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sl-walker · 2 years

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Occupation, Part 17

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No matter how little Maul wished to discuss it with Plagueis -- who was more overtly benevolent than Sidious, but who was still a Sith and still seeking to control Maul -- he had ended up protesting that Obi-Wan wasn’t dead anyway.

By then, they had arrived at another place; a dining hall with vast, dome-like ceilings and arched windows reaching high. Outside was a sky so beautifully blue that even as messed up as Maul felt, he had paused to stare at it in wonder. The color, the white clouds. Green, lush forest with a sharp volcanic peak behind it, vanishing into haze, a darker blue than the sky. There was even snow on the top of it.

He had seen many stunning landscapes since escaping with Obi-Wan, but after being raised on Mustafar and Orsis and Coruscant, he still never failed to be awed by them.

Plagueis, of course, was still talking. "--know of no other way to sever a Force bond from the outside, than by killing one side of it. And a high number of your midi-chlorians are clustered around the physical manifestation of the broken edges of it, much like platelets clotting around a wound. It took some effort to redirect them to your eyes as I was healing them, and they migrated right back after."

Maul’s mouth went into a straight line, and he didn't sit when Plagueis gestured to a chair at what looked like a dining table. He wasn’t sure what to make of the declaration that Plagueis had been manipulating his midi-chlorians. He also didn’t reiterate that he didn’t believe his lover was dead; there seemed to be no point.

Plagueis appeared completely unbothered by the defiance, slim as it was. "I knew the two of you were well-matched as a mated pair, and indeed I never did quite understand Sidious’s choices in pitting you against one another rather than taking advantage of your complementary natures and encouraging you to bond -- if it was to maintain control, he could have simply threatened one of you to gain compliance from the other, after all -- but I was too concerned with other pursuits into the nature of the Force to pay too close attention." A beat. "Until you both ran from him together, anyway."

Maul’s jaw knotted, but he stayed resolutely silent, watching the muun, who paused only long enough to speak to a serving droid about bringing them dinner.

Once that was done, Plagueis was looking at him again. "He seemed surprised that you would go together. I think he suspected Obi-Wan might eventually try to run, but he didn’t anticipate that Obi-Wan would take you with him. In retrospect, of course, it made perfect sense to me that you both would, given the catalyst for all of those events started with you and Obi-Wan beginning an intimate relationship. Though, do correct me if I'm wrong. My own mistress is science," Plagueis said, gesturing with one hand. "I don't pretend to understand romantic relationships."

"I don't want to discuss this at all," Maul answered, keeping his voice even by some measure of willpower.

"What would you rather discuss?" Plagueis asked back, elongated head tilting to the side. "Your mother's name? Your birthdate on both the standard and the Dathomiri calendars? You turned twenty standard only a month ago. You have a fraternal twin who also did, though he remains on Dathomir along with a younger half-brother."

None of that sounded real to Maul, either. He blinked back, feeling as if he was constantly in over his head; the mere concept of having a brother -- a twin and a younger sibling -- was almost incomprehensible for him. His early life was defined almost completely on loneliness and pain, ostensibly for his own good, and he had no idea how to process that news.

"I still want to know why I'm here. What you want from me," he finally managed, voice barely above a whisper.

"Mm. Very single-track of you." Plagueis gestured to the chair again in offer to sit. "There is still a plan being put into action; the unexpected death of my apprentice doesn't change that. Contingencies will need to be activated and resources allocated. I have need of someone who can be, as the colloquialism goes, my boots on the ground. I would like that to be you." He held up a hand, then. “Before you refuse, you should take the time to hear my proposal.”

Maul had been on the edge of refusing outright -- though the fact that a Sith Lord, the Master of his Master, was even suggesting he could refuse was truly boggling -- but he held his tongue and finally sank down to sit in the offered seat, albeit right on the edge of it, tense and uneasy. Put mildly.

“I need an enforcer. Someone who can gain compliance from various factions that Sidious had been putting into place as I pursued my scientific studies.” Plagueis moved to turn more to the table when the serving droids came in; the food must have already been pre-prepared before they’d even gotten to this room. “I also need someone who is intelligent enough to use discretion and diplomacy when it’s called for. Someone who is capable of subterfuge and spywork in some cases, and combat in others.”

There was a tall crystal glass filled with some red-orange liquid and a straw placed down in front of the muun. Maul, on the other hand, eyed the platter put before him warily; the last time anyone had served him a platter with a silver cover, it had been Deenine, and there had been a living fish colored and patterned like him on it and Master had made him eat it alive.

It was a familiar fish; it had grown apace with him. He remembered its gills flaring as it tried to breathe. And crunching its head first, so it would not-- not feel the rest.

Deenine had died then, too; Master had thrown him into a wall, just that quickly.

But when this droid pulled the cover off, there was just a plate of normal food. A steak, some manner of starch with butter, some manner of vegetable, bread on the side. It smelled incredible, even if Maul felt too nervous to eat.

The droid also sat down a glass of water, politely inquired if the ‘young master’ would like anything else to drink and when Maul stammered out that he’d like tea, further asked what kind and then went to get it.

Plagueis had been watching Maul that entire time; Maul didn’t know what it said about him that he was getting accustomed to that study. “I always did feel my apprentice sold you short. I suppose he might have taken more care with your education had he not procured Obi-Wan only months before your mother gave you to him, but he was quite taken with Obi-Wan’s potential to the neglect of yours. And he did have some xenophobic tendencies, frankly; so long as he was in opposition to his father -- an open xenophobe -- he made it a great point to show he had no such tendencies, but left to his own devices, he could be judgmental about those he considered ‘primitive’.”

“I’m not primitive,” Maul snapped back, stung by the words despite the fact that the man who would have said them was dead and floating in a tank like a science experiment gone awry.

“No, you’re not. That was the point of what I was saying,” Plagueis pointed out, picking up the glass and-- inhaling the liquid. Through the straw in a nostril. Despite himself, Maul watched in somewhat morbid fascination. Then Plagueis set the glass down again. “On the contrary, you’re very intelligent and adaptable. You wouldn’t have survived your upbringing if you weren’t.”

Maul was still on the edge of baring his teeth and holding back the urge, but he didn’t even try to mask the bitterness of his next question: “If you didn’t like how he was raising us, why didn’t you step in?”

“I had other concerns, frankly. And neither you, nor Obi-Wan, were ever meant to be true Sith apprentices.” Plagueis had the frustrating ability to seem completely unconcerned about Maul’s anger at all of this. “Had the plan gone forward as intended, it would have been good to have places for you within it, but you were both ultimately meant to be expendable. Non-vital to the plan itself. While I think my apprentice was wasting his resources by ignoring your potential in favor of Obi-Wan’s, and while I did receive very regular reports about both your progress, you weren’t my priority.”

If nothing else, the muun was frank. Not even what Maul would call cruel, in this case, because it was clear that he didn’t mean any of that to be such. But ruthless. “And now you want me to work for you?” he asked, mouth twisting, ignoring the droid setting the cup of tea on a saucer beside his dinner in favor of continuing to glare at the Sith Master.

“I do.” Plagueis tilted his head slightly, eyes boring into Maul. “You outlived my apprentice and your competition. You’re well trained, if incompletely, for the tasks I need. I’ll further and finish out that training. You would have access to resources far beyond one sad, idealistic cell of anti-slavery operatives on Nar Shaddaa -- yes, I know they’re there, I own more of that moon than even the hutts like to remember -- or beyond Maz Kanata, formbidible as she is in her circles. No one would ever attempt to take you as a slave again, despite your status at birth. And, when the plan comes to fruition, you would be at my side, high above all.”

Hearing Obi-Wan called his competition made Maul’s hearts clench. And Plagueis continuing to talk about him like he was dead, despite Maul knowing and saying otherwise.

But it was hearing Plagueis talk about the trio, and Reme and her people, and Maz, that really dug an icy dagger into his middle. If Obi-Wan was thought dead, he was safe, but the others--

“If I refuse?” Maul asked; there was no defiance in his voice as he tried to imagine what the muun could do to those people. But-- he had to know. As much as the answer frightened him, he had to know.

“I would keep you alive to continue to study where your Force bond with Obi-Wan was severed, and when you’ve outlived your purpose as a test subject, I would kill you,” Plagueis said, in the same calm and factual tone he had been using so far, looking at Maul dispassionately. “My current theory is that you two would have naturally formed a dyad, given enough time, especially now that I’ve seen your end of the bond even severed; while the loss of it’s unfortunate for many reasons, there’s still something to be learned from what’s left behind.

“In addition, I’ve already implanted a biochip in your prefrontal cortex that I’d designed during my, ah-- sojourn, one I hope will become useful in the relatively near future in service to the plan in cloned lifeforms. I also implanted a slave control chip at the base of your skull. The first truly was just to see if I could do it, and if it would work -- it does, though you wouldn’t remember my testing it -- and the second is more for your protection than mine, should you agree to work for me. No one would dare lay a hand on you once they scanned the chip and saw who legally owned you.”

Maul broke out into a cold sweat even as those words percolated. That explained his sore head, anyway. The idea that the muun had been literally in his head was enough that his limbs tingled in a kind of panic, as he stared back mutely.

Immune to his horror, Plagueis went on, “Not that either the biochip or the slave control chip are more effective than the fact that I can crush the anti-slavery operation on Nar Shaddaa and send an assassin after Maz Kanata, should you agree to work for me and then attempt to betray me after. Of course, if you refuse altogether, I have no interest in them for good or ill.”

He gave a quiet hum there, and Maul wasn’t sure what to make of the undertone, almost like regret, as Plagueis finished, “I know it doesn’t seem like much of a choice, child. But it is one. I’ll give you a day to make it.”

@shadowmaat - @doorsclosingslowly - @emphasisonthehomo - @blackat-greneys - @vengeful-nerd - @sammelbegriff - @kenobispunk - @sundavr - @mock-ing-bird - @fancandy77 - @geekling007 - @nightsibling - @btwxsixesandsevens - @whymylife-cordelia

#maul #darth plagueis #obimaul #blindsided #occupation #issues of medical consent cw #unethical experimentation cw

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yuzukult · 3 years

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from home 04 || jjk & reader

title: from home pairing: jungkook x reader genre: richkid!jk, baker!reader, fakedating!au, fluff, angst, e2l, smut in future chapters word count: 7.4k prompt: jungkook is the youngest of five boys, the last in line to truly inherit any his parents’ money. but what if his mom suddenly cuts him off due to his current poor behavior and he’s forced to learn how it feels like to be part of the working class? a/n: so so so thankful that from home 01 has reached over 400 notes! this is a huge milestone for me so thank you all that reblogged, liked, and replied to my chapters because it means so much to me! so grateful for all of your support because i never thought any of my fics would get any attention! honestly, not my best chapter, but i have plans for from home 05 that are more exciting to write lol please let me know if you’re interested in being tagged! but also let me know if you want to be removed! taglist: @scalubera @strugglingartistno16-2 @taestannie @teresaisla @drumsofheaven @vampgguk @christiandosworld @madjammil @jungkookieyoongs @bananagguknim @shuttheelleup ← previous chapter || next chapter →

You’d never invite him over to your apartment without the company of Hoseok. So why did you ask him to come over and just him?

Jungkook is anxious. Other than the fact that you've requested for his company on a Friday night, he hasn't really spoken to you alone ever since that weekend at his parents' estate. You weren't avoiding him, at least that's what he speculates, but there wasn't much 'alone time' and he was starting to feel insecure about how you felt about your relationship.

Rephrase. Fake relationship, he means.

The brisk, heavy wind smacks his face when he steps out of his apartment, ready to be on route to your house with the address you sent over just minutes ago. Cheeks flushing crimson, he pulls his denim coat with sherpa lining closer, suddening wishing that Hyungjin was still driving him on days like this, oh how lucky Old Jungkook was.

15 minutes is what the GPS on his phone says, grateful that his mother hasn't cut off his line with the money because he honestly wouldn't have known what to do if he didn't have it. What did people use back then when they needed to go somewhere they've never been to before? He'd have to google that later. His hands are occupied, looking for warmth in his pockets.

His fingers are curled frozen by the time he reaches the front of your apartment, face pale with only the tint in his nose and cheeks. There's something swirling in his gut—whether it's gas or he's just plain nervous, he's not exactly sure, but he knows that this is the first time he's ever been to your apartment and it's not the same feeling he gets when he's at his one night stands.

Once you receive his text, the buzzer goes off, allowing him to enter into the hallway of your apartment building and how different it is compared to his is astonishing. Other than the fact that the wallpaper was tearing off and the carpets look like it's been years since someone last vacuumed it, the lights were dim, giving off a spooky aura despite Halloween being a month ago.

"Apartment 344," He reiterates to himself from your message, following the instructions underneath that had been oddly specific. "Don't go into elevator car six. Six breaks down after floor two, and five is missing a button for floor three, so only car eight works without a chance of you being stuck in it. There's a smell, so you'll just have to hold your breath."

Weird. So Elevator Eight then?

When he finally reaches your floor, he nearly faints when he walks out. It smelled like a combination of pee and weed with a sprinkle of air freshener which wasn't much help.

344. The black printed numbers are inscribed in the gold plaque that isn't real gold because it's peeling and the surface underneath it is brown. When you come to the door after he knocks, he can't help but gush at the sight of you.

Oversized hoodie and shorts with your hair tied in a low bun, strands that fall out effortlessly and frame your no-makeup face, his heart almost jerks out of his chest. It's not fair that someone so mean can be so pretty.

"Hey," You say, breathless. "Come in. I'm in the middle of cooking up dinner. Have you ever had a home cooked meal?"

He furrows his brows. "Uh, the chefs usually put something together at the estate."

"Is it even called home-cooked if you call your house an estate?"

"Well—" You wave him off, stepping aside for him to enter. "Welcome to my humble abode."

Your apartment is you in a version of a place. Outside entering in, he thinks it's intimidating and tends to throw people off, with the impression that it's not somewhere you'd want to be at. Yet your home itself— he finds that the confined space between where the TV sits on the shelf, books residing in the cubes beneath, across from where a grey love-seat couch is placed is a resemblance of serenity. The kitchen is relatively small, even smaller than his current studio apartment, but everything about it here feels cosy. "It's nice," He hums in content, slipping off his jacket to hang on the coat rack nearby. "I never thought your place would be so... comfortable."

"What'd you think it was going to be? A white void?" Well, you're not wrong, but he fears you so he figured it was best to not respond to that. "So... what are you cooking?"

"Couple things, actually. I even cooked some rice. What did you usually eat when you were living at home— I mean, the estate?" Leading him into the kitchen, which didn't really need much guidance with the short square footage of the apartment, he still can't believe that this place is your own. "American food? Italian? Just generally European? Our chef is from England, and studied somewhere in France. Not much Korean, if I'm being honest."

"Then... is it even home cooked? Take a seat."

He sits at the little round table centered in the middle of the kitchen, a couple recipe books stacked to the side, just enough room for the two of you to work with. "I guess not. You never answered my question, what did you make?"

"Mm... Kimchi Jjigae, bulgogi, and some stir fried veggies. I even baked something for dessert."

Something about this view of you working over the stove, plating the food and side dishes onto the table that makes it feel so domestic. He likes you like this—clear faced without trying so hard, despite thinking how beautiful you looked during the charity event, this felt refreshing.

"Alright," You cheer, handing him a bowl of rice and a pair of chopsticks. "Let's dig in."

"Can I ask you something?" You're in the midst of putting some beef into his serving before looking up. "What is it?"

"Why... Are you being so nice to me? I haven't heard a jab since I got here. And why did you invite me over? Not even Hoseok joining in, just us two. If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you were trying to avoid me ever since you got to see what it was like to be in my family but then you asked me to come over. I’m a little confused."

Chewing on your bottom lip, your shoulders slouch as you drop your body back against the seat. "Honestly?" He nods. "I've been putting you in a weird spot. I don't like you because you have money, look down on other people who don't have those opportunities, and to be fair, you're very ignorant to this life stuff. You almost bought something from the Supreme drop until Hoseok stole your phone away from you." Fiddling with the kimchi sitting in it's plate, you poke at it with your chopsticks. "You took me back to your family house but it wasn't a house. You called it an estate then you proceeded to show me that you have no real relationship with your brothers. I get why you'd come to those events drunk, and I felt bad."

He scoffs. "So you pitied me."

"Well— no, I just... I just wanted you to know the feeling of home. What home really feels like, and how it's a place you find yourself wanting to come back to. I'm trying somewhat to show it through food—" You gesture the meal that you spent hours on. "—and possibly other ways. I'm not pitying you, I just don't think it's fair."

Jungkook's face softens. "You... don't think it's fair for me. You've always said things aren't fair for you, how I get all these things and I'm provided with so many advantages and now... you're siding with the rich?"

"No, not siding with the rich. Siding with you, Jeon Jungkook. Or, Kookie, whatever your sister-in-law calls you." He can’t help but laugh, as embarrassing as the nickname is to him because he’s too elated that you see him in a different light now. Maybe Hoseok was right. Learning a thing or two from you would be beneficial for him, if anything.

“Here— have some more of this,” You say before hauling a load of veggies into his bowl and he can only smile at the gesture.

“So,” Jungkook begins, finishing washing the last dish in the sink. Truth be told, he offered because you so kindly prepared a delicious dinner for him, but he needed guidance on how to actually do the chore. “What’s the dessert?”

It’s cute— the way you squirt the bottle of dish soap into the sponge in his hands, teaching him how to properly clean after himself. He feels like a baby being taught how to do the basic life tasks, low-key wishing that he could just ask Hana or Nayeon to do it instead— but it’s you beside him, telling him he needs to thoroughly scrub in order to get the tough grease stains out. He’d say, “how can you tell if it’s still greasy?” and despite you rolling your eyes and responding back, “by touching it?” something about tonight feels different than when you do it at the grocery store.

“Cinnamon rolls!” There’s a sparkle in your eye, exuberant about getting a target to fixate on. “I can pop it back in the oven for a couple minutes to get it all warm again.”

He agrees, wiping his hand off on a rag hanging by the sink, watching as you eagerly pop two buns on a tray, slipping it into the pre-heated oven. “I want you to try the things I bake from scratch... since you’re kind of investing in me.”

“It’s an exchange, more like I’m paying you.”

You grumble, rubbing your face in your hands. “No, no, no, don’t just give me money, Jungkook. If anything includes you putting cash of any form into my palms, it means you’re investing in me because you believe in me.”

Jungkook frowns. “But I do believe in you. Why do I have to keep saying that? You have the characteristics of a trustworthy person. Why else would I have asked you to be my girlfriend?”

“Pretend girlfriend,” you rectify, pointing in his direction, “... you chose me to be your pretend girlfriend. Even so, what if I’m a bad baker?”

A chortle escapes from Jungkook’s lips, shaking his head in disbelief. “OK, ok. Keep baking me goods. If in the end, I think you’re a horrible baker, I won’t ‘invest’ in your business, but I’ll invest in you instead. You keep the money. Do whatever you please with it, even if it means opening a really bad bakery. You’re helping me out here by fake dating me. My father has already personally called me on four occasions, asking when we’re visiting again.”

There it sits. The cinnamon bun. Or roll. Whichever it is— but there you are, directly leaning against the table across from him, eyes watching him attentively. Thoughts start running in his mind like; what if it actually tastes horrific like the possibility you mentioned? What would he do then? You both had already gone as far as meeting his family, he’s too deep in.

“Stop thinking and just eat.” You say discernibly, impatient with his indecisiveness. Using the fork you provided, he pierces through the the pastry and the cut is buttery smooth, requiring no effort. When he brings it to his mouth, the moment it touches the tip of his tongue, it practically melts, dissolving in contact with his saliva, awakening up his taste buds. It’s sweet, the cinnamon with the brown sugar and butter, yet not overwhelming enough to turn it away because something about it just brings life into you again.

His mouth parts open, gaping in awe. “Oh my god,” he mutters with his cheeks full of the pastry, “W-what, oh my god. Did you drug me or something? Because there’s no way it tastes that good.”

“No— but then I made a home-made yeast dough where I added some more ingredients to transform it into an enriched dough, and that contributes to it’s soft interior with a more fragile crumb. Then the filling, I brushed on butter after rolling the dough out to a rectangle—“

“I-I don’t need the details,” Jungkook stutters with a nervous laugh but you were going to go off for hours if he hadn’t stopped you. “I think if all the things you make taste just as good as this, I’m impressed. You’ve sold me. But... I have to ask, why a bakery? I looked up what it means to be someone in your field with your degree and people go off to do product development, maybe research in processed foods— this isn’t necessarily close to being a baker. I honestly don’t know why my father asked you to take part of the restaurant chain he’s planning on building.”

“Oh,” Pursing up your lips you tap your fingers against the wooden table, heaving out a sigh. “I’m surprised you did some research.”

“Well, you taught me to do some extensive exploration before I invest in something.” He shoots back.

“I wanted to go to culinary school, simple as that. I told you, I love Guy Fieri and wouldn’t it be crazy if he went to my bakery and put me on his show?” Jungkook is keeping this in his back pocket for future teasing, but you seem so dazed when you talk about your dreams that he has to refrain himself. “But I couldn’t just go to culinary school, no, my parents would kill me. So, I chose something as close as possible and so here I am. I should get into product development, maybe I can be part of something that could be preserved and easily accessible to help feed third world countries but— I don’t know how long I’d be able to sit in a lab for. I want to make people happy, see them walk through the front doors and hear the bell ring along with their footsteps, see their faces lit up when they eat what I made.”

There’s a lot of things he can point out in your expression when you talk about your dreams, them being how your eyes become the pools of chocolate cupcakes, swirling dark and sweet, and how your lips look so pillowy pink like a fluffy buttercream frosting. Within your voice, there’s so much certainty that holds it, credence along with each syllable you sing, words rising like the yeast in bread. Wholeheartedly, he wants to back you up on your aspirations, solely from the way you’ve sold them but at the same time, he feels this green-eyed envious being within him that wishes he had something to be equally as passionate about.

Money can only be ardor for so long, an inanimate object that can eventually lose its meaning if the world goes to shreds. It’s value will be there when emphasized but what if it didn’t exist? What did Jungkook like?

It’s a constant battle he finds himself placed in, especially when he absentmindedly scans the groceries for the customers, reiterating the same phrases every couple minutes with a new total tailing behind it. His uniform fits too well these days, stability making a name-tag on the chest pocket of his apron, and he’s not sure what to make of it.

He has an ivy league degree in international business, but what does he do with it? Currently, he’s asking customers how their day was, what the end price of their shopping run is, and hoping the rest of their day is well. Four years grinding hard at a prestigious university and for what?

He used to look down on people like you and Hoseok, with a belief that their placement in the supermarket was a controllable decision on their part, but visually seeing and hearing the other employees speak about their struggles of the inability to access higher education or finding difficulty in providing for their families so they throw away their dreams for a daily life in the deli section— he wants more because he’s able to, and he doesn’t want it given to him.

Yet, Jungkook still doesn’t have a dream. And according to you, he doesn’t have a home either.

Obviously, Jungkook has been through many flings. He's even said so himself and the women who have stirred up scandals on media outlets are evidence of it but never in your life did you think that you'd find yourself in this position, blankly staring at a girl weeping in front of you as you're in the midst of restocking laundry detergent onto one of the shelves in the middle of an aisle.

"He's supposed to love me," She bawls, eyes swollen from her crying previously. The girl is barely a couple inches shorter than you with long, straight black hair that stretches down to her lower back, waist so small you could wrap your hands around her. "Jungkook told me that I was the only girl for him and nobody else. So who are you? What'd you do? What's so great about you?"

"Uh, beats me," Rubbing the back of your neck in consternation, you're not sure what to do. There's about a handful of these supermarkets in Seoul alone, so how did she even find which one you worked at? "Um... Have you talked to him about this?"

"N-N-No," The pretty girl stutters, lips quivering. "I went to the estate and they kicked me out, said he doesn't live there anymore but I think they're lying to me."

"Jungkook doesn't live there anymore." You confirm, typing something into your price gun. "He moved out into the city."

"H-He did?" She retorts, eyes glimmering in hope. "That means they didn't lie to me just to kick me to the curb. He really moved out, he's not living there anymore?" You nod, glancing up at the girl who is supposedly Jungkook's ex-girlfriend or in his eyes, one late night affair. She really fits his ideal type—one that you've accidentally discovered when you came across an article of his on one of those gossip magazines... that you googled. Nonetheless, you learn that he's into girls like her—skinny, long straight hair, feminine with a soft, high-pitched voice. Nothing wrong with those things, you just observed that none of those things are you.

"Maeri?" Why does that name sound familiar?

Jungkook rushes his way down the aisle to stand by your side, gaze immediately glued onto you. "Hey, you alright? Did she say or do anything to you?"

"No," You respond, blinking rapidly at his sudden action. There's a girl who's crying her eyes out right in front of him and yet he's asking if you were okay? "But she claims to be your current girlfriend or ex—whatever it was, I don't remember. Kind of your problem and somehow I'm roped into this."

"And you picked her? Even though she speaks to you like that?" Maeri whimpers, nose pink and lips swelling. "She doesn't even treat you the way that I do. I can't understand why you would just drop us and pick her!"

"Maeri," He says, voice soft and gentle, completely different from what you're used to. Jungkook leans over, hand flatly pressed against her mid-back, rubbing soothingly to calm her nerves. "You're also my dad's assistant. It would've never worked out. He would've found out what we were up to and be completely against it." So that's why the name sounded so familiar, Jungkook's dad requested him to make an appointment with him through his assistant, Maeri.

... Question is, why would he do something so risky and get involved with his dad's personal assistant?

"B-B-But..."

"Listen," You quickly interject, dropping the price gun onto the car where the array of laundry detergent bottles sit. "This feels like a private conversation. You can finish this after you talk with her, I'll just find something else to do."

"Wait—" But before Jungkook could even grab you, Maeri already has her grasp tightened around his wrists, pulling him in close. "Jungkook, don't go. Talk to me, please?" He sighs when he sees you don't even glance back.

It's a bit infuriating, you think, to hear some girl complain about how you're not worthy enough for a guy that you'd previously thought wasn't even good enough for you. You were somewhat decently looking, right? Or so, that's what you thought.

"You good?" Hoseok interrupts your thoughts, brows furrowed in confusion. "Seem kinda lost there."

You hum, resuming back to stacking up the apples in the produce section because Jungkook was doing your task instead due to the incident. Truth be told, you hated here in produce, because since you first stepped foot into this section, six old women had already tried starting small talk. But anything to get out of that conversation between him and Maeri. "Well, I just saw Kim Maeri over there with boogers dripping from her nose because Jeon Jungkook suddenly has new arm candy."

Rolling your eyes, you threaten to throw the apple in your hand at him. "Not arm candy. Girlfriend."

"Ohhhh," Hoseok teases, hands slipping into the front pocket of his apron. "Not arm candy but rather girlfriend. Not so fake anymore? So, who confessed first? You or our clueless Kook?"

"Hoseok, not in the mood. I just dealt with some weird girl crying over a guy I'm not even really dating, weeping on for twenty minutes about how I'm not good enough for him."

"Why? Are you sad because you think it's somewhat true?"

Your glare nearly kills him. "No, but it's not easy to hear. I mean—he's this guy who doesn't even know what to prioritize in his spendings, can't even properly do his laundry without dying some of his whites, and he doesn't know how to clean after himself. And yet she thinks he's too good for me?" Scoffing in disbelief, you slam an apple onto the pile and Hoseok grimaces, hand on your wrist. "Please don't bruise the apples."

You sigh and he lets go of his grip. "Sorry. But am I that mean?"

"No, no, don't say it like that, of course you're not. Sure, you sound sorta insensitive sometimes but you mean well. Or else Jungkook and I wouldn't willingly spend time with you, right?"

"I'm your timesheet approver and Jungkook is using me to get back at his parents. I don't know about that."

Hoseok rolls his eyes, handing you the apples from the inventory cart as you continue to organize them onto each other. "If that's the case, I wouldn't actually help you out when we're not at work. You don't have enough authority here for me to kiss your ass my way up for a promotion here. And Jungkook— although, true, yes, he's asking that from you but he wouldn't just willingly see you or try to spend time with you outside of work. Stop being so insecure because some pretty girl came by."

"Uh, Hey." Jungkook appears out of thin air, startling both you and Hoseok. "I... restocked the detergent like you asked. I can take over this if you'd like, I know you don't really like working in the produce section because the grandmas like to start conversations up with you."

A smile tugs on the edges of Hoseok's lips, suggestively eyeing you before stepping back. "I'm gonna go find myself elsewhere..." Then he jolts before you can get a word in.

"I'm good," Turning back to the pyramid of fruits, you're content with how it looks so far yet Jungkook doesn't seem to share the same pleasant expression. "I'm almost done anyways."

"She's not... we've never dated," He says, swallowing his nerves. In all honesty, he's unsure why he feels the need to justify his relationship with her and elaborate the story behind it, but he gives into the urges nonetheless. "Just a fling. We slept with each other a couple times because I liked the rush it gave me, knowing that if my dad knew I slept with his favorite assistant of all time, I'd be done for."

Silent and brushing your hands off from the debris, you avoid chiming into his story. Was he telling this to you because you’re his supervisor or because of the weird relationship that’s going on between the two of you? “Uh, it’s fine. It happens. Wasn’t necessarily your fault, it was unavoidable. At least that over with, right?”

Jungkook scratches the back of his head quietly, the ponytail on his head bouncing slightly. “About that... there’s an event this weekend.” After brushing over the details, you don’t say much, striving to finish the pyramid of apples, Jungkook assisting by taking over Hoseok’s spot. “I have a question.”

“What’s up?” You don’t shift your attention away from the red fruit.

He clears his throat. “Are you and Hoseok a thing?” Letting out an airy laugh, your eyes finally meet his. “Of course not. He’s just a very involved and caring friend. Nothing more, and he isn’t really my type. Plus, I’m sure he’s not over Hyeri.”

Jungkook nods, pulling his lips into a straight line because he’s trying to hold back a smile. You and Hoseok were not a thing, which meant that there was one thing less he didn’t have to worry about.

Maeri found you through the instruction of Mr. Jeon; he said that his wife had mentioned your current employment at two of her chains and this was her second attempt after wailing over at the coffee shop, hoping that the second location was a charm. Meeting Jungkook there was really a coincidence, in all fairness, because apparently Mr. Jeon didn’t say anything about Jungkook being there—his main target had been you.

“He wants you to come with me to another event... but it requires some travel.” Jungkook told you, feeling a bit guilty because you had just spent a weekend at his parents estate barely a couple days ago. This means begging your supervisor at the supermarket and the café to let you call off for the next week. Hopefully in the end it’s all worth it...

When Jungkook says travel, this is not what you thought it was going to be.

“We can either take the private plane there with my family or ride the train.” You don’t hesitate to pick the latter option, evading the potential family argument that would blossom in seconds if you were to be stuck in a cabin full of the Jeons.

You don’t recognize the awkward position you put Jungkook in until you’re standing on the platform, waiting for your train’s arrival with a duffle bag in hand, body hidden underneath a heavy winter coat. “Oh. Have you ever rode on the train before?” He shakes his head ‘no’ and you frown. Maybe you should’ve taken the plane there, Jungkook would’ve been more comfortable. And as if he read your thoughts, he nudges you with his elbows, hands dug into the pockets of his jacket. “Since you’re popping my train cherry, take it easy on me, will you?’

He’s perhaps a little funny, but you’re not going to cave into that.

Busan— is what your ticket says, from Seoul to Busan. Honestly, you had never been in Busan before but you recall Jungkook saying that it was his birthplace and he’d be more than happy to guide you through the nooks and cranny of the largest port city in South Korea.

Once you reach the city, it’s completely different from Seoul. The buildings are condensed, there’s so many markets yet at the same time, there’s just as many people there are in Seoul. Hyungjin is holding a sign that says, “Jeon Jungkook,” written on it in bold letters, bowing when he sees your fake-boyfriend, just as eager as Jungkook. “I’m glad they asked you to pick me up again.”

“Well, I requested it, Mr. Jeon.”

“Oh please, I’m sure you didn’t. You hated having to drive me home whenever I was partying.”

Hyungjin shakes his head with a grin plastered on his face. “I did, perhaps. However you are a new man now with a very intelligent woman by your side, so I can almost guarantee that you’ve changed. Much more likable, Mr. Jeon. Please, let me take you to your hotel.”

You nearly have a nosebleed just from the view from your room.

The sea is beautiful, despite the grey clouds that hover the water from the colder weather but the charm could never be hidden. Apparently, the hotel that Jungkook’s parents had booked for the two of you was a 5-star hotel, spas, pools, restaurants and everything included and some that you can see from your balcony.

“Holy shit, Jungkook, is there where you grew up?”

“No, not in a hotel.” He laughs, watching as you move around the room like a little kid to see every trinket the hotel had to offer. “My grandparents’ house is just down the road, and I’m sure they want to meet you. We can do some stuff beforehand and meet them for a late lunch with the rest of the family. How’s that sound?”

Jungkook is your tour guide for the day— taking you to the market where they sell merchandise with idols faces on it, snacks, and so on. He takes you to see the Gamcheon Culture Village, a place where homes are condensed that are splatters of the rainbow and filled with painted murals. It’s a sight for sore eyes, and everything is just a bit more enjoyable with a tall little kid standing by your side.

He takes you to the Haeundae Beach, where a story he tells is a place he recalls biking with brothers when he lived there during the summers. Once they were a bit older and found interest in girls, he stopped going since the only thing he looked forward to was spending time with his siblings there.

When you meet his grandparents at their humble home, his brothers are already there with his parents, paying their respects and doing their ‘routine’ to visit them at least once a month, apparently. You assumed the family would have neglected their grandparents with the presence of wealth, but it was nice to see that his parents still kept their roots.

“This is Jungkook’s girlfriend?” His grandma says in a mixture awe and disbelief, glancing back at his mother and you. “I’m so glad, he hasn’t been here to visit me in a long time. Did you convince him?”

You shake your head in response, bending down to sit across from her. “No, he asked if I’d like to come.”

“He wants to introduce his pretty girlfriend to his grandparents, of course! Why else?”

From the corner, Jungkook can see Jongseok twitching in annoyance at the attention you were gaining from their grandparents, complimenting while pinching your cheeks, pleased with who Jungkook had ended up with. “Smart and beautiful, will you wed her soon or else someone else sweeps her off her feet?”

“I’ll try,” Jungkook says with uncertainty, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. “It’s really up to her though.”

“Then make it so that she can’t say no!” His grandfather chimes in.

Lunch had been nice with his family; it had been a lot tamer than the conversations at the dinner table in the Jeon’s. For one, it seemed like if anyone had anything bad to say, they refrained themselves from doing so in respect for their frail grandparents.

Back at the hotel, you stand with your arms rested against the rail of the balcony, your hair blows with the wind, strands getting into your face as you attempt to push them away, only for Jungkook to lean in, gently brushing them out your way. He’s close— so close that you can feel his breathing against your cheek and you don’t realize you’ve been holding your breath when you exhale after he steps back. “There,” he grins, proud of his work, “looks good.” Was he talking about how he completed the task well or that you looked good?

“It’s... really nice here, Jungkook.” If it weren’t for this arrangement, you never would’ve found the time or money to come here unexpectedly, especially with how much money you were trying to save to open up the bakery. Enjoying the finer things in life proved burdensome since one of the things on the list of adulting was knowing what your priorities were. “I don’t think I would’ve gotten the chance to explore Busan if it weren’t for you.”

“You... you should take a break every now and then,” Jungkook suggests, leaning beside you. Everything about the sea at night is striking; the gusts of wind from the waves, the lights at the pool from the hotel, the sky, sparkling with stars from above that causes a glimmer in your eyes, swirls of mocha full of wonder and excitement. “You overwork yourself to death. You’re completely burnt out. Yet at the same time you keep making time for Hoseok and I when what you really need is a spa night.”

“It’s... it’s not that easy,” You frown. “I just have so much to do.”

“I told you, let me take care of you. If I can prove to my family that I’m capable, I get the money back. I can pay you for all the things you’ve done for me, all the things you’ve taught me, everything. You need to enjoy your life before you’re old and wrinkly because by then, you won’t have the energy to do the things you want to anymore.”

“Jungkook—“

“No, let me teach you something this time around. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I think I know everything now, I just... with chilling and relaxing, I think you should let me take it from here.”

“I just—“ Cupping your cheeks in his hands, he forces you to face him, pressing them together for your lips to purse up. “No arguments. No disagreeing with me, no more of that. I need you to listen to me for once and not tell me what to do.”

Assertive Jungkook is an inconsistent version of him that’s usually feeble in comparison to you. But something about Busan’s air and water gives him the confidence he needs to stand up to you for once, and it makes your heart skip a beat. You nod in compliance, caving into what he demands. His eyes shift, trailing from the bridge of your nose to the tip, oh how he wants to give it a peck, but once they reach your lips, he realizes that’s what he really wants.

He swallows, releasing some pressure off of his hands as you survey his distinct expression. “Jungkook, are you—” hastily, he pulls your jaw toward him, lips crashing into yours and it’s more than he expects. He swore in a not dramatic way that it felt like there were fireworks being set off behind him.

Noticing what he’d done, he quickly lets go, hands dropping at his side. “I’m sorry, I just, I couldn’t help myself but I know I said boundaries—”

Hands flying up, your thumb brushes against the soft flesh of his cheeks, hopping onto the tip of your toes, reaching up to meet as much of his height as you could, eyes hooded with your breath fanning his lips. Fingers slipping to the back of his neck, you tug him down, gingerly pushing your lips against his.

It’s gentle— the kind of kiss that Jungkook isn’t familiar with when he comes across his flings, but the way you ease your way into his parted lips and how your tongue brushes against his, it makes him feel hazy, drunk on your scent. His hands find purchase on your waist, tugging your hips to rest on his as your fingers run through his luscious hair. The length is something you’ve grown to love, a huge step from forcing him to tie it back because it hadn’t been ‘professional’ enough. And here you are, making out with your trainee on the balcony of your shared hotel room. He lets you lead the kiss momentarily before you break away, foreheads against each other, you’re both panting with tinted cheeks. “Don’t hold yourself back, please,” you beg in a whisper, completely intoxicated by everything radiating off him.

Reaching down your thighs, he puts those muscles to use when he grabs onto them, wrapping your legs around his frame as you yelp, arms immediately hugging around his shoulders. He slides the balcony door shut with his feet, dropping you onto the bed, falling along in unison.

There’s a smile upon his lips, a genuine one filled with admiration. Just when he’s leaning closer to you for a second round, there’s a knock on the door. Jungkook groans, dropping his face into the crook of your neck as laughter erupts from your chest. “Go get the door.”

“Whoever it is, they just ruined this moment.” He grunts, untangling your legs from his waist to open the door.

Jongseok is leaned up against the door frame, eying his younger brother suggestively. “What were you doing?”

“None of your business,” Jungkook hisses in return. He doesn’t need to say it though because Jongseok knew from his sibling’s disheveled locks, swollen lips, flushed cheeks and labored breathing. Jongseok wasn’t going to look, but he could already tell that Jungkook was supporting a boner in those sweatpants.

“Hm,” Jongseok hums, narrowing his gaze. “Alright then. Stopped by to tell you that mother wants us to have dinner with family tonight in about 30 minutes. Should be enough time for you to finish, right? How long does 3 pumps take?”

“Get out!” He responds through his gritted teeth, slamming the door on him.

Quickly standing up, you brush your clothes off and fix your hair in the mirror. “We should get ready to head out, I don’t want your mom to wait on us.”

“You sure? I mean we don’t have to go—“

“I still need to impress your parents too, right?” Hand pressed against his chest, he calms down at your touch and nods in conformity. “Alright then.”

When the two of you return from the trip, you don’t mention anything about the kiss and what it would’ve led to. Fearing that you’d back out from the agreement, Jungkook doesn’t bring it up either, despite having so many questions running through his head, discovering that there’s a small chance that he’s fallen for you.

Hoseok throws something in Jungkook’s direction, a confused expression on his face when he catches in his hands yet his body doesn’t move from the couch. “What’s this for?” He asks, opening his cupped hands to see a shiny gold key.

“That’s my apartment key,” Hoseok responds calmly, shuffling through some letters that sit on his counter. “For whenever you want to come over.”

In the past month, he found himself gravitating toward not just you, but Hoseok as well, a friendship blooming from being acquaintances. Reminiscing to a time where they would only say ‘hi’ in passing, mostly for politeness because their parents had worked together before, there had never been a real bond between the two of them. And ever since he started working at the market, their friendship had escalated to hanging out with each other on the weekends or any available free-time they had.

Jungkook has friends now.

Real friends, he notes. Ones he never thought he had, ones he had only ever dreamed of, and ones that he didn’t have to bribe for them to become. He admits that whatever he has with you is a bit rocky and unknown, but after having that home-cooked dinner with you that night, he feels like you’re opening up to him.

An action from you that he rightfully earned, he likes to repeat to himself, because he can’t believe he’s able to obtain relationships with people that didn’t include money.

“You’re giving this to me? You trust me with it?”

“Well, yeah,” Hoseok nets his brows in confusion, making his way to sit beside the other male on the couch, switching his PlayStation 5 on, handing Jungkook a controller as he stares dumbfoundedly. “You come here almost every weekend, or well, recently almost every other day since I got the PS5. You’re a bro now, we’re not just some dudes that acknowledge each other at parties anymore.”

Jungkook feels like he’s soaring. His feet are hovering in the air, and his heart feels light. If this is what it feels like to have a friend who cares and enjoys spending time with, he doesn’t need to get high and wasted to obtain that feeling anymore.

“Mom, I’m not really in the mood to come back so soon.” You sigh, fingers raking through your drenched locks. It’s supposed to be a relaxing Friday night in; Jungkook bringing the pizza with wings and Hoseok grabbing the beers from the supermarket when he finishes his shift tonight. Figuring that you had some time, you’d give yourself a relaxing shower, knowing damn well you were going to need some peace and quiet temporarily with two rowdy boys coming later.

“Please,” She begs, attempting to raise her voice in a baby-ing manner. “Your sister said she was coming tomorrow morning. I would love to get the family back together. And you said so yourself last week, you’re free this weekend!” You’re starting to regret calling your mom with life updates.

The door swings open, the sight of Jungkook hauling in bags and a box in his hand. “Jeon, you can put it on the coffee table,” Pointing in the living room, he nods as you trail behind him. “You can move the books off the table and put it by the TV.”

“Jeon?” Your mom reiterates, suddenly intrigued by whomever you were at your apartment with. “Who is Jeon?” Ignoring her, you press the phone against your shoulder and cheek, freeing your hands in attempt to help Jungkook clear out the table. “Oh, Jungkook, can you close the door? It’s cold for some reason.”

“Jungkook?” She gasps the name into the phone, squealing afterwards. “You have a boyfriend and you didn’t tell me?”

“What?” You reply sharply, Jungkook coming back from your request, brows knitted in confusion. “Who’s on the phone?” He mouths, you retort, “my mom” back faintly.

“I heard you calling some guy named Jungkook. It’s just him in your apartment alone, isn’t it? You wouldn’t have some guy with you unless he’s your boyfriend, right? Oh my god, I thought you were going to be alone forever—” She yammers on, not even taking a second to breathe. “You know what? Bring him tomorrow. Don’t say no, I’m not taking ‘no’ for an answer. I’m letting your dad and siblings know. Goodnight, dear! Sleep well! Tell Jungkook I said hi!” And with that, she hangs up.

Throwing your phone on the couch, you grumble, hands rubbing your face. “I’m assuming she thinks I’m your boyfriend?”

“Yeah,” you exhale, plummeting your body onto the couch. “As much as I don’t want to do this, she’s going to attack me nonstop if I don’t bring you. Are you free tomorrow? Would you... like to meet my family? If not— it’s totally fine, I mean we’re not even really dating anyways and—“

“Of course,” He grins, settling down beside you. “This doesn’t have to just apply to my parents, you know. I am your boyfriend, not just you being my girlfriend.”

In all honesty, he finds this as an opening. Ever since your trip to Busan, he couldn’t help but see you differently out of the blue. He admits, maybe right now isn’t necessarily the best time for him to start a relationship, especially one where a business deal is involved, but he can’t help it. Something about you, since that night, he saw you underneath those lights and you’re not the same mean supervisor that he thought you’d been.

And don’t even get him started on the way you kiss.

#jeon jungkook #jungkook #jungkook smut #bts #bts smut #jungkook x reader #gyukultfics

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shihalyfie · 3 years

Text

The difference between the friend dynamics in the Adventure and 02 groups

This is a point I’ve reiterated in a lot of my 02-based metas, but there is a fairly distinct difference between the Adventure Chosen Children having a tight, deep bond and yet not quite being friends in “social life”, whereas the 02 group was a much tighter group on a social level. I always feel that I need to be really careful about saying this, because if I don’t word it carefully, it sounds like I’m trivializing the Adventure group’s bonds (plus, a lot of Adventure diehards will get very upset at you for suggesting this no matter how you put it), so I thought I should write something a bit more in-depth about it.

I think a lot of of this ultimately ties into what each series was about. The fact that Adventure was meant to be a series about “self-recognition of the individual” whereas 02 was about “relationships with others” has been pointed out by many a fan (and official staff too, while we’re at it), and it naturally lends to how the characters and the relationships between them will have a fundamental difference.

The idea that the Adventure group wouldn’t be the type to get together all that easily never really took that long after Adventure to set in. Of course, Our War Game! having this as a plot point also had a meta purpose (basically, limiting the number of people who could participate in the Diablomon battle), but it also has a very important point behind it: the Adventure kids’ social lives were never all that intertwined.

Again, this is something that sounds really awful to say without further qualification. What do you mean, the Adventure kids weren’t friends? Does that mean their entire adventure was for nothing? Did they go through all that only to forget about each other right after it?!

Well, no, that’s kind of exaggeration. I think to properly flesh out the nature of the issue, it’s important to define the differing ways you can be friends with someone. Imagine that you go on the best vacation in your life. You meet a handful of people there. You swap stories and get life-changing advice. You take commemorative photos after some really spectacular experiences. You swap numbers and social media contacts and then you go home. Are you going to keep in touch every so often with the people who gave you some very important advice, and maybe check on their important life events or organize a reunion sometime in the future? Very possibly! Does that mean everyone you met at that trip will now be regularly going out for lunch with you every week now?...Probably not, especially if you already have friends from school. That doesn’t mean you aren’t friends with the important people you met during that best life-changing vacation; it just means that they fill a very different niche in your life from the friends who don’t necessarily understand the life-changing vacation but have the free time to chat with you over lunch.

When the Adventure group found themselves pulled into the Digital World during summer camp, they had already come from very different social spheres. In short:

Taichi, Sora, and Koushirou were the only ones with a background of knowing each other beforehand, thanks to being in the soccer club;

Yamato went to the same school as the others but was a stranger to them, to the point people didn’t even realize Takeru was his brother at first;

Mimi had her own friend circle (see Adventure episode 29);

Jou was assigned as Mimi’s camp group leader but had no other prior relation to her, and Yamato didn’t even initially know his age;

Takeru wasn’t even supposed to be there since he didn’t go to their school and was only tagging along with Yamato;

Hikari was brought halfway into the adventure by virtue of being the eighth Chosen and Taichi’s sister.

Although six of the eight come from the same school, you can see that they’re basically “kids brought together by a certain circumstance” -- they’re not kids who would have normally come into each other’s purview had it not been for this. Which also means that as soon as their adventure ended and some years passed, the aspects of their real lives and social circles started kicking back in:

Taichi continued soccer;

Yamato formed a band (and presumably had a good relationship with his own bandmates);

Sora quit soccer for tennis;

Koushirou quit soccer for the computer club;

Mimi moved to the US;

Jou started attending a private school outside Odaiba;

Takeru and Hikari were never in their age group to begin with.

In the case of Taichi, Yamato, Sora, and Koushirou, it’s representative of how, although they originally had a shared interest in soccer, ultimately, they started to drift into their own specialties. Again, remember that Adventure was a series fundamentally about finding yourself and finding your own path, and all of these choices actually tie into their character arcs: Taichi is a straightforward person and a natural, charismatic leader, meaning soccer was good for him to begin with; Yamato learned to become more sociable and make friends at school; Sora started playing tennis as part of properly reconciling with her mother, and Koushirou decided to pursue a club relevant to his actual interests instead of one purely so that he could have minimal presence in it.

Mimi’s moving to the US is an interesting case because it’s likely because she’s often described (by both fans and official staff) as someone who is easily likeable and can get along with practically anyone. Considering that she’s constantly considerate of others and lacking in condescension or malice, it’s easy to see why; her infamous bouts of complaining were largely because she was under a lot of stress at the time of Adventure’s events (it’s even said that her cracking under pressure was meant to be representative of how an ordinary child her age would react to the situation), and otherwise she has no problems making friends -- hence why she was shown in Adventure episode 29 as already having friends in Taako and Mii-chan that she presumably hung out with prior to the events of the series. So in moving to the US, the point is made that Mimi could move to an entire other country and still hit it up with people there (and she does, given how she makes friends in Michael and the other American Chosen without issue). So thus, Mimi’s moving is also part of her own path -- becoming an effective “ambassador” between international Chosen as they start to pop up all over the globe.

As for Jou, his character arc has heavily to do with the fact that he’s always been on the “elite” academic track -- Japanese school entrance exams stretch back as far as high school, so the fight to get into medical school comes back as early as here, and since the events of Adventure helped Jou come to terms with why he wanted to be a doctor rather than just following his father’s wishes, it’s understandable that he would now be putting everything into that goal -- even if it means going to a different school outside Odaiba and committing himself to the prep school life. And, generally speaking, the other kids respect that too, given that the only time they tried to pull him from it was a time they were literally suffocating on the spot and needed Ikkakumon’s specific backup badly (02 episode 16).

And finally, Takeru and Hikari? The fact that they’re that much younger than the others in this group really is a big deal. When they’re on something “purpose-based” like an adventure, of course the others will have no problem keeping them around, and of course they’ll be happy to participate with these older kids. But if we’re talking about mundane, ordinary life -- there’s not a lot of evidence to suggest they really would prefer the company of kids so much older than them for conversations over lunch. This is especially because it’s hard to imagine they didn’t have other friends at school, too.

Not that they mind being around all these older kids when the time calls for it, but as far as socialization goes, they have their own lives to live. And that’s fine; again, Adventure was a narrative about kids coming to terms with themselves and what they wanted, and it’s not their fault for prioritizing those paths and forming their own social circles rather than insisting on being a specific eight-person group (no matter how much the fanbase wants to have the romantic image of them sticking together all the time no matter what).

Plus, it’s not like they all completely drifted apart and cut each other off!

Just because they’re not “daily life friends” doesn’t mean they’re not still important to each other. 02 episode 38 has Taichi, Sora, Jou, and Koushirou show up for Yamato’s concert -- it’s unlikely they were attending every single one of his concerts, but this was a very important one that was going to be broadcast on TV, so it’s only natural that even Jou (who, again, doesn’t go to school in Odaiba anymore) would still come to support him.

In fact, the fact they can come together when a situation like this happens even without necessarily meeting up every single day of their lives is probably a testament to how strong that bond is in itself. They don’t need to hang out once a day or week to maintain their friendship, and having other friends they’d rather hang out with throughout the day or invite to events doesn’t necessarily mean the other Adventure kids are less worthy friends to them. That experience in August 1999 was so impactful on all of them that they will never forget it, so even if they spent quite a long amount of time not interacting with each other, when a circumstance that necessitates them coming together does bring them together, they can hit it off like nothing happened. Think about how you might have an important friend that you may not chat with on a daily basis, but you talk to them once in a while and hit it off like you never had a break in the conversation. But because that strong bond is based on that one very specific experience that happened in one specific summer, it’s only natural that the majority of meetups over this are going to be based on something to do with that experience, like Digimon incidents; for ordinary things like “band concerts” or “club activities”, it’ll naturally be easier to stick around friends who have more similar social interests, like fellow band or club members.

On the other hand, this is very much not the case for the 02 group.

To understand why the 02 group has a fundamentally different dynamic, we need to dial back to a little before the actual “adventure” part of 02 started.

Right off the bat, we see:

Takeru moves to Odaiba from Sangenjaya, and specifically to the same building Miyako and Iori live in, meaning he’ll be walking to school with them every day;

02 episode 7 indicates that the Motomiya and Yagami families live in the same apartment complex, meaning Daisuke and Hikari are also likely to walk to school together;

Miyako and Iori are established as having already long hit it off with each other as neighbors;

Daisuke, Hikari, and Takeru end up in the same class (with Daisuke and Hikari having known each other already).

In other words: Even before anything to do with Digimon had been introduced (or re-introduced, technically) into their lives, the kids were already being thrown into each other’s social circles. You could technically argue that Daisuke wouldn’t have necessarily met Miyako and Iori if not for the Digimon incident coming into his life later in the episode, but Takeru being neighbors with them basically fills in all of the gaps here -- unlike with the Adventure kids where the adventure in August 1999 threw them together when they likely wouldn’t have been in the same social circle otherwise, the 02 kids are the social circle even independently of the Digimon incidents. In fact, due to being functionally neighbors, there are a lot of ways these kids’ social lives intersect, with Daisuke and Miyako being Taichi and Koushirou’s juniors, Miyako working for Yamato’s band, Yamato being classmates with Miyako’s sister Chizuru, and Jun and Miyako’s other sister Momoe being classmates.

Since, again, 02 was a series fundamentally structured on examining relationships, you can basically view Adventure being a series about “bringing some people together as they find self-assertion even when they’re from different social circles” while 02 follows that up with “so if they were in the same social circle, how would they deal with that?” -- especially since 02 makes it clear that certain kinds of emotional baggage associated with that can actually make it much more complicated.

A lot of 02′s first half is dedicated to the 02 kids doing completely mundane things that have very little relevance to the Digital World conflict -- watching TV in the computer room (remember: this was before they realized the “genius boy” being covered on the news was actually relevant to this), or having a picnic in the Digital World. Mimi even explicitly points out that this kind of thing wouldn’t have happened with the Adventure kids, but it’s not just because of the fact that Adventure involved a lot of running for their lives! It’s easy to dismiss a lot of what happens in these early episodes as “filler”, but a lot of this is dedicated to depicting how the 02 kids were constantly spending time with each other for reasons completely separated from Digimon incidents. This even includes completely ordinary things like soccer games -- Takeru, Hikari, Miyako, and Iori come to support Daisuke with an obvious motive of seeing him do well, so it’s apparent that they’ve come to enjoy hanging out with him beyond just obligation.

Part of this is because of the different nature of the Digimon conflict that they experienced. The Adventure kids had an experience that really was, functionally, “one” experience -- an extremely formative and important one, but one condensed one that they all experienced together. The nature of what the 02 territory war and conflict was, on the other hand, meant that what the conflict “was” to the 02 kids was of a completely different nature. This wasn’t summer vacation; this involved going back and forth between the fight and real life, to the point where Digimon fighting became integrated into “daily life” -- so of course you’d probably hope that the people you’re fighting with are also people you like to bond with on a social level. “Digimon life” and “social life” became synonymous to them.

And when it all comes down to it, it’s hard to pinpoint a “single experience” that the events of 02 embodied, or at least in the same way August 1999′s adventure was. As much as they were running for their lives, the Adventure kids have the luxury of looking at the events of their series as a formative singular time for them, one that they could even look at nostalgically, but for the 02 kids, it’s hard to condense everything into one singular experience (it’s easy for the audience to see it as one series, but for the kids themselves, it’s a very long chain of vaguely connected events). Actually, most of the year involved fighting with someone who ended up becoming their important friend and the other involved helping him deal with his trauma, so it’s not like everyone would be likely to have the most romantic image of this experience itself to “bond” over as much as they care more about the take-home they got out of it: each other.

One thing that 02 doesn’t really spotlight front and center with its starter cast of characters is that, unlike the Adventure kids, who either came with their own social circles prior to Adventure or eventually developed their own in the course of their lives, it’s heavily implied that the 02 kids actually had difficulty making other friends even on a social level, or at least were likely to be in a situation where the other 02 kids really were better company than their other options even for mundane situations. This is especially in the case of the newly introduced characters, who are, effectively, a bit socially “displaced” from others and likely to have struggles fitting in.

There are quite a few signs that Daisuke had serious difficulty making friends prior to the events of the series (with Hikari being the closest thing he had to one), and the fact that the 12-year-old Miyako is portrayed as constantly hanging out with the 9-year-old Iori, brought together by being neighbors, rather than people closer to their own ages stands out. Iori is particularly interesting in that, unlike with Takeru and Hikari, who were portrayed as kids likely to socialize better with those their own age, Iori’s unusual maturity for his age heavily implies that he would actually be out of place with his classroom peers (a very common phenomenon for some people in real life, too!). 02 episode 3 depicting him left alone in the classroom with only a teacher to watch him while his stubborn fixation on principles leaves him slow to finish his lunch says a lot -- his own behavior is liable to isolate him from others, and it’s thus not all that surprising he ended up bonding with some kids who are older than him and more accepting (and even treat him with proper respect, too).

Takeru and Hikari, too. There’s been a lot of arguments over whether the two of them would theoretically be closer to the Adventure kids or the 02 kids, but I would honestly say it’s technically both at once -- they have the same “not socially close, but intuitively understanding” relationship that the Adventure kids all have with each other, but hold the other 02 kids as part of their social circle and hang out with them in “daily life”. So in other words, they have the Adventure kids’ relationship with the other Adventure kids, and the 02 kids’ relationship with the 02 kids. This is presumably why Takeru and Hikari end up hitting it off so well at the start of 02 even though they didn’t interact all that intimately in Adventure; not only do they have that shared experience they intuitively understand, they also were able to start hanging out in day-to-day life and actually, well, socialize.

This applies to them in relation to the rest of the group as well. While neither of them were necessarily portrayed as having social problems, one common thread between the two is that they’re both very emotionally closed-in. Takeru’s response to negativity is to cover it up with smiles, until he can’t hide it anymore and bursts (which scares the hell out of Iori in 02 episode 19 and ultimately forms the basis of their Jogress arc), whereas Hikari has issues vocalizing whenever she’s hurt or in pain (said by herself in 02 episode 31, but with precedent from Adventure episode 48). That means that, even with potential social circles at school, it’s unlikely they necessarily would have had someone they could emotionally bond with deeply off the bat (especially since Takeru had just moved from Sangenjaya), and it’s likely why they kept gravitating towards each other (despite never truly talking about anything in-depth for most of the series) up until the Jogress arc.

In other words, while the Adventure kids’ adventure of self-actualization meant that their relationships to each other were mainly formed on simply understanding that they had a similar experience and empathizing, the 02 kids -- full of a group of somewhat socially maladjusted and out of place kids, plus two who had been on the prior adventure but were young enough to now still be carrying some deep-seated, unresolved emotional baggage -- were in a position where they arguably needed each others’ help to grow.

Jogress isn’t just an obligatory evolution gimmick; it’s something very important to 02 as a series and understanding what it wants to say about relationships. I think one thing that makes me very sad is how often its constant pigeonholing as a gimmick makes me hear people saying that Daisuke and Ken was the only plot-relevant one and the rest were forced “spares”, saying that something like Takeru-Hikari and Miyako-Iori would make more sense. But when the point of the series is about building your relationships from scratch and learning to grow together, I really don’t feel that a story about relationships that naturally existed already would have helped it nearly as much. It’s not like Daisuke and Ken was that likely of a friendship, either!

This is especially in the case of Takeru and Hikari, who certainly were vibing pretty well with each other, but were still very emotionally closed-in with a lot of emotional baggage until the more to-the-point Miyako and Iori were able to break through their shells. (02 episode 13 is so often considered a “Takeru and Hikari bonding” episode, but while it does do a lot to show off the depth of their relationship that hadn’t been depicted much besides them just hanging out all the time, it also does not solve Hikari’s core problem in nearly the same way Miyako gets to the bottom of it in episode 31.) This is also why Takeru and Hikari have such a different relationship with the 02 kids compared to theirs with the Adventure kids; while they were largely tagging along with the older kids and learning a bit about inner strength back during their summer adventure, the 02 group is the one who not only provided them with friendship on a more equal peer level, but also poked deeply into their emotional issues that they very much needed others to help them out of. These are friends who finally get them.

That Ken ultimately becomes yet another addition to this group of kids in need of friends finding support in each other should go without saying -- after all, it’s made abundantly clear he was very lonely and friendless until Daisuke and the others reached out to him -- but it ultimately culminates in them choosing to integrate this lonely boy from Tamachi into their social life. (Remember: Ken is the only of the six 02 kids to live in Tamachi and not Odaiba, but the last quarter of the series has them going out of their way to meet up.) The episode that establishes that everyone has truly made their peace with Ken and wants to unequivocally support him (with the most originally stubborn against it, Iori, graciously accepting him) is sealed off with a Christmas party. A completely ordinary Christmas party that has nothing to do with the Digimon incidents at hand, where they can play meaningless card games and celebrate the little things like Ken laughing, because it’s not just forgiving him or learning to work with him, but actively enjoying his presence and supporting him.

The Digimon Animation Chronicle profile for Ken in Diablomon Strikes Back refers to him as Daisuke’s “best friend” (親友). Usually, the word for “friends” within Adventure and 02 would be nakama (仲間); you may have heard this word from One Piece fans, but this is a word that roughly means “one of us” and has a stronger emphasis on being in a certain group, or being like-minded. Thus, “you’re a Chosen Child like us,” or, more pertinently, “you have the same goal as us and we’re in this together” (after all, it’s not like being a Chosen Child was ever an exclusive club or anything).

But in the case of Daisuke and Ken’s relationship, it’s not just about having happened to gain a deep bond over the course of 02, it’s that Daisuke now really does have a sense of emotional closeness to Ken that the two are considered best friends by default -- in any situation, despite him living all the way in Tamachi. Even though the franchise loves to put them in the category that “protagonists and rivals” usually get, where most others are ones who tend to have friction but understand each other in the end, Daisuke and Ken are unique in that they’re not like that at all. They have a very straightforward sense of emotionally confiding in each other, at worst maybe lightly bantering a bit, but they are friends before anything else, and that extends to the rest of the 02 group as well.

The aftermath

On its face, it sounds like the 02 kids are getting a pretty luxurious deal -- they got a fun adventure of emotional growth out of it, and they’re tight friends with each other at that! Well, that probably sounds great, but there’s a flip side to all of this.

Firstly, as I mentioned earlier, the Adventure kids’ adventure in 1999 was a lot more “romantic” than the 02 kids’ eight-month-long ordeal. Sure, a lot of it definitely was stressful, what with the running for their lives and the scary villains and the emotional conflict, but there was also the part about getting to meet Gennai and the other friendly Digimon around and getting to explore villages. They were on summer break, so they didn’t even really have to worry about school (especially once they realized time dilation was a thing); it’s basically the epitome of the romantic coming-of-age story. (Fun fact: Stand By Me is really culturally influential in Japan.)

02, on the other hand, was an eight-month-long ordeal of having to fight a territory war crammed into the after-hours of school, juggling fighting this war with keeping it from parents, in a fight that would retroactively turn out to be against what would later become a heavily traumatized and beloved friend, plus eventually watching him get subject to even worse trauma. Oh, and the series also ended on witnessing a bunch of deaths (or in other words, the worst New Year’s Eve ever). While it seemed like the kids had the luxury of enjoying the Digital World in ways the Adventure kids couldn’t at first, actually, they didn’t get to enjoy as much of it at all, since they never got to form any lasting relationships with anyone like Gennai or Elecmon. These kids were basically too busy trying to keep each others’ heads on straight to really be able to focus on that.

The comparative mess that the 02 kids went through, and the messes that they kind of are, means that they’re rather dependent on each other for emotional support. This is not inherently a bad thing, mind you; the fact that some people are more independent than others is a simple fact of life, and the 02 kids (whether it’s from naturally being a bit misfit or from the degree of their experiences) being the type who grow together with mutual support isn’t inherently anything bad. It does, however, mean that they’re likely to have some difficulties ahead coming out of 02 as “growing up” conspires to make it more and more difficult for them to stick together -- after all, how many people have actually been able to stick with their elementary school friends all the way into adulthood? This is especially because Japanese high schools admit students by examination, and rank by academic ability; it’s not particularly common for those from the same elementary/middle school to attend the same high school, even if they live close to each other, and it’s very unlikely that all of them will be sticking together in school by that point.

So, how did they fare?

Well, before we get into anything else, we should probably bring up one thing that seems like such a tiny little detail but is actually very important for this: Technology didn’t stagnate at 02′s D-Terminals, and by the time of Kizuna in 2010, smartphones and group chats existed! (Earlier than they did in real life, at that.) This is actually really important because of how much it does for that question of “how to keep in contact when circumstances like school keep you apart” -- especially when the Adventure group would certainly appreciate the method to keep in touch despite their lives largely getting increasingly separate. That, and even more so if other similar technological things like social media existed; there’s a lot of ways to keep in touch despite physical and circumstantial distance.

Of course, they’d been keeping in touch via email since 02, but a group chat is much lower pressure and actively encourages everyone to keep in touch; think about how useful group chats have been for connecting with your own longtime friends. It’s ambiguous whether the 02 group was privy to this particular chat from To Sora given that they were clearly on call for incidents like the Parrotmon one, but it’s also entirely possible that this is a room for The Ones Who Went on That One Adventure in August 1999, especially since they use the Crests as their icons, and the 02 group has their own (let’s be real, they totally would; think about how many Discord servers with overlapping people you might be in right now). This, combined with the fact that the Adventure and 02 groups seem to have formed a sort of recon squad for the increasing number of Digimon incidents in Tokyo, means that there are actually a lot more opportunities to stay involved with each other than ever before!

As it seems, the Adventure group does seem to be rather emotionally close to the point that Taichi is willing to reach out to Yamato simply to dump his emotional troubles about his future career prospects on him (despite them going to very different universities at this point). Yet, at the same time, there’s still a palpable sense of distance going on here, and a depiction of Taichi and Yamato having developed separate social lives and their own friend circles -- Taichi with Morikawa and Nemoto, and Yamato with Abe (their names come from the novel), who are also acquainted with each other enough to talk about career and worry about each other.

When Taichi and Yamato talk over beer, they don’t even have updates on the same people (Yamato has to update Taichi on Sora and Takeru’s status), and ultimately, Yamato comments on their drifting -- saying that it’s a potentially inevitable part of choosing one’s path. It’s not hard to see why he says this; it’s been a recurring theme for them since after the events of Adventure. Sora and Mimi haven’t been around for Digimon incidents lately because of their careers, and it’s highly likely Jou hasn’t either; Koushirou keeps in touch, but our only depictions have been in the range of business and Digimon incidents.

But for the 02 group? Absolutely not.

The Kizuna drama CD has a lot about what the 02 group was doing (and planning to do) during their little “vacation” in New York. In fact, there’s a lot to go on about here:

Daisuke and Takeru show up together even though Iori was allegedly said to be “first” approached, meaning the two of them were basically hanging out anyway.

Daisuke insists on going on a trip that’s about his own personal career with friends -- and not just any friends, but specifically the group of himself, Ken, Miyako, Iori, Takeru, and Hikari. He also wanted his seniors along, but they were too busy -- but it’s pointed out that the other 02 group members aren’t exactly full of free time either, meaning that these five have a special place of importance to Daisuke in his ramen career trip.

Even the Digimon are aware of what the other humans (the ones that aren’t even their partners!) have been up to lately.

Miyako and Hawkmon say that it’s only natural for them to show up when the group is getting together -- i.e. being with this specific company is a fact of life to her, to the point she invents D-3 gate exploitation to be with them.

The group keeps saying “it’s been a while” for periods of time in which it is made pretty obvious it’s actually not a lot of time at all. (Miyako had just left for Spain to the point her coming back elicits an “already?!” kind of reaction, yet that constitutes “a while”, and the most likely very short time between the trip planning and the movie is also apparently “a while”, and it’s very likely that Takeru’s “a while” in greeting Iori may well have not been that long, either.) It really makes you think about how often the people in this group must be meeting up to think that this constitutes “a while”...

Hikari is ready to fight people for denying her the chance to play with Miyako.

Beyond that, they’ve all apparently been regular enough presences in Daisuke’s life for completely offhand comments and actions to have major impacts on his career thoughts.

In the movie itself, Miyako refuses to take on the exact same request that she ultimately gladly participates in with the rest of the 02 group in New York -- presumably, because the fact her friends are there makes it all better.

As it turns out, despite everything -- despite everyone going in completely different directions with their careers, attending different schools (Iori’s still in high school while everyone else is in university!), the 02 group has been maintaining this attitude of going out of their way to hang out with each other, in a sort of “we do it together, or we don’t do it at all” sense. Of course, that’s not to say they’ve all stayed so socially maladjusted that they’ve become completely incapable of making any other friends at all, but there is a very clear, strong preference of them wanting to be in each other’s specific company to the point that they would do ridiculous things to make it work.

So, you might be asking: what’s the trade-off?

Yamato attributes the alienation between the Adventure group to “choosing one’s own path”. Inherently, this is not quite right (nor is the sentiment that “choices are bad” in general), especially considering that Daisuke, Iori, and Hikari already made their choices in path a long time ago, yet are still behaving like this. The question is actually more of priorities; notice that while the older Adventure characters are mainly portrayed in Kizuna as aggressively pursuing career prospects, the 02 characters, despite having their current educational statuses listed in their profiles, simply seem to have this as not an object.

Iori’s still in school uniform; he’s arguably cramming this all between school club obligations. Ken, Miyako, Takeru, and Hikari don’t have their current educational status involved at all, and even though Daisuke’s ramen trip is technically for his future career, he’s also happy to just “play around” about sightseeing (and, again, there’s also no reason he needed to bring his friends for this). Takeru’s working on his novel, but he hasn’t actually decided it’ll be his career yet. It’s not about whether they’ve made choices or not; it’s about the fact they’re going about this remarkably casually to the point where maintaining their relationship with their friends is more important than career. And this extends to the 02 epilogue as well; compared to their seniors’ more prominent history-making careers, the 02 group’s is more low-scale and community-oriented (the only exception being Sora, but even that ties into individual ambition more than anything else, considering that not succeeding her mother is already a pretty big deal in itself).

The take-home

Adventure and 02 are both very well-known for showcasing people with different personalities and goals in life, and celebrating their differences. I think, personally, the difference between the Adventure and 02 groups’ dynamics is also something that reflects on the different ways to live one’s life as well. This is especially something that most of us can probably understand well now that we’re adults looking back at this, especially in light of Kizuna.

There are some of us who really want to do large-scale things in this world, and will need that understanding of the self to get there but may struggle with maintaining consistent friendships on that turbulent path, and have to adapt by managing the different levels of their relationships and learning to get along with different people in different ways. There are some of us who gain happiness more from mutual support with the people around us even if it means not ostensibly achieving as “great” things, and feel most comfortable with a single consistent set of friends. Some of us are in between, or feel elements of both as we try to experiment with things in life (actually, I’m pretty sure that’s probably most of us to some degree).

Think about your own life and future prospects right now, and then think about the friends you may be in touch with, or haven’t been in touch with for a while, or the ones you talk to for different purposes or fulfill different niches in your life. We’re all trying to straddle this balance; there’s no one right way to live.

#digimon #digimon adventure #digimon adventure 02 #digimon adventure last evolution kizuna #kizuna spoilers

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vgckwb · 3 years

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ML: Isolation Chapter 25: Truths at the Agreste Manor

When Marinette got home, she was greeted by her parents. “Hi sweetie,” her mom said.

“How was your day?” her father asked. Marinette looked up as she took her disguise off. She had a smile ear to ear. Her parents were surprised. “...Marinette…”

“Wh-What happened?” her mom asked.

Marinette started blushing. “Well...it’s, uh, sort of complicated…”

“Well, you can tell us,” Sabine said.

“Right, but, um, maybe we should do it upstairs,” Marinette said. Her parents looked at each other, nodded, and the three headed upstairs. They got seated on the couch, with Marinette in the middle. Marinette proceeded to explain the day’s events.

“So, um, yeah… I...I have a boyfriend now…” Before Marinette could awkwardly say anything else, her parents gave her a hug. It was tight, it was sudden, but most importantly, it was filled with love. Her parents stood by her in everything, but only now is she realizing how much that actually was to them. To see them so happy that she’s happier than she’s been in a long time, it made her feel even happier too. Marinette did the best she could to reciprocate the joint hug. “Thank you. For everything.”

Meanwhile, Adrien walked in the house. He was so excited. Despite all of the complications, Marinette was his girlfriend and he was over the moon. However, upon entering, he got a mysterious text from Nathalie. “Just go to your room. Go straight there. Don’t worry. I can handle it.”

He looked at his phone. “What?”

“Adrien!” his father called out. He, his mother, and Nathalie walked out to see him in the foyer. “Adrien,” his father continued. “You can settle this once and for all.”

Adrien was confused. “Settle what?”

“Adrien, don’t” Nathalie said.

“Oh come on,” Gabriel said. “He’s right here.”

“Well, it may be hard for him to say it,” Emilie explained. “You know how teenagers can be.”

“True,” Gabriel relented. “But you could see it too, right?”

“Of course sweetie,” Emilie agreed.

“See? I’m? What?” Adrien stammered.

“Please, just let it go,” Nathalie said, exacerbated. “All of you.’

“I don’t even know what’s going on,” Adrien said.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Very well. Last night at the auction, your mother and I noticed that you had a certain affinity toward that young woman you were hanging out with.”

Adrien was confused. “You mean Lila?”

“Yes,” Gabriel said. “We think you might have a thing for her.”

“We’ve been trying to set something up for the two of you,” Emilie added, “but Nathalie kept insisting we don’t.”

Adrien took a moment to process what was just said before he laughed. “No. Just no.”

Gabriel and Emile were confused. “See? You heard it from him. Now just drop it” Nathalie insisted.

“Hold on Adrien,” Gabriel said. “That was an awfully curt response. Would you care to explain?”

“Um, no?” Adrien replied. “Just know that I would never, NEVER, go out with Lila.”

“But you looked so cute together,” Emile explained. “And also, you looked like you had a real thing for her.”

“Well, I don’t…” Adrien answered.

Gabriel and Emilie gave each other a confused look. “Please,” Nathalie insisted. “You heard what Adrien had to say on the matter, now let it go.”

“Hold on,” Gabriel said. “Do...you not know how to interact with girls any other way?”

Adrien rolled his eyes. “Yes. I have NO idea how to interact with girls apart from flirting with them. That’s why I haven’t been able to maintain a close friendship with Chloe all these years. Oh wait.”

Gabriel slammed his fist on the railing. “Don’t get sarcastic with me, young man.”

“Well, maybe you should just listen to Nathalie then!” Adrien shot back.

Tensions between the Agreste men were high. “We just want to know what’s going on,” Emilie said in hopes of cooling things down.

“Well, tough,” Adrien said, shocking the both of them. “I’m starting to live my own life now. With my own actions, and my own interests, and my own secrets. I don’t need to tell you everything, especially since until recently, you knew everything because you forced that onto me.”

Emile’s face went pale. Gabriel’s also did, before it turned red with rage. Emilie noticed this. “Sweetie.”

“Adrien!” Gabriel shouted.

“Don’t!” Emilie insisted.

Gabriel calmed down, but was no less displeased. “Adrien. We’re your parents. You can trust us with anything.”

Adrien looked at his parents. They seemed confused and distressed; a feeling he spent most of his life feeling. “OK. But I don’t have to tell you anything.”

Emile was now shocked at him. “Adrien!”

“Like I said, I have my own life now” Adrien reiterated.”And I can choose what to tell you.”

“Adrien,” his father said again, still keeping calm. “We don’t keep anything from you. So please, be open with us.”

Adrien’s heart stopped when he heard those words. He started laughing maniacally. “Is that a joke? Are you trying to be funny? Because if you are, that’s hilarious.”

His parents looked at each other confused. “Adrien, what is the meaning of this?” Emilie asked.

Adrin snapped. “WHY DID YOU KEEP ME HERE FOR SO LONG?!” he shouted. “WHY WAS I LOCKED AWAY WHEN ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS ROAM FREE?! Not even free free. I’d have gladly taken you guys tagging along everywhere compared to the NIGHTMARE I was living. I wouldn’t wish upon the most heinous forces on this EARTH the treatment my own parents gave to me!”

Adrien started to breathe heavily. This was supposed to be the happiest day of his life so far, but now he’s opening up to his parents about how he feels in, to put it mildly, not the healthiest way. “So, forgive me if I don’t want to open up to you about certain things.”

His parents were pale. They had just received a shocking talking to from their son. Both of them were shaking. Gabriel seemed very tense. Before he could yell though, Nathalie stepped in. “HE DOESN’T REMEMBER!” Everyone looked at her. “He was two, he was sleeping for most of it, he doesn’t remember.”

The weight of that fell on the Agreste parents’s shoulders, as they finally began to understand Adrien’s earlier outburst, and previous attempts to escape. “You...really don’t know, do you?” Gabriel asked. Adrien seemed confused again. “Very well. To the family room.”

Emilie was surprised. “Are you sure?”

Gabriel smiled. “Positive.” Gabriel walked over, with everyone else following. Once they entered, Gabriel instructed “Sit.” They both did. Emilie was trembling, which further confused Adrien.

Meanwhile, his father opened a cabinet and pulled out an old new paper. He sat down with them and shared the paper with Adrien. Adrien couldn’t believe his eyes. “‘Fashion Designer and Actress’s Son Kidnapped’?” Adrien was in complete disbelief when he saw a picture of himself when he was a toddler.

“Yes,” Gabriel explained. “One day, we were at the park. You were playing with some of the other children. When our eyes lost you, we couldn’t find you again.”

“It was scary,” Emilie continued. “I mean, our only child was missing. We’d only been parents for as long as you were alive, so we had no idea what to do.”

“We looked for you everywhere” Gabriel said “We spent the next two hours looking through the park for you. We searched everywhere, we asked everyone, we called the police, everything.”

“And then…” Emilie said, tightly gripping her dress, “...we got a call.”

Adrien was stunned. Gabriel continued. “A group of people had drugged you and taken you. They gave us 48 hours to give them 70 million Euros.”

“I was just about ready to empty my bank account” Emilie said, tears starting to stream down her face.

“We explained as much to the police” Gabriel said, also starting to cry. “I mean, our only son was just taken from us because of our wealth. How could anyone not?”

Emilie sniffed. “But before we were able, the police found you.” She smiled, but was still crying. “We were so relieved.”

“But while that nightmare was over, another nightmare began,” Gabriel explained.

“We were so scared of losing you again,” Emilie said. “We couldn’t think straight.”

“We panicked. We lashed out at others,” Gabriel said. “We were so paranoid that we could hardly sleep or focus on anything. Eventually, we decided to see a therapist.”

“Through our talks, we became more well-adjusted, but we were still afraid,” Emilie informed him. “That’s when we made the decision to shelter you.”

“Every so often, we discussed lifting such restrictions,” Gabriel added. “We knew you wanted to, but we were never ready until recently.”

“The thought of losing you was just…” Emilie said. She couldn’t finish the thought.

Adrien finally heard the answer to the biggest question of his life. His parents, to quell their demons, sheltered him. Adrien was breathing heavily. “I...I had no idea…”

“I thought you understood it, son,” Gabriel said.

“It was part of our daily life for years on end,” Emilie said. “I didn’t realize you lived unaware.”

Adrien was upset. At whom? It was complicated. He was upset at himself for resenting his parents while not understanding them, he was upset at his parents for pushing their demons onto him, and he was upset at the world for allowing this to happen in the first place. “I’m sorry,” he said. “For screaming at you.”

Gabriel smiled. “It’s fine. I get it.”

“Yeah” Emilie said, swooping in for a hug. “It’s OK now.”

Adrien smiled. “Thanks.” Gabriel joined the hug. At this moment, after years of panic and paranoia on Gabriel and Emilie’s part, and disappointment and resentment on Adrien’s, peace had finally been restored to the Agreste household.

Once the hug was over, Gabriel asked “So...now that that’s...been aired out...what IS the deal with you and that Lila girl…?”

Adrien was a bit embarrassed, but had a clear answer. “Well, to be honest, it’s not exactly my secret to tell. But if you hold on a second, I can see if I could be able to tell you.”

“Very well,” Gabriel said.

“We trust you, 100%” Emilie reassured. Adrien smiled, nodded, and went to his room.

He logged onto his computer and called you Marinette. “Hello?” she said.

“Hey” he said. There was a bit of silence. “Sorry, I was trying to think of a good pet name, but I’m a bit distracted.”

Marinette smiled. “It’s OK. I still love you. So, what’s up?”

“Well…” Adrien said. “Things got very intense.”

“Oh” Marinette said. “Did you tell them about us? Do they not approve? Oh goodness, of COURSE Gabriel would never approve.”

“No no,” Adrien interrupted. He did giggle at that notion though, as he needed a bit of levity like this after what just happened. He sighed. “So, during the Louvre mission, my parents were under the impression that I had a thing for Lila.”

Marinette was surprised. “Oh.”

“I didn’t want to say anything, because, well, I don’t know how much they would, you know, like me doing all of this” Adrien continued. “It spiraled out of control, and I ended up yelling at them about how I always felt like I was a prisoner in this place.”

“What happened?” Marinette asked.

“Before my father could say anything, Nathalie interrupted and informed him and my mother that I don’t know why they did such a thing” Adrien answered. “So they sat me down and opened up about how when I was two, I was kidnapped for ransom.”

“WHAT?!” Marinette said equally as shocked as he was.

“Yeah…” Adrien said. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think they should have, I just...understand it…”

Marinette looked down. “I’m...sorry..”

Adrien was puzzled. “You don’t need to apologize. I mean, I assume you were two as well, and you didn’t know my parents to ask them not to.”

Marinette chuckled slightly. “No, it’s not that. I’m just thinking. Your parents were at their wit’s end, and that pushed them to an extreme reaction. Well, that’s kind of what I did too. Lila pushed me so far that I felt like I had no choice but to never be seen again. So, I get it.”

Adrien smiled. “It’s OK. I don’t blame you for that either.”

Marinette laughed back. “Thanks.”

Adrien laughed as well. “So, now, I’m wondering, would it be OK to tell my parents about you, and I, and, well, us?”

Marinette blushed. “I think that’s fine. In fact...why don’t you give me a call, and we can do it together.”

Adrien smiled and blush. “I’d like that. See you soon then, I guess.”

“Oh right. We have to leave this” Marinette said. “Yeah.” They smiled for a few seconds longer and logged out at the same time.

Adrien took a deep breath, and walked out. As he was going to meet his parents, he gave Marinette a call. Once she popped up, he said “Missed you” which got a good chuckle out of Marinette. He then rejoined his parents in the family room. They looked at him intently. “Mother...father…” He held up the phone. “This is Marinette, my girlfriend.”

“Hi,” she said, embarrassed.

The Agreste parents looked at her intently, overcome with emotion. “Now, where to start…” Adrien wondered. His parents were confused.

“Well, maybe we should start with the fact that I’m Ladybug.”

“L-Ladybug?!” Gabriel said, worried. He covered his face.

“What are you doing honey?” Emilie asked.

“Well, it’s just,” Gabriel began, “one of the conditions for my deal with Ladybug is that we’d never meet.”

Marinette chuckled. “It’s fine Mr. Agreste. I’ll still work with you.”

Gabriel relaxed a little. “Oh. Thank you.” Emilie laughed a little too.

Adrien enjoyed the moment as well. “So, to explain how we got to this point…” Adrien and Marinette explained the entirety of the situation. Gabriel and Emilie listened as each detail came out, reacting to each piece with a disgust for Lila, a concern for Adrien, but mostly a happiness that they are working on this, and are doing well.

Once they wrapped up, Marinette said “I guess that was a lot.”

“Yeah,” Adrien said. “So, do you have any questions?”

Gabriel and Emilie tried thinking of some. “I...think I understand?” Gabriel said.

“I don’t know how I feel about some of this,” Emilie said, “but I get it. And even with that, I think it’s going well overall.”

“Of course it’s going well!” Gabriel said. “Our son has a girlfriend!”

“Oh, I’m absolutely ecstatic about that,” Emilie said.

Adrien and Marinette blushed. “So, you’re not mad?” Adrien asked.

“Of course not,” Gabriel said.

“While we would have liked you to have told us sooner, I...get why you wouldn’t…” Emilie explained.

Adrien smiled. “Thanks.”

“Marinette!” called Sabine from the other end. “Are you busy?”

“Moooom,” Marinette said.

“Oh, are you talking to Adrien?” Sabine asked. “Can I say hi?”

“Me too!” Tom said. “Just a second!”

“No!” marinette said. However, her denial was to no avail as within a few seconds, Sabine and Tom were looking in.

“Hi Adrie-” Sabine said. She stopped when she realized that she wasn’t in front of Adrien.

“Um, are you Marinette’s parents?” Gabriel asked.

“Um, yes…?” Tom answered.

“Oh, well we’re Adrien’s parents” Emilie said.

“Oh really?” Sabine said.

Emilie nodded. “Adrien and Marinette were just explaining everything to us.”

“Oh my” Sabine said.

“Rest assured, you have our support in all of this” Gabriel said. “I mean, anyone my son is going out with has to be a world class lady.”

“Oh, why thank you,” Tom said. “And likewise, anyone going out with Marinette must be a true gentleman.”

“Thank you,” Gabriel replied. Marinette and Adrien were thoroughly embarrassed.

“Oh, we really shouldn’t keep you,” Sabine said. “Why don’t we continue this another time?”

“I like that,” Emilie said. They exchanged information. “Talk to you later.”

“Bye!” Sabine said. Marinette’s parents left.

“Ugh…” Marinette groaned.

“Don't worry,” Gabriel said. “We really mean it. We’ll do whatever we can to help take down this Lila girl.”

Marinette was still embarrassed, but she told him “Thanks. Well, see you later, I guess.”

“Bye” Emilie gently cooed.

Adrien turned the phone to him. “See you later.” He hung up. Despite the surprise of Marinette’s parents, the conversation went considerably well.

However, that moment of peace was interrupted by Nathalie walking up to them. “So, do you have a good understanding of everything?” They all nodded. “Good. Then I am resigning as your secretary, effective immediately.”

“Nathalie?” Adrien said.

“What is the meaning of this?” Gabriel demanded.

“You can help Adrien now,” Nathalie said. Adrien noticed she was shaking. “My work here is over.” She walked toward the door but was stopped by the bodyguard. She looked up at him. “What?” He glared at her. “I know I promised, but…but…” The bodyguard opened his arms and Nathalie broke down. She collapsed into him, crying. “I’m sorry!”

The Agrestes were shocked by this display. The usually stoic Nathalie was a complete mess. “Is...everything alright?” Gabriel asked.

“NO!” Nathalie shouted. “I’m sorry!” The Agrestes were still puzzled. Once Nathalie got a hold of herself, she looked at the bodyguard and said “Thanks.” She then turned to the Agrestes, wiping her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“You’ve said as much,” Adrien said.

“Right…” Nathalie said. There was a brief silence. Nathalie sighed. “I have to come clean. My last name isn’t Sancouer. It’s Fontaine.”

“Nathalie...Fontaine?” Gabriel said. He turned to Emilie. “Hey, didn’t we go to school with a-”

“Yes,” Nathalie said. “We are one in the same.”

Gabriel and Emilie’s faces went pale. “Oh” Gabriel said.

Adrien was still confused. “What does that mean?”

“Well, uh, hoo” Emilie said. “See, back in high school-”

“I’ll explain,” Nathalie said. “Back in high school, I was essentially like Lila.” Adrien was stunned. “I would lie and manipulate others to get what I wanted. And it would work...most of the time. The only thing I couldn’t get...was your father.”

This was a lot for Adrien. “Oh…”

“I tried and tried,” Nathalie explained. “But the harder I tried, the more in love your parents became. Soon, it all came crashing down on me.”

“I see…” Adrien said, still processing everything.

“Still, I wasn’t one to give up” Nathalie went on. “After high school, I changed myself a bit so that they wouldn’t recognize me, and I positioned myself to become Gabriel’s personal assistant to one day swoop in and take him away. I changed my name to reflect what you called me when you exposed me for who I really was.”

Adrien was wondering what she meant. “Heartless,” Gabriel said. “Sans-coeur.”

“Yes,” Nathalie said. “At first, even though it marked my defeat in high school, I wore it as a badge of honor. I felt like I didn’t need a heart if I could get what I wanted. But now, it’s a scar, forever reminding me of the person I was.”

The Agrestes were surprised. “What changed you?” Emilie asked.

Nathalie smiled. “The kidnapping of Adrien.” Adrien was stunned again. “Once I saw you two worry, and panic, and Adrien go missing, and return, and everything coming apart at the seams, but you two still were together in all of it, the pettiness just...melted away. Suddenly, it all felt real.

It stopped feeling like a game of chess I was trying to win, and it felt like I was stuck and everyone was moving on. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I wanted to run away then, but I felt like I couldn’t. I needed to repay you for everything I’ve done. So I decided to stay until my debt was repaid.”

“And you feel like that’s now?” Gabriel asked.

Nathalie nodded. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.” Nathalie tried leaving again, but was again blocked by the bodyguard. “What now?”

“Nathalie,” Gabriel called out. Nathalie turned to him. “I reject your resignation.”

Nathalie was confused. “What?”

“You heard me,” Gabriel said.

“Did you hear me?” Nathalie said. “I was your high school monster. I only came to this job to steal you.”

Gabriel smiled. “You must be more stuck than you realize” he said, surprising Nathalie. “High school was a long time ago. Any monster from then is nothing but a dust mite now. You seemed to have learned your lesson too. Besides, you’ve been very helpful, and I can safely say we all enjoy your company now. This new Nathalie is good.” Emilie nodded. Adrien nodded as well.

Nathalie was stunned. She looked at this smiling family accepting her for who she is and forgiving her. “Heh. Heh heh” she started crying again and collapsed to the floor. “Thank you. Thank you.”

Once Nathalie had composed herself, it was getting late. Nathalie shook hands with Gabriel, affirming her not resigning, and after that she and the bodyguard left for the night, as the Agreste’s decided to retire to their rooms.

Adrien tried calling Marinette again, but she didn’t answer. “Hm. Must be asleep. Oh well.” He smiled, set his phone down, and got under the covers. He smiled and he started dozing off with Marinette on his mind. Despite everything, this was the day Marinette and him started dating, and for him, that made today good.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug fanfic #Marinette #sabine #TOM #adrien #gabriel #emilie #nathalie #adrien's bodyguard #no kwami #NICE GABRIEL

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inmyarmswrappedin · 3 years

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Episode 15! And you won’t believe this, a white person showed up!

I started watching the episode after I answered this last ask, which itself made me think about 19. The thing about 19 is that it neither praises nor condemns white people, because they simply don’t really exist in Aisha’s world. (That’s not true for every 17-verse season though, I know for instance Abdi had a white gf.) When white people show up on 19, they’re that guy that checks tickets at the bus, or a customer at the smoothie shop. They’re the nameless law students Aisha sees when she has to make Yusuf believe she’s already attending uni. They’re the people in the judicial system that Emrah sometimes talks about (lawyers, judges, etc).

All this to say, I was surprised when this white woman showed up and had several lines lol.

So Aisha arranged a meeting with a woman around her same age who can tutor her in maths. But she probably arranged said meeting when she didn’t have more pressing concerns, like getting Emrah to agree to have dinner with her brother and herself. As such, Aisha’s not really paying attention to the lecture. And though I tried to follow the lecture myself, I also wanted to figure out exactly what Aisha was texting Emrah, without using google translate. So yeah, things are not looking great for that math test.

On that note, I’ve been wondering for a while what event the episodes are counting down to, and I’m thinking it might be Aisha’s actual math exam. It’s either that or something to do with Emrah’s international drug deal. But I hope it’s something that impacts Aisha directly.

Anyway, I think Aisha left her cellphone at home intentionally, because when she walks up to Khushi’s (not a pal, but an actual Indian restaurant in Oslo), she hides between two cars to check the time on her laptop! It’s already 6:07 pm and Emrah is nowhere to be seen. However, Yusuf is at the entrance, pacing the sidewalk.

(Edit from the future to say that three different people sent me asks to remind me that Aisha’s mom confiscated her phone after their fight. So, including me, there are at least four people watching the season in real time! A veritable crowd!!)

Time to face the music, so Aisha walks up to Yusuf. Yusuf wants to know where Aisha’s boyfriend is. Aisha says she doesn’t know and doesn’t have her cellphone. Yusuf says to use his cellphone. Aisha says she doesn’t know Emrah’s cellphone, Yusuf says to look it up... Anyway. For a second, it looks like Aisha might come clean and say she broke up with Emrah, but instead she says he must’ve gotten tied up at work. Gvhvhv please Aisha, we have 4 episodes to go, when are you going to stop lying? 😂

Luckily, Emrah jogs up right at that moment and backs Aisha up, with a story about how there was some trouble at work. Aisha introduces the boys, Emrah extends his hand, and after a moment of playing tough, Yusuf shakes his hand.

While at the restaurant, a server comes up wanting to know what they’ll be drinking, and Yusuf’s like “tap water, now gtfo.” They have some SERIOUS shit to be talking about here, server! Indeed, Yusuf cuts straight to the chase and says he knows about Emrah’s history. He says his sister is the most important thing in the world to him, even over his parents, and Aisha isn’t allowed to see Emrah. HOWEVER, he’ll now be going to the bathroom, and when he comes back, he wants to know what Emrah has to say for himself.

I’m going to take a break here to talk briefly about Wtfck, a show where another Moroccan girl has an overprotective older brother. My thing about Yusuf as compared to Elias Ait Omar, is that we’ve been shown over and over again where Yusuf is coming from. We’ve been shown that Yusuf is himself pressured by his environment to check on his sister, have opinions on what she wears, on who she hangs out with and who she dates and who she makes out with in public. We’ve also been shown that, otherwise, Yusuf loves his sister and is genuinely proud of her, that he as an older brother loves to tease her and fuck with her, that he isn’t all disapproval all the time. I know that when Yusuf says that men and women are different, he’s saying that because he can see that his environment treats men and women different, and he doesn’t know or hasn’t questioned or thinks he can’t fight why this is, NOT because left to his own devices, he’d uphold this system he and Aisha are part of. Elias has simply not gotten the same treatment. I understand when people say that Elias isn’t a villain, and that Muslim siblings have this kind of conversations all the time. But do the wtfck writers know that boys like Elias are subject to pressure themselves? Or do they think Elias is a willing oppressor? Because it’s very clear that the 17-verse writers know Yusuf is only trying to play by the rules as he understands them.

While Yusuf is taking a leak, Aisha begs Emrah to make up a story, say he’s done with that life, just anything that won’t get Aisha in trouble with her parents. Emrah’s like, “I’m done lying.” That makes one out of the two of you, man. Meanwhile, the server comes with a jar of water and tries to pour it in each of their glasses. Aisha’s like, “Excuse me, I got this! Can you gtfo I’m having an important conversation here!” Lol this poor server.

Yusuf then comes back, and Emrah’s actor is given the chance to deliver on the best monologue I’ve seen so far on the show. He made a mistake, he did time for it. He’s trying to get his life back on track, thinks he might study to become a teacher. He would like to help teens in the situation he was, teens from bad environments who could be led to make the wrong decision and ruin their lives. Which isn’t to say he blames someone else for his choices. He made the choice to get involved in drug dealing himself, it was all him, not anyone else’s fault. But no, he’s not done with that world because he still owes money to Bigmac and has to pay it back.

Yusuf’s like, “Alright, that’s enough. I don’t want you to see my sister again.” Emrah says he respects that decision, and puts on his hat and coat to leave. Aisha begs Yusuf to let Emrah explain. This is pretty funny because she never let Emrah explain to her lol.

But Yusuf agrees to listen, and Emrah adds that, because of his decision, he lost everything. His future, the person he loves... But most importantly, he lost his little brother, because as Emrah was sitting in jail, Ibo, just 16, was out in the world all alone. He finally says that when he first got a handful of bills, he felt like a king. But in reality, he was just a loser with good clothes.

The mention of Emrah’s little brother goes straight to Yusuf’s heart, an older brother himself. He once again reiterates Aisha is the most important person in the world to him, and he wants to know how he can trust that Emrah truly just wants to be done with drugs forever. Emrah says that’s up to him.

This is such a good scene. It really became about Emrah and Yusuf, connecting both as older brothers and men in an environment where things and decisions don’t necessarily come easy. It reminds me of Markus’ season in the sense that I don’t agree with these men’s every decision, but I understand how they got here and understand they’re subject to different pressures than myself. It does make me believe that if you approach someone in good faith and make an effort to understand them, a better world is possible. Which is also what I felt when I first watched Isak’s season.

Indeed, when all three are done with dinner, Yusuf says he’s going to catch up with a buddy and sort of tells Aisha she’s free to go home by herself (remember that the only reason Aisha was allowed out was because Yusuf was going to tag along). Pretty much letting Emrah and Aisha walk home together and have a moment to themselves. Aisha feels that everything is coming up Aisha! But Emrah says that they’re done. Aisha says no, she wants to help him. But Emrah says this is his mess to clean up, and now that he made things good with Yusuf (and by extension, Aisha’s parents), they’re officially broken up.

Guys, I screamed in frustration.

#17 nrk

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possiblyimbiassed · 4 years

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Poisonous connections

While re-reading John’s blog post The Poison Giant, I realised something:

There’s a subtle connection between The Six Napoleons /Thatchers, Mary Morstan and The Sign of the Four/Three, in ACD canon as well as in BBC Sherlock. And the blog’s author might have used a reference to a Rathbone movie to further highlight this connection.

Indeed, ACD seems to reiterate certain events, elements or symbols of his stories throughout his whole Holmes work, just like Mofftiss are doing in BBC Sherlock. In this meta I’ll try to point out some of them, and speculate a bit on their meaning as subtext.

“It all started when i received an email. There was no text just a picture of a pearl. I assumed it was spam, but then, the next day, there was another one. Another email, another picture. Another pearl. And again and again. Six days, six pearls.”

This blog post is written directly after The Empty Hearse, and the case happens after Sherlock’s return, when John is already living with Mary. Apart from the dates and the order of the blogposts, we can deduce this from the fact that Sherlock calls John on his heart phone in the morning to discuss the case, which he wouldn’t need to do if they lived together at the time:

But to me this whole case, with six anonymous pearls, sounds very much taken from canon’s The Sign of the Four (SIGN), where Miss Mary Morstan first was a client who seeked help from Holmes regarding her father’s disappearance.

Miss Morstan: “The same day there arrived through the post a small cardboard box addressed to me, which I found to contain a very large and lustrous pearl. No word of writing was enclosed. Since then every year upon the same date there has always appeared a similar box, containing a similar pearl, without any clue as to the sender.”

Watson goes on to tell us how Miss Morstan “opened a flat box as she spoke and showed me six of the finest pearls that I had ever seen.” So just like in the blog post, there were six pearls in total. But in canon Mary was the one who received the pearls, while in BBC Sherlock it was John, at least that’s what he says.

In BBC Sherlock, when John and Sherlock go to investigate the origin of the pearl e-mails, they find a laptop and a man murdered by a poisoned dart. In TSoT Sherlock very briefly tells the guests on John’s wedding about this case:

The dart-blowing James Swandale from this case is not very unlike the character Tonga in SIGN; a small man who is killing his victims by blowing highly poisonous darts at them.

While re-reading SIGN I encountered some themes that I know are repeated with similar stories later in ACD’s work:

The six valuable pearls that Miss Morstan receives by mail have similarities to the six plaster busts that are smashed in The Six Napoleons (SIXN). One of them contains a hidden, valuable pearl (Pearl of the Borgias). The pearls in SIGN are part of the Agra treasure, which is ultimately lost. In SIXN, however, the pearl is the treasure, and it’s ultimately found.

In SIGN we learn that Miss Morstan’s father was a retired military officer, whose emotion while confronted with someone from his past caused him a heart attack. He fell, hit his head on a sharp edge and died. Very much like the retired Colonel James Barclay in The Crooked Man (CROO), who was shocked when confronted with his old rival, fell and hit his head on a sharp edge, and died. Neither of the characters from the past was actually guilty of murder, but they both found it wise to either get out of there or get rid of the body, in order to not get incriminated.

Another retired officer in SIGN, John Sholto, had the sins of his past reaching up on him in the shape of a fellow officer and accomplice (Morstan). This meant a threat of exposure, scandal, loss of his wealth and probably prison, which ultimately worsened his enlarged spleen so much that he died. Before he passed, he told his son about his criminal past. Very much the same thing happened to Victor Trevor’s father in The Gloria Scott (GLOR), who had a stroke, confessed to Victor (via a letter) and later died.

I think ACD’s way of writing recurring themes is very much imitated in BBC Sherlock.

But if the killer in the blog post case was small, why does John call him “The Poison Giant”? Why does John, who isn’t very tall himself, mock a considerably shorter guy by calling him the opposite? A rather low blow, isn’t it? Well that was my first impression, but there might actually be something more to this.

For a start, here we have something that’s repeated by Eurus in TFP:

Someone is trying to inject our protagonists with something dangerous, administered by small darts. John tells us, in his blog post, about Swandale: “He was, to be honest, terrifying. And he had his poisoned dart with him.” At the end of the story we learn that someone apparently wanted to kill both Sherlock and John.

But there’s also another criminal involved: “And he had a friend. A big friend. A really big friend. Sherlock recognised him as Phil Dickinson, known to some as The Headcrusher. So, there we were being chased across a rooftop by Swandale and his poisoned dart only to run straight into this bloke who could break me in half with his bare hands.”

And, to top it, a third ‘feature of interest’ (my bolding): “The big clue we had to go on was that Swandale had got hold of the plans of a house belonging to some pop star from the 90s called Giles Conover.”

A quick Google search reveals that Giles Conover is a character from one of the Basil Rathbone adaptations of Sherlock Holmes: The Pearl of Death from 1944:

Conover is one of the criminal antagonists to Holmes in the film (which can be seen here), and the other one is "The Hoxton Creeper", a giant man who is known for breaking the back of his victims with his bare hands.

The Headcrusher in John’s blog post doesn’t seem very far from The Creeper in The Pearl of Death, does he? Both are extremely tall men. But this also seems to tie into The Golem from TGG:

The Golem is not specifically described as “tall” by John’s blogpost The Great Game, though, only as “a monster” and “barely human”:

“He also worked out what had killed the security guard. I say 'what' although technically it was 'who'. But, having seen the man, 'what' is probably a better definition. He was an assassin known as the Golem. He killed people by squeezing the air out of their body with his bare hands!”

“The Golem was there and it killed her. Then, it attacked Sherlock. I don't think I've actually seen him scared before. Me, I was bricking it! I'd seen horror in Afghanistan. But this man was barely human. He really was a monster! I managed to rescue Sherlock (by whacking the Golem with my gun - I never said I was subtle) but the creature got away.”

So, we have two cases in BBC Sherlock where the criminal they’re chasing is an extremely tall man; once in John’s blog description and the other one in the visual description of the show. And they both fit in nicely with this Rathbone adaptation character. But not with canon, as far as I can see?

In summary, we have the following ‘features of interest’:

The Pearls from the Treasure

The Sins of the Past

The Heart

The Poison and the Darts

The Small Man

The Giant

What subtext can we see in this? Well, there’s this couple of male friends - one small, one big. Who might that resemble? ;) There’s also the matter of the Heart, leaning hard on the Sins of the Past. Seems familiar? Then we have the Pearls, connecting to a treasure. But these things seem a bit unattainable, don’t they? At least this far... In SIGN there’s also a couple of twins - Thaddeus and Bartholomew Sholto. One of them - Bartholomew (for some unknown reason) has a chemistry lab in his house, just like Holmes. And he is murdered by the small man Tonga, basically because he wants to keep the Agra treasure. Thaddeus, the other twin, gives (at least parts of) the treasure to Mary Morstan, and he lives. But Thaddeus is a nervous, twitchy little man who seems rather isolated. Is he happy? I doubt it. And he even loses the treasure - the part that he has not already given away.

And finally, there’s the Poison. Why do Sherlock and John always get drugged, or (almost) poisoned? Is their connection so dangerous - is it poisoned? Well, that might be what Sherlock believes, sadly. But the only real, successful poisoners we have had in this show are a) Jeff Hope, b) Doctor Frankland and c) Jim Moriarty. And they’re all dead. But what if the ‘poison’ that Sherlock and John so fear is actually The Chemistry of Love? Administered by Darts = Cupido? ;) ;) ;)

As a little bonus, there’s also another curious detail from SIGN; this illustration by Richard Gutschmidt:

Look at Thaddeus Sholto’s neat little oriental side-table! It does have a high resemblance to this prop from 221B in BBC Sherlock, hasn’t it? (X) :)

Tagging some people who might be interested: @ebaeschnbliah @raggedyblue @gosherlocked @sarahthecoat @sagestreet @mathilderunout @loveismyrevolution @tendergingergirl @tjlcisthenewsexy

#The Sign of Four #the crooked man #the gloria scott #the pearl of death #the poison giant #the six napoleons

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unproduciblesmackdown · 4 years

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hmm here’s me talking about su sort of lmao like i said i’m not here to be particularly scentamentle?? just say funney stories....and some opinions.....it’s really been a hot minute and i haven’t been making Long text posts about things so i can throw one out there even if it’s got no thesis statement

also like i said i just so happened to like, actually watch the first ep on actual tv when it actually premiered....all i super remember knowing about it beforehand was like “oh rebecca sugar getting her own series right on” and i was gonna check it out on that alone and then also i remember before it debuted there was an article about it in the wapo in the sort of “local”-ish section b/c it was like. hey this is based in uh yknow the dmv....delmarva area.....this whole Region.....and i (from nova and in nova at that time, and flipping thru the print wapo every day) was like haha. neat. also god damn it was 2013, hell of a year. i can tell you little about it b/c it was so crappy i just like did not bother much with things like “distinct memories” lmfao. great to have like, a weekly thing towards the end of that hot mess (november??? or smthing??) back when....god........it aired weekly.........anyways yeah i was pleasantly surprised from the start i don’t Get when people are like “can’t watch this in order :/ the first few eps don’t sell it well” like okay speak for yourself god dman....more on that later i’m sure lmfao. hot takes

my brother started watching it too just cuz he’s game for shit that way and i was keeping up with it. like i remember i thought cheeseburger backpack was extra fun and i think i showed him a rerun and i remember he thought it was funny lol the Raft Gag......and when i was watching tiger millionaire i kept For Real Laughing and he came over like what is going on.....and i think he was signed on from there........again pretty fun for it to be this weekly thing. also maybe i’m not here to be Sentamental but i was also like “oh no that Spoke to my feelings unexpected :(” during tiger millionaire when amethyst was all “you can’t let anyone make you feel like garbage” and “i only feel how i wanna feel” like guess who was in the early stages of “my self esteem is so crappy it’s starting to circle around into [trying to increase self esteem]”.........like i said hell of a time. though then that’d be 2014 by then i think?? still a hell of a time

started to get “i think i will draw the same character one million times” about it at some point in 2014 too lmfao......every instance of [me drawing the same shit one million times], which is the only way i ever draw anything, then like, benefits whatever i draw later cuz like. sure get some practice out of it. and even though like, it wasn’t quite as huge an Internet Thing as it was gonna get once i started to draw shit, it was already like, classic-me Kinda Niche to be like “hey gang who is going ham about the bored dumbass teens”....not so niche that there weren’t other people going “yeah i am” at any given time tho. and then we put our hands in the middle and go Yeah!! and jump up hsm style. it was also a great time for something Fun and (easier than marble hornets lol) to draw b/c. it simply was a good time for it.....struggling to draw shit back then even more than is like, usual. oh and also i forget but i had sort of Withdrawn from the mh fanbase b/c it got this whole influx of randos after fjsfdking the Video Game we all know the one and i was like. i am gonna.....sidle over here. nobody Likes to be in a fandom actually lmfao. and i mean even while su was getting to be A Whole Thing i was like. bro i am over here in the Donuts section and it is a little quieter and i use the tag sometimes but i’m all set, thanks. still the least Niche niche i’ve been in probably lmfao....see: the fact that probably still way most of my followers are here from su times even tho idk who’s even active still

also had a high time making some great Long Text Posts. i kind of always fail 2 grasp that even as much as my drawings that stuff leads to me actually getting to interact with people, b/c like, those text posts have me actually saying Words in them, which helps lmfao..........i think it’s like, these posts are probably Not That Fun for most people, but then for the people who Are like “oh sweet this is something that i actually want,” that’s obviously a helpful way to find a kindred spirit lmao.....like hey cool you already know i can’t shut up and am opinionated and obviously a lil much? fantastic let’s do this. plus idk it’s fun to Not Shut Up Actually. like, not the biggest deal. ppl can just Scroll Past. or not

speaking of “getting practice Not Shutting Up and Drawing Shit”.......hilarious when in late 2018 i find myself like. oh so you’re telling me this excellent character who is a self-sabotaging struggling-to-know-how-to-cope-with-shit-and-connect-with-others insecure af Teen is not appreciated / ignored / deemed Awful (and then ignored) by the majority of the fanbase?????? hahaha you don’t say....but No Problem. let me just talk about how this person has Complexity actually and is a lot more sympathetic than not and i hate all of you omg like do we have to do all of this ourselves lmfao........guess so, Fine

what am i talking about funny stories who is this funny to lmfao. okay no but okayyy what an experience when the island adventure preview came out and for like the next 4 days i did not experience depression lmao........i Jumped on the opportunity b/c it was like, early fall i wanna say??? i think sept?? 2014 and i was kinda mulling over going to gmx (which was this convention the Marble Hornets gang kept getting invited to & i’d been 2 twice b4 but missed the previous yr coz it was 2013 and i was way not thriving) and yeah jumped on the “depression / (as much) anxiety who???” superpower to Ask if it was cool if i went to a friend’s wedding in georgia for a weekend. there was no friend’s wedding in georgia. and then i went to gmx AND. ironically (not really im sure. idk what irony means and idc) gmx weekend ended up being the same weekend island adventure actually aired and when i left that morning (gmx being in nashville) my lil bro (getting up for school) was like GO GO and i actually made it in time to catch it in the hotel room but. they didn’t have the channel despite it being listed on the channel guide. i about flipped lmfao but i did see it later that weekend and flipped again. gmx was an a-okay time as well lmao that was the last time i made it

they may have never sold a licensed Lars S1 Green/Purple Snake Tee but look when i have this green racerback with a neat snake print & this necklace of purple quartz crystals and also when i was at gmx i bought this necklace with one (non purple, non actual crystals but plastic shaped like it / glossed) pendant In The Spirit Of It All and it gets compliments. anyways the point is. indirectly representing

speaking of crystals = lars i’d just like to reiterate that i’m always right. like sure i was like “look i don’t know how lars could have Crystal Magic in him but something is up with the fact he’s = pink magic flowers with crystals inside them Means Something.” i think it’s reasonable to Not have predicted he dies and gets revived w/ crystal magic that’s in him now. but that’s still a Win for realizing somethings up....tfw as early as like s2 times i’d be like “well the donuts gotta get involved in the center of adventure at Some point and also i Know it is important that steven is just lars’s rly annoying little brother and y/n do you think lars would die to protect him i think he would...” like. i didn’t wanna be That right :/

tfw me and my brother were watching rose’s scabbard while my mom was napping it out in the armchair and like silently Sharing A Look at the whole “she was beautiful” thing like. lol harold

i still don’t know how much of a Thing(tm) magfest is but as far as i can figure it it’s No Comic Con (like, thank god :| ) but still kind of a thing. anyways i learned of it cuz i saw there was gonna be a couple su panel thingies & i looked it up & we were less than an hour away and so it was like midnight but i ask my brother like hey wanna swing by this thing on this one friday. and he was like Sure. so i made it happen and he was 17 so we had to drag our dad to the bank to Notarize a form that he was allowed to be there accompanied by me. it was a big place and it also took us a while to find Registration or whatever and when we tried getting sandwiches later it cost like $7 each go figure. anyways but we were just there for the one Event & there was a room like filled with arcade games and a bunch of other consoles (also Retro though. like old computers n stuff) and they had Galaga, thank fucking god. we 2 playered that shit and wandered around and also 2 playered a game called toobin, which was funny. real gamers know.

when we were in the (pretty long) Line to get into the Panel, i actually like. spotted a then-mutual who i (was pretty sure i) recognized from her occasional selfie lol and who i guess had travelled all the way from the west coast for the weekend. when we were actually Seated she happened to be a couple rows back and both of us on the end of the aisle and i asked my brother if he could read her nametag (to verify lol) and i bopped over to have the cringe and fail exchange of “hey do you have a Tumblr” and then i was like “haha i’m milo i’m ummmwine” and she got up to hug me and then i had to scamper back to my seat cuz shit was starting lol

like my life was not changed by this event but we had fun and. the Hilarious story is that it was also partially a Q&A and i had a Q and my brother encouraged me by again whispering “go go” as soon as the first syllable was spoken implying Line up For Questions.....i was in like, the last idk, haaalf dozen or so ppl who made it to the mic? and look i knew i was gonna be asking a niche question that like 3 other people of the hundreds in the room would care about but So What. deal with it gang, let’s have some Variety. but i was still nervous. and when i’m nervous, i a) Have A Script and b) get even chattier. and right after the person Right In Front Of Me got their answer, i guess it was noticed that it was getting down to the wire so they were like “haha okay lightning round :)” and i was like NO.......GOD..........lmfao like too late im sorry i Can’t make it lightning round. i was muy anxious.....just that, again, hundreds of people there, i have the floor, nobody’s gonna Like my quastion......and they didn’t know the answer (which i figured was v possible lol) so i was like oh no sklfjd hope this entire room doesn’t hate me. i mean of course i didn’t care if they did too much but, Nerves....also im valid, but were the like half dozen people who asked prior to me about shit that would CLEARLY be too spoilery to answer valid????? no lmfao. cmon. that’s what’s Really cringe

well here we ffw a bit b/c Mid To Late 2015 is certainly a time for me and it doesn’t really make for an interesting story so just to tldr it lmao like, got some beautiful moral support from someone as i was makin a Lifestyle Change lol and continued to get beautiful moral support from that same person and i continue to benefit from it....You know who you are!!!! tyvvm....and it occurred to me that the reason i am where i physically am is via someone i met thru su-posting.......which is true of the You Know who you are person too, which is why i brought it up lmao

uhh god not as many Stories after that lol.....def got to engage in “i’m ___ i’m gonna [draw the same character i always draw] so i won’t be so ___” during interesting times lol. love that for me

tbh the uh. Wanted arc was truly one of the best Serial Arcs, just dramatic & solid af and also it’s lars time and for a second i go “god well at least maybe now ppl will acknowledge lars is a gr8 character” and then a second later i go “Oh No they’ll only say he’s a good character *Now*” and that’s exactly what happened lmfao but well we still got as much lars fanart as we ever got outside that couple weeks aftermath... l o l . . . i had to wait One Zillion Years for my little brother to catch up to this b/c. he was watching via hulu i think where like, a full season would come out a good while after the finale. seriously i think it took him almost 2 years. im like dammit lmfao this is What Matters dfslk....fond memories when hulu was free / no login req’d / shit would be available like the day after airing

uhhhHHH crazy how this show muscled through the weird scheduling change where it was like “no weekly eps Only Erratic Hiatuses”......ppl were so foolishly Into the first “5 eps in a row” release and i was like “no i don’t like this” and then a year later i was like “you see. You See.” rip

i think we can even ffw to sutm at that point lol....im like im in this for lars okay lmfao kinda Shrugggg @ things by this point lol like finale shminale. where’s he at. and i really wasn’t paying a world of attention to like, prior-to-release lore n announcements so i was just plunged into this chaos of like sorry???? excuse me?? of all the people in the world sarah stiles?????? lfsdj like noooo don’t show me these tweets lmfao......truly it’s fine i’m being Hilarious but it’s also very real that like, when i see things like “showtime(tm)” or “SHO” or “billions content” i’m just doused with Dread b/c i hate this series lmao i swear to christ. but it’s really Fine lmfao like. i was kinda “eh :/” to “yea this is alright” about the rest of it but spinel was The Highlight lmfao and having $50 to go ham on her animation was great but really the voice acting Made It.....like the entire takeaways was uh the other friends sequence and fuckin uhh this part. fuck it up ms. stiles........hit it out of the park..........cain was the first funny bitch and spinel was the second. that thought just came to me and i will not elaborate. call that a revelation. oh and also it was a relief cuz i was like “i s2g if this Antagonist is like, aquamarine-style annoying af....i will die” but No. spinel is annoying af in another way which is her rights and i don’t want to die about it lmfao. she’s good.......i don’t even resent the “how come whenever some rando shows up ready to literally kill everyone for no good reason, all of you are ready to be like ‘wow an icon’ and we can’t have 10% of that energy for the teen who’s kinda bitchy b/c he’s annoyed by life and crap???” thing b/c i mean, she had her whole Arc all at once and also is good enough for it i think. the nadir was when the one rando shows up for like One episode like “i Don’t want to kill everyone :3 syke >:)” and for some reason people were like “omg iconic. call them on their ‘don’t kill everyone’ bullshit” like lol i hate you guys

well i like lars’s [last outfit we see him in] and i feel like it only backs up the bi agenda. another epic gamer moment had been when it became a Popular Hc that lars is trans b/c he is lmao. and everyone was all “why is everyone sayign this why would you want him to be trans he sucks” like get good grandma!!!!!!!! it’s too late. well that’s the end of my post. me in 2014 being like “wow way to have something to keep up with b/c now i have to outlive it to get all the dnads content i guess” and here i am. but it’s almost April 2020 so. haha

hmm what’s a less ominous ending. oh shit another thing that was funny is i was like So about these Skull Plugs featured in this semi-official drawing of lars once and then horror club came out (fun b/c i like horror) and had the skull plugs for Real & they were glow in the dark. that was a big day for me even seeing the promos lmfao. except then i guess it was foreshadowing, so again i end this with Death. don’t we all

wait no lsfdjs What tf was matthew moy talking about “i like your hair.” dude dropping an i-guess cut line on us lmfao. alright alright im done

#not as long as i thought it'd be!!! i don't have many engaging stories to say lol and like i said. not here to get. sedimental #that unfortunate Lightning Round incident lmfao......rip my ass. it was fine i was just like. [screams inside]#god.......what a uhh six and a half years six and a half years are. s/o to. Lars #oh i never ''more on this later'''d that one point. what a tragedy right lmao. i was just like. ppl Can simply watch the eps in order tho...#a concept i was not into lmfao. ess em aitch. i was never here for Lore okay

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peter-parkers-passport · 4 years

Text

Flower Child (Peter Parker x ofc)

Chapter 2: Small-Talk

warnings: depictions of anxiety, language, mentions of death/ loss of parental figures

A New Yorker was hard-pressed to wake up to the enchanting scene of warm sunbeams stretching across the floor, and birds chirping happily outside of windows. And when Lila woke up, the first thing she heard were the sounds of car horns honking at one another in the early-morning rush hour. But, there were pale stretches of sun peeking around the fall leaves of the tree that sat right outside her bedroom window. It could have been a blizzard outside, and Lila wouldn’t’ve cared. Her mood was still riding high from the night before, and she hastily left the warm shelter of her covers in favor of a good outfit for the day.

Lila went through her usual routine in the morning: she brushed her teeth, washed her face, got dressed, watered the plants scattered around her room, and finally made her bed. She gathered her homework together as well as the books she would need and placed them neatly into her backpack. Leaving her room, Lila descended the small staircase and went to the kitchen in search of breakfast. As per usual, her father left a neat note on the kitchen counter, wishing her a good day, and explaining that she might need to go grocery shopping for the next several nights due to a busy schedule of events coming up for the shop. He left two cards on the counter, one was Ted’s personal card, and the other was Landry’s business card. Digging through her backpack once again, Lila pulled out her wallet and placed both cards in it.

She then proceeded to the fridge to begin preparations for breakfast. Absentmindedly, she was humming some Queen song or other as she placed a slice of bread in the toaster. Several minutes passed, and Lila Landry finally set out of her house, stomach full, to begin her trek to school. Her neighborhood, Sunnyside, was full of life early in the morning, and it eliminated whatever remnants of sleep remained in Lila. Smiling softly, she kindly waved to her neighbors, and people that she knew as she headed for the train. Arriving just a few minutes early, she got out her phone and perused social media while she stood on the train platform next to other people beginning their day.

Most of the things that popped up on her Twitter feed consisted of the usual: political rants, celebrity gossip, and, for Sophie’s sake (at least, that’s what Lila told herself, she had to be in the know for her friend), superheroes. There were plenty of rumors on the whereabouts of Captain America, many speculating he was somewhere in Central Africa, or even as far as Northern Russia. Many of the rumors Lila had already been privy to, after hearing the constant theories on Sophie’s podcast. As she boarded the train that would take her to school, Lila saw a retweet from Flash Thompson, showing a video of Spider-Man on 45th Street just last Saturday. His spectacular stopping of a mugging ended in a rather comical way, with the burglars dangling by their feet by a street light. The rest of the video was the police attempting to take them down without dropping them on their heads.

Lila found herself sucked into the Spider-Man tag on Twitter, going through several long articles about the hero, or vigilante depending on the article, and what exactly he planned to do for the Queens borough of New York. She almost didn’t get off at her stop, considering how consumed she was with the news. While she got off and left the station, Lila sent Sophie an article link (“Spider-Man and The Devil of Hell’s Kitchen: Micromanaging One Neighborhood at a Time”) before placing her phone in her cardigan pocket. Reaching her locker, she found Michelle already waiting for her, with her hair pulled back and her nose tucked into its usual book.

“Morning,” Lila chirped, suddenly very excited to share her big news with her friend. She opened her locker and began placing the books she wouldn’t need inside before taking out a few notebooks and extra pens for the day. She also pulled out her barely-used academic decathlon notebook, remembering how Liz said she was planning on having the alternates practice this afternoon. Michelle flicked her hand, her usual gesture of greeting. Lila observed that Michelle seemed to have nothing on her person but her book, which was unusual. Normally, MJ carried a notebook to take all to her classes. “Forget your backpack?” The shorter girl mused.

“Got to a good part,” Michelle shrugged, not taking her eyes away from the book, as always. Wordlessly, Lila reached back into her locker and grabbed the spare notebook she kept for Michelle and handed it to her, along with an extra pen. Michelle took it without question and placed her bookmark in between pages. Nodding in thanks, she looked over at Lila with a quizzical stare. “You’re never this excited to come to school. Why today?”

Lila smiled, trying to rub the blush that was surfacing out of her cheeks. “I - um - I got Peter to say yes. He’s helping me pick out a computer this afternoon. A-And he gave me his phone number.”

Michelle was never impressed by her peers, but knew that for Lila, talking to Peter and even managing to snag his phone number were large strides. “So you’re going to hang out with Peter this afternoon.”

“Yeah,” Lila stated, not caring that someone bumped roughly into her shoulder. Nor did she care about the scathing glare Michelle sent their way after. She was too happy to focus properly. “After school, then he’s going to come to the shop to help set the computer up.”

“So you’re spending the entire afternoon with Peter, and into the evening with him possibly as well.” Michelle reiterated, about to approach the door to Lila’s literature class. Lila saw out of the corner of her eye Michelle glance down at her smiling self, so she nodded. She was already thinking about the end of the day, longing for it to be over so that she could get ready to spend the afternoon with Peter Parker, something she wasn’t quite sure was real. She was floating on air, until Michelle muttered, “Huh.”

“What?” Lila’s head snapped up to Michelle, who had stopped short of Mr. Puth’s classroom. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” Michelle shook her head. “Thanks for the notebook. I’ll see you in chemistry. Also, enjoy small-talk with Peter.” A ghost of a smile flickered to her lips when she saw Lila’s expression changed into realization. And as Michelle walked away, an impending sense of doom settled into Lila’s stomach at the thought.

She had no clue how to make small-talk with Peter Parker.

*****

Lila stood just outside the West doors at 2:40, precisely five minutes early. Ever since Michelle’s comment, she’d forced herself into focusing solely on school. Naturally, since there was something she’d now dreaded at the end of the day, the end of the day came that much faster. Retreating into herself, a mental pep-talk was often at the forefront of her mind. She’d already done the hard part, asking Peter for help. Now? Maybe they’d get to know each other, maybe she could count herself as a friend to Peter after today. There were great things on the horizon of this afternoon, and they were Lila’s for the taking.

The only thing standing in her way was herself, Lila knew that. Her dad’s voice sat in the back of her head, mentally cheering her on for stepping out of her comfort zone and trying something new. But there was something so comforting about her comfort zone, and Lila’s little box that she’d built for herself was nice. Not to mention, she’d been raised on the notion that she shouldn’t sacrifice a single hair on her head, or a single thought in her mind for a boy she liked. And really, how great could he be-?

“Lila?” Snapping out of her stare, Lila looked up to see Peter Parker right in front of her, smiling softly. Returning the smile was easy, and masked how breathless he made her. He practically radiated warmth, despite the unusually warm October afternoon sun. It was a kind of warm Lila felt under her skin, her fingers tingling and her stomach swimming at seeing him again. He nodded back behind him, to the exit of the school. “Hey, you ready to go?”

“Y-Yeah,” Despite the negative voice in her head chiding her for stuttering in front of him, Lila smiled. A real, genuine smile is what she’d read could open up new avenues, and be a great first start to new friendships. She tucked her hair, which was blowing slightly in the breeze that decided to arrive, behind her ears and stared up at him, forcing herself to be comfortable with looking him in his eyes. Her heart skipped a beat, did his eyes have to be so easy to get lost in? “Lead - uh - lead the way.”

They settled into a comfortable silence, Peter slightly ahead to navigate the rest of the student body that began to file out of the West doors to make their way home. Lila did her best to keep close, and couldn’t help but detect the most subtle hint of mangoes, one of her favorite fruits. She was so distracted, she ran straight into the arm he’d thrown out, preventing her from crossing the street. On instinct, she grabbed onto his arm, just as a silver Audi drove in front of them, Flash Thompson in the driver’s seat. “Later, Penis Parker!” He shouted before driving away.

Lila didn’t realize she’d still been holding onto Peter’s arm, staring off at Flash’s car with as much of a glare as she could muster until Peter’s arm shifted slightly in her grasp. Almost immediately, Lila let go, a blush fighting to surface on her face. When she looked up at Peter to offer her thanks, she saw a blush already sitting on his cheeks, but for different reasons entirely. His lips were set in a tight line, his shoulders sagging slightly. She saw his dulled eyes staring at Flash’s car as it turned the corner, and her fists tightened. “He’s jealous, you know,” She spit before she could stop herself. Peter’s eyes connected to hers once again, a look of confusion reading across them. Lila elaborated, “He - he’s got it in his m-mind that you’re out to get him. A-Academics just don’t - don’t come as easy for h-him as they s-seem to for you, a-and he’s jealous. It’s m-more to do with him than - than you.”

A second passed, and Peter’s demeanor relaxed once more. “How do you know they don’t come as easy for him?” Nothing about the question was spiteful, he was merely curious. Lila wondered if Peter spent a lot of time letting Flash and his stupid nicknames get to him. She hoped not.

Tucking her hair behind her ears once again, she shrugged. “I may or may not have had to tutor him in calculus and ph-physics for the past couple of months. U-Usually the first questions he a-asks me about are the questions y-you always get right and - and he doesn’t.” The smile Lila was hoping to see again surfaced on Peter’s face, and Lila felt a deep sense of satisfaction knowing that she put it there. He gestured for her to follow him as they continued their trek through Midtown to get to the subway. They fell back into silence along the way, the whole time Lila wished she could grab a hold of Peter’s arm once again, and maybe even hold his hand.

It wasn’t until they reached the subway and sat down on the relatively empty train that they spoke again. Peter looked over at her quiet stature, and how she sat perfectly straight, letting the rocking of the train gently move her. “Are you - are you okay, Lila?” The question surprised her, and she looked over at him. “You - you just seem kind of quiet.”

“I-I mean, you’ll have to be m-more specific, I’m usually - usually pretty q-quiet.” Inside, Lila was chastising herself. Of all things, her self-deprecating crack at her personality was not a good thing to joke about. Peter’s lips twitched, but before he could say anything else, Lila beat him to it. “I’m sorry. I’m not - I’m not very good at s-small-talk. I’m gonna need you to pick a topic.”

Knowing Peter, she knew he wouldn’t poke fun at her for being quiet or shy, but the negative, more cynical part of her mind was ready to say otherwise. What kind of fifteen-year-old doesn’t know how to make small-talk? Lila was pretty sure that one of the regulars at Landry’s had a toddler who was better at conversation. A total tangent, but she couldn’t help herself. At least she missed the brief look of pity flicker in Peter’s eyes. She might not have been able to stomach that.

“Okay. Easy question first, who’s your favorite Avenger?” It was an innocent enough topic, and it got Lila to smile. Her thoughts flew to Sophie, and how right off the bat if someone asked her that question, she’d basically have an entire essay with a structured three-point reasoning as to why Iron Man was the best. Lila was hard-pressed to argue with her, since she’d basically had years of support to add to her claim.

“L-Logically, I’d have to say Iron Man is - is my favorite. Not - not just because you w-work for him,” Lila added as an afterthought. “But personally, I really l-like the Scarlet Witch.” Peter was quiet, silently asking her to elaborate. “I read a lot of fantasy. She - she can perform real magic, and… I don’t know, I just like the idea that magic can exist in real l-life.” She saw him nod in understanding. “What a-about you?”

Peter smiled sheepishly, a sight that basically had Lila in a puddle on the floor. She felt like she’d do anything to get him to smile like that all the time. “Would it be cheesy if I said Iron Man?” Lila shook her head quickly, smiling at how the excitement lit up his eyes as he elaborated. “I mean, he’s so effortlessly smart, and I mean, he - he… ah, nevermind.”

“Wh-What?” Lila asked, the smile growing at Peter’s blush. “You’ve got me - got me curious. What i-is it?”

“You know how - how he stopped his weapons development after he was kidnapped?” Lila nodded, waiting for Peter to elaborate. “He - He built the Iron Man suit after that, and made sure that the weapons still out there weren’t distributed to the wrong people, and destroyed them for good measure. Despite his reputation of being a slacker, or not serious, he just, he took it into his own hands to take care of the people he hurt. No one asked him to do that, and no one expected him to. But he did it anyway.”

There were lots of things running through Lila’s mind, mostly just her adding another reason to the long list of why she liked Peter, and how she genuinely felt he had a heart of gold. “It must be amazing to work for him,” She muttered quietly.

“Yeah,” Peter smiled. “It’s pretty great. He’s a genius, it’s so weird to be in the same room as him, with all these people smarter than me there.”

“I highly d-doubt that,” Lila interrupted, cheeks flaring as she realized that was rude. Peter glanced at her quizzically. “I’m sorry. I just - I don’t th-think you’d be interning for Tony S-Stark if you weren’t as smart as they were.” The train turned a sharp corner, the pair of them gripping onto the seats tightly as they fell victim to the jostling that came along with it. Peter offered his thanks before looking out the window at the city. Lila followed his gaze, seeing Stark Tower jut out against the skyline, easily capturing any stare. “How - how did you find out about the internship?”

Peter’s eyes left the window and settled back on Lila. He happily launched into the explanation of how he applied for a grant program of Tony Stark’s on a whim, and how he’d one day come home to Tony Stark himself sitting on his couch with his aunt. He said that Mr. Stark took interest in his credentials, and asked him about his knowledge in physics, his academic decathlon track record, and asked why he applied so young. A few more minutes of back and forth led to Peter leaving with an internship secured at Stark Industries, and a team-building retreat in Berlin. The explanation lasted the rest of the train ride, the two of them hardly realizing so much time had passed.

“Berlin?” Lila asked in disbelief, hopping off the train next to Peter. “That must’ve been so amazing.” She then dug out a five-dollar bill from the wallet in her backpack, depositing it in the cello case of a street performer. Not losing her stride, she placed the wallet back in her backpack, and saw Peter’s questioning glance. “Sorry, I love the cello. So, Berlin?”

They headed up the stairs and into the October sun, the afternoon remaining rather warm. Peter checked his surroundings, making sure they were going the right way before turning left, heading up the street. “Yeah, Berlin. It was crazy and ridiculously sudden. I’d never actually been on a plane before he took me.” Lila nodded, smiling at his excitement. “How about you?”

“Have I been on a-a plane? Yes.”

“No, no,” Peter laughed softly, a sound Lila immediately committed to memory. “Have you ever been somewhere crazy? Like Berlin or out of the country?”

Lila racked her brain, and the obvious answer suddenly came to mind. “Once,” Lila said, her smile falling. “I went to Paris. I don’t r-remember it being very cool, though.”

Peter’s gaze grew skeptical as he eyed her from the side. “How could it not be cool? It’s Paris! All the art and stuff, there’s so many museums. And the Eiffel Tower, that’s - that’s pretty famous.”

“I guess that’s neat, but I was th-there to bury my mom, so I - I don’t remember it being a good t-time.” As soon as the words left her mouth, Peter stopped walking, his whole body turned to Lila, who had to stop walking as well. She was ready for the pitiful look that most people adopted when she mentioned her mom. So when she looked into his eyes, she was surprised to find a bit of understanding mixed in with the sorrow.

But that didn’t stop him from being polite. When would that ever stop Peter Parker from being anything but a complete gentleman, as his aunt raised him to be? He rubbed the back of his neck, his face relaxed but remorseful. “I’m sorry, Lila. That - that’s awful.” She grew quiet, not liking how he was worried for her. She didn’t like people doting on her, but she didn’t stop him from offering his condolences. It felt different, and when he spoke again, she realized why. “In January, my - my Uncle Ben, he - he…” Peter couldn’t finish the sentence, but Lila knew exactly what had happened. She knew exactly why he missed school for almost the entire month. “I just mean... I get it.”

Ignoring the butterflies and the doubt, Lila made a bold move by reaching over to Peter and grabbing his hand. She had no idea about his sensitivity to touch, how he could feel everything on an impossibly deeper scale. She just knew that when she squeezed his hand, and he squeezed back, they both got it. They both understood the pain that bonded them, and felt the relief of knowing that they both could share with the other just what that felt like. When they continued on their way, Lila spoke up again. “I don’t mind talking about her. M-my dad and I both like to - to talk in French sometimes, or just talk about h-her. It’s like breathing life back into her for a little bit.”

Peter nodded, a smile growing back on his lips at the invitation to ask more. “So your mom’s from France?”

And it was as easy as that. The pair fell back into an easy stride, headed for the computer store. Lila’s hair blew gently in the breeze, and a smile sat on her face as she glanced over to see Peter trying to tame his curly hair in the wind as well. “Yeah, she was born and raised in Paris. And she truly embodied it: she was a fabulous lady.” She took his gentle laugh as a means to keep going. “L-like, you hear about all the chic and fashionable people in Paris, that was my mom. And she met my dad fresh out of business school…”

Thus launched the tale of business major Angelina Chenault meeting botanist Ted Landry in the French countryside, where both had decided to vacation after their respective schooling. Angelina had left Paris for the countryside simply because she’d never been, whereas Ted was backpacking with several friends. The pair met at an inn, and two weeks vacation turned into an entire summer touring the French countryside together and getting to know one another. Falling in love was easy, and the decision to move back to New York, Ted’s home, seemed even easier.

The pair shared a shabby apartment in Queens, where they bided their time, saving money for a business they could call their own. The situation they needed happened to fall into their lap, when a small building on 21st Street was vacated, and the rent was made surprisingly cheap. Thus started Landry’s Flowers, where as soon as the deed was in their name, Ted proposed to Angelina. Their happiness, much like their business, grew into something that was supported by the other locals of Queens, and they truly thrived.

Before Lila could get any further into the story (or notice that her stutter seemed to lessen at the comfortable topic), Peter stopped in front of a store, and stared up at the logo. Following Peter’s lead, she was shepherded into the store filled with computers, and bustling with customers and employees alike. Predictably, at the thought of being in such a crowded space, Lila began to fold in on herself. Nerves started taking up residence in her mind and body, but not for long, as Peter nudged her in her side, smiling reassuringly, and causing Lila to stand a little straighter. She could get used to that sort of feeling.

*****

“Seriously, I-I can’t thank you enough, Peter.” Lila gushed as they entered Landry’s Flowers an hour and a half later, Lila clutching a brand-new Mac computer, one of the models Apple did in collaboration with Stark Industries, making the purchase a long-lasting option. Peter had asked several questions Lila would’ve never even considered in regards to performance and longevity for the business, and all the answers were satisfactory in regards to what they needed. Lila simply couldn’t wait to tell her dad about it. The store was busy, but as soon as she stepped through the doors, a certain grace took over her body, and she smoothly moved around customers, completely at home with her surroundings. “If there’s any-anything I can do…”

Peter Parker, who followed behind her, simply shrugged. “It’s no problem at all, Lila.” She gave him a grateful smile, and made a quick round of all the customers in between her and the check-out counter. She didn’t know it, but Peter took a second to watch her in her element: how she could easily make a quick recommendation to an indecisive customer, how she kindly greeted everyone she could, and how her posture seemed to minutely relax in the beautifully designed store. She was relaxed up until she heard a raspy voice call out, “Phish Food!” Lila tensed, turning briefly to Peter, and offering what one might say was an apologetic expression.

“Phish Food,” Sophie came running up to her from behind the counter, nearly knocking down a display of fresh lilies. Her excitement practically radiated off of her in waves, and apparently seemed to fog up her glasses, as her face was flushed. She gripped onto Lila tightly, practically ready to rip her arms off with how ready she was to relay the news. “Trish Talk mentioned my podcast. She - she was doing a podcast appreciation episode and mentioned mine was one of her top new favorites. Me, Lila! My podcast is one of Trish - who the hell are you?” Lila turned around, eyes wide as Sophie looked past her and to Peter Parker, who blinked in surprise.

Lila’s cheeks flared, trying her best to psychically convey her apologies to Peter for Sophie, who was sometimes too brazen for even the most outgoing people. “Soph, this is Peter Parker, the guy I mentioned? He’s here to h-help me figure out the - the computer situation. I talked to you about this.”

That didn’t seem to stop Sophie from staring rather intensely at Peter Parker. The boy in question briefly looked to Lila, who could only offer an apologetic shrug. No way was she confident enough to get in the way of Sophie Nelson. Peter was on his own, and he offered his hand out to her to shake. “Hi, I’m - I’m Peter.”

“Your name is alliterative, did you know that?” Lila was forced to help another customer, as Sophie had left her post at the checkout counter to talk to her and Peter. She put on her best polite smile, but she still nervously glanced over at Peter and Sophie, who were still standing in the middle of the store.

“Um, yes?”

Sophie was unperturbed by his nerves, and instead moved to the next question. “In this flower shop, we respect one line of thinking and one line only. Before you help us, I need to know… who’s the one superhero you would pick in an end-of-the-world-type scenario?” Peter almost asked if she was serious, but she gave nothing away to say she wasn’t. In fact, Peter had reason to suspect that Sophie might beat him up if he said the wrong answer. Which only made him that much more nervous.

“Uh…”

“Sophie!” Lila was back, pulling Peter by the arm, ignoring her heart skipping a beat as she did so. “Peter’s here to help. I had to pull him away from his internship at Stark Industries to do so, so be nice.” Her words were full of double-meaning. They were a warning to Sophie: Be nice, meaning, I really like this guy, please don’t scare him halfway to hell, thanks. But it was also an answer to Sophie’s question, and she lit up considerably, even offering a warm smile to him. Lila didn’t give him time to confirm her statement, and the pair were then placed where Peter would set up the computer.

She practically fought Sophie off of him by means of sharp glares and subtle shakes of her head. Finally, after several teasing looks, Sophie backed off, and went to go walk around the floor, helping people with her usual charm. As Peter and Sophie worked, Lila offered to go set Peter’s things down on one of the tables in the back room upstairs. She did so, and took her time, trying her best to collect herself. She reflected on the afternoon, and it seemed to be going rather well, or at least, she hoped it was. Peter was funny and considerate, and everything she knew he was all along. It was refreshing to see him in such a juxtaposition to every other guy at her school, who thought that being the smartest meant being better than anyone else. Lila knew, from early on, that he was special, and he was only ever proving it to her this afternoon.

About an hour later, while Lila and Sophie managed the store, or helped Peter when he asked for it, the computer was up and running. Peter had managed to hook up several programs to it, making sure everything that needed to be on there regarding the Landry’s business was in one secure space. It was amazing how he explained everything to Lila regarding the computer, and how it would run from there on out. He then explained things to Sophie, while watching her do a few test runs with checking out customers on it. Another half-hour in, and Sophie was easily running along with the new computer. Lila didn’t want Peter to feel he was overstaying anything, so she offered to go with him back upstairs to gather his things.

Opening the back door, Lila smiled softly. “You shouldn't have done such a good job,” She said quietly. Turning her head back, she looked at Peter, who looked slightly confused. “My dad’s going to want you to re-do all the stores’ computers after he sees what you’ve done here.” She heard him chuckle a bit, and picked up his backpack from the table she had originally placed it on. A tug in her gut quieted her as her eyes flickered over to the back staircase. She didn’t want to make him do anything uncomfortable, but she was feeling gutsy. It was time that she made some kind of friendly gesture, and what better way to do so than to prolong his stay? “Odd question, but would you - would you maybe want to see the best place in New York?”

She didn’t know that Peter was privy to practically every place New York had to offer, as he could climb to the tops of buildings and skyscrapers alike. But everyone in the city had a favorite place to go, and it piqued Peter’s interest to see what was Lila’s. So he nodded, and Lila excitedly placed his backpack back down on the table, and walked up the rickety staircase in the far corner that Peter hadn’t really noticed before. Following her lead, he climbed the stairs after her, expecting to find either another room or the rooftop. He was half-right.

When Peter walked through the door, he was met with warmer air than the October afternoon had to offer them. Looking around, he became aware that he was in a greenhouse, the glass encasing them on all sides. The greenhouse seemed to take up the back half of the rooftop, nearly hidden from view on the street where they’d entered the shop. More smells than what were wafting around downstairs hit the pair as they walked around, more fresh herbs, potting soil, and the most subtle hint of a perfume Peter didn’t quite recognize. What didn’t hit him was the sound. Since they were practically outside, it was only natural to expect that the sounds of New York City would follow them, but they didn’t. The glass was thick enough, and far enough away from the street that the sounds of outside were muffled, and it led to the feeling of being somewhere else.

“This is the best time of day for this place,” Lila had made her way across the greenhouse and in between several fruit trees that were growing up against the wall. She’d dragged out a stool, stepping up the three steps and reached up on her tiptoes for the glass rooftop. Pushing upwards on a windowpane, Lila cracked it open, letting the sunlight that had been warped due to the glass filter through and over the plants. The light encompassed the whole room, and Peter let out a sharp breath of amazement. She got back down off the stool, smiling largely at Peter’s expression before picking up a spray bottle filled with water and walking around, making her usual rounds of watering the plants. Peter kept looking around while she did it, eyeing the neatly labeled signs in front of each plant, as well as the dates they’d been planted.

With the window open, the sounds from outside grew louder, but were still relatively quiet. Peter waited for the train he heard to pass before asking Lila, “Do you grow all of these yourself?” He eyed the fresh berries sitting on top of some tables, with large crates of giant vegetables sitting underneath. They all looked remarkably delectable, as if grown by a professional, and Peter couldn’t mask his interest if he tried. Lila put down the spray bottle and walked over to the tree sprouting what looked like little tangerines.

She picked two and walked over to Peter, handing him one, which he gratefully accepted. She nodded softly and began peeling her tangerine. “For the most part. Sophie - Sophie and m-my dad help water them when they can, but I-I’m the one who sows and catalogs them.” She blushed at his impressed expression, watching him enjoy his tangerine as she enjoyed her own. “It used to b-be my mom’s greenhouse, but… well, now it’s mine. It became like, my o-own version of therapy after…” She didn’t finish her sentence, but Peter got the message.

“Is Sophie a family friend?”

Lila smiled a little, thinking of the girl downstairs. “Kind of. She - she started school out here and n-needed a job. She kind of n-never left.” She took Peter’s trash when he was finished, throwing away both of their peels, and heading back for the window she’d opened. Closing it, she tucked the stool back in between the fruit trees, and walked back over to where Peter stood. She gestured to the door, and he nodded slightly, the look of interest never leaving his face. “She insists the only reason she stays is because she’s set on embarrassing me on her podcast.”

“What kind of podcast does she make?” Peter asked, keeping the conversation alive. Lila silently thanked him, not entirely sure what they could keep talking about. The pair headed back down the staircase, Lila taking the lead, and handing Peter’s backpack to him. He accepted it with a thank-you, and shrugged it back on as she did the same.

Lila smiled. “It’s called Origin Story. As you could see from before, she’s kind of o-obsessed with superheroes, and that’s what - what her podcast is all about. Which r-reminds me, I have to ask her about that article I sent her. Maybe you’ve read it? It’s a-all over Twitter.”

“Maybe,” Peter said, making a mental note to check out Sophie’s podcast. If she was as obsessed with Iron Man as Lila alluded to earlier, maybe it might be something Peter would be interested in. The pair headed back out into the store, walking through the quieter top floor. “What article?”

“It was something about the D-Devil of Hell’s Kitchen and S-Spider-Man and their methods of cleaning up c-crime. It was really interesting.” They’d reached the spiral staircase, and began their descent.

From behind Lila, Peter grinned. He couldn’t help it, it was still cool to him that people talked about his alter ego. “What do you think of Spider-Man?”

Lila looked at him, pausing briefly on the stairs. She shrugged and continued stepping down, letting a couple pass her on their way up to the second floor. “I think he’s really c-cool. It’s not every day you meet a guy who’s so - so nice to everyone. Even, apparently, the criminals he stops. I l-like that, there’s not many people who are really that k-kind. Dad?” She stopped at the base of the stairs, eyeing Ted Landry helping out an elderly regular with a fresh bouquet of sunflowers. “I thought you were in Manhattan, today?”

Ted shrugged, smiling softly at seeing his daughter. “Hey, Tulip. I finished up over there, figured I’d come see the computer for myself. Soph’s basically been texting me non-stop since it was installed.” He ignored the “Not true!” that Sophie shouted from behind him as he walked over and kissed his daughter on the forehead. That was when his eyes landed on the boy behind her. “Oh, hey, you must be Peter. I’m Ted.” He kept a hand on Lila’s shoulder and held out the other one for Peter to shake. Which he did, polite as ever. “Good to meet you, fantastic work on the computer over there. Where’d you learn to do all that stuff?”

Peter’s cheeks turned slightly red at the compliment, and he scratched the back of his neck. “Ah, you know, I just kind of… picked it up. Started being a hobby of mine.”

“Regardless, I can’t thank you enough for helping me out. I’ll be honest, I’m not super tech-savvy, but I guess it’s a good thing the next generation is.” Peter felt surprised at how easy Ted was to talk to. Nothing about him felt stiff or rude, and he genuinely seemed interested in talking to Peter, surely as a courtesy for Lila, since they were, for all intents and purposes, friends. “Tell you what, I’m making some pasta tonight for dinner. Would you like to tag along, as a thank-you for today?”

Lila’s small smile dropped, eyes growing wide. “Oh, no, d-dad. I think - I think Peter has to g-get home soon. His aunt might g-get worried that he’s been out all day-”

“Actually, May’s working late tonight,” Peter admitted, looking to Lila. He wasn’t sure if Lila was refusing because she didn’t want him to be uncomfortable, or if she was uncomfortable with the idea of having him in her home. He hoped it was the former. “I’d love to, if you don’t mind, Lila.”

Peter’s guess was right, for after a moment, Lila smiled once more. She looked to her dad, who waved his hand. “It’s absolutely no trouble. Come on, I fix a mean tomato basil, and we have the freshest basil you can get at home. Seriously, we grow our own…” Ted’s hand clasped Peter’s shoulder, gently guiding him out the front doors. Lila waved back to Sophie, who sent her a giant thumbs-up, and winked. Blushing, Lila Landry walked out behind Peter and her dad, still wondering how in the hell her afternoon had managed to go so well.

It wasn’t until the next night that things truly started getting weird.

#peter parker #OFC #peter parker x ofc #marvel #MCU Spiderman #mcu x ofc #marvel x ofc #spiderman #spiderman x ofc #spider-man #slow burn #mine

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blancheludis · 5 years

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Tagging: @tokky231

Fandom: Marvel, Avengers Characters: Tony Stark/Steve Rogers, James Rhodes, Pepper Potts, Bruce Barton, Steve Rogers Chapters: 14/?, Words: 77.525

Summary: Tony meets his soulmate under the worst possible circumstances. It is not just a kidnapping gone wrong. It turns out Steve and his gang picked him on purpose and they want some personal revenge. If only he had managed to say the words written on his soulmate’s arm before they threw him back out into the streets.

---

The next morning, Tony’s body feels exactly like it has been in a car crash. His ribs hurt with a vengeance, his head pounds, and pain flares up in his neck with every movement. He has gathered some new bruises too that he looks at in the mirror, wondering what to do with all the pain his godfather doled out to him. Every thought circles back to Obadiah. It is hard to believe that, mere weeks ago, Tony’s life was simple and in control.

All night, he has been thinking about where he went wrong, what made Obadiah betray him. Tony has caused a lot of problems for everybody he knows, scandals and bad PR and near fatal decisions where he completely ignored his health for momentary satisfaction. He refuses to believe that is the sole reason for he has been like that, in one way or another, all his life. Something must have been the breaking point where Obadiah decided that Tony is more trouble than he is worth. Tony is not even sure he really wants to know because what if it is simply him being himself? How is he going to go on and look his friends in the eyes without wondering when it will be too much for them too?

When Tony emerges from his room, Pepper is already there. She has taken over the couch table in the living room, plastered it with papers and tablets as she works to keep Tony’s company from floundering. As soon as she notices him enter, all her attention shifts to him, the work in front of her forgotten as she never usually manages. He must look bad, then.

“How are you?” she asks and pats the couch next to her.

When Tony hesitates, she points at a thermos that is presumably full of coffee as if she knew he would try to get out of the conversation with the excuse of needing to go to the kitchen first. He still could. Something to eat would probably do him good as well, even while the nausea yesterday’s events caused has not yet passed.

“I’m –” Fine dies on his tongue, withering under Pepper’s concerned gaze and his own inability to keep hiding. “Getting there,” he finishes lamely, although it feels like he has not moved forward a single step since this whole sorry business started. Instead, he is just digging a bigger hole for himself.

Pepper nods, reserving judgement for the moment. She gestures more forcefully for him to sit down and then just waits until he does so. That does not bode well for him. Either she has bad news and does not want him to be standing for it or she has questions. Tony is not sure which would be worse.

As soon as he is sitting, he reaches out for the thermos but falters halfway there when Pepper speaks.

“Your story does not make much sense.”

She looks serious about it too, her lips pressed into a bloodless line, her eyes narrowed. Her expression is not exactly accusing, but she has clearly pulled herself together last night and decided to ask some long overdue questions.

“What?” Tony croaks, his throat suddenly dry. He wishes she would have waited until after his first sip of coffee at least. Then he would not have been caught this off guard, which is probably exactly why she started immediately.

“Stane sends an assassin after you, but someone from the group that kidnapped you just happens to pass by and help out?” Pepper reiterates, scepticism painfully audible in every syllable.

The game is up. Tony is not sure why he would still want to protect the Avengers after all that transpired between them. Although, of course, several reasons come to his mind immediately.

They got him the first pieces of evidence that Obadiah betrayed him. They saved his life. They pose an option for – something that Tony does not actually want to think about but is secretly glad to have available nonetheless. Lastly, Steve is his soulmate. As much as Tony fights against it, that is a ridiculous argument to bring, but the number of people he can trust has just shrunk down again, and while he does not actually trust Steve, he is reasonably sure that Steve means what he is saying about wanting to protect Tony.

Taking a deep breath, Tony does pick up the thermos and takes several sips of coffee before he fully looks at Pepper. His tongue burns thanks to the scalding coffee, but he is glad for it. It might make the words pass easier over his lips.

“They didn’t just pass by,” Tony says, then stops, wondering how he is going to resolve this without making things worse.

Pepper’s frown deepens. “So they are still after you too?”

She sounds ready to get up and deal with that for him. From her point of view, that problem must be far easier to deal with than Obadiah. To Tony, it is just one big interwoven ball of problems, getting bigger by the minute, threatening to suffocate him.

“No,” Tony says firmly and, strangely, does not doubt it. “We – I didn’t tell you everything about them.”

“I gathered,” Pepper remarks dryly. Her expression does not change. Straightening, as if to prepare herself for more bad news, she asks, “So what is it? Is it someone we know?”

Tony is not ready for this. Clinging to his thermos, he says, “We should call Rhodey.”

That will potentially be disastrous. He could barely keep Rhodey from coming here over the issues with Obadiah. Throwing in Tony’s soulmate, who hurt him and now does not leave him alone, will activate all of Rhodey’s protectiveness until there is no more escaping it.

“Don’t try to deflect, Tony,” Pepper says, tired of half-truths and ever more reasons to worry.

“I’m not,” Tony lies, trying his best to keep his face open as if she does not have years of experience reading him. “I just don’t want to tell this twice.”

Once will be hard enough. Tony is not even sure how to begin, how to justify his decision to stay in contact with Steve. It is in no way sensible, and Tony does not want to as much as he feels he needs to. Fate is such a fickle master.

“All right,” Pepper exclaims in a tone that means nothing but trouble for Tony. “Let’s call him right now. JARVIS, if you would be so kind.”

Tony should have seen that coming from a mile away. “I don’t –” he tries to protest, but JARVIS has been watching him agonize over this too long, so it is no surprise he takes initiative when given the chance.

“Of course, Ms. Potts,” JARVIS says, sounding eager enough.

A moment later, the dial tone fills the air and the television in front of them powers up automatically for an impromptu video call conference. With Pepper present, Tony has to keep his body language as nonchalant as he can anyway, but two sets of eyes always see more than one, especially since Rhodey has had some more practice in times when Tony’s acting skills where not as refined.

“Tony,” Rhodey greets when he picks up, already looking worried. Calls from Tony have never resulted in good news lately. Then his eyes fall on Pepper and he turns all the more serious. “And Pepper. What happened?”

Tony needs to get this under control before Pepper can make it unnecessarily harder on him. “You wound me, platypus,” he says, a bit too loud to be subtle, but he is desperate and working with what little he has got here. “Can’t we just call our friend without –”

Pepper shuts him up with a single glare, and speaks before Tony can collect himself again. “Stane sent an assassin after Tony.”

There it is, put in such simple words as if it has not caused the rest of Tony’s life to crumble. Still, he puts on a strained smile, and says, “I think the term assassin is a bit harsh.”

Although he could not get Happy’s unconscious form slumped over the steering wheel out of his head all night, the trickle of blood in the corner of his mouth, how frail he looked in the hospital bed. Although he still feels the force of the crash in his bones. Although Natasha’s voice is still ringing in his ears, putting it all into simple facts.

“The people who kidnapped him apparently saved him,” Pepper continues, not bothering to correct his argument or to hide her scepticism.

On the screen, Rhodey glances between them, at Pepper’s painfully straight back and Tony’s slumped shoulders. His eyes run over Tony’s form, looking for obvious wounds.

“Are you all right?” While his voice is soft, there is not hiding the hardening of his expression or the way he looks ready to jump up and steal the first plane he can find so he can come home.

It is caressing in the way a friend’s worry always is, but Tony needs Rhodey to be safe, so he nods his head, glaring when Pepper says, “No,” at the exact same time.

Rhodey looks like he has a thousand questions but visibly reins them in and simply asks, “Why?”

At that, both Rhodey and Pepper turn to look at Tony, expectant in that way that means they are preparing for the worst. Their scrutiny weighs heavily on him. No matter what else happened these last weeks, Tony trusts them. He trusts them to have his best interest at heart and to listen to him and to catch him when he falls. They are family, and in a different sense than Obadiah was.

Telling them will make this real, however. More real than having his arm burn constantly and longing for a man he does not particularly like. He will have to take a stand then. To keep running from it is not a viable option anymore.

Instead of answering, Tony rolls up the sleeve of his left arm and takes off the brace, wincing slightly when cool air hits his skin. Steve’s words are dark and the area still burns. Let’s do this, indeed.

They stare, caught in a sudden stillness like they know what is happening but do not want it to. Neither appears willing to break the sudden silence, so Tony shrugs, showing a nonchalance he does not feel.

“The leader of the group who kidnapped me is my soulmate.”

If the silence has been bad before, it now becomes stifling. Pure instinct has Tony curl his arm around himself, hiding the words against his stomach. It is not a shameful thing to have a soulmate. Over centuries that was the only thing that bridged differences in class and culture. It is celebrated, almost sacred. Yet, Tony feels like he is waiting for judgement.

“What?” Tony challenges when he feels like another second without a reaction will make him choke.

“Oh Tony.” Pepper sighs, too softly to fit her earlier determination.

It breaks the spell, at least.

“And he beat you up?” Rhodey snaps, turning from surprised to livid on Tony’s behalf. “What kind of sick monster would do that to anyone, let alone their soulmate? You had broken bones, Tony.”

Tony has broken bones, but that is not the point. A part of him is undeniably relieved at his friends’ reaction, even while the rest of him is already fearing the consequences. His neat little arrangement with Steve is bound to fail now, with Rhodey and Pepper looking over his shoulder. Tony is not sure why he would regret that.

“He didn’t know,” Tony hears himself saying, as if it his duty to protect Steve, even now. Two days ago, he might not have, even with their truce, even with the information they delivered on Obadiah.

Yesterday, though, the Avengers saved his life. More importantly, they saved Happy’s life because Tony is certain the man would not have let either of them live. And for one so used to taking matters into his own hands, Steve appears curiously amenable to letting Tony handle things on his own – even now that Tony has proven he might not be handling anything at all.

“That’s not an excuse,” Rhodey says, looking like he wants nothing more than to climb through the screen. Next to Tony, Pepper nods her sharp assent. “Tell me who it is. I’ll tell him exactly why –”

“This is why I didn’t tell you,” Tony cuts him off, louder than intended.

It puts a halt to Rhodey’s tirade, renders them both speechless for another long moment.

“What?” Rhodey then asks, with a sharpness that Tony knows is not directed at him but that has him straightening his back automatically anyway.

Suddenly feeling too bare, Tony tugs his sleeve back down and fingers the brace to give his hands something to do.

“This is not ideal, yes? I know that,” he then says, forcing his eyes up again to look at his friends. “And I’m not particularly eager to fall into a happily ever after with St- that guy.” Tony bites his tongue at that near blunder. Telling them the truth is one thing, but serving Steve on a silver platter is another. He hopes Steve would do the same for him. “But it’s – my own body is fighting against me here. My brain. And with everything else that’s going on –”

Shrugging, Tony trails off. Explaining what the soul bond does to him is impossible. His entire life is a rollercoaster of emotions right now – well, if rollercoasters only went down, in any case. He is so raw inside, he is barely able to make sense of anything he feels, can barely allow any of it to the surface.

Some might call that hiding or a delusion, but it is unbelievably hard to deal with the man who definitely wants Tony dead, so he does not know what to do with Steve, who first hurt and then saved him.

“Is he still a danger to you?” Pepper asks, giving him a break from the emotional ramifications of this.

That is the million-dollar question. Or, well, the over five-million-dollar question, really, because Obadiah’s offer apparently was not enough to shake their sudden loyalty. Everybody has their price, though, Tony is certain of that.

“I don’t think so,” Tony replies, realizing too late that appearing unsure about this does not do him any favours.

“You don’t think –” Rhodey repeats, sounding choked as if he wants to cry or laugh. “Tones, listen to me. I can deal with this problem. You’re right, you should concentrate on Stane and your company, not on a good-for-nothing soulmate who –”

“Could you please stop talking about him like that?” Tony snaps, effectively cutting Rhodey off. “That makes me feel like I need to defend him, and that’s really not helpful.”

They are at an impasse, Tony and Steve, where Tony has to decide what weighs heavier. Letting Barton and Barnes beat him up for some personal revenge, which at least Barnes appears to regret, if only after the fact. Not leaving Tony alone despite how clearly he asked for it several times. Or saving Tony’s life.

“You shouldn’t defend him,” Pepper argues and makes it sound easy, as if Steve could simply be cut out of his life again.

“I don’t want to,” Tony says and means it. He just wants his thoughts and emotions to be his own again, without mulling over betrayal and fate screwing him over. “The fact remains, they beat me up, but since then, they’ve been on my side. I don’t trust them, I wouldn’t feel safe being dropped into their midst again. But –” Tony shrugs, wishing he could make sense of this. “Right now, we have a common enemy. If we didn’t, that man tonight would have bashed my head in and probably Happy’s too.”

Pepper and Rhodey share a look full of worry and questions, but it only lasts a second before they both turn back to Tony, appearing almost afraid that he would dissolve into nothing if they let him out of their sight for too long.

“We need to get you better security,” Rhodey says, concentrating on the one thing he can do without losing his mind.

Tony is just glad that they are not questioning his reasoning despite how threadbare it is. “I’m working on that.”

Rhodey nods, not really satisfied but taking what he can get. “And then I want you to give me all you have about the kidnappers so I can –”

“No.” It is still too easy to deny them this. “I’m not here advocating everything is forgiven and that I’ll spend the rest of my life with St- him, but I have to deal with the ruins of my life first and he has helped with that.”

He is not forgetting anything either, but Steve is becoming less and less a problem he needs to tackle right now. That might very well backfire on him too, but Tony feels close to his breaking point and unable to deal with everything at once.

It looks like Rhodey is gearing up for an argument, but Pepper speaks up before he can get a single word out. “All right.”

That takes Tony so much by surprise that he feels his face slacken in shock as he turns to stare at Pepper. From the corner of his eye he sees Rhodey do the same.

Out of all of them, Pepper appears the one least likely to let this go. She has gone after people for less. Within days of meeting Tony, she has also started a crusade against his self-destructive tendencies. Her apparent compliancy now makes no sense.

“What?” Tony asks, certain he has missed something vital here.

“Yes, Pepper,” Rhodey chimes in, sounding just as lost. “What?”

Pepper looks at them, more collected than she has any right to be with the bomb Tony just dropped on them.

“This is obviously not over,” she says with nary a threat in her tone. Then her expression softens when she turns to Tony. “But we’re not questioning what you’re doing. We’re worried.”

Tony knows that. He has been working since his MIT days on getting himself to believe it too. “There’s so much to be worried about,” he argues weakly.

When Pepper reaches out to put her hand over his, he does not pull away.

“And we’re worried about you most of all,” she says, still in that gentle tone. “I realize that everything is a bit too much at the moment, so let us do our part. Don’t hide away.”

Tony is proficient at hiding, but it is not always the best course of action as recent developments have shown. If he had involved his friends more in taking Obadiah down, his godfather would have never gotten the chance to get another hit in, would have never been able to disappear.

“What can we do?” Pepper prompts when Tony remains silent. On the screen, Rhodey leans forward, clearly offering to do his part too.

There is a clear priority to things. “Stay safe, find Obie, deal with the police,” Tony says, feeling just as overwhelmed but not as helpless as before. “Oh, and Rhodey, could you look into a Thor Odinson? He’s ex-military. He was recommended to me as a bodyguard.”

They might as well deal with the security problem now. He might not completely trust Steve’s recommendations, but the Avengers are skilled. If Odinson has even a fraction of that, he will be an asset.

“By whom?” Rhodey asks, sounding immediately suspicious again, even though there could be dozens of people offering such recommendations. In the circles Tony usually moves in, personal security is nothing uncommon.

“He will look into it,” Pepper intercepts before they can argue about the value of sources. “Let JARVIS send the evidence, and I’ll make sure the police get what they need.”

Heat shoots up Tony’s neck. “That was not – you don’t need to –” he stammers. He knows they want to help, but he cannot hand over responsibility like that. Baring himself to the police will be its own kind of torture but it is nothing less than he deserves for nurturing a snake all these years.

“Tony,” Pepper says, squeezing his hand. “Let us help.”

Her sincerity washes over him and just like that his shoulders slump. He is not alone in this. More importantly, he does not have to be.

“Thank you,” he says, clinging to Pepper’s hand.

Rhodey watches them with a small smile. He still looks worried, but being reminded that there are people they can count on help immensely.

“We love you, Tones,” Rhodey says, then pauses to really let it sink in. “Now, let Pepper cuddle you for a bit, since I can’t. I’ll get back to you when I know something about that Odinson guy.”

Tony almost wants to say that Rhodey should only call if he has good news, but in a situation like this, good and bad are irrevocably interwoven. So he simply nods, lets it happen.

Rhodey and Pepper promise each other to stay in contact, and then Rhodey hangs up, leaving them with a silence that does not feel as heavy as before.

“You don’t have to cuddle me,” Tony speaks up because he has never dealt well with not knowing what is coming.

Pepper smiles and says, “I know.”

Before Tony has a chance to react, she pulls him closer. It is not a full embrace, but they lean into each other, holding the other up, while their hands stay intertwined. There is a lot to do, but for now Tony stays right where he is and simply breathes.

---

Rather cowardly, Tony lets Pepper deal with the police. They swarm the tower in the morning as if they have a right to the place, leaving the employees wide-eyed and fearful of what is happening.

Tony makes his statement and promises Stark Industries’ full cooperation, but he does not think he can handle going through all the evidence and details with strangers. It is probably better if he does not seem too involved. There is still the question of how he, as CEO and Stane’s godson, allegedly did not know anything about the double dealing. The less he meddles, the safer it will probably be for him.

When the police interview him, it is as uncomfortable as Tony thought it would be. No, he did not know what his godfather was up to behind his back. Yes, he has trusted him implicitly until he found the evidence. No, he cannot imagine why Obadiah would do such a thing. No, nothing has ever happened between them that would cause Tony to be suspicious.

It feels wrong to lie about Obadiah causing him to be kidnapped and almost killed, but Tony still refuses to drag the Avengers into this. If nothing else, he owes them that for saving his life, no matter that they could have easily taken it before Obadiah was ever revealed to be a problem.

Tony offers the police complete access to the Stark Industries’ servers. JARVIS is going to keep an eye on them, so he does not worry about it too much. They will not have access to current R&D projects or weapon blueprints. Mostly everything else, however, is fair game.

Obadiah remains gone. Nobody has seen him or has an idea where he might have gone. All of Obadiah’s properties are vacated, his phone has been turned off, his cars are unmoved. He must have planned for the eventuality of having to disappear. Money can make everything possible.

It has Tony feeling like he is constantly being watched. Even in the safety of his penthouse, he catches himself looking over his shoulder. Obadiah’s access has been revoked, of course, and JARVIS is ever vigilant. The problem is not that Obadiah could sneak up on Tony, but that he integrated himself in Tony’s life over the last decades, making his betrayal all the more painful. Even now, Tony feels uncomfortable with the manhunt that has been started, almost like he, in turn, is betraying Obadiah. It is a ridiculous notion, but Tony is unable to shake it.

Looking back, he sees how Obadiah has manipulated him. After his parents’ death, Tony descended into a grief-fuelled madness, trying to lose himself in booze and parties, giving pieces of himself freely to everyone willing to distract him for a few precious hours.

Obadiah had been there then, always wearing a smile, always putting a hand on Tony’s shoulder while he told him to take his time. They always shared a glass of expensive liquor too, first in Howard’s memory, then to help Tony unwind a bit. When Obadiah went back to taking care of the company, he always left whatever bottle he had brought.

It had seemed kind then, that Obadiah would leave him room to grieve, to reassemble himself. Stark Industries was a burden Tony was not ready to take on his shoulders. For years, it had been a point of contempt between him and his father. Tony could not take responsibility for something that disgusted him, that he had always been told he would not be good enough for.

Tony had tested the waters back then, tried how far he could go until Obadiah, too, would lose patience with him. It had never taken any time at all with Howard, and Maria was so practiced in leaving, Tony had long ago given up on expecting her to come for him. With them gone, Obadiah was all the family he had left. He never thought Obadiah would stay.

And yet he did. He took every mood swing, every tantrum, every press scandal, and he still had smiles for Tony. He occasionally sent blueprints for Tony to look over or talked about ideas he thought Tony might want to pursue. He never pushed, though, never made Tony do something he did not want to do.

It was all a lie. Howard’s death put Obadiah in power and Tony’s unravelling must have been the best thing to happen to him. Even when he coaxed Tony back to become CEO it had played right into his hands because Tony did not want to be bothered with bureaucracy and business politics. He was a figurehead to soothe the more conservative board members who wanted the remaining Stark back with the company.

Disgust spreads through Tony as he realizes how gullible he has been, truly a lamb raised for slaughter.

“J,” Tony says into the empty air of the workshop, certain in the knowledge that at least JARVIS will always answer. “Let us go through everything we have.”

“We already did an extensive search, sir,” JARVIS cautions. He sounds like he wants nothing more than to send Tony to bed, and Tony would love to follow. He is too wired to think about resting, though.

“Maybe we missed something.”

The screens around him come alive, drenching him in blue light that would normally be enough to soothe him.

As the search runs, Tony is sure his teeth are going to crack from how hard he clenches his jaw. That does not help with getting them any more results than the last time.

“Again,” Tony tells JARVIS.

There must be something to be found.

#stony #leave the gun on the table #fanfiction #marvel #tony stark #steve rogers #soulmates #mob boss #angst #emotional angst #obadia stane #pepper potts #friendship #slow burn #my writing #ao3

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vampirefreakism · 5 years

Text

The Scientist (Chapter 32)

Summary: In the events following Asgard’s destruction, Loki finds himself on Earth seeking refuge to await the inevitable. Much to his surprise, it comes from a source he would never have expected.

The Soundtrack So Far

Warnings: none

Word count: 3.2k

A/N: I am still posting on AO3, but I’m experimenting with not adding the link on this chapter so this story can show up in the tags

Masterlist

----------

Tony Stark did his best to be a generous man. He was responsible; always trying to upkeep his space and the relationships he was blessed with. Sometimes things fell apart and out of his grasp, but he took it in stride. Tony may have been wealthy and famous his entire life, but he was no stranger to struggle and failure. Based on the positive influences he surrounded himself with, he always found a reason to pick himself back up and keep going.

At the compound, Tony did what he did every time it snowed and arranged for his robots and designated workers to clean the roadways and parking spaces for the employees coming back to work. His vacation renewed him. Devoting time and full attention to his betrothed was a gift in and of itself. As he stood in his office, he made a mental note to take more time away with his love. Pepper Potts would reiterate herself time and time again how much he needed to rest. He complained but never fought her. She was always right.

“Welcome back, boss,” FRIDAY greeted. “How was your trip?”

“Romantic as Paris could be.” Tony waved a hand, summoning a display. “Say, I forgot. How were the specs on the kid’s new suit?”

“Compliant, but a bit tricky.” A full-body digital image of the suit spun above the virtual table. “The material from the Commodore spacecraft is an excellent medium, but it requires more physical testing than the usual.”

“When do you think it’ll be ready?”

“I can have simulation ready within the hour.”

Tony plopped down into a desk chair and spun around. “And what about Mark 50?”

“I can do a simultaneous run.” An image of his new suit appeared beside Peter’s, both rotating in tandem.

“Yup. Do that.” Tony got up and jogged over to his bar and fridge, all set with a variety of spices, fruits, and vegetables. "Has our favorite little biologist arrived yet?"

“Yes. Ms. Fields has been here the better part of an hour.”

“An hour?!” Tony fiddles with the spoon in his hand, nearly dropping it. “Why didn’t you tell me when she got here?”

“It wasn’t important. You don’t have a meeting scheduled with her today.”

“I sure don’t,” Tony mumbles as he scoops a few spoonful’s of turmeric into the blender. Blessed be to Luna for showing him the wonders and benefits of Indian spices. “How about we surprise her?”

"That can be arranged. Will you need her packages as well?”

“Mm-mm.” He shook his head, voice muffled behind a dollop of Greek yogurt. “I’ll bring her to it. Make a little adventure out of it.”

“Of course, boss.”

Tony made a delightful blend of leafy greens and juicy reds, portioned appropriately for two. As he waited for his concoction to smooth out, he shrugged on a crisp blazer and a clean pair of Gucci sunglasses. A chiming from the machine drew him to it once again. Careful not to dirty his outfit, he filled two lidded cups and journeyed down to the labs, greeting everyone he could along the way.

The riveting tunes of Duran Duran graced his ears as he slowly approached the biology lab. It was the title song off of his favorite album, ‘Rio.’ A grin on his face, Tony took the remaining steps to the door and bumped the edge of the doorway with his shoe.

“Knock-knock, Lulu,” he greeted. Luna lifted her head from the microscope and flashed him a toothy smile.

“Hey!” Even without her glasses, she could recognize Tony’s silhouette anywhere. “Let me wrap this up real quick so I can give you a proper two-armed hug.”

Slipping her glasses back on, Luna covered the Petri dish she was examining and turned off the microscope. She hurriedly took off her lab coat and gloves, impatient to wait one moment more. She shuffled over to him and into his open arms, squeezing him tight in her own.

“Ooh, now that’s what I call a hug,” Tony gushed, holding her as close as he could without losing his grip on their drinks. Feeling the chill of the smoothies in his hands, he released her and led the way down the hall to the lounge. “How was your winter vacay? Hope you didn’t miss me too much.”

“It was good, and we missed you just the right amount. Well, me more than him, but you know.”

“‘We?’ Oh, right. You and your guy.”

Luna scoffed. “He’s not my guy.”

“Yeah, sure.” Tony let Luna take a seat first. “How’d your mother take him being there, by the way?” He dropped down onto the couch beside her.

“Hm?” She tilted her head, his inquest taking her for a spin.

“What’d you tell her about Mr. Tall, Dark, and Ominous?” he reiterated.

“Oh, right.” Luna shook her head out. Tony almost caught her on her lie. “Um, I just told her he was my new boyfriend, and he was spending the time with me since his family is overseas.”

Tony nodded. “And how’d she take it?”

“She bought it. It was a nice time.” Luna shrugged, forcing the tension from her nerves. “Suspected absolutely nothing from either of us.”

“I would expect no less from the Master of Lies.” Tony handed her a cup, prompting a change of subject.

“Aw, Tony, you didn’t have to!” Luna thanked him as she cradled it with both hands.

Tony dismissed her gratitude. “Oh, please. I wanted to.” He couldn’t let her know how it made him feel, but his smile gave it away. To hell with it. “Cheers to you, sad girl.” He tapped the lid of his cup against hers.

“And to you, Mr. Charitable.” They took a unison swig. The taste settled from sweet to a tang, finishing off with a bite from the spice. Luna crossed on leg over the other and angled her body towards Tony, elated with his little surprise.

Tony threw an arm over the edge of the couch, letting his thumb graze lightly against Luna’s shoulder. “So what’d you do to ring in the New Year? Nothing I would do, I hope.”

Luna giggled. “Not much. I got some sparkling apple cider and a large assortment of designer chocolates. We watched some ‘Star Trek,’ then the ball drop, and then some more ‘Star Trek’ until I couldn’t keep my eyes open.”

In his best monotone voice, Tony replied, “That’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life.” Luna’s loud laugh made him suppress his smile. He couldn’t break his character now. “You should be ashamed of yourself.” He giggled a little. He couldn’t contain it.

Luna pats her chest and lets her laughter die down. “Ok, fine. What did you do?” She took a sip of her drink.

“Oh, you know. When in Paris, do as the Parisians do.”

“Which is?”

“Watch fireworks, kiss under the Eiffel Tower, and celebrate with a bang in more ways than one.” Luna let out a scandalized gasp as her eyes went wide and her mouth agape.

“And you’re calling what I said ‘sexy’? Wow,” Luna said as sassy as she could. They share a brief laugh.

“Say, did Loki do anything with that phone you said you were gonna give him?”

“Oh, yeah. He’s been good with it so far, I think.” Luna put her cup close to her mouth. “Apparently, Peter gave him his number.” Her statement was muffled, but Tony heard well enough.

“He what?!”

Luna nodded. “Mhm. They’ve been sending each other memes the entire weekend.”

“Has the kid Rick-Rolled Loki yet?”

Luna furrowed her brow. “I’m a little surprised you know what that is, but no, he hasn’t.”

“The kid sent me that darned song a few months ago under the guise of it being a video of him drinking five Red Bulls in under five minutes,” Tony explained and threw a hand into the air. “Can’t believe I fell for it.”

“It’s a good song, though. Not gonna lie.”

“Yeah, it is.” He paused, tilting his head back and taking a long swig of his smoothie. With a satisfied gulp, he moved on to his next point. “Hey, you know what? We haven’t had one of our lab meetings in a good while?”

“No, we have not.”

Tony placed his cup on the table and brought his hands down on his thighs with a loud slap. “Let’s have one right now.” He pushed himself off the couch to standing. “I really want to see what you've been working on.”

“Oh, I think you’ll really like what I’ve done so far,” Luna said, giddy about his willingness to take the initiative. In her turn to lead, she took him to the lab, discarding their empty cups along the way. “Alright, so you remember how I told you I was investigating Loki’s DNA?” She handed Tony a pair of large rubber gloves and took small ones for herself.

Tony snapped his pair on and checked his shoes. “Mhm. Did you find the source of his crazy?”

Luna scoffed a little. “He’s not crazy, but I did get some interesting results when I spliced it with that of a C. elegans.” Taking great care, she shifted the Petri dish and lifted the lid. Tony stepped closer, peering inside.

“What is that?” he muttered, seeing the uncharacteristic tracks left by the tiny worms.

“Ice,” Luna whispered back. Tony’s head snapped up, his face and silence communicating his dumbfoundedness. “Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either. They survive in room temperature as they should, but they love the deep cold.” Luna placed it back on the bench. “I even put them in a tub of dry ice, and they were fine. Nothing I did could hurt them. They even laid eggs.”

Tony leaned on the table edge. “When did you do all this?”

“A couple months ago.”

“Months?!” he exclaimed, taken aback. “These things are only supposed to live half of a week!”

“I know! I was surprised too! They can’t seem to die!” Luna grabbed her lab notebook and opened it to the latest entry. Standing next to Tony, she showed him her data. “Just from that sequence I used, their lifespans have increased 1000% already.”

“Already? You’re saying it could keep rising?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” Luna closed her book.

Tony’s shoulders dropped. “This is dangerous stuff, Lu. I mean, in the wrong hands…”

“I know.” Luna held her hands in front of her. “I’m keeping all digital files on my private server and all papers under lock-and-key.” She pointed to a storage cabinet with a clear lock on the front. “No work is brought outside of this room.”

“If Loki knew you were doing this, it spells ‘danger’ for you.”

“He does know, but on a top level. I told him about the worms because I was happy my hypothesis worked, but that’s it. I’m careful.” Luna took off a glove and put her bare hand on Tony’s arm. “You can trust me on that.”

“I do. It’s just… I just…” Tony shakes his head.

“I know. I understand.”

“I know you do.” He covers Luna’s hand with his and smiles, grateful for her counsel. “On a lighter note, I believe Christmas presents are in order.”

Luna gasped and pointed at him. “Yes! Yes, they are!” She took her other glove off and lay it beside the first one. “First off, I have two for you.”

Tony smirked proudly and crossed his arms. “Two? I knew Santa was real.”

“Tony, you flatter me,” Luna giggled. “Let me get my bag.” She strode over to her personal cabinet and opened it.

“Hey, come on.” Tony nodded his head towards the door. “We’ll do it on the way.”

Luna bunched up the handle and held it tight. “To where?”

“To where I have your present.”

“Ooh, I get one?” She followed close behind him out of her lab and down the hall. “Now it’s my turn to be excited.”

Tony waved her off. “Yeah, yeah. Come on, kiddo, time’s a-wastin’.”

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

A short trek down the stairs and the duo found themselves entering the lower garage. It had been freshly cleaned during the holidays, and the available cars polished and waxed. On their way to a table, Luna eyed them with desire. Tony loved his expensive toys.

“So,” Luna set her bag down and brought her hands together with a clap, “who should go first?”

Tony raised a hand. “Uh, it should be me, because I’ve been waiting since the end of November.”

“An awfully long time to wait, so I won’t keep you any longer.” From her bag, Luna pulled a small white box and a framed piece of paper. “Ok, so first, we have this.” She placed the frame on the tabletop and slide it over to Tony. He adjusted his glasses and took a gander at it.

“Is…is that-?” He picked it up, getting a better look at it. In his hands, he held a detailed portrait of his likeness, done up tastefully in reds and oranges.

“Yup, that’s you.” Luna grinned, leaning over the table. “Loki kept sneaking peeks at it while I was working. Little devil,” she snickered.

“He’ll look at anything if you keep it a secret long enough.” Tony didn’t bother looking away from his new art piece.

“Mhm,” Luna hummed, pleased with his reaction to her gift. “And the second one.” She held the little box and took the lid off, revealing a handmade string bracelet in colors of red, orange, gold, and silver.

Tony's eyes flitted to it, and he smiled tenderly. Reaching with one hand, he took it around his fingers and rolled it onto his wrist. It was his third one from her.

“You know me so well.”

Luna smiled back. “I try. A billionaire is hard to buy for, so I make due.”

“Oh, this is more than ‘make due.’ "He held up his picture and turned it for Luna to see. “This is going in the center of the art wall at home.”

“Again, you flatter me, boss.”

“Unlike some people, I speak the truth, and this,” he looked to his artwork, sighing, and chuckled, “is gorgeous. Makes my present for you seem a little subpar.”

“A subpar gift from you? Never in your life.”

“Since we’re on the subject, we should get that show over with.” The frame tucked safely under his arm, Tony tilted his head towards one area of the garage and led the way to it.

On the counter by the wall sat four boxes, all wrapped in colorful paper and of varying sizes. Tony stood beside the lineup and gestured grandly to them.

“Tony,” Luna started skeptically, “this can’t all be for me.”

Tony held his hands behind his back and rocked on his feet. “No, the one on the far left is for you, the second one is for DUM-E, and the biggest ones are for FRIDAY and the kid.” He paused, not taking himself seriously. “Yes, it’s all for you. Now open the darn things, or I’m keeping all of it.”

“Alrighty, boss, but you’re gonna have to help me.”

At a loss for which box to pick first, Tony stepped in and pulled the tape off of the third box from the right. Luna moved up beside him and held the top flaps open as he pulled the Styrofoam-encased object out. With great care, they worked together in uncovering it, occasionally stopping and brushing stray foam and plastic from their clothes.

Their efforts weren’t all for naught. Upon a clean space on the counter, Luna’s gift sat for her to look at. She passed her fingers over the edges, trying to decipher what she was looking at. Under a Plexiglas cover, it housed a round disc, a small lever, and a weighted arm with a small needle on the end of it. The needle caught Luna's eye and helped her tie her pondered thoughts together.

“Tony, what is… is this…,” she stammered a little. She didn’t want to jinx what her heart was telling her.

Tony rotated his hands around to coax out the rest of her question. “Come on, genius. Use your words. It’s a…”

“Is this a record player?” Luna whispered. Tony snapped his fingers.

“Bingo! And she gets the prize!” he praised, eliciting a gasp and an ecstatic response from his young friend.

“You got me a vinyl record player?! Tony! This is amazing!” Luna grabbed his arm and shook it. “Wait, is this because of that one time I casually mentioned how jealous I was that you had one?”

Tony tilted his head from side to side. “Mm, probably, but I wouldn’t count on it.” Luna laughed, brimming with joy. “You’re very welcome, by the way.” She took a hand off of him, fanned her face, and covered half of her mouth. “Oh, don’t get all teary-eyed on me. No need for that.”

Luna groaned, throat tight from emotion. “I’m sorry. I’m just really happy." She bit the inside of her cheek, but nothing could suppress the smile she wore.

“I can tell,” he said tenderly.

“Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

He waved a hand. “Oh, come on now. None of that.” He patted the hand she still had on him. “Now, I can show you how to connect all the pieces, or I can leave that up to you and your intellect. Either way, you're putting all this -” he gestured to the unopened boxes “- in your car by the end of the day and making your boy toy very jealous.”

Luna chuckled, giving up on correcting Loki’s unfortunate nickname. “So, uh, what are all the pieces?”

“We have the turntable itself,” Tony placed a hand on it, “the power amp,” he moved to the first box by them, “pre-amp," he stepped out of Luna's grasp pointing the second box, “a set of speakers,” he indicated the box furthest from them, “and all the necessary wiring and instructions included. I may have gone overboard on the wires, but hey, can’t go wrong in having lots of backup supplies.”

“No, of course not.” Luna paused, taking everything in: the lavish gift, his generosity, the expense he considered to be pocket change. No, it was pocket change for him. “Tony, this is so much.”

“But do you like it?” He folded his hands, hopeful for a positive answer.

“Oh, I love it. I love it so much,” Luna affirmed, smile broad and shining.

“Good, because I only treat my friends like this.”

The two scientists shared their moment for only a second longer as FRIDAY chose the next one to break it.

“Boss, the diagnostic run on the suits is complete. Would you care to see the results now?”

Tony stepped back from Luna and stood straight with a proud smile. “Since I’ve seen your work, do you want to see mine?”

Luna mimicked him. “When do I ever refuse? Let’s go.”

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Taglist: @the-doctor-9-10 @pinkieperil @sherlockfan4life

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thisdiscontentedwinter · 5 years

Note

I think a lot of people have answered the question about why GR is different from other sites. 1.) It creates a permanent reference page for your work. None of the other sites do that. If someone trash-talks my fic on Tumblr or Facebook or Twitter, I'm unlikely to know about that. It's like someone making a Wikipedia page for your fic. That would NOT be cool. 2.) GR is all about ratings, and compare fanworks to published works. 3.) GR readers are not fully of fandom etiquette. (1/2)

(2/2) I’ve seen readers on GR give a fanfic 1 star with a comment like, “Well-written, but I’m not interested in Deaf!Stiles.” On AO3 people would know not to read something tagged Deaf!Stiles. I’ve also had people criticize plot points that were canon because they don’t know. The sheer number of authors who have strong feelings about GR compared to other sites should be enough to indicate that there IS something different about it, even if you don’t want to hear it.

DW, okay let’s look at this point by point:

1. Creating a permanent reference page for your work. Except it’s not permanent, because you can get it removed. Unlike sites that actually strip AO3 content and don’t just host links. But again, GR is the devil. And it’s the only devil. As for being unlikely to know about it on Tumblr, why would you be more likely to know about it on GR? You can always… not go there.

2. Nope. It’s not about comparing fanfics to commercial works. It’s about being able to collate everything you read in one place. That’s like saying that because in my library there are different types of works, that everyone is automatically comparing Spot the Dog to the Encyclopaedia Brittanica.

3. Again, this old assumption that GR readers are not fans, even though the vast majority I’ve interacted with also use AO3 and Tumblr. But because a few GR readers don’t understand fandom etiquette, all of them must be shut down.

4. And I’ve seen many GR users who don’t use star rankings for fanfic at all, or once who give more generous star ratings to fanfic because they understand that fanfic is a labor of love, and the appreciate the hours that authors put into fics and that they are provided to them for free.

And if we’re down to swapping anecdotes, let me tell you all about all the times on AO3 that I had someone leave comment after comment about how “wrong” my plot was, even though it was lifted straight from canon.

In my last fic, I had people surprised that Peter Hale came back from the dead, even though it’s a canon event. Did I tell them they weren’t real fans because they obviously hadn’t watched the show? No, I didn’t, because I’m not an asshole and I understand that every day there are new fans coming into the fandom who may not be familiar with the source material.

For every asshole using GR and not understanding fandom etiquette, there’s one on AO3 or Tumblr as well. But nobody blames AO3 for Tumblr for giving them a platform. Why does the entirety of GR get dismissed as “bad” when most fans on there are doing the correct thing in terms of fandom etiquette?

The sheer number of authors who have strong feelings about GR compared to other sites should be enough to indicate that there IS something different about it, even if you don’t want to hear it.

Everyone says this, but nobody can tell me exactly why it’s worse than Reddit, or Facebook, or any other site that’s not Tumblr (because that apparently gets a pass) when it comes to fics. I understand that its different, but not why different is bad.

And, when the sheer number of authors who are opposed to it were stirred up by the BNF with her own agenda that had nothing to do with anything you’ve mentioned here, then I think I’m allowed to question just how much they even know about how GR operates, and how much the continuing campaign of misinformation about GR informs their position.

And what about the sheer number of authors who don’t give a fuck? Because they certainly exist too. I’m one of them, and I know plenty of others.

And to reiterate, I don’t care if an author doesn’t want their fics linked on GR. I really don’t. If you don’t want more readers to discover your fics, that’s your business. I don’t understand it, as I’m pretty sure I’ve made clear, and that’s what this discussion is about: at attempt to understand. And given the number of people here who clearly don’t know how GR works, I feel like there are a bunch of people saying it’s the boogyman, even though they’ve never been there, they’ve never joined a group there, they’ve never interacted with fans there, and they’re only reiterating the negative things they’ve heard other people say about it. Which brings us back to the misinformation.

But I certainly do care that fans who use GR to collate what fics they’ve read (a better system than AO3s bookmarking by a long mile) are told that they’re not real fans, and they’re not a part of fandom, and they’re not welcome in fandom. Even though these fans are readers and writers who have probably been on AO3 as long as anyone else.

It’s gatekeeping. You’re telling fans that they’re wrong to be a part of fandom on a platform you don’t like, or understand. Or, worse, you’re telling them that they’re not fans, just because they use GR.

TLDR: A lot of people have commented on why GR is different from other sites, yes, but not on why different automatically means bad. Or, more importantly, why fans on GR are considered not to be a part of fandom.

#goodreads

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lordittetsu · 5 years

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The Forest for the Trees

Disclaimer: So, to prevent a bomb of questions I am making a small disclaimer. I just want to make sure that it was known going into this. First, I am not going to tag with trigger warnings, mostly because I don’t entirely know what to cover, but this story has death, betrayal, blood, and drug effects as a main topic, absolutely.

Second, This story will not be known ICly, even in game, it will be religated to a small handful of people as per the request of the DM running the event that this is part of. We are keeping it down to a handful of people right now. Finally, He gets better, don’t worry! (TBH, I just needed a small break after the last week of RP) Enjoy~

The only thing moving faster than Yosei’s feet was the pounding in his chest. He hadn’t a clue where he was running to, just why. His feet were his guide and he was moving as fast as they would take him. The sands became paths, which eventually became grass. He wasn’t paying attention after that. Not to his surroundings, nor how long he had been running.

Finally, he decided it was safe enough to stop, his feet falling onto the soft, wet ground of the forest path he was on. His eyes turned upward toward the canopy. When had it started raining? The soft morning light peeking through the leaves...when had it become morning?

He doubled over, his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. Large amounts of air were drawn in, held, and released, in attempts to slow it to a normal pace. After what he felt was an adequate amount of time, he stood back up straight.

His eyes narrowed as they fell onto that middle-aged familiar face. A hyur man, who looked as disheveled as he was old. His long black hair was half-pushed out of his face, his white tunic was stained a familiar, deep red, the source a wound on his neck. “My, my, the cub grew into his bite, huh?” His voice was calm, soothing, much like a father catching up with a son they haven’t seen for years. “The fact that you have the courage to fight in something like Mujihigi really does stay something.” There was a pause as the man held up both hands with a shrug of his shoulder, “Even if you can’t get past the first round.” The Raen drew in a sharp breath, “You aren’t real. You aren’t even there because of the Spider. You are there because my head thinks you need to be there.” “Oh come now, cub, we are here because you /need/ us. You have become complacent and you have lost your way. We need to guide you back on your path, little cub.” A hard look quickly grew on the Raen’s face. His eyes turned to follow the gaze of the hyur, which seemed to be fixed on something behind him. In that moment, his heart would catch and fly into his throat. He tried to swallow it down, but he couldn’t.

This wasn’t just one or two faces he recognized standing in the isolated spot, but many. Dozens upon dozens of men and women, of a variety of ages, stood before him as if he was about to make some amazing speech that had to be heard despite the setting. “None of you are real. You can’t hurt me.” He tried to seem so sure about his words, but in the end, the attempt at confidence fell flat on its face. His heart was starting to race again as his eyes searched the group. Not all garnered the same slam in his chest, but a few key faces did, even moreso as they all started to yell their grievances at him. The voices became a jumbled mess as they didn’t wait to speak in turn. Each had something to say, and it had to be said now. The jumbled mess of words didn’t help as each voice seemed to grow in volume, as if they were attempting to make their point heard. The Raen quickly turned on his heel to start running, but the crowd had moved to encompass him. There were even more faces now. His eyes searched the group as if looking for someone. His heart began to slam in his chest, each thump feeling as if it was sitting in his throat. He felt a quiver tear through him as the panic started to take hold. His head slowly shaking, he now searched for an exit, a way to escape this living nightmare.

“See, cub. We all helped you become the man you were meant to be. Why did you push our lessons aside? Now, you are weak. You are broken. Please take our words.” Once again, his attention snapped to the older hyur. “Fuck you. Shut up.” There were more words, phrases, similar to that. They struck his core. Eventually his mind attempted to shut the words out. Sentences became single words, became syllables. The Raen slowly lowered himself to his knees, his hands moving over the back of his head. “Shut up! Please just end this!” Suddenly, the voices all stopped, just like that. But there were footsteps. Light and slow. They weren’t coming from too far away. Was it the old man? He opened his eyes to be greeted by an emerald gaze.

The aging Au Ra woman took his chin into her hand as she leaned in closer to his face. “My poor, sweet boy, what has happened to you?” She seemed to know exactly where to brush, her touch causing his chin to lift on its own as she scratched his golden scales. “You have fallen...you used to be so agile. What has made you trip so badly?” He didn’t respond, nor would he. The voice...he knew it in a heartbeat. Even if he had his eyes closed, there would be no escaping this. “Mom?” His eyes widened in the moment, the shock so obvious on his face. He went to stand up, but she just responded with a gentle shake of her head. “Shhh… I am here for you. You want this all to stop, right?” Her free hand moved to lightly brush along his hair in a soothing manner, the gesture further pulling him into the warmth that was starting to take him. Her hand moved to the tie that held his ebon locks into place, pulling it free so his hair could fall around his shoulders. “My poor child, you have been through so much.”

Tears quickly came to Yosei’s eyes as he tried to get up again, but she prevented it again. “I did it all for you, to make sure you were safe and cared for. Mom. I love you. I am sorry, for this, for everything, for….” “For killing me, my beloved son? Or replacing me? Or abandoning me? Or your wife? Or that sweet Miqo’te? Oh, and all of your childhood friends? Your responsibility with the Sekiseigumi? Hmmm… My dear, sweet son. I have already chosen to help you. Just as you helped me with my painful existence.”

The blade cut across the neck of the Au Ra, letting more of the blood spill as the life from his eyes went with it. The Spider let go of his chin, allowing Yosei to fall onto the grass. The withered old man knelt before him, digging into his satchel for a glass vial and filled it up with his blood. “The Raen gave a good chase, he did.” His hoarse voice filling the silent void of the forest as he capped the vial with a toothy grin. “Bloodtaker!” From atop the trees, Chitori, the Bloodtaker, leapt down nearby, having witnessed the entire hunt. The Xaela warrior of the Retribution approached the decrepit man, looking down at Yosei slowly passing away. “You didn’t make a clean cut,” said Chitori. He glared back at the Spider, disgusted with his choice of execution. The Spider let out a wheezing laugh before replying. “A punishment befitting a man of such crimes, Bloodtaker.”

Chitori held out his hand as the Spider placed the vial into his palm. The Xaela knelt down, placing his hand onto Yosei’s bloodied neck, feeling the pulse slow down until it was no more. “I hereby confirm that Yosei Ittetsu has been met with Divine Retribution.” The Bloodtaker stood up once more, eyeing the Spider repulsively. “Summon the Vulture. We’re done here.” The Spider let out another wheezing laugh. “The Raven gave explicit orders to leave the body here, Bloodtaker,” said the Spider.

Chitori’s brow furrowed at the turn of events. “This isn’t how we operate, Spider. You claimed the mark; now you sanitize.” The Spider lowered the makeshift goggles that sat on his forehead, pressing a button to activate Magitek legs from a backpack. “I will reiterate for you, Bloodtaker: Kazuma-sama states we leave the body here. You defy the will of the Raven?” Chitori shook his head. “I will still deliver his Rites. Your job is done.” The Spider, with the aid of his Magitek legs, crawled up into the nearby trees. “No need for the condescension, Bloodtaker. I do what is commanded of me. I suggest you do the same.” As the Spider crawled through the trees from the Xaela’s sight, Chitori knelt down to Yosei’s body once more. “Yosei Ittetsu...I won’t be delivering your Rites. Instead, I offer an apology.” His voice grew soft as his contempt for the situation began to grow from within. “A line has been crossed today. An innocent man was marked for death and killed. This wasn’t Divine Retribution. This was Mortal Retaliation. I can only offer my condolences for being unable to prevent such an atrocity. Make no mistake, Yosei...I will do my best to prevent this from happening again.”

Chitori pushed the prone body of Yosei onto his back, placed his arms across his chest and closed his eyes. The Xaela whispered a prayer under his breath before standing up. “This needs to end before more innocent blood spills in our home…” He looked down at Yosei. “...even if I have to spill my own to do so.” The Bloodtaker placed the vial into his belt satchel after one final glance, then walked away further into the forest.

#forest for the trees #storyline progression #ffxiv #ffxiv roleplay #crystal data center #Yosei Ittetsu #Balmung

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mochakawa · 5 years

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While I’m at it, carrying on my gray screeching, I wanna talk about something.

Riku’s jealousy.

I think it’s something we tend to gloss over a lot when we’re talking about Kingdom Hearts and the characters within, especially since it’s such a relief to watch Riku grow from what appears to be a spoiled brat throwing a temper tantrum to a mature young man sacrificing his life for his best friend (and crush, if you’re taking a queer reading like I do, but that’s besides the point).

But like... is he though? Is he just a spoiled brat that Maleficent manipulated into thinking Sora was replacing him with a talking dog and duck? I posit that Riku’s been afraid of being replaced for a very long time, and Maleficent saw that and honed in on it really quick.

I know we can take the fact that Square hasn’t given us any meaningful Riku and Kairi friendship moments as “Square has a shit time writing male/female friendships”, but for a moment, let’s take it as intentional.

The narrative we’re given through the main series is that Sora has two best friends, Riku and Kairi. And yeah, I think we can safely say that Riku and Kairi are friends. Friendly, at the very least, but...

Well.

Remember that we’re seeing these two through Sora’s eyes. Through Sora’s eyes, they must be best friends. They’re both his best friends, after all, so therefore they must be best friends too. But Kairi sure was willing to joke about leaving Riku behind in KH1 just because she felt like “he’d changed”. Sora responds to the line with an incredulous “what?!”, to which Kairi is quick to say “just kidding!”

But you know, after being around for awhile, whenever you hear people say something they think won’t be received well and they follow it up with a “just kidding”, it makes you think: they weren’t kidding, and they’re only saying “jk lol” now because they don’t want to deal with the negative repercussions.

I’m gonna be charitable and say that Kairi picked up on something dark brewing in Riku that she didn’t know how to handle, and the prospect of being trapped on a tiny raft with that frightened her. That seems fair enough. But we don’t really see any indication that she ever mentioned her concerns to the person that could actually reassure her, or try to figure out how to fix the behavior she noticed.

We don’t see her talk to Riku about it.

She brings it up to Sora, who is his best friend, who might be able to do something about it, or at least who might feel confident enough to say something. Obviously Sora hasn’t noticed anything, and he’s confused by the whole thing, but the important thing here is that Kairi noticed something changing in Riku, possibly becoming progressively worse, and didn’t try to talk to him about it. Or at least, we aren’t shown it, so it’s safe enough to assume she probably didn’t.

I mean, she’s 14, that’s a difficult topic to broach.

But I’d think that someone that she considers her best friend would be someone she could talk to. Or at the very least, when she was talking to Sora, she might suggest that they both talk to Riku about it.

Instead, she tries to play it off, and suggests taking the raft and leaving, just the two of them.

And... well, we’re not really shown that Riku didn’t hear this.

Here’s the thing. And I thought about it the last time I was playing the first game, and the added cutscene with Sora and Riku looking into the Secret Place as children came up. And something Riku says stuck out to me:

“Hey, Sora. When we grow up, let’s get off this island. We’ll go on real adventures, not this kid stuff!”

At this point, the boys hadn’t actually met Kairi yet. They’d heard about her showing up at the mayor’s place, but they hadn’t met her. This is one best friend asking another to go off into the wilds with him. Sora agrees-- but when they’re finally making those preparations to leave, it’s not just them anymore.

It’s Kairi, too.

Riku’s gone from being the center of Sora’s attention, from being his only best friend, to being one of two. And again, to reiterate, it’s not like Riku wasn’t friends with Kairi. But it’s not unlikely that it’s here, as children, were Riku first started to feel like maybe things wouldn’t always be the same. That there was a chance he might lose his precious person, even if he hadn’t conceptualized that yet.

It’s really hard to battle that kind of resentment. You feel guilty because you know you shouldn’t be resentful, that it’s good that your friend is making more friends, that it’s good that you have the chance to make another friend, too. But you can’t help but look back and go “but look at what it was like before.”

It’s a small thing that can grow with the right push.

When we start KH1, they’re almost done with the raft. That is to say, Riku’s already been persuaded to let Kairi in on their adventure promise, and not only has this promise had another person shoehorned in, but the goal is different now, too. It’s no long about going on adventures with his best friend, it’s about finding out where Kairi’s from, seeing what Kairi’s birthplace was like.

It might’ve felt like it had gone from being about “Sora and Riku” to being all about Kairi, and I can see how a kid going through puberty, especially if he’s finding he’s not as straight as he once thought, can feel resentful over that. And I can definitely see how the firmly anchored facade of everything being fine could start to crack and lift.

It’s possible Kairi caught a glimpse of that resentment towards the end of their preparations. Or maybe she always had the idea that she wasn’t really 100% welcome. That doesn’t really matter; what matters is that when Kairi and Sora are sitting on the pier, Kairi seeming to hint at Riku’s carefully squashed deepest fear, and then proposing they run away from him for it--

Well. I’m not saying that is what happened, but why would Riku open the door the night before they were going to set sail on that raft if he thought it was the more sure way to do what he wanted? Unless he already thought he was being abandoned, and he had nothing to lose.

“The door is open, Sora! Now we can go to the outside world!”

Riku doesn’t say anything about Kairi until Sora brings her up, and then he’s almost angry about it. He’s defiant-- of course Kairi’s coming with us. She wanted to go so badly, and she wanted to tag along, so duh. Of course she has to come now.

But... Riku’s already being taken by the darkness before Sora ever finds Kairi. He lets it take him, even. How are they supposed to collect Kairi if they’re already gone?

TL;DR: Riku’s jealousy is well established as having some very real, very grounded basis, and I think it’s a shame to ignore it. It’s fun to joke about how Riku’s gay awakening caused the events of KH1, but I think that ignores the deeper, very real, very human reasons why Maleficent was able to drive a wedge between Riku and Sora so quickly. It’d be pretty obvious to someone well versed in manipulating people exactly how to manipulate a 15 year old boy who’s constantly talking about his best friend Sora. And sometimes Kairi, too.

I think Riku’s big lesson in KH1 is that he needs to trust in his friends, which is why Sora’s tagline of “my friends are my power!” is so powerful. And why Riku’s keyblade would’ve ditched him for Sora, too. Riku’s heart always knew that he was precious to his friends, even if his deep fears lead him to think otherwise.

(And I think Aqua needed to learn that lesson too, but her story was handled SO MUCH LESS GOODLY than Riku’s, but that’s a rant for another time.)

#riku #kh #sora #kairi #long post

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the-colony-roleplay · 5 years

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☭ FEVER STATE: “COMPROMISED SYSTEM”☭ stage ii

For a moment—a tortuously fleeting moment—things appeared to be looking up for Col22 citizens.

It actually mildly surprised medical staff when, by the afternoon of Wednesday, January 5th, the third day of sickness, some of the fevers were very slowly starting to subside earlier than expected, and for a handful of the Colony’s sickest, the worst of it seemed to be rounding the bend behind them. Sickness lingered, as it would and was expected to for at least another three days, but some citizens had seen the peak of what their illness would become, and could look forward to feeling progressively better as the days went on and they were finally able to keep down fluids and some less-solid foods. Finally not dry-heaving long enough to actually get a few hours’ much needed rest.

But much like the onset of the sickness, this new beast started slowly—picking off a couple individuals at a time, going unnoticed at first, and largely unreported—then rearing its head and taking over all at once.

Wednesday night was the first time someone put a voice to fears they’d juggled with since the morning: something was very, very wrong with their so-called ‘Infection’. In fact, by nightfall, they weren’t able to use their infected ability at all.

As it would turn out—they were not the only one. There were others who’d started to notice these symptoms as well, but hadn’t yet said it out loud, be it for fear it was not but their imaginations, or that it was not likely to get worse—or perhaps for fear of making it real. For fear of what it could mean.

By Thursday morning, however, the putting off of acknowledging it changed nothing: all Infected citizens were reportedly experiencing fluxes of control with their Infections—having to strain to use their ability in even the simplest form with a sputtering in and out of results; like an electric engine puttering in a desperate wheeze, well beyond time for a recharge, trying in vain to press forward—until it chugs to a pathetic, whining and whirring stop.

And so is how it went with the infections, as well. When Thursday night at Colony 22 falls, all evidence of any Infected citizen having any unnatural or ‘evolved’ power at all has been wiped away. No strength to move without touch, no speaking without tongues, no invasive tapping into the emotions of others. Even the Deluded cease to experience ‘symptoms’ of their delusions, though each case where they are concerned is a little different, due to the nature of their unique so-called ‘abilities’.

It would appear as though the Infected have been stripped of whatever it is that makes them different—and naturally, it sends everyone into a panic. Even the NWRF. Some might say especially the NWRF.

Thursday Jan 6th, through Saturday the 8th, Infected citizens of all subclasses are spending hours upon hours each day undergoing emergency testing—blood tests, scans, MRIs—absolutely any kind of data collection lab researchers (both NWRF aligned and otherwise) can get their hands on, because no one knows what this means, how exactly this could have been caused—or how long it will last.

Could this possibly be a permanent change? Was there something in the parasite that ate away at whatever it was the mysterious gasses of both Fallings changed in so many of the remaining human race? Were the ‘Evolved’ simply no more? Or is this a temporary side effect? Would the Infections return, and if so, when, and would they be just as they were before, or would they evolve again in some way? Grow stronger, even?

Was this sudden absence of Infection something that could be replicated? Bottled? Sold?

The questions were endless, as were the tests. Lab researchers, techs, medics and scientists would lose sleep over the next three days, up into all hours of the night pouring over results and data, trying to piece together meaning, uncover answers never before uncovered.

Meanwhile—the Infected and all their supporters try in vain not to panic. For the question remains: is this a beginning or an end?

A/N: There you have it darlings! Part 2 of this new, 2019 plot drop. And though you will see updates as this stage progresses and unfolds, plus a wrapping of sorts down the road when the timeline moves forward, etc, this will be the last of the time-constrained ‘event-style’ portion of this drop, at least for a while. But more on that later—for the time being:

Welcome to: ☭ FEVER STATE: COMPROMISED SYSTEM ☭ { stage ii } !!

This post marks the beginning of stage two, and shifts the timeline forward to January 5th through January 8th. This means that though you may continue all old threads, you may not start any new threads from stage one.

All NEW threads must be between Wednesday morning, January 5th, and Saturday night, January 8th. There will be no exceptions to this. But, as always, and to reiterate, you may continue all old threads as long as you need!

This time window will continue until you see a post here on the main with updates to this portion of the plot line and officially moving the timeline forward. Once this stage is ‘complete’, the RP timeline will open back up to the regular vague and approximate week-by-week approach, relatively open and flexible until such a time that the next plot drop is released, which might not be a for a while.

Here is a quick summary of events so far regarding the Fever State drop. In bold, is what is currently open to start new threads about.

MONDAY, January 3rd - All citizens start to get sick to varying degrees throughout the day, regardless of what was or wasn’t eaten. The sickest are kept in the infirmary for close monitoring and hooking up to IVs, and those whose fevers are not as high and who are able to keep down more fluids are confined to their houses instead, mostly tended to in their dorm rooms by rotating medical staff.

TUESDAY, January 4th, 11:00am - Colony Wide Recall Notice; informing citizens of flour recall, details regarding what can be expected of the parasite symptoms and that it should run its course within the space of roughly seven days.

WEDNESDAY, January 5th, morning - Some infected start to experience inconsistencies and strange ‘brown outs’ with their Infection abilities.

Wed, Jan 5th, night - The first official reports about fluctuating control of Infection abilities arise, word begins to spread.

THURSDAY, January 6th, morning - All Infected citizens (Deluded included) are experiencing a gradual and unpredictable ceasing of control/strength of their Infection abilities, to varying degrees. Some of them stopping completely.

Thurs, Jan 6th, all day - emergency lab testing for the Infected commences

Thurs, Jan 6th, night - By the end of the day, all Infected abilities are seemingly gone.

FRIDAY, January 7th through SATURDAY, January 8th, inclusive - Testing continues. Standard symptoms of parasite have started to subside across the board. People are released from the Infirmary, classes and chores are slowly reintroduced. Uninfected slowly begin to feel normal again. The Infected, however, though they start to feel less sick, still have no traces of their infection abilities.

Currently, you may not RP past Saturday night.

Additionally, as with previously, new threads must be TITLED somehow to reflect the current stage (Stage two). Again, that can be done in a variety of ways, including somehow indicating the “Fever State” plot drop and the stage number, or indicating the stage title itself, so in this case “Compromised System”. Remember you have the freedom to indicate this however you wish, so long as you DO indicate it somehow. For examples from the first stage, which would apply similarly to this stage, please check out this post.

On the main blog we will continue to us #col22feverstate for all posts regarding this plot drop, and we will also be using #col22FScomp for posts regarding this stage. You can use these tags for your personal posts and organization as well if you want, but you are not required to (just remember to keep titles of your threads clear!)

☭ INDIVIDUAL CHARACTER VARIATIONS: ☭

Like last time, it’s up to you to decide the details surrounding how/when your character is affected by these new developments, so long as they remain congruent with the canon narration and timeline provided above. For characters of any status, you can decide when they start to feel a bit better, though this is bound to fluctuate dramatically across the board, and some will still be pretty darn sick even as the weekend approaches.

For Infected characters, you can decide if they were one of the ones who noticed changes earlier on Wednesday, if they were one of the ones who reported it to an Official that night, or if they maybe heard about it that night but kept their mouths shut. Alternatively, maybe they didn’t notice anything with their own abilities until Thursday. However, by Thursday morning, all Infected are noticing these effects in some way.

If you have a deluded character, feel free to get creative with how their ‘delusion’ is affected, but remember it is about stripping the ‘symptoms’ of their delusion away, or their so-called ability. So, for Orson, it’s not that he suddenly believes his Delusion was untrue all along, but that he stops actively seeing visions of death when he touches someone. For Roy, perhaps he stops hearing Death’s voice in his head. For Annie, maybe she still believes she’s in a nightmare of sorts, but she doesn’t experience the ‘tells’ of her sleeping state anymore. But these are just examples—you can decide for yourselves how you want to play it out, and feel free to run stuff by the mods if you want guidance!

☭ STATE OF THE COMMUNITY: ☭

As already mentioned, the return of normal colony schedules will be very gradual. Lots of people are still sick, but the infirmary will slowly thin out as Saturday approaches, and though some group classes/therapy sessions etc may be reinstated, not all will be at this stage. Additionally, there will be a considerable amount more testing going on for Infected citizens, and the general environment of Colony 22 will be rather frenzied, chaotic and tense due to the new developments and panic, but also somewhat sluggish, do to lingering illnesses and lack of regular schedules. Lab techs and researchers will be working day and night, rumours will be spreading, Colony officials will be tight lipped and reluctant to release information before it is confirmed, or to speak out of turn. NWRF reps will be a bit manic, dealing with lots of back and forth between other local reps, other colonies who were subjected to this parasite, and Headquarters.

This time window will continue until you see further updates from the main blog. As always, please bring any and all event-related questions to the MAIN BLOG ASK. Additionally, if you have any ideas or things you want to contribute with regards to this plot and your character, feel free to come to us! We are more than happy to help and there is some room as this plot develops to incorporate member contribution of ideas!

Alright, happy plotting friends! Ta for now!

xxCol22Mods

#col22feverstate #col22fscomp #literate rp #sci fi rp #original rp

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