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gumiwaka · 2 years

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Chapter 1 - Encounter

Pairing: Imaushi Wakasa x f!reader

WC: 1.7k

Summary: Despite your very involved past with some of Tokyo’s well known gangs you managed to fade out of that picture and become the head Emergency Room Trauma Charge Nurse for one of Tokyo’s top trauma centers. One particular shift, fate decides to deliver your past right at your doorstep with a very reawakening encounter with none other than your high school sweetheart/ex boyfriend in a very critical state.

Tw/Cw: mentions of hospitals, blood, needles, physical injuries, gang violence, cussing, angsty past arguments/breakup, Wakasa having a personality break during a flashback

Notes: there will be NSFW chapters in the future so just a heads up also I just had to drag the suspense out a bit, just wait until you see the shit y/n used to partake back in the day

MINORS DNI

“How’s your day going?” Your dark bagged framed eyes peered over your now cold coffee at the new emergency room technician. His warm cheerful attitude stuck out like a sore thumb in comparison to the rest of the current ER environment. Working at one of Tokyo’s top trauma centers never failed to produce a short staffed yet heavy flow workplace.

“Well, no one died.” You replied while placing the cheap styrofoam cup down on your desk. Just as you began walking away from the nurse’s station, you couldn’t help but let a small amused smirk escape your lips at the rookie’s response.

“Those are your standards?”

Unfortunately, with your history of being a paramedic, now nurse, human deaths slowly became somewhat meaningless to you. It became routine to see people slip away from this world. Maybe all the endless hours of exhaustion from constant overtime has finally dulled your brain into a somewhat state of numbness.

Just as you were about to slip into a patient’s room, a booming voice called out over the ER intercom. “Trauma alert, bay 2, eta 5 minutes…. Level 1 activation…” You immediately turned on your heel then made your way to the bay to prepare for the shit show that was about to be dropped off at your doorstep.

As you stepped in, your fellow coworkers were already frantically pulling out IV kits, trauma dressings, intubation supplies, the whole nine yards. Everyone was ready to swiftly intervene, stabilize, then move onto the next emergency.

“Charge Nurse L/N, EMS reports that we have a 29 year old male in critical condition incoming, critical injuries secondary to gang altercation.” One of the other nurses report aloud as you slip on nitrile gloves.

An irritated sigh left your lips while you assisted one of the technicians preparing the cardiac monitor. “These idiots need to chill the fuck out, that makes incident number eleven in the last eight hours.”

Before anymore side chat could begin, the ambulance bay doors burst open followed by two medics pushing in a very battered and bloodied body. The gears instantly started turning in your head, assessing the mess you had before you. Two apparent stab wounds to the upper abdomen, a handful of superficial gashes along both arms, countless bruises, and one very deformed right clavicle.

“Put pressure on those stab wounds, get X-ray in here, and page the trauma surgeon now.” You ordered as the team moved the unconscious male to the gurney. Without hesitation, you immediately kneeled down and began working on getting venous access. As you brushed his long matted lilac and blonde strands away your eyes widened at the sight of a very familiar three balled dangle earring. Before you could continue to process this rediscovery anymore, the privacy curtains swung open followed by a very authoritative deep voice.

“You guys better not kill him!”

That demanding voice was all it took to pull those deep buried memories back up to the surface. Akashi Takeomi was not only now in your ER being the asshole he is, but trying to intimidate your staff which are elbows deep in stabilizing the man before you.

Your head whipped around just after you secured the IV you established and bore an ever dark glare into the famous “god of war’s” eyes.

“Don’t you know who I am?” He immediately caught your intense glare and snapped.

“Yup, I just don’t care. Now get the hell out of my ER bay.” The words lashed out, gaze never faltering.

He froze on the spot, like a deer in headlights when he realized just who you were and without another word of protest he backed out and slid the curtain shut.

“Dang Charge Nurse L/N you’re really scary when you want to be.” One of the technicians chuckled as you gently removed the jewelry from the patient’s ear and placed in your scrub pocket.

“All that guy is good for is talking up a big game, just ignore him. Once you start running fluids on our patient here, take him straight to Dr. Tsubomi’s OR.” The young male nodded in response to your orders and resumed taping down one of the many gauze dressings.

Seeing that the brunt of the chaos has been controlled, you slid your dirtied gloves into the trash and allowed one last glance back at the unconscious man before stepping out of the trauma bay.

Small squeaks echoed off of the walls as your crocs scuffed across the tiled floor. Now that he was stabilized for the most part, your mind began to suddenly process just who was laying before you moments ago. The line of spherical beads sitting on your bare chest beneath your scrub top suddenly began to feel as if it were burning painful blisters into your flesh.

After looking around to make sure no one was watching, your hand snaked behind your waist and pushed down on the supply room door knob allowing your body to tumble into the empty space alone. As the door clicked shut, there was no hesitation as you pushed in the lock.

Silence…

No call lights beeping, no cardiac monitors screaming, no crying voices…

Just pure silence…

With that, your hand reached down your top and yanked the beads clean from your neck allowing instant relief to come to your flushed skin.

Your body went limp and slid to the cold tile below while clutching the now broken necklace tight in your grasp followed by a small sniffle. The earring you had stashed in your pant pocket moments ago rolled out beside you.

“You just never will learn will you… Waka…”

A single tear trickled down your cheek as you picked up the earring and admired the smooth crimson finish. Then it hit you. When was the last time you actually cried and felt genuinely worried? It had to have been a few years at least… right?

Yeah… that’s right.. back when you both ended things for good that one night.

“If I knew… If someone had told me the plan… You know I would have done things differently right?” Warm hands cupped your tear stained face bringing your infuriated conscious back to reality.

“This is real life! You don’t get to restart things when you make a mistake like that Imaushi!” Venomous words shot out in fury while you shoved his arm away refusing any last ditch comfort from him.

“Do you not feel any remorse for what you did to them? To me?”

If you didn’t think it was anymore possible to be even more pissed off, him standing there with a crazed grin was all it took to push you past that point. You couldn’t even fathom being the slightest bit scared of his old twisted personality slipping out. Knowing if he picked up on the smallest bit of fear leaking from you, it would be game over, simple as that.

“Is this a game to you?”

He remained silent, features never faltering as his blood stained body sunk down into the plush chair behind, and you watched as he leaned down to cradle his head fighting back an amused cackle.

“I don’t have a choice— I never had.” Lifeless lilac irises flickered up to your bloodshot scowl. For a second you could have sworn that a small plea for help etched his expression, but was instantly concealed by his hands coming up to rub his exhausted eyes. That alone brought you back down on your rollercoaster of emotions for the night and once again, painful tears rimmed your eyes and began to fall down your flushed cheeks.

Silence filled your shared apartment as tears continued to quietly drip off your chin onto the laminate floor below.

“I still believe there is a good person in you.”

With those final words spoken, you walked out of the home you both built together and never looked back, leaving all the worry you had for the man you loved at the front door.

The loud ringing of your pager yanked you out of your running thoughts and caused you to shoot up straight to your feet. Looking down, you read the incoming message rolling across the screen.

‘Trauma bay 2 out of surgery, stable, in recovery room 456’

A wave of relief coursed through your veins after reading the news. Wiping your face with one of your sleeves, you pocketed the reunited pair of charms and made your way out of the supply room and towards the room where Wakasa was now resting peacefully.

Thankfully he can’t have visitors just yet since he’s still coming off of anesthesia so it wouldn’t hurt to check in on him right?

Just a quick in and out before he wakes up will be enough.

Hesitantly you stood in front of the door dividing you both. This wasn’t like you, being weary about entering a patient’s room. Letting out a sigh and relaxing your mind the best you could, quietly you slipped inside and shut the door.

There he was… sleeping soundly not aware of a single thing going on. Earlier when he came in, he was hardly recognizable. Now that he has been cleaned and fixed up for the most part, it was hard to not just admire the man. Despite the deep purple bruises covering an array of his gentle face, he was still absolutely breathtaking.

Mesmerized by his beauty, you thoughtlessly reached for his face and gently brushed back his blonde locks. In reaction to your touch, long elegant eyelashes slowly fluttered open without you noticing. It took a familiar raspy voice calling out to pull you from your trance.

“Y/N…?”

Please do not repost my work, that’s stealing mmkay~

Until I get a proper tag list form posted feel free to send me an ask or comment here <3 remember you must be 18+ w/ your age in bio

Tag List: @kallikrein

#arosora fics #Imaushi wakasa #Wakasa #Imaushi wakasa x reader #wakasa x reader #tokyorevengersfics #Tokyo Revengers #Brahman

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wangxianficrecs · 3 years

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Follower Recs

There are nearly FORTY THOUSAND AO3 stories in the MDZS universe, and I am just a single person with limited time, so.... Here’s a bit of y’all doing my work for me!

~*~

Mojo, I know it'd probably be recced before, but I have to recommend stiltonbasket's Twelve Moons and a Fortnight. It has made me squee of cuteness, hold my breath with suspense, marvel over the worldbuilding and character interactions, and just awed me at how well every original piece of lore and HC ties back to canon. I cried over it, only to cry laughing the next chapter. it kept me going through an entire year of lockdown and is finally coming to an end, and the resolution was magnificent.

*[I’m subscribed to this and keep waiting for Part One to be completed, but instead later parts keep getting posted: is it completed but not marked? I am confused. And eager to read!]*

Twelve Moons and a Fortnight

by stiltonbasket (G, 267k, wangxian, WIP)

Summary: "Let me get this straight. You really want me to stand in for you while you help Jin Ling settle in at Koi Tower?"

"Who else do I have?" Jiang Cheng snaps, ears turning scarlet as Jin Ling tries to pretend he isn't listening. "Father trained you to serve as my deputy, didn't he? And don't say you don't remember, or I'll break your legs."

"Well, yes," Wei Wuxian manages. "Uh. I'll just let Lan Zhan know I'll be at Lotus Pier until you're back at home, then."

Or, the one where Wei Wuxian spends the year before his wedding as Yunmeng Jiang's acting sect leader, and the cultivation world's greatest love story finds its happy ending with the help of three juniors, a teenage romance, and one very involved (and exasperated) younger brother.

~*~

May I recommend fielty by milkpunch a sort of AU where lwj in order to save his sect from being destroyed by nine after wen rouhans assasination goes to work as a guard to Jin zixuan where he meets wwx the right hand of Jin guanguao... ~ @pastashouldbeeatenwithafork

Fealty

by milkpunch (E, 84k, wangxian)

Summary: Before, there had been two reigning kingdoms. Both claimed to be blessed by the sun, but with vastly differing views. One, under the name of Wen, was washed red with blood and violence, its soldiers fierce and stoked with a fiery blaze. The other, under the name of Jin, was bathed in golden light and glory, its soldiers proud and heavy with coin and prestige. The two kingdoms went to war for the true honour of having the sun’s blessing, fighting for many long years with many lives lost.

Jin Guangshan, emperor of the Golden Sun Palace, found that the sun favoured him more.

To prevent his kingdom from being crushed, Lan Zhan, second heir to the Lan kingdom, exchanges his freedom for that of servitude to the Jin kingdom. He is appointed as Jin Zixuan's personal guard, but there's more on his plate than just keeping the Jin heir safe. The Golden Sun Palace is not all that it seems, and the dazzling lives of the royals are less perfect than they appear.

~*~

Hey, I was wondering if I could rec a fic to you. My bestie wrote it for the Lunar New Year Wangxian gift exchange and it definitely did not receive the attention it deserves. It's a really fun mermaid/arranged marriage au! ~ @leahlisabeth

More Than This Provincial Wife

by ApprenticedMagician (T, 6k, wangxian)

Summary: The negotiations surrounding the Lan & Jiang alliance through marriage encountered a few snags in the beginning.

~*~

I love your blog! I saw a recent post where you listed some rec's from other people? [Thank you! And yes, I always appreciate and am happy to share your recs!] I just read the WIP A Corpse Called By Name jaemyun and LOVED it! It's a zombie apocolypse AU, where Wei Ying gets bitten by a zombie.... and I don't want to spoil anything from there, but it is amazing! No pressure to put it in your blog, but wanted to send a note just in case. Thanks for all you do!

A Corpse Called By Name

by jaemyun (not rated, 37k, wangxian, WIP)

Summary: A continuation of zombie drabble!

She loses her brother in a hoard of the undead.

She finds a corpse wearing his face in a convenience store.

The corpse calls her name.

~*~

Hi! I was wondering if I could rec this short fic that I recently found and really liked! The narrative is an inner monologue and I think it captures lwj really well :)

binding me in spells (till my heart's devoured)

by gaysgaysgays (G, <1k, wangxian)

Summary: His scars are a reminder of his hurt, a reminder that he had healed.

(or a study of lan zhan's scars)

~*~

I found a fic I had recently asked you about, so I thought I'd share it with you: Seasons of Falling Flowers by merakily (http://archiveofourown.org/works/28522326). I rediscovered it completely by accident after listening to spinifex's excellent podfic adaptation. This is the fic where Lan Qiren despises Wei Wuxian until Wei Wuxian catches a cold and Lan Qiren find out about his golden core. That part is about 3/4 of the way through. The fic is wonderful and shows a rigid but surprisingly introspective Lan Qiren. ~ @clmoryel [Oh! I just read this one yesterday! Here’s my bookmark.]

Seasons of Falling Flowers

by merakily (G, 40k, wangxian, lan qiren & wei wuxian, podfic)

Summary: Like a parasite, Wei Wuxian has this way of growing on people when you least expect it.

Over the seasons, Lan Qiren slowly pieces back together his relationship with Wangji and learns to like Wei Wuxian in the process.

(“Will you rejoin your sect?” As soon as the words leave his mouth, Lan Qiren regrets his wording.

He is not surprised when Wangji’s eyes narrow, flashing with offence. “There is no need to rejoin what one has never left. I did not turn my back on my sect. My sect turned their backs on me.”)

~*~

Hi! Can I rec a fic? "bring you home" by Alasse_Irena on AO3 is a modern AU and is one of the most beautiful and atmospheric fics I have read. Thanks for you work running this blog! I have new Wangxian fics to read <3

bring you home

by Alasse_Irena (T, 28k, wangxian)

Summary: Wei Ying rents a run-down cottage in a small town by the sea, looking for a quiet place to hide after the war.

Lan Zhan has always dreamed of the ocean. He returns to the town where he was born, and where his parents died, to find out why.

Instead, they find each other.

~*~

Good morning lady mojo, I hope you’re having a good day! I wanted to rec a fic, Breathing Firestorm by ladyshadowdrake. It’s 111k and great but barely has any love, which is unfair. You mentioned it in the last ‘in a mood for’ post but I think it should have more of a shoutout because it’s a lot of fun and I liked it a lot. Have a great day ♥️ [Oh! I was subscribed to this one and saw it had been recently finished. It’s def. on my list!]

Breathing Firestorm

by ladyshadowdrake (M, 111k, wangxian)

Summary: After years of a mad quest, Wen Ruohan is finally given proof of a powerful creature living among mortals. He is delighted to find that it truly believes itself to be only a boy named “Wei Wuxian.”

While Wen Ruohan tries to unlock Wei Wuxian’s secret, the sects unite against him. If he can achieve his goal before they arrive, even the combined might of the cultivation world would not be enough to humble him. Meanwhile, Lan Wangji dreams of Wei Wuxian in the Cold Pond Cave, and works tirelessly to rescue him from Wen Ruohan’s clutches. No one is prepared for what awaits the allied sects in Nightless City at the conclusion of the war, and it very well might mean the end of the world as they know it.

~*~

Hi Mojo, firstly thank you for all the hard work you put into running this blog, I’ve found so many fics that I probably would have never come across if it wasn’t for your fic finders posts and your personal review posts. [Aw, thank you!]

I don’t know if you’ve read this fic before or if it’s been mentioned before on your blog (I’ve done a quick search of your blog and couldn’t see it, so if I’ve missed it I apologise!) but if you’ve got a fic rec post coming up, I would suggest “The shapes a bright container can contain” by litbynosun.

It’s a case fic about 16k words long and set after canon. Whilst it’s not the main focus of the story it does delve slightly into chronic illness of wwx (the ailments of mxy’s body) and lwj (his continuous treatment of his scars) which might cover a few requests in the IITMF posts in future.

Thanks again for all the hard work you do! ~ @dulachodladh

the shapes a bright container can contain

by litbynosun

M, 17k, wangxian

Summary: "Lan Zhan, look at this," Wei Wuxian calls. "They don't have organs, but they're all… fuzzy."

He gently strokes the corpse's arm -- it's covered in soft, pigmentless downy hair, like a rabbit. Lan Wangji crouches next to him and nods. "Lanugo," he says. Wei Wuxian raises one eyebrow. "They were malnourished for quite a while before death," Lan Wangji elaborates. Wei Wuxian scans the bodies again. Indeed, they both have sunken cheeks, and their abdomens are empty of both organs and fat padding. “That’s a question,” he says. “Did they starve to death, and have their bodies desecrated after they were already deceased? Or were they murdered, and simply starving at the same time?” "We should stay," Lan Wangji tells him. This is not an answer to his question. It is an offer to search for answers.

Or: Wei Wuxian and his family solve a ghost haunting. Wei Wuxain's old enemy, societal injustice, rears its head again.

#follower rec #wangxian fic rec #I HAVEN'T READ THESE YET #wangxian #mdzs

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sineala · 3 years

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Captain America: The Great Gold Steal

I wrote this up last week because I did not have access to my usual comics files but I figured I could review something that was just a book. So here is a review of the 1968 Captain America novel Captain America: The Great Gold Steal by Ted White, with an introduction by Stan Lee. I really liked it, actually! It was surprisingly good!

This novel features: Cover art of Captain America holding his shield in one hand and a very large gun in the other! A scene where the villains dramatically unmask Captain America and have absolutely no idea who he is! Captain America being extremely, extremely depressed about being in the future! Captain America dropping acid!

(I'm not kidding about the last part. In this novel there is a lot of LSD use. By Captain America. Talk about something the Comics Code wouldn't ever let you put in a comic book. Thank you, 1968.)

Faithful readers may remember that some time ago I posted reviews of Marvel prose novels from the 1970s. There was a line of prose novels featuring everyone's favorite Marvel superheroes, published by Pocket Books in the late 70s; I have reviews of the Iron Man, Captain America, and Avengers entries in the series; I liked the Iron Man one best, and I also have a Doctor Strange one I have not yet read. They're all short and action-packed paperback reads, of varying quality; the only one by anyone you might have heard of is the Avengers one, which was written by David Michelinie, who was actually writing the Avengers run at the time. That one was, um. An experience.

(Yes, it's "prose novel" because otherwise the assumption is "graphic novel.")

Marvel still publishes prose novels now, of course, also of varying quality; some are new plots and some are straight-up novelizations of comics arcs, which I guess is useful if you want to, say, read Civil War and not look at pictures at the same time. I also have a bunch of those that I could probably review if anyone wants. But, anyway, I personally am particularly intrigued by the older Marvel prose novels, both because the stories are all original and not retellings, and also because I often prefer the characterization found in older comics. And the older prose novels of course use the then-current characterization. So reading a Marvel prose novel from 1979 is like getting to read a brand-new comic from 1979, and that's a whole lot of fun for a nerd like me. Also do you know what's not subject to the Comics Code? Prose novels. So things can happen in these that definitely could not happen in comics of the same era.

This brings me to my current prose novel, which is something else entirely. I mean, okay, not really, it's still a Marvel prose novel. But it's not part of the same line. It's actually a lot older.

Bantam Books actually published Marvel prose novels in the late 60s. Yep, a full decade earlier. They published exactly two, so I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that they were probably not bestsellers. The first one, which I do not own and now sort of want to track down, was an Avengers novel in 1967, The Avengers Battle the Earth-Wrecker. And then in 1968 they published the novel I am currently holding in my hands, Captain America: The Great Gold Steal by Ted White.

(I am still not sure why no one involved in titling this book thought of the word "theft.")

Judging by the back copy, it appears to be about Captain America foiling the villains' dastardly plan to steal gold from the Federal Reserve. Oh boy. Fun.

So this book is from 1968. The modern Marvel universe had kicked off just a few short years ago! Captain America was just getting his own solo book after the end of Tales of Suspense! And here's a novel about him, back when certain elements of his characterization were perhaps a little more flexible than they are today, by which I mean that the cover art -- which the internet informs me was painted by Mitchell Hooks -- is a striking full-body portrait of Captain America, head held high, shield in one hand... and a very large gun in the other. Hell, yeah. Not gonna see that in today's Cap comics, are you? It's amazing and I love it.

(Okay, you might see that in Ults. I'm pretty sure I have seen that in Ults, actually. But this is still cool.)

So the cover art is a definite plus, and apparently it's one of the few reasons anyone has ever heard of this novel. The other reason -- and the reason this is more expensive than the later novels, I assume -- is that Stan Lee's name is slapped on the cover, because he wrote an introduction. (I think I paid about $30 for this. The others were definitely under $20.)

All right. Here we go.

The first page is actually a brief summary of Steve's origin story, but not a version I was familiar with. Steve was born July 9, 1917 (yes, I was surprised too), was orphaned at a young age, and was a student at Columbia University (!) before Rebirth, which in this version is a gradual process that is also extremely body-horror. Steel tubing was inserted into the marrows of his bones. He was fed "high-protein compounds." Then they gave him a chemical that "gave him complete control over every nerve, muscle, and cell in his now-magnificent body." Sweet. Where can I get some of that?

The blurb also confirms his control over his own metabolism as well as his healing factor ("wounds would heal in half the normal time"), which is nice, because sometimes I wonder if canon even remembers the healing factor.

(I don't know why Marvel has this kink for filling people's bones with metal, though. It's not actually empty in there, guys! You need your bone marrow! How else do you want people to make new blood cells?)

The book is dedicated to "Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, without whom there would be no Captain America." Hey, Marvel, Joe Simon would like a word with you. I'm just saying.

The Stan Lee introduction is three paragraphs written in Stan Lee's, um, inimitable, distinctive and extremely florid narrative style -- if you've read any of his work, you know what I mean -- and making the point that Captain America is incredible and you will like him. If you are just discovering him for the first time, you will definitely like him. Okay. Thanks. I guess.

Oddly, the writing style here is substantially different than any of the other Marvel prose novels I've read; it doesn't immediately front-load you with exposition and a cast of colorful superheroes. It opens with a sort of James Bond spy-novel feel, running through a series of unnamed villains and bystanders, and a man who wants nothing more than to talk to Captain America but is killed before he can. Steve comes in halfway through the chapter, and he seems to be written for a reader who doesn't necessarily know who he is, and he isn't introduced as Captain America with his shield flying ahead of him to smite evildoers, or anything like that. He's just a tall, handsome blond guy who is reading a bunch of novels and is unsatisfied by all of them because all he can think of is the past. It's definitely an attitude I would expect from Steve in this era -- he is very much a Man Out Of Time here -- but it's also not how I expected the book to introduce him. You wouldn't even know he was Captain America by the end of the opening chapter, which then ends with a digression about the history of NYC subway tunnels. It's like it wants to appeal to someone who has watched a bunch of Man from UNCLE and just wants to read a cool thriller. Which is not at all what I was expecting.

By the beginning of the second chapter, of course, we discover that Steve is Captain America, as he changes into his uniform. The narration refers to him as Rogers when it's in his POV, if anyone is curious. He apparently keeps the cowl off in the mansion, because the cowl annoys him.

It was not so much that he needed to conceal his identity these days, because for all intents and purposes he had no other identity. Steve Rogers was officially dead, and had been for almost twenty years. Captain America *was* his identity. It was only when he donned the tight-fitting blue uniform with its shield chest-emblem, the red snug-fitting leather boots, and the heavy, yet pressure-sensitive red-leather gauntlets, that he began to feel real -- a complete human being.

Steve? Buddy, are you okay there? You're really not okay, are you, huh?

You see what I mean? They're really hitting the early-canon angst. Hard.

(Also it sounds like his uniform is a few sizes too small.)

We then get an expanded version of the backstory from the beginning excerpt. In this version of canon, Steve actually has an older brother, Alan, who is handsome and athletic and basically amazing, and when they are orphaned they are raised by their aunt and uncle. Steve gets TB twice as a kid, nearly dies from it, and when the stock market crashes, ends up separated from his brother and in an orphanage after his uncle loses everything.

(Honestly if I were writing this book, his brother would be the secret villain. Chekhov's Gun!)

Steve has glasses, gets bullied, is a nerd and an honor student, and studies law at Columbia because he wants to help stop fraudulent business practices and also fight organized crime. Legally, I mean. In a manner relating to law. I guess he's sort of like Daredevil. The lawyer part of Daredevil.

And then he joins Rebirth, and this is the part where I had to put the book down for several minutes, because Erskine's secret chemical, the key to making super-soldiers... is LSD.

Oh my God. You should see my face right now. My expression is, I am sure, indescribable. I'm trying not to wake the dog up laughing.

I just. Holy shit. This book is from 1968 in a way I definitely was not expecting. What the fuck, Marvel?

This project was headed by the brilliant biochemist, Dr. Erskine. His work with the endocrine system, and chemical body control, was well beyond that of his contemporaries. Only he, of all his colleagues, had fathomed the secrets of the Swiss Dr. Hoffman's 1938 discovery -- the mind-controlling LSD-25.

Let's just pause here for a few minutes and contemplate this.

I will point out that Albert Hofmann (yes, the book spelled his name wrong) didn't actually discover that LSD was a hallucinogen until 1943 when he accidentally tried it, but I am positive that 1968 here was a time when Some People were convinced LSD was a wonder drug. I'm still laughing. As far as I can tell, legal manufacturing of it stopped in 1965 so I am pretty sure that the author did not just decide to name a drug that had an ostensible legal therapeutic use, because it wouldn't have still had one by '68.

Anyway, in this version of events, Rebirth is a month-long process that involves a lot of vitamins, physical conditioning and training, and, yes, putting metal in his bones like he's the next Wolverine. They're filling his bones with stainless steel rods to make him stronger. That doesn't seem like a great idea to me, but I am also not sure about dropping acid to gain superpowers. Clearly I am not a genius scientist. Also Erskine knows what DNA is, apparently, because he's just that great. Anyway. Other than the metal, those all seem like relatively normal interventions. So far.

Now Steve has become fairly big and strong (and I guess he still has metal in his bones? this concerns me!) but they need to make him superhuman, so, yes, really, it's time to drop acid. Several pages of this book are devoted to describing Steve's acid trip. His acid trip is amazing and he discovers that he has conscious control of his entire body down to the cellular level. He can control the adrenaline in his bloodstream! He can tighten his muscle fibers! And when he's done tripping he still remembers how to do this, if not exactly on a conscious level, but he can still access the abilities. And that is how you make a super-soldier. It's LSD. Remember, kids, drugs are awesome! Do drugs!

Let's maybe take a few more minutes to think about this.

I just. I have no words. How did anyone at Marvel agree to print this?

I think for the most part superhero origin stories tend not to involve real drugs because people are generally aware that drugs they've heard of won't make you into a superhero. I guess this is what it looks like when you invoke the names of real drugs. They probably wanted something that sounded more realistic but somehow I don't think this was the best way to go. (Radiation, of course, will definitely make you into a superhero but I feel like most people have accepted that as one of the conventions of the genre.)

Anyway, after that Erskine gets killed by Nazis, of course, and Steve goes to war, and for some reason this book contains footnotes by Stan Lee himself listing the comics you can read all of this in. Just like the actual comics do!

We are introduced to Bucky, who for some reason is also from the LES in this version, although not anyone Steve knew before the war, and there is of course a description of Bucky's tragic death and Steve's subsequent icing.

They are really, really stressing the Man Out Of Time thing here:

No other man could have survived so fantastic a voyage through time. And no other man could feel so displaced by time.

He was a man twenty years in his own future. By rights, he should be nearly fifty years old -- nearly twice the age of his fellow Avengers. Yet his mind and his body were not yet thirty.

When the Avengers had brought him back to New York with them and insisted that, as an honored hero of the past, he join them, he felt a sort of melancholy homesickness for his own time and world.

We then get a few paragraphs with the usual being sad that he let Bucky down and got him killed, and also that he misses his family, and that Steve Rogers doesn't exist anymore, and that nobody is alive who remembers him, and that war is hell.

Hey, Steve, maybe the drugs you should do are antidepressants. Just a thought.

Also, this book is 118 pages and we're not out of the origin story flashback until page 34. I think there are some pacing issues here.

Actually, I lied, the flashback keeps going, but now we're up to the Avengers finding him, and I have to say that the list of things Steve finds strange about the future is kind of charming when the future is 1968. Men have long hair! Women have shorter skirts! Everyone is kind of blasé about rocket launches because there have been so many space missions now. (Oh, come on, you haven't even landed on the moon yet, 1968! You're not that blasé.) Color TV! And, excitingly, LPs! You can now listen to 36 minutes of consecutive music. (I actually don't know what previous standard he's describing that is a ten-inch record that holds six minutes a side because I don't think 45s are that big. Yeah, no, I just checked and 45s are seven inches in diameter. Hmm. Oh, never mind. He means 78 rpm, doesn't he? In my defense, the record player my family had when I was a kid didn't play those.)

The description of Steve coming into New York for the first time is definitely written by someone who knows New York, which is fun. There is generally a lot of local flavor to the setting of this book. That’s one of the best parts.

There is a brief summary of Steve's feelings about all the Avengers -- he is most impressed by Thor, which, I mean, fair, he's an actual god -- and Hank telling him all about how he can live in Tony's mansion. With Jarvis. Who Hank says is actually from Flatbush. Apparently Steve spent a lot of time at the NYPL branch at 5th and 42nd trying to catch up on history. And then of course the Avengers ditched him and gave him the Kooky Quartet, and for some reason they're not here right now either so it's just Steve being sad and alone and dealing with this mysterious dead guy. I think probably the book is also done explaining fiat currency now. This is definitely the weirdest Marvel novel I've read.

Anyway, we have now returned to what is ostensibly the actual plot. Steve shows up at the New York Federal Reserve Bank (I guess the theft is happening here and not, like, at Fort Knox) with the gold bullion that the dead guy from the beginning of the book had on him -- I think I got distracted by the LSD bit and forgot to mention that part, but the dead guy was carrying some US government gold -- because the actual plot is that villains are trying to tunnel into the bank vault and steal gold. Steve discovers this after he gets the bank manager to give him a tour. The bank manager tries to refuse, citing security concerns -- Captain America could be anyone under that mask, after all! Steve just smiles and says, "If I removed my mask, would you have any better idea of who I am?" and I guess that's a flawless argument because he gets his tour.

(I'm sorry, all I can think of is that one gif from the JLA cartoon where Lex Luthor bodyswaps with the Flash, announces that now that he's in the Flash's body he's going to discover the Flash's secret identity, then pulls off his own mask, stares at himself in the mirror, and says, "I have no idea who this is.")

Given that the theme of Steve's interior life in this novel is "Steve Rogers died twenty years ago" it seems even more sad that Steve is just walking around basically saying, yeah, well, I'm nobody. And apparently that is being reaffirmed for him by the narrative.

So Steve goes down the tunnels, takes out some of the bad guys, and gets himself knocked out and buried in a collapsing tunnel. Don't worry, he's gonna be fine.

A lot of this book, by the way, is from the POV of random people, like this bank guard who went with Steve into the tunnels:

He had wondered, briefly, if a man like Captain America ever knew the pinch of too many bills, had ever felt desperate over the arrival of yet another mouth to feed. But, of course, Captain America had no family, and would hardly concern himself with such matters. It didn't occur to Thompson to wonder if this in itself might not be something for which to pity Captain America.

Rude. I mean, come on, do we really need random characters telling us Steve is a sad sack whom nobody loves? Steve's already got that covered! (Also, how does this guy know Captain America has no family?)

Anyway, thanks to the power of LSD, Steve is going into a trance, amping up his metabolism (he loses "several pounds" in a few minutes), and making himself super-strong so he can dig himself out. Hooray. This is definitely how human bodies work. Also LSD. This is definitely how LSD works. Yes.

Steve then finds out that a couple of the guards who were with him in the tunnels died down there and he goes home and eats dinner while stewing in miserable guilt because he was responsible for their deaths. He's really not okay. I'm not sure the book actually understands how not okay they have made him. Then someone from SHIELD is on the phone for him and he is briefly cheered up by the thought that it might be Sharon although I think we should also note that the narrative makes it clear that at this point in canon Steve still doesn't know her name. Remember when that was a thing?

Alas, it is not Sharon; it's just a random SHIELD agent who happens to have information about the plot and asks to meet. Then, as Steve leaves to go to the meeting, we get two pages of exhaustive description about the mansion layout and how it's built relative to the surrounding buildings. It feels like this book was written by a frustrated city planner. But anyway, the meeting is a setup and the villains capture Steve.

They knock Steve out, drug him, take him to their hideout, and tie him to a chair. Except, once again thanks to the power of LSD, the tranquilizer they're using wears off way sooner than they expected and so Steve feigns unconsciousness and listens to them discuss their evil plans.

And then the villains unmask him and I swear it's exactly like that JLA gif:

Rogers heard footsteps scuffing across a thick carpet, and then Sparrow's voice again, almost directly over him. His ears still buzzed, but he fought to catch the elusive familiarity of the man's tone. He wished he dared open his eyes.

"This is a moment which I, personally, have long awaited," Sparrow said, his voice rising in triumph. "*The unmasking of Captain America!*"

Then, his nails scraping along Rogers' face, Sparrow dug his fingers under his cowl, and ripped it back. Rogers felt air strike his exposed cheeks and forehead. Then fingers clutched his blond hair and pulled his head back. "Behold!" Sparrow said.

Raven was first to speak. "Well, I dunno about you, Sparrow, but it rings no bells with me. I never seen him before."

Starling agreed. "His face means nothing to me."

"He could be anybody," said Robin. "What good does this do?"

Sparrow let Rogers' head fall back to his chest, and his voice when he spoke was defeated. "I don't know. Nothing, I guess. I always wondered. I felt, if these guys -- these costumed heroes -- wore masks, it must mean something."

"Captain America was missing for twenty years," Starling said. "That could mean the first one died, and this one took his place. He looks awfully young."

"Perhaps. It doesn't really matter. Let's get going."

(Yes, the villains all have bird-themed codenames. I have no idea why.)

This scene just makes my day. I love dramatic unmaskings. I bet they'd have been a lot happier unmasking Iron Man.

The villains then leave Steve and go to a power plant, where we switch POVs to one of the plant employees and get two entirely unnecessary paragraphs about his racist and anti-Semitic thoughts about his coworkers before the villains murder him. Great. Thanks.

Anyway, the villains cause a blackout, while meanwhile they've left Steve alone with the girl villain, and Steve is busy trying to persuade her that crime doesn't pay. He's moved from the "do you know what they'll do to you in prison?" theme onto "how exactly are you going to spend a billion dollars in gold bullion when it's illegal for civilians to possess? who are you going to do business with?" and then points out that gold is heavy and hard to transport, which is when she gets out a a knife.

The bad guys are off to steal the gold, and Steve has now successfully turned the girl they left him with, because she frees him. Of course, the first thing he does is put the cowl back on.

"Why do you wear that?" she asked.

"The mask?" He smiled. "It gives people something external to concentrate upon."

"But..."

"Without it, I'm just another ordinary-looking man. With it, I become a symbol. For some people it creates awe; for others, fear. Look at me. I'm different now, aren't I? With the mask on."

"Yes," she nodded. "You look -- bigger, somehow. Stronger. Fierce, implacable. You look a little scary."

"Exactly. You no longer see me as a person, but as a thing -- an Avenger. It can be a potent psychological weapon."

"They were so disappointed, when they took your mask off. As though underneath they'd find a famous person."

"Maybe that goes on TV -- handsome playboys, and all that. But I've been anonymous all my life. Even my real name would be meaningless to you, to them. No, the mask is part of the uniform, a psychological device. That's the whole story.

Now: let's get out of here. You have a good deal more to tell me yet, and we can't waste more time."

Bwahaha. In a few years, Steve's going to be pretty surprised about who superheroes are, I think.

STEVE, now: Superheroes definitely aren't secretly handsome playboys! That would be silly! STEVE, after Molecule Man: fuck fuck fuck FUCK FUCK I'm such an idiot

I'm definitely looking forward to that.

Also, not that the issue of Steve's psyche actually recurs after this, but he's once again having the narrative vindicate his belief that Steve Rogers is dead and whoever he is under the cowl doesn't matter. Steve, I don't think this is very healthy.

Steve then tracks down the villains stealing the gold, has some geopolitical thoughts about where the gold could be going (he thinks either South Africa or Russia for the best laundering potential) and then hides himself in the villains' trunk while they drive to Staten Island, which is where they're taking the gold out of the country from.

During the final confrontation, Steve finally gets to see the villains, and he discovers that the one in charge is in fact the director of the Federal Reserve Bank who Steve met at the beginning of this book. Gasp. But that's not all! He's also... the Red Skull!

Honestly, I was kind of surprised; I didn't think this was the kind of book where we'd get any known comic villains, but I guess it's always gotta be the Red Skull. I think he's the only one of Steve's big villains who likes to disguise himself; Zemo has obvious disguise issues and I imagine it's also hard to cover up Zola's Teletubby-esque television body.

Steve shoots one of the villains, because I guess that's what he does in this era of canon.

So the plot wraps up in, like, two pages, because for some reason all these early Marvel novels wrap up very fast. Red Skull, of course, attempts to escape and then disappears and his body is never found. The end.

Well.

That was definitely a book. That I read. Believe it or not, I actually think it was the best of these early Marvel prose novels that I've read so far, even if it was also the absolute weirdest; I thought the thriller-style plot was entertaining, I liked Steve and his Extremely Sad characterization, I obviously enjoy all the identity themes, I liked how very detailed the New York setting was, and I do like how they tried to treat it all seriously. I mean, sure, this did lead to LSD in the super-soldier serum in presumably the name of realism, but I felt like the book was trying to present superheroes in a way that didn't feel silly and also didn't really take for granted that the reader would automatically accept superheroes.

It felt like a book that was written hoping that people who weren't superhero fans would read it, if that makes any sense. And I thought that was interesting, because most modern superhero work that I can think of assumes they've got complete audience buy-in and everyone is willing to suspend their disbelief and we all know the genre conventions and are expecting people running around in brightly-colored spandex. Whereas this is more like a James Bond novel if for some reason James Bond were called upon to defend his decision to wear brightly-colored spandex instead of bespoke suits. But I assume no one read it, because Bantam never published a Marvel book after this one.

If you can actually find a copy of this one for a price you're willing to pay. I recommend it. It was delightful and way more solid than I thought it was going to be.

Also, come on, you know you want to read about Captain America's acid trip.

#posts i actually wrote

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arshipweek · 3 years

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AR Ship Week - Fanwork Recs

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This is the fourth and last weekly post in the lead up to Alex Rider Ship Week. Only 1 week to go!

This week we’ve got a selection of shippy fanwork recs submitted by members of the AR fandom. Enjoy and hope to see you next week!

**Please note that I haven’t listed all the details for the fics so take care to read the tags on AO3 before diving in!

Yassen/Alex

Our Endless Numbered Days by Galimau Just your run of the mill heartwarming look at the quiet beats of Alex and Yassen's relationship...after the apocalypse. Soft and sweet this fic focuses on the very still and quiet moments of two men at the end times trying to hold onto the things that bring them joy. It's an intimate view of what Alex and Yassen's life could be like of all their cares were quite literally wiped away - excellent world building and writing make this a must read.

Yalex art by Ireliss Alex and Yassen in a lake! Everything about this picture is perfect - the light, the colours, the feeling of stillness... Probably the most beautiful picture of Alex and Yassen I've ever seen.

Sun Poisoning by fElBiTeR Angsty, beautiful, slowburn soulmate fic with a twist on the usual tropes and gorgeous imagery

Twisting, Turning, Tumbling by ShiruyTheSecond A glacially slow burn, road trip au, and sick fic all mashed into one fic, in non-chronological order based on 100 themes. I'd say this was one of the gateway fics into Yalex for me; there's nothing like reading a longfic you thought was gen and wishing it were slash, only for the realization to hit you in the face like a brick 50 something chapters later. Alex is on the run for a variety of reasons after a mission for MI6 goes spectacularly wrong, so he surprisingly finds himself leaning on Yassen for help, experincing whumpage along the way. Absolutely delicious.

Specific Performance by BurntWhisper Alex is a good spy, good enough that SCORPIA has tasked Yassen with killing him. Yassen can't do that but he can give Alex a very...enthusiastic going away present even Alex hasn't been a very good boy. It's a fun look at Alex and Yassen's first fling with callbacks to the original gen fic. That hits every perfect note and hits a few other things too.

Interlude by Suzie_Shooter Incredibly soft and fluffly Yalex that ends with an unexpected top!Alex and bath sex. Will absolutely warm your heart the way it does mine every time I read this fic.

Medicine by Suzie_Shooter The other fic in response to the prompt of "Alex is given a serum that makes him feel good when he tells the truth" except this one is praise kink while the other is humiliation kink! Specifically focused on a smoking hot blowjob and Alex's reluctance turned enthusiam, plus, there's a second chapter, just in case one dose of the antidote isn't enough.

One Year by BurntWhisper The slowest of slow burns featuring Alex and Yassen on the run from MI6, SCORPIA and their own feelings. Covering 3 months of their life on the run this fic features action as well as the slow, quiet moments where the budding relationship can truly shine through and behind it all the intelligence world continues to grind on threatening to take their happiness with it. It's a beautiful fic with strong, detailed writing and the emotional weight that it deserves.

Midnight Smoke by Hijja If you're in the mood for darker fics with plenty of Yassen hurting Alex complete with violence and heavy dubcon, Hijja has you covered. This particular fic features a mission-type premise with Alex being sent to investigate a spate of teen abductions only to be captured. Yassen is there, and he has his own goals...

Hello Alex by anonymous Fanart: a reunion hug between Yassen and Alex.

Face The Truth by capeofstorm Alex is given a serum that makes him feel good when he tells the truth. Yassen is absolutely a man to take advantage. Recced by Suzie_Shooter

Lights Out by Suzie_Shooter Yassen and Alex left tradecraft behind for a new life in the Greek islands. Ten years on, their relationship is still going strong and they've become island locals, the proprietors of a sailing club and a windsurfing business. Their idyllic life is disrupted by a new threat that wants them dead. I just love the premise of Yalex riding off into the sunset and not looking back. This fic not only has suspense, action, hot sex, and the intimacy borne of ten years...but once you're done, there are two excellent sequels and a prequel to lap up!

Villa in the Sun by BoldAsBrass A multi-chapter story within a story as Yassen and Alex keep in touch over the phone through a tale of a Russian bodyguard's encounters with a young English man. This is so cleverly done and beautifully written; I could re-read it and re-read it (in fact, that's exactly what I've done).

Sting in the Tail by Suzie_Shooter With the world hanging in the balance, MI6 presses an imprisoned Yassen into service. They use Alex to convince him, but also a nasty "sting in the tail" incentive to guarantee results. A thrilling Yalex mission!fic where Yassen and Alex forge their trust in each other by facing mortal danger and saving the world together. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, eating up the slow burn and wondering how on earth they were going to succeed with all the obstacles Scorpia and MI6 threw in their way.

Rarely Pure And Never Simple by fElBiTeR Non-con > dub-con > fuck-yes-con speedrun. Recced by Suzie_Shooter

Just Say I Do by Nanimok I'm possibly biased because this was written for me, but 'woke up married' is a great trope and this is both snarky and adorable. Recced by Suzie_Shooter

Open Invitation by Suzie_Shooter After Ian's death in TV 'verse, fifteen-year-old Alex is living alone in a depressive, self-destructive spiral. He realizes someone is watching him at home...and decides to give them something more compelling to watch. I am squicked out by creepers, but the characterizations tackle the thorny elements head-on: Yassen's mixed feelings and understated pursuit tactics are 100% believable, as is Alex's volatility; he's alternately confused, provocative, and defiant. Exhibit A:“Does that make you a victim, or a slut?” The question came casually, but it had the unexpected sting of a slap. Alex blinked. “What, I can’t be both?” he countered after a second. Plot ensues, because how can a relationship possibly form from such a premise? Mind the tags (you might trip into your next kink because the sex is mind-blowingly hot).

Flirting with Danger by BoldAsBrass Basically THE gateway fic into Yalex for me - short and sweet, snappy narration and dialogue, a sleekly dangerous Yassen and Alex who might be a skilled, pragmatic adult but quickly realises he's in over his head. Sprinkle in a bit of dubcon and scorching hot writing and you get this perfect fic.

Burning a Dead Man's Fingertips by GreenQueenofClubs Multichapter slow burn, MI6!Yassen AU - an excellent premise done extremely well and feels fresh and new, balancing mission-style fic with character development! The dynamic between Yassen and Alex is somewhat different here compared to most Yalex fics as they don't meet until Alex is an adult; a really intriguing glimpse into what could have been...

A Little Pat Down by Nanimok Airport security can be frustrating at the best of times but couple it with being edged like none other by an assassin turned security guard and it can really be a pain in the ass. A filthy but extremely well written premise. Crack taken seriously is this author's strong suit so not a single one of their works will steer you wrong.

Yalex Ballet AU by anonymous Yalex ballet AU with absolutely gorgeous imagery and slow burn. Fluid prose and in the background, the shadows of past histories and things unsaid.

Gentleman's Agreement by Valaks Yassen and Alex have a "gentleman's agreement" for handling their business in the field. No one ever said anything about parent-teacher conferences. Claims to be gen, but deserves a place on this list for subtle genius alone, because with lines like "Like a fine wine, Alex Rider was improving with age" and "How interesting that Alex Rider would be that interested in his hands", what are we supposed to think....? UST in all caps is the best description.

Salty the Sweat on my Fingertips by Galimau A fun little romp of Alex visiting Tom and having to call his overly protective boyfriend? because he's pregnant and everything hurts. Beautifully written, this fic explores the ending of Oceanbreeze7's Moonfish and follows the extremely creative monster biology to its logical conclusion of Alex getting knocked up.

Slipping Through My Fingers by Nanimok This kink meme fill hits in all the right places as we watch through the eyes of a very jealous Julius as Yassen gives Alex all the attention he needs. The writing is, as always, on point and the characterization of Julius gets absolutely nailed (almost as much as Alex). Julius/Alex, Yassen/Alex

Other

Miss Julia by DantesThird Very creepy and traumatic noncon but really believable with Julia Rothman's obsession with John Rider. Alex/Julia Rothman

gone loose inside the shell by cyanides Fantastic messed-up fic where Julius keeps fantasising about killing Alex, but then the fantasies take a different turn. The possessive 'If I can't have you no-one can' dynamic really encapsulates the ship for me, and the fic stuck in my mind afterwards. Alex/Julius

smoke haze by Ireliss Dubcon, gun kink. A really intriguing and quite dark exploration of a young Yassen's situation with Scorpia and his very complex relationship with Hunter. John/Yassen

Our Settling Bones by Galimau A multi-chapter slow burn focused on a former assassin who has lost everything...and Yassen Gregorovich. The tension is off the charts and the characerization is on point. Everything you could want from the rarest of pairs. John Wick/Yassen

Lemniscate by Ireliss A look at what awaits Yassen when he arrives back at Scorpia after killing Vladimir Sharkovsky. This is deliciously dark as well as being entirely plausible. The sensory descriptions are fantastic. Yassen/Julia Rothman

#alex rider #ARshipweek #yalex #....#.....#mod posts #recs

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makeste · 4 years

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There's been a lot of talk about Mina's optimistic line about how they'll all be fine and back to class is a death flag, but if anything I think it's a desth flag for U.A. They'll be fine, but they won't be back to class as normal, because there won't BE a class to attend(RIP Shinsou)

seems like everyone in the fandom is talking about death flags and kids dying and society falling to pieces these days lol. fwiw, as I’m sure most people have seen by now, Viz’s translation showed that Mina was actually talking about Midnight, so if this really is a “famous last words” situation, it would apply to her rather than the kids.

but it seems like the speculation hasn’t really died down despite that! so since the whole “kids dying” thing keeps coming up, I’m gonna go ahead and weigh in on it again here and say that I don’t think it’s going to happen. so far I’ve mostly been trying to keep my reasoning short and sweet and leaving it at “it would be too dark”, but in truth, the real reason why I don’t see it happening is because I don’t think it would serve any purpose.

here’s the thing about character deaths: assuming that the writing is any good (which I would argue that it is, in BnHA’s case, although you are free to disagree!), they should always serve a purpose. and in most cases, that’s going to mean one of four things:

it serves as a way to write the character out of the story for whatever reason (for instance if the character is getting in the way of letting a plot be resolved, or if the actor is leaving, which of course doesn’t apply to BnHA but is a huge factor in a lot of other media). an example here would be Twice, who was written out of the story because his quirk would have prevented the heroes from having any chance at all of winning.

it sets the stakes and takes away the audience’s sense of security by establishing that No One Is Safe, and that People Can And Will Die. this is important in that it builds suspense and makes the audience more invested than they might otherwise be, because they can’t be 100% certain that their fave is going to make it out alive. a good example of this would be the recent massacre at Jakku, which showed in no uncertain terms how powerful Tomura has become, and also demonstrated that Horikoshi has no qualms whatsoever about killing off any number of pro hero characters in this arc.

it completes that character’s arc and serves as a fitting (if depressing) end to their story. this is probably the most controversial as far as “reasons for killing someone off” go, because it’s so easy to fuck up, and because someone will almost always argue that there were other, better ways for a character’s story to end. most “redemption” deaths fall under this category, as do the “character makes the ultimate sacrifice to protect their loved one” deaths. if Endeavor ends up dying there’s a good chance it will fall under this category. so far though, BnHA has been pretty light on these types of deaths, which tbh suits me just fine. ideally this sort of death is supposed to provide some sort of closure, but in practice it doesn’t always work out that way.

lastly, the death furthers the story in some way. it galvanizes another character into action, or serves as a motivation for them. or maybe the death shifts the political landscape of the story and sets new plots into motion. most tragic backstory deaths fall under this category; for example, pretty much the entire Shimura family (r.i.p.). this is another potentially controversial area though on account of there being many other ways to move the plot forward without resorting to killing someone off. not to mention that “fridging” deaths also fall under this category -- deaths where one character is used as a plot device to move another character’s development forward. Nana, unfortunately, is an example of this, but that’s another rant for another day.

anyway, so these are the four biggest reasons to kill off a character in a story. there are others as well, including simply adding some more tragedy and emotion to the story, but IMO that doesn’t really apply to this particular genre. BnHA isn’t a tragedy, nor is it the kind of bleak, grimdark narrative where killing off characters more frequently would make sense. this isn’t the kind of series where gratuitous character deaths are necessary to add shock value or realism. making the shift into that kind of writing this late in the game wouldn’t make much sense, and IMO would do a lot more harm than good.

so as far as I’m concerned, this means that if Horikoshi is going to kill someone off in this arc, that death needs to come under one of these four categories. oh, and something I forgot to mention before -- it should be necessary, as well. in other words, it accomplishes one of these four things, and is the only way that said thing can be accomplished. those are basically my criteria for a “good” character death.

and as far as I can see, none of the kids’ deaths would currently fall into that “necessary” category, or meet any of those other four criteria. none of the kids are so powerful that they need to be written out of the story (and even if they were, there are other ways to do that with AFO and the quirk-be-gone bullets now in play). they don’t need to be killed off in order to raise the stakes; clearly, fandom is already very convinced on that front already, or people wouldn’t constantly be freaking out over death flags and such in the first place. and none of the kids is anywhere near the completion of their respective story arcs. maybe if one or more of them had been featured more often recently, and there was some actual buildup, like we saw with Mirio right before he lost his quirk, or with Nighteye before he was killed. but we haven’t seen anything like that recently for any of the kids, with the possible exception of Bakugou (hence why I’m still pretty certain that he’s currently heading towards what Aizawa would call a “death”, with quotation marks, i.e. the loss of his quirk).

so that just leaves us with “their death would further the narrative in some way”, which is probably the most open to interpretation of the four. but for the life of me I just can’t think of any way that the death of a kid would advance the plot in a way that couldn’t be achieved by other means. want society to freak out about children being involved in a war? just injure a bunch of them, or have one of them lose their quirk on live TV with the world watching. want to traumatize the other child soldier characters for some reason? kill off one of the teachers, then. or, again, take away one of their friends’ quirks, and have them feel some misplaced guilt over not being able to stop it. this was the winning formula for the Basement arc, so I don’t see why it wouldn’t work here as well.

tbh a lot of this does depend on what exactly Horikoshi’s goals for this arc are, which still aren’t 100% clear even this late in the game. I’m not sure right now what he’s planning for the aftermath of this thing. will it be like Kamino and Fukuoka, where society is shaken up but still rallying behind the heroes and giving them their support? or are we instead building up towards a scenario where society’s faith in heroes finally crumbles and people are left totally demoralized in the wake of yet another brutal attack, and the total decimation of the Billboard Top 10? the latter outcome is seeming more and more likely to me, but an awful lot of it depends on how the next few chapters play out.

my best guess is that we end up with a scenario where the heroes succeed in staving off total disaster, but at a heavy cost. a lot of the pros are either dead or out of commission, Tomura and the League are still at large, and everyone is basically just sitting around trying to process what just happened and figure out what to do next while they wait for the other shoe to drop. word gets out that the kids were pretty much the only reason the battle didn’t end in even greater disaster, and as a result they get swept up in the ensuing political drama. the HPSC tries to parade them around as the next big thing; humanity’s hope for the future. but meanwhile a growing faction of the general public is furious at the government getting children involved in a war, and start arguing that the hero program should be shut down and U.A. should close its doors. and in the midst of all this, the kids try to lick their wounds and deal with the aftermath, and enter their second year very much unsure of what the future will hold.

anyway, so this all got very long-winded and out of hand as usual, but to sum up, I don’t think any of the kids is going to die here, and I think there will still be a year two of U.A., but that it’s going to feel very different from the U.A. we’ve known up to this point. if the threat of Tomura is still looming over everyone’s heads I very much doubt the kids will be able to focus much on their studies. but it may also be a case of them trying to cling to what little semblance of normalcy they have left. the teachers might decide to press on simply because it’s the only thing they can do. basically I’m anticipating something very similar to the aftermath of Kamino, but with the tension ramped up to 11, and with the adults fighting a losing battle to keep the kids from getting caught up in the middle of it all.

in other words, I don't think it’s an actual death-death we need to worry about here. rather, it’s going to be a much slower and much more subtle death by a thousand cuts. but it’ll be the kind of angst the characters can still work under; the kind that, rather than suffocating them, instead makes them grit their teeth and find a way to push forward. so yeah! anyways though, now that I’ve said all this, watch as Horikoshi goes and fucking decapitates Aoyama next week or some shit. lol maybe I should knock on wood just in case.

#bnha 279 #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha meta #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha #asks #anon asks #long post

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evening-starlight · 3 years

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Chances {Chapter 4}

I genuinely love this story so far and it’s 1am... all these chapters are coming in on the same writing frenzy. Comment if you want to be on a tag list?

Master List

Edited in Grammarly

Twinkies and Flowers

Word Count: 1204

I don't know how to preface this chapter. I wasn't going to write about Tom and my's date, but Naomi begged me to put it into the book because she's a hopeless romantic, and our first date is her favorite story of ours. I don't know why. We have other fun stories, like our midnight dance party. So I guess that now I said that I have to put that in here too.

'It's just a coffee date," I remind myself as I look through my closet. 'Nothing special. Except that it's Tom Hiddleston.' I let out a heavy breath, looking over the clothes again. I can't wear anything too fancy because we're going to a local coffee house, but I also can't wear what I usually wear because I want to impress him. I haven't been on a date in four years. I haven't even thought about it until my therapist said I should at least look at what's out there. That lasted a week, and I uninstalled every dating app I signed up for.

With a defeated sigh, I call Naomi. She picks up on the third ring. "Need help with an outfit?" She asks instead of greeting me, like any normal human would. I reply with a frustrated groan. "I thought so. Heather and I are at your gate now." I give a small thank you and go to my front door to enter the gate combination. The girls walk into my room with bags of treats and extra outfit options while I sit on my bed staring at the closet of doom.

"We know you don't like dresses, so we didn't bring any of those," Heather starts, handing me a Twinkie while she talks. "I brought that floral top you always top me you liked but never had an occasion to wear it to; maybe we could style it for you to be comfy." She offers.

Heather knows my style comfort zone too well, but she also knows how to get me out of it. I haven't been one for crop tops since J, and the floral top I adore on her full figure is just that. "I'm just worried I won't fill it out like you do," I voice my worry, watching them layout outfit options.

"If Robbie can pull it off, you can pull it off ten times better," Naomi offers, smiling kindly. I laugh at the memory of drunk Robbie doing a fashion show with our clothes nearly a year ago.

After lots of trying on, arguments, and defeat-driven snacking, I stare at myself in the mirror. The white floral top Heather brought, paired with my favorite high-waisted black shorts and Naomi's beige sandal heels, greets me with every glance. It's not what I usually wear, but it's cute and still comfortable. Naturally, Naomi is the first to squeal.

"You look adorable, Stella." She hugs me from behind, looking me over in the mirror as well. "He'd be a fool not to propose right then and there." I laugh, laying a hand on her arm. "Do you feel cute in it?"

I look myself over again. "You were right," I start. "I do pull this off better than Robbie." Everyone laughs with me, nodding in agreement. "Do you think Tom will like it?"

"He'd be an idiot if he didn't," Heather confirms Naomi's earlier thought. "You look stunning, babe. How are you feeling?"

"Sick to my stomach," I admit. "It's been over four years since I've been on a real date. I don't know how to act anymore." Both girls put a hand on my shoulder, making eye contact through the mirror in front of us.

"Just be yourself. Fuck him if he doesn't like the real you." Heather starts.

"You got this. It's time for you to get back out there. Just like Stevie said, Jared's still got a hand on you until you start dating again." Naomi quotes my therapist. I turn around to face them, the sick feeling in my stomach intensifying.

"But how the hell am I supposed to do that when the last first date I went on was with Jared? At fucking 18?" I ponder the math quickly. "Fuck, guys, it's been six years since I've gone on a first date with anyone."

"Yes, but you can't let Jared ruin a what if. It's one date. It might not even go anywhere," Naomi says. "You might find out he's a booger eater." I let out a small laugh at her joke. "One date won't kill you, and it's the first step of removing Jared entirely from your life. Don't feel guilty. You got divorced four years ago. It's time to move on, Babe." I nod slowly. Naomi is making very valid points. I just have to convince myself of that.

"We're on standby the entire time. Robbie and I will be at the studio recording some drums for the next song from three to eight. And we all know Robbie would kill for you." Heather states. "You can come by after if you need or want to." I nod again, focusing on my breathing to get the knot out of my stomach. My date isn’t until 4, I have time to calm down. Hopefully.

"I got this. It's just one date. He's just a person." I repeat more to myself than anyone else. My phone dings on my bed, catching all of our attention. Heather, being the closest, picks it up.

"Tom says, 'very excited to see you tonight,' with a smiley face." She continues, "'Just curious what your favorite flowers are?'" She types out my reply for me, a toss-up between sunflowers and carnations.

"He's so romantic," Naomi swoons, hand over heart. "I wish Robbie would get me flowers more." She continues to pout.

"On it," Heather declares, texting Robbie that from my phone. She puts it down and looks me over again. "You look gorgeous, and if only one good thing comes from this date, it's that you look bomb as hell." I giggle at her platonic flirting. "Is there anything you need from us?" She asks.

I shake my head, "Unless you can help me clean up the mess we made so I can just get in bed when it goes wrong?" Both girls smack my arms. "Okay, okay, if it goes wrong?" They both agree, and we get the room cleaned in under five minutes before the girls leave me on my own.

The anxiety coursing through my body won't allow me to sit still until my date, so I go around my apartment, cleaning everything I can see until the timer on my phone informs me it's time to leave.

With one last grounding breath, I leave my apartment with low expectations and high anxiety.

Did you really think I was going to tell you this chapter? SIKE. Did you notice that bombshell I left?? I was Divorced—crazy, right. I mean, if you google me, you can see the three different name changes I've had in my 24 years of life and who exactly my ex was, but the suspense is killing you, isn't it? You want to read about it, don't you? Soon, young one, soon. I can't put emojis in books, apparently but think of the purple devil emoji right there.

#tom hiddleston #tom hiddelston imagine #tom hiddleston fanfic #tom hiddleston fanfiction #i got 99 problems and tom hiddleston could fix everyone of them #jared leto #Jared Leto imagine #jared leto fanfic #jared leto fanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction #love #romance #Chances #Original content #original character

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bluerosesonata · 4 years

Text

A Window to the Soul: Game Mechanics and Characters in Ai: the Somnium Files

Spoiler-free!

Ai: The Somnium Files is an adventure game/visual novel for PC, PS4, and the Nintendo Switch by Spike Chunsoft in September 2019. Written and directed by Kotaro Uchikoshi, known for his Zero Escape Trilogy (999: Nine Persons, Nine Hours, Nine Doors (DS), Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward (DS), and Zero Time Dilemma (DS, PS Vita, PC), also available as the Zero Escape Trilogy on Steam and PS4), this game once again displays Uchikoshi’s signature combination of suspense, humor, and ludonarrative harmony that fans of his previous games are familiar with, alongside a cast of complex, compelling characters you’ll absolutely fall in love with.

For all my fellow Zero Escape fans, you probably remember the issues the series faced with financing, which ultimately lead to Uchikoshi helping to establish Spike Chunsoft and the eventual release of Zero Time Dilemma. In AitSF, more than ever, the fruits of that partnership are apparent. It feels we finally get to see a complete picture of Uchikoshi’s vision; Featuring fully animated 3d models, fully voiced dialogue, and some incredibly goofy and self-indulgent dance sequences, this murder mystery (and yes, it is a murder mystery) is absolutely worth it’s full price and your time.

The game has multiple endings (About 5, without checking), all leading up to and feeding into the true ending. One notable feature is that the timeline allows you to jump into previous played sections at any point of the chapter, and even provides summaries of the events that happened in each “node,” so unlike in the original 999, you don’t need to replay through every scene of dialogue to get to each ending.

Rather than spend time analyzing the story itself- something that can’t be done to a satisfying level without spoiling the whole thing- I’ll just say that the way Uchikoshi literally has us get inside the heads of characters by “syncing” with them is a great story device, and is realized extremely well in the gameplay. For me, the Sync was used in all the right places to push me into genuinely caring about some characters, that, without the sync, I would be sympathetic to, but not feel a real sense of attachment towards.

What follows is a breakdown and analysis of how well the gameplay is designed, and some non-spoilery discussion of characterization and character design:

Mechanics:

The core gameplay loop can be broken into two parts: dialogue and investigation, and “syncing.”

The investigation portion of the game is similar to most adventure visual novels- investigating crime scenes, talking to NPCs to advance the story, examining your surroundings, and in my case, clicking on scenery over and over again to get funny flavor dialogue.

The flavor dialogue does not disappoint- and for me, the best minor feature included in the game ties to this. When you click on an object, you get an initial string of dialogue- but the indicator with the name of the object will only get grayed out once you’ve seen all the text related to that object. For some people, this might ruin the “fun” of clicking over and over again- like in 999, where some bits of dialogue would only display on the 9th time examining an object- but for me, it was a godsend, because I didn’t spend any time wondering if I missed anything funny.

The Sync gameplay loop is also mechanically brilliant. Part of the in-universe rules, which are emphasized over and over, is that the main character, Date, can only spend 6 minutes within the subject’s “Somnium”- the internal dreamscape of their mind- and that staying any longer could result in disastrous consequences. As such, each Somnium loop attempt can (hypothetically) be experienced in chunks of about 8-10 minutes. This set time frame makes it a breeze to play the game in small sections at a time and let your mind breathe a bit. The time limitation is challenging, but never infuriating; even when I messed up horribly and knew I had to restart a sync from the beginning, I would just use the time I had remaining to try out the goofier actions available to try out as puzzle solutions.

Somnium Files’ adaptability to being played in long sittings or in short bursts, while still maintaining an engaging, tense narrative is an incredible strength that not all games can boast of. Not a single part of the game felt like a slog or a chore to me, unlike a few puzzles in Zero Time Dilemma, where I ran into the perennial adventure game issue of “okay, so I have this item, but where do I use it?”, “how the hell do I even solve this puzzle without a guide” (I didn’t), and “what do I need to do to unlock the next sequence?”

Characters

So let’s talk about these good characters. Some of you probably recognized the art style for the game’s key visual as the work of Yusuke Kozaki, best known by many as the head artist and character designer for Fire Emblem: Awakening and Fire Emblem: Fates. Even in his work for the Fire Emblem franchise, you can tell he doesn’t care much for drawing armor- which puts him in the same club as literally every artist I know who draws Fire Emblem fan art. His designs really shine in a contemporary setting, with modern clothing, and really give the cast a unified, unique aesthetic. Moreover, the designs are beautifully translated into 3D as well.

For a game that was most likely well underway in development several years prior to the boom of the subgenre, the design for A-set, (AKA Iris), an in-game internet idol and streamer, is incredibly in line with those of many successful “Virtual Youtubers”- for that alone it deserves some accolades. Fittingly, as part of online promotion for the game, Chunsoft posted a series of video blogs starring A-set, as if she were posting to her own channel. (I missed all of these, and that’s a real shame, because I think they would have gotten me excited for the game if I had been paying attention.)

Despite Iris’ obvious and engineered marketability, I think my favorite design of the game is Aiba, the AI partner of the main character, whose human form only appears in Somnium and in the realm world as an AR projection imposed in Date’s cybernetic eye. The way her arms fade into glowing, electronic “nerves” at her arms is a subtle reminder of her artificiality, but her design also doesn’t make her more playful and goofy behaviors jarring in the least.

As far as personalities go, I would say that Date, our protagonist, manages to hit the perfect median- maybe even fusion- between the past male protagonists in the Zero Escape trilogy. Junpei, Sigma, and Carlos were all likable in their own ways, as the narrative character, but all had a level of blandness to them. To me, they served more as vehicles for us to participate in the Nonary Games.

In contrast, Date feels very much like his own, established person, and that’s not only a huge strength, but central to the overall narrative. (For all non-ZE fans reading this review- I apologize for the heavy use of ZE comparisons here.) Like Sigma, Date is a bit of a perv, but unlike Sigma in Virtue’s Last Reward, I didn’t feel squicked out by his behavior; Like Carlos, he cares immensely for the people important to him, and puts their wellbeing first; Like Junpei, he’s, also, a loveable moron.

There are other characters- Mizuki in particular- whom I can’t speak too much about without spoiling some of the enjoyment of their character arcs, but all of them have incredibly good and complicated interpersonal relationships both with and outside of Date.

Lastly, there’s Aiba. A good companion character is worth their weight in gold. After all, most of the time, they’re who you spend most of your time with, and for that reason, the more “annoying” ones always catch more flac for being so. For me, Aiba easily slides into my top 10 favorite companion characters of all time, along such members as Maya Fey in the original Ace Attorney trilogy and Midna from Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Most of the goofiest sequences in the game are instigated by her, and every time she’s on screen there’s bound to be something fun to do, not to mention the fact she’s our avatar used within Somnium. Combine that and her telepathic banter with Date, and you got a recipe for a dynamic duo.

In closing, every aspect of AitSF is absolutely delightful; It has tightly woven narrative gameplay, wonderful and complex characters, a storyline that, despite my best efforts, I couldn’t unravel the details of before they were revealed- and I didn’t even get into how great the voice acting is. If you’re looking for an enjoyable, self-contained game that you can beat in under 35 hours, Ai: The Somnium Files can’t be beat.

#ai the somnium files #aitsf #somnium files #game essay #game review #game design #narrative design #visual novel review #visual novels #bluerose writing #bluerose-essay #bluerose game writing #bluerose nonfiction

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the-mighty-jellybean · 4 years

Text

Till The Final Bullet

Series Summary: “In a place where they won't let us feel, In a place where nothing seems real. I will hold you. In a world that’s moving too fast. In a world where nothing can last. I will hold you.”-Last Night of The World- Miss Saigon

From the age of twelve, Y/N Y/L/N, has been trained by Hydra, and used as an assailant for a number of years. She’s been taught not to feel, but when she’s put in a kill squad with the Winter Solider, their partnership is deadly, as their motivation becomes more than just keeping themselves alive.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Series Warning: Angst, Fluff, Strong Language, Eventual Smut, Dark!Bucky (I think??) (18+ Only)

Part One// Part Two// Part Three// Part Four// Part Five Part Six// Part Seven// Part Eight//

Part Nine: Road-Tripping

Chapter Warning: Strong Language, Implied Smut

Word Count: 2.4k

“Not sure you understand the concept of a getaway car.” You heard the blonde woman ask Steve, as she exited her normal size car. She had an excellent point. You were currently wedged in the back seat of tiny blue beetle, with James. Whilst Sam enjoyed the luxury of leg room, at the front.

“It’s low profile.” Steve reasoned, but you just laughed in your head.

You don’t hear what she says as she pops the trunk of the car, but you do see the glint of metal, from a shield, and the weird backpack costume thing, that belonged to Sam.

“Can you move your seat up?” James grumbled, his legs were trapped tightly under Sam’s chair.

“No.” is all Sam responded with, and you rolled your eyes, at the pair of them.

“Just move across to the middle, Jay.” You sighed, moving even closer to the door.

“Don’t be silly, Y/N, where are you going to sit?” James shook his head.

“Well, if Mr Long Legs, wants to take all the room in the car, he can endure me sitting on your lap.” You sassed, looking Sam in the eyes, in the front mirror. His nostrils twitched, but he didn’t say anything, as James shuffled across the seats, so he was in the middle, and you manuvered yourself, so you were sitting across his lap.

You press your lips to his cheek, the spot warming a little, and he circled his arms around your waist, pulling you closer to his chest.

You just heard a very unimpressed sigh, come from Sam, which just makes you smile even more, knowing you’d stepped on a nerve.

Steve and the woman, exchange a few more short words, before they slowly began leaning into one another.

“Are they about to..”

“Yep.” You interrupt James, but your confirmation wasn’t needed, as you watched Steve and the agent lock lips with one another.

Suddenly everything felt very awkward. You dropped your gaze, looking instead to James’ hands.

The awkward silence was broken by the sound of Steve popping open the trunk of your own vehicle, the sound of heavy things being placed in the boot, was the next sound to follow.

Steve slammed the trunk down, which caused the beetle to rock slightly, you, James and Sam bouncing due to the poor suspension.

Steve climbed back into the driver seat, and another uncomfortable silence fell upon the car, before finally being broken by Sam.

“Sooo…how was it?”

“Seriously?” you say, shaking your head, “Please don’t answer that Steve. Nobody wants to know.”

Steve just coughs out of unease, pushing the key into the ignition and pulling away without a word.

~~~~

“Are we there yet?”

“Sam, if you ask that one more time, I’m gonna flip the car.” You gritted through your teeth, your grip on the steering wheel tightening.

“Gee, why did we let her drive again?” you hear him mutter from behind you.

“Because Samuel…I know all of the quickest routes through Europe.” You huffed, you looked to the passenger seat where James was eyeing you, with the hint of a smirk, on his lips.

“And you can stop smiling like that.” You grumble, James just grins and places his hand on your thigh, rubbing his thumb in a soothing matter.

“Dude, are they about to get funky, with us in the car?” instead of verbally responding to Sam’s comment, you decide on a more physical option, of jerking the steering wheel, causing the car to do a harsh swerve, before straightening out.

Sam and Steve yelp, while James begins to laugh, your own face breaking into a smile.

“I think it would be best, if we pulled in for the night?” Steve suggested, still a little breathless from his previous ‘brush with death’.

“Okay, there’s a motel a few miles ahead. We’ll be there in about an hour.” You glanced out the window, the signs on the road, were getting tougher to read, as the sun began setting, but it was still light enough for you to read a rest-stop sign.

~~~

You pulled into the parking lot of the run-down motel. Thankfully it wasn’t busy, with only a few cars dotted around, with two or three trucks. Parking up, all of you exited the car.

“Wie viele Zimmer benötigen Sie?” ‘How many rooms, will you require?’ The lady at the front desk asked you. She said it with a smile, but the look in her eyes, was one of suspicion.

You could hardly blame her, you and James were both sporting nasty bumps on your foreheads, Sam looked a little roughed up, and Steve…well he was just sweating from being on the run.

“Zwei.” ‘Two’. You told the woman.

“Möchten Sie Nebenräume?” ‘Would you like adjoining rooms?’

“Nein.” ‘No.’ you answer a little too quickly, the woman’s smile faultering at your slightly aggressive tone.

“Danke.” ‘Thank you.’ You quickly followed up, before brandishing your best ‘please don’t think we’re on the run’ smiles.

“Doppel oder Einzel?” ‘Double or single?’

“Pardon?” you quirked an eyebrow at her request.

“Möchten Sie Doppel order Einzelbetten in Ihren Zimmern?” ‘Would you like double or single beds in your rooms?’

“Oh…err zwei Doppel.” ‘Two doubles.’ You smirk to yourself, as the woman turned her back to the wall of keys behind her and went about selecting two. James, who had understood every word that you had said, looked at you funny when you asked for two double beds, but you just winked at him.

“Hier.” ‘Here’ the woman handed you the two keys, and you thanked her, as you turned around to the two other men that stood behind you. You handed one of the keys to Steve, before grasping James’ hand, and pushing past the two of them, heading towards your rooms.

Once you had locked the door, you immediately grasped one of the glasses left on the night stand, and pressed it to your ear, which was leaning up against the wall.

“What are you doing?” James asked you, taking his boots off, whilst he sat on the edge of the bed.

“Shh, I’m listening.” You hushed him, waving your hand up and down to emphasises that you wanted him to stop talking.

“Listening to what?” James came over and stood in front of you, pressing his own ear against the wall.

“Use this…” you passed him one of the other glasses. He took it from you, lifting it to his ear, “can’t wait to hear what they think of their sleeping arrangements.” You chewed your bottom lip in anticipation, as you eagerly awaited to see what Sam and Steve would think about having to share a bed.

The sound of the door opening, made your ears perk up, you heard their footsteps crossing the floor, before both sets stop suddenly.

“What the hell?” you heard Steve say. You giggle, and James smiled at you, loving seeing the glee on your face, at such a minor thing.

“Suppose you think this is funny!” Sam yells through the wall, and you can’t contain your laughter, making it loud enough so they can hear.

“It’s fine man, it’s just one night.” Steve reasoned, “next time, I’ll get the room.”

“Fine, but you stay on your side of the bed, no playing footsie under the sheets, and if I wake up, with a single body part touching me, I’ll sue you.” Sam grumbles, and you almost drop the glass, as you wrap your arms round your aching stomach, which hurt from your laughter.

James smiled at you, taking the glass from your hand, before you smashed it on the floor. When you were still wheezing, he rolled his eyes, and picked you up, a small shriek falling from your lips, in surprise.

“Hey!” you breathed, as James put you other his shoulder, before throwing you on the bed.

“Leave them alone, everyone’s tired, and needs to sleep.” James lightly scolded you.

Sticking your tongue out, you lift your leg as James had signalled for you to do, so he could remove your boots.

“What am I going to sleep in?” you mumble, mainly to yourself, as you fiddled with the hem on your shirt, whilst you were deciding what to do.

“You can sleep in my shirt if you want?” James suggested, looking up at you, while he unlaced your other shoe.

“The whole reason I don’t want to sleep in my clothes, is because they’re covered in shit. What makes you think, yours is much better?” you smirk.

“Thought you liked wearing my clothes?” James said, sounding a little hurt.

You caught his chin so he was looking at you, “baby, I love wearing your clothes,” you peck his lips, then pull away before he can deepen the kiss, “just not when they’re covered in shit.”

The sides of James’ lips twitch, and before you can do anything, he pounces on top of you, pinning you to the bed between his thighs. He holds your hands above your head, whilst he attacks your neck in kisses.

“Jay…sstop th-at tttick-les.” You stutter and shriek, his stubble brushing your neck. You cry out some more when he doesn’t stop, only sucking harder on your sweet spot, making you gasp.

Suddenly banging on the wall, from the other side of the wall, had you both springing apart in fright.

“The two of you better stop getting frisky in there. Some of us are trying to sleep.” You hear Sam’s booming voice coming through the wall, and you look to James, who just rolls his eyes.

What surprises you next, is when out of nowhere James starts grunting. Not grunting to himself, but really loudly and sexually grunting. You soon catch on, and started to make your own little inappropriate noises.

James begins to bounce up and down on the bed, this causes the springs in the bed to begin to creak in a fast pace motion. When you join in the headboard starts banging against the wall, all the while, you and James had up the ante, on sex noises, moving away from moaning and groaning, and instead began dirty talking to each other.

“Oh baby, you take me so good.” James starts, you grin and start to join in.

“Yes, please Jay, give me more-oh fuck.” You gasped.

You did this for at least a minute more, and then you finished your performance with a climax.

“Oh baby, I’m going to cum.” You pant

“Me too, baby. Cum with me.” You and James really amped up the noise, until you were practically screaming, whilst James growled. Eventually you reached the top of your lungs, and then began to ‘come down from your high’, your noise just becoming heavy breathing, James mirroring you.

You heard applause from another room, that wasn’t Sam and Steve, but the one that was on the opposite side, and you and James collapsed on the bed, rolling in fits of laughter.

“Right, let’s go to bed.” James seized control. He helped you stripped down to just your underwear, and you began shivering.

“I’m going to be so cold like this, these sheets are so thin.” You teeth chattered, James just rolled his eyes, pulling his own trousers off, leaving him in just his boxers.

“That’s why I’m going to cuddle you, dear.” James jumped back on the bed, pulling you under the covers with him, wrapping his arms tightly around you.

~~~

It had been a few hours, of listening to James’ soft snores, and having the feeling of his warm breath blowing on the back of your neck. You had laid awake the entire time, your mind was racing, all you could think about was some agents bursting through your door, and dragging you out in your underwear, separating you and James forever. You couldn’t have that, whatever happened that couldn’t.

You felt James move around behind you. Probably trying to get comfortable, on this rickety old mattress. You thought that the one from your apartment was bad, but this one had springs where you didn’t think possible.

Your eyes stung when you thought back to your home in Romania, which seemed so far away now. If you could turn back time; it would be to 10:00am that morning, that they took you. That was your happiest. That morning you had spent wrapped up in your lover’s arms, and despite the run downiness of your apartment, you and James made it feel like home.

You didn’t realise that tears had slipped from your eyes, until they rolled onto your cheeks. Instead of wiping them away, you let them fall, crying silently into the funny smelling pillow.

You hadn’t noticed James waking up, until you felt his arms wrap around you, and you felt his lips under your ear.

“Shh, it’s okay, sweetheart.” James soothed, holding you close against his bare chest. His skin warm, and calming, like it had been that morning.

“I’m here, doll. You’re okay. We’re okay.”

“No we’re not, Jay.” you sob, turning in his arms, “no, we aren’t.”

James kissed your forehead, and held you head against him.

“We will be okay again, baby.”

“Look at us, Jay. Look at where we are…” you cough as you try and speak through your tears, James’ hand rubs up and down your spine.

“We’re in the middle of nowhere in Germany, apparently meeting some people, who can help us. Help us with what, Jay. What are they going to help with? What’s to stop them turning on you and me? What’s to stop them just turning us in?” you rambled, your breathing becoming erratic.

“Calm down, baby.” James turned so he was on his back, he pulled you with him, laying you on his chest, “just relax, take deep breaths. I’m here, I’ll never leave you.”

You cough and splutter, fighting your breaths, trying to regain some kind of order to your lungs.

“I’m here, I’m with you. I’m with you till the final bullet, baby.” James soothes, his fingers running up and down your back. Slowly you were returning to normal.

“We will be okay.” James promised you.

“How do you know?” you sniffle, pushing your head into James’ neck.

“I just have a feeling.” James shrugged, and you smiled into his neck.

“I love you.” You whisper in James’ skin, “so much.” You kiss one of the veins on his neck.

“Not as much as I love you.”

A/N: I need a Bucky in my life, please!!!!

Part Ten//

Taglist:

@amanda-the-fangirl @winchester-wifey @lemonadygirl @lunagrangerweasley @omfgforthelordalmighty @hhxppyyy @furioustrashprofessorneck @sznri @mugscraps @colourforanamee @grav3dollie-666 @purneetk @buckystories-3 @foxybisexual @sadbaby02 @sebastianstansqueen

#bucky barnes #bucky x reader #bucky fic #bucky angst #james bucky barnes #james barnes #james buchanan barnes #james barnes x reader #darkbucky #dark bucky x reader #reader insert #winter solider x y/n #winter soldier #winter soldier x reader #marvel fanfiction #winter soldier fanfiction #winter soldier fic #marvel smut #marvel movies

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disneyplusfan · 4 years

Text

Revisiting our first viewing of The Mandalorian S01E01

A look back at our reactions to Season 1 episodes as the new season of The Mandalorian begins.

November 24, 2019

The Mandalorian: Chapter 1 recap by K (includes detailed spoilers)

A Mandalorian bounty hunter tracks a target for a well-paying client.

Directed by Dave Filoni

Written by Jon Favreau

Music by Ludwig Gӧransson

Airdate: Nov 12, 2019

As I write this, I have watched the first three episodes of The Mandalorian three times now. I’m hooked. I did not expect to be. I expected to like it well enough — but not to love it.

I’m a Star Wars fan for *cough* many years, since childhood. Adore the original trilogy, intrigued yet annoyed by the prequels, less than wow’ed by the final trilogy. I like Rogue One. I also liked Solo, although I get that I’m one of maybe three people in that camp. I have not watched Clone Wars. So this is my frame of reference.

Boba Fett is perhaps my favorite character. He is one of the best characters in the franchise, and I will die on that hill. You know next to nothing about him, and that adds to his mystique. I read Tales of the Bounty Hunters and Tales of Jabba’s Palace back in the day, and “Last Man Standing: The Tale of Boba Fett” and his showdown with Han Solo will always be the quintessential Boba Fett/Mandalorian story for me, canon or not. I was enraged when they changed his voice in the original trilogy to Jango’s (like he couldn’t just be disguising his voice??).

For me, Boba Fett is the original Mandalorian against whom all others will be measured. I have spoken.

All this to say, my standards were high. My expectations for The Mandalorian in particular would have been even higher, if I wasn’t somewhat disappointed by the final trilogy of films. And this was the first live action Star Wars television series, so it’s uncharted territory.

I also managed not to be spoiled at all for this show going in, which was how I like it. Everything came to me fresh as I watched.

From the establishing shot, the cinematography is like the original series movies. Check. You feel immediately immersed in the Star Wars universe. Check. It’s a snowy ice world, like Hoth but greyer and flatter in terrain.

The titular Mandalorian, who is all but certainly not Boba Fett, as he looks a bit different in his armor (and the show is set 5 years or so after Return of the Jedi, which you don’t know yet in the show itself but meaning Boba Fett should be dead by now, or at least dying in the Sarlacc’s belly), looks good. Same imposing figure, same mysterious-yet-badass immediate impression in his imposing armor and weaponry. Can he pull it off? I mean that for the actor as much as the character. I know nothing about which actor is playing him (Pedro Pascal, from Game of Thrones, I learn later). I’ve remained completely unspoiled.

He’s holding a tracking device. So, also a bounty hunter. Check.

He’s heading for an establishment, a darkened bar, or saloon, or cantina. Inwardly I eyeroll a little. Another cantina?

From inside the bar we see the round spiral blast door opens from the middle outward and the Mandalorian is darkly silhouetted against the icy white exterior landscape.

Nice, iconic character-establishing shot. I am interested.

Simultaneously, the music starts. A soft, repetitive, lulling theme of eight wind notes vaguely Native American in tone that we will come to know quite well. For now, it adds a touch of mystery and suspense. The lulling, almost hypnotic aspect of the music gives the sense this is all just routine, and the Mandalorian’s short, almost imperceptible shake of the head as an insult is hurled at him seems to add to this effect.

Two patrons of the bar, a couple of aliens, have been roughing up a meek, chubby merman guy, some kind of aquatic creature. He’s a new species so that’s interesting. They are bullies, who threatened to cut off his glands, so the violent type, and it feels like Mos Eisley or worse. Inwardly I eyeroll again because we’ve seen this before in the original Star Wars film, A New Hope. Don’t they have any new ideas?

The Star Wars universe has at least one entire galaxy to play with. Yes, establish place as the Star Wars universe with familiar things. But within that we don’t need to keep seeing so many of the same things we have seen before. Give us some easter eggs because we’re fans, but give us new things to love, too. It’s a balance, and I personally want more new than repeat. One of my main gripes with the final trilogy is that it’s too much of the same, just with new characters who aren’t fleshed out and developed enough for me to care about them. But that’s another review.

So it’s a cantina, and they want Star Wars fans who are perhaps not as well versed as me (like say, my sister) to be oriented. Fine, I’ll be patient. I don’t doubt a bounty hunter will frequently find himself in such places.

All the patrons’ eyes are on the Mandalorian as he enters and stands at the bar counter. If you haven’t started to feel vaguely Western elements yet, they start to come now. He’s got his back to the rest of the bar, waiting. Almost baiting. The bullies immediately shift focus leaving the merman alone to go pick on him instead. It’s a mistake and everyone knows it. But they must test our hero. And I too, as if just another patron at this cantina, want to see them test him. I’m curious.

The loud one calls him “Mando!” and we have something of a name to call him for now. But it might be an insult and I’m not quite sure yet.

They seem interested in his armor — Beskar Steel — and this is something I personally have not heard of before. I’m interested.

A bit of Mandalorian taunting and a quick fight later, one of the bullies who tried to escape the bar is pulled into the blast door entryway as the Mandalorian’s grappling hook yanks him halfway back inside, and closes it, severing him in half. I let out a bitter laugh. It wouldn’t be Star Wars without some bully losing a body part in a bar fight, right? Check. And the Mandalorian proved himself badass, so far.

He goes over to the merman, who first just tries to thank him, then bribe him with credits and a drink. The stoic, imposing Mandalorian simply places a disc on the table in front of him, and immediately a holographic image pops up showing his face and name in Basic.

“Is that a bounty puck?” the merman asks. A device that’s new to me, perhaps not to others. Further interested. The weak man tries bargaining some more.

The Mandalorian brings a hand to his blaster and speaks for the first time.

“I can bring you in hot, or I can bring you in cold.”

Cut to opening title credits.

Perfect first line.

The voice itself doesn’t immediately wow me. It’s not as grizzled as Fett’s, it’s younger and somehow... unseasoned? I’m not sure. But it’s not Jango’s voice, so I’m willing to accept it. And again I think, why couldn’t Boba Fett have kept his original Jeremy Bulloch voice?

Title credits. Nice font. The drum beat theme music that also sounds vaguely Western. I like it.

Then we are back outside on the ice world, walking back up the path where we first saw the Mandalorian. He’s got the merman in handcuffs.

“I need passage, to the yards.”

An Ortollan, a species from the original series, plays a little flute and a land speeder comes up piloted by a droid.

“No droids.”

I find it interesting that our Mandalorian would prefer a living creature to a machine as a programmed droid should be more reliable but perhaps machines can be remote controlled, or else there’s a story there that I really want to hear.

The Ortolan plays his flute again and the next speeder comes up, a red one. It's considerably more broken down than the previous one, driven by an older guy in a hooded coat. “Where to?”

They pull up to a silver-colored ship of some kind, bigger than the Slave IV I think. Kind of clunky, really, more like a C-130 cargo transport than an F-16 fighter jet — not what you’d expect to be necessary for a bounty hunter to make quick getaways. Merman agrees with me.

“You’re kidding me, right? I’ll hire us a Livery Cruiser. I’ll pay for it. Just trying to make it pleasant.”

The speeder pilot meanwhile is scanning the horizon anxiously and demands payment. The Mando pays him. “I’d stay off the ice if I were you.” Something’s gonna attack, and probably from beneath the ice. Can’t wait.

Merman is worried and watches the speeder depart into the distance as the Mando readies the ship.

Something launches up from under the ice and consumes the speeder, and a snakelike body with dragon-like spinal plates disappears beneath it again. Merman freaks out and demands they hurry as the ice cracks in their direction.

The Mando yanks him out of the way just in time for a giant walrus-tusked creature with a long body launches out next to the ship. It catches part of the ship’s landing gear in its mouth as they try to take off and there’s a familiar sound effect like the Falcon losing power.

The Mandalorian grabs his tuning-fork weapon from outside the cabin doors (where it stays when it’s not on his back) and heads out to fight. The creature has one of the landing gear legs in its mouth as the music swells very tribal. One zap from the tuning fork weapon and the creature is electrified, immediately lets go, and they escape.

The ship is more impressive in air than on the ground as two enormous jets fire. It seems heavy though. I don’t see any weapons except two forward cannons of some kind, but of course there is probably ample hidden weaponry. Can’t wait.

Once in space the merman starts bargaining and conversing but the Mandalorian is silent, having none of it.

“I like your ship,” the merman says, now trying to butter him up. “She’s classic. Razor Crest, am I right? Pre-Empire?”

So it’s an older ship. The cockpit, entryway and ramp, halls and hull are quite wide and roomy. It makes sense that a bounty hunter needs room to carry cargo. I suppose some quarry may be quite large depending on species. I’d like to see him have to capture something large. I wonder if he has a larger ship because he’s young, and can’t yet afford something speedier. Or perhaps he loves it, despite being old and possibly rickety, like Han loved the Falcon. It doesn’t look like it’s been through the wars, though, so that’s a mystery. Can’t wait to learn more about the ship.

Merman goes below on the pretense of having to use the evacuation tube. There’s some funny toilet humor here. There’s no restroom, the evac tube is in the middle of the floor against a wall--kind of like a New York City basement apartment I viewed once. To the right of the evac tube is a wall with what looks like a palette inside -- I guess that’s where the Mandalorian sleeps? It’s hard to tell.

Merman keeps exploring as he talks. Finds a cache of weapons but surprisingly just closes it again. And then he finds the other bounties.

This actually pissed me off on first viewing. The Mandalorian has several other quarry below deck--all encased in carbonite. I did a massive eyeroll here. Boba Fett (really, Vader) encased Han in carbonite as a matter of convenience at the location they were at in Cloud City. It was a test to see if he could transport Luke that way to the Emperor--IF he survived. But it’s NOT like it was the preferred mode of choice for bounty hunters to transport their quarry. So why would this Mandalorian just happen to have not just bounties in carbon freeze on his ship but has a carbon freezing /chamber/ on the ship, as he shoves the merman into it.

This really annoyed me until a friend suggested maybe the other hunters heard about Fett and Han at Jabba’s Palace and it became a thing once they knew it wouldn’t kill the bounty. After some thought I have accepted this idea, even though it seems quick if this is only set 5 years after Jedi. Still, the other Mandalorians would have been among the first to know, and it’s a more practical mode of transport allowing low risk of escape and not having to address your quarry’s various biological needs. Also easily stackable while protecting them. So okay, I’ve come to accept it.

Mando arrives at a spaceport in a semi-large desert city, that actually looks a lot like Tatooine--both what we’ve seen from the original trilogy and the prequels. They never actually state where we are at any of these locations, but this is my theory. There’s a droid like Red, there are people walking around dressed like Tatooine inhabitants. More evidence comes later in the series.

He enters another drinking establishment that seems to be the meeting place for his contact. The feel is very much like the bar where Han shot Greedo, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was even the same one years later. Aliens of all types, again, watching him closely.

He meets his contact and returns the fobs. Payment is arranged. The Mandalorian says the Empire is gone, and he accepts Calamari flan at half than Imperial credits at full payment.

The question of the next job comes up. Guild rates are high. The Mando wants the highest. 5,000 doesn’t cover fuel these days.

The contact says “Well, there is one job.” No puck. Face to face, direct commission. Pays well. “Underworld?” No codes. The Mandalorian accepts the chip.

More of the city. Goes to a back-alley establishment. Arrives at a door with a TT-8L/Y7 gatekeeper droid, like at Jabba’s Palace. Inside is a walking garbage-can droid like in the Jawa’s ship. I take this as more evidence we are on Tatooine, though of course these items could be sold throughout the galaxy.

Inside there are four Stormtroopers. An older man with an Imperial pendant who is clearly the leader and client. “Greef Carga said you were coming.” So that’s the Mando’s contact back at the bar. “He said you were the best in the parsec.” Haha, at least we are using parsec correctly now.

A side door opens, which startles the Mandalorian and he draws his tuning fork weapon (a modified amban phase-pulse blaster rifle). The four Stormtroopers draw also. A younger man with glasses comes in, shielding his face, apologizing profusely. The client introduces him as Doctor Pershing. A scientist. The Mandalorian still has weapons drawn in both hands, facing off with the Stormtroopers. “We have you four to one.” “I like those odds,” he responds. “He also said you were expensive. Very expensive.”

All calms down and the client invites him to sit. He unfolds a block of beskar steel as down payment. He has more upon delivery of the asset -- alive. Proof of termination is also acceptable for a lower fee. The Doctor protests.

No puck. Tracking fob, age, and last known positional data only. The quarry is 50 years old.

“It is good to return the beskar back to the Mandalorians. It is good to restore the natural order of things after so much disarray, don’t you agree?”

The Mandalorian pauses here and almost imperceptibly again cocks his head. He touched a nerve. Amazing how an actor can still convey so much behind a helmet. I still don’t know this actor but he’s pulling it off.

More of the city. Whatever that laughing thing was at Jabba’s feet, two of his species are roasting on a spit. One more is in a cage. (It’s a Kowakian monkey-lizard like Salacious Crumb. I had to look that up.)

The Mandalorian ducks in behind a curtain. Down some steps. Strings here that sound very Star Wars. A long hall with other Mandalorians about. Some have the helmet antenna like Fett. Some are small, running. Children.

At the end of the hall over the archway is a Mandalorian skull emblem. Within is a person working at a forge, hammering metal and heating it over a ring of open gas flames like Bunsen burners. The blacksmith, which IMDB tells me is Armorer, comes forward and sits down with our Mandalorian. There is fur around the collar, the helmet is different, golden with two small horns, and looks more like a gladiator helmet. From the way she moves, and especially once she speaks, this is a woman. I am intrigued, since I have not seen a female Mandalorian before. They nod respectfully to one another. The Mando produces his payment: the Calamari flan--and then, the bar of Beskar steel, marked with an Imperial insignia at one corner. She is visibly surprised and impressed.

“This was gathered in the Great Purge. It is good it is back with the tribe. A pauldron is in order. Has your signet been revealed?”

“Not yet.”

“Soon.”

A pause here to discuss armor. Any show about Mandalorians was going to have certain elements. Ships, weapons, lore, armor.

Mandalorian armor is famous in the Star Wars universe. Beskar steel, the material it is made of, is strong, and can withstand almost anything, yet very light, rather like mithril in the Lord of the Rings universe. It would seem the Great Purge by the Empire included not just Jedi but Mandalorians, and their armor was melted into bars, as currency or for transport. (This is speculation on my part.) And that a goal of the Mandalorians is to reclaim as much beskar as possible, and reforge it back into Mandalorian armor.

The blacksmith does just this and makes him a pauldron, or shoulder cover, from the bar of beskar. She tells him this is extremely generous and the excess will sponsor many foundlings.

“That’s good,” he responds. “I was once a foundling.”

“I know.”

A bit more of our hero’s background.

Her forge is a combination of computerized part designs and heavy iron machinery, like a 3-D printer on steroids. And as it bangs out the new pauldron each loud clang of metal on metal shows us a brief flashback of our Mandalorian’s memories. A battle with fire and sparks all around. A woman in dark red robe carrying a boy also in dark red robe. He is terrified. Presumably this is our hero. She is carrying him, he’s maybe 8-10 years old. A man is with her, her husband? People getting shot--massacred--all around them as they run. Explosions. She opens an underground container of some sort, deposits the boy. He has brown hair, brown eyes, and olive skin. He reaches for her as the doors close. And then the pauldron is completed; the flashbacks stop.

Having viewed 3 episodes already, this becomes a pattern and I love this device. You get a little more of his backstory with each piece of armor, with each clang of the forge. It’s perfect. It makes sense that in these moments as he waits in this safe place, he might slip into memories. Or perhaps they come unbidden at this time for some reason. There’s also a nice theme of memories being buried beneath his armor, along with his emotions. And only when there’s a chink in the armor, does it show through.

The pauldron goes on, shiny and new, and for the first time I notice the wipes. A center point wipe expanding outward, with fuzzy borders, and so very Star Wars that it makes you smile.

He heads to another planet that looks from space like Tatooine. If we weren’t on Tatooine before, we might be now. We are at least in the vicinity. It’s a desert planet with jagged sandstone cliffs all around. He lands his shiny ship, and gets out with the fob. He looks through his turning-fork weapon’s scope, and spots two distant creatures I can only describe as land grouper with legs and long tails. Suddenly he is attacked by one, sinking its teeth into his arm before he can get a shot off, and then a second, and though he fights with flamethrower and even fists, it looks like we will lose our hero until someone shoots them with taser darts.

It appears our hero is not wounded, but his arm pieces are damaged.

A small man with a piglike face and a kind, wise voice and goggles on his head. An ugnaught. Remember them from the original trilogy? IMDB tells me his name is Kuill, although this is never actually said in the episode, so I will refer to him as the ugnaught.

I suspect anonymity is a running theme in this show, as part of the Western genre. So far we’ve heard almost no character names (which makes writing reviews a little difficult). I’m wondering if there’s any significance to the ones we do know, vs. the ones we don’t.

“You are a bounty hunter. I will help you. I have spoken.” This last part is his trademark line, as we’ll see. I love it.

We go to what looks like a wind or moisture farm. There is, from what I can see, only one sun.

The ugnaught tells the Mandalorian that others have come looking and died. He will show him the way for half of the blurg they caught. Mando will have to learn how to ride them to pass to the compound.

On the first few attempts the blurg throws him. Apparently it’s a female; the males are all eaten during mating. (Thanks for that tidbit, Kuiil.) He gets thrown again and loses patience, asking for a speeder.

The ugnaught challenges him.

“You are a Mandalorian. Your ancestors rode the great mythosaur. Surely you can ride this young blurg.”

Our hero is challenged; the words touched him. He approaches the blurg like a wild horse that needs breaking in, and the Western theme is back, even in the music. Eventually he succeeds, a triumphant moment that impresses the ugnaught, and they’re off across the landscape full of ravines that only the blurg can jump, apparently. The theme music swells until they arrive at a cliff where they can spy on the encampment. This is where the bounty hunter’s quarry is.

Mando tries to pay him off. Ugnaught reveals his motive: it’s been an endless stream of warriors trying to get this quarry, breaking the peace. He’s read the stories about Mandalorians and believes ours can make quick work of it and bring peace back to his land.

Our boy does some recon with a hand telescope and the place is swarming. Then he spots a bounty droid, and groans. The droid is just walking right in, and demands the asset be produced.

The bounty droid looks like IG-88 from The Empire Strikes Back and again, for a moment, I almost eye rolled because really, can’t we see something new? All bounty droids look the same? But whereas IG-88 just stood there, this one moves, and the way he moves is COOL. Although humanoid in appearance like 3PO (head, two arms, two legs), unlike 3PO he appears to operate around a central pole or spine, allowing his parts to rotate 360 degrees. This includes his head, his eyes, his arms and therefore weapons, and his waist/hips. It gives him an amazing advantage as he can just keep spinning and shooting. The way he steps over a body is awesome. He’s also really skinny and thus hard to hit. Whole new respect for the IG series.

This IG unit is also funny, and his repartee with our Mandalorian is instant comedic chemistry. There’s a fantastic shootout, where they team up, and as they are outnumbered, the bounty droid seeing no way out, keeps trying to self-destruct. “Do not self destruct!” our Mando keeps shouting at him, and after a very badass moment with an [ion machine gun], by the end they win, and everyone in the yard lies dead. Mando helps him up, saying “You’re not so bad for a droid,” and the droid replies likewise. I saw a sidekick in the making. They shoot their way inside, kill a few more people until there’s no one left, and determine the quarry is just before them in the corner.

Except there is no one there, just a white ball looking thing with a net over it that the fobs indicate is the target.

They remove the net, and open the ball, which is really more egg-shaped.

And then it opens, it looks more like a bassinet with a blanket inside.

“Wait--” says Mando. “They said 50 years old.”

“Species age differently,” replies the IG unit. And we get our first glimpse over the top of the blanket as he says “Perhaps it could live many centuries. Sadly, we’ll never know.” And as he’s speaking, a little head peeks over the blanket.

Oh. My. God. And in this one moment, I am glued to this show forever.

It’s a baby Yoda.

Except it isn’t Yoda, because Yoda’s dead. But we don’t know Yoda’s species name, and we don’t know the baby’s given name, so we will call it what the internet has dubbed it in the meantime: Baby Yoda.

And this moment, above all, is the biggest reason I am so glad I wasn’t spoiled.

Baby Yoda is the most adorable, most precious, most endearing thing you have ever seen. And in a franchise that has at times been criticized for its more saccharine “cute” creatures that appeal to young children (Ewoks, anyone?), this is one we can all get behind.

Baby Yoda is CUTE. <3

Baby Yoda is everything.

Remember my aversion to anything we’ve seen already? I NO LONGER CARE. Looking at those huge brown eyes and long floppy ears, this doesn’t even cross my mind.

I would give my life for Baby Yoda. I know this all in one second.

And the IG unit is about to kill it.

Apparently our Mando feels something similar.

“Wait,” he says, and reaching out he lowers the IG unit’s weapon. “We’ll bring it in alive.”

“The commission was quite specific. The asset was to be terminated.” The IG unit raises his blaster again, aimed squarely at the crib.

The camera closes in on the Mandalorian’s helmet, fixed on the bassinet, and there is a red blaster flash from his right, reflected in the helmet. The Mando’s head never moves.

But the IG unit falls to the floor, shot in the head. Sizzling. He’s toast.

Our guy shot him without even looking. He’s fixated on Baby Yoda, as we all are. He puts his own blaster away, and tilts his head.

The camera cuts to a gorgeous profile, backlit from a doorway. The Mandalorian stands before the crib, which is now floating in the air at waist height. He raises a finger towards the crib, as a tiny finger comes up from inside it. They don’t quite meet.

End credits.

End credits for this show are a series of beautiful concept drawings and if you know Star Wars at all, these are some stunning art. The whole theme also plays over the end credits and it is hauntingly beautiful. Ludwig Gӧransson’s score is perfect.

Thoughts.

Themes: Space western. Anonymity. (Even the ship still has no name, just a model.) Foundlings. Characters that seem to have no family, but instead bond in other social ways (covert/religion, bounty hunter guild/profession). Remnants. Loss.

I LOVE the concept art at the end. Fans love this concept art, and I have a couple of books of it myself. Nice way to incorporate it into the series. You can see how the original concept and final product differ (very little, in most cases) and a few intriguing pieces that were either filmed but cut from the final edit or never filmed. I love how they add the 3-D effect to some of the drawings, and I still don’t know how Hollywood achieves that.

Concept art round-up:

Mando and Baby Yoda’s ET moment

Some intriguing glow-dice game between two Mandalorians? I need to know more about this.

Mando firing a blaster

Mando entering a cantina

Mando and Kuiil on Blurrback

Mando and IG-11 taking cover during battle

Mando and Kuiil entering Kuiil’s home

Mando walking on the icescape with his back facing the camera

Mando battling the ice creature while hanging out of the Razor Crest

Mando and IG-11 standing shoulder to shoulder

Mando on Blurrgback

Taika Waititi is amazing as the IG unit bounty droid. Never would have guessed it was him.

Werner Herzog is perfect as The Client, I love his voice, and the article/video about him crying over Baby Yoda.

This show is going to get me writing fanfic again, dammit.

*****

The Mandalorian: Chapter 1 recap by K (includes detailed spoilers)

A Mandalorian bounty hunter tracks a target for a well-paying client.

Directed by Dave Filoni

Written by Jon Favreau

Music by Ludwig Gӧransson Airdate: Nov 12, 2019

Run Time: 40m

Greef Karga (Carl Weathers)

The Client (Werner Herzog)

Dr. Pershing (Omid Abtahi)

Kuiil (Nick Nolte, voice)

IG-11 (Taika Waititi, voice; Rio Hackford, performance artist)

Mythrol (Horatio Sanz)

Alpha Trawler (Tait Fletcher)

Beta Trawler (Ryan Watson)

Quarren Trawler (Dmitrious Bistrevsky)

Armorer (Emily Swallow)

#the mandalorian #the mandalorion season 1 recap #disneyplusfan #tha mandalorion s01e01 #star wars

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shiningamongdarkness · 3 years

Text

Chapter 39. The Black Prom

Shining among Darkness

By WingzemonX

Chapter 39. The Black Prom

The rented limo took them right to the school gates. From the very entrance, the place was already decorated, almost in a dream. There were lights in all the trees. And from the sidewalk to the door, they had spread a long blue carpet, as if it were the entrance of some awards. Lighted moons and stars had hung, indeed resembling a starry sky.

From her window, Carrie could see that a significant number of guests were arriving, all in beautiful suits and dresses in spring colors. They all laughed and talked among themselves, showing great joy and enthusiasm.

For a moment, the young woman felt overwhelmed and very scared. Tommy made the gesture of wanting to open his door, but she reflexively reached out her hand to him to stop him.

"Can we wait a moment?" Carrie murmured slowly, almost like a plea.

Tommy looked at her a little puzzled.

"Yeah, sure. All the time you want."

Carrie nodded gratefully. Then stared out of her window for a while at the rest of the people who were passing by her limousine and heading inside the school.

"Are you scared?"

"I'm afraid all of this could have been a mistake," the young woman whispered softly.

"They're not bad people, really," Tommy added mockingly. "Besides, I need you there. Dancing alone would surely look silly."

A little giggle escaped from the girl's lips without her really intending to. That single comment somehow managed to lighten a bit the heavy burden that she carried with her. Perhaps not all, but part of it.

"Ok, let's go."

Tommy got out first and turned the vehicle around to open the door for her. The two of them walked side by side across the blue carpet toward the entrance, and with each step, Carrie felt accompanied by the pounding of her heart. But even more important than being taken by Tommy Ross's arm was the feeling of entering that place along with all the other attendees, as one of them. They were all there for the same reason: to enjoy that night and have fun like never before. And she was part of it now, no more and no less.

The initial hit of the loud music and lights was at first somewhat stunning for Carrie. The place was almost dark, except for the large reflectors in the ceilings that reflected lights of different colors and shapes everywhere. The DJ's music echoed with great force in the gym's natural echo, ringing Carrie's sensitive ears, a little more accustomed to the silence and calm of her home.

After the first impression, and once her ears and eyes adjusted, she managed to appreciate all better. During regular school days, she always saw the boys at her school as aliens to her. But at that moment, they all looked so beautiful, almost ethereal. But Carrie was not intimidated but rather fascinated. It was like entering a fantasy world, with glitters, colors, and sounds that couldn't exist where she came from. And all the others were characters in that curious tale.

As they entered, Tommy introduced her to his friend George and her girlfriend Frieda, who were quite friendly. For a moment, Tommy concentrated on greeting George, quite effusively, and Frieda took it upon herself to chat with Carrie while they walked to their table. She was even impressed by her dress, and it was hard to believe that she had done it.

The four of them sat at the table; even the decoration of this one, with its white tablecloths and centerpieces, seemed beautiful to Carrie. Tommy chatted lively with his two friends, and Carrie generally just listened and smiled. There wasn't much she could add to their conversation, and that embarrassed her. She was so inexperienced at hanging out with people that she didn't really have normal talking points, beyond biblical interpretations, sewing, and recently psychic powers. But she was sure none of those topics would be of interest to people like Tommy and his friends.

Her greatest delight, or perhaps suffering, was looking around to appreciate others. They all seemed so happy with their friends, taking photos and dancing. There were already several people dancing to a very moving song, moving with enough grace and rhythm. Carrie found herself suddenly almost mesmerized by the movements they were making, and several of them seemed to her bordering on obscene. The women waving their butts in their tight dresses, reveling in the fact that the boys saw them like this. Men sticking their bodies against their partners, rubbing their crotches against them.

Carrie was appalled for a few moments by all of this but tried not to let the feeling take over. This was how her mother would react (or actually much worse), but not her. All of this had to seem as normal as possible to her... she must.

George and Frieda got up just as another song started and hurried out onto the dance floor. Carrie followed them with her eyes, accompanied by a sincere smile.

"George and Frieda are nice," she pointed out slowly.

"Yes, they are," Tommy replied. "They are good people; there are a lot of good people here." Carrie had no doubt. "You want to dance?"

The sudden proposal created a shock in the young woman, who once again looked in the dance floor's direction, observing and scrutinizing all the movements and steps that those present were performing. Leaving aside their dances' sinfulness, the truth was that she did not know in the least how to do what they did, or at least approach something relatively normal or similar.

"Can we keep talking?" She asked sadly.

"Yes, however you want. We can wait for a slower song if you want."

"Yes, it would be better..."

She had said that, but actually, she doubted if a slow song would be different.

A few minutes later, she could see an adult woman coming straight towards them in the dancing crowd. She had short dark brown hair and wore a bare-arm navy blue dress. She looked incredibly amazed and happy to see her, and Carrie responded to her excitement with a small smile.

"Carrie," muttered Miss Desjardin, the PE teacher. She had hardly recognized her until she was close enough, and Carrie believed it must have been the same in her case.

"Miss Desjardin," Carrie greeted her lightly. "You look beautiful."

"Me? Look to you. You are so pretty."

"Thank you... I don't think that's the case, but thank you."

She glanced sideways as Tommy was standing up from his chair just now.

"Can I leave you a moment?" The boy commented. "Do you want me to get you some punch, Miss Desjardin? I heard they put it a little of Brandy."

Tommy laughed a little right after he made that comment, but Rita Desjardin's stern gaze told him that she didn't share the same sentiment.

"Seriously?"

"No, of course not," he answered quickly, his smile fading. "Just kidding..."

Even Carrie found that a little funny. Tommy walked away to the punch table's direction, and Miss Desjardin sat in the chair right next to the girl.

"I'm glad you decided to come after all."

"I had my doubts, but I spoke with someone who finished convincing me to accept the invitation."

"With whom? Some friend?"

Carrie thought for a few moments. A friend? That was how she could call her? She wasn't really sure about it, but... she liked the very possibility that it could be so.

"Are you doing well?" Miss Desjardin asked her suddenly, pulling her out of her thoughts. Carrie just smiled at her and nodded slightly.

The teacher's presence didn't bother her, but it did cause her a bit of discomfort. It wasn't that they had talked much before. She had been the one who stepped in to help her with that shower incident and had brought her to the principal's office, although she had had to slap her to achieve it. Carrie did not blame her for that, and she was grateful. But seeing her right now made her remember that incident in a certain way, and it was what she least wanted to think about in those moments.

Of course, Carrie was unaware of everything Miss Desjardin had done, other than pulling her out of the showers and taking her to Principal Grayle. She did not know how the teacher had reprimanded those involved, or the pressure she had put on Mr. Grayle to impose their harsh punishments, or even how she had imposed herself on Mr. Hargensen when he wanted to reverse his daughter's suspension. If she knew, perhaps then would have understood why she was so happy to see her there... or, maybe relieved was the best word.

"I remember my prom," Miss Desjardin commented, looking over at the rest of the attendees on the floor. Carrie looked at her curiously. "I went with the captain of the basketball team. I was six feet tall, so I went and bought some four-inch heels; so that when we danced, I would look less strange by his side. He passed me by in his truck, but it broke down on the way. Can you believe it?" She gave a little laugh. "And we had to walk the last kilometer to school. And by the time we got there, those damn heels had smashed my feet. You can imagine that I couldn't dance a single piece, and we had to sit all night."

Her expression abruptly changed to being crowned with a nostalgic look.

"But still, it was a wonderful thing." She turned abruptly to Carrie then, making her a little intimidated by the sudden gaze. "Is that how you feel?"

"Well ..." Carrie muttered nervously. "Everything is nice."

"Just nice?"

"No, no... It's like being somewhere else, far from my home. I wouldn't know how to explain it to anyone, I think. It's such a... new feeling."

"Do you think you'll forget it?"

Again, Carrie thought for a bit before answering.

"No... I hope not."

Miss Desjardin smiled with pleasure. She reached out a hand to her, and placed it somewhat firmly on her shoulder.

"Focus on keeping those memories," the teacher murmured solemnly. "The pretty ones, the ones that after many years still make you smile. Not the bad ones..."

Carrie looked at her thoughtfully. She knew exactly what she was referring to... and that brought back that incident again.

"Have fun."

"Thank you," Carrie answered a little colder than she intended.

The teacher smiled at her one last time and then stood up and got back on track. Carrie objectively knew she was trying to give her some advice and help... but she couldn't help but feel some resentment, even so.

Tommy came back a little later with two glasses of punch. Since Miss Desjardin was gone, Carrie accepted the glass for her, although the taste was not entirely pleasant. She was hoping it didn't really have brandy.

"Carrie, do you really have to be at home that early?" The boy asked suddenly. Carrie nodded slightly.

"I promised it."

"Yes, sure, I understand. It's just that several of the guys and I are going to Kelly after the dance, and..."

"Yes, I understand..." Carrie answered suddenly with some regret before he finished what he was going to say. "Don't worry about me, go with your friends. I can go home alone, it's not that far. I always go walking during the week."

"What? No, no... I actually expected you to go with us."

Carrie turned fully toward him, her eyes wide in amazement.

"To... Kelly? I don't think I know her..." Tommy couldn't help but laugh a little. "What? What happens?"

"It's not a she; it's a he. I mean, it's actually a place... kind of like a coffee shop. Have you never been there?" Carrie shook her head shyly. "Well, it's one more reason for you to go and meet it, right?"

Carrie was not able to answer anything. She kept her eyes downcast and her hands rubbing each other nervously. She couldn't get out of her mind that she had locked up her mother; she had to get home on time and free her. Besides, Tommy would surely prefer to go alone to that place he was talking about so that he could talk more calmly with his friends without having to carry her around.

The atmosphere in the gym changed abruptly. The shaky and somewhat shrill music stopped and switched to a much softer one.

"Listen, it's a slow song," Tommy pointed out knowingly.

"No, I can't..." Carrie muttered nervously, shaking her head.

"Yes, you can. Let's go."

Tommy took her hand and stood up. Carrie hesitated but couldn't stop her body from reacting and rising up with him.

"No, Tommy. I have never danced."

"If you've made it this far, you should at least dance a piece, don't you think?"

His voice was so sweet and so convincing. It was as if he managed to penetrate the depths of her mind and make her act out of mere reaction, without really giving it much thought. When she least thought about it, they were already entering the dance floor, making their way among all the other couples that now rocked embraced to the rhythm of that sweet melody.

"It's easy, I'll guide you," said Tommy, then taking her by both hands and moving them into position. "Put this hand here, and this one on my shoulder. I'll put my hand on your hip, don't panic."

With great ease, he managed to get both of them into the dance position. Their bodies were so close that Carrie felt too embarrassed. Tommy's hand on her hip made her throat tighten. If that wasn't a sin... it was pretty close to it.

Tommy began to rock slightly like the others did, and Carrie hopelessly followed. Little by little, she began to feel a bit more relaxed... a little more normal.

"See? It's easy," Tommy pointed out confidently. "It's fun, right?"

Carrie didn't answer, but she couldn't deny that it indeed was, even a little. Without consciously intending to, she leaned her head forward, leaning her face against the boy's chest. The firmness of his chest, as well as the heat that it emanated, ended up letting go of the concerns that invaded him so much.

Or, maybe not all...

"Why am I here?" The young woman suddenly whispered slowly, still holding her face against his chest.

"Why?" Tommy replied with a laugh. "It's your graduation, and I invited you, remember?"

"Yes, but why?"

"Are you still questioning that? You're already here, and I'm really enjoying it."

"Seriously?" Carrie muttered, surprised.

"Of course. And I hope you are doing it too."

Carrie wanted to tell him many things. She wanted to tell him how much she was really enjoying it, how grateful she felt to him for having given her that beautiful night, and all the wonderful sensations that ran through her entire body until that moment unknown to her. She wanted to tell him all that and much more. But nothing came from her lips. She felt so engrossed in her thoughts, but they didn't quite fit together to become words. So she just kept quiet and just enjoyed the moment.

"So, what do you say?" Tommy's sweet voice whispered suddenly, bringing her back to reality a bit. "Will you accompany me to Kelly? We're leaving after some foolish couple is crowned King and Queen, and I'll take you home at 10:30. Agree?"

Suddenly, this self-imposed arrival time seemed absurd.

"Yes... Or at 11, maybe..."

They danced one more piece and then returned to the table, just in time for the King and Queen Vote. Carrie remembered that Tommy had mentioned something about that while they were dancing. Still, she really didn't quite understand what it was about. On each table, in front of each chair, they had placed an envelope and a pencil, both memorabilia of the dance with the name of the event and its date. Inside the envelope came a ballot with options of pairs to mark. Seeing it, Carrie was stunned. One of those options clearly stated:

Thomas Ross and Carrie White

It did not even say Sue Snell's name but directly named her.

"Are we in the options?" She questioned, puzzled, turning to Tommy in search of some explanation. However, he looked just intrigued as she was.

"Yes, I saw," he murmured as he looked at the ballot. "It bothers you?"

"I don't know... And you?"

"It's not a big deal," Tommy replied with a shrug, rather nonchalantly. He then turned in the direction of the main stage, where two men were setting up what appeared to be two glowing thrones. "If we win, we just go up on stage, get on those thrones, take a picture, everyone applauds us, and then we dance a little bit to make a fool of ourselves in front of everyone."

Carrie looked up at the thrones, and in her mind, she visualized as best she could everything Tommy was describing to her. King and Queen of the prom... it would be a magnificent way to crown that perfect night.

"It would be nice," she suddenly escaped without her proposing it at all. She stirred her thoughts a bit, trying to focus on what they were doing right now. "So... Who are we going to vote for? I really don't think I know any of these people very well."

"Then let's vote for ourselves," Tommy pointed out. "You know us, and we are great, don't you think?"

"No, no," Carrie repeated several times, almost scared by the idea. "I mean... I know I said it would be nice, but no... I couldn't deal with that."

"Come on, calm down. Still, it's unlikely we'll actually win..." Tommy fell silent as if suddenly regretting his words. "I mean, not because you don't have queen material, you're obviously the cutest girl around here, but..."

"No, it's ok, you're right," Carrie pointed out with a small smile. She looked at the ballot again, took her pencil, and without much thought marked their names with a big X. "What harm can it do?"

"That's right, to hell with false modesty."

Carrie's eyes widened in terror as she heard him say such a thing.

"To hell?" She murmured slowly in horror, but little by little, she began to relax. Again, that would be her mother's reaction, and she couldn't get carried away with it. "Yes... to hell."

They came shortly after to collect the ballots to put them in the ballot box. During the minutes that followed as the votes were collected and counted, Carrie amused herself, trying to chat with Tommy, George, and Frieda. A couple of guys passed by with cameras recording goodbye messages, although she didn't really know what to say. Until a few days ago, the idea of leaving that school for good was quite indifferent to her. On the one hand, she would walk away from all those who had done so much harm to her for so many years. But, on the other hand, she would be practically all day at the mercy of her mother to do and undo only what she said.

But things had changed. She no longer had to resign herself to living under her mother's roof or under her care and submission. She had other options, better options like Dr. Honey's proposal to go with her to Boston as soon as she graduated. In September, she would be of legal age, and she could do whatever she wanted then. She would only have to endure a few more months, which actually might not be so bad now that her mother had learned that it was not in her best interest to mess with her by force. And after that, she would leave that place, towards a new and better life waiting for her.

So there was no nostalgia or sadness, other than for Tommy, if anything. But, for the most part, there was only joy and excitement for what would come from there. Because now, everything would be different...

The dance program said that the coronation would be at 10:00. After about ten minutes of that hour, Vic Mooney, president of the graduates, appeared on stage with quite a bit of enthusiasm on his face, holding the microphone firmly in one hand and a piece of paper in the other. The music fell silent at his signal, and everyone's attention focused on him, knowing that it was time. For most of the students present, the whole King and Queen business was insignificant, but it was the most important thing of the night for others.

"We got the results," Vic communicated, his voice echoing through the speakers, "and they were really, really closed." He held up the piece of paper on which he had written the names of the winners. This was more spectacle than anything else because he obviously already knew. "Drumming sound, please!" The DJ took care of placing the drum roll sound through the speakers. "By one vote, the winners are... Tommy Ross and Carrie White!"

There was an avalanche of screams and applause at that moment, echoing loudly throughout the gym. However, for Carrie, everything became silent... It felt as if her brain had shut down or was using all its capacity to process what she had just heard, and everything else had been pushed aside.

Had he said her name? Did he say that she won as Prom Queen? But... no... That didn't make sense...

Her mind was torn between accepting the joy of the moment and outright denying it.

What should she do? Should stand there in front of everyone? Was she really supposed to? Could she really...?

"Come on, come on," she heard Tommy say, and then he took her hand. Just as he had led her to the dance floor before, the young woman reacted by herself and stood up. Her feet practically moved of their own accord to follow her companion.

Little by little, her mind cleared up again, and she became aware of everything around them. She was able to appreciate the light from the floodlights shining on them as they advanced to the school hymn's rhythm. Carrie looked at her own glowing image, projected onto the large screens at the sides of the stage. She noticed people stepping aside to make way for them, still clapping harmoniously, bright smiles lighting up their faces. They were all looking at her, but their eyes did not cause her discomfort, nor did they cause fear. Because they did not look at her with mockery or revulsion, but with great admiration and respect... as if she was a true queen.

Her steps were so light that she almost felt that was floating in her walk. It all seemed so unreal, an image that not even in her wildest dreams could have imagined. The butterflies that roamed her entire body must be a product of sinful and undue sensations, surely; sensations that God would definitely not welcome in one of His loyal servants. But, even then, she didn't care. If God didn't like to see her like this, then He should turn His sigh to another way.

Never, in so many years of praying and pleading, had she felt so much joy as in those moments. That night was not for God, nor for her mother: that night was hers and no one else's.

"I present to you the newly crowned King and Queen of the ball! Tommy Ross and Carrie White," Vic Mooney enunciated with intensity, just as they both began to climb the front steps to the stage. And then the shower of applause became even more intense.

Once up, they both turned to the crowd, and Carrie faced them. Again their applause and their looks of happiness and pride were only for her. A young lady approached and handed her a beautiful bouquet of pink roses, which Carrie gladly accepted. One more placed on her head a diadem crown with sparkles that resembled diamonds; entirely false, but at the moment, they were worth gold to her.

Carrie stood next to Tommy, very close to him, seeking to feel his closeness and support. He accepted her and actually reached his hand close to hers and took it gently. At that point, the girl was unable to think clearly about anything. Everything was so much more beautiful and perfect than she could have expected. She couldn't think of anything that could have made it better. That shower of applause was the ideal way to say goodbye to the old her, the fearful and submissive, who was invisible to everyone. Now, she was welcomed with open arms to that new world full of possibilities.

Now, really, everything would be different.

And then, everything was painted red...

The first thing Carrie felt was a blow to the head that shook her, accompanied by a cold sensation that chilled her body. Her head was pushed forward, and her plastic crown flew off. The cold sensation worked its way through her head to her shoulders, down her back, and through her entire torso, and then down her legs and feet. Although it was very confusing initially, after a few seconds, she understood that it had been a sensation similar to as if cold water had been poured over her. But that was not water.

By mere reflex, she closed her eyes. And while she was not seeing, she could perceive that Tommy leaped to the side in shock, and the applause and the screams slowly faded into absolute silence. Carrie slowly opened her eyes again and saw everything as if it had been painted red. People were still staring at her, but the pride and excitement were gone; now, there was only confusion, much confusion on their faces.

The young woman slowly turned her face towards Tommy; he also looked at her the same way or even more. But beyond his gaze, what astonished her was seeing his white jacket, soaked in red on one side; his face also had several spots of the same shade on it. That was not paint and didn't smell like paint. It was a metallic smell and at the same time disgusting... and it was totally impregnated in her.

She looked at herself then, and what she saw was so disturbing, so repulsive, and so strange that she simply couldn't immediately understand that it was real. Her dress, all her beautiful salmon pink dress, was dyed red from top to bottom. Her arms, her hands, everything was stained with the same substance. Some of her hair strands fell over her face and were also damp and stuck against her skin. And on the ground just below her, a wide misshapen pool had formed, bright red, reflecting the light from the searchlights.

He looked up then. Above her head, tied to a rope, was a bucket, from which even at that time, small traces of that substance were still dripping; even one of those drops fell directly into her right eye.

Carrie felt intense terror but was unable to scream. She dropped the bunch of flowers out of sheer instinct, falling it into the puddle at her feet: a pool of blood...

"And Eve was weak and loosed the raven on the world. And the raven was called 'Sin.' And the first sin was intercourse. And the Lord visited Eve with the curse, and the curse was the curse of blood..."

"Tommy..." was the only thing that managed to escape her throat, like a painful moan. She looked at him again, searching for some kind of explanation for him, to tell her it was a mistake, or a dream, or her imagination, something that would prevent her from thinking about the idea that was violently invading her mind at that time.

"Carrie, I don't..." Tommy muttered, so difficult for him to put together the words and complete a sentence. Was he trying to tell her that he had nothing to do with that? The Carrie from a few seconds ago would have believed him whatever he said. But the one at that moment... she couldn't even think...

Tommy then turned to the crowd, snapping furiously.

"What did you do?! Who did this...?!"

Some looked at each other in confusion, seemingly doubtful how to react.

"Plug it up!" She heard a sudden blast from the audio equipment speakers, and Carrie inevitably looked up ahead. "Plug it up! Plug it up! Plug it up!"

Those chorus screams... Oh God, Carrie recognized them right away. She turned her eyes just a little to the side, and then she saw it. Projected on one of those large screens, there was the video, the video of what had happened in the showers, the video of her writhing on the floor, naked and defenseless while everyone surrounded her yelled and threw things at her. There it was, her moment of humiliation, big for all to see it.

And then they came, long-awaited and predictable: the laughs, few at first, but quickly turning into millions of them resonating at the same time. In a single second, that entire gym was filled with laughter and mocking glances, all directed at her.

And there it was once more, from being at the top to scrubbing again in the dirtiest and most stinking mud. Or, maybe she had never really gotten out of it... perhaps it had all just been an evil illusion.

She felt the anguish, the anger, the sadness, all building up in her chest, making it difficult to breathe.

She had to get out of there; she had to leave immediately.

Then she began to walk forward with some desperation.

"Carrie, wait..." Tommy Ross muttered, but she ignored him. She didn't want to see him; she didn't want to hear him. If she ever heard him again, she feared that perhaps...

Her right foot stomped into the pool of blood, and she slid violently to the side on the wet, slippery surface. Carrie's entire body slumped forward after that slip, landing on her right thigh, and she just didn't fall on her nose because she had the reflex to stop with her hands before it was too late.

As she fell, she could hear how the laughs increased exponentially. That, accompanied by that infernal chorus of "Plug it up! Plug it up! Plug it up!" rumbled violently in her head, scrambling her ideas, stirring up any logic or common sense. Little by little, she could no longer reason, hear, or even see: she only saw red... everything was red.

"Help this sinful woman who is next to me to see the sin in her life and her works. Show her that if she had remained pure, the curse of the blood would not have fallen on her."

"Carrie," came Miss Desjardin's voice, pushing her way through the crowd and onto the stage. She walked up the steps toward her and held out a hand, offering it to her. "Let me help..."

The teacher was not even able to finish her offer, as her entire body was abruptly thrown back as if she had been tackled head-on by a burly football player. She collided with a group of students in the front row, and both she and they fell to the ground, stunned.

The laughter gradually stopped after this, but the video was still playing in the background. Everyone's stunned and confused eyes fell once more on Carrie White, who began to rise slowly. Her breathing was so agitated that her lungs seemed to explode. Her eyes were wild and lost, and her pupils had been enlarged as much as possible. The veins in her temples pounded and throbbed. Her fingers flexed and contracted against each other so violently that the bones seemed about to break. And the blood... the blood from the pool, the blood that was still liquid and had not completely adhered to the skin on her arms and face, began to slowly rise around, like tiny dewdrops.

Everyone took a step back, even Tommy.

"Carrie..." the boy said in a shaky voice, but she wasn't even aware that he was still next to her.

This was how she wanted them all to see her: scared and confused, ignorant of what was presented to them. She had tried, she really had. She wanted to be one of them, to be good, to be normal... But it was a privilege that all those impious pigs were not willing to give her. They were all a bunch of sinners, morons, and bastards with no trace of compassion on their frail and pathetic bodies. Everyone in that place had made her life a nightmare with their mockery, jokes, mistreatment, and indifference. And if God did not come down from Heaven to impose His justice, she would unleash the Hell itself on them, and on that entire decaying city!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!" Carrie screamed loudly and with all her might, resounding with a tremendous explosion. And in the blink of an eye, everyone, and everything around, was pushed in all directions as if a tremendous gust of wind had hit them.

Bodies flew through the air on all sides, crashing against tables, walls, doors, or each other. The speakers, the screens on the walls, the arrangements, the tables and chairs themselves, everything was ripped from its place and deployed through the air like projectiles.

Even Tommy Ross, who was behind her, flew backward as hard as if a tremendous truck had crashed head-on. Perhaps because it was the closest to the source of all that energy deployment, the shock was much more intense. His body slammed headlong into the back wall of the gym, and his neck twisted like a stick. But that didn't matter because he didn't even feel it. The first blow he received from the front had been so tremendous that it had practically shattered his heart, dying almost instantly and without pain, without even knowing what had happened. And yet, in a way, he was the luckiest of the night. The only one who had, perhaps, the most peaceful and pious death possible...

END OF CHAPTER 39

Author's Notes:

Originally my intention was that Chapter 38 and this one were only one. Still, the final length turned out to be too long, so I decided to divide it into two better.

As I mentioned earlier, this chapter is also based mostly on the events of the film Carrie from 2013, also taking into account the 1976 movie and the original novel. But mainly, my intention was to give my own personal interpretation of these events, and primarily of the character of Carrie, her introspections, and thoughts while all this was happening.

As you could see, not everything that happened was narrated, but rather what could be described from Carrie's point of view, trying to capture her confusion and her changes of thought. Also, as you can see, I took some freedoms with several issues, some for simple personal taste and others more to match the tone and style that story has had until now.

The previous chapter and this one are almost like a personal tribute to Carrie White, her novel, and her two most influential film versions (and actually two of my favorite horror movies).

The next chapter will conclude Carrie's story, but now from Matilda's perspective. It will depart more from what was seen in the versions already mentioned. However, it will still be based a lot on them.

See you soon.

#carrie white #carrie #Matilda Wormwood #matilda #stephen king #shining among darkness #resplandor entre tinieblas #wingzemonx #fanfiction #fanfic

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spicyfloaty · 3 years

Text

Give & Take | Chapter 3

pairing: kacchako

genre: slowburn/fluff

words: 2.7k

summary: Ochako's grades are slipping. Bakugo is dangerously nearing suspension, or worse, expulsion. A certain twist of fate pairs them together for tutoring sessions. He teaches her math. She keeps him from getting suspended. A simple exchange, but what if this only brings them closer than necessary?

header credits: @alexbenedetto

[READ ON AO3]

Chapter Two

Chapter Three: Emotional Whiplash Courtesy of Shoto Todoroki

Ochako’s lunch looked less appetizing despite the fact that she got her favorite meal and weirdly enough, the same could also be said about today’s breakfast. She couldn’t help but lose her appetite thanks to the stampede of thoughts clouding her mind, twisting her stomach in knots that could intimidate a senior girl scout. She might as well be sporting a flashing neon sign that read, I have a tutoring session with Bakugo Katsuki later. Help.

Her train of thought comes to an abrupt halt, only to go full throttle, bringing her back to the events that took place yesterday. It was bad enough that she fell asleep in class, it was another thing to be woken up by the one person she wanted to desperately avoid at all costs. She wasn’t a hundred percent sure of what happened after that, but the clearest images she could conjure in her head were warm hands and the indisputable figure of Bakugo’s back facing her as he walked out of the classroom. Ochako wants to give herself the benefit of the doubt and believe that she didn’t do anything stupid in between the gaps in her memory other than Bakugo being the one to wake her from her slumber.

Her mind wanders to this morning, Ochako didn’t miss the indiscriminate glances Bakugo occasionally threw her way within the cluster of their classmates coming together in their dorm’s common room before they make their way to class. She pushed aside the little voices that whispered ridiculous assumptions behind the sudden attention she was getting from him, instead, she reasons that Bakugo was most likely just thinking along the same lines as her, their upcoming session, that is. His thoughts might not be as all-consuming as hers, but she couldn’t think of any other reason why he’d even bother giving her the time of day.

A hand makes its way in front of her face, waving up and down, “Are you all right, Uraraka?” She realizes that she had been staring at her lunch tray for a concerning amount of minutes, “Is there something wrong with your lunch?”

Iida has a worried look etched on his face, she notices Todoroki and Deku also wearing the same expression, “Oh no, I’m fine! I was just caught up in my own head, that’s all,” She says with a dismissive wave. She instantly regrets not leaving out the last part of her sentence when she sees Iida’s eyebrows knit together, “Oh? Is everything okay?”

As much as Iida’s overwhelming concern warmed her heart, Ochako would much rather not have Bakugo as the table’s next topic of discussion, “Yes, I promise it’s not a big deal.” She manages to give her friend one last reassuring smile before trying to change the topic, “You were saying something about today’s hero training activity? I heard that All Might’s planning on having us disarm bombs again.”

Finally, this shifts the attention away from her, “Ah, yes, I’m looking forward to surpassing my record from the previous one!” Iida replies, Ochako exhales a breath of relief, thankful that her thoughts about Bakugo led her quick thinking to the subject of bombs.

“All Might also mentioned that today’s bombs would be more difficult to disarm,” Deku chimes in, “It’s most likely because he decided to have us use real ones this time instead of the simulated ones we used last time!”

Ochako takes in the sparkle of enthusiasm in Deku’s eyes and the overflowing amount of admiration in his voice, the mention of All Might never fails to elicit that kind of reaction from his biggest fan. She almost smiles fondly at the thought if not for the heavy feeling that spreads across her chest. Her mind drifts to a distant memory of the sleepless nights she used to share with him, heavy eyelids, phone pressed against one ear as she listens to Deku rattle on and on about the new limited edition All Might figurine he bought that day.

Oh, how she wished things were still like that.

“Do you think he’ll have us perform in pairs again?” Iida’s question plops additional weight on her chest, I certainly hope not.

Todoroki lifts his attention from his soba and places it on Deku and Ochako, “If that were the case, I’m confident that Midoriya and Uraraka would finish in record time just like before.” Ochako instinctively glances at Deku and he follows suit, but they look away just as quickly. If there was one thing that this conversation did not need, it was the awkwardness that already plagued Deku and Ochako’s relationship. It also didn’t need the dreadful silence that immediately follows, occupying their table as if it were a fifth person sitting alongside them.

Iida looked as if he’d much rather be anywhere than to be seated between her and Deku while Ochako tried her very best not to make a face that screamed she’d rather not be in this table at all. Todoroki, as usual, is clueless about the new atmosphere he had brought down upon the table, he takes another bite out of the soba that reminded Ochako of her own legs, had she not been sitting down right now, it would’ve been an impossible task for her to stand upright.

“Yeah,” Deku says softly, “I’m sure we would.”

A part of Ochako thanked him for breaking the painful silence gripping both of their necks, the other part of her sank in a vicious pool of guilt. Deku had always been the one making a conscious effort in trying to patch up the relationship that had both of them speechless around one another and even if they had something to say, it wouldn’t make it past the confines of your regular greeting or anything school related, on the field or within the classroom.

An image of Deku’s text from last night flashes in her mind, it had no more than 10 words, but it was the most they had ever spoken to one another after what happened last year. Hey, are you okay? You don’t usually sleep in class. Once again, it was Deku who takes the first step. She wished she had more to say than just I’m okay, but she had nothing. What’s worse is that she lied, of course she wasn’t okay, but would she really admit that to anyone, let alone him?

Ochako would have sunk deeper into guilt if it weren’t for Todoroki once again speaking up to point out something she had almost forgotten about.

“Uraraka, Mr. Aizawa called you in his office the other day,” he begins, putting his chopsticks down. Ochako feels her breath hitch at the unexpected mention of her meeting with Aizawa, the weight of her guilt suddenly exploding into confetti inside her gut the minute her thoughts fly back to Bakugo like persistent flies on a moldy sandwich. She was going to get whiplash because of all the shifts in emotion this clueless, soba-loving boy was inflicting upon her.

Todoroki’s gaze focuses on her, “Bakugo was also summoned not long before, are these two events related in some way?” he asks as if it were the 17th century and he was a king questioning his subjects. She thought that she had already escaped every possibility of talking about Bakugo but here it comes barging into the conversation like the metric ton wrecking ball that it was.

She knew that if she told them the entirety of her conversation with Aizawa, she’d only make her friends worry about her more than they already should. She even has yet to tell them about the part time job she took about a month ago at a small cafe in a nearby town to help cover her father’s medical expenses, not to mention the huge decline in income for their family’s business. The times when she had to book it to the train station the minute their last period ends were often explained to curious classmates as extra martial arts lessons with Gunhead, not that she has anything to show for it since she was probably washing cutlery during that time rather than learning how to do a proper axe kick with a pro hero.

She decides to keep her answer brief so as to not give anything away, “I’m gonna be having tutoring sessions with Bakugo from now on.” Thinking about it in her head, the idea never really struck her as something peculiar, but hearing it from her own voice for the first time with her closest friends as her audience, she realizes how weird it actually sounded.

To her surprise, Deku is the first to react, “Kacchan?” The way he said it didn’t sound like he disagreed with the idea, he just sounded genuinely surprised.

“That’s...unusual” Todoroki points out. It’s not like Ochako could deny that, the last person anybody would consider to be capable of helping someone understand what a definite integral was would be Bakugo.

“Well,” Iida interjects, “as um unusual as the idea may be, I believe it would be a wonderful opportunity for you, Uraraka.” Ochako wanted to hug the boosters out of Iida right then and there, but he wasn’t finished yet, “But was there...,” he trails off for a while.

“...Another option?” Shoto finishes.

“Well, Iida and Momo are already helping Kaminari, Jirou, and Mina, while Deku--,” she pauses. For a moment, she had forgotten that Deku was sitting one seat apart from her, and now he was learning about how she had considered being tutored by him instead. “uh Deku...was already busy training with All Might.” Her eyes dart to anywhere except for Deku’s direction.

“What about me?” Todoroki offers, “I’d be more than willing to tutor you.”

Ochako considers this for a short while before remembering how much it was necessary for Bakugo to be the one who tutors her, “No! I mean--I appreciate it, really I do, but,” Her eyes quickly dart to Bakugo’s table before focusing on Todoroki once more, “I’m okay with this.”

Todoroki studies her for another second or two before replying, “I see,” he picks up his chopsticks and points them towards her, “If you’ve already set your mind to it, then I will no longer push the idea.” He punctuates his sentence with a slurp of soba.

“Bakugo is a consistent top student, yes, though he can be a bit--,” Iida clears his throat, “ill-mannered and quite...loud.” He turns to Ochako, the same concerned expression taking over his face once more, “Are you sure about this?”

This makes her think. Bakugo surely wasn’t the most pleasant person to be around nor was he someone she was over the moon to be learning one on one from. Despite this, she was at least 95% sure about her decision since she believed that everybody can learn a thing or two from anybody, even from a piece of work such as Bakugo Katsuki and as if to read her mind, “Kacchan can be difficult to get along with, but I think that there’s a lot Uraraka can learn from him.” Deku adds, “I don’t think his attitude should overshadow the fact that he’s an amazing person, and maybe someone who could be just as amazing as a mentor.”

It’s been almost two years since Ochako had first met Deku, but it still never fails to amaze her whenever he praises Bakugo like this. She’s heard stories from when Deku and Bakugo were still in middle school, but they would always be told in a way where it would never be truly complete. Then again, it was Deku she was hearing it from. Ochako doesn’t think she would ever truly come to understand how tough those times must have been on him, but even that won’t stop Deku from listing all the things about Bakugo that he deemed amazing.

It was this sentiment from Deku that gave her the strength she needed to face Deku head on with a small smile, “Yeah.”

The boys eventually tangent to a conversation about Present Mic’s lecture when Ochako’s gaze finds its way to Bakugo’s table once again. Bakugo had Kirishima’s arm hooked around his neck and a deep scowl on his face that made her wonder how Kirishima was still alive and breathing, moreover, how his arm was still attached to his body. Despite this though, she somehow already knew the answer. Bakugo was someone who could blast your head off if you looked at him the wrong way, but at the same time he was also the kind of person who would push a friend to their limits no matter how much they tell themselves that they can’t do it. He’d be the type of person who would take absolutely no shit from anyone because he'd be too busy being the best version of himself he could be.

Bakugo’s scowl morphs into a grin in response to Mina hitting Kaminari upside the head and it sends a flutter to 3 different parts of her stomach. It’s probably the lack of food in her stomach right now, she should really get to eating.

Watching the captivating dynamic of the neighboring table, Ochako can’t help but wonder if he was asked the same question as her by his friends. Had he told them about her? What did they have to say, nevermind, what did he have to say?

She doesn't realize that she’s been staring for too long when Bakugo looks over to actually catch her staring. Ochako doesn’t know what possessed her to decide not to look the other way, but she doesn’t. Bakugo narrows his eyes as if to say The hell are you lookin’ at? and before her heart could leap out of her chest and yell at her to look away, she finally does. She lets out a heavy breath, not knowing she was holding hers the whole time.

---

The day goes by as it usually does, the only notable thing about it being the bomb disarming activity they had during hero training. Fortunately, All Might didn’t throw them into pairs again, this time grouping the class into teams of 4, her teammates being Iida, Momo, and Tokoyami. The reason for the increase of allies was due to the presence of civilians/dummies they had to evacuate while simultaneously having to disarm the bomb.

Iida stayed true to his word and beat his previous record, Ochako didn’t have much time to celebrate because she was already running to the nearest dumpster to hurl her guts out. Bakugo’s team however had the best time out of everyone, not that anyone was surprised by this, but the way he did it was what stuck with her the most.

Normally, a team’s initial strategy would be to evacuate the civilians first before dealing with the bomb itself, it’s that or the team would split up to tend to the civilians while another faction disarms the bomb. Bakugo’s strategy was to just simply allocate all manpower to disarm the bomb right off the bat and when accused of not cooperating with his team to get the other part of the job done he says, “Why would I waste my time evacuating civilians when I could just disarm the damn thing so no one would even need to be evacuated, fucking morons.”

His statement didn’t sit well with most of the class, but Ochako knew that Bakugo didn’t just do that for the sake of being selfish and arrogant, he did what he knew was the best option to take and no one could have seen it that way except for Bakugo.

Ochako’s thoughts subside and her attention returns to the sound of her footsteps bouncing off the empty halls of UA as she made her way to the room indicated on the schedule clutched in her hand, Mr. Aizawa had already made arrangements to allot an empty classroom for them to study in. She turns a corner and she spots Bakugo on his phone leaning against the doorway, already there waiting for her. The faint glow of the setting sun paints the hallway a soft shade of orange, wisps of Bakugo’s hair form shadows on the sharp features of his face. He looked at peace. Bakugo looks up at her, blood-red eyes holding her in place. Ochako could have sworn he had some kind of hidden quirk that paralyzed people dead on their tracks.

“Took you long enough.”

#kacchako #kacchako fic #kacchako fanfiction #kacchako fluff #kacchako slowburn #kacchako week 2020 #kacchako week #bakuraka #bakuraka week #bakugou katsuki #katsuki bakugo #bakugo x uraraka #ao3 #ao3 kacchako #mha ochako #urakara ochako #bnha #bnha fanfiction #mha

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catquarry · 4 years

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Wavedwhelk’s FMA Fic Masterlist

IN ALL MY YEARS IN THE FMA FANDOM I HAVE NEVER MADE A FIC RECOMMENDATION LIST....Well I decided it was about time to fix that

This is what I’ve compiled in the last 9 years. A few of the fics are deleted but reuploaded by me (or others) so the reading format might be a little wonky

Also none of these feature ships (if they do it’s really mild edwin or royai)

PDF version of this list can be found here

Fic Status Key

Active - Updates reliably (Once every 1-3 months or more)

Dormant - Fic updates, but sporadically (Once every 4-12 months) with occasional updates from the author on other websites

MIA - Fic hasn’t been updated in more than 12 months and there’s no updates from the author

Dead - The fic hasn’t been updated in 2 or more years and the author seems to have moved on

Complete - The fic is complete

Harry Potter/Fullmetal Alchemist Crossovers

Circulus by Phenobarbital

Official Summary:

They're still not sure exactly how they ended up on the magic side of a place called London, but Edward and Roy are not new to dealing with the unexpected.

Needing to find a way back to Amestris, back to their own time, together they figure out how magic energy works, and how it can work for them specifically and in the end, the decision to go to Hogwarts is a mutual one. Edward will have to go to high school and Roy will have to get used to using a wand.

Neither of them are prepared for what they find at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry.

There are secrets, liars, murderers and too many people with very dangerous agendas, no one seems trustworthy, so naturally they should stick together...

...but then Ed starts lying to Roy.

My Thoughts:

THIS IS HONESTLY MY FAVORITE FIC. I don’t want to spoil anything but everyone is written SO well and the plot goes far beyond the standard “FMA characters stuck in the HP world”. Ed’s also kind of evil (partly an act and partly for real in his own Ed way) and that ups the suspense significantly. Basically if you’re not going to read anything else on this list PLEASE read this one

Fic Status: Dormant

Warnings: Tags mention pairings that will be revealed in the future, but for now nothing’s definitive

The Colours of the World by MiaKusakabe

Official Summary:

When Roy Mustang went to retrieve his eyesight from Truth, he wasn’t expecting to end up doing a job in exchange. It couldn’t even be an easy job, of course, because Edward’s assessment of Truth was a pretty accurate one.

My Thoughts:

THIS IS MY FAVORITE ROY OUT OF ANY FMA FIC. GOD he is written so well here. Unlike most of the other fics here, Roy willingly chooses to go into the HP world, and because of that there’s less stress on Roy trying to get home and more on him living in the world and working around it. Overall a really incredible fic and I highly highly suggest reading it

Fic Status: Dormant - Occasional updates on the authors patreon

Harry Potter and the Eastern Sage by LiteratureWork

Official Summary:

Nicholas Flamel was famous for creating the philosopher's stone, but like Lockhart's smile it was all a lie. Flamel stole a part of the stone and it took Edward 642 years to get it back along with the souls inside of it, one which was his brother. But after traveling to Hogwarts to retrieve it, Dumbledore has other plans for the ancient hero.

My Thoughts:

A REALLY interesting take on a HP/FMA crossover. It’s a half-AU where Ed turns into a Philosopher’s Stone at the end of FMA:B (with everyone from Amestris in the stone) and him being flung into the Harry Potter world. The author put a lot of time into worldbuilding and carefully weaving Ed into the HP universe so it seems completely normal that he’s lived in that world for 1,000 years

Fic Status: Dormant

Cerulean Silver vs Amber Gold by hikaranko

Official Summary:

Edward Elric has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Everyone else calls it undercover work. To Ed, it's babysitting. But there's more to this assignment than what's on file…

My Thoughts:

A lighter and more fun HP/FMA crossover that centers around Ed and Draco’s interactions. Draco hates Ed and Ed hates his job basically. Not super plot heavy, but the character interactions makes up for it

Fic status: Dormant - Being rewritten on AO3

About a Boy by EstaJay

Official Summary:

Portkeyed away on the night of his parents' murder, Harry Potter grows up as Roy Mustang. Magic is nothing more than another one of his aunt's stories but after the Promised Day, his past catches up to him. With the Elrics suddenly in London and his dormant magic finally and violently revealing itself, it's a cross continent journey to get the brothers back. If only wizard transportation didn't involve so many explosions…

My Thoughts:

Was really unsure about this fic initially - the premise just seems too farfetched to enjoy, but after the first chapter you realize the author put in a lot of time to make sure Roy/Harry and the rest of the cast stayed in character. I think it’s a really cool twist on the standard HP/FMA crossover formula and definitely worth a read

Fic Status: Dormant

Penance by Laora

Official Summary:

The Gate was opening; the black arms stretched toward him and Pride. Ed knew he had no say in the matter. He would be pulled to this parallel dimension, alternate universe—whatever it was—and Amestris would be left to die. Truth merely grinned.

My Thoughts:

It’s been a couple years since I read this, but I remember I really liked the twist that Pride was stuck in the HP universe along with Ed and Al

Fic Status: Complete

Playing God by The Flamel Cult

Official Summary:

I thought the dull aching was something other than my demise. As it turned out, I was sorely mistaken. Perhaps I should listen to Alphonse more; maybe then there wouldn't be another bloody tragedy that would, inevitably, end it all. For good.

My Thoughts:

There’s a twist in this fic that I LOVE, and while I refuse to spoil it I suggest reading just to find out what it is. It rocked my world the first time I read and I’m pretty sure I cried for like 3 days

Fic Status: Complete

Warnings: I haven’t read this since 2013/2014, so just be warned if you decide to check it out

Other Crossovers

More Than Just a Murder by AkitaFallow

CSI/Fullmetal Alchemist Crossover

Official Summary:

As bodies pile up and evidence remains scarce, the CSI team has to fight against increasingly strange circumstances and an even stranger suspect in order to solve what is likely the most complicated case they have ever encountered.

My Thoughts:

I know this seems like a weird premise but hear me out: this fic will Change Your Life. It’s so incredibly well written and the character development is phenomenal. If you don’t like CSI (I personally didn’t when I started reading) you can easily substitute random forensic scientists in and it works just as well. The real sell to this fic is watching Ed stumble through 2009 Las Vegas lmao

Fic Status: Complete

Warnings: This fic follows FMA 2003 ONLY, so if you haven’t seen that yet I highly suggest waiting to read.

AU’s (Alternate Universes)

Disorient by Esama

Official Summary:

Who was he, what had happened to him, why did he have automail - and how was he there, in the past?

My Thoughts:

One of the best time travel fics I’ve ever read from any fandom. There’s so much time put in to fleshing out Ed’s new character (Nicholas) as well as his relationship with the younger version of Al and himself. Less plot heavy and focuses more on the day to day life of Resembool with Nicholas there

Type of AU: Time Travel + Amnesia

Fic Status: Dead

Warnings: This was a fic that got deleted in 2012 that I managed to grab before it was gone. If this list goes outside of my own circle and the original author wants me to remove this I will gladly do so (just message me @wavedwhelk on twitter or tumblr).

A Boy Named Ed by BelloftheSea

Official Summary:

Ed knew he was different. It wasn't just that he was smarter than the other kids or even that he had automail. No, it had more to do with the way people would occasionally look at him, like they were expecting somebody else. It was the way his mechanic cried the day she met him. It was the way his dad would sometimes slip – and call him Fullmetal.

My Thoughts:

What I really love about this fic is that it’s a reincarnation AU that makes SENSE in the FMA universe - it doesn’t give a half-assed reason for why it happened, but rather works within the confines of the universe. Also I really love watching Ed go to school and pretend to try and be a normal kid while hiding the fact that he’s the Fullmetal Alchemist

Type of AU: Reincarnation (kind of)

Fic Status: Dead

My Master Ed by Blue Teller

Official Summary:

Slave number Twenty Three didn't know what to make of his new Master. The strange boy was nothing like other slave owners. Short on both height and temper, yet strangely kind to him, Master Ed seemed to know something about him that he didn't himself. Just what was it?

My Thoughts:

One of the best fics that takes place in the Xerxes time period IMO. I don’t want to spoil too much but you see a lot of the consequences for Ed’s actions and it can get really really intense (but in the best way)

Fic Status: Dormant

Type of AU: Time Travel

Warnings: This gets surprisingly deep. Prepare Yourself

Men and Angels by Laora

Official Summary:

Trisha can't understand; she's terrified, but she has to stay calm. Her boys are gone, replaced by her sons from the future...and something, she knows, is terribly wrong.

My Thoughts:

A time travel fic that changes time for both current Ed/Al AND past Ed/Al (when they were 6). I think my favorite part from this fic has got to be how Mustang’s team reacts to (and tries to take care of) the frightened baby Elric’s. There isn’t a ton of plot but the character interactions drive this fic - if you care deeply about these characters you’ll really enjoy this

Type of AU: Time Travel

Fic Status: Complete

we haunt ourselves by sekalaista

Official Summary:

"There's something funny about that kid," Maes says. "I just can't put my finger on it."

My Thoughts:

Literal perfection jam packed into 1000 words

Type of AU: Canon divergence

Fic Status: Complete

and then it wasn't by GentleTouchGinger

Official Summary:

When Roy notices his smartest student is struggling, he does some snooping and discovers some startling truths about his home life.

My Thoughts:

Probably one of the best modern AU’s that I’ve found so far for FMA. It follows a pretty normal structure (Ed and Al are in foster homes, Roy notices something’s wrong, etc etc), but the character’s are kept true to their in-canon personalities and the plot is interesting enough to keep you on your toes. Also I cried once I finished reading it so there’s that

Type of AU: Modern/School AU

Fic Status: Complete

Truth Revealed by Fallen Crest

Official Summary:

A lesson without pain is meaningless...to save their future, they will suffer through the truth. Brought to a room to view FMA:Brotherhood, the FMAB characters learn the dark secrets that surround Amestris. Follow the drama, the suspense, the laughs, the friendships that grow, and the pain they suffer in exchange as their future is laid out before their eyes.

My Thoughts:

I’m actually right in the middle of reading this right now (it’s 2,500+ pages…...be ready) and it’s SO fun. Not really the kind of fic I ever expected myself to like, but everyone’s in character enough to enjoy their reactions and the interactions in between watching. The pain factor also makes things more interesting. Overall I really suggest checking this out even if it seems like something you wouldn’t enjoy

Type of AU: Characters reacting to the show

Fic Status: Dead (Destroyed by copyright)

Warnings: This fic was taken down due to copyright, but luckily some people managed to save it and upload a download link

Project Rainbow by Missy Skywalker

Official Summary:

It took him coughing up blood on five different occasions for Edward Elric to finally give in and see a doctor.

My Thoughts:

I cried for 2 hours after I read this and that’s all I’m saying

Type of AU: Ishvalan!Ed and Al

Fic Status: Complete

Number Twenty Eight by Sevlow

Official Summary:

As of today, Edward Elric had been missing for four months, two weeks, and five days.

My Thoughts:

I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW DARK THIS FIC GETS. It’s probably the darkest FMA fic I’ve been able to sit through in its entirety. WITH THAT BEING SAID...if you can manage to read it all it ends on a happy note. I don’t want to spoil too much but basically: Ed gets kidnapped, experimented on, and turned into a dog chimera

Type of AU: Chimera!Ed

Fic Status: Complete

Warnings: REALLY DARK, mentions of rape (not explicit or shown), animal death

Misanthropical by nebluus

Official Summary:

Alfonse and Eduard are best friends living in Germany. When an experiment gone wrong brings in a new yet familiar face, it will be up to them to get their friend home...and not get killed in the process.

My Thoughts:

I ended up finding this fic back in 2012 but it’s surprisingly held up pretty well. It was unfortunately abandoned pretty quickly into its plot, but the worldbuilding that’s there is really interesting and makes it worth it to read

Type of AU: Dimension Travel

Fic Status: Dead

Warnings: This fic takes place in the FMA 2003 universe ONLY, so if you haven’t watched that I highly suggest you don’t read yet!

General Fics/Non-AU’s

Firstfruits by toosolidcuuj

Official Summary:

For the past eleven years, Edward Elric has been raising his family and recovering from the Promised Day. Some memories are easier to talk about than others, but he's made his peace with them. Of course the one that comes back to haunt him is the one he tried to forget about completely.

My Thoughts:

This fic treats the topic of rape with nuance; the author admits that they don’t struggle with PTSD, but have reached out and done as much research as they can on the subject. I ended up really liking this fic for what it was setting out to do and what it accomplished, and while I did find it difficult to read at times due to the subject matter I still found myself appreciating it

Fic Status: MIA

Warnings: This fic deals with the trauma that comes along with rape, however it’s never described in detail and the focus is solely on how the character copes with it. Please mind the tags and rating (mature)

Skin Deep by Batsitousai

Official Summary:

Trisha and Van's first child, Edith, was born a beautiful, healthy girl. The only problem? Ed knew he was a boy.

My Thoughts:

IM SUCH A SUCKER FOR TRANS ED I don’t want to say too much but I found it really heartwarming (especially the conversations between Mustang/Hawkeye and Ed) and just overall a really strong fic

Fic Status: Complete

Anything but Normal by DAsObiQuiet

Official Summary:

Fifteen years after the Promised Day, Selim Baker leads a life like any normal human. Then an attempt on his life throws his world into chaos and begins to show him just how much of a monster he really is.

My Thoughts:

I’m not usually one to read fic’s that don’t revolve around the protagonists, but this peaked my interest enough to check it out. The author does an amazing job in fleshing out Selim (both his human side and Homunculus side) and it’s interesting to see how Selim reacts to things post-canon

Fic Status: Complete

An Overbearing Legacy by Missy Skywalker

Official Summary:

Elicia Hughes was tired of trying to live up to her father's reputation, so on the night of her thirteenth birthday, she decided to run away. Luckily, she gets interrupted by someone who knows what losing a parent is like.

My Thoughts:

I don’t have a ton to say but I found this fic really sweet and I enjoyed getting to see some character development in an older version of Elysia

Fic Status: Complete

At the Very Ports We Blow by baka deshi

Official Summary:

Edward Elric has made his way to the University of Munich, where he faces a new challenge in the eerily familiar face of his peer and colleague, Alfons Heiderich. There's just one problem: the two of them have to get along.

My Thoughts:

This has gotta be one of my favorite CoS compliant fics. I really love the idea that Alfons and Ed actually hate each other leading up to the events of CoS and have to actively work on themselves and their friendship before they can work on the rockets

Fic Status: Complete

Warnings: This fic follows FMA 2003 ONLY. If you have not seen it, I highly suggest waiting to read.

Where The Corners Meet by sahrmael

Official Summary:

The year is 1934. The change in the Amestrian government has finally brought great peace and prosperity to the nation. But one eager boy, the son of former State Alchemist Edward Elric, has made it his duty to uncover the tragedies of his father's past, and to correct the mistakes of his own.

My Thoughts:

Like the warning says, I remember really liking this fic, but since I haven’t read it since 2012 I can’t remember if there’s anything weird in it or not. I’ll reread it soon to make sure

Fic Status: Dead

Warnings: I haven’t read this fic since 2012 and debated whether or not I should even add it on here, however I remember REALLY liking it back then so I ultimately decided to. Basically proceed with caution because I can’t remember all of what happens in this fic

#fma #fmab #edward elric #fma03 #Please enjoy this took like 3 hours last night #Me @ tumblr as I slink back to twitter and never check this website again: You Do Not Perceive Me

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suicidalcatz · 5 years

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DOG DAYS ARE OVER : CHAP 14

Pairing : Jake Kiszka x reader

Genre : College AU

Previous parts : Prologue ; Chap 1 ; Chap 2 ; Chap 3 ; Chap 4 ; Chap 5 ; Chap 6 ; Chap 7 ; Chap 8 ; Chap 9 ; Chap 10 ; Chap 11 ; Chap 12 ; Chap 13

Masterlist : Here

AN : Hey guys! Sorry I’m late, I’m super excited about this chapter, you’ll know why soon! Starting from now I rushed things a bit because I figured you’ll get impatient by now (47 pages with this chapter). This takes place just after the end of Part 13 ! Please please tell me what you thought of it, I’m excited to read your comments! On a sad note, I’m late on my chapters so I won’t be able to keep the rythmn of 2 updates per week. Thank you for all your love and support it warms my heart and pushes me to always do my best !

Chapter 14 : Is this your gift ?

The evening went on pleasantly, as always when we were together. Mandy told us about her making out with a boy at New Year's Eve and awful uncle jokes at Christmas. Josh shared more embarrassing highschool stories from the time he was a theater kid, that Jake obviously wasn't aware of until now. The long haired guitarist seemed to feel better now, or at least his mind was focusing on something else than his breakup, adding his contribution to Josh's anecdotes and laughing alongside us when his brother shared some shameful memories of him. Both of us were tightly wrapped on a blanket after having dried ourselves the best we could. I could still feel the fabric of my dress sticking to my skin in an uncomfortable way, whereas Jake didn't bother further with his damp shirt and had completely removed it for a new one. It was his room after all. And just for the record, the knowing smile Josh had given me when his brother was shirtless had been enough to prevent me from peaking.

When night dusked on us, the boys not only decided to serve eggnog and hot tea/coffee to keep us warm, but also to get their respective guitars out of their cases, owning surprised glances from Mandy and I.

- Do you own a guitar, Josh ?

- Now I know last time I said playing the guitar wasn't one of my many talents, but with the help of Jakey here, he gestured, I think it's safe to say it is now.

- Yeah let's not get ahead of ourselves here, added the brunette.

Sitting on the carpet with my cup of hot tea/coffee warming my hands and the blanket still on my shoulders, I let my back rest against Jake's bed while intently watching him place his accoustic guitar on his thighs, making sure it was in tune. Seeing Josh study his brother while imitating him like a good student made me smile, it was a cute sight. He was very serious about it, they both were about music, there was no denying that. The boys must've played this song before because no one exchanged a word on what they were about to play and yet when Jake whispered « 1, 2, 3, 4... » and began playing, Josh joined in the soft and slow melody, letting it caress our ears. The cosy atmosphere instantly put me at ease, the warmth and softness of the blanket in addition to the boys playing together was about to lull me to sleep. It was Jake's singing voice that put me out of my drowse. Similar to his brother yet lower and rougher, less experienced and more hesitant. His eyes stayed on his guitar strings when he sang the first lyrics of John Lennon's Happy Xmas, while I kept watching him, mouth slightly agape. Josh joined in, his singing experience more fitted to sing the acute and angelic's choir part, as he continued to glance at his brother's fingers dancing on the strings to make sure he was doing it right. The boy looked so proud by the end of the song, biting his lip with an expecting glance that made Mandy and I applaud and congratulate him.

- Okay, you're making me blush, let's listen to some music !

As time went by, Josh was getting a little bit too excited about the gifts under the tree. Like a child, he would pass by it multiple times, eyes hypnotized by the colorful wrapping paper and the ribbons on top, trying to guess what was inside. It's when Jake had finally enough of seeing him circle around them like a Christmas vulture (his words, not mine) that he declared it was time for us to exchange presents. And as I should've known, Josh was more excited about Mandy and I receiving our gifts than the other way around. He wanted to see our faces so much he had prepared his polaroïd camera for the occasion. Was it that good ? His eagerness and enthusiasm got into me and I could barely wait for him to be ready when he handed us both a small, messily wrapped, rectangular package. Once he was crouching in front of us with his face glued to the camera, Josh announced for us to start unwrapping. Decorating gifts really wasn't part of his qualifications. Everything fell apart when I pulled the ribbon, the paper opening its folds around my hand like a flower, delicately displaying the present in its heart. It was a black, red and green CD titled Greta Van Fleet, the name of their band. Seeking answers, my head shot up to Josh flashing my confused figure, while Jake simply smiled behind his cup of tea.

- You guys it's an album... W-When ? How ?

- Just to be clear, it's not a big deal, clarified Jake.

Josh put his camera aside, his bashful look glancing up from Mandy to me, before nervously scratching the back of his neck.

- Remember when you said you wanted to hear our songs again ? Well we had planned to record ourselves someday anyway so these are for you.

My heart instantly began to grow warm as a large grin spread itself on my lips, eyes fixated on the CD, the design of it, and the songs' titles. It made me so incredibly happy and giggly that they had thought about it, and took the time to make a copy for Mandy and I. And I was so proud of them for being so passionate about their music. Even if Jake made clear it wasn't anything official nor important, it still was so effing cool to hold their first album into my own two hands. I couldn't wait to listen to it, and put the tracks on my phone to keep me company during my mornings in the workshop.

- Thank you so much, I smiled before hugging them both.

- How can you even find the time to record an album ? On a Christmas Holiday !

Mandy's comment made them laugh, but she was right, the boys couldn't stay home without something to do, or so it seemed. We didn't define a particular order for the gifts so Mandy offered hers after Josh, throwing a small and soft package to him, and handing the heavy one that was Jake's. Colorful kneesocks and a bottle of whisky, which they didn't wait to try on, of course. Josh immediately got into the kitchen to change to shorts so we could see his socks, and Jake poured himself a glass of whisky, switching between his two glasses.

- Okay doll, your turn.

- So, just in case you were wondering, Mandy and I already exchanged gifts because we saw each other during the holidays, I explained while handing them both a neatly wrapped package. So these are yours.

Seeing the boys squeeze and shake the gifts to try and figure what was inside made me more nervous than I had anticipated. I looked sheepish, in the middle of the room, sitting on the ground with my butt on my ankles, patiently waiting for them to stop with the suspenseful atmosphere and just rip the paper off their gifts. Josh was the first to give in to curiosity and was in my arms the next moment, thanking me for the gloves. It seemed like my friend and I raised the same concern about Josh's winter attire. Like he did with her, the boy kissed my cheek before trying them on, while Mandy took pictures, letting the polaroïd photos fall on the comfy carpet. Turning my head to Jake sitting on his bed, I couldn't really decipher his expression. A tiny black box was open in his hand, eyes caressing the ring on it like he wouldn't dare touching it. Suddenly feeling bashful, I understood it was time for me to explain myself regarding my choice of gifts, so I stood up, and carefully took place next to him.

- You forgot your rings at my dorm the other day, I said softly. I always see you wearing tons of them, so I figured I'd take this opportunity to buy you a new one... and also because the black one fell behind the fridge and I can't get it.

A small, nervous giggle escaped my throat. I wanted him to know that, like their album, it wasn't a big deal. I hadn't given it much thought when I chose to buy him a ring, there was no promise nor engagement behind it, just... Me thinking he would like another one of those. Or did I ? Interromping my rambling, Jake's hand squeezed my thigh and his eyes found mine, face affectionate, smile warm.

- Thank you. I love it.

My face grew uncomfortably hot as we just stared at each other, with his long calloused fingers resting on my knee, long enough for me to start squirming on the bed. This sudden proximity was already making me a nervous wreck, so I abruptly stood up, nearly knocking my head on Josh's bed in the process.

- Right, your rings, here.

Opening his hand, I placed the three of them in it, enjoying the feeling of my fingers caressing his, before turning on my heels to get another drink. The other two must've noticed, because in the corner of my eye I saw them exchanging a knowing yet skittish glance. And I didn't even wanted to think about what these gremlins were up to, not that I had the time to do so anyway because it was Jake's turn to get on his feet and grab his paper bag, placing thin boxes in Mandy and I's hands. Already knowing what he bought my roommie, I waited a bit to see her reaction when opening the box. And her reaction to the jewelry was great, she screamed excitedly, jumped and hugged Jake in a tight embrace but... I kept staring at the silver bracelet Josh was tying for her while confusion swept over me. It wasn't the one he had chosen.

- Won't you open yours ?

Jake's low voice was in my ear, making it instantly redden as if every part of my body agreed to fall under his charm. Doe eyed and taken aback by his sudden closeness, Jake’s hands found mine, making them slide on the smooth material, guiding them to open the box, glancing up at me when they did, studying my reaction. When my eyes landed on the gift, the thumping of my heart was so loud I got scared for a second he could hear me. It was the necklace he bought the other day. Even more confused, I searched in his brown pupils for an answer I didn't receive, fingertips shakily holding the box.

- Do you want me to put it on for you ?, his husky voice murmured.

Maybe my body went on auto pilot mode because the next thing I knew, his fingertips delicately put my hair back and caressed the sensitive skin of my neck to attach the purple necklace, his hair tickling me in the process. Jake took a moment to admire the sight in front of him, a smile on his face.

- I was right, it looks good on you.

- Thank you, I murmured, feeling shy.

It was all too overwelming. The present, our newfound intimacy, his gaze scrutinizing me, his breakup... It made me feel several ways all at once, something I wasn't quite ready for, and hadn't expected when I came here to party with friends. Josh must've known about the Mina situation because he didn't interfere once this evening, letting us grow accustomed to each other's presence, trying to test the waters like two strays encountering each other in the purest way imaginable. Like we were meeting for the first time. And while we kept looking into each other's eyes for an unspoken truth, the sound of music woke us from our transe. Josh had begun chanting along the slow song, quietly but confidently, sharing the joint he had lit up with Mandy, taking her hand in his, making her sway gently in the room.

Stars shining bright above you,

Night breezes seem to whisper « I love you ».

Birds singing in the sycamore trees,

Dream a little dream of me.

We watched them dance in silence in the dimmed lit room before Jake offered me his hand, the ring I had bought him reflecting the candles' light, shining bright. I gave him mine, and his arm found its way in the small of my back, pressing our bodies closer to each other, eyes never leaving mine. My dress was still a little bit damp, but he didn't seem to care, more engrossed in making me sway smoothly than everything else. And my whole being was so captivated by him that I couldn't care less about anything else happening around us. We were in our own little bubble, Josh's voice the only thing reminding us we weren't the only two people in the world. I didn't know how long it lasted, probably 3 to 4 minutes, the lenght of the song, but my eyes kept looking at him, lost in the brown ocean of his pupils. His embrace kept me warm, both inside and out, and I couldn't help a sheepish grin from adorning my features, showcasing the blush on my cheeks. Too absorbed himself, Jake sometimes bumped against furniture, or tripped on the carpet, but then we smiled, and continued dancing. I could tell we both were at ease with each other, his touch felt natural, like our skins were meant to connect. It made me think of the last time we were here together, on his bed, sharing our knowledge about stars and comets. The only star I could see now was him, shining oh so bright just in front of me, beautiful.

It all came to a stop when the song ended, filling the room with silence. Our eye contact continued, intense and questionning, as we got back to Earth, arms still tangled together. From afar, I could hear Josh changing the record, talking to Mandy, but everything seemed like a distant mumble to my ears.

- Would you mind ?

It was Josh, shaking us awake, making us hurriedly let go of each other as if we just realized what was going on. We were still baffled when he took Jake by the shoulders to move us away from the desk, opening the drawers in need of something all of a sudden.

- Oh !, exclaimed Mandy.

We all jerked our heads to her, hiding her giggles behind her hand in a girly way. Josh followed, an awfully wide toothy grin stretching his lips. Jake, like me, looked positively confused. Was my dress damaged ? Did I fuck up and didn't realize ? Like he had thought the same, the long haired boy looked at me, without finding anything, before Josh took place next to Mandy, backed against the drawer holding the records, joint in hand. Mine raised in a questionning manner, not understanding why they were serving us the big mischevious smirks.

As an answer, Josh slowly pointed his index to the ceiling. Mistletoe.

- You know the rule.

My whole body shook with embarrassment, not knowing how Jake would react and not really wanting to know either. Refusing to meet his gaze, I kept mine fixated on the ground while he studied the branch hanging out from a string, dangling above our heads like it was mocking us. Oh how I always hated those situations. All of them including a cute boy that would probably refuse to kiss me, without sparing me the shame of his rejection. I had to cut this awkward moment short.

- We're not forced, I murmured, if you don't want to then I-

- Who says I don't want to ?

That left me mouth agape. Jake didn't let my brain any time to process any of these informations before placing a hand to my jaw, brushing away the hair from my face, watching me carefully, silently asking for permission. My eyelids fluttered shut before I could even think, and in an instant, a soft and warm touch covered my lips, making me sigh deeply, releasing the breath I didn't know I was holding. My hand found his cheek at the same time his caressed the spot behind my ear, and his scent filled my nostrils. My heart was about to leap from my ribcage, and the simple sensation of his lips against mine made my knees turn to jelly. My head was filled with fireworks. I felt so small and vulnerable yet so safe in his arms, I never wanted for it to stop. During several seconds, we shared a chaste kiss, that lasted maybe more than was initially intentionned. Slowly, painfully so, I felt Jake's soft lips separating from their playmates, sighing, as we shared a shaky breath, opening our eyes to discover the other's face. I could tell in his gaze that something had clicked. His eyes were staring at me behind heavy lids, a sparkle I never saw before twinkling, watching me as if he was rediscovering me all over again while Bruce Springsteen's Fire played softly in the background.

You say you don't love me

But you can't hide your desire

When we kiss

Ooh... Fire.

#Greta Van Fleet #greta van fleet imagine #greta van fleet fanfic #greta van fleet fic #gvf imagine #gvf fanfic #gvf fic #gvf x reader #jake kiszka x reader #jake kiszka #jake kiszka imagine #jake kiszka fic #josh kiszka #josh kiszka fic

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katherineschoices · 5 years

Text

The Slowest Burn: Prologue

Dr. Ethan Ramsey knew that Dr. Katherine Petrovic’s career was more important their non-relationship. They worked side by side, existing in their own world until once again, the two doctors are forced to face the inevitable. Chapter: Prologue Word Count: ~1200 Pairing: Dr. Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

Prologue

Dr. Naveen Banerji’s new corner office was lit by a substantial amount of natural light. Boston was experiencing a rare cloudless sunny day; a harsh contrast to the uncomfortable energy inside the room.

It was hard to believe that only a few hours ago, Ethan Ramsey had been in a state of bliss; his arms wrapped around the woman he loved before forcing himself out of bed to go to work. It was Katherine’s day off and she wanted to study in peace; in his corner drop-in tub, he deeply suspected.

“I’m so sorry Naveen,” Ethan breathed as he stood rooted in the doorway. The door clicked shut softly behind him, and yet, he found himself unable to move.

“This isn’t like you Ethan,” he murmured; although his voice was calm, it was laced with heavy disappointment.

“I know.”

“And how long has this been going on?”

Dr. Ethan Ramsey remained silent as he forced himself to take the seat opposite of his mentor. His boss. The man before him was closed off. Hurt. Naveen was hiding the brunt of his emotions because he trusted them, and he felt betrayed. After all they had been through together...

“It … it’s complicated,” he stated lamely.

“You’re a world-renowned diagnostician,” Naveen retorted sarcastically without missing a beat. There wasn’t anything humorous in his expression. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Fast.”

He took a deep breath and spread his hands on his thighs to steady himself. "Dr. Petrovic and I kissed in Miami. I wouldn't let it go any further. Her career… that is what is most important. You must understand this, Naveen?"

"That lasted for how long…?" Naveen leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. His decision to not discuss Katherine’s status had not gone overlooked.

Ethan paled.

He could see it in the way that he wouldn’t meet his gaze. In the way the tips of his fingers were white as they pressed into his elbows. The way his mouth pressed into a thin line.

Naveen had been sitting on this revelation for several hours, unsure of how to breach the ethics complaint brought against his diagnostics dream team. If he hadn’t seen the cellphone photo that accompanied it, he wouldn’t have thought it true. Dr. Ethan Ramsey respected hospital policy. Like he, Dr. Ramsey saw the promise that Dr. Katherine Petrovic held. Dr. Petrovic had a gifted mind and a knack for finding medical needles in metaphorical haystacks; she was everything they could hope for in the next generation of medical practitioners. Her compassion and empathy were beyond her years.

This time, an ethics violation like this one would cause her to lose her license for sure. She remained on thin ice with the rest of the hospital’s administration. Her leash was short. Ethan would never be able to live with himself if she were unable to practice medicine because of him. He hand picked her for a good reason.

There was something about Katherine Petrovic that enraptured him. That made him feel things that he thought he wasn’t capable of.

“Until I quit and she was placed on suspension,” he admitted, holding his gaze. “Do what you must to do, Naveen. But do it to me and keep Katherine out it. I will not allow her career to be destroyed because of me.”

“You love her,” was all he said.

It wasn’t a question.

There was no question.

Of course he loved her. Without a doubt, Ethan knew he was in love with Katherine. His love for her extended beyond reason. It frightened him how much he loved her.

“I didn’t believe it at first. I don’t think I would have if I hadn’t seen the photo.” Naveen found his answer in his silence. “You and Dr. Petrovic have always been nothing but professional- at times, uncomfortably so- in my presence since she joined the diagnostics team. Your work ethic in this hospital has become legendary in such a short period, and then at the same time, I’ve seen you let her shout at you, Ethan. I suppose that mystery has been solved now, hasn’t it?”

Ethan swallowed the lump forming in his throat. His temper and lack of patience was notorious. Dr. Ramsey was used to getting his way. ‘No’ was a word that barely existed in his vocabulary.

Nor did it exist in Katherine’s. That was evident throughout her intern year. For as long as he could remember, he had to be the one who remained in control. All of that changed the minute he placed his hand on hers to make an incision into a woman’s pleural cavity.

He pushed.

She pulled.

She gave.

He took.

Nobody ever dared to shout back at him. But Katherine did. She matched him, in every way.

“She is why you’ve been … different recently.” This time, it was a statement. There was no question.

Naveen Banerji’s mind was as sharp as it ever was. Nothing slipped by him.

They should have told him. From the very beginning, they should have. In the back of his mind, it was something that Ethan always knew.

“Yes.” He said quietly. It was hard to not think of her in this moment; in his mind’s eye, she was walking around his apartment in his shirt; a book in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other, completely at ease. Completely unaware as to what was unfolding at Edenbrook.

His mentor exhaled through his nose and Ethan flinched. He could feel the disappointment radiating off of him. “If this were anyone else, Ethan… I try to not show preferential treatment. But you are like my own son. The son I never had.” A flash of sadness crossed over his features as he leaned forward and rested his arms on his desk. Naveen paused, choosing his next words carefully. “But, on the other hand, I am your boss, and you are a doctor under my employment. The leader of my diagnostics team. You’ve been entrusted with the livelihoods of others. I realize that this is Katherine we’re talking about, but you do understand what the ramifications would have been if she reported you? This isn’t just about her career.”

“Yes sir. I understand,” replied Ethan evenly. “That’s why I’m taking full responsibility-”

“This isn’t about you taking responsibility!” Naveen cut in harshly. His brown eyes flashed dangerously. “You’ve jeopardized the entire integrity of the team. The hospital. You’ve broken my trust. If anyone else saw- if this had gone badly- Ethan... I expected more from you.”

‘I’m sorry’ would never be enough. “I know,” he said instead. He kept his eyes focused on the dark, antique wood of Naveen’s desk, the pool of shame in his stomach was filling at a rapid pace and Ethan felt like he was going to be sick. His mind was running a mile a minute. Up until recently, Naveen Banerji had been the only person in his life whose opinion mattered to him.

Naveen broke away and dropped his head into his hands and pushed his glasses up his forehead as he rubbed his eyes. “If this were anyone else, you do realize, you two would be fired without question?” He didn’t look up. His voice was muffled.

“I do.”

A heavy silence fell over the two men that lasted for several minutes, each lost in his own thoughts. Ethan couldn’t bring himself to look at the other man. Not yet.

“I had dinner with Christopher Daley last week,” Naveen began. “He’s beginning the process for next year’s guest lecturer and asked for my input.”

Christopher Daley was the Dean of Harvard Medical School.

“The Harvard Medical School’s guest lecturer position is lucrative and incredible honour. This would be an incredible opportunity for you to influence the next generation of medicine. It is a 16-month term. I will approve your sabbatical for the duration. This will give Dr. Petrovic time to finish her fellowship with diagnostics.”

Ethan hated teaching, but Naveen wasn’t wrong. His heart was pounding loudly in his chest. What was Naveen getting at? September was months away.

There was a sense of finality in Dr. Banerji’s tone and Dr. Ramsey was in no place to argue with him. What could he possibly say?

“I can’t allow Katherine to continue working with you in the meantime,” he said solemnly. Ethan snapped out of his stupor and swallowed, his blue eyes flashed in defense, but he could only bring himself to nod. “I can’t place her on administrative leave without arousing suspicion.”

He nodded in understanding. “I received an email for the AUSDEM Conference in Sydney. They’ve offered me a pass for the week if I fill in as a keynote speaker. I’ll let them know and book the fight.”

The Australasian Diagnostic Error in Medicine Conference had been after him for years. It would be the perfect cover to use to break her heart, and his.

#choices #choices stories you play #open heart #open heart fanfiction #ethan ramsey #ethan ramsey x mc #ethan ramsey fanfiction #open heart mc #naveen banerji

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beyond-the-mirror · 5 years

Text

Music of the Night (V x Reader)

Well this chapter took longer than expected! But it’s finally done and I hope it’s up to your expectations.

Tagging @thedyingmoon and @minteyeddemon since they were very interested in the concept of this fic. Please enjoy!

Warning: Child abuse, please read with caution. If this theme makes you uncomfortable you can skip the first part in italics.

............

Chapter 3: Songs of Innocence and Experience

“Gather round everyone! Come to our Freak Show and see! Bear witness to the most shocking collection of human abominations on earth!”

A rather tall man shouted at the top of his lungs, inviting the crowd into a rather dull tent situated behind him.

Fortuna’s local carnival was definitely not the most impressive touristic attraction the city had to offer, located in a barren terrain at the outskirts of it. The rides barely received any maintenance, small piles of garbage accumulated in some corners, and the stench excrement coming from the pet zoo impregnated the air. As unappealing as the entire carnival looked, it still offered the commoners a chance at having fun for a very few coins.

The announcer, known by the many staff members as Mr. Buoncuore, kept beckoning at the passersby, some of them feeling curious about what lurked inside the mysterious tent that housed the Freak Show, and paying him for an entry ticket. After enough people had gathered around to form a small group, the man flashed his rotten teeth.

“Welcome ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourselves to witness our fascinating collection of nature’s most bizarre wonders. Please come in, let our tour begin.”

The inside of the tent was poorly lit, only a few lights worked and they hardly illuminated anything. Mounted walls divided the ample room into narrow cubicles where the “freaks” were showcased, at least the stage lights in each cubicle did function properly.

Unlike the jovial environment outside, the interior of the installation was rather gloomy and almost depressive. As the group was guided through the pavilion, they were introduced to the freaks displayed, which included a bearded lady, a pair of conjoined twins, a man covered head to toe in dark thick hair, and many more. Some performed small circus acts to entertain the spectators, others simply sat in sorrowful silence as they were being watched. Poor unfortunate men and women whose only sin was being born with a malformation, condemning them to be mere exhibitions to the morbidly curious side of mankind.

At the farthest end of the pavilion, a single cubicle mounted over a short stage platform and hidden behind a red velvet curtain stood out from the rest. Many believed this one to be the final and most important specimen in the freak show, and couldn’t wait to find out just what was hidden behind the fancy curtain.

Finally reaching the end of the tour, Mr. Buoncuore gathered everyone at the front of the small stage. Many whispered voices expressed their intrigue at the mystery behind the curtain. And soon enough, Buoncuore made an announcement.

“And now, we shall reveal to to you our final and finest specimen of our valuable collection. Prepare yourselves to be amazed, for this is no ordinary freak after all, one so outrageous that mere words can’t describe its cursed existence.”

The crowd stared in complete suspense at the cubicle. After a brief pause, Buoncuore continued with his speech. “I present to you, an unfortunate soul forsaken by God, a soul marked by demons themselves since the day they were brought to this mortal world. I present to you… Il Figlio del Diavolo! The Devil’s Child!”

Immediately the curtain was pulled up, revealing its interior. The crowd gasped at the sight.

A little boy, only five years old, was chained to the floor at the center of the cubicle behind a set of bars. He seemed malnourished, his skin a sickly pale color, and his long black curls were dull and unkempt. The infant wasn’t wearing a shirt nor shoes, only an old, torn pair of pants that reached bellow his knees. Several bruises and cuts covered his fragile body, some were already healed, others were still fresh.

However, what caught everyone’s attention were the deep dark markings that covered the child’s entire torso and arms. Swirls of black ink coursed through the boy’s skin, reaching up to his neck and the tips of his fingers in intricate and surreal paths and patterns. The ink had such a saturated color, an unnatural aura in them, it was obvious they were no regular tattoos; in fact, many swore they could see the ink actually moving on its own.

The sight was so surreal, so unbelievable…

“I-I-It’s a demon! A demon!” One of the spectators yelled at the sight before him. Other voices soon accompanied the first comment. “A demon has claimed this boy!” “That child is not human!”

Uncertainty and confusion took over the small crowd at the sight before them. They pointed at the boy, looked at him in utter disgust, mocked him, whispered profanities and insults at his tiny figure.

And yet the child simply laid still where he was chained with a vacant stare, the spark in his green eyes long lost.

Empty eyes, devoid of any hope.

“Take this you monster!” a teen member of the group picked up a pebble from the dirty ground and threw it at the imprisoned child, hitting him on his head and making him flinch. And soon enough, the rest joined the teen, throwing pebbles at the poor creature, who simply retreated back as far as his shackles permitted and curled up on the ground. Although most of the pebbles couldn’t reach him thanks to both the distance he kept and the bars blocking him, a few still managed to hit their target, leaving another set of cuts and small wounds on his already scarred skin.

The crowd continued their assault relentlessly while Buoncuore simply observed the scene in amusement, his fingers tapping at the handle of the silver cane he always carried pridefully with him.

Tears started to run down the child’s soft face, whimpers shaking his minute body.

“I-I’m not… I-I-I’m not a monster… P-Please stop… I b-beg you…”

He prayed for salvation, for mercy. Every single day, he prayed and prayed…

… But nobody came to save him.

............

His eyes shot open, heavy pants leaving his lungs in a desperate attempt to recover oxygen, a thin layer of sweat covered his face and body making his skin glisten in the dim light of his chamber.

The man sat up on the mattress to try and compose himself, taking deep breaths to calm his racing heart. He ran a hand through his ebony locks, a habit he regularly did when feeling anxious in general.

It was merely a nightmare. One he wished he could forget, but kept coming back to haunt no matter how much he tried.

After a few minutes passed and his body finally relaxed, giving him the chance to stand up from his bed and lightly stumble towards the bathroom. Finding purchase in the old porcelain sink, he opened the tap, letting out a sigh of relief when a stream of clean fresh water managed to come out of it. At least the well that provided for the house hasn’t dried up yet to his fortune.

The man proceeded to wash his face and hair, hoping that the cold water could give him at least a sense of tranquility from the turmoil his unsavory dream caused in him.

Closing the tap, the man looked up and stared at his own reflection in the mirror in front of him. The ethereal markings on his partially nude body greatly contrasted with the almost sickly pale skin, looking almost alive as if the were made of slithering wisps of smoke and ashes. Rising a hand towards his face, he once again slicked his hair back, examining the now uncovered part of his visage. New lines had begun to appear, where they would stop at his neck now they started to crawl up his jawline, through his cheekbones and up into his hairline. Some stopped right below his left eye, others seemed to have redirected towards the bridge of his nose.

This new changes were not unusual though. It had been a long time since the lines had last developed after all.

What would happen if they managed to cover his entire face? He didn’t know. All he knew was that the markings will not stop growing. All he knew was that, although he was indeed intrigued by this phenomenon,

a voice deep inside his head assured him… he would not like the answer at all.

............

“We are starting with ‘Lo vidi e ’l primo palpito’. On your positions now!”

Tech rehearsals had begun for ‘Luisa Miller’, the next play to be performed at the Opera. As the current choreographer and dance captain, Trish strived to make rehearsals flow as smoothly as possible. Major setbacks were inconceivable for her, and with a personality as fierce as a lightning bolt, no one dared to challenge her authority nor her decisions.

All the backup dancers and extras took their respective places, their blocking already approved and stablished with no further changes. Meanwhile, Madame Carlotta beckoned her assistants to fetch her prop bouquet and apply some throat spray to her before starting a few vocal warm-ups. After readying herself, she signaled for the maestro to start the aria.

“Non temer: più nobil spirto, alma più calda di virtù non mai vestì spoglia mortal. M'amò! l'amai!”

As Carlotta paced around the stage, the backup dancers began their routine. You twirled around gracefully, perfectly following the path you were instructed to as the scene required. This was Luisa Miller’s, the main character, first aria. A serenade was brought to Luisa in celebration of her birthday, the townspeople gathering and dancing joyfully around her before settling down and letting her continue her song.

“Lo vidi, e 'l primo palpito il cor sentì d'amore; mi vide appena, e il core balzò del mio fedel.”

Once again, the dancers began moving, this time in line to present Luisa their gifts. Carlotta moved between the townspeople, bowing at each one and receiving her gifts. However, you noticed that her steps were longer than necessary, making her invade the blocked paths of some of the dancers. One misstep from her and she was suddenly right in front of you, completely oblivious to her current position. You tried to step out of her way but-

“Quaggiù si riconobbero nostr'alme in rincontrarsi formate per amarsi Iddio le avea in- AHHH!”

You moved a bit too late. Next thing you knew she had collided against you, which caused her to trip and fall backwards.

“Cut the music!” at Trish’s orders, the conductor and the orchestra immediately stopped. The actors and dancers looked distraught at what just happened, worry visible on their faces.

“I’m so sorry! Are you alright?” You immediately reached out and offered a hand to Carlotta to help her get up, but a quick slap against your palm was the only answer you received.

“What the hell is wrong with you?! Don’t you know how to move across a stage you amateur?” Carlotta screeched angrily at you while her assistants rushed to her side to help her stand on her feet. Some of the actors as well as Nico ran to your side as soon as they noticed how hostile she was acting towards you.

“But I was just following the blocking! I swear I didn’t mean to-“ You tried your best to defend yourself, you were completely sure you had been in your assigned space and you had even noticed how some of your fellow dancers had trouble maneuvering around Carlotta.

“Oh shut up you-“

“Enough!” Trish interrupted Carlotta’s rant, the entire theatre going dead silent at the powerful tone of her voice. She calmly strode towards you both, a composed but stern look in her eyes. “What exactly happened?”

The moment you opened your mouth to explain, Carlotta interjected furiously. “This girl did this on purpose! She stepped out of her place and because of her mistake I tripped. It’s obvious she hasn’t learned the choreography properly, you must place her at the back of the stage right now!”

Before she could continue further with her rant, Trish silently raised her palm ordering her to keep quiet, then turned to you. “(Y/N)?”

Taking a deep breath, you calmly offered your side of the story “… I’m sorry Madame Trish, but I’m pretty sure I was following the steps correctly. I did my best to avoid running into Carlotta but I couldn’t do it on time.”

Trish acknowledged your words before stating. “It seems this was merely an accident and gladly nobody got hurt. Carlotta, please remember that your blocking hasn’t been stablished as of yet and that we could always modify it to grant you more movement and better avoid this kind of incidents. Alright everyone, on your positions once again!”

With a loud clap from Trish, everyone hurried to their respective places. However, before she could leave the stage, she faced Carlotta once more “As for your request, I’m afraid we can’t grant it. Not only is the blocking already approved, but these last seasons (Y/N) has proved to be an excellent dancer and actress, surpassing by far all our expectations. Now please return to your position.”

Carlotta was fuming, her poor assistants trying their best to calm her down.

At that moment, you began to fear that working with her wasn’t going to be easy at all.

............

Unbeknownst to everyone, the Phantom stood hidden at his usual spot in box number 4, his deep eyes watching over the rehearsals taking place at the stage bellow him. As the backup dancers started their routine however, his gaze was fixated on you right away. He observed carefully your graceful moves, your perfectly calculated steps around the stage.

You looked ethereal, beautiful, marvelous…

“AHHH!”

His eyes widened at the incident that just happened before him. The newest soprano had collided against you, her prancing around the stage careless and imprudent. You offered the woman a hand, only for her to swat it away rudely.

“What the hell is wrong with you?! Don’t you know how to move across a stage you amateur?”

Taken aback by the rather explosive words, he was suddenly filled with rage and anger. And the more he watched the scene bellow unravel, the more furious he would become.

He witnessed you trying to help her, trying to defend yourself from her cruel and harsh words. How dare this woman do this to you? You who were a marvelous dancer, you who worked hard to get to where you were now. Hellfire couldn’t compare to the wrath that was coursing through his veins.

“Enough!” The choreographer, Madame Trish as he recalled, stepped on stage. She calmly listened to you both, and rightfully acknowledged that what happened was only an accident and that it definitely wasn’t your fault.

Carlotta was left fuming, even though she requested for you to be moved to the back of the stage, she was denied much to his amusement. He lamented that such an awful woman had to be hired as the lead singer, especially since the former one was wonderfully skilled and kindhearted.

Letting out a sigh, the Phantom continued supervising the rehearsal in secret, wondering if this Carlotta woman would pose a threat to the success of the opera house due to her harsh personality.

One thing was certain though. If she dared to hurt you in any way, he would have to teach her a lesson.

This opera house was his sanctuary, you were his angel of music. And let God and Lord Sparda know, he was willing to defend both from any harm at all cost.

............

“I… I wish to show you something (Y/N)…”

“Huh? What do you want to show me V?”

The boy retreated back briefly through the trapdoor next to him before reappearing with a few objects in his arms. One was a leather-bound book and the other was a long silver cane.

He stood before you awkwardly for a moment, a blush adorning his soft cheeks, before sitting on a wooden crate nearby and patting the spot next to him, silently inviting to take a seat.

Once you settled by his side, he handed you his book. “It’s a book of poetry, an anthology of William Blake’s works. My… my mother gifted it to me. She used it to teach me how to read.”

Your tiny fingers gently traced the details on the cover. Golden lines and ornaments decorated the leather in gorgeous patterns, forming a “V” at its center. Opening it, pages covered in exquisitely handwritten letters and breathtaking illustrations were revealed to your eyes. You could see why V loved this book so much, both the poems and the drawings were absolutely delightful, not to mention that you now understood why V would talk in such a polite and proper way.

“V… this is so beautiful!” you smiled at him and he returned the gesture with a timid one too. Carefully placing the book next to you, you turned to eye the cane still in V’s arms. “May I see that one too?”

The smile vanished from his face. He hesitated a bit, but eventually handed it to you. It was splendidly crafted, its form elegant and the handle had many pretty and mesmerizing details. However, unlike the time he lended you his beloved book, he remained silent.

“Would you tell me more about this cane?” V’s eyes widened, his adorable smile long gone now and his eyes now expressing worry. “I… I don’t know why I have it…” he quietly replied. “The only thing I know is that it’s important for me… but I’m not sure why…”

He looked away from you, and for a moment you thought you saw a small tear forming at the corner of his eye. Quickly placing the cane on the box, you pulled V into a tight hug.

“I’m sorry V… I shouldn’t have asked. I’m sorry for making you feel sad.”

At first he tensed when he felt your arms wrap around his form, but soon melted into your warm embrace and returned the hug. When you finally pulled away, you returned him his book. “Let’s change the subject. How about you read to me?”

Taking the book, his eyes immediately lit up. “Um… I still have some trouble pronouncing certain words, will it be a problem?”

“Not at all! And don’t worry, if you have trouble with a word I can help with it if you like.”

Once again, his lovely blush decorated his cheekbones. You read together, taking turns with each poem. When you both reached one titled ‘The Divine Image’, V asked you for a little help since it contained two words that still gave him a little trouble.

You patiently recited the poem first and then let him repeat it again until he could get it right.

“And all must love the human form, In h-het… heathen, Turk, or Jew…”

Although he was very eloquent when speaking, V still struggled on how to correctly pronounce a couple written words. Still you would always encourage him to keep trying, that one day, he will have no problem reading at all.

“You’re doing great V. Almost there, you can do it.”

“Where Mercy, Love, & Pity d-d-dwell, There God is d-dwelling too.” He gave one last sigh after finishing the poem.

“See? I knew you could do it!”

And for the first time since you met him, V let himself laugh. It was such a lovely and heartwarming sound, one full of joy and innocence that you could never get tired of hearing.

............

In a dark, candlelit room, the Phantom sat in front of his desk. He was working on a particular opera of his own creation, a project he started many years ago and yet it seemed to be nowhere near completion. Along the years the Phantom wrote many musical pieces, songs and poems, but this particular one was the most important of them all.

This one opera would be his Magnum Opus, his greatest masterpiece.

And once he finished it, he would finally consider his life accomplished and let the darkness take him away.

As his eyes skimmed through the page, he suddenly paused. His gaze turned to a leather-bound book on the desk next to his many drafts and notes. Picking up the book, he let himself rest for a while, opening it and reading its contents once again. The poetry and the illustrations in the book brought some memories back, ones he will always treasure with great joy and nostalgia.

His thoughts wandered back to you, his angel of music. “My angel… La mia angela… I promise to hold you and protect you always…

Just like you held me and protected me many years ago…”

#devil may cry #phantom of the opera au #dmc v #v x reader #v x you #self-insert #fanfiction #fanfic #warning: sensitive content

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