#number 3/4 but doing that even if the character has a canonical last name

[birindale]

Hi I just wanted to double check something I am pretty sure I read on this blog. Is the origin of C'yra of D'riluth iii from the original cannon or was it a later addition? Also what does "of D'riluth iii" actually mean? I remember there being some vagueness to what it means

Okay there's a long version and a short version of this story.

Short version: It was a later addition. In 2008 Mattel launched a toy line called Masters of the Universe Classics, which could only be ordered through their website and was aimed at the collector market. One of the things they did was include "character bios" in a sort of homage to the G.I. Joe toys of the 80s, which featured 'personnel files' that gave specializations and a brief character history, including their real names (e.g. Duke was actually named Conrad S. Hauser).

Catra's figure was released in 2011 for about $65 USD. Her bio (which I've lifted from a Poe Ghostal review) is as follows:

We (I, and my friends whom I've pestered for opinions) are pretty sure D'Riluth III is the name of her planet, even though another planet in the same solar system (from the New Adventures of He-Man in the 90s) has the Arabic numeral 7, so including Roman numerals is a strange choice.

Long version: There was a fellow working for Mattel at the time named Scott "Toyguru" Neitlich, and he was (and remains to this day) exceptionally bad at things like 'writing' and 'creativity'. He was never very interested in She-Ra, though he loves to tell the story of stealing his sister's doll one year, so to him Catra is simply an agent of the Horde... which, in order to adhere to the 2002-2003 tv show, was now 5,000 years old. This bio directly contradicts the Filmation canon of Catra's mask having belonged to the Magicat queen, for instance, and introduces a number of confusing details.

One of the least popular was Adora being Hordak's "step-daughter" instead of his "adopted daughter", which was already kind of a gray area since he didn't exactly raise her. Scott digging in his heels on the matter was actually how I learned he'd written the thing in the first place:

Now you may be wondering, jeez, it's pretty confusing and the writing isn't great but aren't you being kind of harsh? Surely the push-back from the He-Fans was bad enough. Well give me a minute, dang. This is the long version!

I reached out to him about a year and half ago to ask 1. How it's pronounced, 2. If he could confirm that D'Riluth III is the planet, and 3. If he remembered how he came up with it. He told me the following:

Some backstory here--Scott runs a bit of a one-man content farm, in an effort to avoid paying hosting fees for advertisements or actually engaging in SEO. He is a marketing consultant.

He used to upload a 5-10 minute video every day, but shortly after I contacted him that dropped to only five a week, and his weekly "Director's Commentary" videos about MOTUC figures that he worked on (largely just explaining who the character even is in an unedited stream of consciousness, as his videos became slideshows of google images) moved to bi-weekly.

I was like, okay, he left Mattel in 2014 right? So surely once he's through that year he'll get to this new series.

Nope! He's doing 2015 too! So I reached out again in January, just to like. See if he was still intending to cover the 'real names', which imo should have been part of his commentary to begin with, but...

He had forgotten <3 I explained no, I was asking about these specific questions that I had outlined in my first email (I had replied to his last message in the chain for simplicity's sake), and he just said he'd be doing it soon. So I was like oh, cool, do you know if you'll be doing one a week still? since that would put a Catra video about 4 years out as he does them in release order, and he then promised he'd get to it soon and didn't answer the question.

Annoying, certainly, but whatever. Unless one of us dies horribly I can wait it out, right?

WRONG.

Scott, being an idiot, has not credited a single one of the images he lifted from google over his four years of mostly-daily slideshows. And recently, somebody fucking noticed!

So this guy--Ethan Wilson, a very talented toy photographer and reviewer--was informed that Scott (in his capacity as Spector Creative, the name of his YouTube channel/consulting business) had been using his pictures in videos. Actually, let me use Ethan's own words here:

I decided to dig a little deeper into Spector’s channel, and found 81 instances of my photos being used in 68 of the channels videos.  None of these featured credit to me for use of the photos, and 48 of the 81 instances removed or obstructed my watermarks.

-About This Spector Creative Thing

I very strongly encourage you to read through this linked post, as it gets worse! Somehow!!

Scott, not noticing these as they came in over the course of 10 days, logged in to discover his channel had been taken down. He emailed Ethan in something of a panic to ask that Ethan reverse the claims as a 'professional favor', as Scott got all his clients through his channel's "advertising".

Now you're never gonna believe this... but when he and Ethan came to an understanding, suddenly Scott didn't give a shit.

He released a libelous video claiming Ethan had no rights to the images (he does) and that Scott could use them all he wanted because of Fair Use (he can't) and emailed Ethan the following.

First of all: this is bullshit. Copyright is automatic in the US, trademark wouldn't apply regardless, and as Scott should fucking know by now Ethan doesn't have a 'channel', he has a blog.

Second, he shot himself in the foot with the Fair Use defense by outright stating that his channel is his exclusive advertisement for his business and that he depends on his content to make a living. He said in his first video that it was "educational" 🙄

So Ethan realized Scott was a Fucking Liar and decided he should just copyright claim the rest of Scott's shit, in order to protect his images and rights thereto. YouTube can't take the channel down again unless Ethan is willing to pursue legal action--which he isn't, because he has a full time job and two kids and even though he'd probably win, it's a lot of time and energy.

I and a few others were trying to convince him that it would be worth it anyway, and looking into identifying and contacting the other artists Scott's stolen from over the years, when... Scott released a book. His first-ever graphic novel [looks into the camera like i'm on the office]

drawn entirely by AI.

So we have a frankenstein's monster of copyright infringement masquerading as illustrations (with all the uncanny valley that implies), Scott's technically and practically terrible writing, and the plot is Greek mythology. There are four and a half typos just in the free sample, and that's not including the words in images like his map or logo. He claims the title is a registered trademark but it certainly isn't registered in his state, or federally, and it's already in use by several other brands, so I wouldn't believe him even if he hadn't demonstrated a lack of understanding of copyright & trademark as recently as last week.

So I'm kinda fucking done waiting for answers! I can't trust a thing out of this guy's mouth! And he's pretty stupid, so do I even care what he thinks? I have decided that no. No I do not. I'll check back in 2028 and if he's survived + actually followed through then maybe I'll give his video a watch but until then it is simply pissing me off to remember this guy exists.

Sorry this turned into a rant I'm just really starting to loathe the guy. It's been an infuriating week or two. But uh... No, it's only canon to this one action figure line that ran for a little over a decade. We're certainly not beholden to it, it's more of a fun little in-joke for the fandom these days. You see someone use C'yra and you're like haha I know her! It's fun :3 Regardless of Scott's bullshit I enjoy seeing it around, and it's not like he owns or benefits from it in any way when maybe 1% of the people using it know where it comes from (and the people who know it was him specifically may be limited to the followers that have watched me complain about it).

Thank you for asking, I really do love asks even if the answer isn't what I want it to be lol. I'm happy to verify or explain anything I can!

#answers #gluttonforgay #catra #motu #motuc #c'yra of d'riluth iii

[dangerously-human]

for the fic writer game: 3, 4 for take his hand, 8, 20 for merry metamorphosis (am I trying to make you write pregnancy fic... maybe), 27 for ch2 of here's a safe place, 37, 49

3. What are some tropes or details that you think are very characteristic of your fics?

I write a lot of family life for traumatized characters, stuff that requires a lot of intentional growth but also leaves space for tenderness. Love me some literal sleeping together, too. I mostly write post-canon, and a lot of introspection. And I think I'm always working off of an assumption of redeeming the narrative, in a sense - not that things will always go well, but they will always have meaning. It's the Christian worldview, I suppose.

4. What detail in [Take His Hand] are you really proud of?

Honestlyyyy, I could wax rhapsodic talking about this fic and how it came to be. Lucy's chapter may be killing me a little bit, but there were parts of Lockwood's that truly feel like they came from outside of me (we've talked before about the Holy Spirit influence on this one). I know I already mentioned this in my reply to your comment, but the fact that Lockwood was praying with his old rosary beads from when he was a kid when the call from Penelope Fittes comes in says a lot. It's a nod to (part of) what Lockwood chose to pray about, after all those years of distance - the right opportunity to invite Lucy to come home - and it also ties the success of the company to a lasting legacy for the Lockwood family, which is such a key aspect of understanding Lockwood himself and just what he's trying to include Lucy in. It also says that he unpacked the literal box of memories, however painful, even if he's not 100% ready to unpack the metaphorical one - except he has started to, he's praying and acknowledging the God he feels let him down (or maybe the other way around, depending on the day), and he's doing this thing that reminds him so strongly of Jessica and their shared grief. It's not "solved," Lockwood still has a long way to go and a lot of Jacob-like wrestling with the Lord to do, but at least he's stopped running in the opposite direction and actually let himself feel something - which is what the Black Winter is all about, in his arc. I could go on about this for ages, truly.

8. What song would make a great fic (to either write or read)?

Captives Come Home by Run Kid Run is just BEGGING for Other Side fic, - please, the number of times the lyrics repeat stuff about creeping shadows and the other side! - and maybe I'll write it eventually but I'd be equally happy to read it if someone else did. Would love to see it start with Lockwood and Lucy's first crossing ("There's hope inside that box you close/That only opens when your life explodes/On the other side, come home"), then tackle when the whole crew is there ("Don't you know you gotta get up/Get up and find a way back home?/So hold on tight, let's go/Leave behind false sense of hope/Where creeping shadows call your name") and then focus on post-canon efforts to clear the fences so the captive spirits can finally reach their final destinations ("As I'm waiting for the world to end/I'm clinging on to oxygen/I'm pulling captives by the hand/Come home, come home"). I have not shut up since my first read through TCS about the Harrowing of Hell imagery and, yeah, I just think I deserve this one, as a treat.

20. If you wrote a prequel to [A Merry Metamorphosis], what would it involve?

I know I already said this to you the other day, but bestie, do I have good news for you! Next (new) project on the list is literally this. 😆 To be fair, it doesn't exactly take a lot to encourage me to write pregnancy/kidfic, lol. But yeah, been thinking a lot about protectiveness and what that would look like for Lucy and Lockwood as they prepare for a baby, and how that would interact with their work (logistically and emotionally), considering they're still pretty young when they have Ivy.

27. How long did it take to write [Here's a Safe Place to Lay Your Heart Down ch. 2]? Describe the process.

FKlejgklaegl well. According to the date I created that Scrivener file, parts of that chapter were written in early September, and I just published it to AO3 last weekend, so you can do the math. Here's the thing about Lay Your Heart Down: while the core themes/message remained the same throughout, it went through several iterations in how I conceptualized it, and that made the writing process AGONIZING, because it was a constant repetition of knit/purl steps and untangling and reworking. (I don't knit, so take my metaphor with a grain of salt.) Honestly, this mostly came about because I kept asking myself if The Necklace counted as an engagement ring in Lockwood's mind, which obviously I kind of answered in Woke Up in a Safe House Singing, and that pivoted to a very vivid idea of how Lockwood would think about picking out a ring for Lucy and what it would look like and why. So. That could have been a drabble, but I also have a lot of feelings about the Touch/possession scene in the second episode, and that had to go somewhere!! And overlapped a lot, thematically. So a lot of the Lockwood having a self-isolating freakout stuff from ch. 2 was written first, plus the bit immediately after THB with the broken headphones and remembering watching Lucy dancing. All that used to be together in one chapter, which was going to be sandwiched between Lockwood picking out the ring and a sweet future scene that featured the ring somehow - the narrative started out even less linear than it ended up. (That final scene is now its own WIP.) Then I ended up with all the canon-era relationship development in the first chapter and the second could focus on that core conflict, Lockwood panicking about those lines from the show - "he gave me the ring, he wouldn't hurt me" - but in the context of all the various ways he could get Lucy hurt, because old conflicts (internal and interpersonal) tend to reemerge at transition points like the engagement period. A couple things that got me unstuck with this chapter were actually writing out more of what happened on the job that went wrong, letting Lucy be more upset (while still understanding), working out that Lockwood's fear this time was less about Lucy getting hurt and more about being the reason for that happening, and drawing direct parallels to Fairfax and Annabel (which in turn let me work in that good stuff about devotion and mutual belonging).

37. Promote one of your own “deep cut” fics (an underrated one, or one that never got as much traction as you think it deserves!). What do you like about it?

I'm not shocked Onward, Ontologically has gotten very few eyes on it - if nothing else, Continuum is a tiny fandom, even less active now than when I was originally writing for it, plus Kiera and Alec are a complicated ship (I'm often curious if they would still be a rarepair if the fandom were larger, though - I could see it going either way). It worked for my Yuletide recipient, though, and that's all that really matters. I really like the quiet domesticity of it, and that it leaves space for the S3 conflict between Alec and Kiera to remain somewhat unresolved - I like complicated, and I don't think an easy resolution would have been realistic after everything these two went through and did to each other, and the tangled doppelganger web.

Within this fandom, one I wish got a little more love was Smoke & Shield. Gen is usually a bit, idk the right word, quieter? So I wasn't expecting as much excitement as with my Locklyle works, but I do think it's a really good character study of Jessica and her relationship with her little brother. I got some truly lovely comments on it that tell me it still found an audience to resonate with, though!

49. What are you currently working on? Share a few lines if you’re up for it!

Well, since you attacked us all with baby fever, here's a snippet from the "Lucy learns she's pregnant with #4 via George's powers of observation" fic. (I don't think I've posted this bit before? Idk, this is the problem with lingering WIPs!) I've been WIP-hopping a lot, but this is one that's gotten a bit more focus lately:

With arms outstretched to take one twin off my husband’s hands, I explained, “I’m not even sure yet myself. It honestly hadn’t occurred to me until George said something, but…” My voice got smaller as I finished, “I think he might be right.” Transfer completed, Lockwood let his hand linger, then drop to hover just over my belly. At the open wonder on his face, I blushed. It wasn’t as though we hadn’t done this part before - twice, in fact - yet it seemed even at the mere possibility, he couldn’t help looking at me like I was made of something magic. To be fair, that wasn’t all that far off from Lockwood’s normal.

#personal #writer probs: fanfic edition #lockwood & co

[homoerotic-shonen-rival-showdown]

Round One Match Sixteen: Yusuke Urameshi and Kazuma Kuwabara (Yu Yu Hakusho) vs Gojo and Geto (Jujutsu Kaisen)

why should you vote for them?

Yusuke Urameshi and Kazuma Kuwabara (4):

OH MY GOODNESS Kuwabara is SO whipped for Yusuke like im not kidding. he constantly is trying to beat Yusuke in strength, but most of all he seems to want his acknowledgement and attention. we see Kuwabara actually GRINNING with JOY when Yusuke remembers his name for the first time. theyre constantly at each others throats, but trust each other with their life more than anyone else. crazy kids!!!

There are a number of times where they each almost die or actually die and the other has a full breakdown about how the other's not allowed to die because then who would they beat up? The first time this happens is at the very beginning of the series before anything even happens and they're supposedly just normal middle school punks. They say they hate each other but they very clearly don't. Gay af

they start off as rivals and then go to teammates, but also in a "I will still win over you" way, and in a "no one can kick his ass but me" way, and they should kiss about it

Gojo and Geto (3):

uh...divorced. i love them

STSG ESSAY TIME >:)))))) Warning for Jujutsu Kaisen anime/manga spoilers ahead! I had to explain deep dark depths of the story to prove that they deserve to win the crown. Here I go. Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru (also known as Satosugu or simply stsg) deserve to win the crown for the following reasons. Please bear with me throughout this whole essay because I am unequivocally insane about them. First of all let's get into the rivalry side of things.

In high school, Gojo was an absolute menace. The first time Gojo and Geto met, the latter hated the former because he was annoying, rude, and arrogant. Now eventually they became best friends, but you see, their rivalry returned when Geto was exiled from the school because they had a stark disagreement in moral ideologies, which resulted in a dramatic breakup in front of a KFC (yes, this is actually canon). Gojo was supposed to execute Geto because he did some Bad Things (that we don't need to get into right now) but as Geto walked away he said (paraphrased) "Go ahead and kill me. There's meaning to that." And My Lord is that a line. So for the next ten years of their lives, these two were separated, now on opposite sides, now each others' enemies. Eventually this came to a climax when Geto declared war on Gojo, but before we get to that, let's pause for a second, and talk about the meaning behind this all. I'll try to make this part quick because without restraint this would become excessively long. So technically, Gojo and Geto's breakup directly caused the plot of Jujutsu Kaisen to unfold. If they hadn't broken up, then Geto wouldn't have declared war and then died. If they hadn't broken up, Geto's body wouldn't have been possessed; his body wouldn't have, completely against his will, trapped Gojo in a prison, as Geto sat back helpless, unable to do anything to stop his best friend from being sealed *by his own hands*. Every single other tragic event that happened in Jujutsu Kaisen would not have happened, because, assuming you have never watched/read Jujutsu Kaisen, no, Gojo and Geto are not the main characters, and the whole rest of the cast was affected by this event. Yes, this homoerotic rivalry breakup is the very Big Bang for Jujutsu Kaisen, because if it didn't happen, Jujutsu Kaisen wouldn't have the incredible plot that it has. Butterfly Effect at its finest. Anyway, now that their rivalry is out of the way, I will now get into their homoeroticism.

My first piece of evidence for their homoeroticism is that... it's in the name. Both of their first names start with "s" and end with "ru". Both of their last names start with "g" and end with "o". And both of their full names have the same amount of syllables. There is no possible way that this wasn't done on purpose to get the point across that they are literal soulmates. Do I sound insane yet? In addition, Gojo called Geto, and I quote, "my one and only". Now if that isn't some fruit ass shit then idk what is. And now the most damning evidence of homoness, comes when Geto died by Gojo's side. This was after the war that Geto declared on Gojo, and Geto ended up on the losing side. Even though they had been rivals for ten long years, they still had an important and heartfelt history together, so as Gojo walked over to his dying best friend, Geto smiled, glad to see not only an old friend, but the most important person in his life, for the last time. Gojo's last words to Geto as he died were NEVER REVEALED. Only very very few producers of the anime know the words. They will be released soon but for now we don't know. But it was confirmed that his last words were THREE WORDS. Now I don't wanna put any words in Gojo's mouth but the most obvious theory here is that he said "I love you" as his best friend and rival of 10+ years died by his side. This is even further affirmed when, after hearing those three words, Geto BLUSHED, SMILED (as he was in the process of bleeding out!) and described the words as (paraphrased) "embarrassing words that they had never said to each other before". IT'S BARELY SUBTEXT AT THIS POINT YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THEY'RE GAY AS HELL!

Now before this gets any longer I will cut myself off here. Thank you for coming to my way-too-long Ted Talk about these stupid ass anime men who have been plaguing my mind for months, I hope you take my submission into consideration! I don't expect them to win but I'm just happy I get to aggressively type an essay about them in this google form :D

#polls #yu yu hakusho #jujutsu kaisen #satosugu #yusuke urameshi #kazuma kuwabara #suguru geto #gojo satoru #this is probably the most balanced matchup we have

[eleanorose123]

brother and i finished rewatching zexal- time for the second half thoughts lol

there is a LOT more this time around, so it's under a readmore

right off the bat, Zexal II gives off major sailor moon energy in terms of "haha you FOOLS! the power you used to defeat last season's antag is USELESS now!"

ah yes.......gilag's design.............

brother and i have a long running joke that the barian emperors as a whole are just doing a group project and constantly struggling with the basic shit that people face when DOING group projects (infighting in particular)

also fun fact, my brother DESPISES the sound effect they use for the barian door opening during the chaos xyz summons

i want to say that 85% of shingetsu's shenanigans were planned. he wanted to put yuma through so much hell

furry coach duelist, never forget

TAKASHI TODOROKI MY SWEET BOY

ah rio "i will not be used as a shield to my brother" kamishiro.....we were so hopeful back then

alit remains to be a raging bisexual, we love that for him

though it does raise the question- since gilag couldn't recognize alit initially due to them not seeing human forms until then, could vector tell who they were or did he just hear their names be mentioned and go "wait wtf"

the friendship tournament ep remains to be one of the best one off eps of season 4 i swear to god

remember when the barians were supposed to come and collect haruto? yeah me neither

mizael is peak theater kid. i love that he and kaito fight on equal grounds and then by the end of the series you're hit with "btw mizael is like 15 and kaito's still 18"

rio may have unexplained (at the time) prophecy powers, but shark's got "i can tell yuma is in danger" senses

WE LOVE SHARK BEING A LONGING DUMBASS IN THE HOSPITAL

god i know that like- yuma's already gone through 3 seasons of shark-related emotions, but i wouldn't be surprised at all if it was alit who made yuma first go "wait, do i like guys?"

shingetsu also did a number on yuma with the same emotions, but for much different reasons

"im here to help astral" "yay!" "but don't tell him about me" "ok!" yuma we gotta teach you what a red flag is. though you are 13 and have already gone through a lot of red flags (ex. giving haruto to a stranger)

you think vector had like, a bazillion questions for yuma after seeing no96 for the first time, or did he zip his lip

we establish that kaito has global surveillance and satellites that can just- fire lasers anywhere. tenjos man

takashi and tokunosuke are canonly some of the biggest shippers in the series which is peak hilarity to me, i love that for them

im surprised anna even bothered with the uniform considering she just barged into the tournament regardless. then again, zexal rly loves putting characters in these middle school uniforms

also season 4 is filled way too much with underaged fanservice ugh

SARGASSO DUEL MY BELOVED

mizael refusing to use the lighthouse card cause it was cowardly is hilarious cause durbe is just right there like "hey"

yuma and his very bad no good day

RUIN ARC TIME

my brother was analyzing every second of each ruin tbh

he has.............a lot of thoughts on alit's backstory in particular

why is durbe's ruin in columbia of all places tho

yuma and co skipped so many days of school, you think the rest of the numbers club were just there like "where'd they GO"

we love kazuma desecrating ruins by adding markers and leaving behind coins that future teams will assume to be part of the ruin's treasures (like it did for gilag's)

also they really REALLY never fucking explain WHY kazuma knows all this shit fjdkhdfjkhfd

vector cannot sit still at all

they rly did no96 so dirty in the series. i love that he's a character fandom decided to flesh out beyond what canon gave us, he deserved that much

i rly thought there was more mutinyship moments than there really were jfdkhfdhjdfkhk ah well. they're full of potential

HEHEHEHEHEHEHE YUMA DEPRESSION ARC i know that sounds fucked up to get excited over, but it's also FEARSOME FOUR TIME

ill never understand why they bothered to go be like "heartland took a picture with esper robin" unless they just didnt want us to forget that's a character

"how'd you get your barian crests back?" "with the power of science!" is still SO funny

numbers club trying to be helpful only to get punished is foreshadowing for their fates the rest of the show

you know, you'd think kurage would've realized ryoga was one of the people he killed considering like- he knew his and rio's names. and their faces. but ah well

tokunosuke building a grave for astral is not talked about enough imo, that's like, one of the strongest scenes of the numbers club characters

kaninja you continue to bring me pain, you wouldve won your duel if you didnt say you poisoned kaito

ngl chris, you abusing kaito for a week straight for the sake of "training" was pretty fucked up

i hate the eliphas duel, i hate the eliphas duel, i hate-

"time to be with your REAL allies" durbe plz stfu

they never really do explain how nasch died. we just assumed he did himself in after seeing vector go down which is uh. hm

ahhh toku......the first casualty of the war.........

i wouldve liked more heartland backstory but THATS JUST ME-

jkfkfdhjdkf i love that it rly was just kaninja who was the reason kaito was becoming blind. messed him up even in the afterlife

astral/yuma remains to be so tender

i feel like if you ever want to make vector peak uncomfortable, just stare at him in silence until he breaks

i know that's the point, but once ryoga unlocks "nasch", his drama levels go through the fucking roof

also fun fact, between eps 122 to 143, something like 23 prominent characters die (tokunosuke, heartland, tetsuo, anna, fuuya, droite, gauche, roku, yamikawa, iv, iii, v, alit, gilag, durbe, rio, orbital 7, kaito, vector, mizael, eliphas, don thousand, shark)

"ryoga, my best friend" iv, i rly feel like that's a onesided sort of situation

alit/gilag deserves more attention ffs

GILAG DESERVES BETTER IN GENERAL TBH

i remember being numb by the point of durbe/merag's deaths. that hasnt changed

KAITO'S death tho, that still hits. mainly cause of the music

i love that obomi's affection for orbital only kicked in cause akari....kicked her

akari who was still trying to be in the plot, bless her for trying

haruto is going to need so much therapy tbh

numeron dragon's story is still so sad, love that dragon

it took mizael like 5 eps to get to the moon and another 3 eps to get off it

shark watching vector's performance and just going "........." the whole time is still hilarious. you know that'll always just be their dynamic even post canon

don thousand...........your design is so good but you are still so lackluster......

nasch vs yuma tho- THAT'S a real satisfying boss battle djfkhdfkj love that finale to pieces

aaaaaand now it's just pain and smiles all the way until the end :'3

the growing up storyline of zexal just really, really hits you by those last episodes ugh

there's so much to work with with the finale, and i love it to this day

still the best ygo series, i will not take notes on that fact

if you read all this, thank you

kattobingu <3

#zexal #WOO FEELS

[leftnotright]

A TEXTBOOK EDUCATION

"This will be a skill-building experience. You've had it too easy. You've had your Family name to back you, and your Right Hand at your every call. It's time you learn to carry yourself, to build from the ground up." Dino Cavallone, the Cavallone Don, fresh out of high school.

Reborn, the deadliest hitman of the modern era, has a special kind of torture up his sleeve for his dear struggling student. Dino will have to see how well he handles alienation, isolation, and worst of all, class participation. “Now, go on, my useless student Dino. Let’s continue your education.” (Or: Reborn sends Dino to Australia. It goes better than he could have ever hoped.)

Parings: N/A Characters: Dino (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Vic Hunt (OC - Original Character), Reborn (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Romario (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Cavallone Famiglia, Enzo (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Original Characters Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, University, Pre-Canon, Financial Issues, Fluff And Angst

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

CHAPTER 5: EVEN IF WE GOTTA RISK IT ALL

Dino’s coffee table was covered in papers, every page of debt he had available on display with their numbers highlighted and circled. Open on his computer was an internet window with several tabs all squashed together along the top. Dino reached over and moved his cursor across the words: ‘MELBOURNE CUP 2022 WINNINGS FIRST PLACE: $4,400,000’. 

“A bonus of $500,000 for the owner, if their horse won the group one Irish St. Leger run the previous September,” Dino uttered slowly, reading the details of the Melbourne Cup with slow, careful eyes. He penned it down.

The Melbourne Cup didn’t have the largest purse in horse racing, just a bit of skimming had told Dino that. On a notepad, Dino had written down: ‘ DUBAI WORLD CUP $7.2MIL, KENTUCKY DERBY $1.8MIL, THE EVEREST $6.2MIL (IN SYDNEY!)’

But out of all the horse races, especially in the catchment of Australia, the Melbourne Cup had, by far, the greatest reputation. ‘The race that stops the nation’. What a title.

If Dino were to try and get more bang for his buck, he’d have been wiser to go for the Everest or Dubai. However, Dino wasn’t trying to be a one-hit wonder. With the Melbourne Cup came fame, a name backing his horses and the Cavallone brand. If Dino won the Melbourne Cup, it would only make enrolling in richer races all the more simple. 

A meagre four million wasn’t going to put much of a dent in the Cavallone’s debts. No, winning one race wasn’t going to pull them out of the red. Dino was going to be in this for the long haul, participating in one race after another. 

 He needed numbers. As many hooves on the track as possible to increase his chances of winning high positions if not first place. The more horses Dino had in the races, the more prize money he could rake in - and hopefully, break even.

Racing costs money. 

Training, for both jockey and horse. Transportation, feeding, accommodation, equipment and uniforms. All of that came after the original enrollment payments, and for the Melbourne Cup, there were rounds of it. Three to be exact. 

And that was just the Melbourne Cup. 

Dino grimaced and sipped a cup of water, blessedly cold after Dino had found the ice rack in the freezer. He put the glass against his temple and sighed.

There wasn’t much more he could do by himself. Before Dino ran off with this idea, with all his hopeful ‘what if’s and ‘we could’s, Dino would have to present his case to the Family. And since this was going to involve the horses and a whopping portion of the Cavallone funds, he was going to have to talk to the Stable Master and the Vault Keeper. 

That was a full-blown Family Meeting, Dino had never called one of those before! The last time Dino had even seen the Vault Keeper was-

Dino took a slow breath and concentrated on the feeling of cold perspiration dripping down the side of his face. 

The last time Dino had seen the Vault Keeper was the day of his succession and within the hour of his father’s death. 

The Stable Master, at least, Dino knew quite well. 

“Okay,” Dino murmured to Enzo who peeked out from under the coffee table. “For a formal Family Meeting, who do I need to call? Right Hand, Stable Master, Vault Keeper, probably the Head of Housekeeping to keep them in the loop and-” Dino winced, “Available Guardians.”

The Cavallone Don groaned as he flopped back on the couch, still holding that glass to his forehead to try and ward off that headache he felt creeping up on him. 

It wasn’t working. 

☁ ☁ ☁

 The first thing Vic noticed when Dino stumbled into class was that he was all but dead on his feet. The poor guy was slumped over in his seat, resting heavily on the desk in front of him. 

 Vic came and found her seat next to Dino at their group’s table. She unpacked her laptop and produced a folder, full of the handouts and the straws and blu-tack for their activity. 

“How’re you doing?” Vic asked, and gave Dino a gentle nudge.

Dino’s arm slipped out from under his jaw and his head hit the desk with a ‘ bang! ’. Vic cursed as heads snapped around and quickly moved to scoop up Dino’s head, hissing at the red mark on the boy’s forehead.

“Fuck,” she wheezed and Dino blinked widely, very much awake now. “You’re in a fucking state! When did you go to bed?”

“Uuuh,” Dino squinted as he rubbed his head, “The, uh-”

Vic had the sudden and horrible feeling that this boy hadn’t actually gone to sleep that night. She looked to her folder, then to the lesson’s tutor who was setting up the projector for the day’s rostered presentation: Social Class.

Oh fuck.

Where the hell was Jess? Vic looked at her phone and saw a text in the group chat.

Jessica Cheng

Hi guys, really sorry the trains are being replaced by buses, I’m gonna be like 10 minutes late. 

Jessica Cheng

Can we just move the activity after Vic and I’ll come in last?

Jessica Cheng

I’ll sprint it, I promise

Vic twitched and looked at the clock. They were only required to speak for three minutes each. Dino looked like he could speak for less. 

She groaned and rubbed her head before sending a text back.

Vic Hunt

Sure, we’ll buy you time.

Jessica Cheng

Kk see you soon

Jessica went abruptly offline then and Vic only hoped she was able to get across campus fast enough. 

“I will be okay,” Dino grumbled from inside his pillow of arms. “May speak, uh, slowly. But it will be done.”

Vic looked to Dino and then slumped in her chair. She took a breath through her nose and out her mouth, her feet pressed hard into the carpeted floor. 

“Yeah. Yeah, sure, we’ll be fine.”

“Dino, Jessica and Vic,” the tutor called and Vic grimaced.

By the end of their tutorial, Jess had scampered off to catch her bus home and Dino and Vic had chosen a sunny patch of grass by the Macquarie University's lake to wallow on. Vic was laid out on her back, her limbs still throbbing with nerves after public speaking adlib with Jess coming not ten, but fifteen minutes late to class. 

Vic was sure she had covered the same point twice with multiple stutters and ‘uh’s. 

“That sucked,” Vic whined loudly.

Dino appeared in her peripheral, sat at her side, and gave a weak smile of agreement. Vic had no idea what he was talking about. Despite his loose hold on English - that was only getting better, she kept reminding him - he had spoken with some kind of damning confidence in his voice that made Vic want to kick him in the shins for making her think he was going to all but faint on her. He spoke like he was used to presenting to groups of people! The bastard!

Vic frowned at him severely, before rolling over in the grass and burying her face in her backpack.

“I believe we- we did very well!” Dino assured and Vic huffed when he gave her a pat on the back. Then under his breath she heard him whisper, “How are you not sweaty?”

“Not everyone had pores like a waterfall,” Vic answered before turning her head and asked, “And what the fuck Dino? You were acting like you were going to die when we got up to speak but as soon as we got that slide up you might have well have been Steve fucking Jobs releasing the new iPhone!”

Dino blinked, and then he curled in on himself. His ears flushed red and Vic had the sudden and intense urge to ask if he had put sunscreen on them today. 

“I, uh, hesitated a lot.”

“No more than I fucking did,” Vic pointed out, “And dude your projection. The teacher had to ask Jess to speak up -- and asked me to slow down. Your pacing was spot on!”

Once again, Dino ducked his head and Vic was reminded of Enzo recoiling back after bumping into her thermos during a study session. 

“You know what? Fuck it, you’re helping me with my public speaking skills from now on. You could sell water to a drowning man.” Vic demanded, before reaching out and poking at Dino’s cargo shorts’ pocket. “Now, release the baby.”

Dino laughed and unpacked Enzo from his pocket, the little turtle stubbornly hiding in his shell even when he was placed on the grass between them, safely in Dino’s shadow. Vic grinned and rolled over to her side, cooing happily as the presence of Enzo soothed her academically injured soul.

 “Hello! Oh hello,” Vic chirped, a complete one-eighty flip from the grumpy, huffy mood she had been in before. “He’s not coming out.”

“Too much sun,” Dino offered, gesturing to the heat that bathed the whole lake despite the students that spotted the valley.  

Vic hummed, it didn’t feel too hot to her. But then again, Enzo had spent most of his life in Italy with Dino. Then she poked Enzo’s shell and saw an eye peeking out at her in great disgruntlement.

“Wait,” Vic sat up and stared at the lake. “Wait, he's a turtle, he can go in the lake! A nice swimmy!” 

Dino’s head snapped around. 

 “After being in your stuffy-ass pocket, a good swim must be exactly what he needs!” Vic insisted, grinning with teeth again.

Dino snatched Enzo up off the ground before Vic could grab him, a nervous smile on his face and a whole new sheet of sweat going down his neck. 

“No! No, uh, Enzo is a- a saltwater turtle! I do not know if the lake water will agree with him.”

Vic paused. Fuck he was right. She winced and scratched the back of her head, feeling bits of grass and leaves come out. 

“Right, sorry, didn’t think about that.” 

God that was a dick move. What was she going to do, grab someone’s emotional support turtle and dump it wherever? Think it through Vic!

“It is okay,” Dino assured, and Vic nearly jumped when he touched her arm -- wow, his hand was moist. “It wouldn’t have hurt him. Enzo is a strong boy.”

Then he reached across and gently placed Enzo in her lap, still once again in his shadow. 

“I don’t think he is liking how warm I am,” Dino laughed.

Vic looked down at Enzo in her lap, then to Dino’s open face. She tucked her chin into her chest and bit down on her smile.

Vic spun and flopped back onto her back with a huff, relaxing all over as she lay in the sun. On her stomach, she felt Enzo shuffle around until he settled on the soft, pillowy space of her stomach.

Dino reached into his pocket and fed the still-hiding Enzo a pellet at a time.

“So, what were you even doing for the whole night?” Vic asked.

Dino shrugged, “Uh, I’ve been investigating. Learning about horse racing, and dealing with some Family issues.” 

Vic hummed lowly, “You’re really keen on that racing idea.”

Dino smiled, and leant back on his hands, voice quiet as he said, “If we can race again…It may save my Family.”

Vic blinked, then tilted her head as she observed him. Vic had only known Dino for little over just a month now, but she felt like she had a loose, if not a reasonable, grasp on one of Dino’s core values: Family.

To Dino, family always comes first. In fact, most of their conversations had at some point turned to family. Dino, at this point, could list off all of Vic’s cousins, aunts and uncles, and Vic was sure she would have to fight Romario for adoption rights.

The ‘Dino Adoption’ debate had become a rather hot topic in the Hunt Houses, a split between factions: To-Adopt, and Not-To-Adopt. Not-To-Adopt was dwindling in numbers, however, with every Dino or University-centric rant Vic sent home. Robbie’s crown was slipping, and Vic’s mum had started a guest bedroom Pinterest inspo-board. 

Vic, her mum and her grandma had been steadfastly ignoring Robbie’s screaming voice messages that ‘we don’t even have a spare room!’

Her dad had always liked carpentry, Vic was sure he’d come up with something. He was always rather smart with his hands — something Vic’s mum liked to sing praises of until someone begged her to shut up over a sea of gagging children. Maybe he’d build a barnyard style granny-flat. Speaking of barns—

“So, like, you’ve been breeding horses for years. You got any cute ones? Like, ones that are fluffy?”

Vic felt like she had at least a loose grip on Dino, and nothing got ‘horse girl’ Dino talking like his horses. Only ask for photos if you’ve got the next few hours free. Dino’s Econ tutorial had been cancelled, they had the whole day.    

The things Vic did to keep her soon-to-be-adopted Dino happy. 

Dino was already fumbling for his phone by the time Vic had uttered the words ‘fluffy’. 

“We have this Przewalski Mongolian! Ah! Beautiful coat! So good to brush, and when she’s freshly bathed!?” 

Dino turned his phone and Vic wheezed at the horse, covered in thick packed fuzz and fur. 

“Oh God, hugging that? Fuckin’ bliss,” Vic all but swooned. “I wanna be squished between two.”

Then she paused, sat up and squinted at the corner of Dino’s screen.

“Gimme that.” Vic took Dino’s phone despite the squawk of alarm and zoomed out to see what Dino had tried to hide. 

In the background of the photo was an early highschool-aged Dino, sporting braces on his teeth and several bandaids all over, and being dragged by the waist of his pants by some huge stallion. The panic and flurry of multiple stablehands and Romario himself attempting to save Dino, a direct contrast to the peaceful grazing of the Mongolian in the foreground. 

Vic snorted before wheezing out her whole lung capacity. Enzo gave a disgruntled click and slipped off Vic’s jumping stomach as she continued to laugh, only fuelled by Dino’s betrayed and indignant babbling. 

Dino lept to take his phone back, but their squabble of hands shifted and zoomed until baby-Dino’s face, crumpled and folded in unflattering fear, took up the screen. Vic doubled over again, cackling with belly and teeth.

Dino huffed as he stole back his phone and moved the picture on screen safely back into his camera roll. He crossed his arms and waited for Vic to be done.

 She took a huge breath, glanced at Dino's face, and then promptly let out another belt of laughter.

 “It was not that funny!” Dino scolded, helping Enzo up into his lap.

 “It was!” Vic gasped, and Dino gave her a smack on the arm.

 “Ah! Abuse! In front of the child!”

 “Enzo has seen worse.”

 “No, my baby,” Vic cried quietly, and rolled over to mourn the sweet turtle’s lost innocence.

 Dino huffed and shifted on the spot, phone in his hands.

 “...We also have a new Haflinger foal,” he said and, this time with an iron grip on his phone, showed Vic the knobbly-kneed foal beside its mother.

 Vic snorted and settled down in the sunbathed grass to be once again regaled of the Cavallone’s prized herd. As always, Dino spoke rapidly. Stumbling over words, ‘ahs’ and ‘ums’, repetition and mistakes not slowing him down in the least as he raved about the last Spring’s yield of four new foals. What Vic couldn’t understand through a thick accent or patchy English-Italian half-words, Vic could fill in with the side gestures Dino made. Vic had heard that Italians spoke with their hands, and Dino was only supporting that stereotype as he drew the shape of a massive mare.

 “Nearly two me’s!” Dino exclaimed.

 Vic imagined a horse that stood well over her own height and immediately felt the need to climb on one. She’d never ridden a horse before, but surely you just, like, clamber up and hold on for dear life.

Dino’s great tale was interrupted, however, when a shrill, aghast voice cut through the afternoon.

“ What the fuck is that!? ”

Dino’s head snapped around and Vic sat up as she saw a girl break off from her group and come storming over. The rest of her group were calling out to her, one of them tried to grab her by her bag.

Vic blinked slowly as the girl came to a stop at Dino’s side, her hackles raised with some kind of righteous anger in her eyes. 

Vic glanced to Dino and asked, “Ah, this your ex or something?”

Dino looked to Vic with wild confusion, “I do not know, I-”

“This is illegal!” The girl snapped and Dino let out a yelp as her hand lashed out and scooped up the still-tucked Enzo. 

In an instant, that warm calm that had utterly steeped Vic’s body flushed out.  

“Oi!” Vic bellowed and sprung to her feet, fists clenched. “What the fuck are you doing?!”

A hot anger boiled in Vic’s blood, Dino’s horror-struck expression only fueling it as he tried to organise himself and ask for Enzo back.

“This!” The girl shouted again, shoving Enzo in Vic’s face, and then Dino’s. “Is an incredibly invasive species! It is illegal to have a Red Eared Slider turtle in Australia!”

“He’s not a Red Slider, you fuck!” Vic seethed, “Enzo’s a Sponge turtle!”

“Look at this shell-”

“Look at his fucking face! ”  

“It's invasive!”

“He’s the wrong fucking species! ” Vic shouted and went to grab Enzo back.

The girl backed out of reach and held Enzo to her chest, loud, angry clicking coming from inside his shell. 

“Red Eared Sliders are aggressive and utterly destroy Australia’s natural freshwater habitats! It needs to be handed over to RSPCA so they can ship it out or put it down!”

Dino gave a sharp gasp of alarm and Vic saw red. 

The hold she had on her temper snapped like a thread pulled taut and with heat in her skin, she lunged forward. Vic went at the girl with nails and elbows. She swiped and poor Enzo went flying in a direction she blindly hoped was Dino’s, a soft ‘aaaaaaaaaaa’ emitting from the shell as it disappeared from her tunnel vision.

The girl screamed as Vic got her hands on her, and threw her whole body weight to send the girl head over heels. She hit the water with an almighty splash, and a flock of ducks noisily took flight.

Vic breathed ragged through her teeth, fists clenched. Her temper, white-hot and utterly boiling her blood, was only slightly settled by the sight of the shell-shocked girl sitting, drenched in the lake.

“Who’s the fucking ‘invasive species’ now, bitch!?” Vic bellowed.

"Got to go, got to go!" Dino chanted near hysterically as he grabbed Vic by her arm and started running.

Vic with gritted teeth and tense shoulders, let Dino drag her across the field and towards the Village. She huffed when she nearly crashed into Dino’s back as he came to a sudden, slow walk. Dino, casually, innocently, walked with Vic passed Campus Security as they sailed passed in their little golf carts.

Vic snorted through her nose and gave Dino’s back a scrutinising look but couldn’t be bothered to see past her own heat haze. 

The gates of the Village came into view and Vic stormed forward, taking heavy, stomped footsteps all the way through to her shitty five-bedroom dormhouse, with her shitty roommates, who didn’t respect her fucking personal space-!

Vic hit her bed facedown. Calm down, calm down, calm fucking down!

Faintly, in the far back of her awareness, Vic heard Dino sit in her creaking desk chair and the thump of him dropping their bags. Dino was such a good boy - what was he doing when Enzo was taken she didn’t look - he was so nice and warm - he walked passed the security didn’t even flinch knew what to do-

Vic rolled onto her back and took a breath in through her nose and out her mouth. In and out, in and out. That girl had said to put Enzo down. Dino’s support animal, someone he took everywhere with him no matter what - Dino needed Enzo and that girl said ‘put down’. 

Vic took another breath in. She clenched her fists. A breath out and clenched her forearms- Why wasn’t it working-

There was a roar in her ears, a thundering thump in her chest.

Then a weight dropped on her stomach, just substantial enough that Vic started out of her rambling spiral. Vic lifted her head and craned her neck, Enzo’s big, beady eyes stared back up at her.

Enzo looked around slowly, before his feet popped out from his shell and, slowly, he plodded up to find a comfortable place on Vic’s chest. 

Just behind Enzo, Vic could see Dino, his hands still outstretched from where he had dropped Enzo on her.

Dino smiled a bit, an awkward, lopsided thing, and said, “Enzo, he, uh, helps me be calm.”

Vic blinked, before she let out a puff of breath. She dropped her head back and used Enzo’s weight to try and sink that rising heat. She felt that familiar rumble in her chest swell and grow, and she let it out in a long, gaping yawn.

Vic hated getting angry, she was always tired afterwards.

Vic sniffed and scratched her cheek, her body heavy right down to the core like her bones were waterlogged. 

“You wanna eat somethin’?” Vic asked.

Dino paused, startled, before he lowered himself to sit on the edge of Vic’s bed and said, “Yeah, what would you like?”

“Chicken nuggets. So many chicken nuggets.”

☁ ☁ ☁

Greasy wrappers and stray grains of salt littered the foot of Vic’s bed as the two of them sat up against the wall, Vic’s phone playing music in the background. Dino heaved as he slumped against the wall. He had eaten an obscene amount of nuggets and sweet and sour sauce.

Vic, somehow, was still going. 40 chicken nuggets, and so far 17 of them were sitting in the seemingly bottomless chasm of Vic’s belly.

Dino slurped on his cola as Vic, unflinchingly, ate her 18th and reached for another. 

“How’s Enzo?” Vic asked through half a mouthful of nugget. 

Dino looked to the turtle that, more or less, had put them into hiding for the foreseeable future — or at least until the blurry video of ‘bodily yeeting entitled Karen into lake’ stopped popping up on Dino’s feed every time he refreshed it. It had become a meme template. The speed of the internet was terrifying.

Vic, hearing the grainy sound of her own voice hollering “Who’s the fucking ‘invasive species’ now, bitch!?” shoved her 20th nugget into her mouth. 

Dino winced and closed his phone. 

“Enzo is fine. I told you, he is hardy.”

Vic grumbled and reached to pet Enzo, who paused his munching on a bag of mixed leaves Vic had pulled from a cooler - an ‘esky’ - in the corner of her room. There were three, all stacked on each other and full of chilled foodstuffs.  

Dino glanced at Vic and saw the 24th nugget disappear. He had already seen a fridge in the shared kitchen on the way up to the room. Now, maybe, wasn’t the best time to ask.

Nonetheless, Dino stored it in his memory, another conversation starter!

Vic’s phone suddenly stopped playing music, and the screen flipped to an incoming call. Vic sighed and shoved her last nugget in her mouth before answering the call from ‘Robbie’.

“What?” She asked, muffled around her chicken nugget.

Dino took another sip of his drink as Vic leant her head on his shoulder. 

Casual touch. Dino hadn't experienced that in… Weeks. It had only just dawned on him how much he had missed it after leaving home. 

Dino shifted a bit to make sure he was comfortable - both for him and Vic. He almost felt like someone priming their lap with blankets, hoping the family cat would choose them for the foreseeable hours.

Dino's rather cosy trail of thought was interrupted by the caller on Vic's phone.

“You fucking threw someone into a lake!?” Robbie screeched from the other side of the phone.

Vic made a lazy, noncommittal noise as she slowly chewed, completely unhurried by the state her brother was apparently in. 

“Vicky, I thought you were over this!”

Vic proceeded to mutter something vaguely mocking through her chewing. Dino snorted a bit despite how he tried to send her a scolding look. Vic ignored him.

“Jesus Christ, Vicky- Why’d you even do it!?”

Vic took a sip of her frozen coke and simply said, “Bitch tried to take Dino’s turtle.”

There was a faint bang, and then a distinctly loud bang. Then came the scream of Robbie being tackled and the fight for the phone.

“Bitch did what to Enzo!?”

Dino glanced to Vic. He had been wondering where she had sent all those turtle pictures — evidently, a good bulk had gone to Bec, her cousin.

“Crazy cunt fucking stole Enzo out of Dino’s lap like he was a Woolies apple and started going on about ‘invasive species’ and ‘putting him down’ and like fuck was I gonna let her talk shit like that!” Vic ranted, waving her cup at the far window like her cousin was standing before them.

There was a pause, before there was a chorus of approval in the background. At least four voices all chipped in with their opinions and Dino was hit with the sudden realisation that there was a roomful of Hunts on the other end of that line.

“You should have thrown her deeper, Vicky!”

“Strengthen those little chicken wings! You’ve gotta start going to the gym!”

“Don’t support this!” Robbie yelled over the cheering and was met with a round of ‘boo’s.

“Oi, we always back family! Even if they’re doing something kinda stupid — we always back our family!”

Dino stared down at the bubbles patterning the sides of his waxed paper cup. Family always backs each other.

“Dino and Enzo are my babies, I’m not letting some half-cocked bitch make ‘em sad,” Vic scoffed and wrapped an arm around him — tipping a bit of ice down the back of his shirt as she did. Not entirely by accident, if Vic’s snicker meant anything as he frantically tried to get it out.

As Dino finally got the last of the ice out from the waist of his pants, Dino saw Vic grin up at him with the usual amount of teeth. He huffed and couldn’t resist smiling back at her.

Romario was going to be so proud of him. Everyone was going to be proud of him! 

Family backs each other, even in their riskiest of endeavours.

“If you wanna adopt the bastard, you’ve gotta stop being violent in public!”

There were jeers and the bellowing of a crowd of people and Vic slipped off Dino’s shoulder and back onto her bed, phone pressed to her ear. 

Dino looked down at Vic as she listened to her family through the phone. She looked the most relaxed he had seen her in — probably ever. Distinctly, it wasn't that strange, almost sedated calm that followed Vic around usually. This calm was the most human he had seen, the most natural.

Dino looked down at Vic, who laid with her eyes closed and her family screaming in her ear, and found himself wondering what kind of Flame she had hidden dormant.

Then, there was a loud crash from Vic's phone and the line went dead, someone had obviously slapped the end button with their elbow or face in the scuffle. Vic scoffed as the music on her phone resumed and she let it drop to the side of the pillow, already pawing around for her frozen coke.

Dino watched her fingertips graze the edge, collecting droplets of perspiration. He nudged it slightly further out of reach. 

"Cunt," Vic hissed and Dino laughed as she uncoordinatedly smacked the side of her calf against his head.

Vic gave a heave of great effort and distress as she rolled onto her belly, finally grasping her slushy drink in hand. She took a long slurp before she craned her neck to look at Enzo, only his little tail visible as he dug deeper into the pile of leafy greens.

"I will not be able to bring Enzo out of my pocket for a time," Dino sighed and saw Vic blow disgruntled bubbles into her slushy.

"Yeah," she bit out, keeping whatever loaded rant she had shoved deep away. 

 Dino smiled weakly and took another drink of his cola, a loud, empty slurp that rattled the straw. Then Dino looked around at Vic's room, the cramped desk, the stacked eskys.

 "If you want," Dino started and leant back on a hand, trying to be nonchalant-

 Vic's body pillow didn't take his weight and Dino gave a gurgled yelp as his arm gave way and he fell. His head connected painfully with Vic's bony knees, Vic gave a gasp of pain and Dino clutched his head. 

 Soon, the two of them sat on the bed, two young adults curled up in groaning pain.

 "What the fuck, Dino?" Vic wheezed, holding her knees as they throbbed.

 "Sorry," Dino whined as the beginnings of a headache settled deep in his right temple. "I wanted to ask you if you would like to meet at my house. Enzo cannot meet you outside for a while."

 Vic massaged her knees before she kicked Dino in the side.

 “Fucking oath I am! Thought that was a fucking given!” 

 Dino winced as Vic kicked him in the side again, before, tentatively, Dino lightly thumped his foot against the back of Vic’s thigh. There was a distinct, fleshy ‘thwap’.

 A pause hung in the air, and Dino had the familiar sensation of social-faux-pas-dread settle in the bottom of his stomach—

 Dino heard something akin to an elated warcry from the other end of the bed, and all seventy kilos of Vic’s weight came crashing down on him, twenty-four nuggets and all. Dino wheezed and the two became a brawling wrangle of slapping hands and kicking feet, all up until Vic rolled and kicked Dino off the side of the bed. 

 Dino shrieked and clawed at the sheets until he went tumbling, shoulders-first to the floor. He gasped, splayed out on his back on the dorm’s musty carpet and stared up at Vic’s ceiling, dotted with weird marks.

 Vic’s face appeared from over the edge, a smug, vindictive curl to her grin. 

 “Cunt,” she said.

 Dino grabbed his cup, sloshing with half-melted ice cubes, and grabbed Vic by her beloved oversized band-tee and dumped it. 

 Vic shrieked and Dino couldn’t help the belly-deep cackling that burst out as he watched Vic frantically scoop at her bra under her shirt.

☁ ☁ ☁

 It had taken a bit over ten days and several nervous breakdowns, cushioned by either Enzo or Vic, but Dino felt like he was ready to call for a Family Meeting of the Cavallone. Or, well, he wasn’t seconds away from cardiac arrest at the thought of it, now.

 Dino wheezed a bit. Now, he just needed to get in contact with Romario and set it up.

 Dino reached for his phone. He hadn’t tried to contact home in a while. Between university, Vic, races, and his bi-weekly laying-on-the-floor-in-crisis time, Dino hadn’t had the chance to call home in…nearly six weeks now! Going on seven! They were fresh into April, nearly mid-semester break, and Dino hadn’t called since February.

 This was probably, no, definitely, the longest Dino hadn’t gone without contact with the Cavallone. 

 Seeing Vic listening to her family, had reminded Dino of just how much he missed them. Dino just wondered if anyone would pick up, or if Reborn’s contact-ban was still in place.

 Dino withered and dialled Romario’s quick-dial, and uttered a short prayer. It rang once, twice—

 “Boss!” 

 Dino suddenly understood why Vic had just laid down and listened. He could hear so much through the phone. Familiar songbirds, the chatter of Cavallone stablehands and the bray of horses. Suddenly, Dino was hit with the smell of the stables in early Spring; the fresh sand and straw they laid on the muddy ground, the lavender and wild rosemary that grew outside, the sweat and manure.

 Dino wanted to be like Vic and just curl up on his side and listen. 

 “Boss! How have you been!?” Romario asked and Dino heard the clammer and cacophony of news in the background: the Boss had finally called home.

 God, Dino had missed the sound of Italian; a good Sicilian accent.

 “I’m fine, Romario. I’ve still got all my fingers and toes,” Dino assured with a laugh. “I’ve got some killer tanlines, though.”

 “Good! After your exams you were far too pasty looking!”

 Dino rolled his eyes, this wasn’t the first time Romario had feared a potential vitamin-D deficiency.

 “So, tell me, what have you been up to?” Romario urged, and Din could just imagine him leant up against the gates of the stables in his singlet and jeans.

 Dino relaxed into the couch, Enzo snoozed in his luggage-enclosure. 

 “Class is hard,” Dino admitted, “I’ve gotta use Google translate and listen to lectures twice as long. If I didn’t have Vic to help me, I would have absolutely bombed on the vocabulary mini-test!”

 At some point, the update had turned into Dino’s whinging time - but could you really blame him? For months, Dino had been left to flail alone in this strange country, and he didn’t even have the English skills to vent properly to his one friend—

 “I’ve-!” Dino started loudly, a rush of pride returning when he remembered his shining achievement. “I’ve made a friend!”

 There was a beat of silence, before someone far away gasped, “ What?”

 “I’ve made a friend!” Dino repeated, “Her name’s Vic!”

 “A woman!?”

 “She’s really nice! She loves Enzo! She threw someone in the lake for us! And she bought us chicken nuggets!” 

 Dino grinned as he regaled Romario and their menagerie of eavesdroppers about the many adventures he had been on with Vic around the university and to the nearby shopping centres. 

 Dino decided to omit the part where he got lost in the Kmart homewares section, and had to go to the front desk so they could call for Vic over the announcement system. ‘Attention customers, could 'Vic Hunt' please come to the front of the store to collect your…child?’ was still engraved in Dino’s head, along with the stares from the staff. Vic had all but run through the store to get him. By then, Dino had been offered a snake-shaped lolly, half of which Vic stole, and held his hand the rest of the shop so neither got lost in that department store maze. 

 Instead, Dino moved onto how he and Vic met almost daily to study and chat, and how she liked to listen about the horses — Dino nearly flung himself off the couch when he snapped up, suddenly reminded of what this phone call was about.

 “Romario,” Dino said and heard the excited chatter fall silent at his tone. “I want to call a Family Meeting.”

 Romario’s shift was immediate.

 “What for, Boss?”

Dino could hear him move away from the stable and the working hands.

“I’ve been thinking about the state of the Family and the few resources we have. Being so far from home has, well, it’s given me a new perspective.” Dino said slowly, knowing he was about to broach a sensitive subject. “The Cavallone need to use our horses again. The Cavallone need to race again.”

Romario took a sharp, hissed breath in through his teeth. Racing was taboo.

“Boss,” he began shakily, like some part of him expected the ghost of the Eight Boss to enact vengeance upon them. “The Cavallone have been banned for nearly one hundred years!”

“In Italy,” Dino pointed out, looking down at the list of races all around the world. “And only in Mafia circles.”

“You want to race civilians?” Romario asked, the disbelief clear in his voice. “Our Cavallone horses, against civilians? ”

“Yes,” Dino responded, “Our horses. Our… untrained horses.” Dino suddenly felt that cardiac arrest creeping up again. “We need money. Racing is lucrative.”

He gripped his trousers until his knuckles were white. “Please, Romario.” Dino’s voice was quiet in the empty, dark living room. “I believe this will work. I believe this, our horses, can save our Family.”

Romario was silent.

Dino let him work through his thoughts. He knew he was asking for a lot, and for Romario to stick his neck out for Dino. Romario was the one who would have to act as proxy and call everyone to the Meeting, and in doing so, show complete faith in Dino’s plan.

Romario’s voice came through the speaker. “Very well, Boss. I’ll organise the Meeting. Will tomorrow suit you?”

A relieved smile broke out on Dino's face. “Whenever. We’ll have to work with timezones, anyway.”

“Ten hours, right? I will see what I can do.”

Dino let out a long sigh, feeling nearly lightheaded. “Thank you, Romario.”

“Of course, Boss,” Romario hummed, “Get some rest, it must be late.”

Dino looked at his clock, 2AM. He needed to go to sleep, he had class at 10AM. 

“Boss, you should send us photos now that we can talk again. Is Australia really all just desert and city?”

“What? No, there’s plenty of greenery and water here!” Dino laughed, “But it’s hot. A different hot to home. Vic has been busy making sure I don’t get heat stroke.”

“Sounds nice, it’s still cold here. But by the time you’re home, it’ll be warm. You come at the end of your semester, right? June?”

“Yeah, June to August, Winter break. Vic will be miserable, she loves warmth. Like a lizard.”

Romario laughed and Dino let himself flop across his couch. They had just said Dino should have gone to bed, but he couldn’t find it in himself to hang up. Not after so long without his Family. 

“So your friend, Vic, is she a local?” 

“Yeah, Vic’s from Australia,” Dino hummed, and grabbed a pillow to cuddle, sleep beginning to press against the back of his eyes. “She says she was born around here, actually. But her family has moved to, uh, Castle-something. Has a new baby cousin she wants to see.”

“And you said she’s been keeping you alive,” Romario chuckled and Dino gave some kind of senseless whine of indignation.

“Only- Kinda, yeah, but like, leave me alone maybe?” Dino grumbled, before rolling over on the couch, “How’s everyone at home doing?”

Dino cuddled into the throw pillow and listened as Romario recited the usual reports on the comings and goings of the Cavallone estate. It was the usual chaos, with a bit of a curve ball thrown in with the Boss away. But Romario, as usual, managed to wrangle everything under control, especially with the Stable Master acting as the Cavallone regent. 

They were still receiving their local import of barley and hay at a steady pace, and the farmers had offered a ‘loyalty perk’ after generations of working together. Dino nearly teared up as he heard how they had reduced their prices by 10%. He made sure to make Romario write down the family name of every farmer, the Cavallone would always be loyal to them. 

The Ninth’s Guardians were still responding to messages, but only enough to assure that they weren’t dead. Even then, only Croix was handling correspondence. Really, the only evidence that the rest of the Guardians were still around was Croix’s word and the Cavallone delivery boys that dropped off supplies to them. Getting them out to the Family Meeting was probably going to be the hardest, they hardly left the Ranch anymore.

Dino frowned and clutched his pillow. He had been worried about his uncles. Losing a Sky was never easy, and Guardians could only outlive their Harmony with so much grace.

One of the younger Cavallone wards had finally been able to manifest a Flame expression. Though, it was scratching some heads with its Frequency. It was probably just a weird expression, maybe some kind of strong Secondary coming through. They hoped the kid settled down soon, it was causing their carers concern. 

Well that was concerning, Dino hummed and sleepily instructed that the child would be put under watch. 

Brutus got bit on the ass by a mule that morning. It was his own fault, he should have known better than to be off-guard in the presence of one of the biters. The Stablehands had a good laugh out of it and everyone had a good look at the pattern on his boxers. 

Dino snorted and relaxed, listening as the accounts became less and less important, Romario’s reports devolving into mindless updates on the little things Dino missed around the place in the time he was gone. He closed his eyes and opened his ears to the sound of Romario and that far off island of Sicily he so missed.

The next morning, Dino received the notification for the Family Meeting’s appointed time: 8PM. 10AM on the Italian’s side.

He spent the time between classes preparing, making notes, practising his delivery. Anything to get rid of the shake in his knees and the quiver in his voice. Vic had noticed and had offered Dino a sympathetic hiss when she had heard the abridged summary.

“Hey,” she said, giving Dino a gentle shove with her elbow. “If you want, I’ll drop by after the call? We can hang out, get some food?”

Then she had bought him something sweet from the student cafe to perk him up before they parted ways. Dino was always grateful that he managed to make a friend all the way out here.

Dino nibbled on the frankly monstrously-sized cookie as he went about setting up his computer and space, trying to hold his treat in a way that wouldn’t melt the choc chips. He moved a bag of takeaway wrappers out from behind his couch and finally made the trip to the bin, taking a few wrappers and packages of assorted socks. 

He fluffed the couch’s throw pillows and quickly brought that random, dying succulent to the back porch. He was in the middle of gently encouraging the fake Monstera plant to sit right when the chime for the meeting rang out. 

Dino gasped and vaulted for the couch, completely overshooting it and slamming face-first into the narrow space between the couch and coffee table.

“Good to see the boy hasn’t changed.”

Dino’s face went red and he began his squirming crawl to try and get his feet out of the air and back under him. 

“I thought you gave up trying to do handstands when you were little Dino!” Came that teasing, smoker-rough voice and Dino finally flipped himself right-side up.

“I wasn’t trying to do a handstand, Uncle Croix!”

The Rain Guardian to the late Ninth Cavallone and Dino’s Uncle in every sense but blood grinned at him through the screen. He was a jovial man that was going well grey, with a short-boxed beard lining framing his jaw and crows feet pinching the corners of his eyes. 

“Young Romario tells me you’ve been good and roasted down there in Australia! Remember to keep away from the sun, or you’ll end up looking like Anvil, all patchy and leather skinned!” Croix powered on and Dino resisted the urge to sink into his chair, knowing that once Croix was rolling, nothing short of an all out gunfight could stop him.

“Let the boy talk, Croy,” the Stablemaster groused, and Dino looked to the second panel where the rest of the Meeting’s attendants sat.

The Stablemaster, the Vault Keeper, the Head of Housekeeping, and Romario all sat around the one board table they had left, and were turned in their seats to face him. The Vault Keeper sat there, nearly unmoving. If it weren’t for the rest of the room, Dino would have thought the camera was frozen.

Dino started to sweat. The last time he had seen all these faces at once, his father had been a cooling body in the next room. 

“Whenever you’re ready, Boss, we can begin,” Romario urged, and Dino snapped to attention.

“Right,” he said, and looked at his notes just to the side of the computer, written on a little notepad. 

Vic at some point had drawn a small dick on the corner of the first hundred or so pages. Up until literally just now, Dino had thought it was a lop-sided heart. 

Dino let out a short snort. He took a breath, and with Vic’s supportive presence in the form of a collection of penned dicks, he began.

“I believe it is safe to say that we are all aware of the state of the Cavallone,” there was a grumble of consensus. “We are sinking, with the last of our furniture reaching their final bid, we have no way of keeping up with the debt.”

Romario winced, and the Stablemater frowned. Croix didn’t utter a sound, and watched through the screen with a solemn expression. 

“At the rate we are going, our Cavallone will succumb to debt and be bankrupt within five years.” Five years. Dino would barely be twenty-three. “We need a way to stop this, our Family, from falling apart.” 

Dino glanced at each face on his screen, “We need to race again.”

The Head of Housekeeping went pale. Croix shifted back in his chair, and the Stablemaster’s expression became utterly stormy. 

Romario looked at Dino through the camera and nodded, as if to say, “go on.”

Dino pushed on, referring to his notes, and those little dicks, whenever he felt his resolve waver. He recalled the great success Cavallone horses flaunted during their golden age, referenced the sheer profits the Family had turned from racing, and how the Cavallone could enjoy the same today. Dino highlighted articles, winning and race purses, and the prestige that came with it. He pointed out budgeting, and plans, and week's worth of fervent research and study. 

Dino pushed that all of this was within grasp. Outside of the thin borders of Italy. Outside of the influence of the Mafia. That the Cavallone’s retribution was there for the taking if they just reached for it.

Faces were grim. 

The Vaultkeeper had turned her head away.

The Head of Housekeeping smiled like he was in pain. He probably was. He had been young, but he had been there during the reign of the Eighth. He had been there to watch him break.

“You want us to race?” The Stablemaster asked, gravel in his tone. “You want us to gamble away the last of the money keeping us afloat?”

Dino took a breath, “That money is time we bought ourselves by selling our history. Do you know what the other Families call us? A Family selling off their pride.”

“Pride will not pay out our debts-”

“In a starving house, pride is all we have left,” Dino rebutted, “Pride, and spite, and a vindictive Will to live. Is this not all we have left to heat our halls and till our fields, and feed our horses — who sit stagnant in their stables, because of men who were too weak to beat us!”

Dino sat straight, his shoulders squared and seethed.

“Since I was born, I have only heard smuggled whispers of the glory of the Cavallone horses. Our trophies sit in dusty, moulding boxes! Instead of taking us on fairly with dignity, they hide behind one another and slash at our ankles! Our right to race was just the tipping point, our trade with merchants and businesses have been undercut by the same hands! How long do we intend to cower at the echoes of the Eighth’s tantrums, and the descendants of tiny men!?”  

The Stablemaster, everyone, had sat up at Dino’s tone, the furrow of his brow, the square of his shoulders. The Vault Keeper turned to Dino slowly.

Dino unclenched his jaw and breathed, long and slow, out through his nose. 

“I know I’ve only been Don for not even a full year, and I know I am asking for more trust than I may deserve. But I believe that our horses are our key to survival. I am willing to bet on it.”

The Stablemaster narrowed his eyes, “What are you betting?”

Dino smiled.

“What is the Cavallone if not my life and head?” 

Croix sat up sharply, “Dino!”

“If the Cavallone fail to pay off their debts, our ‘benefactors’ will expect to be paid in blood,” Dino frowned, “At least this way, you all can renounce the Cavallone name.”

“Like absolute hell would we let you take the fall!” Croix boomed, peeking his laptop’s microphone and leaving a static buzz. 

Romario stood from his chair, “I cannot agree to those terms! Even if the Cavallone falls, I will not leave you, Boss.”

“Unless you have some secret Cavallone blood in your veins, you won’t be much of a prize,” Dino huffed, “But thank you.”

“Okay, I’m in,” the Stablemaster said, and Romario’s head snapped around.

“You can’t be serious! On those terms!?” 

“No, dumbass, those terms are utter horseshit, but he’s proved his conviction. So I’ll bite,” the Stablemaster, the man who called all the final shots on the horses of the Cavallone and the only one who could undermine the Don, turned to look at Dino. “The Cavallone will go down kicking.”

The Vault Keeper turned her hooded head to Dino and said in a voice all raspy and old as ash, “Little Dino, we will never leave you to pay for the mistakes we did not help avoid. Do not say as much again.”

It was cold and scolding, like the distant aunt the Cavallone Vault Keeper was. The Keeper of the Cavallone’s treasures and secrets. She would have never left her station. 

“Right,” Dino smiled, feeling warm to the core. “I meant no insult. But my argument still stands.”

The Vault Keeper looked to the Stablemaster, Head of Housekeeping and Romario. Croix sat silent in his chair. 

“I’ve already said my stance,” the Stablemaster shrugged, “I’m in. The boy Boss knows what he wants, and he wants to race. So long as the horses are safe, I’m happy to let them out of their stables.”

Romario huffed as he dropped back into his chair, fixing his suit jacket, “I support the Boss’ plan to race.”

“It’s a risk,” the Head of Housekeeping said softly, “Keeping up the salaries of the house’s staff will be difficult.”

“Of course, we’ll cut back where we can to keep them paid,” Dino assured, and the man nodded. Dino had always made sure their staff was paid, it was one of the highest priorities. “I’m sure there are some functions on the estate that can be put on hold. Please, make a list of what you think can be done without, and we’ll work through cutting it.”

“...Very well,” he said, slightly ashen.

Dino gazed upon the man who had taught him to button his shirts, and cleaned up after him every time clumsy little Dino made a mess.

“When you get the chance, please, get those trophies out from the attic. They shouldn’t be hidden, let them be on display again, as they should be.”

The Head of Housekeeping blinked at Dino, before he smiled, his grey, wrinkled face softening.

“As you wish, Boss.”

The Vault Keeper sat still again, utterly unmoving. Then she sighed, nearly slumped over as she bowed under the weight of her decision.

“Little Dino, I hope you know what you’re getting us into. I never wanted you to become a gambler.”

“Just this once, I promise,” Dino smiled, “And a few more times after we win.”

‘After’. When, not if.

The Vault Keeper scoffed at Dino. 

Then everyone turned their attention to the last man yet to speak: Croix, the Ninth Rain Guardian and representative of all the Cavallone Guardians. He sat there, seemingly staring through the screen and far away. 

Dino clenched his fists on his knees out of frame of the camera. He hated seeing his zio like this. Guardians could only outlive their Harmony with so much grace.

“Uncle Croix?” Dino urged gently. 

Croix’s clouded eyes lit up with awareness as he came back to himself. He glanced around the screen, taking in those faces that were looking at him expectantly. Dino smiled in a way he hoped was reassuring.

“Whatever you want to do, Dino, your uncles will support you,” Croix said, “I’ve never seen a Cavallone horse race, either. We are long overdue — just, don’t make betting your life a habit.”

Dino grinned sheepishly, and his heart felt bright. 

“That said,” the Stablemaster interjected, and something in his tone made Dino’s stomach tighten. “If we’re going to do this, we do it properly, Boss.”

Dino nodded, “Of course, I don’t plan to do this half-cocked. As you allow, I’d like to use our best-performing horses.”

The best of the Cavallone’s prized herd. Their fastest, their most enduring. 

The Stablemaster crossed his arms, lined with hair and thin scars. 

“Then you’ll be asking for Glory.”

Dino’s smile went thin. He nodded.

“Yes, Glory is at the top of the list. She is our best horse.”

Romario glanced at Dino.

Croix lowered his eyes to his lap, his face carefully blank. Every breath he took was slow and measured.

“Understand me, Dino Cavallone, if you allow anything to happen, or treat her anyway less than she deserves, I will withdraw my support immediately,” the Stablemaster promised, his voice laced with warning.

Dino swallowed thickly. If the Stablemaster pulled out, everything Dino had worked for would come undone within hours. As soon as the Stablemaster called for it, every Cavallone horse would come home.

All for Glory.

For a moment, Dino remembered the thundering of hooves, the frantic screams, a sick bed, the stinging scent of antiseptic. 

An empty bed, the sheets clean and pressed flat. The room utterly still.

Dino let out a long breath, and pushed aside those thoughts and the burn in the back of his throat. 

“Of course, Stablemaster,” Dino said solemnly, purposefully. “I assure you, Glory will be safe and treated with the best care we can afford our horses moving forward.”

The Stablemaster stared at Dino, scrutinising him down to the bone. Then he nodded, one stiff, sure nod.

“On your head, Boss,” he said.

“On my head,” Dino agreed softly.

No one in the room spoke, the silence stretching and strangeling everyone on the call. Dino shook his head and sat up to address the Head of Housekeeping.

“Please organise that list on the estate budget cuts, and send it to me as soon as possible.”

“Yes, Boss,” the elderly man said.

“Vault Keeper, please keep an eye on our finances throughout. Alert us immediately if you notice something awry. We can’t allow for mistakes.”

“Very well,” she responded.

“Stablemaster, please compile a list of our best horses, and everything you believe they will need during and after transport.”

“It’ll be extensive, they're picky bastards.”

“I’m sure we can handle it,” Dino assured, “Romario, you will be my proxy, as always. Please help where you can and keep things running smoothly. We cannot let the other Families get wind of this.”

“Of course, Boss,” Romario nodded, and Dino nearly wheezed in relief. 

Where would he be without Romario? 

Then Dino looked to Croix, who sat watching the flurry with a look of… Nostalgia. Pride. Pain.

“Uncle Croix,” Dino said, and the man sat to attention like all those times the Ninth had called upon him. “Please watch out for yourself and my other uncles. I want you all in good health when we hold a Cavallone-style celebration.”

Croix blinked. Then he let out a booming laugh that Dino had heard throughout his childhood.

“Right! Right! Gotta get these beer bellies fitting back in their suits! Give us some time, won’t you, Dino? Don’t go winning too fast?”

“Bah, you’ll need to cut more than the beer to get back into your suits! Dino, you should budget their cheese, too!” The Stablemaster heckled, and Croix gasped hard enough to choke. 

“My cheese is lite!”

“Light in colour maybe! I’ve seen you scarf that down!”

Dino laughed as Croix vehemently defended his ‘sampling’ of the local delicacies. 

“It puts money back into the local economy!”

“But Croix,” the Head of Housekeeping uttered, a concerned and amused pinch to his brow that spoke of the years he had spent herding Croix and his fellow Set when they were just young men. “Didn’t you develop an intolerance to lactose recently? The doctor said as much.”

Croix thinned his lips and refused to respond. 

The Meeting wound to a close, and everyone had their orders. 

The Cavallone horses would race again, under the crest of their Tenth Generation.

Dino closed his laptop with a weary and utterly stressed sigh. He slumped back into his couch and scratched his nails through his hair. 

He had done it. The first Family Meeting as Don, and he had actually done it! He had convinced the Family to go along with this stupid, ride-or-die plan! Jesus Christ, Dino needed a drink. He was craving Pepsi, the kind he had drunk with Vic.

A steady thump, thump, thump sounded through the walls, the bass beat made the floors vibrate. Dino glanced to his windows — one of his neighbours had a party going. 

The clock on Dino’s phone glared that it was nearly 10PM. Dino yawned and stood from his divot in the couch, scanning the floor for where Enzo had crawled off to. Then he heard it.

A soft ‘clink, chunk’ and repeat. 

Dino listened to the jangle and crunch, and let out a soft groan of, “Enzo, why me? I wanna go to sleep so badly!”

Enzo peered from around the bedroom doorway with a soft wheeze. Dino picked his phone from the table and typed up a text to Romario, taking a drink from his cup as he did. Someone was trying to break into Dino’s dormhouse.

Dino put aside his glass and scooped Enzo up off the floor as he made his way back to his bedroom, turning off the lights as he did. He closed his bedroom door and felt the faintest clunk as the latch fell into place and a jimmy-rigged security system swung into activity. 

Dino had been tutored by Reborn, after all. He had to learn something from the PTSD.

Dino followed his bedtime routine. He changed into some light pyjamas, washed his slightly sweaty face, brushed his teeth and crawled into bed, Enzo cuddled up against his chest. Right over the heart.

Dino closed his eyes, let out a long breath and listened. The crunch of dried gum leaves out near the back porch. The metallic groan as someone mounted the porch railing. The soft, muffled crack of glass. 

Dino continued to breathe, slow and unhurried. He needed his would-be hitman deeper in his house. Dino clutched the handle of his whip, coiled under the blankets with him.

Footsteps over the tile, and disappeared on the rug. Breath outside the bedroom door.

All Dino’s interior doors opened inwards. Dino had to wait.

The door unlatched. The person peered in through a crack. The tip of Dino’s whip caught them in the eye. 

Dino untangled himself from his sheets, watching the man stumble back, clutching his face. Dino almost sympathised with the guy, he had been whipped in the eye more times than he — or Romario — could count.

The would-be assailant stumbled blindly, before giving a sharp gasp as he felt a tug at his clothes. Dino had learnt much from Reborn, and from personal experience, nothing threw someone off like having the threat of indecent exposure during an otherwise serious situation. 

The man fumbled with his shredding pants, hooks and wires ripping and peeling at his suit, eyes red and watering.

Dino stood — and promptly planted his face into the hard weave of the floor rug. Dino groaned. He should have known this was going too well. He heaved himself to his feet, cradling his carpet-burnt nose. 

The man pulled himself free from the last of the hooks, cameo-print briefs on display and belt clinging to the last scraps of a waistband. 

Dino reeled his whip back and lashed it across the man’s bared thigh. It didn’t wrap around like Dino had hoped, but it made the man buckle to the floor with a muted gasp again. 

He was being quiet. Being careful not to alert Dino’s neighbours. But the beat and thump of music from a few doors down told Dino that the majority of his neighbours were either too busy partying away the last hours of a Friday night, or trying to drown it out, to notice.

Better for him, honestly. The crack of a whip wasn’t exactly covert.

The man hissed between his teeth and pulled his weapon of choice from his pocket. Wire glinted and strained in his leather-gloved hands. He lunged, wire tight and Rino pulled his whip across his face. 

He could hear the wire pluck at the leather of his whip, but it never bit through. Something birthed from Leon would never buckle that easily. 

Dino gritted his teeth and kicked at the man’s knees. He went down with a sickening crack and his knees bowing like a bird’s. 

The hitman threw something at Dino from the floor, and Dino swallowed a cry as some kind of powder, hot and irritating, coated his face. Dino pressed his lips and eyes shut, and didn’t dare to breathe, wiping his face with his shirt. Dino fumbled and kicked as he felt hands and wire reach for his ankles.

His face burnt, and Dino tasted something acrid and bitter on the tip of his tongue. Every one of his senses begged Dino to get it off, wash it off, do something.

Dino scrubbed at his lips and around his nose, desperate to breathe again. He charged forward, palming at the walls and feeling the way to the bathroom. Something pulled at Dino’s ankles, the sound of wire pulled taut and a small, sharp pain was his only warning before Dino went toppling into the living room. 

His shoulder crashed into the coffee table and the cup Dino had left to ‘future him’ tipped over and splashed directly into his face. Dino sputtered and spat, before finally taking a sweet, lungful of air. He could still taste the remnants of that powder, but he could breathe. Dino palmed at the tabletop and wiped his face with the pooled water. 

He peered an eye open, and immediately felt the tear-inducing burn. He gritted his teeth and bore it as the blurry figure of his hitman crawled its way towards Dino. 

Dino scrambled to his feet and grabbed his whip. 

The man lunged, sprung from his one good leg. He caught Dino around the middle and the two crashed into the wall console, the dying pot plant dropped and shattered on the carpet. 

Dino struggled as the man tried to press his wire against Dino’s throat. Dino kicked his knee again and felt the bone move under his toes. The man reeled back, mouth agape in a silent scream.

Dino wrapped his whip around the man’s throat and yanked tight.

#fanfiction #khr #leftnotright #ao3 #katekyo hitman reborn #dino cavallone #oc #canon divergence #alternate universe

[black-cat-aoife]

Tagged by @kathastrophen

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

somehow I need to write words before typing the number 55 because otherwise this very functioning website fucks up the formatting

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

77,339

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Sad Cops The last ones were for Blind Ermittelt, Detective Anna, Endeavour and Polizeiruf Frankfurt.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

In Which Everybody Regrets Their Life Choices (Daredevil)

The Tale of the Beautiful Professor (Guardian)

Tee Mit Folgen (Tatort Berlin)

Adam, Vincent und die Eule (Polizeiruf Frankfurt)

A Sickbed Visitor (Society of Gentlemen)

OK, technically there's another Daredevil Fic on 2, but it's a collection of shorter fills for a prompt meme so does that count?

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes. I try to respond to all but occasionally fall in the "Oh yeah I will do that later" trap where I...y'know...don't do it.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I had a whole paragraph here, about how I don't usually write Angst and wanted to name a few sort-of-angsty ones, and then I remembered, that I did in fact write Never To Be Told which is very angsty.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

A lot, but Look Not Into My Eyes has a veeeery sappy ending.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

None yet

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

No

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Well, if you equate "crazy" with "nobody but me wrote it" then it's my Ein Fall For Zwei/Tatort Saarbrücken Crossover. But honestly: a crossover between two crime shows that feature abusive dads whose heads make sudden contact with blunt instruments and the resulting fallout from that is not particularly crazy. I also have this idea for a Blind Ermittelt/Allmen one, but as it's so often the case that's all vibes, no plot so far.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as far as I know.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I once wanted to, and we even discussed some plot ideas, but then I got ghosted

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

Yeah, Niko/Alex caught me like few others, but I also always will have a soft spot for Till/Felix

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Currently, I'm having a really hard time with my Alex & Sophie pre-canon fic, because it requires writing Alex shortly after the attack, and I am not sure if I can do that.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I'm quite good at character-voices, both in dialogue and when internal-monologuing

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Getting from one scene to the next. Also in dialogues the right amount of surrounding description. I tend to start off with a screenplay, and then turn it into character says one sentence, followed by three paragraphs of description.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I hate it. Either your POV character understands what is said, and then you can tell the audience what is being said, or they don't, and then you just write "they were talking in XY." Don't make me use Google Translate to understand your fic. And don't make me read phrases like heiße schokolade mit gepeitschter creme, because your foreign language knowledge also comes from Google Translate. (That is an example from an actually published book, but my feelings on that transcend the fanfic/pubfic barrier, and I also read enough bullshit in fanfic).

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter. As in write-write. I don't think I ever wrote down any of the Sailor Moon self insert I made up.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Hmm I wrote A Sickbed Visitor with me as the target audience in mind, and considering that, I am quite happy that it also ended up being reasonably popular. Because this is the fanfiction for a romance series that doesn't feature one of the main couples but the friendship between two halves of different couples. (Yeah. Having fun writing something is nice. Validation is also nice)

And Es Wird Wieder ein Sommer is well...it's not the same, because it is an Alex/Niko fic, and I always meant it to be one, but it's also about Laura and her relationship with those two and that was lots of fun to think about and write.

No pressure tag for @cricrithings and @tatzelwyrm

#about aoife #on writing

[poisonivysource]

hello!! i'm new to comics and i have a question that i'm scared to ask on twitter lol... i always see people fight about ivy's sexuality. about if she is bi or lesbian and i don't know which is true? i'm so confused😭

hi there. short answer: she's unlabeled sapphic in most iterations and canonically bisexual in some—namely hqtas and poison ivy thorns

if you'd like a longer and more detailed answer, read below the cut

harley quinn the animated series

in this universe — which consists of the show itself and spin-off comics (written by tee franklin) — ivy is canonically bisexual.

she dated a guy named dan back in college, used to hook up with selina, was engaged to kiteman, and is currently dating harley.

poison ivy: thorns (2021)

this is a young adult graphic novel written by kody keplinger and illustrated by sara kipin. it was released as part of dc's celebratory line of pride books last year. in this universe, ivy is confirmed bisexual

(source)

jimmy palmiotti and amanda conner

i often see people bring this up

and i have to point out that neither jimmy nor amanda ever specified that ivy is bi. they didn't label her sexuality. what they did say was this

"but google says..."

i've seen a number of people use this as "proof" recently and again, not valid. that is a fandom wiki that just about anyone can edit and write anything they please. i checked to see if the person in question provided any references i may not be aware of and unfortunately they didn't. they only mention the existence of a "pride cover featuring poison ivy with the lesbian flag" and apparently they're talking about the kris anka variant for harley quinn #4 that was released last year

the color scheme can be misleading for sure. i don't know if anka did it intentionally or not, but i do know for a fact that he's normally not shy about attaching a pride flag aesthetic to a character. a solid example is his work on marvel's runaways, which has karolina dean (canon lesbian) and nico minoru (canon bisexual)

so if he intended for that to be the lesbian flag, on a cover for the harley quinn run that features both harley and ivy, i believe he would've definitely found a way to center the flag colors on ivy alone. but, again, i can't possibly claim to know exactly what went on through his head, so, at the end of the day, make of it what you will, i suppose

meanwhile... (still on the topic of dc pride covers)

jen bartel opted for a bi color scheme for both of her harlivy variants, very much on purpose.

now onto why her sexuality is such a hot topic for debate despite everything mentioned above. ivy has been portrayed as a misandrist more often than not. she never pursues romantic or sexual relationships with men without an ulterior motive—they are always a means to an end. with women, it's different. the connection is genuine, the feelings are real. her main love interest in the main continuity of the comics and almost every alternate universe, is harley. and whenever she happens to get a different love interest, it's a woman (see this post) even the casual hook-ups are with women (e.g. catwoman lonely city #3 and poison ivy #4)

and so, of course, none of this invalidates the possibility of her being bisexual. because misandry and bisexuality are not mutually exclusive, and her aversion to men stems from past traumatic experiences and the abuse she suffered at the hands of jason woodrue. but, at the same time, a case can just as easily be made that she is lesbian-coded. either way: she loves women. the end. 💚

#✿ #asks

[cescalr]

New tag game: list ten of your childhood ships!

tagged by @babybeale <3... forever ago. Uh. Whoops!

[I will also state my current feelings regarding the ship, and I'll go into as little or as much detail as I feel like <3 I'm also. I have a sieve brain. I'm trying to remember what the fuck it was I shipped as a kid lmao. Anything I shipped, say, pre 2016, I think should count? ftr that means I was 14 or under when I shipped it.]

Nina/Fabian, from House of Anubis;

They're still cute. Better than what they pulled in the last season ;-; fabian and mara...... why...........

2. Sam and Freddie, from iCarly;

This show was just. Not good at writing romance. At all. It was bad at it. But I am very smart and know better than them (/joke) so I could do seddie justice. Er. Maybe trying to do that right now, actually. Shh.

[also, friend; jade and beck is so complicated, you're right. A fun mess, but still a mess lmao. Me and my rarepairs was always a fan of stuff that never ended up being canon though. Might as well put it next, I guess? Looking at your 3.... when it comes to icarly; we could not possibly have had more different opinions on the matter <3 lmao]

3. Tori Vega / André Harris;

I haven't watched it in years so I do not remember why! But I do remember that I did. I think. Don't - don't quote me on anything ever.

4. Willoz - from buffy the vampire slayer;

No gifs for them :( :( :( love them still so very much <3

5. Honestly, I'd steal your number 5 bestie, 6Teen was great. In the spirit of obscure animated TV shows, though - and It's been so damn long I forgot the names of some characters, had to look up the guy's name, lol - Zero and Vin from The Invisible Network of Kids. It left a profound impact on my psyche because they did something really fucked up in the last episode, plus left us on a cliffhanger, and then the show got cancelled </3 rip. Haven't watched it in a decade or so. No idea if it holds up, but I was super invested in these kids doing spy work and experiencing insane levels of trauma that would be ignored come each new episode </3. I was literally 8 years old <3. It has a TV tropes page and the entire show is availible on the Internet Archive, of all places, sooooooo I may browse. For nostalgia's sake. There are literally zero gifs available for this one, because. I mean. No shit.

7. Didn't watch any of that continuity - only got so far as Tracey Beaker Returns... alas. Anyway, my pic for 7..... hm. Sigh.

Stiles/Lydia, Teen Wolf.

This ^ is NOT romantic! she slams her mouth onto his in the middle of a panic attack. Babe. No. No. Regardless; I don't like it </3. They really. Oh god they really fucked up this one. Like a lot. Plus, they both just ended up with much better canon ships (stalia, marrish) that then got shafted for this mess to be the endgame and then the movie breaks them up anyway!!! OFFSCREEN!!!! they didn't even last 2 weeks!!!! fuck!!!!!!!! I don't like them. But I used to. Playlist, for proof. I feel like this counts, because I shipped them when I first watched the show as it aired (I was 10 when the show started), but I did still ship the pairing until well into my teens (16 or so) before I wised up (the show made them very bad in a really boring way. Not that they weren't bad before. Love how they both do things that are otherwise reprehensible but the show frames them as romantic for some fucking reason </3 I was like 13 when I saw this kiss on screen. They're lucky I did research and didn't just take it at face value or I could've gotten some really bad ideas about what's healthy in a situation like this!).

8. Zikki (Zane/Rikki), H20: Just Add Water;

Season 3 does not exist <3 [also, the way they wrote the 'cheating' plotline was fucked up. That woman planted one on him!!! he did not consent!!! Why are we supposed to be blaming him for being sexually harassed in the workplace!!! No!!!]. Still ship them fr fr.

8. maf;lkasjd;f yeahhh. Think if you watched friends as a kid, it was inevitable you'd ship rosschel, the damn thing was pushed so hard. Stand in regretful solidarity;

For really obvious reasons (being that it is rosschel); hot damn no I do not!

9. Harry and Ginny, Harry Potter.

Ignoring the horrendous movie adaptation, when I read the hp books I basically just defaulted to shipping whatever was canon. Luckily for me, the canon hp ships are actually pretty good ones! If you ignore the canaries in the room. (I. Do not. Famously. Well. Infamously.) As for Hinny, whilst its a garbage ship name, the pairing itself is pretty great <3

10. kaljdflkasdt thank god I don't remember jack shit about watching glee for the first time! the sieve brain is a blessing in this one occasion. I've already mentioned in another (tagged <3) post my vaguely-relevant hsm ships, though, so..... hmm. What should I pick.... let's think.... I'm kidding. I don't need to think.

Shoker is a major missed opportunity in ME, and I've been mad about the choices for my fem!shep for YEARS because. Look. Kaiden she did not cheat on you. You left!! You accused her of being evil and fucked off after she was resurrected!! what else was she supposed to think other than 'guess he doesn't want to date me anymore. Rude.' And. You could have sex with Jack but not romance her, that was locked to male characters >:| biphobia [Jack can have sexual relations with women, but her only real connections are to men. Rude!]. And, Liara in my games always turned herself down for romance because she assumed my shep wanted to date Kaiden because she's not a total dick to him and there's no way for me to clarify otherwise, also people making assumptions :/ not great. Plus Li becomes the shadow broker and it's a whole thing, so that doesn't really work out narratively for me anyway. Can't romance Miranda. Can't romance Tali (wouldn't anyway - Tali/Garrus <3). Refuse to romance Garrus that is just so platonic a dynamic it's not even funny. Jacob cheats and dips, so fuck him. Like... all of the fem!shep romances are terrible (or Trainor, I guess, but she's... kind of. Nobody. She's Just There. Sorry. It's not narratively interesting enough for me.) and Joker was right there and augh. Augh! Still ship. Still mad about it. Hatboy Project is doing the lord's work! I salute thee soldier in thine endeavours. Waiting to replay LE until it's been finished <3.

<3

If anyone wants to pick this up, go for it!

#took me so long i think you went through two url changes lmao #tag game

[blackknightax]

I decided to do research to do both Square Enix properties in a row. Yesterday I did Final Fantasy with Kain, so today, I did a little research into Dragon quest. Dragon Quest is another long running RPG franchise, running as far back as the NES. Where Final Fantasy was made by Squaresoft, Dragon Quest was made by Enix. When the two companies merged, Or one bought the other, I forgot which happened. That being said. Let’s Discuss this goofy ass franchise.

I’ll admit, I have never played a proper dragon quest game. I had heard of it but not played any and only recently did I realize how far back it ran. Well, recently being the last couple years. Like Final fantasy there are a lot of mainline numbered entries, I believe 11 or 12. I didn’t do a lot of research mind you, just some. It also has quite the number of spin offs. Between Dragon Quest Monsters, Builders, and even a mech battling game (i forgot that one’s name), there isn’t a shortage of ways to play dragon quest. My only exposure to the Dragon Quest series directly is one of the spinoffs. I played Dragon Quest Builders 2, I got it to play it with my wife but the multiplayer in that game is very limiting. To the point of not really being fun to play multiplayer but it is a very fun game, if really easy game.

I feel like I need to discuss something off topic real quick. Akira Toriyama has been involved with this franchise since the beginning of it. As a result it has always carried his art style and it still does to this day. Even Dragon Quest Animes have a very Dragon Ball art style, because the Dragon Ball art style is also the Dragon Quest art style. I just wanted to mention this because the man is resting in peace currently. Thus any tribute to the Dragon Quest Franchise is a tribute to the legacy of Akira Toriyama.

So since the character we have in the game the Hero, it is a better representation of Dragon Quest than Cloud and his stage were to Final Fantasy. As the hero is a representation of multiple games, I don’t recall which 4 were chosen but I know than one is the most recent hero at the time, and also the the hero of Dragon Quest 3, canonical name Erdric. This means it’s hard to choose party members, because the hero has a lot of abilities. So I decided to do research into recurring villains in the franchise so I can at least add a recognizable face. For that reason I’ve chosen…

This is Estark. He’s a recurring boss monster in several games. His first appearance was Dragon Quest 4 where, he played an important role and was a difficult boss. In a lot of future games he became a Superboss, a term for an RPG battle that is designed to be difficult and played with end game gear, often harder than the final boss itself. Most recently he plays a very important role in the most recent Dragon Quest Monsters, 3 bosses share his name but take on drastically different forms. That being said and done, he’d actually be kinda interesting from a smash perspective because he’s a not only a dual wielding sword character, but he’d also be a large heavy bodied sword character. He’d be the first in both regards. Now, because he isn’t a party member in the franchise he obviously wouldn’t have Hero’s random menu mechanics. But he can still be quite fun. So, let’s go! So since he has always had the gimmick that he always acts twice per turn, let’s give him a mechanics that he can cancel any one special move into one other.

For his Neutral B he uses disruptive wave. He performs the attack with his mouth implying a sound attack. The attack is charagable and increases in damage and more importantly stun time.

For his Up B he grows wings and flies up. This is in reference to one of the other monsters that share his name and form. He flies at an angle with one sword in front or him and one behind him, creating a large hit box.

For his Side B he will perform a version of Hellfire Hurricane, he rushes forward with both a wind and fire effect. He does damage with his body and set’s the floor on fire if used on the ground. If used in the air he also spins causing the attack to do a few hits rather than one.

For his Down B he performs the ability C-c-cold breath. For this he blows on the ground with the intent to freeze all enemies around him. If used on the ground it freezes the ground and makes it slick to everyone but the Ice Climbers (because they don’t slip on ice). When used in the air he stops for a second and the attack meteor smashes.

I think this a great character to add from Dragon Quest. I think he looks real cool and he’s a recurring villain character. I really like him as addition. But I’m curious, Dragon Quest fans, who would YOU add?

Also, he apparently has a son Called Starkers

“I’m Just like Daddy!” - my wife upon seeing him.

He is definitely very baby

#super smash bros #daily post #unfiltered thoughts #rambling #super smash ultimate #smash bros #dragon quest #dragon quest iv #dragon quest monsters #dragon quest hero #hero dragon quest #estark #starkers #dragon quest V

[sliebman10]

2022 Roundup

Thanks for the tag @thistlecatfics! Yours was so interesting to read through - and now I realize I have several fics to read XD.

Rules:

Post the top 5 works you're most proud of that you released in 2022 (not necessarily your most popular),

your top 4 current WIPs that you're excited to release in the new year,

your top 3 biggest improvements in your writing over the past year,

your top 2 resolutions (ways you wish to improve your writing/blog) for the new year,

and your number 1 favorite line you've written this year!

Sooo...I’m not sure who’s done this or who wants to, so I’m going to demure and make this an open tag. 

1. Post the top 5 works you're most proud of that you released in 2022 

* Let There Be Light (Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, 5822 words over 8 chapters, Modern AU) - I was happy for the opportunity to embrace Jewish Sirius, who I first caught a glimpse of through @soloorganaas‘s work, and I liked exploring the characters through this context.

* Family Vacation (Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, background Nymphadora Tonks/Fleur Delacour, 16312 words over 6 chapters, Modern AU) - This was my first foray into writing a “Sirius raises Harry” fic, and I am happy with the result. I went away on my own vacation and came home with the plot bunny that resulted in this fic.

* The Lupin/Black Wedding (Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, background Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, 10744 words over 5 chapters, Magical World AU/canon divergence) - I feel like this fic was what I’d set out to do when I started writing Wolfstar fics...give these two the happy ending they deserve. They got to celebrate their wedding and be a family with Harry. Everybody wins.

* Scripted and Revised - (Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, background James Potter/Lily Evans, 23951 words over 10 chapters, Modern AU) - This story was supposed to be much shorter, but the characters ran away with it and I am glad they did. This was so much fun to write.

* Lawless (Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, background James Potter/Lily Evans, 12428 words over 5 chapters, Old West AU) - I’d always wanted to pay homage to the tv show Deadwood, and I never thought it would be through a Marauders fic, but it was. I wasn’t sure anyone would want to read an Old West AU but I’ve been pleasantly surprised.

2)  Top 4 current WIPs that you're excited to release in the new year

* I am excited to finish out Architect’s Anonymous. It’s been a really fun experience writing it through the Mixed Up Writer’s Fest and I’ve had a great partner.

* The Wolfstar vs Weasley Twins prank war fic finally has a name and just needs a few more story beats before I can post it...but I feel like I’ve been working on it on and off for a while so I’m glad it’s almost done.

*  I’m excited for my Remus Lupin fest fic, but it’s supposed to be anonymous so that’s all I’ll say about it.

* I’m also going to work on my postwar Harry/George fic. I’ve seen several fics with a similar premise, so I hope I have something original to add. 

3) Top 3 biggest improvements in your writing over the past year.

* I think I’ve gotten more confident in my writing this year. Since I’ve been doing it so much more, I feel like I’ve improved by sheer volume.

* I’ve embraced AUs more than I would have imagined when I started writing missing canon scenes last year. I like re-imagining the characters and their situations while keeping their core traits. It opens up the world of possibilities so much more.

* Dialogue will always be my favorite thing to write, but I think I’ve improved at fleshing the stories out more beyond the dialogue (if my word counts are anything to go by ;-)

4) Top 2 resolutions (ways you wish to improve your writing/blog) for the new year.

* I want to embrace other characters in the universe...and possibly branch out all together.

* I want to continue writing consistently and make sure I make time for it even when I’m really busy with work and family.

5) Number 1 favorite line you've written this year:

Sirius: “Oh right, what was it? Bottled Redhead Productions?”

Lily: “I’m a natural redhead, asshole.”

(cracks me up every time)

#year end roundup #sliebman10

[sanguinarysanguinity]

2022 Fanworks in Review

In 2022, I published:

1. With Surprising Quickness (Bush/Hornblower, Hornblower TV, 3.7K, pwp) Two impoverished lieutenants share a berth.

2. A Peaceful and Beautiful Spot (Ewen & Francis, The Flight of the Heron, 1.4K, gen) Ewen brings Francis, Lord Aveling, to visit Keith's grave.

3. Heron Feathers (various pairings, The Flight of the Heron, ficlet collection)

4. [vid] Some Things are Meant to Be (Keith/Ewen, The Flight of the Heron 1968, major character death) Take my hand / Take my whole life too

5. Hornblower's Lost Honour (Bush/Hornblower, Hornblower novels, 107K) #no one leaves this island until I see some kissing

6. Seaweed and Apple Blossoms (Laurent/Aymar/Avoye, The Wounded Name, 4.3K) Four missing scenes in which the subtext is made text.

~

Total number of completed works: Four stories (one with a prologue), one ficlet collection, and one vid.

Total word count: 117K, which is roughly twice my usual annual published word count. A lot of that is a result of Hornblower's Lost Honour having been written over the course of three years, thus pulling a significant chunk of previous years' unpublished words into this year's published wordcount. (But even if I didn't write all those words this year, I sure did edit them all! Getting that sucker published was a significant chunk of work.)

Fandoms created for: Hornblower, The Flight of the Heron, The Wounded Name.

Looking back, did you create more than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected? All of the above. My dad's death back in January knocked me out of my usual run of spring exchanges, and for a long while there I was writing nothing more than alibi sentences. Consequently, in terms of total works, this seems like a very short list for the year, even given the behemoth of Lost Honour. Flipside, my big goal was to publish Lost Honour during 2022, and I successfully pulled that off, even bringing me to a record high wordcount, which I was very much not expecting given the way the year started.

What’s your own favorite creation of the year? Maybe "A Peaceful and Beautiful Spot" -- I like the energy and some of the prose is very well. I'm not claiming it's my best work of the year -- it was written in a day and shows a consequent lack of polish -- but my feelings about it are uncomplicated, and it has a pleasing accomplishment-to-effort ratio.

Did you take any creative risks this year? I typed this sentence --

His passion could no longer be restrained; it must find expression, or he must die.

-- and had a moment of extreme self-consciousness about what I had just written. I ultimately decided not only to leave it in, but to let it guide the tone of the piece. Happily, several commenters said they liked the OTT emotionalism of that story, so I'm gonna say it worked out.

Do you have any goals for the new year? To finish Langstroth on Bees, my ACD Holmes retirement longfic that I started in 2014, and which currently sits at 70K. Also, very tentatively: now that I'm doing a Holmes canon re-read with Letters from Watson, I've picked up "Sixty for Sixty" again: a collection of sixty-word ficlets for the sixty canon stories, which I first started during my last readthrough of Holmes canon as a part of sherlock60 on LJ. I'm not gonna commit to doing ficlets for all the stories (that way lies madness!), but it'd be cool to knock out another chunk of them. Beyond that, just the usual: to keep making things for as long as I'm getting pleasure from making them.

Most popular creation of the year? "With Surprising Quickness". Yes, it's probably one of my stronger PWPs, but more significantly, 1) I wrote it at the beginning of the year, giving it more time to accumulate kudos, and 2) I wrote it for a large exchange, bringing it before more eyes. It might also help that it's in the TV tag and not the novels tag; I sometimes get the impression there are more readers in the TV tag.

Creation of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: No. Within this question lies madness.

Most fun thing to make: The vid. It came together very quickly, and making it was hella iddy and immersive, in that way that vidding often is.

Most unintentionally telling thing: Hornblower's Lost Honour. I came out in the early 90s into a society more comprehensively and reflexively homophobic than the one I live in today, and Lost Honour draws on those experiences. Most especially how society's hatred gets deep down inside your head and you can unpack it and unpack it and fucking unpack it and then you turn around and discover that no, society has still got you unwittingly doing their dirty work for them, punishing yourself on their behalf. Like a rat proactively giving yourself electroshocks because you can't imagine any other way to live, ugh. That experience (plus how it shapes and stunts you and damages your relationships) is threaded all through that story.

Biggest disappointment: Again, madness.

Biggest surprise: FANART. Three people made fanart for Lost Honour! Plus another art for one of my Heron Feathers ficlets! Behold:

@chiropteracupola for HLH chapter 1

@cedarboots for HLH chapter 7

ljm for the AU where Horatio bakes Bush and Brown an apology cake

@chiropteracupola Heron OT3

I am flat aback with astonishment and pleasure.

#my writing #also #my vids #long post #2022 in review

[itsmoonpeaches]

my 2022 writing year in review!

Thank you @chocomd , @northerngoshawk, and @flameohotwife for the tag!

1. Number of stories posted to Ao3: 1 Rurouni Kenshin oneshot, 5 ATLA/LOK oneshots, 1 ATLA multichapter WIP, 2 ATLA/LOK multichapters, 1 Harry Potter oneshot, 1 Love Like the Galaxy oneshot, 1 River Where the Moon Rises oneshot, 5 Extraordinary Attorney Woo oneshots, 7 ATLA/LOK ficlets in Little Moments

2. Word count this year: 103,694

3. Fandoms I wrote for: Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Legend of Korra, Rurouni Kenshin, Harry Potter, Love Like the Galaxy, River Where the Moon Rises, Extraordinary Attorney Woo

4. Pairings: Aang/Katara, Hakoda/Kya, Kenshin/Kaoru, Woo Young-woo/Lee Jun-ho, Cheng Shaoshang/Ling Buyi, Princess Pyeongang/On Dal

5. Stories with the most:

Kudos: Ocean Waves, an Extraordinary Attorney Woo oneshot

Bookmarks: same as above

Comment threads:  Reprise, an ATLA/LOK multichapter

Word count: The Wisps Sing, an ATLA/LOK multichapter 

6. Work I’m most proud of (and why):  Monarch. Even Though it's a WIP still and will be continuing on in 2023 and finishing, it is by far the most complicated fic I've ever attempted. It's essentially an original story with original characters even though it has a few characters from canon (namely Azulon and Sozin) who are involved. Since we barely know anything about either of them, I've had to come up with nearly everything while still sticking to ATLA canon. The amount of strings I've had to keep track of is crazy too, what with all the plotting within the court and intrigue.

7.   Work I’m least proud of (and why): Probably Moon River, which is a River Where the Moon Rises oneshot. In hindsight, it might be kind of boring. It was born out of all the feelings I had after finishing that kdrama, but in a way, it was fun to write because at the time I had never written for a kdrama before.

8.   Share or describe a favorite review you received: Ok honestly 2022 was such a blur to me. I didn't really pay attention to reviews in a way that I probably should have. I guess the most memorable feedback would be from @benwvatt who I noticed was a newer person who more consistently appeared reading my things and I was so very excited to have a new person.

9.   A time when writing was really, really hard: To be honest, 2022 was very hard for me in general. So, the whole year. There were times I couldn't focus on one fic or the other and jumped around a lot, hence the fandom jumping and the lack of Monarch completion or fics I was supposed to finish but couldn't. In order to combat this, I ended up writing short things like 1k oneshots or ficlets.

10. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you: Azula. I know that this fic is not yet posted and it's still in progress, but writing from her POV is like a wake-up call because I need to delve into places I don't understand. This is one of those fics that has yet to be finished but that I wrote much of in 2022.

11. A favorite excerpt of your writing:  

This scene from The Blue Morning of Jeju Island, an Extraordinary Attorney Woo oneshot. It's from a fic that is one of my favorites from 2022. I feel like this scene feels very them (Woo Young-woo/Lee Jun-ho) in a way that I cannot explain, and it felt so sweet writing this:

When they reached the end of the boardwalk where a few steps led down to the sand, he paused. She stopped next to him. He glanced over at her.

"I'm going to take off my shoes," he remarked. His lips were quirked upward on one side. He had not stopped looking so content. At least, that's the expression she thought it was. 

She tried to imagine the pictures of the faces her dad made that were taped to her closet door. Calm eyes, a steady demeanor, always on the edge of a smile. Yes, Jun-ho had to be expressing contentment. 

"Why would you do that?" she asked. "The sand will get stuck in between your toes and your feet will get dirty."

He laughed. "You're right," he agreed, "but it would be nice to feel the sand. It's soft and comforting." 

She watched him slip each foot out of his sneakers, then he pulled off his socks. He swiveled around to face her, holding out a hand. 

"Ready?" he asked. 

She stared at his proffered hand. He must have known she might not take it.

12. How did you grow as a writer this year: I think I stepped out of my comfort zone a lot. There was a blessing in disguise in my stepping away from writing exclusively ATLA/LOK fics. I got to experiment with different settings and characters and cultural experiences I was not so used to and that allowed me to become more well-versed in descriptions and research.

13. How do you hope to grow next year: I want to keep writing for other fandoms. I want to write more family fics and found family fics. I've written way too much for pairings. I also want to continue to stretch my legs when I write for court intrigue because that's always complicated.

14. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

@chocomd for sure. (Shout out to her wonderful now COMPLETE multichapter Kataang fic, Drag You Down!) We got to talk a lot this past year and I feel like asking her for advice here and there had pushed me further, and even reading her own stuff I had the privilege of being beta for allowed me to explore other styles of writing. I got to see how she wrote on a deeper level, and in turn that influenced how I might decide on writing things.

15. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year: 

Liquid Courage was concieved because of a dumb drunk text I wrote when I said "fruneshop" instead of "friendship" on Discord.

Snow Drifts was influenced somewhat by some real-life experiences.

Additionally, the ficlets Horizon Line, Night Line, and Dawn Line had a lot of real-life aspects.

16. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers: 

I'm just going to quote what @chocomd also said:

Show, don’t tell! If your writing doesn’t feel as compelling as it should, you’re probably doing too much telling and not enough showing. Describing actions, emotions, dialogue, even introspection and exposition, is far, far more interesting and effective than telling. Telling has its place, usually to clarify an idea, provide a summary, or invoke resonance - but only AFTER showing, and it should be done sparingly. 

Now something just from me:

Don't be afraid to break out of your comfort zone. You will never grow as a writer if you continue to write the same things over and over again. If you have an idea for something very different, go for it! It takes a lot of effort and time to do something you don't normally do, but you will end up being better after it.

17. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year: Monarch for sure. Plus all the oneshots that I said I was going to finish but couldn't. I also want to finally jump into those found family Naruto fics.

18. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read:

It's already 2023 so I hope this still counts? I'm tagging whoever I think wasn't tagged or who hasn't done it before.

@shameaboutthedilettantism, @kataangisforlovers, @nyamadermont, @invaderk, @coyotelemon and anyone else who would like to answer!

#tag game #late 2022 in review #2022 in reivew

[verminviscount]

ive been made aware that i have strong opinions on my personal ranking of percy jackson characters so im making a post about it. bc thats what we do here on tungle.hell. experiencing brain worms? spread the word. @garecc i invite you to include your own brain worms here

for those who may not know, which i expect is most of my followers here, Travis (garecc) and i go way back to the days of a trials of apollo discord server that has since crumbled under the weight of various discourse and does not exist at this time. so if anyone understands pjo brain rot, its him.

ONTO THE RANKING. ill be focusing on main characters bc if i include side characters we'll be here all day and Sally Jackson would be every character in this top 5.

1. Hazel Levesque. Deserves better in the eyes of fandom. Gained pretty good control over the mist within one book. Has a cool magic horse. Similar tragic backstory to Nico, but not sulking about it. No shame in sulking, but its cool to see someone go through bad shit and come out still feeling mostly okay.

2. Will Solace. Unfortunately for me, I haven't finished the trials of apollo series yet, so i dont know THAT much about Will as he's primarily a background character. But Apollo kids and medics both get my utmost respect and appreciation, always. and he's a little bit of a sarcastic little shit, but the kind where people dont get annoyed with you bc its almost always funny and lighthearted. i know from hearing people talk about tsats that he's also a Sad Boy (which is to be expected as a demigod, tragedy physically cannot leave you alone.), and im excited to read about someone with my personality go through a mental breakdown :D!

3. Frank Zhang. Listen to me. How can he not be this high up. I don't even know where to begin with this guy, he's so gods damned cool. He's just such a good character and a good dude too! I'd love to be his friend. What a sweetheart, iirc he was the only person at camp jupiter who wasnt freaked out by Nico? he's so nice. children of Ares/Mars are usually mean, and he's so nice. i love him so much. also his life force is connected to a chunk of wood, which is kinda neat. he's a legacy of poseidon. he's canadian. im pretty sure his first name is Westernized bc his grandma calls him Fai, my last name was westernized when my great grandparents came over so i sort of get it though not nearly to the same degree. I ALMOST FORGOT HE CAN SHAPESHIFT!!! DUDE what a cool guy. we gotta move on, i gotta cut myself off. give him more attention in your fan works

4. Nico di Angelo. obviously a fan favorite, but im talking canon Nico here. im not talking about an uwu soft emo boi. im talkin about a sarcastic, pessimistic, deeply insecure little dude. listen, im not gonna talk about the things i love about nico because its been said a million times. its nothing new. im just gonna say that i love reading about characters that go through awful awful trauma and still overcome and find joy on the other side.

5. Rachel Elizabeth Dare. so my impulse is to put Leo here bc i adored him when i first read HoO. and if i didnt really think about it, i wouldve put him. but... Rachel!! how can you not love her! a mortal lady who can see through the mist, she fought with a hairbrush, she's the liveliest and loveliest oracle of delphi camp halfblood has ever and will ever know, she’s from money and hates it, she's an activist, an artist, way more helpful than the last oracle for sure. the mummy in the attic just left you to fend for yourself, Rachel will at least try to help you interpret what a prophecy means. she's blunt and talks a mile a minute, i love seeing my "flaws" represented positively in media.

honorable mentions: Leo Valdez of course, easily my number 6 spot. Apollo/Lester, we love seeing immense character development. Grover Underwood, probably the first time i ever had a definitive favorite character. Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, romance would be dead and we wouldnt have a series without them.

#percy jackson #pjo hoo toa #character ranking

[stillness-in-green]

Stillness is wildly impressionable when she sees memes, news at 11.

Read @robotlesbianjavert's post she wrote in reply to me asking her about her favorite Gay Little Henchmen and immediately had to do my own. Added some runners-up also. Sorry for the nonsense, all.

#5: Lieutenant, The Legend of Korra—

Surely in my ranks of "characters I like most wildly out of proportion to their importance in the show," but that's what a good mustache and an emotive delivery on a last line will do for you.  It probably doesn't hurt that, despite the Lieutenant never even getting a proper name, that one last scene gives him more chemistry with Amon than Korra had with Mako the entire season.

Anyway, I liked him in the show and definitely went out hunting for fic/art for the pairing based just on that, but I do have to give a shout-out to @scumtrout for her fic The City Will Follow You for keeping the fire burning for this poor sad asshole.  Give it a read if you want, among other things, the Lieutenant being sad and fucked up and incredibly dangerous as he processes how Amon used him and the rest of the Equalists.

#4: Shirato Jin, Persona 3—

The littlest of the little henchmen on this list for reasons of being a teenager and a computer nerd (but still a dangerous criminal because I know what I'm about).  Jin is like if Skeptic were a decade younger, staving off a terminal disease with illegal drugs, and was a little less goth and a little more rave.  Also, packing a lot more grenades.

He's got a good balance with his cult leader of choice wherein Takaya is the one prone to big, dramatic actions to emphasize his rhetorical points, while Jin has to be like, "Hey, I agree with all your rhetorical points, but I also want us both to survive long enough to savor you being right about everything, so let's exercise the better part of valor here."  In that way, they're on the more equitable end of the power dynamic spectrum pairs like these run.

Strega in general got handed an incredibly raw deal, both in-universe and in terms of the broader narrative, and boy oh boy are they ever a good predictor for how hard I fell for the League of Villains.

#3: Tadashi Kikuchi, Sk8 the Infinity—

Soft-spoken manservant designed to look like a background character compared to the rest of the cast, but efficient and skilled in the wildly different spheres of Illegal Underground Skateboarding Park Management and Upstart Japanese Politician Personal Assistance.  Tadashi is kind of terrifying when you really stop to think about him, not just for how scary competent he is, but for being, in his own way, just as unhinged as his boss, but ten times more oblivious to that fact.

He's a henchman willing to act out for what he thinks are his boss's best interests, and it is extremely hilarious how much of Sk8's overarching plot is caused directly or indirectly by Snake and Adam's relationship drama. Incidentally, Tadashi is a rare case of a Gay Little Henchman whose feelings are requited!  That mostly serves to make things more complicated, however, because the feelings in question are, "I could never, ever leave him, but I think he's really fucking me up."

#2: Nemoto Shin, My Hero Academia—

Of all the candidates BNHA offers for this—not a small number—I have to give it to Nemoto for scoring the best across all categories.  Transparently only there because he fell for Overhaul like a wing snapped off an airplane.  Absolutely zero other motivations.  Knows about Overhaul's evil plans and horrendous crimes, and 100% does not care.  Not only is he a henchman, he denigrates other henchmen.  You just know that if he could do all the things his boss needs done on his own, he'd run the rest of the underlings out ASAP.  Absolute top tier The #1 Henchman Here Will Be Me energy.

#1: Tomo, Fushigi Yuugi—

Tadashi is nearly a match for him in terms of, "Yes, it's canon," goes further in terms of not being a predatory stereotype, and is doing better in the reciprocal affections category, too.  Still, all that said, Tomo remains my 90s shoujo problematic fave.

He's got a theatrical flair that he gets by virtue of a theatrical background; he's striking in his costume and, for my tastes, the most beautiful man in the series out of it.  While the visual quality of the anime runs towards the dubious during his stretch of episodes, he has a purring, silken voice that made Tobita Nobuo my favorite voice actor for years afterward.  Then there's the ruthless pragmatism that echoes Nakago's while also going further, because being the boss means you get to set your own hard limits, whereas being in love with the boss means you can go as far as you want while telling yourself it's all for him.

Tomo, like Ashitare and Miboshi, deserved a better and more nuanced portrayal—no shade to Watase Yuu, who was a lot younger when they wrote the series, but FY was the series I learned to love characters out of spite—but I will go on liking them anyhow, because authorial write-offs make me ornery like that.

Runners-Up in no particular order—

Spinner, My Hero Academia: Every bit as homoerotically obsessed with his boss as Nemoto (or any of the other fantastic candidates the series has on offer), but the League/Spinaraki's more equitable relationship means Nemoto's "henchman" vibes are stronger.

Isurugi Camice, Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans: I love him for the hints of wounded stoicism, which are always catnip to me, but he hides his feelings too well and too long to be an ideal fit for the topic.

Ein Dalton, Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans: Probably does a better impression of being homoerotically obsessed with  Lieutenant Crank than Gaelio, but definitely more Gaelio's henchman than Crank's, so he loses out for splitting focus.

Disqualified For Reasons But I Can't Not Mention Them—

Ivan, Giant Robo: Astounding henchman vibes, and I like him and Alberto quite a lot, but he's not anywhere near obsessed enough with Alberto to fit the bill.  Ivan's maladjustedness lies in other areas.

Listor, Hugtto PreCure: JESUS CHRIST, THIS HAMSTER.  The wounded stoicism fells me again, and I 100% believe that he and his boss have had sex at least once (LOOK, you don't set up all the repeating patterns Hugtto did with George Kurai and then lead an episode framing him and Listor through gauzy pink bedcurtains if you don't know good and well what you're implying).  Still, while I love that awful pairing to death, I don't think Listor is "homoerotically obsessed" so much as he is "unbelievably lonely and in no position to turn George down."  If this were my list of Top 5 Wounded Stoics, though, you'd better believe he'd be right at the top.

Uryuu Ryuunosuke, Fate/Zero:  His sexual preoccupations are less about his boss than the perverse body horror he and said boss enact on their victims.  Which is a shame, because he would rank higher than anyone on this list if "little henchman" were the only criteria.  That kid is thrilled—just ecstatic—to be living the life he's living.

Innouva, Magic Knight Rayearth:  Given the huge magic wolf form, his vibe is less "pining for his boss" and more "loyal hound will fuck you up."  Bitchy gay attitude is fully intact, however.

Lord El-Melloi II: I probably can't count him because I don't actually ship him with Rider, but the evidence of "forever single because he's dedicated his life to living up to his king's final order" speaks for itself.  An incredible retainer-who-outlived-his-lord character whose devotion makes me weepy every goddamn time.

#memes #ranking nonsense #my writing?

[leftnotright]

A TEXTBOOK EDUCATION

"This will be a skill-building experience. You've had it too easy. You've had your Family name to back you, and your Right Hand at your every call. It's time you learn to carry yourself, to build from the ground up." Dino Cavallone, the Cavallone Don, fresh out of high school.

Reborn, the deadliest hitman of the modern era, has a special kind of torture up his sleeve for his dear struggling student. Dino will have to see how well he handles alienation, isolation, and worst of all, class participation. “Now, go on, my useless student Dino. Let’s continue your education.” (Or: Reborn sends Dino to Australia. It goes better than he could have ever hoped.)

Parings: N/A Characters: Dino (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Vic Hunt (OC - Original Character), Reborn (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Romario (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!)Cavallone Famiglia, Enzo (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Original Characters Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, University, Pre-Canon, Financial Issues, Fluff And Angst

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

CHAPTER 1: I ONLY HAVE TWO HANDS

The previous Cavallone Don’s study was full of old clutter and new dust. Drawers were jammed shut, several cabinets were missing their keys, and loose papers were strewn around with no order or reason. 

Since his father’s death, Dino had been dedicating any and all his spare time to digging through the financial disasters that were the Cavallone ledgers. But, of course, three months could only get him so far when he was wading through decades of negligent bookkeeping and debtor mail. 

Only three months.

“Boss,” Romario sighed as he emerged from the corner he was sorting through and laid another manilla envelope on, what was now, Dino’s desk. “A contract pertaining to the construction of a resort.”

“I haven’t heard of any resorts being built under us,” Dino frowned and opened the folder.

“Because it hasn't,” Romario explained tiredly, leaning over his shoulder to show a concept render and floorplan of an ambitious construction. “This was signed ten years ago. They haven’t even broken ground yet.”

“And the payments started as soon as it was signed,” Dino groaned, reading through the layout of the contract his father had signed long ago. “Gosh, 500 thousand a year. And it’s registered as an automatic payment, when did Dad learn how to do that?”

“Your father was very good at removing obstacles when he had a goal.”

“I know you don’t like speaking ill of him, Romario, but you’ve got to admit,” Dino muttered, before continuing to read.

“Could we just renege the contract? We’d have the grounds since ten years have passed, that’s enough for a termination for cause.” Romario offered, taking the floorplans from the table and frowned. While extravagant and appealing to the eye, they were impractical.

“We could,” Dino winced before pointing out a section hidden between useless numbers jabber on supply predictions. “But, it says here we’d have to give a sum of 100 thousand on top of the year’s 500 thousand as default for the builder. Even if it's the developer’s fault…”

“He must have sweet-talked the Cavallone Ninth. Your father wouldn’t leave someone stranded like that.”

“Either way, we have to pull out. If that resort hasn’t gone up in the last ten years, it’s not going up any time soon. We don’t have the money to keep funding talk.”

“Boss, if we spend 600 thousand now, we’re going to have to cut more costs for a while,” Romario warned.

“We’ve always been cutting costs, Romario, we’re just aware of it now,” Dino sighed and pushed the file away from him. “Can you get someone to bring the year’s expenses document? I’ll go through it and see what we can shave off the top for this.”

No matter how many times Dino went through the shelves and busted open filing cabinets, he kept finding new contracts. It seemed like new financial records just seemed to render into existence in the previous Don’s office.

“Has anyone found the key to the black cabinet yet? I don’t want to have to break another one,” Dino asked as he slumped into his chair.

“No, the Ninth was careful to hide his keys even from me,” Romario admitted and Dino gave a weak noise of misery.

The young Cavallone heaved onto his feet and grabbed a crowbar from where it leant against the wall, used too many times already, and went about prying open the reinforced cabinet. Knowing his luck, it would be another slew of overdue debts that had racked up interest again.

The drawer opened with a screech and a clunk. Dino didn’t hold his breath this time as he started flipping through the papers, reading titles and dates with a tired grimace. So many of these were overdue or out of date, and none of them were in order of chronology or category, jumping from the early 80’s to the 90’s to the 70’s and back again. 

Dino pulled out the drawer and carried the whole thing over to his desk for sorting, Romario taking the crowbar to the rest of that cabinet’s drawers in the meantime. He rubbed his temples as he started organising them in his piles: urgent and expensive, urgent but less expensive, not urgent but expensive and not urgent and less expensive. Within those, they were set in chronological and alphabetical order.

There were three more clunks and Romario brought over the other drawers, sitting on the spare chair they had dragged in days ago as he joined in the sorting. 

Dino had just started whittling away at the year’s expenses when Romario stood from his chair and cleared his throat. The little Don looked up before rightening when he saw his closest aid’s expression of thinly veiled excitement.

Was there something going on? He couldn't remember anything-

“Boss, it’s time for dinner.”

“Oh,” Dino blinked. Right.

☁ ☁ ☁

Dino Cavallone had done it. The impossible. The unthinkable. With all the odds stacked against him, he had done it. He had survived scuola superiore, 高中, oberstufe, trung học phổ thông!

He had survived high school. 

“Congratulations, little Boss!” Brutus cheered, his seventh glass of whisky in his hand.

“I knew you had it in you!”

“We’re so proud !”

“No, I’m not crying shut up! ”

Dino laughed from the head of the table, his Family rioting and partying as they toasted and boasted about his success. He wasn’t the top student in the school, far from it, but he had managed to get out of that Mafia High School with all his fingers and minimal blackmail material in other people’s pockets. 

Romario stood from his seat and cleared his throat, quieting the room from its roar. He sniffed loudly and raised a glass.

“I’d like to make a toast! We lost a lot this year. A friend and leader we will never forget,” Dino smiled weakly and looked down at his plate, sitting at the head of the table where his father had sat for years. “But we look to the future, with our little Boss finally not so little anymore!”

“You sure, Romario? The Boss is still falling asleep in his breakfast most mornings!”

“Hey! I had exams!” Dino defended.

“For the past eighteen years?! What horror!”

“Oh! Shove off!”

“The boy still doesn’t swear! Blessed little Boss!”

Dino waved his hand as if to tell the teasing members of his family to go away, but there were smiles on everyone’s faces. 

“Our little Boss is a man now, running with the big boys,” Romario continued, riding that cheerful mood. “And we as the Cavallone wait with bated breath for where he’ll lead us to in a new generation!”

“Here, here!”

“And we wish him luck in his travels!” Romario added as everyone raised to the toast. 

“Here, her- What? Travels?” Dino blinked.

“Indeed, you’ll be travelling soon,” came the voice that haunted Dino’s nightmares.

“Ah, Reborn, you’re back,” Romario greeted like Dino hadn’t nearly inhaled an entire cup of water into his lungs.

“Yes, all the preparations have been made,” the little devil incarnate responded easily. “Dino, enjoy the time- Stop choking already. Enjoy the time you have left.”

“Could-” Dino paused to hack up a piece of his lungs, “Could you sound less threatening!? Romario, what is he on about!?”

“Reborn was kind enough to get you early enrollment to your university for next year,” Romario smiled, looking so proud at the idea of Dino in University .

“...He enrolled me in the University of Catania?” Dino asked slowly, desperately trying to prove himself wrong, but every little molecule of him was screaming that he was once again wrapped up in whatever bull Reborn had pulled.

“No,” Reborn smiled.

Ah.

Dino felt his heart drop. He was screwed.

“This is where you’ll be going.”

Reborn reached into his hat and pulled out a brochure. Dino took it with great reluctance. 

The brochure was bright red and featured slogans all over about empowering students with practical application and industry interaction, but all of that was ignored for two little words in the very back of the brochure.

NSW, Australia.

Oh, he was screwed . 

☁ ☁ ☁

Dino awoke to his bedroom door being flung open and a small army of people flooding his room. He groaned as he sat up, his clock reading well into the midday, but his sleep-deprived soul reading ‘too damn early for this’.

“I told you not to stay up too late last night, Boss,” Romario scolded gently as he handed the sleepy Don a cup of water to help wake him up. 

“I know, but I had to make sure we had our barony bills in order, they’re due in a few days.” Dino took a sip, before yelping as his face was pushed into the cup.

“A good Boss listens to the advice of his subordinates,” Reborn scolded. “You should know better, Dino.”

“What’s even going on?” He asked, wiping his face with his sleeve, watching the people begin to rummage through his room. 

“You need to be packed,” Reborn answered, walking over to the bookshelf and tossed down books to be packed. “The first semester starts in three days.”   

“Wait, you can’t be serious!” Dino cried as he stood in his room, Romario watching over a pair of maids, Ella and Cecilia, as they packed his suitcases. “I thought you were going to do another ‘haha Dino I can’t believe you bought it’ deal after I panicked for a while!”

“I’m very serious Dino,” Reborn said as he sipped on an espresso. “Your flight is in just a few hours, you’ll fly straight to Sydney’s international airport. I suggest you bring some entertainment, it will be a 22-hour trip.”

Maybe it was the denial, maybe it was the ill-founded hope, or maybe it was the unpredictability that was Reborn’s calling card, but Dino refused to believe he was actually going to Australia all the way up until the plane landed on the tarmac in Sydney’s International airport.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Sydney International Airport. Local time is Sunday the 20th, 5:43PM and the temperature is 36 degrees celsius. For your safety and comfort, please remain seated with your seat belt fastened until the Captain turns off the Fasten Seat Belt sign...”

“You actually sent me to Australia,” Dino wheezed as he stood in the baggage claim, watching suitcases rotate along the conveyor.

“I’m glad you noticed,” Reborn chirped, unfazed after slipping through customs without so much as flashing a passport. 

“I don’t know anyone in Australia.”

“That’s the point,” the little man said. “This is the next step of your training.”

Dino snapped to attention and scrambled to grab both his luggage and whatever tanker Reborn had packed for him. He hauled Reborn’s up on his back and heaved as he bent at the waist under the weight. 

“How is dragging me to the southern hemisphere supposed to help me?”

“This will be a skill-building experience. You’ve had it too easy-” Dino choked back a scoff. “You’ve had your Family name to back you, and your Right Hand at your every call. It’s time you learn to carry yourself, to build from the ground up.”

“Reborn, I can barely speak English. I only just passed that class!” 

“The best teacher is experience,” Reborn assured as they stepped out to the bustle of the pickup zone. 

The two loaded into a silver taxi and, with a few quick words from Reborn, started sailing down the highway. Dino spent the nearly 40-minute ride desperately scrolling through his phone, a full day out of service had left him nervous about the Cavallone state of affairs; he had left so much unfinished. 

Would Romario remember to collect the monthly protection fees? He hoped Brutus found the memo he had sent about the stables’ oat and hay delivery coming in a week earlier than usual this time. Was anyone checking on the roster for the jet’s rental calendar? Did anyone tell the Stable Master that he was out of the country? 

But all that was on his phone was an automated welcome message from Optus sim card. It was a stark contrast to how it usually was; most of the day, Dino’s phone was vibrating until it generated its own heat in his pocket. Having it silent now…somehow wasn't relieving. He felt out of the loop, under-informed, what if something went wrong-

"We're here. Get out."

Dino wheezed as he was kicked from his seat and sprawled across the sidewalk. Reborn used him as a step on the way out of the taxi.

The taxi driver gave him an odd look as Dino took his bags, but didn’t say anything as he got back in his car and drove off. 

The young Cavallone heaved up the bags and dragged himself after Reborn who had strolled into a gated off division of housings, all made of uniform brick and some kind of ribbed metal roofing. There were bicycles, mismatched potted plants and various hack-job outdoor seating sets crammed into small, concrete porches. Doors were held ajar by wedged shoes and suitcases, a soft bustle about the place as he heard people calling out to each other in a mish-mash of accents and languages.

“Reborn, where are we?” Dino asked carefully as they passed the housings by and came to a large building.

“Macquarie University,” Reborn answered simply and came to a stop under the shade of a large eucalyptus tree. “Where you will be spending the next four academic years. I’m sure you read the brochure.”

“...It was in English ,” Dino stressed.

“I’m glad those remedial language classes proved useful,” the devil incarnate smiled. 

Dino swallowed down the desire to scream, a pressure building deep in his throat and burnt of stress. 

“Now, go on, my useless student Dino,” Reborn urged and gestured to the doorway plastered with laminated posters and timesheets. “Let’s continue your education.”

The Cavallone swallowed thickly, suddenly wishing he had taken a bottle of water from the airport as the dry air got to him. He stared at the reception door for a moment longer, before glancing to Reborn, ready to all but beg to be taken back to Italy-

“Reborn?” Dino looked around. He was alone. “Oh no.”

Dino glanced back to the reception door, desperately trying to read what little words he recognised and what he could extrapolate from Latin borrow words. God, what was he going to say? Did they expect him to already know what room he was in?

Dino desperately started rummaging through his pockets and pulled out a wad of paper that he had haphazardly shoved away nearly 22 hours ago. He had his student number, and - ah! Dino shuffled the papers until he saw a rental agreement: He had a single bedroom dorm. But no dorm number.

“Okay,” Dino wheezed to himself, reading over the form until he felt like he could adlib recite it. “Okay, okay. So student number, name, and one bedroom. That should be enough to get started. Oh God, oh god, okay, quattro is ‘four’ and-”

Dino muttered to himself as he, with great reluctance, pushed his way through the reception door. A young woman looked up from her computer behind the desk and smiled brightly at Dino.

“Hi!” She greeted, pushing aside some documents to make room on her desk. 

“Hello,” Dino responded feebly, internally wincing at how thick his accent sounded. Ah, thank God Reborn had left already. But also damn it Reborn, get back here! “I, uh, need check- wait, no. Please-” Dino deflated, “…Room please?”

The woman continued to give him the same smile, patiently waiting for him to work through his words. She probably dealt with a lot of foreign students at the reception; It made Dino feel a bit better. 

“You’re here to check into your room?” She clarified, speaking with her own soft accent. “Sure! Let’s get started. Can I have your student number?”

“ Numeria , numbers,” Dino uttered quickly and turned to his paper to slowly recite it out.

“Okay, and can I have your name?”

“Dino Cavallone,” he knew that one.

“Aaaand, found you! Oh, a private room! Very nice. It’s good to have your own space.”

Dino smiled politely as she spoke, listening carefully to jog his memory on English grammar and pronunciation. The faster he learnt colloquialism and abbreviation, the faster he’ll blend in.

‘It’s’, not ‘it is’.  Blend them.

“The rooms are locked two ways,” the woman started to explain clearly, showing Dino a key - likely his own. “You need to scan your student ID and then use your room key. If you have trouble getting in, there are call points marked on the map to get security to help you.”

Dino nodded, watching her emphasise card and then key.

“Now, this says you already have your student ID and campus card.” 

Dino blinked then started palming his pockets. Did he have an ID? He never applied for one, oh God - He pulled out a little beige card with stripes of red, the university crest and a photo of himself looking rather neat and put together.

When the heck had- Oh. Reborn, of course. At least he had used a flattering photo?

“Yes, I have the ID,” Dino finally announced, before pausing. ‘The’? Or ‘A’? Wait, grammatically it’d be an ‘An’ since ‘ID’ started with a vowel.

“Great! That makes this lots faster - Now, here’s your key. It looks like you already filled out the paperwork online, which is great, so we can skip all that boring stuff.”

Had he? Dino didn’t remember doing any university paperwork. But then again he had done a lot of reading and signing, maybe Reborn had just slipped it in? No, he was being careful to read everything thoroughly - so when?

“Here’s a little baggie - not the drugs kind I swear,” Dino felt there was a joke he was missing out on but smiled nonetheless. “Just a regular welcome kit. A map, some brochures for O Week. A toothbrush too in case you forgot yours.” 

“Oh, thank you,” Dino uttered as he looked inside the bright red bag, realising that yes, he had forgotten his toothbrush in Italy. And socks.

“No problem. Now, any questions before I send you off?”

Dino blinked, brain too cramped and stuffy to process information, let alone think of questions. 

“No,” he said slowly and the woman smiled like she knew exactly what he was thinking.

Dino had written down his room number and had even marked it on his village map, but it took him an embarrassing amount of time to find his room. He found the village lake and that east laundry room, desperately craning his neck to try and read the house numbers without getting too close as students piled their ways into rooms and made small talk with their new roommates.

When Dino found his room, it looked exactly like all the other buildings; made of red brick and black sheet metal for an industrial look. Getting past the lock was another issue altogether and despite how the woman at the desk had instructed him, Dino failed enough times to get stares from his neighbours.

“Great introduction, Dino,” he wheezed to himself as he finally managed to shove his door open at the buzz. 

Dino wheeled his suitcases into the small house of a dormitory. The door closed behind him and Dino was left standing in that dark, quiet place.

He was alone now. Entirely without.

With a breath, Dino moved to the centre of the living space, feeling disconnected to his body. He went to sit down and missed the couch, instead slipping onto the hard rug.

His mind was quiet, too many thoughts ramming together until they were trapped in a deadlock of white noise paralysis. His arms felt heavy, shoulders weighed down. He was so tired. 

He didn’t know what to do. About any of this. The Cavallone were in no position to go without a Don, their finances were all completely shot and it was urgent . Some of those debts had return dates that were mere months away.

And he was here, half a world away, alone. God, he was alone. It was so quiet.

Dino sat on the floor, body unmoving and heavy as the clock on the wall ticked in his ears. 

Then his jacket moved, little wheezes coming from the pocket as something wriggled and writhed. Enzo’s green little head peered at the world cursorily. 

Dino looked down at the little turtle as he tumbled down, legs popping back in his shell and rolling down Dino’s stomach into his lap. A small chatter came from within the shell, confused but otherwise unaffected.

Dino watched as Enzo slowly stretched back out and set to exploring. Slow and steady, the turtle plodded the terrain, cautiously bumping his beak against the coffee table and trying to take a munch of the hard carpet.

Dino took a huge breath in until his shoulders raised, and then let it out as loudly as he could. He slapped his cheek and ruffled his blond hair before the Cavallone boy got to his feet with a harrumph.

“Okay, Enzo! Let’s check out the base.”

Dino scooped Enzo up off the floor and surveyed the main room. A living and dining room, open planned space with university-supplied furniture and appliances. There was a fair bit of storage, most of it open with hangers and open shelves. 

At the back with the small dining table fit for a very intimate six, was a nook for a kitchen and a door that led to a small patio. The kitchen had an oven and stove top with a vent hood, fridge, microwave and a sink off to the side. It was cramped too, but considering it was a house for one, Dino could understand. Plenty of storage though, with overhead and under-counter cabinets.

Dino moved back through the living room and into the small  ‘hall’ set with three doors. He opened the right one and found a linen closet with a set of spare sheets, a few towels and an empty basket. 

The door in front of him, Dino noted, was the only white door in the room, the rest being some startling shade of orange, opened up to a bathroom. It was small and simple but it ticked all the boxes: sink, toilet, shower. Dino was going to miss baths though.

The last door to the left was once again that startling orange this university seemed so keen on in their dorm interiors. That and red. Dino winced and pushed it open, stepping in to find what would be his bedroom for the foreseeable future.

Once again, it was barebones, most likely to allow tenants to manoeuvre the space to their liking. There was a queen bed, a desk in the corner and a wardrobe hidden behind two mirror sliding doors. The window situation was only slightly depressing, with two small windows meeting hard at the corner above the desk. It left the walls severely blank.

“Feeling a bit like a cell, isn’t it, Enzo?” Dino laughed nervously and Enzo gave a sighed wheeze in response. “I guess that’s it for the tour.”

Dino returned to the livingroom and actually sat on a couch this time, trying to ignore his rumpled reflection in the television’s black screen. He set Enzo down on the floor and opened his suitcase.

Immediately, Dino went into a panic.

Dino was here, in a civilian university, surrounded by civilians with their civilian lives and his suitcase was full of mafia stuff! 

Dino spluttered as he reached for the handgun and whips - before yanking back and slamming his suitcase shut. 

Ok, slow down and think. There’s an order to this mess.

Secure your base of operations. Check for bugs, taps, and cameras. Locate escape and entry points.

Dino zipped his case and reached under the couch, swiping his hand on the underside of the coffee table and the back of the television. He checked the microwave and the vent hood, the light fixture and behind the mirror in the bathroom. Dino stripped and then reassembled the wall clock, and felt the door frames and the couch cushions. Dino took out the batteries and wrapped the alarm beside his bed in the spare towels before shoving it deep in the back of his closet. 

It was only an hour later was Dino happy with the state of his room, completely tap and bug free - save for that slate beetle he found under the patio’s pot plant.

Wonderful. Now he could panic about the mafia stuff.

Dino pulled the blinds down on each window, stepping over Enzo who was pottering about at his own pace. There were three folders that Dino was especially concerned about from his luggage; they were debts to some very big names in the mafia that even civilian police would recognise. 

So, after stuffing away a gun, courtesy of Romario, in what was now his underwear drawer, Dino sat down and started frantically scratching out every sensitive name and mention of the Italian mafia with a ballpoint pen. 

“Why? Who thought it was smart to call the place Mafia Land on Mafia Island? ” Dino wheezed in stress as he went over the penthouse the Cavallone rented out on the island. “How is that in any way covert!?”

Dino was starting to wonder how they hadn’t been caught yet -- before remembering how much of the legal system, both Italian and international, was in the Vongola and Giglio Nero's pockets. 

“Oh yeah, that makes sense,” he murmured to himself and continued to censor the documents like a dictatorship. 

☁ ☁ ☁

When Dino looked up next, it was because Enzo had finished his ventures and had started to ram into his shoe. 

Dino blinked and massaged his eyes, suddenly realising how dry and achy they were after reading in such dim lighting for hours. The sun had long gone down and he had neglected to turn on any lights after shutting the blinds, leaving him in the darkness. 

After finishing his censoring, Dino had moved into his university documents. He had set up and logged into the student portal and, rather late into the game, figured out what degree he was actually studying for. He was doing a double degree: A Bachelor of Business and a Bachelor of Primary Education with a major in Economics.

The education part had thrown him for a loop until Dino remembered that during a Family dinner, Dino had offhandedly mentioned that he had thought about studying teaching. He had said Reborn ‘inspired him’. To be able to cite and call out his crazy and never subject another youth to his tactics. But Reborn didn’t need to know that.

Dino pawed around for his phone and winced as the screen lit up. It was nearly three in the morning.

The Cavallone groaned and just slumped over on the couch, grabbing Enzo off the floor and tucking the turtle to his chest with a grumble.

“What did I do to deserve this, bud?” Dino asked plaintively.

In the darkness of the dorm, Dino could almost pretend he was still in Italy, somewhere deep inside the safety of the Cavallone Estate, surrounded by solid walls and Family he trusted. Dino curled up on the couch and hugged Enzo until his shell dug into Dino’s chest.

#dino cavallone #fanfiction #khr #leftnotright #ao3 #au #canon divergence #self-indulgent aussie content incoming mates #katekyo hitman reborn #oc #cavallone #reborn

[notquitejiraiya]

I want to ask! 3 - 14

Absolutely absolutely! I answered number 8 and 14 in my precious post (replying to the lovely @clumsydragon28) but I’ll answer the rest under here:

3) screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

Oh god, many many many. The first that comes to mind (if I try and keep this Naruto related) was something about Temari being forced to birth Shikamaru’s misogynistic son?? like mate, please calm yourself.

4) what was the last straw that made you finally block that annoying person?

I don’t often block, but the straw that broke the camel’s back with the most recent block was just someone’s persistence ignorance and lack of interest in learning and improving, despite pretending to. Not even just of a craft, just of being a better, more personal and understanding human

5) worst discord server and why

A server entirely made up of Paul McCartney stans I was invited to and quietly observed for like 6 months before being chucked out for being inactive. I sent like one message — I was too scared to speak — and I don’t even like Paul McCartney past a general appreciation of his music. Not the worst as in a bad place, but worst as in I didn’t belong lmao.

6) which ship fans are the most annoying?

I personally don’t think any fans are THAT bad anymore. Not bad enough to be mean about. Back in the day found a fair few shippers whose main ship has Naruto as one of the characters to be a right pain in the arse. But that’s only my memory of the old, bad shipping war days (from the sidelines) and honestly, it’s not that bad. Not bad enough to broadly label as annoying.

7) what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

Not necessarily hate, but Sakura. I always found her just fine in canon but all of the pointless discourse around her absolutely drives me up the wall to the to the point where I see her name (outside a fic as a non-main character, which is rare for me, too) and I just groan.

9) worst part of canon

Do I even need to say it? It’s the fucking aliens.

10) worst part of fanon

Maybe it sounds dumb, but for me it’s just when people write Naruto himself. I can’t think of a single fic I’ve read where Naruto hasn’t annoyed me. He was already so precariously on the edge of bearable for me in canon that seeing interpretations of him is always bound to drive me nuts.

Alternatively, across various fandoms, bragging about how niche things are as if that makes them better. This always gripes me in fandoms: spaces that are supposed to bring people who enjoy the same things together. Of course please do like what you like and be proud; I’m happy for you that you like that thing, but the popularity or lack of popularity of something is no bearing on how much more nuanced, clever or deep your level of thought is.

11) number of fandom-related words you've filtered

Grand total of 6 muted words on twt if that’s what this means. 0 on tumblr because I can control what I see better :)

12) the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

I mean, I don’t think anyone in my fandoms is that unpopular. Maybe I just got good at not seeing bullshit, but nobody. My violence for this one is that there’s content for most things in this fandom to a level that reflects canon and that doesn’t make things “unpopular”. Less popular, maybe. But obviously your fave with 1 minute screen time or 3 lines in a novel isn’t gonna have an insane fandom following probably. Doesn’t make them unpopular, they’re just a nobody.

If I have to give a “proper” answer though, I say Rasa. Just cause I find him interesting and he’s perhaps not widely enjoyed.

13) worst blorboficiation

Think as of late it’s got to be Kankuro. But specifically the cat-boy stuff I see. I just don’t get it. The man might have a good and the capacity to be silly and soft and dorky, but the cat-boy stuff just doesn’t align with him at all for me. Not a fan.

#choose violence ask game