyfriend. If she cared so much than she could just befriend Edmund herself and leave Eugene out of it.

Trying to encourage a child to have relationship with a parent who neglected them is super tone deaf at best and outright disrespectful at worst. It’s also highly hypocritical seeing as Rapunzel cut Gothel out of her life for similar reasons and Eugene only ever supported her for it.

No really, flip the situation. If Eugene tried to encourage Rapunzel to give Gothel a second chance everyone would be slamming him for it. So why does Rapunzel get a free pass?

Shorty Already Did That, Eugene. Don’t You Remember?

I mean, you were literally right there when it happened. Are we forgetting season two the same as season one now?

So Why Are Stan and Pete Suddenly Back, But Not Cap?

I mean we went through all that trouble in Rapunzel’s Return to write them out of the narrative and here they are without any explanation. Why are simple set ups so dang hard for this show?

Rapunzel is Overstepping Her Bounds Here

Ok, giving Edmund a place to stay is one thing. Suggesting to Eugene that he should give Edmund a chance is not appropriate but still forgivable. But this?

This crosses a fucking line!

Eugene is not Rapunzel’s subject. He’s her boyfriend, and a prince in his own right. Rapunzel can’t just volunteer him for crap without his consent. That’s just indirectly ordering him about like she would a servant.

Once again, flip the script. If Eugene tried to force Rapunzel to work with Gothel everyone would be up in arms. Why is this then deemed okay?

This is Coercion

Not only is Edmund and Rapunzel trying to guilt trip Eugene here but she even fucking elbows him!

Like this isn’t “cute couple bickering” here. That kind of stuff is reserved only for inconsequential shit.

This a woman trying to strong arm and guilt trip her husband to be into having a relationship with his abusive father! Because guess what? Neglect is still abuse!

Rapunzel has zero say in Eugene and Edmund’s relationship. It’s none of her fucking business! Trying to force her into this plot just makes her look like an asshat.

I mean look at this smug smile! The fucking bitch is proud of being a shit human being and a terrible girlfriend.

And of course don't expect the show to call out this behavior as wrong because of out of date sexist double standards. If you think any of this is okay then just role reverse Eugene and Rapunzel here and then tell me its still alright.

The Show Missed a Real Trick By Not Naming Him Horus Instead

Horus, the sun god, would have been a nice bit of irony and given meaning to the name while keeping the joke virtually unchanged. You could have had both lore and a punchline.

And I would argue that the joke as is, isn’t even funny. Horace is indeed a lame name, but not for the reason that the show gives. It’s lame because it’s not unique enough. There’s already a Disney character named Horace and I’m sure there are real people out there with that name as well since it’s not completely unheard of. So the joke falls flat and winds up insulting anyone with that name.

Don’t Expect Any Pay Off for Eugene’s Identity Issues This Season

Yeah the show makes a big deal out of Eugene having a mid-life crisis through out season three, but then never resolves it in any meaningful way.

Edmund Is an Asshole

I don’t care how “crazy” he is. Calling someone by a name they don't wished to be called is just plain rude. Acknowledging someone’s preferred name is just a basic common courtesy that is expected of everyone. Once again, this isn’t funny, quirky, nor charming, just unpleasant.

So the Animators Wasted a Model on a No-Named Character Who Only Appears Once

Someone said this little girl appears in season one, but it’s not noticeable if she does. She also doesn’t have a name and this is her only speaking role. What a waste of money. Just have one of the braided girls from the movie instead. You already built models for them and haven’t really used them.

And before some mentions race here, this is poor rep already cause the character has no impact.

Turns Out, Varian Didn’t Even Need Those Truth Serum Cookies

Not only does this dumb down Pete to a ridiculous degree, but it also invalidates everything Varian went through in The Alchemist Returns and the grief he got from everyone for using the truth serum.

Oh, and it’s also lazy writing and a plot contrivance.

That’s Not Figgy Pudding!

This is Figgy Pudding.

It’s a boiled “pudding” that’s more like a cake with dried fruit in it. During the 14th through 18th centuries such bread puddings were made to be carried around in ones pocket or knapsack for eating on the go. They’re nothing like the creamy custards we call puddings today.

It also looks nothing like what’s shown on the screen below.

That’s like a half eaten loaf of wheat bread?

That’s jelly filled .. apparently...?

Once Again, If You Have to Make Everyone Else Incompetent to Make Your Hero Useful to the Plot Then You Need a New Plot

Rapunzel has zero business in this plot. She doesn’t even need to be in this episode beyond a cameo. Trying to cram her into the protagonist role in a conflict that doesn’t involve her is just a disservice to everyone.

Winnie The Pooh Is More Mature Than This Show

More of that meta commentary I was talking about last episode, and it just as full of shit as ever.

Seriously Find Her, Keep Her is the best script I have ever seen in any show. It’s perfectly balanced so that anyone of any age can relate to it. It’s real and heartbreaking and perfectly suitable for small children to understand. There’s no shock value, no darkness, no modern satire, but its far more mature and complex and deep than anything TTS has tried.

Also Rabbit is a far better father than any dad in this show, while still being cut from the same trope. There’s no shame in being a children’s show when its done well and this now 30 year old kids show runs rings around what ever mess Tangled is trying to sell.

Eugene Isn’t Exaggerating Here and I Don't Know How to Feel About That

Turns out Eugene did grow up with these guys the same as he did with Lance. It’ll be confirmed only two episodes later. That just recontextualizes everything. He didn’t just betray some rando guys that he held no feelings for, he betrayed people that he’s known and worked with since childhood.

Now just because he’s known them doesn’t mean that they were family to him like Lance, but like the fact that he keeps claiming then as such through out the episode would suggest that perhaps they were like siblings.

That’s ... ingenious. That makes Flynn Rider retroactively an even worse person and gives the Stabbingtons real reason for vengeance.

Only the show doesn't do anything with this! It just makes Eugene an even bigger jerk in the movie for zero reason.

Let Me Reiterate, Edmund Is an Asshole

Just like with Frederic, Cassandra, and Rapunzel the show uses framing to try and make the audience side with people who do unforgivable things.

Edmund is an abuser. He neglected his own son for 25 years. But the show presents him as “funny” and “quriky” and “look at his pouty face, he’s so lonely”....

No!

Edmund isn’t deserving of anything and how he treats Eugene here is garbage.

This show is utter crap writing wise but boy does it know how to gaslight its own audience into siding with bullies and abusers.

Eugene Is One Thousand Percent In the Right Here, But Don’t Expect the Narrative to Acknowledge That

There’s nothing you can do to make up for that.

Eugene might forgive him. Eugene might move on from it. Eugene might decide a relationship it still worth having with Edmund. But the horrible thing still happened and it happened because Edmund allowed it to happen. There’s no going back from that and everything going forward has to be on Eugene’s terms alone.

But the narrative won't allow Eugene that agency.

Even as he makes his grand proclamation about being done with Edmund the cameras chooses to focus on Edmund and his feelings. The story is already priming the audience to prioritize Edmund over Eugene so that when the forced and contrived forgiveness scene comes we won't question it. But it only comes because Chris doesn’t deem Eugene as individual person with thoughts and feels of his own, but as an avatar to fulfill his wishfulment fantasy regarding his own personal daddy issues.

Rapunzel’s Characterization in Season Three is Just....Off

Ok, even ignoring the major stuff, like not recognizing what she’s done wrong, putting her into roles she’s not meant to carry, and making her a shitty girlfriend suddenly, Rapunzel just behaves contrary to her character all through out season three even in small subtle ways like here.

On the surface this seems like a clever call back to Great Expotations, but lets examine more closely, shall we.

On one end we have yo-yos; an invention that’s been around since ancient Greece and is so wide spread across the globe that the word “yo-yo” itself is theorized to come from Indonesia and the Philippines.

On the other end there is Rapunzel. A woman who spent 18 years isolated inside of a tower, because of this she is both ignorant of somethings and insatiability curious and eager to learn. Or at least she was, until striking out onto a year long road trip, and having now been out of the tower for only two years, claims to know better than the entire fucking world about this object who’s existence she didn’t even know about until only a year and half ago!

Like what kind of sense does this make? Why would you abandon the core of her drive and motivation, to learn, explore, and grow, and then call it “development”?

How Did Edmund Get Beat By These Guys?

Edmund took out Adria. The Brotherhood is suppose to be the best physical fighters in this world and Edmund is supposed to be best out of all of them. Yet he’s taken out by two random, mediocre dudes who didn't even jump him. They gave him time to respond and he stood up to fight them.

Was all his physical prowess tied into that axe? Is the axe magic?

If you characters have to be depowered for unexplained reasons for the plot to work than you haven’t a good plot.

This Isn’t as Heartwarming as You Think It Is Show

If Edmund knew where Eugene was this whole time then he could have actually provided for his son. He could have arranged adoption with someone by letter, sent money, food, clothes, ect, maybe even wrote to Eugene directly and kept up a long distance relationship to be there for him emotionally.

There is literally no excuse anymore for Edmund to hide behind. He literally neglected his duties as a parent, just cause.

Finding these things shouldn’t make Eugene happy. Finding these things should piss him off even further because that’s how any logical adult would respond to this bullcrap.

I sure know I’m angry. I’m angry that Eugene is a pawn for the creators’ writing wank-off rather then being treated as human being; as an actual character.

“Nice” Isn’t the Same Thing as Kind, Rapunzel

One could argue that she’s not even superficially nice in season three, but the real problem here is that the show, and by extension Rapunzel herself, doesn’t understand the difference between being “pleasant” and actually being a good person. Outwardly polite people can stab you in the back, can kill you even, and not care, as Rapunzel has demonstrated repeatedly since season one.

Do They Have to Be “Family” for Eugene to Give a Damn?

Can’t Eugene just do the right thing, because it’s the right thing to do? People don't need to be friends and family to care about each others lives. Kindness isn’t transactional. Empathy and true charity doesn’t come with strings attached. If Eugene’s whole arc is about becoming a better person, then making the Stabbingtons “family” kind of undermines this.

Don’t Reward the Dude for Doing the Bare Fucking Minimal

No seriously. Edmund forfeited the right to ever be called “dad” by Eugene a long fucking time ago. He doesn’t get to be called that now just because he stopped being a piece of scum and showed the bare minimal of human decency. Even if Eugene decides to have a relationship with Edmund after this, it doesn’t mean that he has to be recognized as his dad or that that relationship will be a parental one.

Eugene, and by Extension the Show, Places Rapunzel Upon a Pedestal to the Detriment of All

Only 4 villains out of 20 get redeemed in this show. Four, and yes I’m counting the Stabbintions as one entity here. That’s 16 times Rapunzel failed to give someone a second chance just cause she didn’t feel like it that day, and even here she did fuck all in trying to give the Stabbingtons any sort of chance. That was all on Eugene.

The more this show goes on, the more it looks like Eugene is just in love with the idea of Rapunzel rather than who she actually is as a person. It’s a disservice to both their characters but it damages Rapunzel most of all because the show perpetuates this over idealization to everyone she interacts with.

It’s really sickening to watch and terrifying to know that some uphold this selfish brat as a “role model” for little girls. There’s nothing empowering in being an inhuman “goddess” who can do no wrong....even as they do several wrongs and never gets called out on it.

This Isn’t “Cute”

Eugene can’t even have an opinion on a fucking toy!

Look if you still like New Dream despite how horribly written it is this season, then good for you. That is completely understandable, especially since this is mainly a problem with season three and not really in the first two seasons and certainly not in the movie.

But if you try to deny that they aren’t toxic in season three, that people who do have problems with how they’re written aren’t valid in their concerns, than you’re either someone who hasn’t been paying attention or someone who has gross double standards for women in relationships.

This Scene Is A Waste of Time

This doesn’t tell the audience anything. It contradicts what was previously established concerning her powers without explanation and then just throws the creepy girl voice in there for a lazy hook. It doesn’t work at foreshadowing since we repeat this info all over again in the next episode and it doesn’t expand upon neither Zhan Tiri’s nor Cassandra’s characters.

In fact it kind of contradicts Cassandra’s characterization in the last episode as well. Is she a remorseless bad bitch or a vulnerable woobie? She can’t be both. Not in the way show is going about it anyways.

It’s poor time management and poor storytelling.

Conclusion

It was mildly better than Rapunzel’s Return, but that’s not saying much. Everyone’s character is still circling the drain and there’s no escape line in sight.

But before I close out, here is a real world update. I had to quit my job at Amazon for personal reasons and am currently job hunting. I’m not hurting right now, I do have money saved up to cover me for at least a month and I’ve been doing commissions here and there, however despite having more time technically to write these reviews, I’m now having to juggle it along with artwork and job hunting.

If you would like to support my reviews and other personal projects you can send me a tip over at Ko-Fi and more public commissions will be opening soon over there as well.

https://ko-fi.com/rachelbethhines

#eugene #anti-rapunzel #anti-tangled #tangled #tangled the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure

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dialovers-translations · 3 years

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Diabolik Lovers GRAND EDITION for Switch ;; More, Blood ー Yuma Dark [Epilogue]

Monologue

ーー The way to survive in a world which has lost all order.

Is to first and foremost band together as a group.

No matter how strong or how clever you may be,

if your opponent outnumbers you by just the slightest margin,

you have no shot at winning.

That is most likely the reason why,

the more rowdy the city, the larger the number of gangs.

And in this city as well,

the gangs which had been formed by groups of orphansーー

they would call them ‘teams’,

and there were several of them.

Lucks was the Boss who kept together,

one of the top teams of the city,

and also the person who picked me up,

after I was left for dead in a back-alley.

One day, one week, one month.

The more time I spent together with him,

the more I began to realize just how amazing he truly was.

He was obviously skilled in battle,

but also oddly intelligent for someone who lived in the slums,

as well did he excel in leadership and decision-making.

On top of that, he had a strong sense of justice and a caring heart.

It was only obvious that many people gathered,

around such an ideal-seeming leader.

Including myself as well,

Boss therefore had many henchman under his wing.

He would even look out for those henchmen’s followers.

There was simply no way that someone with such principles,

could let a person starve to death.

Thanks to Boss,

we got a serving of bread and fruit once every day.

However, the number of us henchmen,

was by no means small. Regardless,

how did Boss manage to provide,

this much food for us?

The amount was simply too much to achieve through theft.

I found this odd.

ー The scene starts with a flashback in the city

Lucks: Here you go, Bear. This is today’s share.

Bear: ...Say, how do you get your hands on this food?

Lucks: Haah? You’re worried about that sorta stuff?

Bear: I’m glad you’re feeding us. However, I’m worried you might be getting yourself involved with dangerous business...

Lucks: Seems like you still don’t quite understand. Not a single thing is risk-free in this city.

Bear: Thenーー

Lucks: But you know, that is nothing for you to worry about.

That’s my duty as a Boss. All you need to do is sit there and munch on your bread.

Bear: ...

*TIMESKIP*

Bear: ( Sometimes Boss disappears without a word... )

( If I find out how he acquires the food, I might be able to help out as well. )

( I owe Boss big time. So I want to help him in every way I can. )

Lucks: ...Ugh...

*Thud*

Bear: ...! B-Boss!?

Oi, Boss! Hang in there! Why are you this...?

Lucks: ...Bear...Is that you? You found me at the worst possible time...

*Rustle*

Bear: ( There’s chafes all over his body...? )

...! Boss, don’t tell me...

Lucks: ...If possible, I would have liked to keep this a secret from you. Despite your rough personality, you are still innocent after all (1)...

The people who give me money...They all treat me like some kind of slave...However, I don’t plan on selling off my heart or soul.

No matter how much money they offer, or how much they control me...I will never belong to anyone.

Even quasi-livestock like me still has a pride left...

ー The flashback ends as the scene shifts to the infirmary

Yuma: ...

A livestock’s pride, huh...?

Yui: ...Nn...

Yuma: Pretty cheeky of ya to repeat his exact same words, huh? Right, Sow...?

*Rustle*

Reinhart: How is she doing?

Yuma: Aahn? Fuck off. Can’t ya tell? She’s snoozin’.

Reinhart: Oh my, you’re right. That being said, she seemed to be suffering from pretty severe anemia...Do you have any clue what might have happened?

Yuma: Beats me! Why do ya ask me? It’s damn annoyin’.

Reinhart: Why, you ask? ...Aren’t you her boyfriend?

Yuma: Boyfriend? Hah! That’s the best joke I’ve ever heard.

Reinhart: Oh, you’re not? I figured that was the case seeing as you were carrying her in your arms as you brought her in.

Yuma: That’s not her role. She’s just part of a ‘means’. ...One to fulfill my ambition, that is.

Reinhart: Your ambition? Are you talking about your dreams for the future? I’m impressed you’ve already got that figured out at your age! What kind of dream is it?

Yuma: Che, shut up. Didn’t ya hear me when I said you’re damn annoyin’!?

Reinhart: Ah, come on. If you shout like thaーー

*Rustle*

Yui: Nn...

Reinhart: See? You woke her up. Good morning, Komori-san. How are you feeling?

Yui: Sensei and...Yuma-kun...?

( ...Right. I was about to fall over from anemia, when Yuma-kun stepped in and... )

( ...My memory is failing me. I must have lost consciousness at some point after he sucked my blood a second time... )

Uhm, right now it’s...?

Reinhart: Fourth period is almost over. You slept soundly.

Yui: That long...?

Yuma: Ya slept way too long just ‘cause you’re runnin’ a lil’ low on blood!

Yui: S-Sorry...

Reinhart: Watch your mouth, Yuma-kun! That’s not a very nice way to put it? Being kind to women should be the basic rule of any man, no?

Yuma: Kind? Hah, you’ve got to be kidding me. She’s not worth that sorta treatment.

Yui: ( I’m nothing but a toy in Yuma-kun’s eyes after all...There’s no way he would be kind to me. )

( ...But, he did bring me to the infirmary after I had lost consciousness. I should be grateful for that, right? )

( Although he is the reason this happened in the first place though... )

Reinhart: Hmm, your complexion is still a little pale. Are you anemic after all?

Right now you are only showing light symptoms, but if it gets more severe, please go to the hospital.

Well, you kids are still young, so for now focus on eating good, nutritious meals, okay?

Yui: Yes. Thank you very much.

Reinhart: Well then, I’ll be on my way to the staff room but if you still feel unwell, you can rest here. What about you, Yuma-kun?

Yuma: Aah? If she remains here, I obviously will as well.

Reinhart: Fufu, you must be really worried about her.

Yui ( No way he’s worried, he just wants to keep an eye on me... )

Reinhart: I’ll leave you in her care then. Ah, do you remember what I said earlier? You have to be kind toーー

Yuma: Shut yer fuckin’ mouth! Go already!!

Reinhart: Ahaha, good luck then!

Yui: ( Sensei’s amazing, he can just laugh it off when Yuma-kun snaps at him. )

Yuma-kun, are you sure you shouldn’t go? To class.

Yuma: ...Aah?

Yui: ( Uwah, he’s in a foul mood...I probably shouldn’t say anything unnecessary now... )

Yuma: Geez...From havin’ to carry ya ‘round, gettin’ hindered by that damn NEET to dealin’ with that nosy Teacher...Today seriously sucked big time.

It’s all ‘cause ya collapsed on me. Take some responsibility, Sow.

Yui: ...! N-No more blood today, okay!?

( I feel like I’ll be in serious trouble if he sucks me yet another time! )

Yuma: I’ve fed off ya twice and ya already reached yer limit? It’s ‘cause you’re so damn tiny.

...Che, guess it can’t be helped. It won’t be delicious if I suck ya when you’re already all shriveled.

Then just rest up here until school’s over. I get to skip classes as well. Gotta watch ya after all. I won’t have Ruki scold me afterwards.

Yui: The whole time...Until after class? I’ve actually come to school, so I’d like to at least attend final period...

Yuma: Don’t be complainin’! I’m tellin’ ya to rest so get to sleep!!

Yui: F-Fine...! I understand, so please don’t yell like that.

Yuma: ...Che, look at ya twitchin’ in fear. Nn...

Yui: ( Ah, those sugar cubes again...He brings those with him even to school. Just how much does he like them? )

( Well, but...Despite everything he says, he’ll stay here with me the whole time, right? Even if he just wants to skip class. )

( Perhaps Yuma-kun is just the slightest bit worried about me as well. )

( I should probably thank him at least? )

ー Yuma moves closer

Yui: Say, Yuma-kun. Thaーー Nguh!?

*Rustle*

–> If you are playing the Limited V edition or the Grand Edition, little black roses will appear on the screen. If you click on them, you get an extra line of dialogue.

“Don’t make a fuss. Keep still.”

“...Aah? What? You’re curious ‘bout Sugar-chan?”

“Che...! Geez, this bed is too damn small...They should change it to somethin’ a lil’ more fittin’ for someone my size!”

Yui: ...!?

Yuma: Nn...Come on, eat it. Don’t ya dare spit it out.

Yui: ( It’s sweet...Is this sugar he’s forcing inside my mouth...!? )

Yuma: Ya should feel grateful. I’m sharin’ my cute lil’ Sugar-chan with someone like ya after all...

Yui: ...Nn...

Yuma: Come on, I’ll make an exception and add in one more.

Yui: ( My mouth’s full...! How many will he stuff inside...!? )

Nn...Phew...Nn...

Yuma: Hah...Ya swallowed them all, right?

Yui: ( Is it from the...sweetness of the sugar? For some reason, I feel strange... )

Yuma: How’s that? Delicious, right?

Eat some good food like this to get yer blood runnin’ again, then lemme suck it as soon as possible. ...Understood?

If even livestock has a pride, ya shouldn’t throw in the towel over somethin’ like this.

Show me some guts...

Yui: ( I doubt sugar cubes will provide much nutrition though... )

( ...But, he might be worrying about me in his own way. )

( I wonder if he has this side to him because he was once human...? )

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

Translation notes

(1) The term 擦れる or ‘sureru’ usually means something like ‘to become worn out’ or ‘to chafe’, but it can also mean ‘to lose one’s innocence’.

→ LIKE MY TRANSLATIONS? SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI!

<- [ Dark 10 ] [ Maniac Prologue ] ->

#diabolik lovers #dialovers #yuma mukami #more blood #diabolik lovers translation #mbyumadarkepilog

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macybeckham7 · 4 years

Text

Army Medic - Eric Dier

Part Nine

YN was sat in the garden in the little allotment garden Eric made a few months back during the summer, she had found herself coming out here every morning and started it being in her daily routine. She wanted to keep to schedule or routine as she was not in the army anymore she didn’t want to feel lost.

Every morning she was waking up alone in bed, usually feeling sick due to the back kicking her insides, she would get dressed as if she had somewhere to be but she never did. She would sit on the sofa and watch trash TV while she ate her breakfast, or the sorry excuse of a breakfast. Try to not throw up and then go in the garden and sort it out then usually have a cry about what her life has become and then inside when Eric’s mum and her mum comes round and gushes over her for a few hours before Eric comes home and just nonstops talking about his day.

She lets out a small sigh as there was a knock on the door, Eric who was home as he had a home game the next day, he walks to do the door and instantly hugs the door so she couldn't see who it was and they couldn't see her.

‘Is she in?’ Michael asked softly, giving the footballer a small look which he seemed to understand and got when he saw the bouquet of flowers he had in his hands.

‘Was it?’ he whispered.

He nods. ‘Curtis.. Sniper to the head, and Henry too’ he mutters.

Eric lets out a frustrated sigh and shakes his head. ‘The funerals are this week... I know she isn't apart of the team anymore but a family is always a family’ the soldier says.

Eric shakes his head and tells him that he doesn't want to tell her, mainly because he knows this wouldn't be good for her or the baby.

He takes the flowers and thanks him before walking back inside.

‘Who was that?’ she asks as she was now in the hallway.

‘No one’ he tries to drop the conversation he didn't want to be having. She raises her brows at him and then asks who gave the flowers which he instantly said they were left on the doorstep. He walks past him and sorts the flowers out which YN defiantly found weird and noticed that he was acting strange.

A few days went by and YN was beyond bored. She had clocked out of the conversation and somewhat come numb to having a hand on her as she is used to it nowadays. It was like people forget she is always a person and is more than just a baby bump.

Her phone beeped which she instantly picked up from the table and instantly looked at Eric, she quickly excused herself and went outside and got followed by the dogs.

‘Quasi? You are back?’ she says as soon as she answers the phone.

‘I am.. Quick pit stop and then back out there’ he says.

Eric was watching her, he narrowed his eyes as he saw her looking at him through the window, she then fell to her knees as she sobbed. He instantly raced to her, her wrapped his arms around her as she swayed side to side as she sobbed, she pulled away and started to hit his chest as he tried to sooth her.

‘He is dead and you weren't going to tell me?’ she cried. ’You fucking asshole!’

Her mum joined her and hugged her as he climbed back to his feet. ‘I didn't tell you because-’

YN cut him off. ‘Why because this is bad timing for you? Because you knew how much he meant to me?’

‘Because I didn't want to lose you to this shit again’

She raised her brows at him. ‘This shit?’ she questioned. ‘This shit is my whole fucking life. They are my family!’ she sobbed. ‘I loved him’ she cried as her mum hugged.

….

Eric walks alone in the cemetery, enjoying the coldness and quietness, he was in his deep thoughts about life, he found YN sat on a bench she was holding onto one of Curtis’ caps. Since she found out about his death she has gone into auto pilot mode and just wanted to be with his family and found comfort with Imogen and Quasi. She had made an emotional speech, which Eric had to step in and finish the speech. He felt her tense up when he touched her and she walked off as he finished the emotional speech. Him reading her writing on the crisp white paper, he instantly realised what she was feeling, and how lost she was without her army family.

He sat down beside her and they stayed quiet, she gently leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder.

‘I’m sorry for being a dick’ he whispered as he kissed her forehead. ‘I’m here for you’ he says softly.

A small smile appeared on her face and she looks into his eyes.

‘Tell me about him... Not the one that everyone is talking about now that he has gone, but the real Curtis, what was he like?’

‘Curtis, he was a little shit, but he was always had his friends backs, he would do anything for his family’ she says softly. ‘He took me under his wing and he was the reason why I was called smudge’ she mutters. Her bottom lip quivers. ‘He was one of the best soldiers to fight for his country, and in some twisted way he would of loved this celebration of his life’

Eric stayed quiet as he just listened. ‘We all said that you wouldn't want to see him in a dark alley, he was this hench guy that would even frighten Frankenstein’s monster, but when you got to know him, he was just the sweetest guy in the world’

She bursts into tears as Eric holds her softly. ‘I know that we signed up for this but I never thought he’d be the one to die, I always thought he would just always find his way back, he had loads of hit misses’

Eric saw Imogen first and nodded for her to join them, her hand instantly intertwined with hers. She was with him and had told her that he was talking to her as if she was Yn. Imogen gave her the little voice note she made for her, she cried at every little joke he made and detail he went into, and told her that she could be anything she wanted and don't stay in one little bubble. As she listened to him she really wanted to be with him, she should of been there and she hated herself a little more that she wasn't there for him. Imogen was in a flood of tears which Yn instantly pulled away from Eric and looked after the medic and tried to calm her down and told her that this wasn't her fault.

….

A month went by and Yn was now 8 months, the nursery was fully done, and Yn found herself sat in the cosy room on the floor as she looked at a photo of her and Badger and Animal, the photo was of her sat on Animal’s knee with the Badger stood behind them and they were pulling funny faces at each other, the photo was taking in the mid first tour.

‘I think it might be me...’ she whispered as Dier’s dad walked in.

He handed her a coffee before taking the photo from her.

‘This wasn't your fault, not Raccoon’ he mutters, making her giggle.

‘Badger’ they both say in unison.

He pulls her into his arms. ‘None of this was your fault’

‘If I didn't get pregnant’ she whispered.

He shakes his head as the two dogs appear by her side and comforts her.

‘This isn't me’ she cried. ‘I shouldn't of got bloody pregnant and I should of been with him’ she cried harder.

As Eric arrived home he found Yn curled up in the nursery which she had destroyed in rage.

#army medic #eric dier imagines #eric dier blurbs #eric dier

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nthnstrky007 · 3 years

Text

Unit Alias #1: “The Flow of Water Breaks the Dame!”

As the bullets whizzed passed my head, only one thought stood out from all the noise and panic around me: I know I should have eaten toast instead of that bagel this morning. It’s just, I get so tired of the same old whole wheat toast and almond butter; it’s not my fault the fabric of reality starts to fold in on itself everytime I choose something new for breakfast. After another twenty seconds of some mindless brutes trying to turn my apartment into a modern artist’s tribute to swiss cheese, a voice of remote reason finally speaks up:

“Leonardo Crews, please step away from the bean bag chair”.

I can’t help but roll my eyes. It’s her: Sharon Winstead. The woman who would surely be my handler if the US government had their way and I became a secret agent or lab rat or whatever the heck they’d want me to do with these powers. I stand up and make a couple steps to the right as I put my hands on my head. At least the government sent a nice pair of legs to yell at me.

One of the armed boneheads she brought with her speaks up, ‘Why would you hide behind a froggy bean bag chair?”

“Cause who the hell would ever shoot a froggy bean bag chair?” I challenge him and the two other armored doofuses.

They all mumble and meet eyes until one of them sheepishly says: “he’s right…”

Sharon, the not so love-able stick in the mud that she is, won’t let me have fun for too long. “Your work here is done unit Alias. Go downstairs and do the usual routine with the landlord; come back, as I planned, when you’re done”.

A couple ‘yes ma’ams’ and military mumbo jumbo is thrown around as they leave. I can’t help but feel sorry for guys who would willingly join an organization that has the loyalty of a teenage boy after a positive pregnancy test.

“Real smart fellas you have there.”

Sharon looks at me, I guess with a hint of disappointment. “You know as well as I that if they were going for the kill, you’d be dead”.

“Along with a couple billion realtites and, knowing how much the universe seems to adore me, time itself. And what’s up with ‘your plan’ anyway? The military never came in guns blazing before. Don’t you geniuses know how important I am?”

“Are you threatening us now Leonardo?”

I relax my arms at my side as I walk into the pantry. The universe is on my team, as always, when I see one of the only undamaged things is what I’m looking for. I walk out in a sufficiently better mood with my packet of poptarts. “I’m just asking questions that pertain to the continuation of existence itself”.

Sharon scoffs and continues on: “Do you understand the magnitude of such threats, Leonardo?”

I wave her off with my free hand after opening my second breakfast. “ What threats? And please, it’s Leo; I’m not an award winning actor, just a potential destroyer of the timestream” I see the red emerge in her face and can’t help but chuckle. It's a mystery to me how she was able to secure one of the most secretive and ‘important’ jobs in the world with such a short fuse. Despite the fact that she is totally unlikable, the babe has grown on me over the years so I give her restless mind a break: “Y’know I’m not gonna go awol, especially when you pay for all my streaming service. And, uh, time wouldn’t be destroyed, just altered in some terrible heinous way. Such as your occupation being changed to stripper.”

She gives me one more uneasy look before moving on. “You have a place I can sit?”

“You mean a place you geniuses haven’t shot up yet? Don’t make me say it.”

“The frog chair?” She groans.

“I do believe it's pronounced froggy bean bag chair.”

She gives her eyes another roll as she sits down in the thing. “Can you sit with me?”

Sharon likes to remind me that in some ways I’m still a normal human. An example of

this being a woman with a face and a body like hers asking me to sit down with a voice like hers using a tone like that, regardless of if she is a facist pig or not, I’m probably gonna sit with her.

“What’s the prob Bob?” I sit criss-cross applesauce a yard or so across from her.

To my disappointment, not exactly my surprise, she grows serious as soon as I sit down.

“We can’t keep doing this dance Leonardo.”

“Doing what dance?” I let out the question with a bit of playful innocence.

“That.” She takes a moment to think before she begins her spill. “The U.W.O is not going to remain patient. The fate of existence potentially depends on what you have for lunch and you refuse to follow the guidelines that we give you. You probably can’t count how many times you’ve been told this, but you’re an anomaly. The only thing we have to go off of is my father’s theories: the regular flow of time is completely dependent on you. Every decision you make can drastically change our world’s past and half the time we can’t even detect those changes. Not to mention, if certain parts of that theory are true, the effects you can be having on our future. Leo, history is a book that you can rip up on an unknowing whim and the future is more uncertain that it has any right to be”.

“And yet we keep dancing…”

“Excuse me?”

I look at her for a second thinking that she for sures knows where I’m going, but it becomes clear to me she doesn’t. “You’re coming here to warn me. The U.W.O knows that you’re the only person I can stand getting yelled at by so they send you here every time I decide to live my life so you can flutter your eyes and tell me not to. How many times have you been here this month? I admit the whole shoot-em-up bit is new, but other than that this is the same old routine we’ve done for the past year. The only difference is I’ve been doing it my whole goddamn life and you’ve been doing it for a fraction of yours”.

The woman actually cracks a smile as she comprehends what I’m saying. I don’t know if it’s mocking or understanding me, but, seeing as I have nothing else to do, I let her spill. “You call this living Leo? I don’t know what you do to mess up the timestream, but, judging by the hours of footage that features you exclusively watching ‘He-man’ reruns, I sure as hell know it’s not living. What, you played a new video game? Flushed the toilet too fast? You’re not living; the life you’re leading is not worth risking history for”. The sarcasm and aggression starts to leave her eyes as she looks at my face. I begin to open my mouth in defense when she shushes me with a new, almost maternal, attitude. “But I didn’t come here to play our twisted game of house. I’ve been in contact with my father”.

The news strikes a rare chord of hope in me. Sharon’s father was the closest thing I had to a dad when I grew up in the compound. He was also the one who convinced the board of directors to let me out when I turned eighteen. “Let out” is an odd way of saying letting me live in a heavily guarded cell that just happens to be in an apartment building. He ended up deciding he didn’t want to be a mindless puppet and left the U.W.O along with all his research. Last I heard, which was a very long time ago, he was up to a more scholarly pursuit. “How is he?”

She smiles as she thinks of her father. “He’s getting philosophical in his old age. After he left, he started living like a hermit in some remote island in the Atlantic. A place they’d have trouble finding if they ever were to look; he’s getting into some rebellious stuff there Leo. He wants you to leave and come see him. He wants to end this dance.”

“By ‘rebellious’, do you mean some dooms-day shit?” the words come out as the hope comes out of me. “We don’t know what the reaction will be if I get in a boat or plane. We barely know what’s gonna happen if I leave this building again. Make fun of me all you want, but, you basically said it yourself, 80s tv is the only life I can safely lead”.

“He told me to trust him. If he’s wrong, the situation will be no worse than it was before”. I could easily read the doubt in her face. “Or at least to him.”

“So what? The world ending is the same as the world not ending? Existence is all a lie and it doesn’t matter anyway? Don’t tell me he’s become some quasi-intellectual pothead who posts on psychedelic-themed online forums.”

She rolls her eyes in response to my joke. “He’s disillusioned with our current world authority. He lived his whole thinking a plantery world order would be a good thing, so much so he helped to achieve it. Apparently after all those years and work, he thinks their practices are going to end us all. The way he sees it, the world may just end tomorrow; it’s any day now to him. In a certain manner of words, he’s desperate.”

“And you?”

She gives me another genuine look. “I trust my father as a leader and I care about you. He believes it's the right thing to do and you can’t keep up like this. Some of the things I’ve had to do this past year is enough for me to give up on doing the right thing through the government. Your problem is a problem that we might be able to fix on our own and trying is a lot better than you just rotting here waiting to die. Any ‘director’ who doesn’t like that can screw off.”

I let my eyes widen. “No one’s in on this? Why’d you bring the unit with you? Surely the bigwigs wire you up before you take their dogs for a walk?”

“Watch your words; dogs we are no more, unit Alias, at least, is on this. No wires or strings attached. The general consensus is the current plan of keeping the world safe from you is eventually going to collapse without change; I can’t say they have the personal stake that my father has with the way he views us as siblings”.

“Can’t really blame them for being worried or not particularly liking me, but they’re not here because of what happened because of my bagel?”

“What?”

“You came here to break me out, not to punish me for eating a bagel instead of toast?”

Sharon pulls a phone out of her pocket and scrolls through. “Oh…”

“What?”

“The ephilfel tower was built in Germany”.

#comedy #superhero #hero #comic books #action #adventure #ya #young adult #smart

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tsipasce · 4 years

Text

Same Difference, Ch.11

A/N: Couple easter eggs in this one. Definitely one of my favorites since.. things are happening~ Also, TW: for some graphic violence per usual. Let me know what y'all think and thanks for reading as always <3

Chapters: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10

AO3 | Fanfic

With the first round of sampling completed, they were able to establish a few facts to be true, “One,” Nanami began as she stood at the whiteboard, “Though we’re aging, our health isn’t declining. It seems like our growth patterns are relatively normal, but overhaul seems to be preemptively fixing any of the normal degradation that comes with aging.”

“Sounds too fantastical. It almost implies the quirk makes us immortal.”

“Well, considering the world we live in, nothing seems too fantastical anymore, really. I mean, I personally know a guy with a dog head.”

“Point taken. However, this type of ‘immortality’ is better described as ‘quasi-mortality’.”

“Is that even a thing?”

“You and I exist so I’d say it is now. Our aging may be drastically slowed if not halted, but it would be a stretch to say we’ll never die.”

She shrugged in acceptance as she wrote the new term on the board. “Two, our blood had some odd property to it that I haven’t seen before. Like there’s some extra protein-coated cells/structures just floating around—I have no idea what they do. We’ll have to compare more in the next round of control samples from people with high-level quirks, but I didn’t see it in the last batch of control samples, so I’m betting this is unique to us.”

“’Protein-coated structures’? Sounds like a vi…”

“Don’t…” She raised a hand, bringing it to rub the bridge of her nose, “Don’t say it.”

“You’re right, the data speaks for itself. Continue, doctor.” He replied smugly, Nanami letting out an exasperated sigh. If she heard the v-word one more time out of him today, she was sure she’d lose it.

“ANYWAY, onto three: there are no anomalies or strange reactions between us.”

“False. In fact, it’s time you held up your end of the bargain.” interjected Overhaul.

Feigning innocence, Nanami continued writing on the board, “What ever do you mean?”

“Don’t play games. Teach me how you negate overhaul.”

She still wasn’t very excited to teach someone who was already dangerous how to become even stronger, but a deal was a deal. “Fine, I’ll bequeath you some of my vast knowledge,” she said as he rolled his eyes at her, “and immediately after, you’re going to teach me a new move.”

“…Fine.” He relented.

“Perfect. Roll up your sleeves and let’s head to the arena.” She strutted over to the coat rack, hanging up her garment, wearing a sleeveless blouse underneath.

Once in the room he raised his brows expectantly, “Well, start bequeathing.”

“So, I was equally confused when it first happened but after trying to replicate my reaction while monitoring my vitals, I noticed a blip but couldn’t explain it at first. Then I heard something interesting while they were rerunning one of those old hero documentaries: ‘Whole-Hog’.” He listened intently, beginning to piece together where she was going with the explanation. “It sounds a bit silly, but what it really means in this context is a full body application of your quirk. In essence, when you... attacked me,” at this she could see the slightest bit of regret in his features as he shifted his weight, glancing away when her voice became small, remembering the incident. “when you attacked me, my fight or flight response was triggered, and so was my quirk.”

“But nothing happe… Oh.” He said as he caught her drift.

“Exactly! They cancelled each other out. You can’t disassemble something that’s already disassembling and reassembling itself.”

“Hm. I see.” He said, nodding, his interest now very piqued. “…You know what my next question is.”

Taking a deep breath, Nanami composed herself, “Well I didn’t wear this shirt for nothing. Let’s do this.” She said, holding her arms out, palms facing upwards. The Nanami from a couple of months ago would have doubled over at the irony of willingly offering her arms up for his experimentation, but even she had to acknowledge things had changed. She could defend herself, and though his motives were still a up for debate, she was certain that they were equal allies in this. Though his word was reason enough, he was logical above all else and to be frank, hurting her had become… counterproductive. He took a step forward, closing the distance between them taking off his gloves. He paused, inspecting her arms, “and yes I sanitized them thoroughly before this.” She responded to the question he hadn’t voiced yet.

Waiting for a final nod from her to ensure she was ready, he grabbed both of her forearms, “On three, activate it. One… Two… Three.”

She felt him grip slightly tighter at three, yet nothing happened just like before. She looked up at him triumphantly, now confident it was a tried-and-true method. “Now, it’s your turn—If you don’t mind me touching, that is,” she quickly corrected. He had allowed her to touch him before, but it felt wrong to take it as precedence. What if he’s changed his mind and finds it unbearably repulsive? She would be the first to admit she didn’t understand the mysophobia, but knew if she had it she would want people to at least try and be respectful, Hardened criminal or not, trauma’s still trauma~.

A look of gratitude flashed across his features before he could suppress it, his face returning expressionless as he offered his forearms to her, mirroring her gesture. He was seldom surprised, but she managed, frequently. Very few people had willingly shown him consideration. To be given it without inciting fear or threats—it was foreign, but far from unappreciated. It was a respect borne from a place he’d never been to. Realizing she was still waiting for a response, he shook off the moment, responding simply, “Do what you must, I shower immediately after all of our sessions anyway.”

“Great, I’ll give you a countdown, ok?” She said, trying not to take his comment personally. “One… Two… Three…” She said as he winced ever-so-slightly. If they weren’t so close, she might not have noticed. “Hey, nerve fibres, remember? It doesn’t have to hurt.” She encouraged. He studied her for a minute before giving a subtle nod. “Let’s try again. One… Two… Three.” This time, it worked, neither of them feeling a thing. She looked up and caught a glint in his eyes Is he smiling under there? She found herself wishing she could see it fully, committing the features she could see to memory. His messy brown hair, the squareness of his jaw, the subtle wrinkle between his brows from frowning so regularly, his piercing gaze as he was looking right back at he—omg how long have I been staring she realized, now a bit embarrassed. She quickly looked away, letting go of his forearms, resisting the urge to maintain contact.

He studied her for a beat longer before slowly lowering his arms and clearing his throat, neither aware that the urge had been mutual. “Now, for my part. Go stand in the corner.”

“NOBODY PUTS BABY IN THE CORN—”

“I swear if you do another pop culture reference, I will lock you in here until Monday.” He said sternly, though the threat was meant to be playful.

She flinched ever-so-slightly at thought of being confined, a genuine look of terror in her eyes for a split second before she could remember to respond normally, It was just a joke. Calm down. No one is ever going to do that to us again… We’re safe now. She thought, shaking off the memory his joke had triggered, “Ok, Negative Nancy.” She said rolling her eyes as she walked to the other side of the room.

He silently took note of her reaction, now curious. Deciding it was best not to pry, he began, “This is useful for both evasion and combat. It’s relatively simple, but the scale is large so be mindful of your stamina when using it. Watch and study the structures carefully.” He walked back to the opposite side of the room, turning to face her as he neatly pulled up his pant legs to kneel. Inhaling deeply, he pressed his hands to the ground and dozens of very large spikes erupted from the floor and across the room, stopping a safe distance from her. She walked up the one of the structures, studying it with her hands to gauge its dimensions. They looked simple enough, but she could tell they were modeled after wave breakers; one intertwining to reinforce the other. She walked back to her spot, and he deconstructed his work and waited.

Focusing, she mimicked his movements, quickly realizing he hadn’t been exaggerating the stamina requirement. After creating the first 5 or 6 she began to feel the fatigue.

“Take your time. You can pick up speed once you’ve mastered the first dozen.” He coached.

Wait, was that… encouragement? She commented inwardly. The thought that he might be manipulating her crossed her mind as it always did, but this interaction felt different. Enjoying this side of him and not wanting to risk him clamming up again, she accepted the encouragement in stride. She nodded thoughtfully, practicing again and again and again. She figured he’d be too impatient to wait for her to get it right since it only took him two tries to learn her technique, but instead he regarded her quietly, giving hints and critique when needed.

After an hour of this, she was finally able to fully replicate his example. He gave the structures an appraising look before nodding in approval. Nanami deconstructed them, reverting the room to its original state. Breathing heavily, she knew she was exhausted enough to pass out then and there, but still wanted to press on and return to the lab to work.

Exhaling, she began to walk back to the lab as he followed behind. Once in the main room, she went to the large sink at one of the lab benches to scrub her hands, realizing she’d been rubbing her hands on the floor for the past hour. He came beside her, doing the same, but of course more vigorously. As he stood beside her, she wondered why he decided to be so close. He’d seemingly tolerated the proximity before, but never sought it out. As they continued to scrub in silence, she accidently brushed up against his hand with her own. “Oh, I’m so sorr—”

“It’s fine.” He said cutting her off, though it didn’t feel rude.

“Oh. Ok.”

Clearing her throat, she continued washing, biting her lip as she tried to think of something to say. Usually the silence wasn’t a big deal, but today, there was a tension in the air. She felt hyperaware of him and that they were alone as she could feel him stealing glances in her direction. She went to grab a paper towel to dry off, deciding to try and fill the air, “I know it was a trade, but thanks for being so patient with—” she stopped short realizing they’d turned towards each other at the same time, making them much too close, her nose almost brushing against his chest. Against her better judgment, she craned her neck to look up. His eyes boring into hers as he remained silent. She felt her heart racing as they stayed seemingly frozen in place, close enough to feel the other’s body heat. There was a shift in the air, his expression unreadable, but far from blank. Nothing was happening at present, but she felt whatever situation they were in was coming to a head and the thought of the outcome had her heartbeat creeping up her throat.

“I should go home and get some rest.” She blurted out.

“Yes, you should go.” He responded, but it wasn’t as convincing as it should have been.

What the hell is going on here… she thought incredulously though they were both equal participants in the tense exchange, whatever it was. Composing herself, she gathered the strength to look away, hurrying over to dry her hands and create distance between them. She hurriedly gathered her bag and notes, rambling as she went about various lab work and their schedule for next week. She began briskly walking towards the door, continuing to fill the air with words, his eyes never leaving her.

“… and then we can move to the next set of samples for testing and—”

“Watanabe.” She immediately got quiet upon hearing him say her name without the usual formality and in a tone she wasn’t used to.

“…Yes?” She cautioned a glance to see him struggling to respond, his usually calm expression now conflicted.

“… Never mind. It’s not important. I’ll see you on Monday.” He said, seemingly trying to convince himself. Of what, she wasn’t sure.

“Oh, alright. See you then.” She managed to get out. Why do I feel…disappointed? Whatever…This is just one of those awkward moments. I just need a nap. She reassured herself before promptly leaving intent on ignoring the warmth coming to her cheeks.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Rushing to her car, Nanami tried her best to take her mind off of whatever the hell that was back there… she thought, shaking her head. Turning up the music in her car, she began making a weekend checklist of all her errands. She was planning on eating in more so she’d have more control over her diet, wanting to maintain the great shape she’d gotten in since training with Rappa. After their second life or death battle, he’d come to respect her and they became like workout buddies. Workout buddies who almost killed each other a couple times, but hey, at least he’s upfront and a great spotter.

Considering what she’d been through, Nanami thought she would have gone mad already, but found herself adapting instead. Maybe it was because her career exposed her to a lot of brutality on a regular basis. Being a doctor in a world with quirks meant the injuries and illnesses grew more inventive and vicious with each generation. Or maybe it was simply normal human adaptation, and consistency informed her new “normal”. Either way, she promised herself not to let it change her for the worst. She’d been through too much to give in now, or ever. She confirmed to herself.

Lost in thought, she had arrived home in a flash. Walking up to her door, she felt something was off and immediately went on guard, glancing around for any signs of disturbance before she opened the door. Thinking it was best not to be in the open if her feeling was correct, she hastily grabbed her keys. As soon as she turned the lock, someone large came up from behind, covering her mouth and forcing her inside, the door slamming closed after them. She was dragged in, thrashing about as the hand on her mouth continued to stifle her.

“This her?” asked the man restraining her.

Another man had followed them inside. He scanned her up and down before pulling out his phone, looking between her and a picture he had of her on his phone. “Yup, definitely her… Clip her wings. She’ll travel easier that way.” He said, a smile creeping across his face.

“I’d love to. Those Shie Hassakai bastards are gonna regret underestimating us,” the man from behind her began before whispering in her ear, “I dunno what your quirk is, but the boss wants you something fierce. Be a good girl and cooperate and it won’t hurt…too much” he chuckled. “Now hold her arms out.” He asked the other man as he approached.

Nanami knew if she let panic set in, it would be over. So instead, she chose rage. It’s just like biting a tough carrot…In the next moment, she opened her mouth wide behind the assailant’s hand, clamping down like a vice. Blood gushed into her mouth and as the other man lunged forward, she did her best llama impression, spitting the thick, coppery substance into his eyes. She ducked as the men toppled over each other. She saw them both clearly now and was able to size them up. They both wore black jumpsuits and black knit caps. She didn’t recognize them, but they certainly had an idea of who she was.

“You bitch…” one seethed as he was rubbing the blood from his eyes, the other still writhing on the floor. He went to grab her and she dodged, quickly grabbing and transforming her kettle, landing a blow under his ribs, hearing them crack under the pressure... Someone her size usually wouldn’t be able to cause so much damage, but she’d made metal gauntlets on the fly to mimic Rappa’s, adding another layer of force. They weren’t nearly as fast as her workout buddy and she landed another to his gut, causing him to double over. Just as she was about to strike again, the other man began to charge at her having given up the search for his fingers for the time being. He was twice her size and his quirk gave him the look of a rhino with a large horn and stocky built; she knew taking him head on was out of the question. As he charged, she redirected his momentum, moving aside as he landed harshly on the couch, breaking it in half under his weight. Both men arose, now very angry with her. She was trying to strategize as they stalked closer backing her into a corner by the entrance. Panic was beginning to set in until the door blew off the hinges and into the assailants, knocking them across the room and into the kicthen. Hyperventilating she didn’t know who would be at the door, but a sense of relief like she’d never felt before came over her as she saw her least favorite lab partner. Overhaul glanced over at her, and she tried to steady herself against the wall to rise and continue fighting. Giving her a grave look, he commanded” Stay right there.”

The men groaned, trying to shake off what had to be severe concussions from the impact. A look of recognition, then fear came across their features as he stalked towards them, removing his other glove. As he reached out to touch them, Nanami found her voice, “Wait! Don’t kill them. Please.”

“This is not the time for weakness.”

“Not wanting to kill people is not weak, j-just stop and think for a second.” She pleaded trying to figure out how to best reason with him,” you can’t interrogate dead guys!”

He paused. “Which one spoke the most to you?”

Trying to answer the question quickly she stammered,” I—I—The rhino-looking one?”

“Be certain.”

Clearing her throat, she was beginning to calm down,” I’m sure. It was that one.”

“Good. Now look away.”

“But I—“

He turned and gave her a look that said negotiations were over. She hesitantly turned away before hearing the other man “No, no, n—” then a splatter and silence.

She heard Overhaul exhale before discarding his gloves and pulling out a new pair. He speed-dialed someone, calmly explaining he needed some “garbage picked up”. In the next couple minutes, a van arrived driven by some familiar faces she’d seen around the hideout as they nodded to her, dragging out the other man who was now gagged and very traumatized. After they left, he turned to her, walking over calmly. From behind him she could see the corner completely covered in blood. She was grateful not to have seen it happen.

“What are you doi—why did you come here?” was the first thing that came to mind. She knew he knew where she lived, but never imagined he’d make a casual house call.

He went back by the door, bending down to pick up a mass of white fabric, “You practically ran out of the lab today leaving your jacket. I was going to ignore it, but then your phone started ringing. Your carelessness saved you.”

“Pfft..haha.. hahaahahahahahah. Oh my gosh…bahahaa”

“… What’s so amusing?”

Catching her breath, Nanami tried to stop laughing. It was probably partly exhaustion, but the whole situation was just so bad she had to laugh. “It’s just… I almost got kidnapped by a couple dudes who wanted to ‘clip my wings’, my lab partner is a yakuza head, and my apartment is trashed. It’s not particularly ‘amusing’ per se, but I just had a brawl in my living room and I gotta clean some dude off my wall now. And it’s just… it’s just a lot and I—I don’t know how to react. I’m not like you, I’m not used to this” She ended, swallowing heavily.

He studied her for a beat, “Where is your bleach?”

“What?”

“Nothing can be done about the other things you mentioned, but your apartment is filthy. Let’s start by fixing that.” He replied plainly.

Sniffling, she agreed, “Under the sink, to the left.”

For the next hour Nanami fixed her furniture, the sound of scrubbing and the presence of another person the only things keeping her together. Looking around, the place was good—well better than new. Examining the wall, she couldn’t find a trace of evidence that a man had been splattered across it earlier.

“Wow you’re really good at this, how’d you know how to get out blood stai—Ah. Forget I asked"

He gave a quick huff, and she made a B-line to her bag, grabbing her planner and a pen. He narrowed his eyes at her in disapproval. “Is now really an appropriate time for that? I didn’t even laugh.”

“One, that may not count as a laugh for a normal person, but it certainly does for you. And two, I feel like just for tonight, we can set aside the pretense of ‘appropriateness’.” She hummed, marking down another tally mark. Suddenly realizing it could be taken another way she corrected, “I mean as far as joking and stuff, not like…”

“Like what?” He asked innocently enough but she remembered their weird moment earlier that evening and suddenly the room felt much smaller.

“N-Nothing. Nevermind. I dunno what I’m saying.”

“Hm.”

Suddenly a car honked from outside and Nanami flinched like she’d been hit. She was taking it well, but she’d be lying if she said tonight hadn’t been jarring. Regaining her composure, she took deep breaths, trying to hide how shaken she’d been from the attack. Being alone sounded terrifying at the moment, but she knew she couldn’t ask him to stay. Accepting reality, she decided to rip off the band-aid.

“Hey… Thank you. You know you don’t have to –“

He ignored her, surveying the place, “I’m going to check for bugs and any tracking equipment. They seemed to have been watching you for a while to have timed this so well.” He glanced, giving her a once over, “In the meantime, you should take a bath. You’re filthy.”

Looking at the bloodstains on her clothes and general dishevelment, she wasn’t in a position to disagree, “Sounds logical to me,” she responded quietly as she made her way to the bathroom. She stopped in the doorway “And when I get out…”

“I’ll be here.” He said simply though his gaze was softer than she was used to.

She nodded, giving him a small smile, grateful to have a partner.

#mha overhaul #overhaul x oc #overhaul fanfiction #overhaul fanfic #mha #bnha #bnha fanfic #mha fanfic #fanfiction #chisaki kai #kai chisaki #shie hassaikai #bnha fandom #mha au #bnha au #nanami watanabe #overhaul x nanami

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femalechibiblogger · 4 years

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My Top 10 Romantic Anime

1. Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It

Shinya Yukimura and Ayame Himuro are young but extremely brilliant researchers of the Saitama University, and both of them strongly believe in math as the most powerful instrument at Mankind's disposal to understand all things.

So, when Ayame suddenly confesses her feelings to Shinya, he decides to start an ambitious experiment with his whole team to answer a question: is it possible to explain something complicated like love using a mathematical approach?

2. My Love Story!!

The story follows Takeo Gōda, a tall and muscular student who doesn't have much luck with women, as every girl he likes ends up falling for his best friend, Makoto Sunakawa, who is charming and good-looking. This all changes when he saves Rinko Yamato, a petite shy girl who, above all other expectations, falls in love with Takeo, beginning a unique love story.

3. Amnesia

On the morning of August 1st, a girl wakes up to find she has lost all her memories before the day. A boy appears in front of her and tells her that he is a spirit named Orion, whose spirit collided with hers and caused her amnesia. He wishes to help her collect her lost memories. One day, she receives a phone call from an unknown person. She struggles not to let them notice that she doesn't remember him but...

4. Junjou Romantica

The series focuses on three storylines: the main couple (Junjou Romantica) which comprises the bulk of the books, and two other male couples (Junjou Egoist and Junjou Terrorist) that provide ongoing side stories.

Junjou Romantica is the storyline following the relationship between Misaki Takahashi and Akihiko Usami. Misaki is struggling to prepare for his college entrance exams, so his brother arranges for a private tutor. But Misaki’s nightmare is just beginning when his tutor, Usami, comes on to him! How will Misaki ever manage to pass his exam? And why does he feel so mysteriously drawn to Usami?

Junjou Egoist is the storyline following the relationship between Hiroki Kamijou and Nowaki Kusama. Just when Kamijou’s life is at its lowest, he has a chance meeting with a man who never lets anything hold him back: Nowaki. His name means "typhoon," and he’s about to take Kamijou on a whirlwind ride that will turn everything upside-down.

Junjou Terrorist is the storyline following the relationship between Yoh Miyagi and Shinobu Takatsuki. Miyagi always seems to shrug off the cares of the world with a joke and a smile. But even he has problems, although he doesn't let them show. Foremost is Shinobu, a relentless young man who’s adamant that they’re destined to be together.

Junjou Mistake is the storyline following the relationship between Ryuuichiro Isaka and Kaoru Asahina. The story is a single spin-off volume outside of the series but also has a few chapter and an episode featuring the couple in the series.

5. I Can't Understand What My Husband Is Saying

The series centers around the daily lives of Kaoru, a hard working office lady, and her husband Hajime, who is an otaku, an obsessed fan of anime and manga culture, and who works as a blogger. Using popular anime and otaku tropes and in-jokes, the characters explore the conflicts and similarities between daily life and otaku culture in urban Japan.

6. Acchi Kocchi

The serious-minded Io and the pure-hearted Tsumiki feel they never want to be parted, but haven't become a couple yet. More than friends but less than lovers, they develop an awkward quasi-romance.

7. Yuri on Ice

Reeling from his crushing defeat at the Grand Prix Finale, Yuuri Katsuki, once Japan's most promising figure skater, returns to his family home to assess his options for the future. At age 23, Yuuri's window for success in skating is closing rapidly, and his love of pork cutlets and aptitude for gaining weight are not helping either. However, Yuuri finds himself in the spotlight when a video of him performing a routine previously executed by five-time world champion, Victor Nikiforov, suddenly goes viral. In fact, Victor himself abruptly appears at Yuuri's house and offers to be his mentor. As one of his biggest fans, Yuuri eagerly accepts, kicking off his journey to make it back onto the world stage. But the competition is fierce, as the rising star from Russia, Yuri Plisetsky, is relentlessly determined to defeat Yuuri and win back Victor's tutelage.

8. Lovely Complex

Love is unusual for Koizumi Risa and Ootani Atsushi, who are both striving to find their ideal partner in high school—172 cm tall Koizumi is much taller than the average girl, and Ootani is much shorter than the average guy at 156 cm. To add to their plights, their crushes fall in love with each other, leaving Koizumi and Ootani comically flustered and heartbroken. To make matters worse, they're even labeled as a comedy duo by their homeroom teacher due to their personalities and the stark difference in their heights, and their classmates even think of their arguments as sketches. Lovely★Complex follows Koizumi and Ootani as they encourage each other in finding love and become close friends. Apart from their ridiculous antics, they soon find out an unexpected similarity in their music and fashion tastes. Maybe they possess a chemistry yet unknown, but could love ever bloom between the mismatched pair?

9. Special A

Hikari Hanazono has always been able to do things that normal people cannot. As a child, she assumed no one could beat her—until she met Kei Takishima. Thinking she would win, Hikari challenged him to a match. But things didn’t go as planned; she lost not once but each time she rechallenged him. From that point on, she has sworn to best Kei at everything, ranging from academics to athletics. To achieve her goal, Hikari enrolls in the same school as Kei—Hakusenkan, a prestigious institute for the wealthy. As a pair, they hold the top two rankings in school and are among seven of the academy's best students in a class known as Special A. While Hikari treats Kei as a rival, she is completely oblivious that he harbors hidden feelings for her. Together, the members of Special A deal with competition, friendship, and just a bit of love.

10. Senryuu Girl

The story focuses on the relationship between Nanako Yukishiro, a girl who only communicates through senryū written on tanzaku, and Eiji Busujima, an ex-delinquent who attempts to write his own senryū. The story follows their different takes on everyday life through their senryu.

#anime list #anime #romance #couples #valentine

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capmackie · 5 years

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coming soon to a theater near you!

At no point in any of his three lifetimes did Bucky plan on his life turning into a fucking romantic comedy.

Not as James, the dutiful soldier or as The Winter Soldier, Hydra's best asset or as Bucky, a regular civilian but here he is, begrudgingly.

It's all Sam's fault.

***

Bucky just doesn’t understand the fascination with romantic comedies, ahem rom coms, as Sam points out; finds himself frequently complaining about the overused tropes, calling out the plot of each one Sam forces him to watch much to Sam’s displeasure. It’s not his fault that the conclusion is often telegraphed out so plainly that even a child knows that at some point, Harry’s gonna marry Sally. And if Sam really had a problem with Bucky's commentary, maybe he'll stop adding the genre to their Wednesday movie nights or stop cuddling up to him as soon as the movie starts - Bucky hopes, prays that Sam never stops cuddling up to him as soon as the movie starts-. But anyways. Each movie, no matter how much it tries to differentiate itself from the millions of others like it, follows all of the same beats: 1) Guy meets Girl 2) They fall in love but are too stupid to realize it 3) Guy performs some grand gesture of love, tells the girl how he feels and then they kiss and people applaud around them as doves fly into the night’s sky 4) Happily. Ever. After. It’s stupid and dumb and Bucky just doesn’t understand the fascination with such nonsense. He doesn’t understand it until he falls in love with Sam. The same Sam who loves romantic comedies and claps — he actually fucking claps — when the protagonist manages to bypass airport security to confess his love on the tarmac. The very same Sam who gets teary-eyed whenever he hears the first notes of ‘My Heart Will Go On’. Granted, Titanic isn’t a romantic comedy but you get the point. Sam’s a lover at heart, loves everything about love itself. Loves how love can heal someone whole, how it can pick someone up, loves how love can knock someone off their feet. Sam’s love is reminiscent of him, loud and bold and bright. Sam’s love is the truth; an oasis in the middle of a hot desert. Anyone who has ever come within a ten-mile radius of Sam has fallen in love with him; friends, colleagues, even people in passing find themselves smitten at the handsome guy with a smile that could light up a planet. Bucky’s no exception. It's for that reason and that reason only that he lets himself be subjected to whatever tearjerker Sam's so insistent on watching, and if he buys a copy of 'The Notebook' for his own collection, stashing it between 'Terminator' and 'The Incredibles', well, that's no one's business. ** Bucky doesn't even realize that he is indeed starring in his own romantic comedy -why are they called comedies? No one even tells a joke- until the next movie night. The movie's queued, something with Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis, and Bucky's finding it hard to pay attention to the plot when Sam's pressed so close to him, shoulder to shoulder, thigh to thigh. Bucky's proud of himself, watches about 20 minutes of the movie -something about friends with benefits -before he's making a move on Sam, effectively distracting him too. They don't come up for air until the credits are rolling and Bucky counts the night as a win until Sam is restating the movie and moving to the other end of the couch so they can actually get through it this time. Well fuck. Now that he's practically being forced to watch 'No Strings Attached', no wait, that's the other movie that came out in the same year with the exact same plot, Bucky can't help but draw parallels to the protagonists and him and Sam's own tryst. But there's nothing there, it's not like some kind of relationship is gonna bloom from two friends casually hooking up, that's absurd. That exists solely in movies and this is real life and he and Sam have more restraint than that, right? They barely like each other, just enough to fuck, there's no way they'd fall in love. Bucky's almost convinced himself that it's beyond the realm of possibility that anything more can come out of their situationship when Sam, who put the movie back on out of spite, barely paying any attention to it as his eyes slowly start to close, snaps him out of his thoughts, asking if Bucky is ready to go to bed. "To your, uh, bed?", Bucky sputters. "To the bed that we've been sharing for the past six months, Frozone", Sam quips. Oh. Right. *** They’ve completed step one of the rom-com trope list, meeting each other, and even something as simple as that wasn’t so simple at all. Nothing ever really is between them. Now Bucky finds himself straddling a weird line regarding the second trope; he knows he loves Sam, realizes that Sam *probably* loves him back, given how much he puts up with Bucky's dramatics and the way he hogs all of the blankets and never drinks out a glass, preferring to sully the entire jug of orange juice instead. But can it really count if they've never said those three little words to each other? It's not like Bucky hasn't thought about that before, he thinks about saying it at least 500 times a day, when he and Sam are being weirdly domestic, when they're bantering with each other, when Sam's the big spoon providing body heat when even the blankets aren't enough for Bucky. Those words are on the tip of his tongue when he wakes up in the morning and sees Sam illuminated by the sunshine streaming through the window, soft and angelic. They're on the tip of his tongue in the dead of night when Sam's rolling over into his arms, seeking comfort after another nightmare. They're on the tip of his tongue when Sam's looking at him softly, affectionately; when Sam expresses his love without even saying a word. They've been in love for a while now and Bucky's been too stupid to realize it. *** It’s the third trope on the list that keeps Bucky up at night. Bucky’s seen enough rom-coms to know him and Sam have reached the point where the grand gesture of love is supposed to happen. That he’s supposed to confess his feelings in the middle of torrential rain, and he and Sam would kiss as the rain pours down on them. Or make Sam a mixtape and play it on a boom box under their bedroom window.

Quickly nixes that idea because it fucking sucks, thanks John Cusack!

He doesn’t know what his grand gesture ought to be, he’s never had to do something like this before.

Dating in the 40s was easier. What he does know is that Sam loves romantic comedies, knows that Sam probably bases their quasi-relationship off of one and that means Bucky has to deliver. He’s gotta give Sam his fairytale love story or he’ll find his Prince Charming somewhere else. *** They’re in the park when it happens. It’s Sam’s idea of a date, laying out on a blanket watching the stars in the night’s sky. It’s so incredibly soft that Bucky’s heart aches a little, and he knows he has to do something soon. It's probably too short notice to arrange a flash mob to perform 'Closing Time' down at a train station like the stupid movie they watched, but time is of the essence suddenly and he has to do something *right now*. So with no rain on the radar, no boombox, and no flash mob, Bucky uses the only weapon left in his arsenal: words from his heart. Shifting off of his back to face Sam directly, Bucky starts. "I love you." It's simple and straight to the point and Sam's turning to face Bucky now, an incredulous look etched on his face. "I've been going crazy thinking about the most perfect, most over the top way to express how much I - I love you", Bucky confesses. He knows this is a cop-out, that a simple admission of love is *boring* but damn it, if Bucky's learned anything from those stupid ass movies, besides realism doesn't exist, is that you can't sit on your hands when it comes to true love. You have to be proactive. So he continues. "Nothing about this - about us - makes any sense but I'd be lying to you and to myself if I said my heart didn't belong to you." Sam hasn't interrupted him or called him an idiot yet so Bucky figures he's on the right track. There's more, he could practically write a sonnet about how Sam's his first love, his only love. That there's no one else he would rather try this love thing out with. How Sam's a part of him now, a part of his identity. He doesn't know who he would be without Sam here. But Sam's looking up at him, and smiling that *smile* and Bucky can't help himself, leans down and kisses him gently, nipping at his bottom lip. The words he doesn't say get poured into their kiss; the world could end right now -- and it has twice for Bucky -- but if each point of his life was leading him to this moment, to the arms of the man he adores more than life itself, Bucky would gladly die a thousand times over. Just as long as he gets to make it back to Sam. Just as long as in each lifetime, Sam's still there with his bright eyes and bright smile and bright personality, guiding Bucky back to him like a lighthouse in the middle of a storm. They finally pull apart and Bucky takes a deep breath, finally able to breathe with the weight of not telling Sam how he feels off his chest. Despite himself, Bucky's got a smile on his face, wider than Sam's and he can't imagine, not even for a second, of doing this with anyone else. Sam is it. *** Even if there's no spontaneous group of onlookers clapping or if doves aren't materializing out of thin air, he and Sam are still getting their happily ever after. And that's all that matters anyway.

Come find me on AO3!

#the title is horrible but i couldn't think of anything else #this was supposed to be a drabble! it's nearly 2K words!#a hot mess #but anyways #sambucky #buckysam #sam wilson #bucky barnes #the falcon and the winter soldier #my writing

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artificialqueens · 5 years

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In Orbit Around the Same Star (Biadore) - doctor bitchcraftt

Anonymous prompt - Adore finally realizes she wants Bianca and stops sleeping around; Bianca accepts what she’s been trying to run from, that she’s always loved Adore.

A/N: This one took more out of me than I thought it would when I sat down to write it; it stays just inside the boundary of my canon-compliant writing rules. Quote cited is from an actual interview with Bianca. Serious introspection, feelings, and a whole lot of love. Xoxoxoxo, bitchcraftt

Read on AO3

********

She’s going to be thirty this year.

It’s…very that.

She used to think that her life began with Idol, but really, it started at twenty three when she walked into the workroom, and skyrocketed at twenty four when Adore Delano eclipsed Danny Noriega.

Her twenties were filled with partying hard, thrilled by running reckless. Sometimes too hard and too wild, because she couldn’t stop to think about that or why and what she was running from.

She thinks about Michelle holding her together by the thinnest threads in Europe, when her own mother would have been horrified by her behavior. Some of it’s hazy, and some of it she can’t remember at all. She tries not to think about how badly it could have ended.

Adore knows how incredibly lucky she is to not have caused any permanent damage (she’s carefree but never careless when someone else is intimately involved).

She also knows that it’s due in a large part to having people who reeled her in, anchored her when she started to (or did) go too far.

She thinks about her sisters, the closest members of her drag family (and honestly, real family now). Considers the three people constantly speaking across thousands of miles, texting good morning from wherever they are in the world that day. Three people who have her back even when she’s in the wrong - and oh, do they let her know it privately - and who she can count on to rescue her from herself.

********

Bianca is, if nothing else, exceedingly self-aware. Painfully so, even, about things like her need to be in control, to grasp onto order instead of chaos.

“I like work because that’s the only thing I have control of," she told an interviewer back in 2015, answering a question about what she valued most in life. "I can’t be in control of anything else. I can’t control if I’m in a relationship, I can’t control when someone dies, but I can control my work ethic and keep plowing and going through it."

She (aside from a few notable exceptions) has always lived life carefully, weighing outcomes and consequences and never risking more than she thought she could lose. Always kept faithfully to her commitments, even at the cost of too little sleep and no time for anything besides work. Always been the steady, reliable one that her friends know they can turn to when their own lives are in disarray for a sarcastic comment followed by deep compassion.

********

Adore is beyond grateful for being able to lean on Bianca’s strength when she doesn’t trust her own.

Bianca, so grounded in who she (and he) is that she has no problem helping others. Giving and kind to strangers and acquaintances alike, the first to lend her makeup and earrings to other queens, to fix a wig or a torn seam, greeting fans with a smile and always willing to take a photo.

Honest and sharp, but never cruel or unnecessary with her criticism.

Bianca, who doesn’t think twice about offering to pay for things her friends need (Adore’s hair, Jiggly’s teeth), not to flaunt her wealth but because her bank account isn’t as important as her friends’ health and happiness.

Bianca, whose door is always open no matter the time of night or day or the space beyond midnight but before dawn. Who lets Adore wake her up with a phone call or drunken knocking, lets her cling to her unshakable steadiness, listens no matter how ridiculous or cringe worthy the subject.

Bianca, the brilliant comic who laughs at all of her jokes, even when they’re not actually funny. Her surprisingly high-pitched giggles and wicked cackle are wonderful, and earning a full body, head thrown back laugh always feels like an accomplishment.

She’s never demanded anything in return, not for her corset and not for her time. Doesn’t even seem comfortable with being thanked, as if she feels like the things she does are a matter of course and she’s just paying it forward.

(The corset is still in Adore’s closet, together with her black sequined finale dress.)

Bianca, who would give and give of herself until she’s exhausted because she can’t not help. Who would drop everything if Adore or Courtney or so many other of their sisters was in need.

Her capacity to love is deeper than anyone else Adore has ever met, even if it’s cloaked in pithy comments and exasperated eyerolls.

********

Bianca has said time and again that winning Drag Race at thirty eight meant something completely different than if she had been twenty. Some days even thirty five feels ridiculously far away, when so much has changed since. She’s gone from trying to keep a crowd’s attention in nightclubs to sold out stages worldwide with fans who only speak a little bit of English wildly chanting her name, unable to even go to Starbucks without someone recognizing her face.

More than anything else, Drag Race taught her that even she still had room to grow and learn.

Before the workroom, she would have laughed outright if anyone had told her she would become the closest of friends with someone almost a decade and a half younger. She’s watched Adore live her life intensely, sometimes recklessly, sometimes without considering what could happen. Has helped pick up the pieces when it went wrong. Learned that the hardest thing sometimes is to let her, because it’s not fair to take the experiences or decisions away.

The most striking thing is that despite being at very different stages of life, despite the occasionally naive and overconfident blunders, Adore fits neatly into all of the places that were empty before, including the things she didn’t even realize were missing. She’s a juxtaposition of mercurial mood and rebellious nature with a very old soul whose depth sometimes leaves Bianca speechless. Fearless and fun, and busy dragging everyone else in along with her.

Before Adore, she thinks she almost forgot what it was like to live in the moment, too busy staying busy to ever slow down.

********

Adore thinks about how they gravitate towards each other when they’re both in the same place. Looks at photos of them holding hands or hugging on stage, and realizes that it feels so natural she doesn’t even notice . She thinks about how they constantly stay in physical contact, never any concept of personal space between them and never aware of its absence.

Bianca gives the best hugs because she uses her whole body. Hugs that remind and constantly surprise Adore with how much strength is in her deceptively slim build.

If she closes her eyes when Bianca’s arms are around her, she can feel the energy of a contained tidal wave, a force of nature that, once its path is clear, stops for nothing. And in the face of that power, she never feels anything but safe.

********

Bianca is tactile herself (even if she denies it on stage) and understands the need for touch. She doesn’t shy away from reaching for a fan’s hand or giving hugs, because she’s still a little in awe that all of that energy and excitement is for her.

Physical affection for her friends is so much a part of her that she doesn’t even register it half the time, sharing seats in clubs or lounging together on a hotel bed to read texts. It’s even more pronounced with Adore, always seeking out the other’s warmth and stability, two planets in orbit around the same star.

********

Adore loves Bianca’s sharp tongue and intelligence, how she can look at a piece of fabric and already know exactly what she’ll make out of it.

Loves how she carries herself in a gown, how her makeup is over the top and the skill it takes to paint that way.

Loves her work ethic and dedication to the craft.

Loves how she can command a stage and the rapt attention of thousands.

Loves her self-deprecation while insisting that Bianca Del Rio isn’t meant to be beautiful or sexy, when she manages to do both.

********

Bianca has loved Adore for years.

It’s neither unexpected nor something she’s ashamed of; Adore is ridiculously easy to love.

People the world over have fallen for her expressive eyes and unceasing energy, her relatable manner of speaking liberally sprinkled with expletives, her wide smile and captivating voice. Listening to her sing, wrapping her voice around each word, is hypnotic and even Bianca catches herself caught under her spell.

She probably (definitely) loves Adore a little more than the rest of her sisters, a fact that isn’t lost on their friends (or legions of fans, apparently).

********

Adore has always been a little in love with Bianca.

She’s referred to her more than once as the love of her life, in complete seriousness no matter how many hashtags follow the statement.

She thinks a lot about how Bianca looks out for her, calls her “my angel” and “my love”. Is afraid to believe that it’s any different than the way Bianca loves and touches her other friends. Worse, she worries that her jokes about their age difference and playing up their quasi mother-daughter relationship means Bianca will only ever think of Adore as a (her) child.

********

She’s always going to try to take care of Adore, the same as with any of her friends. There’s definitely the slightly maternal aspect of watching her grow as both a queen and a person. But she’s also always going to see her as more than just an adopted drag daughter.

It’s complicated.

She worries that Adore is serious when she tells fans, "Bianca is like my second mom." Worries that she’ll always be only the protective shoulder to cry on and give advice, the friend to go out to the club with, a beloved older sibling but never to love.

Watching Adore asleep beside her, and Courtney and Darienne across the way on the other bed in her London hotel room, she isn’t sure why that thought bothers her so much. Not when the peaceful sense of stillness is lulling her into slumber.

She thinks about the age difference, how sometimes it’s painfully obvious that Adore isn’t settled into who she is and where she’s going yet. Thinks about how it took most of her thirties before she met a twenty three year old queen with three wigs, clearance special dresses, and a passion for life that reminded her how much she’d walled herself off.

Adore is turning thirty this year, and Bianca is on the wrong side of forty.

********

Adore isn’t sure how to manage love on its own, not this kind. In her world, love beyond family has always been connected to sex - passionate, out of this world hot or intensely sweet or comfortably intimate. And sex by itself is easy, is fun, no feelings other than a mutual interest in wringing as much pleasure as possible from the encounter, sharing the thrill and comfort of touch.

Loving someone so deeply without an intimate physical relationship is completely different, never mind that it’s tangled up in what’s probably one of the most profound relationships of her life.

Adore hasn’t done commitment lately because she doesn’t want even the slightest urge to be unfaithful if her attention wanders. It’s not that she wouldn’t give up her bed-hopping; it’s just that everyone is so unique, so many beautiful opportunities to discover someone new, that it would be unfair to promise something she can’t keep. She doesn’t want to burn down relationships, has tried the long distance thing, but being on separate continents was too difficult even with FaceTime and Skype and phone calls.

********

Bianca thinks about Adore casually kissing fans, kissing Courtney thank you for fixing a stray bobby pin, pouting together at the camera with their faces pressed close. Thinks about how in all of the years, Adore has never kissed her on the mouth even as a joke no matter how much her inhibitions have been lowered.

She wonders if Adore knows what it does to her stomach sometimes when she climbs into her bed for drunken snuggles, handsy and loose-limbed. Hates the twinge of guilt when she enjoys holding her after she passes out draped over her whole body.

********

The thing is, Adore knows she would give up casual sex for Bianca. At least she thinks she could, would try harder than for anyone else.

Although it’s possible that they wouldn’t be compatible sexually, Adore dismisses that idea immediately. Dick jokes aside, all of that focused attention would be overwhelming in the best possible way regardless of the activity. If she’s amazing as a friend, Adore is positive that Bianca would be (is) a generous and dedicated lover, committed to her (his) partner’s satisfaction.

The problem is, it could never ever be uncomplicated for them.

It’s not as simple as taking each other to bed when they’ve shared the covers on multiple occasions for years. Often enough to fit their limbs together easily, Adore’s head on her shoulder, long enough that she knows exactly what Bianca sounds like when she snores.

There’s no way that they could write it off as just a fuck between friends. Adore falls hard and fast when she lets herself, and with Bianca who’s already seen her at her worst and still loves her…

Bianca calls her fearless. In ninety-nine percent of situations, that’s definitely the case, even when it’s unwise. This though? Adore won’t risk losing what they have now to take a chance on something that could very well destroy them both.

It’s not the thought of asking for a relationship that scares her. It’s the possibility that Bianca isn’t, wouldn’t, couldn’t be interested in her that way. Or most devastatingly, the possibility that it would work for a while but ultimately fail.

She doesn’t want to think about no longer being able to casually hold hands, of bringing awkwardness to the space between them. Can’t imagine Bianca not letting her cuddle close or the easy afternoons spent together in comfortable silence. Feels her stomach clench considering what it would be like to lose the open invitation to share Bianca’s space.

More than any danger to herself, she’s absolutely terrified of what she could do to Bianca. Bianca, who commits to the things she deems worthy with intensity and complete seriousness. Who pours her entire heart into loving someone (she’s seen it). Adore is acutely aware of how easy it would be to hurt her (hurt him). And Bianca would let her, might even forgive her, but Adore would never forgive herself.

She’s never wanted to cause pain to past boyfriends, but that’s nothing in comparison.

Adore doesn’t ever want their relationship to become something she has to write songs about, trying to excise the pain of loss.

Bianca always says she’s gotten serious relationships out of her system, but what Adore knows she means is that she doesn’t have the time and energy to learn someone new, not with her work commitments.

She thinks about how Bianca is constantly in motion, always working, ready to move onto the next project. Thinks that maybe it means she’s running away from something too, but can’t imagine what she could ever be afraid of.

********

Bianca has been in a little bit in love with Adore for years, even if she was barely willing to admit it in the privacy of her own thoughts.

They’re not the type of friends who could add sex as just another benefit, because all of the other aspects of the relationship so far outweigh getting off together that sex doesn’t even feel like it’s missing. As far as Bianca can tell, the two of them are closer than most couples she knows precisely because there isn’t fucking involved.

She’s told interviewers that she doesn’t have time for a boyfriend, that no one would put up with her constant traveling.

She’s also made red-eye flight detours to see Adore when their engagements have taken them to different parts of the world.

Bianca is very conscious of her focus on things she commits to. If she’s going to do something, anything, she (he) is going to do it right.

Paying careful attention to every small detail of her drag from hairline to padding and cinching and deliberate costume design, even as she’s creating an exaggerated female presence.

Organizing her supplies the same way every time so that she’s never the queen who forgets something.

Spoiling and surprising her friends, because they matter.

Loving Adore.

********

Adore isn’t ready to tell Bianca, not yet. Their friendship is more than enough. And really, she thinks Bianca probably already knows, the same way she knows everything else about her.

#rpdr fanfiction #bianca del rio #adore delano #biadore #canon compliant #doctor bitchcraftt

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let-it-raines · 5 years

Text

Betting on the Bullseye Part 7

Summary: Emma Swan loses a bet that means she has to ask her celebrity crush to be her date to her office's annual fundraising gala. Killian Jones is that celebrity crush. She expects all kinds of humiliation and for her dignity to be completely lost. What she doesn't expect is for him to say yes.

Rating: Mature

A/N: I honestly didn’t expect a Christmas one-shot to take on a life of its own like this, but here we are, my friends! I hope you guys continue to enjoy this :D

Found on AO3: Beginning | Current

Tag list: @nikkiemms @resident-of-storybrooke @wellhellotragic @bmbbcs4evr @onceuponaprincessworld @jennjenn615 @mayquita @captainsjedi @teamhook @skyewardolicitycloisdelena91 @branlovesouat @dreadpirateemma @kmomof4 @ekr032-blog-blog @galaxyzxstark @lifeinahole27

“So his vocabulary is really starting to improve.”

“Uh huh.”

“The other day he was almost stringing together full sentences.”

“Wow, so interesting.”

“And then out of the blue he goes, Dad, I’m moving to California and going to get Emma’s head back so she’ll stop staring off into the window.”

“Yeah? Cool.”

The back of her head is slapped, shaking her out of her daydreams only to find David standing above her with his hands on his hips and his lips stretched into a thin line. She reaches up to scratch the top of her head, patting her hair down from where it’s messed up.

“What the hell was that for, David?”

“You weren’t listening to me.”

“Yes, I was!”

“What was I just talking about?”

“The murder case at work. You finally caught the guy.”

David sighs, tipping his head back before scratching his chin where his normally clean shaven face has blonde scruff growing. He sits down on the window seat with her, leaning back against the glass pane and staring at her with the same kind of stern look he gives Leo when he’s not listening. Personally, she thinks that the kid is two. David staring him down with his eyes squinted and his hands on his hips isn’t really going to do a lot, but she doesn’t have kids to parent and teach right from wrong. She has the kids at the shelter, but they’re usually older and each of them takes a special touch. And her job deals more with the adults and paperwork than anything but whatever.

She realizes she’s spacing out again when David flicks her knee, bringing her attention back to him.

“What?”

“You’re not listening to me at all.”

“I am so. The murder, remember?”

“Emma,” David sighs while her confusion increases, “I stopped talking about work fifteen minutes ago. I was talking about Leo. Where’s your head today?”

“Nowhere,” she lies, picking off some imaginary lint on her yoga pants. “I guess I just got distracted. You talk about your kid a lot.” “Well, he is adorable,” he jokes, a bright smile crossing his features that happens whenever he’s talking about Mary Margaret or Leo. “But seriously. You’ve been spaced out all week. Mary Margaret and Ruby have both said the same thing when you’re with them. Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really.” “Is it about Killian?”

“Not everything is about Killian, David,” she bites, crossing her arms over her chest and looking out the window, seeing Wilby running around in the backyard, his fur bouncing everywhere. “That’s sexist to just automatically assume that if something is wrong it has to be about a man.”

“I know that, but I ask because if it’s work related, you vent to Ruby. If it’s something else, you tell me or Mary Margaret. The only time you bottle things up is when it comes to your relationships, and you’re bottling things up.”

Damn him for being able to read her so well. If anything, she should be spending less time with David so he can stop doing that. He’s a detective, and he figures everything out with weird accuracy. And as much as she has wanted to talk about all of this, she hasn’t quite found the words.

She picks at that imaginary piece of lint again before adjusting her sweater and murmuring, “We…Killian and I kissed again when I was in California last week, and then we slept together completely sober because we wanted to. And I know you probably don’t want to know anything about that, but it’s important for what I’m about to say.”

David smiles and nods, urging her on, and she lets him. “I have feelings for him. And it’s, like, I knew I had feelings for him before I went to California, but I didn’t know they were so deep. But I told him about Neal and my past. He already knew all of the foster care shit, and now he knows about Neal along with some of the others. He knows about more than most people ever have, and he didn’t look at me like I’m some poor victim. He understood.”

“What’s the big deal, Emma? This is a good thing, isn’t it? You’re opening up to someone again.”

“And I’m terrified,” she whispers, pulling her knees up against her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs, “because there are already so many complications.”

“Complications?” David furrows his brows and purses his lips. “From what you say, things seem great.”

She scoffs, her head falling back against the glass again. “It’s…Killian is great, really great, but he didn’t tell any of his friends about me, which I get now. I don’t tell you guys every time I start talking to someone new, but there was, um, an incident.”

She knows David is being patient with her. He can be impulsive and irrational, sometimes not waiting to hear both sides of the story and barging off on some kind of unwarranted quasi older brother protective shit – as if there’s not enough of that in the world – but today’s he’s decided to listen instead of interrupting her or jumping to conclusions. She appreciates it because despite she and Killian talking regularly this week and her missing him, she has all of these feelings and emotions jumbled up inside about everything that happened with Liam. Killian does, too. She knows he hasn’t talked to his brother since that morning in his kitchen, and she feels guilty about that as well. She can’t come between a family. Everyone deserves a family who loves them.

How could everything go from being happy and blissful to confusion and conflict?

“What do you mean? Did Killian hurt you? Physically, I mean.”

“No,” she fervently shakes her head, the thought of that completely out of the realms of possibility here, “definitely not. It’s just, well, since he didn’t tell any of his friends about me, no one knew I was coming. And Robin was fine with it. I really enjoyed talking to him. But then my last morning there, the morning after Killian and I were together, his brother walked in the house and chewed my head off, telling me I’m some kind of delusional fan and threatening to call the police because he thought I broke into the house.”

“What an asshole.” “That’s what I said, and I get it now. I get what that must have looked like to him with Killian’s past and people taking advantage of him, but it was still crazy. And then I heard some of what he was saying to Killian after I left the room and, well, he…Liam hates me.” “Emma,” David soothes, leaning forward and placing his hand overs hers, “that’s not Killian though. From what I can tell, the man is enamored with you. Him having an asshole of a brother doesn’t have to mean something. I have one of those, and Mary Margaret and I are very much in love.”

“That’s because you two were basically written to be together. There’s never been any other option.” “You say that now, but we didn’t always know that. Neither of us come from great families, we had lots of obstacles, but we made it work. You’ve never had a man fight for you, something you deserve, but Emma, if you want this, you have to fight for him too.”

She knows that. She’s not used to it, especially because she doesn’t feel like she did anything wrong, but she knows she can’t just let all of these things fester. It’ll drive a wedge between she and Killian, and while that may be her first instinct, that’s what she’s trying to push down. He’s different than all of the others. He understands her, and he doesn’t try to change her.

His brother is what’s holding her back.

And maybe a little bit of the other fears, but she’s trying to take the leap of faith. Trying.

“It’s just, like,” she begins, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands, “if his brother doesn’t approve of me, how am I ever going to fit in? And then I start thinking long term, and that terrifies me. And then I start thinking about how I don’t need the approval of someone who speaks to me like that, but a tiny part of me wonders…how can I ever have a future with Killian if the most important person in his life hates me and thinks I’m some kind of fan using Killian for a weird fantasy?”

“That’s not what’s happening though, right?”

She scoffs, shaking her head back and forth, the thought of taking advantage of Killian ludicrous. “Not at all.”

“Then his brother will understand once things have calmed down and everything has been explained. You said he’s his best friend, right?” She nods, thinking of all of the kind words Killian has said about Liam, trying to match them up with the man she met. “Then he can’t be all bad. He sounds like a bit of a pompous ass, and I’ll be speaking to him if he ever says anything like that to you again, but I think things are going to work out for you, kid.”

“I’m only six years younger than you.”

“Yeah, well.”

David opens his arms and leans forward, pulling her into his arms and embracing her. She wraps hers around his immediately, holding on tightly and breathing him in while he cups the back of her head. David always makes everything better even when he’s annoying the hell out of her, and she really appreciates him for that. She’s going to have to make sure he’s not overbearing when he meets Killian or else this whole situation will be like the pot calling the kettle black.

She also can’t believe she’s so sure that he’s going to meet Killian, but the thought came so naturally. She wants to keep trying with him, to keep working toward whatever it is we’re working toward, and that means the both of them trying with the other’s friends and family.

She still wants to kick Liam’s ass a bit, though. Verbally, though. She’ll leave him be otherwise.

“What’s happening here?” Mary Margaret questions, her voice shocking them out of their hug.

When she pulls back from David, she sees Mary Margaret holding Leo, the both of their hair sleep rumpled and crazy from their nap. Mary Margaret is pregnant, but they haven’t told Emma. Yet she knows this is why Mary Margaret refused a beer three days ago and why she left the room earlier when the smells of their Chinese food became too much. And it’s why she was upstairs napping in the middle of the day on a Saturday, something she never does. She really wishes she’d tell her so she can be excited about it.

But if they’re not ready, they’re not ready. They may be unusually invasive about some things, but they deserve their privacy. She’s just really hoping that she’s going to have another kid to spoil. There’s nothing quite like giving a child sugar, making them love you, and then handing them back to their parents while you get to go home.

Yeah, David and Mary Margaret are totally going to give her hell for payback if she ever has any kids.

“David was being David, helping me through some stuff.” Mary Margaret raises a perfectly groomed eyebrow. “Yeah, I’m totally going to need some more info on that later.”

David laughs before getting up from the window seat and walking over to Mary Margaret, kissing her lips and whispering something in her ear before ruffling Leo’s hair and talking to him. She smiles at their little family, thinking of everything David alluded to about them going through tough times too, and she feels better than she has all week.

Her flats flop off of her feet as she walks down the hallway, an apple in her mouth and a box of files in her hands. She feels like she hasn’t stopped all day, her feet aching despite the lack of heels, and she hasn’t even had time to eat more than this apple that’ll likely get stuck on the desk and rot away from where she’s taken the singular bite out of it. But a new quarter means new financials and updating the files for the kids. It’s always busy, but this week especially so.

Ever since the Christmas gala, their donations have increased, and they bought a new computer system. Installing it and updating it has been exhausting, especially for a few of the older people she works with who have been totally against a computerized system. The worst thing, though, is that she’s having to manually enter everything. And manually entering everything means checking that all of their information is right before fiddling around with her computer. It’s not extremely complicated, but it takes awhile to get used to and to make sure everything is right as she logs it into the system. It doesn’t help that her hands feel like they’re cramping and her fingers are one more box of files away from falling off. That would probably be a medical first.

She’s still got twenty-three boxes in the file room, and it’s already six o’clock on Tuesday evening.

She’s going to lose her hands too. There’s no doubt about it.

And she sure as hell isn’t finishing these tonight, but she can at least finish this one box before going home.

Her office phone rings as she’s walking back into her office, and she drops the box on her desk before picking it up and pressing the buttons to hit speaker.

“Hello?”

“Hey, beautiful,” Killian’s deep accent greets, the sound of a door shutting behind him.

“Hi,” she answers while her cheeks flush, sitting down in her chair and letting the wheels roll under her before pulling out a file to work on. “Why are you calling me at the office?”

“Couldn’t get you on your cell. Why are you still at the office?”

She groans, shutting her eyes for a moment before opening them and starting to type, knowing she can go to the gym and go home the faster she gets this done. She feels like she’s never going to get this done. “You remember how I said we’re having to manually enter all of our files so we can go digital?”

“I recall.”

“Well, it’s somehow just me doing this, and it’s taking forever. Like, this is all I’ve done since yesterday at eight in the morning. My hands are going to fall off.”

“I’m sorry,” Killian sympathizes. “Can’t someone help you? It’d be a pity for you to lose those hands. They do glorious things.”

“Oh gross,” she scoffs, scrunching her face up at how his voice deepened when he said the words. “How did you turn that into dirty joke?”

“I’m a man of many talents. But seriously, love. Don’t you have someone to help you?”

“Ruby does what she can, but everyone else is much more hands on and not computer savvy, which is ridiculous considering the year and their jobs. So I’ll just be toiling away in my cell of an office.”

“You poor unfortunate soul.” “Exactly,” she laughs, kicking her shoes off and curling her legs underneath her. “So what are you doing? Filming?”

“Yep, taking a b-break,” he yawns, his voice broken and raspy, exactly how he sounds just as he’s waking up in the morning…or at least how she thinks from her one experience. “I cannot begin to express how excited I am to be finished in three weeks. It’s not quite the same filming and then coming home to an empty house when I had a pretty good house guest last week.”

“Charmer.”

“I try.”

She and Killian chat for awhile, filling each other in on their days, and while she wasn’t planning on talking to him about the Liam thing again, she just typed in the name William for one of their regular kids, and it’s all she can think about it.

“Hey, KJ?”

“Yes, ES?”

She chuckles under her breath. He does that nearly every time she calls him KJ, and it drives her crazy. But it’s not going to make her stop. If he can call her every nickname in the book, she can have one for him. “Have you talked to your brother since…you know?”

The line is silent and she wonders if she’s taken it a step too far, but then she hears an overexaggerated sigh and can practically see him running his hand through his hair. “I have not. Why do you ask, love?”

“I don’t know, maybe because I’m curious. I don’t want you two to be broken up over me.” “He was a bloody wanker to my girlfriend. I’m not just going to be over it.”

If she was holding a phone, she’s sure she’d drop it. She knows they’re dating, has said as much herself, but they’ve never defined it in terms like that. And she kind of feels like she’s fifteen and being kissed for the first time by Michael Kaleb after school. He’d turned out to be a jerk, but the moment was still nice. Just like this one.

So she smiles to herself while doing a little dance in her chair and tucking her hair behind her ears before going back to typing and talking to her…boyfriend. Yeah, she definitely feels like she’s fifteen again. “Killian, you guys have to talk. You can’t be pissed forever.” “I can try.”

“Yeah, but it’s not what you or me or even Liam needs. I personally think you should talk to him and work things out. And then next time I’m in LA, I’d like my chance, which likely won’t be nearly as nice as yours is, with him.”

“I wouldn’t doubt it,” he chuckles even if it doesn’t sound as joyful as his usual laugh. “He was an arsehole. But you’re most likely right, which I kind of hate.” “So you’ll think about it?”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Good. Also, I’d just like to apologize in advance for when David does something similar to you. I told him not to, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he finds a way.”

“Well, we’ll just call it even, Steven.”

“Sounds like a plan, Stan.”

He snorts on the other end of the line, his distaste for her using that phrase so often waning a bit, and if anything, she’s at least accomplished that.

Killian has to go back to set at the same time she finishes her box of files, and as much as he helped her get through the rest of the day, she’s glad that he has to go if only because it means she’s closer to getting home and getting into her bed, something she’s been craving all day.

“So what are we eating?” Ruby yells from the couch only for Mary Margaret to scold her and tell her not to yell. Such a mom.

“I don’t know.” She ruffles through her fridge, trying to see if there’s anything edible, but it’s mostly just milk and eggs. “I can make, like, omelets or something. Or we can order takeout.”

“Takeout,” Ruby and Mary Margaret yell at once.

“Hey, I can cook.”

“You can cook some things,” Mary Margaret corrects, standing from the couch and walking the few steps to the kitchen, placing her hand on Emma’s bicep and squeezing, “but we’re having girls’ night on a Thursday when we all have work in the morning. We should at least eat something really indulgent.” She shuffles through Emma’s takeout menu drawer, throwing out everything until she finds the Shun’s Kitchen menu. “Let’s eat this.”

“Really? Didn’t we have Chinese at your house on Saturday?”

“Yeah, but I’ve been really craving it lately. I devoured the leftovers after you left.”

Emma quirks an eyebrow at Mary Margaret’s statement. She gets craving Chinese. She craves it all of the time, but she’s also not pregnant and the absolute worst at keeping a secret. But it’s whatever. It’s not her secret to expose. She’s just surprised Marg has so much resolve. At this rate, David is going to burst first.

“Okay, why don’t you order whatever you want then, and I’ll go find something to watch.”

She steps over to the couch, plopping herself down next to Ruby whose fiddling on her phone and flipping through shows on Netflix, trying to find something to play in the background.

“So preggo over there still pretending not to be pregnant?”

“Yep.” She continues to scroll through Netflix, realizing she’s spent far too much time sitting on her ass watching TV with everything she’s seen because there’s absolutely nothing to watch. “Who are you texting?”

“Um, excuse me,” Ruby scoffs, holding her phone against her chest, “who are you? You are certainly not Emma Swan, private person extraordinaire who doesn’t ask personal questions so as to avoid having to answer personal questions. Because first you’re super into Marg’s pregnancy, and now you want to know who I’m texting. That’s not you.” Ruby bops her nose then, and she scrunches her face up, knowing that Ruby is right. “Nosy.”

“Can you blame me?” she shrugs, curling her feet up underneath her.

“No, but it’s really not anything. It’s just Victor.”

“Wait,” she slaps Ruby’s leg, “are you seeing him again?”

“Maybe,” she admits, curling into herself and rubbing where Emma hit her. “It’s…I ran into him while running in the park a few weeks ago, and we’ve been talking. It’s not dating or anything, but you know I still like him.”

“You still like who?” Mary Margaret asks, settling herself down into the recliner and propping her feet up on the ottoman.

“Victor.”

“Shit,” Mary Margaret whistles as everyone breaks out into laughs at the woman who is pure as snow cursing. “How did this happen?”

“It just kind of…did? I’m not sure if it’s going anywhere, but I kind of want it to. I mean, we’re older now. We’re in the same city. We’re not going to be trying some long-distance relationship while he’s in med school. That sucked and obviously didn’t work out even though there was nothing wrong with us.”

Her throat constricts at Ruby’s words, a lump forming and lodging itself there. The words are a little closer to home than Ruby probably intended them to be, and as much as she’s trying to have this conversation with Ruby, to be there for her friend, all she can think about is she and Killian. It’s…she hates being the girl who’s always thinking about her relationship, who can’t think about other things. And she’s not always thinking about Killian. That would be ridiculous. She has a job, friends, interests of her own that keep her occupied, but he’s managing to snake his way into little parts of her life. It’s not a bad thing. It’s good really. She just feels guilty that she’s about to how some kind of mini freak out when she doesn’t want this night to be about her.

But Ruby talking about she and Victor’s long-term relationship from after college, when Victor moved to Atlanta for Medical school and Ruby stayed here, is getting to her. They were great together, two eccentric and outgoing people who worked really well together, and deeply in love. But the strain became too much on them, especially with Victor’s inability to leave to visit because of how busy he was.

She…she and Killian are like that, and they’re not in love. They’re getting to know each other, maybe making their way there, and they’re doing the exact same thing. How are they supposed to last when they have all of these obstacles between them? She’s seen him in person twice. Once for a few hours when they were meeting and the second time for a week where she almost immediately slept with him.

What the hell is she going to do next if that’s how she progresses through this relationship? Marry him? That’s fucking ridiculous.

“Hey,” Ruby nudges her, shaking her out of her thoughts, “where’d your head go, Ems?”

“Nowhere,” she lies, plastering a smile on her face.

“You just zoned out through all of my spiel and for dinner getting here. If I wasn’t so concerned, I’d honestly be impressed.”

“It’s nothing,” she promises, the words sounding untrue on her tongue. God, she really sucks. She just did this to David and now Ruby. She can’t keep doing that. “I’m sorry for zoning out. Just, feel free to tell me anything and everything you want, and I will listen to all of it.”

“That’s a dangerous game you’re playing, Emma Swan.”

“I know.”

The three of them eat their food while Ruby recaps all that she just said. She’s so happy, her face lighting up with joy, and it lifts some of Emma’s burdens getting to see her best friend like this. Maybe it’ll work out and maybe it won’t, but Ruby’s trying. That’s the important thing. She may sound like Mary Margaret, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing as she’s learning little by little.

It’s a girls’ night like any of their other girls’ nights, the three of them dissolving into conversation and laughter, especially when they discover Instant Hotel on Netflix and absolutely lose it watching the ridiculous groups of people showing off their home. But it is Thursday, and they have work in the morning, so Ruby and Mary Margaret leave at ten, leaving her with all of the leftover food.

She’s getting ready for bed, scrubbing her face wash over her face, when her phone rings. Her hands are covered in acne solution, so she uses her elbow to answer, barely escaping knocking her phone into the toilet. “Hello?”

“Hi, Swan. You awake?”

“Yeah, but I’m getting ready to go to bed.”

“Do you need me to just try you tomorrow?”

“No, no,” she promises, grabbing a wash cloth and wiping down her face, “I can talk to you. We keep missing each other, so I’m good to go. Just gotta rub a hell of a lot of creams on my face so I don’t become old and wrinkly like you.”

“Oi,” Killian laughs while she rubs her moisturizer on, “I am not old and wrinkly, love, and I don’t appreciate you saying that when you know otherwise.”

“Do I? I’m not so sure. I definitely saw some.”

“You’re being cheeky tonight, Swan.”

“It was girls’ night tonight, so I’m in a pretty good mood.”

“Really now? You, Ruby, and Mary Margaret?”

“Yep.” She leaves the bathroom and crawls into her bed, pulling the covers over her chest and propping her phone up under her chin. “You still filming?”

“No, actually. We had late night last night and got finished around noon this afternoon, so I’ve just woken up. I’m about to go to the gym.”

“Sucks for you.”

“Yeah, well, I had a house guest that kept me away from my workouts, and my trainer has decided to make my life hell ever since.”

“Sorry?”

“I’m not. It was a bloody good week.”

He sounds so happy, and she gets it. He makes her happy, but she misses him. She didn’t think it was possible to miss someone so much after rarely seeing them, but she does. It’s stupid and weird, but it’s her life now. It’s only been a little less than two weeks, and she feels like she’s going crazy. She doesn’t know how people do this and actually have it working out.

“You’ve gone silent there, Swan. What’s up?”

“Nothing, I just…I was thinking.”

“Penny for your thoughts?”

“What are we doing, exactly? Like, we’re dating aren’t we? You called me your girlfriend over the phone the other day, but I didn’t want to say anything. It’s not that I didn’t like that. I did. A lot. It’s just, like, we’re doing everything out of order, and as great and as natural as it is most of the time…I need some sort of explanation or to have a conversation and wow am I rambling. I’m so, so, so not good at this.”

Killian chuckles on the other end of the line while she wishes she could take back her word vomit. She should not have said all of that, but at the end of the day, she really does need some kind of clarification. She’s also glad she’s not Facetiming him because she can literally feel how red her cheeks are. And she’s sure Killian’s got his hand scratching behind his ear thinking that he’s involved himself with a crazy woman.

“Well, first of all, love, I’m not bloody good at this either. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a relationship, which is what I’m thinking this is if you’re amenable to that?”

“I am.”

“Okay, so we’re in a relationship even if we both bloody suck at it. I’d like to sound half my age and call you my girlfriend, unless you have any other suggestions for the word? Partner, significant other, special friend, lover?”

She snorts, turning in bed and curling up on her side, moving the phone with her so it rests on her pillow. “Lover. Definitely lover. I think that’ll be the best way to introduce you to people. Hi, this is my lover.”

“Well alright then, lover,” he accentuates the word, lowering his voice and making it as seductive as possible, “it’s settled then. Does that clear up your worries?”

“It does,” she chuckles, a yawn interrupting her laugh. “Do you think I’m crazy for freaking out about that?”

“No, love, never” Killian promises, and she believes him. Wholeheartedly. Is her heart fluttering in her chest? Shouldn’t she be worried about that? She’s pretty sure that’s how people die. “It’s like you said, both of us are taking a leap of faith, and it’s only going to work if we both do it. I think being clear on what’s happening is totally reasonable.”

“For someone who isn’t a relationship expert, you seem to be very sensible.”

“Yeah, well, my sister-in-law gave me a talking to yesterday. She gave me some tips.”

“Yeah?” she yawns again, wiping away the sleep in her eyes.

“Yeah, but I’m going to tell you about it tomorrow. You’re tired, lover.”

“Shut up,” she laughs, even as she reaches over and turns off her bedside lamp, shrouding the room in darkness. “You’re being ridiculous.”

“Ridiculous, but I’m your lover. And I’m in this for the long haul, by the way. I thought you should know that.”

She does, and she is too.

#betting on the bullseye #cs fic #cs ff #captain swan fic

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