#the emperor has a son and said son grows to be a bitch and also the golden guard | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

web-novel-polls · 1 year

Text

Less Popular Danmei Character Tournament - Round 1 Bracket

Side A

Yan Hao vs. Xiao Chiye

Shen Zechuan vs. Wang Zhi

Gu Mang vs. Yan Zhengming

Side B

Wenren È vs. Song Qingshi

Yin Hanjiang vs. Wu Xi

Li Yu vs. An Zhe

Cui Buqu vs. Helian Ye

Exempt from Round 1: Yue Wuhuan

Side A of the Popular and Less Popular Danmei Character Tournaments will take place on the same day (Thursday, June 8, 2023) around noon CST and will remain open for 1 week.

Side B Polls will open on Tuesday, June 13th, 2023, at noon CST and will remain open for 1 week.

Character Information under the cut (subject to change) - CWs: sex mention, death mention, murder mention, slavery, sexual slavery, rape mention, animal mention, animal death mention, pet death/murder

Side A

Yue Wuhuan from Mistakenly Saving the Villain

A villain saved by the MC who is focused on revenge. The story seems to focuses on trauma recovery from his life as a s*x slave and handles mental health pretty well

Technically a “yandere” character, but the Novel Updates reviews describe his possessiveness and dark thoughts as byproducts of his trauma that he heals from, realizing that he shouldn’t be thinking of the MC that way and growing

“Our ML’s journey embodies a major theme of MSTV, which is about redemption and rebirth. His tragic past shaped him into a cunning, ruthless, manipulative, and obsessive individual. His past and continuing struggle will make your hearts break. It’s a difficult and painful journey of overcoming past trauma, letting go, and subsequently achieving freedom and happiness.” - blackkoi on NU

Yan Hao from Vicious Male Counterpart Isn’t Competing Anymore

Submission: He’s p cute

Yan Hao was jealous of and competed with his younger brother, who seemed to be loved more by their parents. After he dies, however, he realizes he was a villain meant to contrast his kind younger brother and be slapped by the male protagonist. Once he’s reborn, he decides to ignore his brother entirely

“High IQ, low EQ” - Sugaminny on Novel Updates

Honestly, the story sounds super cute and interesting. Yan Hao seems to be a character “hated by everyone” in his past life who can’t figure out how to be loved but does love others a lot, especially in his second life. Skite on NU describes him as autistic and villainized due to his neurodivergency / attempts to be loved and praised (their review words it better, but it sounds super interesting).

Xiao Chiye from Qiang Jin Jiu

Submission: Also an absolutely insane character but somehow not as deranged as his husband, shen zechuan, although he comes pretty damn close. i just wanna cause problems by putting them in the same poll

“VERY cocky and arrogant (sexy of him), but also an extremely talented leader and fighter” - QJJ Carrd

Initially kicks Shen Zechuan, the MC, due to SZC’s father’s treason, but starts to fall in love with him (Enemies → Lovers)

Shen Zechuan from Qiang Jin Jiu

Submission: he just serves absolute cunt and is absolutely insane. like we joke about characters being crazy but shen zechuan is the 1st one where ive paused reading and said outloud oh bitch you are absolutely out of your mind. Give it up for ruthless chronically ill schemers with a sense of loyalty so strong it becomes a fatal flaw and who are also at all times 100% devoted to the ppl they care about

The son of the Prince of Jianxing, who betrays the empire out of cowardice, that must survive when his entire family is to be killed for treason. There’s actually a scene at the beginning of him losing his brother in a battle and (I believe) returning to realize his father has run away

Another of the “chronically ill schemers” type and incredibly ruthless when necessary

Refuses to die or despair; he WILL survive and will turn things around - fate can be damned

Wang Zhi from Fourteenth Year of Chenghua

Submission: Wang Zhi is the emperor's eunuch-assassin who spends the entire book and show crashing the main character's brunches. There's a scene where someone gets confused because they can't fathom why Wang Zhi would show up at someone's house if it's not to murder them. In the series he has a tiny gun.

Gu Mang from Stains of Filth / Yuwu

Submission: He’s my little guy

He’s the tragic ML who betrayed the MC while also being the biggest fucking clown / the comedic relief

He truly believes he’s a fucking wolf at one point.

Essentially, Gu Mang was a slave in Murong Lian’s household, which led him to meet the MC, Mo Xi, who is a noble of similar standing to the Murong clan. He eventually becomes the General-in-Chief of the Wangba Army (later renamed to the Northern Frontier Army bc it was a funny name) and fights for the Chonghua Empire. However, since the Wangba Army was made of slaves, not a single of his fellow soldiers were given a proper burial, which - along with other reasons - led to Gu Mang defecting to an enemy nation (that also killed Mo Xi’s father and may or may not be cannibals).

The story begins when said enemy nation trades Gu Mang back to Chonghua as a prisoner of war with parts of his soul gone, causing him to believe he’s a majestic blue wolf. The summary is a tiny bit misleading, albeit not wrong - “they’ve slept together before” is actually more “they slept together multiple times while Mo Xi, at the very least, is incredibly in love with Gu Mang.”

Gu Mang’s also pretty funny, even with his memories gone, albeit the inherent tragedy is overwhelming. Idc what “evils” he committed… the Lotus Pavilion thing or whatever was fucked up. The author is so brutal to him, and for what? Funsies? (<--mainly joking, but it’s a SAD story… I’ve cried so many times)

Anyway, Gu Mang Did Not Deserve This 2023

Yan Zhengming from Liu Yao: the Revitalization of Fuyao Sect

Submission: Winner of the award for highest number of times I’ve called a man a “pretty princess”

Apparently has a fantastic character development into the Sect Leader (I’m not that far), but he’s also just a pretty princess <2

He’s the eldest disciple of Han Muchun / Fuyao Sect who was born into a rich family. He ran away at age seven and became Han Muchun’s first apprentice/disciple. He’s similar to a spoiled young master character, but he doesn’t really bully anyone; he may try to bully/clash with Cheng Qian, but I don’t think he wins (been a while since I started it - he’s like 15, and Cheng Qian is ~9-10 at this point)

“Strict with others but lenient on himself” → responsible Sect Leader pipeline, More at 10 pm

Side B

Wenren È from Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

The MC of Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know, Wenren È, finds a book that details the world around him where he’s the second male lead / love interest who dies to protect the Female Lead / protagonist. He is not in love with her, and he can’t imagine dying for her as is; he also doesn’t understand why his subordinate, who supposedly likes her as well, tried to kill her after his death. I think he’s tasked with addressing readers’ concerns with the novel, but there’s also a lot more going on lol

Submission 1: unhinged, no idea what romance is, has a feral dog with rabies for a boyfriend and thinks that boyfriend is super cute. Also, middle aged man. I love middle aged men.

Submission 2: Because Look, he is trying to get two characters to fall in love for Important Plot reasons and a: him and his main Minion have to look up what love is like in the shitty romance novels they're characters in, and then b: decide to make the two characters fall in love through the Cunning Use of Bugs. Also he got a copy of the book he is a character in, found out his fate, and was like I Think The Fuck Not.

He also has pretty good morals, if not personality. He’s a much better guy than I expected him to be tbh

Song Qingshi from Mistakenly Saving the Villain

A medical student who chooses to transmigrate into a sad Danmei novel to save the protagonist. He does not save the protagonist - he saves a cannon fodder villain named Yue Wuhuan.

“Has a lack of understanding of social situations/an odd personality” - past submission (Danmei Tournament)

Very intelligent but dense to love and s*x; book smart; passionate about what he likes

Yin Hanjiang from Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

Submission 1: He’s my little scrunkly

Submission 2: He’s my evil wife.

Yin Hanjiang is the second-in-command of the current Demon Lord Wenren È and the fourth male lead of Abusive Romance: You are the Unchanging One in My Heart, a novel Wenren È reads. In the novel, Yin Hanjiang blackens and tries to kill the female lead after Wenren È’s death.

You would think Wenren È would be the craziest mf in this story, but it is, in fact, Yin Hanjiang. In the original novel, he tortured/chased the FL for quite a while to the point of being one of - if not the most - hated villains in the story; he was originally masked and revealed in a completely unseen twist, I believe.

He was saved by Wenren È as a child and is obsessed with him, although their relationship changes more to friends than boss-subordinate WAY before they get together.

Wu Xi from Lord Seventh / Qi Ye

Submission: He is the roundworm in my stomach

Qi Ye tells the story of Prince Jing Beiyuan’s seventh life, which is a repeat of his first life. Wu Xi is the Great Shaman’s Shamanet and the Empire’s captive from Nanjiang who did not appear in Jing Beiyuan’s first life.

From what I remember, he uses something similar to magic to make a court official become aroused / see a beautiful woman and embarrass himself in front of the entire court. As a child.

He also has a vast array of dangerous and venomous animals, one of which he gifts to Jing Beiyuan after they become friends.

Li Yu from Disabled Tyrant’s Pet Palm Fish

Submission: He’s infuriating and I love him, also helped create equal rights in ancient china

Li Yu transmigrated into a carp tasked with stealing a mute tyrant’s heart (by the system). He does not know how he’s supposed to do this, but the tyrant - Mu Tianchi - is waiting for him to transform into a human, already in love(?) with him.

The reviews on Novel Updates are… mainly unflattering… but he appears to be a naive and sweet character with in a fluffy love story with the ML, Mu Tianchi

An Zhe from Little Mushroom

Submission 1: honest to god, he’s just a little mushroom

Submission 1: he’s just a little mushroom

An optimistic mushroom mutated into a human trying to find his stolen spores

“An Zhe is the only person who wholeheartedly believes in Lu Feng [the ML]” - Carrd

Cui Buqu from Peerless

Submission: He’s mean, he’s disabled and unapologetic about it, he’s a genius and all his braincells escape him when faced with his rival, he’s a secret agent and has no martial arts, he’s deeply in love and will never say so unless pushed, he will liken his rival to his sun and then tell him he’s the most annoying person he’s ever met. He’s a bastard little fox <3

Helian Yi from Lord Seventh / Qi Ye

Qi Ye tells the story of Prince Jing Beiyuan’s seventh life, which is a repeat of his first life. All of his first five lives have been tied to Helian Yi - he helped him ascend the throne in their first life, he was an insect crushed by Helian Yi in his second life, he was a beloved dog killed to feed Helian Yi’s family in his third life, he was a neglected jasmine plant in his fourth life, he was a fox skinned by Helian Ye in his fifth life - but in the first and seventh lives, Helian Yi’s the Crown Prince of the Jin Empire while Jing Beiyuan is the Prince Nan’ning (a title; he’s not related to Helian Yi as far as I know). In their seventh life, Helian Yi seems to be treating him very well (from what I’ve read), but he’s not the love interest.

He’s also in Faraway Wanderers (for, like, one chapter) and technically is Prince Jin in Word of Honor (but they’re pretty much completely different characters). Zhou Zishu is his most trusted aid who formed Heaven’s Window and then left.

Idk, I haven’t gotten that far in Qi Ye; he sounds like the villain, but he’s really just Sad - Idk if he’s in love with Jing Beiyuan or what, but he’s SAD, okay? From what I can tell, he cares for Jing Beiyuan but can’t be with him because of his position as Crown Prince, but don’t quote me on that

“In that instant, Helian Yi suddenly wanted to take him into his arms, suddenly wanted to wholly throw out and disregard the home, nation, and world that weighed down on his mind and body, no longer brooding on and wishing for a liaison he didn’t dare to have. He wanted to say, from now on, come earthly blades of wind and swords of frost, I will do everything I can to block them or you. There is only one person in this life and this world for me, even without this extensive, partially mountainous, mostly oceanic king’s land.” - Source

Feel free to submit propaganda in the notes or in my ask box!

26 notes · View notes

spoopy-fish-writes · 1 year

Note

Tell me about this thing you like! I'd love to listen 💜

Omg omg okay no one is ready for me to go on a full rant about Scum Villain Self Saving System but I’ve been OBSESSED with the dead characters for NO REASON for since I read it and they r so so special to me but I’m slightly more obsessed with the build up for the reason for everything that happens in the story

FOR CONTEXT, there’s the Old palace master who’s an old as fuck immortal, Tianlang-Jun who’s a heavenly demon which are supposed to be like the WORST but he high key does nothing but read shitty porn and watch romantic plays and be broke despite being an emperor and was unbearably in love with Su Xiyan and Su Xiyan who was in love with Tianlang-Jun and was also an immortal and disciple to the Old palace master. And then there’s also Zhuzhi-Lang who’s Tianlang-Jun’s nephew and had to sit through all of his and Su Xiyan’s embarrassing ass dates and PDA

So, imagine being super powerful and old and a palace master and then you have this disciple right (Su Xiyan)?And she’s the best. The absolute greatest, bestest disciple ever. You’d think you’d be normal about her if you were like 100 years old but no. The palace master starts having all kinds of perverse intentions towards her like a fucking creep

And then there’s this heavenly demon, right (Tianlang-Jun)? He has done NOTHING at all to you, he’s just obsessed with humans and their literature and goes around being broke as shit and watching plays and reading the worst porn imaginable. Despite that, you (the old palace master) think he’s the worst, an absolute bitch, a complete plague on humanity but your disciple falls in love with him and gets pregnant and you do not like that. She should NOT have fucking done that

Because, coincidentally-but-not-really, the old palace master sent her to kill this guy who has, again, done absolutely fucking nothing. So you (the old palace master) kidnap your fucking disciple, trap her in an under water prison, give her poison to kill the fucking kid which she decides to absorb instead of taking you up on your, ‘kill the kid and keep your loyalty to me or keep the kid and never see the light of day again’ threat

But no, that’s not enough. So you get the entire cultivation world against this demon who is literally just some guy and then send him a fake letter pretending you’re your disciple and then you fucking trap him under a mountain because what else are you meant to do with this guy who is extremely powerful and could wipe you out in seconds

Not like you could just leave him alone. Nope not possible. And now he’s trapped under a mountain and wants to kill all of humanity. Great job. You could not have fucked this up more. Imagine making the most powerful guy ever hate you. Absolute stupid bitch behaviour.

And THEN your disciple escapes and then gives birth by the Luo river and has no choice but to bundle the kid up and send him down the river in the hopes that someone will find him because the poison is gonna kill her in like 2 seconds. And it does! Which is relevant later because that kid grows up and gets outed as a half demon and thrown into the abyss!!

And then you find her son several years later after he’s crawled his way out of the abyss who is resentful as shit towards his parents because you’ve convinced him that his mum didn’t want him and that his dad was the worst, even though both wanted him more than literally anything in the world and his dad would literally tear you apart if he found out that he had a very much alive son that he lost an entire lifetime with.

And then you decide to keep said son around and call him your son like you actually care about him but you’re actually just a freak who still has perverse intentions to him because he looks soooo much like his mum and the only thing that looks like his dad is the eyes and the demon mark which piss you off SOOOOO bad. And you’re just wandering around like nothing's wrong while his dad is still trapped under a mountain.

And this all results in some shitty little millennial getting transmigrated into an alternate version of your world and experiencing situations surrounding the half demon kid who is joined in his situations sometimes by other shitty little millennial because it was all a book and both of the shitty little millennials died because they were sooooooo obsessed with something regarding the book in different ways and inadvertently caused each others deaths

#svsss #chatting with my beloved moots 💜#evilquartett 💜

4 notes · View notes

fairytsuk1 · 3 years

Text

despite everything, it’s still you | (a)

character: tommyinnit

genre: angst

words: 1.8k

summary: tommyinnit is sent to the afterlife after being killed by dream, his experience as a broken soul in the afterlife is different than he'd imagined.

warnings: head injury at the beginning and it’s a bit graphically described! also depersonalization with the afterlife

notes: a bit different from my usual stuff but i had this idea and wanted to do it!

The last thing Tommy's present body feels is his brain practically leaking out of his ears. The force with which his head is knocked into the ground is too strong, and he instantly blacks out. Dream's fists collided into him much harder than he thought, and it was even harder to try to block each hit as he was instantly overpowered by the godlike man. He just couldn't seem to get away. His soul might have even been connected with Dream's at one point; how could someone live every day of their life and always go back to the one who caused so much pain? It's not a peaceful end; it's gory and sticky with blood splattered on the quickly growing pale skin. When Tommy opens his eyes, there's no Tubbo or blue sky; it's just white. The first thing he realizes is that he's not breathing, but he's not dying because of it. Because, well, he's already dead.

"Dream?..."

His thoughts are there, at least the most important ones. There are some of them that blur together, like watching a movie on fast-forward and not pausing. He couldn't remember his life so far up to his death, and the panic was setting in; what man didn't remember their own life? Was he even Tommy? A thump beats in his chest but looking down...there is no chest at all. In fact, there is no skin, bones, no solidifying figure that could tell him, "ah, I was a person." Tommy doesn't even want to think about what would happen if he didn't know his own name. Would he be lost to time forever?

"What the fuck is going on…?" his finger jabs at the translucent blob of a figure, he's still got limbs, but he looks like a bucket of slime rather than a fleshed-out human, "Hah! I'm like fuckin' Charlie Slimecicle…"

His humor hasn't left him, which warms his heart. Well, he supposes he has no heart as Tommy continues to poke and prod the gelatin-like substance he was hosting. It was weird seeing the ghostly shape of your own body, long legs, and big yet bony hands...it was freaky.

"This is just disgusting, actually. Fuckin' hell…"

He stands and tries to ignore the way he feels weightless; it's depersonalizing. Makes him nauseous to think of how he doesn't exist in the mortal realm, but instead, he's here in some sort of blank space.

"Wilbur!"

Walking, he realizes that he feels loose and lets out a laugh when he twists his body and finds it going farther than any human could. His ghostly capabilities were kinda cool! He had to focus though he needed to find a way to jump back down to Earth if he was dead. As much as he enjoyed being able to touch his toes and squat with his feet flat on the ground, the loneliness was starting to get to him. Though he didn't say anything out loud, being dead was starting to get a little scary. Of course, the lead-up wasn't nice, and he's glad to be pain-free (though he does jerk out of shock once he realizes his head is caved in). There's something about being alive that is just so...he misses it, that's all.

"Wilbur!...Schlatt??"

Tommy walks for a while with no changes to his atmosphere. For a moment, he thinks that he hasn't even been walking with the lack of environmental changes. That train of thought simmers to a stop as he spots a bench in the distant future, running towards it at lightning speed. There's no sound when he runs; his voice doesn't even echo. It's as though this afterlife has nothing in it at all. Like it's made of nothing. Like he's made of nothing. He relaxes into the bench and smiles widely; if only he had his favorite disks! It's like being with Tubbo again, like being kids again! The warm touch of affection kisses his cheek as warmth spreads through him. When can he go back? He's so ready to go back.

"You know, Tubbo, I hope you're not all focused on Ranboo to forget about me! I mean, I'm that one that, you know, died!"

Who is he speaking to? This afterlife is really getting to him, there is no Tubbo here, and there is no Mellohi. The smile fades as he glances around, white on white: white walls, floor, ceiling.

"Whoever the God here is, your heaven is shit."

He shouldn't have said that. The bench rumbles, and he's shocked to see it crumbling underneath him. Chips of wood fly into space, and he scrambles off of it, watching it decompose his very own eyes.

"Ah, ah, wait! I'm sorry, I'm really sorry! Give it back! Give me my damn bench back, you bitch!"

A bigger piece flies off and slices his hand, a glob of his fingers falling off and melting into the ground as he stands panicked. There's no blood, but it suddenly hits him. He isn't even human; this is all he has left. He's lucky to have his thoughts. That is his last tether to all he knows. If he lets himself be broken down, he'll never be human again. His time is limited. He has to find a way out.

His feet take off before he can even realize it, sprinting as he shouts for Sam, Tubbo, Wilbur, and even Phil.

But nobody came. No-one scooped him up and rescued him like they should've. He's only a child, for god's sake!

"What have I done to deserve any of this!? Let me go back! I want to go back!!"

His voice is shaky as he spins, decomposed and blocky trees forming around him like corroded pixels. He could cry, but he's holding it back; Dream instilled that in him. The less you care, the better the ending. The trees fall in shards, and each one that touches him breaks off a piece of him. He's practically melting as he runs through the rain of pixels, each one hell-bent on destroying his soul. Right now, he's no human. It's his soul in the purest form. His feet stick together before pulling apart, and he collapses onto the solid white ground. Everything jiggles, and he thinks he might pass out with the pure shock of taking in everything around him. His body ripples like water as he hears a faint and distant voice call for him.

"Tommy?"

A memory. "My first decree, as the President of L'Manberg, the EMPEROR, of this GREAT COUNTRY! IS TO REVOKE! THE CITIZENSHIP! OF WILBUR SOOT AND TOMMYINNIT! GET 'EM OUTTA HERE!"

Is that his savior? The one who's come for him? The one who caused his life hell in the first place? Well, maybe it was Wilbur who did that. Or Technoblade. Or even Dream, but Dream was his friend even though he struck him so hard he sobbed for someone to help him—

"Hey, Tommy! What the hell are you doing, kid? Where the fuck's your body?"

He's being hoisted up by his arms, and he pushes into Schlatt's chest as he cries and cries. The Ram hybrid grunts and mumbles something before pushing him back to hold his shoulders. He was never one for affection. When Schlatt looks at Tommy, he knows this is the book's doing. Dream, the current owner of the book, had done this all in preparation. The easiest way to bring someone back was to only let their pure soul transfer on, everything else remaining the same.

"It's easier than moving a whole body, right?"

"Whatever, just take the fucking book, man. I'm busy."

Tommy's damaged. He's deformed, and his soul is hot to the touch. He's in agony. He didn't know he could sleep till it was over or relax. He tried to fix things and find a solution like he always does. Now, he was broken like he always was.

"Schlatt I...how do I go back? I don't want to be here anymore! It's fucking shit! And, and it hurts! This isn't some heaven; it's fuckin' hell!"

Dream sat on the prison floor after arranging Tommy's body in a relaxed position, the book open in front of him.

"Time to come back, Tommy."

"Hey, hey! You listen to me! That fucker Dream, you have to be strong! He's messed you up, but this isn't the Tommy I know! You don't fucking cry, and you don't fucking get scared! You're the bravest kid I know!"

Tommy feels flashbacks come to him, slowly but surely. Him rowing to fight Dream, the bravery he had when he fought him one on one. The first disk war...he was so brave.

When he looks up at Schlatt, he sees the man he fought so hard against and won. He clocks in at that moment.

I used to be someone. Now, I'm just like everyone else. Scared and weak.

"You used to be someone, Tommy! You are someone! You just have...believe and know... you're stronger…!"

Schlatt gets all twisty and turny, his vision fading in and out as he feels himself being dragged away from his arms. For a second, Schlatt reaches out, seeing his son in a box. He retreats and opts to yell out as Tommy fights to regain himself. The strength is unrelenting as the young boy's head twists to see his arm pulled like taffy towards a glowing light. It's so pretty; he could almost just touch it and forget it all.

"You are stronger than anyone else, Tommyinnit!"

His head whips back, and he extends a jelly arm, his fight coming back to him.

"If you fucking lose yourself, you'll lose everything!"

"If I lose myself, I'll lose everything…" "You were made to beat this world, and don't you dare fucking forget it!"

It makes Schlatt grin as Tommy's widened eyes get pulled as he's compressed into a singularity. There's a sudden pop, and Schlatt's knocked back as the white walls envelop him. He wants to yell more, but Tommy's already back where he belongs. He's already gone.

"Tommy? Hey, Tommy!"

His cerulean eyes open like he'd just drank an energy drink, a smiling mask staring up at him. For a moment, he wants to shrink back into the floor.

"How was it? How was the afterlife?"

If I don't beat him, how could anyone else?

He snickers, "awful. I'm never going back there again."

Tommy feels determination settle in his soul. After everything, he's still him. If he loses himself, he'll never be able to bring it back. So, the only other option is to fight.

If I win, maybe then, I can know who I am.

#tommyinnit #tommyinnit fanfic #dreamwastaken #dream fanfic #jschlatt #jschlatt fanfic #dream smp #dream smp fanfiction #mcyt #mcyt fanfiction

9 notes · View notes

extraordinarilyextreme · 4 years

Text

sleuth of ming dynasty spoilers! (im reposting this separately)

Okay but

1) the emperor genuinely caring for the safety of his subjects; this is the capital city of his empire and he was safe and sound while so many civilians just died and he immediately tried to guarantee their well-being

2) WangZhi seeing all those beggar orphan kids and probably thinking of himself

3) our ot3 met three years ago actually but they never asked for each other’s names

3.5) do I have to be the ot3 fanfic I want to see in the world

4) tangfan literally being suizhou’s cure... or not cure, but like... suizhou’s worst nightmare is tangfan getting hurt and he only returns to better functioning after tangfan moves back home

5) Dong’er being literally the best girl ever who refused to walk away even when suizhou had his Episodes and she was scared because she loves her Sui da’ge!!!!

6) found family not knowing how to best help suizhou with his ptsd but still trying their best

7) the portrayal of a neurodivergent character!!! That wasn’t for comedic purposes!!! Someone who genuinely loved and cared about his partner knowing that she would probably never understand him and everything he’s done for her because he didn’t communicate like a neurotypical

8) suizhou not being able to touch tangfan vs tangfan similarly trapped behind bars... every time, suizhou’s top priority is tangfan

9) THE EMPEROR GRABBING WANGZHI AND CHECKING HIM FOR INJURIES!!! BITCH HE IS YOUR SON I DONT CARE HOW YOU DENY IT FOR THE SAKE OF THE ROYAL IMAGE

10) everyone just agreeing that tangfan and suizhou should be together because they make each other better

11) duoerla deserved so much better; honestly a lot of the women in this show deserve better

12) the imperial consort being the emperor’s true bodyguard, leader of an all-woman army POETIC CINEMA

13) lizilong makes me think of the character that actor portrayed in yanxi palace and... honestly still pretty wretched and sad even though both characters were terrible people

14) WangZhi snapping awake and asking for tangfan

15) wangzhi’s admittance that “我舍不得” to just execute his loyal follower because he’s gotten used to having him by his side

16) literally WangZhi was so flirtatious during that last sequence, “我帮你，你帮我嚒~” how genuinely hurt he looked when tangfan first said it’s better they not meet again anytime soon

17) how WangZhi just SMILES when suizhou gently says that “you’ve changed. You’ve become soft.”

18) the cup!!! The damned cup!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I really wish they explored WangZhi’s relationship with the crown prince more since they’re basically siblings at this point given how fondly the emperor treats them both... anyway imperial consort loves her son despite how harsh she can seem,,,, “remember to eat well. Youve looked skinnier recently.”

19) THE! WAY! SUIZHOU! PUTS! THE! CAPE! OVER! TANGFAN’s! SHOULDERS! And the look that tangfan shoots at him—that’s quite some explicit content right there oh my

20) FOUND FAMILY FOUND FAMILY DO YOU HEAR ME FOUND FAMILY

I was definitely worried about the forced hetero storylines but I will say that duoerla literally deserved so much better. Both women set up to be fanzhou’s het love interests deserved so much better than what happened to them.

There were a lot of badass women though!!! Instantly remind me how fucking gay I am

Anyway I don’t think there are any plans for a season 2 or anything but it would be so cool if they continued to explore WangZhi’s new post, or like the crown prince stepping up to Emperor, or dong’er and tangfan’s newphew growing up, and just more domestic bliss of Suizhou cooking for tangfan

21) suizhou looking SO DAMN PLEASED when tangfan praised the pig trotters dish

Definitely gives me some cql vibes with the stoic one Falling first, but I similarly believe that the two oblivious geniuses of the show catch on much quicker than their novel counterparts (although I have only heard some tidbits about tsomd novel and have never read it myself)

Ugh I want to see my ot3 solve cases together,,, they’re so badass when they coordinate because they have such good chemistry and know how to play off each other’s strengths

I know fanzhou is the endgame otp but the show definitely frames all of them as a great relationship

22) ALSO OK DOCTOR PEI AND TANGFAN’s SISTER OMG OK LIKE did they really have to do that in front of suizhou making dinner lmao good guy had the manners to say “congratulations” LOL

23) suizhou’s right hand man... I hope he’s great friends with wuyun... I hope they hang out together...

24) ugh the fucking real smile wangzhi struggles to hide as his enemies all topple down and how DAMN PROUD the emperor, HIS DAD, looks at him

Anyway. Good. I cried like a little baby because I feel so much for fanzhou. Suizhou who NEEDS to have somebody to care for, to bring him back to reality and ground him, who makes everything normal and safe and okay—Tangfan being safe and enjoying his cooking means that suizhou hasn’t fucked up and brought disaster everywhere he goes like he is constantly terrified of

And tangfan who has such great character and integrity, who kept a single pair of chopsticks and sold everything else his parents left him for his sister’s dowry, who always wants to protect people too—how he snapped to his senses three years ago to help find survivors, who despite his complaints actually does not care very much at all about his rank... he needs someone to take care of him for once too

(Tangfan respecting boundaries and tugging at the blanket rather than a sleeping suizhou because he knows that an unconscious and vulnerable suizhou should Not be Disturbed at Any Costs)

Anyway I really want to explore how they take care of each other and their terrible workaholic habits and how they raise dong’er,,, I want tangfan and suizhou to talk more about the Trauma and help each other through it,,,, I really want them to just come to terms with how much they have suffered and experienced for each other

Also WangZhi... his parting scene made me think of that dr who quote: do you think I care for you so little that betraying me makes a difference? I hope he and his righthandman learn to trust each other again,,, to talk about what led to the events of the betrayal since it was So Obvious how much the other man loved wangzhi,,, always protecting him when in danger, always rushing to ensure his safety... I hope wangzhi continues to be Soft around him even at the new post and they idk forgive each other and just make up... also you can’t convince me otherwise that he was a little jealous of tangfan due to how often WangZhi called for the detective

Well if you made it to this point, thanks for hearing me out!

#tsomd #the sleuth of ming dynasty #成化十四年 #reposting this again for why? idk #cdrama ramblings

82 notes · View notes

writing-frenzy · 5 years

Text

Mobbing Around: CucumberPlane AU~

yup, here I am again, back with my AU’s~ This time for one of my favorite pairings of Scum Villain CucumberPlane (I just love this disaster duo)

Here is first thing first; Shen Yuan and Airplane are not Shen Qingqiu or Shang Qinghua respectively.

But the both do have relations to both in certain ways-

Shen Yuan was transmigrated in this world into the body of a dying Shen Yi, the first of the street kids in Yue Qi and Shen Jiu’s group. He was the one who taught Yue Qi all his survival tips and in the beginnings of Shen Jiu’s life was the one who would sing nightmares away and provide a hug when needed. It’s also thanks to Shen Yi that the two have more power in the arsenal, because of course you know the minute Shen Yuan knew this was a cultivation world, he tried and see everything that would work in cultivating (which was surprisingly a lot, thanks to how PIDW is set up, his mish-mash of styles were perfect.) It’s like this for a few years, these years on the streets hardening Shen Yi in a way, the world undeniably real to him in every pain he feels, the grief that hits him, and even in the little pleasures he finds day by day... But of course it doesn’t last... After all, the extra’s did mention that Yue Qi and Xiao Jiu were the last of their group for a reason. It happens when a group of slave traders come through town, making nice with the lord there, showing off their pretties and then getting out with their pay... but with so little stock left, they of course of to bulk it up before they leave.

And who would miss a few kids from the streets? (Shen Yi did what he could, buying time to make sure the others would at least get away, unknowing that he himself would be the price paid to buy those precious seconds)

Now for Airplane, who was born one Shang Huanmu (hopefully means Pleased Desire but if not i’m blaming PIDW’s naming sense) Who is one of the numerous half-brothers of this world’s future Shang Qinghua. Shang Huanmu was a child that should have died in the womb, but thanks to transmigration, he in the end lives! Airplane’s father can be thought of as the Jin Guangshan of Scum Villain, a power hungry womanizer who only thinks of himself and the pleasures in life, just this one is actually able to legally have more wives. Now, if Airplane had been born as Shang Qinghua, as one of the sons of the Legal First Wife, he wouldn’t have to concern himself with harem politics and treachery, especially after his mother ensured he could escape it permanently by giving him the chance to be a big renown sect’s disciple... But like I said, Shang Huanmu does not have that safety net. He and his mother are stuck deep in the poisonous words dipped in rouge and perfume, where one wrong word, where one misstep, where one simple look could get them flogged, booted out of the clan, or even death if they are not careful.

Airplane gets a very different second childhood (but with a mother, a parent who actually loves and supports him, despite all his eccentrics and quirks? It goes a long way for his shallow heart). (EDIT: found out Huanmu can also mean 360 degree cinema screen, which only makes me want to keep it even more.)

Now, can you guess how they meet? :3 The head of the Shang Household decides they need more sex slaves hmm, ehem, I mean servants, of course, look, there are even a few boys here even! (not to say just how many woman there are) Shen Yi Just happens to be one of these poor souls stuck here. For a while, he just gets shuffled around for a time, no set place yet as he is still new and they’re not sure what to do with him yet.

Until one day, Shen Yi gains the favor of one of the many wives, her son one day seeming to favor him, so thus making him their personal servant.

(I’m thinking Airplane hears Shen Yuan singing a fan song under his breath, joins in with him, and suddenly both are like ‘I’m not alone’)

Now that that is set up, here are a few other things to note-

Mama Shang is a certified bad ass who loves her babies (yes, Shen Yuan is her baby now) and will fuck up anyone who thinks of hurting them (how else do you think they’ve survived for so long? and give me more awesome woman in SV!!)

In public, Shen Yi is the dutiful, grateful servant while Shang Huanmu is the careless weird master (in private they are just disaster best friends, with Shen Yuan being the huffy commanding one.)

Both boys learn degrees of her badassery, Shang Huanmu going more mental manipulative route with plenty of tricks and traps, while Shen Yi takes the fighting approach with the mental strategist route. This also gives the public a more Master-Bodyguard servant relationship to view...

Shen Yuan and Airplane find out in mid-early of their friendship who they were in a past life, but seeing as neither know they are in PIDW, Shen Yuan just bitches at him occasionally about it, even teasing him as well.

The reason why they don’t know is because they are much more focused on surviving their environment around them, the sects that are mentioned are the ones either a) close by to the Shang Family or b) something more ‘fitting’ for their stations in life. (besides, a lot of stories have similar names for clans, I know about two that have a Jiang clan. not to mention Jin clan and others)

So yeah, Cucumber-bro and Airplane-bro grow up close, bitch and complaining, and crying to each other (laughing and smiling and clinging tight in the night, worried an assassin would be right there to take one of them away.)

Both men are mentally older, wearier, and jaded here, both seek comfort in the other, both trust each other greatly... but both are still as dense as rocks when it comes to the realization that they have been in love with each other for years now.

(Shen Yuan has no idea why he wants to vomit everytime he hears about possible marriage matches for Airplane; probably just the thought of someone actually marrying him that gets him, even if he isn’t that bad to look at...)

(Airplane smiles like normal, but his eyes are like they were made of ice the moment someone offers to buy/take Shen Yi off his hands; no way is someone going to take his bro from him, even as the thought of separating from Shen Yuan fills his soul with a chilling fear. Probably just the thought of what could happen to his friend getting to him, what with how pretty the other is...)

If there is a system in this world, I want it to be as ridiculous as possible; Like, the Good Deed System, where you have to perform good deeds from simple ones to world saving quests, or even a Side Quest System, a system that makes sure that those little details actually get met. Maybe even a Karma System, where what comes around goes around and all that (basically, I want these two boys to be in the dark about where they actually are for as long as possible :D But Systems are so much fun to mess with~)

Now, this AU can actually Branch out:

In number one, Mama Shang sees an opportunity for her boys, since the first wife is sending one of her sons to the prestigious Cang Qiong Moutain Sect, she joins in with a group of other wives to try and get their own children sent, which the Shang Head allows, because hey, if more of his blood get in, more face for his family! This is when both boys find out that they are in PIDW, which makes Shen Yi glare at one certain shrinking author, who pales at all the realizations. But this is their best chance at a new life, to become cultivators and escape their harsh family and all it’s tricks and traps. Both of them take the digging holes seriously (even as Shen Yuan bitches about it to Airplane all the while) because again, best shot they have. And to their relief, they even manage to get in!... at different peaks that is... (why yes, I noticed that certain Peaks don’t have Peak Lords :) shame they have no named Lords at all... :) oh, how could this ever be fixed?)

In this number we have these two boys and their mother leave the family (how they do so is unclear for now), learning under a random, maybe renown cultivator and Mama Shang, who become rouge cultivators themselves, their own ideas helping to improve and create entirely new paths of cultivation. In this path, they will eventually find out what world they are eventually, but decide to just stay as rouges here, with adventure and mystery all around them, making allies and accidently derailing canon all along the way as they do so :3 (it would be such a sweet freedom for these two disasters to enjoy, and with Mama Shang with them to be badass as well.)

Now, this one kinda branches off from number 2 in an interesting way :D You see, both these disasters have a great charisma, just aimed in different ways that could get many different types of people. They also, have different moral systems, things that would get people all around them, while Shang Huanmu and Shen Yi really couldn’t care less or have different takes on, despite all the years they have lived in this world. They end up getting... a lot of followers, people who would love to either be a disciple, little brother/sister, even servant at times... Slowly, ever so sudden, there is a big group of rouge cultivators at night hunts, Airplane figuring out the best way to settle supplies and money, while Shen Yuan easily makes nice with all these people, or if needed threaten them harshly. Soon, the two find themselves in a situation of; the only reason we aren’t a sect is that we haven’t gotten a place to settle down/Emperor’s approval...

Yeah, as you can see, I really like this idea XD

#Scum Villain #Scum Villain's Self Saving System #SVSS #CucumberPlane #Shang Qinghua #Shen Yuan #Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky

169 notes · View notes

pjartama · 4 years

Text

The Taveril’domaine Trip: Chapter 1 - At The Door

Written by PJ Artama (in collaboration with ThatJunkieFinn and Penthepoet)

Upon arriving in the famed Dekn city of Taveril’domaine with Zachriel and his bodyguards, Valek and Branuul, Ka’yel was hit with a wave of nostalgia. The tall city towers, the bustling streets filled with Dekn men and women and children, and the various districts they walked past. It was like she never left home. She had spotted a few changes here and there since she left to stay in the Library, but overall, it was mostly how she remembered it.

After hours of searching and finally settling into their temporary residence, word had reached them that even though it had been around a month or so since the door first appeared outside the city on May 15th, there were already rumors being spread around about the door. Some were saying that the door had actually opened and something on the other side got out. Some said the Arkn had summoned the gods and as a result caused the appearance of the door. True or false, these were just rumors. You had to be up close and personal to see the truth for yourself. But after Marchosias Aversen released his propaganda video to the Dekn population, no one dared to go anywhere near the door.

When Ka’yel heard this, she immediately understood what this was. She had learned enough from her father and from various historical books about using scare tactics. She also gleaned enough about the Master of Beguilement and Debauchery himself to know that this video was just a ruse. A ploy to get people to stay away from the door so he could take control over the door and do Hethe knows what with it. She assumed it involved his “Society” somehow. She knew better of course. They all did. Anyone with logic and common sense could see right through the facade he was putting up and how much of an egotistical son of a bitch he was. Despite the warnings and threats, his shitty propaganda video was not going to stop them from seeing the door.

The day finally arrived and they all walked together out of the city and towards the door. Ka’yel was feeling butterflies in her stomach and looked more nervous in contrast to Zachriel’s confidence as he led the charge. It stemmed less from fear and more excitement at finally being able to see the door. She knew that Zachriel was feeling the same way, he just had more experience in not showing it. Many things were running through her mind; what would it be like? What would they find there? Had Marchosias already gotten his greedy hands on the door? Would she have a chance to touch it? She didn’t know. All she could think about at that moment was keeping herself together despite growing more anxious with every step closer.

The door was near in sight. Its shiny golden surface was dazzling brightly in the sun, decorated with beautiful symbols, runes, and gems that too sparkled with the sunlight. It was breathtaking. As they got closer, however, she could see a group of people gathered around the door. They appeared to be… worshipping it. All of them were wearing various robes, dresses, suits, and outfits of all shapes and sizes... all of them coated in a signature purple and white color scheme. She had assumed correctly, they were members of the Society of the Purple Rose and she immediately knew that this was not going to be good.

Some of these figures leading this worship looked up and saw them approaching, immediately causing one of them to point to some Purple Rose guards and gesturing them in their direction. These guards nodded and began to intercept them. Upon seeing this, Zachriel silently told everyone to stop and wait and see what these guards wanted from them. Slowly, the guards arrived. They were ornate with brilliant purple-colored silk undergarments and shining silver armor, images of purple roses carved into the metal, and more. Their horns on their helmets supremely menacing in appearance and holding weapons at their side. She had to hand it to them, they at least had some style.

The guard in charge stepped forward.

“Turn back strangers.” It was a woman’s voice.“This door is currently in use by the

Society of the Purple Rose as declared by the God-Emperor Elucidis himself. Henceforth, you all are not permitted to approach it beyond this point. Turn around now and return back to the city.”

“When will it be available to be seen alone?” Zachriel inquired.

“Ah, not for a while I’m afraid as our God-Emperor has exclusively booked us here for three months.”

They all stood there with a look of surprise and frustration.

“Three months?!” exclaimed Zachriel.

“That is correct.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“I am not. I apologize if you wished to see the door right this second, but this is the situation. I must now ask you again to leave.”

“Who in Hethe’s name needs to book a door for three months? Ka’yel angrily exclaimed, “It’s in the public domain, why is it being used privately by you?”

“As I have explained, it is our God-Emperor’s will that this happen. The door is a sign of his power and he has now ensured that we stay by it at all times.”

“Bullshit. Marchosias Aversen is just using its sudden appearance to manipulate you into believing he made it appear and scaring everybody away so that your cult can worship it without interruption.”

“How dare you call the Society of the Purple Rose a cult!”

“Then what are you then?” Ka’yel yelled as she pushed past Zachriel to the front. “A peace-loving charity that believes in the power of Elucidis who believes that all will be well if you give in to him? Don’t give me that crap. This “society” is nothing more than a fabrication created in the mind of a twisted monster in the body of a man. You’ve been lied to. Conditioned to follow him and his so-called “beliefs”. He’s using you to get what he wants.”

The guards drew their blades out towards her and she took a step back in shock.

“Blasphemer!” she yelled. “You dare to speak against our great God-Emperor and his chosen few?! He has saved us all from our darknesses. He foretold this event was to come and he would guide us to a better world. You are misguided to ignore him. Who do you think you are coming here to tell us such lies?”

Ka’yel suddenly felt Valek and Branuul on either side of her, both of their arms crossed.

“That’s my secretary you’re talking to, ma’am,” came Zachriel’s low angered voice from behind them, “and I do not appreciate you pointing your weapons at her. If you so much as lay a finger on her, there will be consequences. I will be damned to let you harm her in any way!”

His eyes flashed a deep orange-red at the guards, causing them to take a step back before he took a deep breath and calmly spoke again.

“Excuse me for my sudden outburst. Now, let us put our differences aside and maybe we can negotiate a way to see the door today.”

The guards looked at him, thought for a moment and they soon lowered their swords from Ka’yel’s throat. But they didn’t put them away.

“Very well,” said the head guard, looking back at Ka’yel. “I apologize, Miss. I forgot some people just don’t understand our God-Emperor and his ways and I am a very devout believer in him. I must continue to control my emotions as he would scold me for not saving face.” She turned back to Zachriel. “As for negotiating, I’m afraid I must insist that it is not going to be possible.”

“Listen, ma’am,” said Zachriel, once again taking the front, “we are on a tight schedule at the moment as we are only going to be in Taveril’domaine for a few days and we don’t have any other time to spare to come back another time. Least of all three months. So, we’d greatly appreciate it if we could get a closer look at the door right now.”

“Again, I’m sorry, but we cannot allow that.”

“Why not? We’re only here to see the door up close. We swear we won’t disturb the society’s prayer time and we’ll keep our mouths shut while we examine the door. Won’t we?” Everybody in the group nodded. “I don’t see why that should be so harmful?”

“Uh, w-well…” the guard stuttered. “It’s… it’s b-because your presence has an effect on everyone else. W-we need the space to um… concentrate without sensing others than ourselves.”

“Well, surely if we went to the other side of the door we’d be fine right? You’d still have your space and there’d be a door between us and your lot. Better yet, we can stand at a distance behind that door and you’d still have your space. Everybody wins.”

“W-well, n-no. I-”

“Furthermore, I am Zachriel Rofocale, the Dekn Lord of Memories and Devastation. I have more knowledge on things relating to the Old World than most and I must glean some insight and more information about this door so it may be preserved on the shelf of my library, and you are blocking my path to see it.”

“Uh, w-well n-now...”

Ka’yel noticed that the guard seemed to be sweating and stammering a lot. Something wasn’t right here.

“You can tell it, can’t you?” she telepathically said to Zachriel. “It’s more than just scaring people away. They’re hiding something.”

“Yes, and they’re not doing a good job at hiding it,” he replied.

“So, what’s the plan?”

“I’m working on it. I didn’t expect to have to deal with cultists today.”

The guard cleared her throat.

“L-look, Mr. Rofocale, or whoever you are. I understand your humble desire to see this door, but we have our orders, and I’m afraid we’re going to have to escort you from this area by force.”

Suddenly, Ka’yel was struck by a brilliant idea.

“I’ve got this one,” she telepathically said to Zachriel.

She looked directly at the guards.

“No, you’re not,” she said.

The guards all looked at her once more with a look of disdain on their faces this time.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” she said as she walked up to the front once more. “You are instead going to take us to the door right now or I’ll cause more problems for you.”

The guards laughed upon hearing that.

“You’ll cause more problems if we don’t take you to the door? What, in the name of our God-Emperor Elucidus, makes you think you can order us around?”

“Well, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ka'yel Luueth'dei of House Luueth'dei,” she said as she reached under her shirt, pulled out her Luueth'dei emblem necklace, and held it up for the guard to see.

"If the name Luueth'dei rings any bells, you'll know that I am related to Mastema Luueth'dei, the Dekn Master of Dreams and Nightmares whom you may also find works alongside Alastor Andromalius, the Dekn Master of the Gallows, who I'm sure would find it very interesting to see what it is you all are doing and hiding from the rest of the world. After all, your “Society” still has to abide by certain Dekn laws set in place, right?"

She got right up into the head guard's face.

"So, unless you and your Purple Rose friends want me to ensure you receive a visit from the Master of the Gallows, you will take myself and my posse closer to see this door. Is that clear?"

The guards stood in stunned silence at her half-truth. She hoped it would be enough to get them through. The head guard nodded, closed her eyes, and stood there for a few minutes, then finally opened them to face Ka’yel’s.

“We will… escort you to be at a closer distance to the door. About 2-3 yards, no more.

You will also be given a short time to look upon it. I’d suggest you gather your notes quickly.”

They all nodded and they were quickly escorted to their destination.

The site of the door was more beautiful than anything Ka’yel could’ve imagined. Even from a distance of 2-3 yards, she could somewhat hear the distant whispers of the Hethe. She was making so many notes, she feared she might run out of ink in her pen. But she had to get everything she could see down. It was the only chance she had. Zachriel was intensely analyzing it. Making sure he recorded every single observation into his memory as well as reminiscing a bit. The Old World symbols, she imagined, probably reminded him of home. It was a nice, yet sad thing as well. However, their time there soon came to a halt and they were forcefully removed from the distance and were told to be on their way. They had done it. Though they were not as close enough to touch it, their allowed proximity was enough to satisfy her.

Hours after the incident, Ka’yel, Zachriel, Valek, and Branuul were all sitting together at a table in a restaurant close by to where they were staying. Testrath’s Cuisine it was called. It had a nice atmosphere. Calm, yet loud at the same time with its rich architecture and design. It brought people together. Ka’yel used to come here sometimes to enjoy a nice meal and to simply read and write at a table in a corner. Taking a bite out of her Ata’karai curry had warm memories flooding her mind. Oh Hethe, how she missed this.

“Well, that was quite a trip,” Zachriel said as he took a bite out of his Onsapur curry.

“Tell me about it,” Ka’yel remarked, “those cultists were absolutely up to something back there.”

“Indeed. Nice job threatening them by the way.”

Ka’yel shrugged. “Well, I had to get us to the door somehow because nothing else was working.”

“And you did a great job at it. Didn’t she guys?”

Valek and Branuul, both eating, nodded in agreement before returning to their plates of food. Ka’yel smiled.

Zachriel took a few more bites out of his curry in annoyance.

“Sadly, I had hoped we’d be right up to see it. But, no. Marchosias and his fucking purple flower cult had to get there first.”

Ka’yel sighed. “Yeah. And what really ticks me off the most, is that he’s gotten everyone convinced that the door is dangerous so that he can use it to further his own gain and worship. Furthermore, those people who “worship” him are out of their minds!”

“The bastard has a way with people, that’s for damn sure.”

“And not the good kind of way,” Ka’yel said before returning back to her meal.

“Regardless of him,” Zachriel continued, “whatever that part of the cult is hiding seems very important and detrimental if it were discovered by a member of the public.”

“It must have some relation to the door I would assume.”

“My thoughts exactly. And it’s making me more curious about the door and what could be behind it as a result. Argh, I want to know so badly!”

"Same here. I just wanted to touch it initially, but now there are more questions surrounding it. Hethe above, it's so frustrating not being able to get close enough to touch it."

"Exactly! And very unsatisfying too."

Zachriel then sighed. "But with them in the way, guarding that door like there's no tomorrow from all sides, I guess we'll never know."

Ka'yel sighed and took another bite out of her curry.

"Yeah… As much as the thought of trying to sneak by them sounds cool, it could cause more problems for us if we did and were caught."

She then looked at her notebook filled with her somewhat rushed handwritten notes on the door. Thank goodness it was still legible enough to read.

"At the very least, we have enough information from what we could get to do an analysis on it and write a book about it."

"Very true," Zachriel agreed. "I wish we had more. But this will certainly suffice."

“What could you discern about it?”

Zachriel put his spoon down and thought for a second.

“Obviously, it’s unnatural. Even though we were still at a distance, I could still hear those whispers that were mentioned. It’s just as the rumors say, that’s the tongue of the Hethe coming through. So, I’d have to imagine they had a hand in this door’s appearance. To how much extent that was, I have no idea.”

“You seemed to recognize some of those symbols on the door.”

Zachriel chuckled. “That I did. There were only a few of them that I could discern their meaning, and plenty of them were very unknown to me. But there’s no denying that they were all definitively Old World symbols.”

“Did it remind you of home somewhat?”

Zachriel initially seemed hesitant to answer, but eventually, he nodded and looked down at what remained of his Onsapur curry. Ka’yel immediately felt guilty.

“I-I’m sorry Zachriel. I didn’t mean to-”

He put a hand up to interrupt her.

“It’s fine Kay. I’m just… thinking a bit. Seeing those symbols made me nostalgic. Like I was back home in Elysia again. I felt happiness, joy, things I hadn’t felt in a long time. Yet it also made me feel… sad, and... alone. Being here in this new world, it all still feels... surreal, you know? To know you’re one of the last living remnants of a world long past… that the home you once knew, your friends, and your... family… are all gone now… and you’re still here… carrying their memories… until you’re gone too…”

His voice trailed off somewhat as tears formed around his eyes. He put his face in his hands and silently cried for a moment.

Ka’yel immediately got out of her chair, moved past Branuul, and sat right next to Zachriel. Without hesitation, she pulled him into her arms, then wrapped them around him to comfort him as tears started to form around her eyes as well.

“Oh, Zachriel. I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry.”

Zachriel eventually wrapped his arms around Ka’yel and they sat there like that for another minute or so until Zachriel pulled away from her, sniffed, and then took a deep breath in to calm down.

“I’m okay now, Kay. Thank you,” he said as he wiped his tears away. “I’m not sure what I’d do without your help sometimes.”

Ka’yel smiled and wiped her own tears away.

“Now then, I’m not feeling like eating the rest of my curry at the moment. So, if anyone else is not feeling hungry either I think we’ll all leave a tab for the fine people who provided this delicious cuisine and be on our way. What do you think guys?”

Everybody at the table nodded.

“Very well. Let’s head on back then.”

And as the sun was starting to set, they all paid for their food and left the restaurant full and more cheerful than they were when they entered and made their way back to their residence in Taveril’domaine.

#arkn legacy #arkn #original story #purple rose #the trip #zachriel #ka'yel #shadow on the sea

3 notes · View notes

lysieblu · 4 years

Text

When the Camellia Blooms

So I decided to do commentary this time. I usually have a lot to say when wacthing dramas but forget it all quickly.

Mild Spoilers Ahead

I’ve renamed the characters because auto-correct sucks if your first language isn’t Korean.

Oh Dong-Baek - Dongbaek

Hwang Yong-sik - Smiley

Choi Hyang-mi / Choi Go-eun - Clepto Waitress

No Gyu-tae - Tae or Gyu-tae

Hong Ja-young - Baseball, baseball dude

Jo Jung-sook, Dongbaek’s mom - Mama bear

Deok-soon, Yong-sik’s mom - Ma dukes

Why is it that society can take anything and make it a reason to put others down. Humans ain't shit. Episode 6 “Girls like me are like the Emperor's New Clothes... Good guys cants see me.” Best quote of the whole drama so far. Clepto waitress, I love her. She was weird and I wasn't sure if she was playing old dude, Tae. But she was and kinda genius at it. Men help create the traps they get caught in. Is Dongbaek really going to die in the end because it really sucks as this sad girl narrative goes. Being an orphan and or single mom does not doom you. The society in which she lived did. She was a fighter and would always win. The fact that she made it so far in life despite believing the bs others were telling her and the shit she was telling herself is worthy of praise. Episode 7 Smart girl to keep a tab of bad behavior. I just wish she had a bit more confidence, petty, and bad bitch in her delivery. This self deprecating behavior is getting old now. But this kind of behavior can't be unlearned in a night. It's so frustrating. This is why I can't be a therapist. Get a grip bitch. (kidding I know how healing works) all you can really do is pour in the positive and hope it flushes out the negative. That's why smiley is good for her but God he's annoying. He may be good and all but he had def benefited from her lack of boundaries. The dead girl at the end is the Clepto waitress. She stole the bracelet from Dongbaek and thus why the dead body is wearing it. Go Gye-tae has something to do with the murders. He is too punk to do them himself. But he knows and is close to the murderer. The timing of the alarm at the aesticians office. Tae saved her I think it's the handy man. Episode 8 Chief is looking really suspect. Clepto waitress has crossed the line to disrespectful. Is she really risking hurting Dongbaek to get baseball dude? I think extortion always been her MO. Mom was referring to her when she said watch who you trust. I don't think she's the killer but bitch is not innocent. Episode 9 I hate bitches. It's true that for some people who never grew the fuck up... Hate is their love language. Cliques need a common enemy to thrive and they are weak as fuck. It doesn’t help that Dongbaek never puts them in their place. Me and Dongbaek are the same age and had our kid about the same time. I don't think the killer is female. Unless that bitch is Ronda Rousey I would like to believe I can fight off a bitch with chicken wire. Chief is looking suspect as hell. Why is he always throwing Smiley off the track or avoiding the case. He knows something. I am by no means taking baseball guys side, however I do feel that both parents should be given the opportunity to be parents to their kid. It's unfair to not tell him about his child when he clearly wants to be a father. The scar can go both ways. You son can resent you for keeping this from his father. Pil clearly knows what's up. Dongbaek is growing up. In a way, this is a death flag. But I still don't believe it's her. Episode 10 There isn't a cloud in the sky. They are walking around without coats. And you expect me to believe that it's cold enough for snow. I still feel like Joker isn't a female but her mom is looking hella suspect. What if the connection between all the victims is Dongbaek. Maybe they somehow did her wrong and crazy momma bear was protecting her. But I really can't see her climbing out of a window. Plus the fire alarm. Trust no one. A lot of people have said the "don't be a joke" line. I called it. That ending was more of a death red flag. So the dead lady is Clepto waitress. She probably died because she obviously owes debts. Dude in hair salon was creepy. But that is separate from joker. I know this goofy mug. I've seen it somewhere (Googling it) ah.. yes... Mr Smiley was in Midnight Runners, playing a cop there too if I remember correctly. Episode 11 A bunch of elementary school kids fighting over baseball. Me yelling at my TV: GET EM!!! Let me tell y'all. I would have been on that field lighting shit up, whipping everyone's ass. Little boy go get yo momma so she can get your ass beating. 😡 Chief is acting wonky. He knows something. What's with the mom? She seems so protective... Now? What about her dad? What if Dongbaek's parents are some crazy con artists who are protecting their daughter by killing off people who conned her? They are basically trying to tell her to "get a grip bitch!" Or "don't be a joke." And did you see her grab the belt and wrap around her fist? She knows what the fuck she's doing. (I want her on my team in a fight) Why is Dongbaek not questioning her lucidity? 🤔 Clepto waitress is the childhood friend.?!. 🤨 IT WAS THE FUCKING HANDYMAN!!! I CALLED IT!!! 🥳🙌🏾👏🏾 Yass bitches. I'm fucking brilliant. Hold on... let's not get ahead of ourselves. Episode 12 This shit just became an episode of 24 “Why try to live so hard?” Because if I live up to the narrative people create for me based on some societal BS explanation, they win. They can say, "see I told you all _______ are _______." Fuck your prejudices and stereotypes. The last thing I want to do is prove some asshole right. So many people want her dead they are trying to confuse me. Who the fuck is the joker?? Handy man's dad? Is he even alive? And this lack of boundaries is killing me. Dongbaek needs to put both those men in their place. Baseball needs to know he has no legal rights, period, if his name is not on the birth certificate. It would be the kids decision as to what his relationship with his dad is. She also needs to tell Smiley to get a fucking grip and that dealing with Baseball is part of being with her. These situations can coexist and it's frustrating to think otherwise. Mom dukes needs to chill. Her son has to make his own decisions and fuck-ups and she cannot fault Dongbaek for that. Life is hard, regardless. If it ain't this, it would be something else. Who lives an easy life?? Challenges build character. And I get it some things you can avoid. But they are grown in their 30s, who at this point does not come with baggage? And fuck you for trying to make me cry. I'm at work Episode 13 Is momma bear on drugs? Her behavior isn't totally out of the ordinary but maybe she goes away to trip and comes back. Lawd we all gon die together😮 They are teasing this story line so hard. IDK who the joker is. I'ma stick to the handy man but everyone in this story is guilty of something and really it's like matching the crime to the person or the person to the crime. Who killed Clepto? Was it her enemies or the joker? What momma bear is up to? Who's the joker? Is the joker and cleptos killer the same person? What's handy mans deal? Out of all of clepto's enemies, I believe the only ones capable of killing her are Mr. Pimp, Jessica because she's desperate, or Momma bear because she's protecting Dongbaek. In which case, her death is separate from the Joker's killings. Episode 14 You think Smiley's mom may be jealous because no one took an interest in her with three kids? Hold... The ... Fucking.... Phone... It's handy man's dad??? Behind every weak man is a mother (parental figure) who never held him accountable. I'm tired of grown people not acting like they are grown, kiss and have sex already... Damn. Oh so now they were meant to be? And did Momma bear really come for a kidney? Episode 15 There is a such thing as too much motherly love. This lady is fucking delusional. Her son has always been the type to run towards trouble. Does she really think his life would be easier without Dongbaek? Really? Go-tae is cleared. He was guilty but his crime is gambling. Jessica hit clepto with her car but someone delivered the final blow. Was it Momma bear? Or joker? I think Chief is cleared too. He was just operating out of fear. So hold up. Momma bear has been watching over Dongbaek her whole life. If Momma bear is lurking in the shadows of course she would run into someone else lurking in the shadows. Bitch. Episode 16 Laugh cry? Jesus Christ Dongbaek is stupid. A abandoned mall. Really? She's like a white chick in a horror movie. No don't go in there. Run bitch. 😔 Always take the fucking stairs. I can't. If she falls, I quit. Episode 17 They look like the fucking Power Rangers and I AM LIVING for this movement. Ordering me a track suit on payday. He gets it. He fucking gets it. "I know I made you be a mother when you wanted to just be a woman" 🥳 "We'll not only feed him, we'll wipe his ass if we have to" My bitch. 😂😂😂 If this shit ends with Pil going with his father, I quit. People and situations can peacefully coexist. What's with this all or nothing attitude? And this discarding of a previous family or kids. I see it a lot in these dramas and it's disturbing. Episode 18 Pil's in for a rude awakening but it's a lesson that his mom can't protect him from. His dad may have nice things, but he ain't shit. He'll be back. Damn even your kid thinks your weak. Or is he being mean? He did it for his mom. Funny.. he's assuming what she wants. Did she ever say that she couldn't marry Smiley because of him? Did Smiley say it? That Ma Dukes said it and it's unfortunate. He's too young to realize which opinions matter Society sucks for making a kid feel this way. Fuck that shit. It just hit me. One of the underlying themes of this drama is parenthood, more so motherhood. Dongbaek lacked boundaries, even with her son. Smiley's mom is delusional about her son and life in general. She relied on him too much, babied him too much. I don't think any woman would not have been good enough in the long run. The guilt of his father dying, she blames herself, a burden she should have never had to bare, and never fully healed. She projecting that onto Dongbaek. Dongbaek's mom is seeking redemption. She did what she thought was best for her kid. Jessica's mom put up with an asshole for the sake of everyone else and probably to maintain her life. She's learning that she doesn't want that for Jessica. That her own insecuries have transferred to her. Taeks mom is selfish as fuck and babied her son, never holding him accountable. Mother's think they know what's right for their kid, but a nice life from the outside doesn't guarantee a nice life from the inside. That nice lawyer could have treated your daughter like a slave. But it all looks nice to the neighbors. People have got to let "perceptions" go. Most of the time people with the "worst" past have the best character. The issue with it all is.. most mother's define themselves by their kids or husbands. Korea does it very literally. Then, when it all goes away; your kid grows up, your husband may die or leave, what's left of you? Who are you? Women are incouraged to be everything for everyone else but nothing for themselves. When we do, we are made to feel guilty or less than for it. Dongbaek needs to be away from him for while. How this is happening sucks but both of them have lessons to learn. If they don't live happily ever after I have wasted my 20 hours of my life. This is utter bullshit. I hope they're fucking with me. Episode 19 This would have played out differently if she had a daughter. This is literally why fuck boys are running amuck these days. Moms who use their sons (sometimes daughters) as substitutes for men and adult relationships. Boundaries. To love your dad so much even though he is a killer is unhealthy. Sik needs psyhological help. It sends the wrong message that you need to or have to take you parents (family members) bs just because they are parents (or family.) In hindsight, a red flag. I don't want Dongbaek to be a match. I don't want her to give her kidney. I don't like the idea of someone younger giving someone older an organ. Once you've passed 50 you have lived your life. The donor should be the same age or older and preferably on their death beds. Especially in Dongbaek's case. What if something goes wrong and Pil looses his mother and grandmother? You going to let that man-child raise him? I would never be okay with taking any organ from my kid. Episode 20 So it was the handy man? I was right bitches. And his dad is covering for him. Wow let it be known that Episode 7 I called it! He was framing his dad and playing everybody. Why didn't he kill Ma tho? Loving people and being kind-hearted is so fucking easy. Why do humans make it so hard?? I know these dramas are fiction but someone somewhere has lived a similar life. Where the fuck would I be if I didn't have an awesome mom and a loving family? Ongson feels like Stars Hollow. Them pants are rather high-waisted. That ended well. It had important lessons that I hoped someone learned from. Good story. Why I suspected the handy man? It's usually the character that can easily go unnoticed. He has access to the whole town, knew everyone and smart enough to cover his tracks. Everyone else was too obvious but the story did a great job of making me doubt my initial suspicion. Bravo. Low key miss clepto waitress. When she wasn't being a extortionist, she was a fun character.

1 note · View note

aros001 · 3 years

Text

Read through light novel vol. 12. Random thoughts.

A while back there was a cartoon called Superman The Animated Series and there were a lot of fans who thought their version of Lex Luthor was black because his skin was darker than what most other incarnations had been. Later on in the series, there was an episode with a one-off character whom had the exact same character model as Lex except he actually was black. The common fan theory for that episode was that the showrunners did that so people could see through a direct comparison what Lex would look like if he was black and they'd stop getting asked about it.

I bring this up because Alta reminds me a little bit of that, like she was created by the author in response to misconceptions too many people have about Raphtalia. That she worships Naofumi, that she loves him to the point of obsession after he saved her life and cured her illness, that she agrees with everything he says and would let him do anything to her if he wanted, etc. None of this is a criticism of Alta, since she's still a fun character (if a bit of a creepy stalker sometimes), but there are times when I'm reading where she feels like she's the author's way of showing what Raphtalia would be like if she actually was any of those things.

Overlord was my gateway series into both Isekai anime and light novel books, so naturally I tend to compare things a lot to Overlord. Alta reminds me a LOT of Ainz's minions in regards to her relationship with Naofumi. "You're great! You're amazing! You're perfect! Anyone who even minorly inconveniences you must DIE." That girl is thirsty in every sense of the word. Obviously I'm hoping her infatuation isn't due to the elixir. It's still creepy to have a child fawning that much over a grown adult (though not as much as it'd be the other way around) but it'd be far worse if that's the result of brain altering chemicals or the like over her own natural feelings. Like I said with Motoyasu's Temptation ability, stuff like that always makes me feel really uncomfortable.

Wyndia?! Dragons?! F**k yeah, I love Breath of fire!

The Demon Dragon Emperor was a great boss monster. It kind of took the best parts of the previous big boss battles and rolled them into one. He was an overwhelmingly powerful force like the Spirit Tortoise but still had an actual personality like Glass, not being just another monster like the Soul Eater. Using the Shield of Wrath to power up and wanting to absorb Naofumi because of his anger even gave an interesting dynamic, like with L'Arc and Therese being Naofumi's allies for a time and fighting to save their world. There was even the outright ego and lust for power that Kyo had but the Demon Dragon never threw a tantrum when things didn't go his way. He either got angry and fought harder or tried to run when he was in over his head. It never seemed like he was so weak mentality that he had to actively protect his ego. He was as good and powerful as he claimed and let his actions speak for themselves. When that didn't work he didn't start whining, just promised that he would return. I love forward to him being Naofumi's Nine Tailed Fox.

“It seems like you’re just going out in search of unjustified resentment based on misunderstandings, and then using that to condemn me as evil. Instead of wasting your time doing that, why don’t you just fix all of those problems yourself? You’re a hero too, right?”

“No, Princess Malty told me that these were special powers that only your shield possesses!”

What the f**k is with this bitch?!

Also, got to love how the three guys who prided themselves on "clearly" knowing everything about this world because they've played games similar to it believe every single thing they're told about Naofumi's shield, even if they've never heard about shielders having such abilities. Especially hearing such info from a person who has no reason to know anything about what the Legendary Shield can do. Malty is the ex-princess of a country that worships every hero EXCEPT for the shield. First the ability to brainwash, then that he was controlling the Spirit Tortoise, and now the ability to bring the dead back to life.

[Five seconds later]

A BRAINWASHING BOW?! ARE YOU F**KING KIDDING ME?!

Between that and Motoyasu's Temptation ability, now I'm going to be paranoid that Naofumi does actually has some kind of mind altering power he can unlock (closest right now is just Hate Reaction, which just makes monsters focus on him during battle). Malty is going to have a field day with that if it ever happens.

I'm kind of split on how I feel about the situation with Itsuki. Obviously I'm glad he apologized to Rishia and is on Naofumi's side, as well as his actions being the result of his background and issues as opposed to him just being a jerk. But it's kind of like with Trash, where the sympathetic backstory doesn't feel like it excuses or makes up for what he's been doing. All the heroes, including Naofumi, have serious flaws and reasons for those flaws, but Itsuki throughout has kind of felt like the most hypocritical and sometimes nefarious of the four. Treating Rishia so badly and then getting rid of her, not just because she upstaged him during a wave, but because she reminded him of when he was bullied back in his old life make him feel like an even worse person. Maybe I have a bias because I am a huge fan of superheroes, which was a comparison drawn a few times in this book, and there are certainly fans, including myself probably, who would probably act just like Itsuki has been for the same reasons, but it still doesn't endear me much to his character. Instead of using his backstory as a reason to be better, he chose to be just as bad as what he's dealt with, justifying it only with his own desire to want to be the hero; to want to be the main character. He's a little like Light from Death Note in a way. "I am justice and those who disagree with me are against justice.", while any fan of modern superheroes could tell you it's not that simple (like Rishia did). Obviously, I'm probably being way too harsh. I feel like I'd maybe be less split and more forgiving if we'd gotten to see Itsuki interact with his former party after they abandoned him to the Spirit Tortoise, not just Rishia, like we did with Motoyasu. See more how he treated the people who didn't remind him of himself and how it felt when they stopped feeding his ego and hero complex.

I'm really enjoying the different drawbacks each of the different curse series have. It'd be really easy to have just a loss in stats or a risk of death like Naofumi's Shield of Wrath but I like that each has its own unique consequence that relates to the power that was being used. Ren used the sin of greed to gain temporary power and now the quality of whatever he touches lowers, as well as his own exp. It's like a reverse Midas touch. Then we have Itsuki, whom after spending so long demanding everyone conform to his ideal, now becoming completely passive and obedient. Of course, now I'm concerned about what the drawback to Motoyasu's curse is, since it seems to be based in lust.

Am I the only one who thinks the ninjas attacked not because of the Miko outfit but because they were bored? They've been watching Raphtalia's family since before she was born and have done nothing other than that. Now they're attacking over the smallest excuse, because they should know the context of why she was wearing that outfit since they've been constantly watching; not as a sign she wants the throne but because, well, that sh*t gets Naofumi going. I think they were just bored and jumped at the chance to finally fight something.

But back to seriousness, Naofumi's reaction at the end was my absolute favorite of his yet. Just that realization that these people watched Raphtalia's village get attacked several times, watched her family die, watched her get sold into slavery, and did NOTHING to stop any of it, only to finally reveal themselves now trying to kill her over a misunderstanding. I'm completely on his side. F**k these people! I'm glad they're going to go take over their country and crush it! (I'm vindictive today, jeez...). I took a peek at the art for vol. 13 and it has Naofumi sitting on a throne like freaking Lelouch from Code Geass and I'm just sitting here going "Ohboyohboyohboyohboyohboy!" I love a bad guy I can root for.

I'm just imagining that Lilo and Stitch meme, where Raphtalia is at her bedside praying to Heaven to send her a friend; the nicest angel they have.

Cut to Naofumi, laughing maniacally and surrounded by fire.

If Naofumi and Raphtalia ever have a daughter, he is going to forbid that child from leveling up until she's 18 if there is ANY chance she'll grow like a typical Demi-Human. Naofumi will want her to stay as cute, little, and innocent for as long as possible after all the other things like Filo he's helped raise. 50/50 he'll do the same if they have a son.

Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/shieldbro/comments/fi2imi/read_through_light_novel_vol_12_random_thoughts/

#rising of the shield hero #random thoughts #reddit repost

1 note · View note

theladyfangs · 6 years

Text

Reflections Part 2/ The Other

Gabriel 1/ A Storm In The Ocean

Gabriel I

Mycelium works in mysterious ways. He’d learned that through observing Paul Stamets. He’d learned that this network, used as a weapon of destruction in his universe, could also give life elsewhere.

Gabriel chuckles low, dark. Unhappy.

He was so close. Close to having it all—his revenge, his victory, his empire, and her.

But she refused to come.

Georgiou had gotten to her once again, this time, turning her against him. Michael hadn’t even let him explain.

Now he’s trapped—neither living nor dead, but caught between.

A sword through the back. But the twist—came from her, as she’d stepped aside as he reached for her, letting him fall into the light.

He saw his own death approach in blinding brilliance, and when he woke up, he was here.

Wherever here, is.

“Serves you right, you rat bastard,” Hugh says, coming to stand next to him and crossing his arms as they both look down at the scenes below. “Everything you touch, you destroy.”

“I wasn’t the one who killed you,” he throws back tartly. “But believe me, if I could now…”

They both know the threat is empty.

“Is this what it’s like?” He asks, quieter now, the mask of bluster fading as he watches Michael pet her tribble.

It’s how he spends his time now. Simply watching her. Watching over her. Still trying, even in death, to protect her when he’s failed to do so twice now. The only comfort is that this time, it was his life that was taken, not hers. At least he managed that.

He watches her walk the corridors of Discovery quietly, the pet in her arms. And he watches her at work—on the bridge, engineering. He sees her when she’s asleep, but his heart hurts when she tosses, and he knows it’s not restful. He can see everyone and everything that goes on there—the entire crew of the Discovery, but it is Michael he focuses on the most. The place where his attention never wavers.

“Always,” Hugh says. Gabriel knows the doctor does the exact same thing. Only, he watches over Paul. Watches, as his husband walks into a room that housed two people, but is now home to only one. He watches as his lover stares at the bed but is unable to bring himself to lie in it. And he watches as Paul does as he’s had the past few weeks, and turns to the couch, sleeping curled up and alone.

The temperature around them falls, and Lorca looks up and around as the place they’re in darkens.

“What is that?” he asks.

Hugh turns. “A storm is coming.” He points.

Below them, the Discovery sails on, oblivious to the gathering of ionized particles beginning to spark and churn in the distance. Separate from them, Gabriel and Hugh are the left behind.

“Her absence is like the sky, spread over everything,” Gabriel says, to himself.

“I thought you hated poetry,” Hugh turns to look at him, surprised.

“C.S. Lewis,” Gabriel says absently.

A Storm In the Ocean

The only option is escape. The storm is too strong for the old freighter to manage. Cracks in the painted-over rust begin to crawl up the ship’s walls, revealing the extent of the decay. They are all dying creatures here. He learned to embrace it a while ago, how to survive while teetering on the edge. Gabriel Lorca learned how to survive.

The alarms begin to sound as the ship starts to break up, the storm raging outside.

“Abandon ship,” he gives the order.

The crew scrambles, taking with them what they can—mostly intelligence files.

He watches from the bridge, holding the ‘Lisbeth, as steady as he can as the pods take off, each carrying a soul. The crew complement is dropping…

35…30…24…21…17…16…10…6…4….1…A flash of light streaks across the front viewer and the Lisbeth trembles violently, a loud, yawning sound that he knows, can’t be good…

“Captain, we’re at a safe distance, sir. Evacuate…evacuate…”

His XO’s voice comes through on the conn. But Lorca is tired. And he thinks now is as good a time to die as any.

“No can do, Xhian,” he says calmly. “Take care. Keep up the fight,”

Because he’s done with it.

Another bolt, this time, hitting its target. The electricity begins to course through the ship, snapping circuits, frying wires,

“It’s been a good ride, my lady,” Lorca pats the ship’s conn. Waiting.

He sees it as it comes, and as the light approaches, he stretches his arms wide, embracing it. .

“You’re awake.”

He opens his eyes and sits up quickly in the bio bed glaring at a man in white medical Starfleet-issue scrubs.

“Who the hell are you, and where am I?”

“I’m Hugh Culber, and as for the where, well that part’s complicated,” the man tells him, taking a step back.

“Trust me, at this stage of the game, I doubt anything would surprise me,” Lorca grouses, getting down from the bed.

“Yeah well…about that,” Culber says, right as the doors to sickbay open. Lorca’s eyes go to where Hugh’s are looking and he comes face-to-face with…himself.

Now he knows for sure that he’s dead

“You son-of-a-bitch,” he mutters crossing his arms. “How the hell did you get here?”

“I died,” Gabriel tells him.

“Took you long enough,” Lorca says, bitterly. “You know how much of your shit I had to deal with in your universe?”

“Yeah, well, yours ain’t much better, buddy.”

Hugh looks between the two of them and just shakes his head, moving back.

The two Gabriels glare at each other, angrily.

“Look—Captain Lorca, I get you’re angry. None of us volunteered to be here, but” Culber looks to Gabriel. “I think you two have some things to discuss. And for the record, sir,” he can’t help but call Lorca ‘sir,’ “unlike us, you are not dead. Just passing through.”

Gabriel rubs his temples, growing annoyed with himself. No, really. Lorca is an asshole. And his patience is getting thin. But when Lorca accuses him of murdering Michael, it’s the final straw.

“I didn’t kill her!” He yells, turning on himself. “How dare you judge me, you don’t know shit about me!”

“Oh, I know enough,” Lorca tells him. “You betray your emperor, you take her daughter, and you murder her, stage a coup and I get to spend the past year on the run for the crimes of a traitor.”

They argue over this. Back-and-forth, back-and-forth.

“So what about you?” Gabriel challenges. “What about Katrina?” After all, turnabout is fair play.

At the name, Lorca’s eyes get flinty. “What did you do to her?”

Gabriel smirks. “Only what she wanted me to do.”

Lorca is first to swing, his fist finding Gabriel’s face. A face so much like his own. But it’s pointless. Really. They’re equally matched and trade body blows and kicks until they collapse, both breathing hard, exhausted and feeling like defeated men.

“I loved Katrina,” Lorca says defensively, feeling the burn behind his eyes at the mention of her name. “If you hurt her…”

“YOU hurt her,” Gabriel pants out. “Admit it. All those years you went—kept pushing it off, pushing it back…delaying it. If you wanted her, you should have said something decades ago. THEN you get mad when she asks for five more years? You had 25! Don’t think I don’t know. You made it all so clear in your personal logs. So who is more wrong? I adored my Michael. I treated her like the queen she was MEANT to be, and you don’t know the cost…” at that, even Gabriel stops, not able to bring himself to say the other thing.

It gets quiet as they stare up into nothingness.

“What do I need to know before I go back,” Lorca says, voice low. Will I be arrested on-sight for some shit YOU did?”

“Depends,” Gabriel tells him, honestly. “You’re crew may not be too happy to see you.”

His crew. At that, Lorca turns his head. “You were on the Buran? What did you do to my crew?” He asks, with a sick feeling in his gut, knowing he won’t like the answer.

“You saw what happened to you when you got to my universe,” Gabriel says, voice flat. “I did what I had to do to survive in yours.”

There’s a fresh wave of anger-fueled adrenaline and at the words Lorca moves fast, jumping on Gabriel and wrapping his hands around his own neck, squeezing tight.

“You sick, son-of-a-bitch,” he growls, the grip tightening as the knuckles begin to show under the skin. He squeezes, watching as Gabriel’s face turns red, then gradually darker, the blood rushing to eyes so much like his own, tinting them red. His counterpart, gags, thrashing, hands gripping his own but the grip doesn’t break and he watches with icy calm as gradually, Gabriel’s body stops thrashing, the hands around his stop clawing, the breathing stops…and finally, the imposter goes limp and Lorca is left to stand, dazedly, his own heart in his throat, looking down on what remains of himself.

His crew. Dead. Murdered, and the last face they likely saw, he knows, was his.

The nausea hits immediately, sending him stumbling, reeling and he turns away from Gabriel’s body and begins heaving. Nothing but bile. After a moment of this, he slumps against a wall and slides down, wearier and heavier than he’s ever been before. Lorca closes his eyes. Maybe this really is death, he thinks. So be it.

Hugh comes in and looks on in disapproval at both Gabriel Lorcas lying on the floor, bloodied and beaten.

“Time’s up, Captain,” he says, breaking Lorca out of his despair.

“Up for what?” Lorca asks.

At that, Gabriel’s eyes open and he gets to his feet, rubbing his neck. “Fuck, that hurt,” he rasps then, at the look of shock on Lorca’s face, starts to laugh. It turns into a hacking cough.

Hugh ignores him. “You should be going now,” he tells Lorca. “Just thank your lucky ion storms you won’t be stuck here, with him. Follow me.”

The doctor reaches a hand down and the captain takes it, allowing himself to be pulled up. The two men start walking to the door, past Gabriel who stands there with a strange look on his face. He’s not laughing anymore. Or coughing.

“Wait,” he calls to them striding over and stopping them before they can walk through the door, blocking it with his body. For this, he speaks directly to Lorca, his voice low, carrying with it urgency. The games are done. This, what he has to say now, is serious.

“You’ll see them both,” Gabriel warns himself. “Your Katrina. My Michael. They’re both there.”

“I don’t give a damn about Michael,” Lorca snaps. “I need to fix whatever the fuck you did to Katrina.”

But Gabriel shakes his head.

“Look,” he sighs, knowing himself and trying to decide how to convince Lorca to give him this one thing. “I just need you to tell my Michael the truth. It’s all down there,” he gestures. “In my quarters. In my files. You know which ones,” he says…stopping short of saying the other word. Please. Lorca studies him a long moment, and they speak, not with words but with other things. Gabriel knows himself. Lorca does too. Please, he asks himself. Hugh takes a step back, giving them space. It’s silent here, now as the mirrors of Lorca contemplate one another.

“Don’t make me…”Gabriel says quietly, reaching out to clasp Lorca’s wrist. “It’s important.” The grip tightens.

“I don’t owe you a damn thing.” Lorca nearly growls the words as h he snatches his hand away.

“PLEASE! There! I said it, are you satisfied now?” Because now, Gabriel isn’t so cocky. Now, he’s out of bluster and underneath that armor of arrogance is still a man. Reluctantly, Lorca nods. He will grant himself this because a part of him, grudgingly, understands. He knows what it has taken himself to even say the word “please.” He knows he had to humble himself. And that’s a tall order and in both universes, it seems, the word itself largely absent in both their vernaculars.

“Gabriel, Captain Lorca,” Hugh interjects. “We’re running out of time. The window is starting to close.”

“There are things there…not even you know,” Gabriel starts talking faster. “Just tell my Michael the truth. All I ask.”

Lora just nods, lips tight. But he’ll honor the request. Gabriel nods back, stepping aside and allowing them to move past. Culber steps out in front, guiding the way. They walk just a short distance and the doctor stops and turns to the captain.

“Yes?”

“I…have a request as well, if you could,” Hugh says, once they’re alone.

“Sure.” Because he really has no problem with Hugh.

“Tell Lieutenant Stamets I’ll be waiting for him at the opera. He’ll know what it means.”

“Will do, doctor,” Lorca extends to him a hand. “And thanks --” There’s no completing the sentence. He sees the white flash coming toward him and before he can speak again, it engulfs him.

#USS Archangels #star trek discovery #fanfiction #Reflections/TheOther #michael burnham x gabriel lorca #gabriel lorca x katrina cornwell #gabriel lorca #michael burnham #katrina cornwell

13 notes · View notes

bolbianddolanhouse · 4 years

Text

BNHA self insert AU [Book 3]

New? Read here! Then here!

Chapter 3: You Want a Sprite Cranberry?

“Deep breath in” hold for 10 seconds “and breathe out” I tell myself in the mirror as I put my school uniform. It’s the first day of school! And I’m super nervous and not that excited. Just so much fear, gas and anxiety in my body that I clenched my booty cheeks the whole car ride there.

“You okay son?” Mom asked me concerned.

“Yeah! I just don’t know what to expect” I admitted “Any advice?”

“Be open to the unknown and be down to throw down!” she said so confidently “I would say to make friends, but it seems like you won’t have that problem.” She sighed “I envy you Iwa, you get to go to the same school as your best friend. I didn’t have all the resources you have now...my sweet little boy is going to be an agent!”

I look out the window to see the massive building that’s UA “I’ll do my best, because I learned from the best!”

“Oh I wouldn’t say that!” Mom scoffed as she pulled up to the drop off zone “Here’s your stop, go get em Iwata.”

I unclenched my butt cheeks “Okay, bye mom!”

I zoomed out of the car and past the school gates. I’m really out here, double cheeked up on the first day of school. Hella ass, the sun is still out.

“IWA!” yelled a familiar voice.

I turned around to see Beizu running toward me “BEI!”

He jumped into my arms “Are you as gassy as I am?!”

“Unfortunately but in a less excited context” I groaned.

“Eww” he broke his hug “wanna go find a bathroom to have a panic attack in?”

“I’m down” I started to walk along side him, then he looped his arm around mine “Hmm?”

“I wanna walk in together” he said with a smile “another first I get to do with you together!”

“Alright” I said without questioning it. It’s true that we do things together and it’s normal for us. Every now and then we get comments on it but they don’t bother us, we’re like brothers.

One mini panic attack in the bathroom later and we stroll in the agent 1-A class. Did I mention Beizu decided to be an agent too? It was funny, because we didn’t know we were in the same program until we showed our acceptance letters to each other. We share a brain-cell...which is dangerous because one of us has to come up with a plan and the other has to be rational. We got seats next to each other and waited for homeroom to start.

“Good morning class! Please take your seats” said a man in a gray jumpsuit with some patches on the arms “I am your intel 1-A teacher, Agent 40, but you can also call me Mr. Hansai.” The man opens his portfolio “I see a few familiar names on here.”

I whisper to Beizu “I wonder who he’s talking about?”

“I don’t know, maybe it’s the girl in the back?” Beizu whispered back.

“...It looks like everyone is here” he closes his roll call “I’m going to pass out your schedules, syllabus and protocols. I expect all of you to memorize and act upon the protocols, I will regularly test you throughout the year on them. Especially you, young Palma-kun.”

My blood runs cold “How do you-”

“You look just like your mom! Also we were in the same intel class” sensei explained “If you’re anything like her, you’d be studying up this protocols along with the hero ones for any discrepancies.”

“My mom was your classmate?” My eyes widen “WAIT! You’re part of the Main 5 her year, I recall the picture she showed me!”

“What’s so special about his mom?” scoffed one of the students “So what she was in the top 5?!”

“His mother is agent 19 of the Emperor’s Coup” sensei explained, the class gasped “She’s also a big donor to our school and noted alumni.”

I felt very on the spot, everyone’s eyes were on me. A mix of envy and curiosity within their faces. I refocused when I got my packet, and let me tell you, my schedule was PACKED! No free period whatsoever! Literally after lunch is all of my hero courses. Good thing I don’t need to take any general studies aside from math, never have I been so thankful that my mom was strict on me and my siblings to learn English and Spanish! But it also looks like I’m not skipping levels on subjects like my mom and uncle Jin. Wish I had that level of genius.

“Oof, that’s a lot of classes” cringed Beizu, glancing over at my desk “but at least we have until lunch together!”

“Yeah” I smirked, remembering all of our lunch shenanigans throughout the years “You have to tell me how the rest of your general ed classes go!”

After sensei goes over the syllabus and gives us time to look over things, a classmate comes up to my desk. Their stature towering me.

“You, prodigy child” they spoke “I have decided that you’ll be my rival!”

At first I was intimidated, but the moment they said ‘rival’, I tried not to throw up in my mouth. “Um, I haven’t done anything to-”

“I will prove to you that I, Garu Netsu, will be worthy of being Main 5!” he interrupted “Don’t think because your mother was the best, you’ll be the best!”

I stood up, clearly pissed off “HEY! First of all, I just learned how to use my quirks for the field like a year ago. Second of all, you watch too much anime because I don’t do rivals or that harem shit!” I squared up my shoulders “My mom is a wonderful lady and she didn’t raise me to be her prodigy! She raised me to be her son! So sit ya ass back down and pick somebody else because I will not be competing with any of you!”

“Fine, I’ll be sitting down” the classmate walks back to their desk “but you’re still going to be the one to beat.”

“And you’ll be horrendously disappointed” I retorted back, sitting back in my seat.

“Wow, it’s like looking into a time machine” sensei chuckled “Your mom always put challengers in their place verbally! Man, I wish I recorded some of her comebacks” he sighed “they were ICONIC!”

That fucked me up a little, am I like my mom? But it wasn’t the time to have an identity crisis! We had to suit up for weapons class.

“Eww, I look like my mom with my hair up like this huh?” I gagged at myself in the locker mirror.

“Same” sighed Beizu as he closed his locker to show his pulled back hair “we really need a haircut.”

“We should go this weekend” I suggested as we walked out of the locker room “Mom’s hair dresser comes back from maternity leave on Thursday.”

“Oh! What did she have?”

“She had a boy!” I gushed “Mom showed me pictures and they got their father’s scaly skin.”

We walked to the middle of the gym to wait for the weapons instructor. The anticipation was killing me!

“Wonder what we’ll do?” Beizu asked me “your mom and aunt Mimi said that they got to hold a gun on the first day.”

“It’s true” said a thick Russian accent from behind us “Good morning new comers! I am agent 20, but you can call me Master Oleshin.”

“AUNTY MIMI?!” Beizu and I screamed.

“AH babushkas! I couldn’t recognize you from the back” Mimi was taken back “You look so much like your mothers with your hair up like that.”

Beizu and I looked at each other and our faces turned red.

“You know them too?!” cried out a classmate.

“Yes, I was in the Main 5 with the curly haired mother and the pink haired one is my nephew” she walked over and pinched our cheeks “I watched them grow from little babies to the spitting image of their mothers! I’m so proud of my nephews for pursuing intelligence” she cried out as she hugged us aggressively “It’s like having the old team back together!”

“Tia, you’re embarrassing me” I groaned breathlessly “I can’t breathe.”

“I’m sorry that I love my nephews so much” she said as she put us down “But lets get things started!” she pulled out her gun “Weaponry is not just wielding a tool, but an extension of yourself. You may know about the popular ones like the gun, knife, bow and arrow & taser. But theres so many possibilities and situations where different weapons will come into play.” She cocked her gun “I’ve mastered weapons as a supplement of my quirk. If I can aim it, I won’t miss.” She aimed for a target mounted high up on the gym wall and her shot hit the bullseye “The goal is to be more knowledgable and comfortable wielding a variety of weapons for combat. And I want you to find a personal goal for this class, whether it’s accuracy or double wielding, having one will help you in the long run of your agent career.”

Holding a gun with aunty Mimi giving me instruction felt unreal. I didn’t know she taught! It’s her first time teaching, apparently she wanted to come back to UA to teach since she was a 1st year here. To think that my mom, uncle Jin and aunty Mimi met and trained together in this very place?! I wish I could’ve seen them first meeting or seen my mom hold a gun for the first time. Last time I saw her hold one was the night of the incident...where she drew her gun at the home invader. The look on her face was something I couldn’t understand, and I still don’t understand it...but I want to someday. This line of work is drawing me in with wanting to understand why my parents are so passionate about it. BUT ENOUGH OF THAT! I glossed through the rest of the first half of my day, dreading the second half when lunch was almost over.

“Excited?” asked Beizu as he took a cheeto from my almost empty bag.

“More like loathing what’s next” I prop my head on my hand, watching Beizu crunch on cheetos “heard that hero students are really intense.”

“Lets see if you make a friend” snickered Beizu “it worked out for your mom and Lili.”

It clicked what he was trying to say “Shut up!” I playfully shoved him “I’m not finding my significant other in the hero program. Why think about dating if you have a schedule like mine?!”

“True” the bell rang “Better get a move on.”

“Yeah...OH SHIT!” I start to pack up my lunch stuff when it dawned on me “I forgot my bag in homeroom!” I hurried inside the building to get my things and try not to be too late. It’s times like these I wish I had the teleportation quirk and not bitch ass Tensei! But I slow my pace to catch my breath once I got to the correct hall. This is it, I’m in this bitch and open to whatever comes next! I get to the door that said 1-A on it, did my breathing exercise and forced myself to open the door. I saw everyone stare at me and the teacher was Mr Mineta. “Oops my bad, wrong classroom!” I slammed the door and walked the rest of the hall to my horror to see that I did open the right door! “It’s occurred to me that this is the correct classroom” I said as I opened the door “apologies for the intrusion!”

“Not a problem!” said Mr Mineta “would you like to introduce yourself?”

“Oh uhhhh sure” I hesitated a bit going up to the front and looking at everyones confused faces “Hewwo! My name is Iwata El Roca Iida, I’m doing dual program of Intelligence and Hero. Both of my parents went here! They were in the same class as Diaper Boy here.”

“For the last time! It’s Grape Juice or Mr Mineta” yelled the short man “It was bad enough your sister called me that during her time” he rubbed his temples “continue, please.”

“Okay, like Diaper Man here said, my older sister was in the hero program too. I’m not trying to follow in anyone’s footsteps, and I hope I can be useful to you in practice” I bowed “Please don’t mind my eccentric personality, I’m just very comfortable being myself.”

“Thank you Iwata, you can sit next to Kage-san” he pointed to the side desks where someone was waving their hand. “I’ll be right back class, I have to make a few copies for Iwata.”

The moment sensei closed the door everyone turned their heads to face me. Not gonna lie, they looked scary. Pretty sure mom handled the first day better than this.

“So like, is it true that you’re the son of Ingenium?!” asked the girl that sat in front of me.

“Yes! How did you-”

“Which one?” asked a different classmate.

“The leg engine one” I knew what they meant but that’s what came out of my mouth.

“Little brother Ingenium?!” gasped the girl in front of me “I didn’t know he had children?!”

“Well, he’s not the most popular hero on the list” I cut in “and he just keeps to himself when he’s working, so of course you don’t know about the family.”

“You don’t look like him, like at all!” said different classmate, getting all up in my face “bet your dad trained you from a young age to get into UA!”

“Ummm my mom trained me” I backed my face away “I have her quirk and my other quirk is unique to the Iida family engine quirk that he couldn’t train me. So I just taught myself?”

“Must be nice to be blessed with two quirks and parents that can help you train” grumbled a student facing away from everyone else.

“Gen-kun! Don’t be so mean” said Kage-san “ignore him, he’s just having a rough first day.”

“I feel you on that” I responded “all this attention has me a little flustered! I’m not used to everyone swarming me like this.”

I finish the rest of the day and meet up with Beizu at the drop off area. I tell him about my first encounter while waiting for my mom to pick us up.

“Oh! So you know the first project for our class right?” Beizu suddenly remembered.

“Yeah, the one due at the end of the first semester” I recall “what about it?”

“So I thought of what to do” Beizu got giddy “I know it’s like 2 weeks away from getting into groups or whatever BUT I wanna get started on it.”

“Is it going to top your other inventions?”

“TOTALLY! Now that I’m free to use whatever and not be limited to wood rigging, everything is going to look like child’s play!”

“I believe it” I said right before my mom arrived.

After dropping Beizu home, I came home to tell my parents about my day. Hiding the fact that I’m in both, I fibbed what I did the second half of the day. Tensei saw right through me, but didn’t say anything to my relief. Wonder what tomorrow will bring?

-The next day, in the hero classroom-

I just sat my ass down for class and sensei had the AUDACITY to say that we had to go to the gym. Mega annoying! Especially since the intel locker rooms are separate from the hero locker rooms. Wonder if I can have a hero one? Is that allowed? Gotta ask later.

“Why are your training clothes different from ours?” asked Kage-san.

I deadpanned to them and put my arms up “Can’t use my quirk if I have sleeves.”

“Wow...you’re RIPPED BRO!” yelled a different classmate “we gotta train together sometime!”

I blush hard and put my arms down “Oh ummm thanks?” I didn’t know what to say, nobody has said anything about my physic like that.

“Okay! Time for spars!” sensei announced as he clicked his pen “Throughout the year, we’ll have these spars to see how your quirk and combat skills develop. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t win your round, there’s always opportunities to improve” he checks his clipboard “Mr Iida your up first with...Gon-san.”

I walk to the sparring circle, trying to hide the fact that I’m nervous. When I faced my opponent, my entire stomach dropped to my ass because it was the guy that said I was ripped.

“ALRIGHT! I get to see what those engines can do!”

“Ready?” sensei asked, waiting for us to get into position “you may BEGIN!”

Focus...breathe...don’t lose sight of your opponent... I said to myself as I cautiously circled him. He mirrored me and it didn’t help me...unless that was his quirk? To test this, I slapped myself to see if he’d do the same.

“OUCH” yelped Gon-san after slapping himself “How did you-”

“AHA!” I exclaimed before I stood still and levitated him “The scientific method never fails!”

I heard the class gasp in shock, not expecting me to have two quirks. No matter, I tossed him out of bounds and won in less than a minute.

“Winner is Iida-kun” Mineta scribbled on his clipboard “Not surprised, that telekinesis is a real whammy! Glad to see you got your mom’s strategy skills too.”

“Thank you sensei” I turn to my opponent “Are you okay?!”

“Yea, I’m fine” he said shocked “I- I wasn’t expecting you to catch on so quickly!”

I felt his voice quivering like he feared me, oof I fucked up huh? “I got a little overboard, I’m sorry I did a whole show of things. I’m new to this whole thing” I extended my hand out to help him up “swear I’m not usually like this!”

“Why are you apologizing?” He stood up and gave me the biggest starstruck look “THAT WAS AMAZING! What quirk is that?! We HAVE to train sometime!”

“Yeah! Is that your mom’s quirk?” said another classmate.

“What a unique spread of quirks! You can do anything without lifting a finger!” said another.

I stood there, blushing like a dumbass because of how praising everyone was. For once, I felt like my own person. “Aww shucks y’all” I managed to utter “you really know how to make somebody blush, it was nothing fancy.”

We continued the spars and I was really feeling accepted into the program until it was time to change. I headed toward the intel locker rooms when I felt my body freeze.

“Hey, prodigy child” spat a hateful voice behind me “You are nothing but a privileged, rich boy that doesn’t know the struggle.”

The person showed himself to me, it was that one classmate that grumbled on the first day “It’s you?! Why are you picking on me? I never bad mouthed you.”

“People like you make me sick! You were born into money and blessed with two quirks with parents that support you” he mocked “I had to fight and struggle to get here! Barely making it in. I didn’t see you at the entrance exam and from the way you carried yourself in that fight, you’re unskilled too.”

“I never said I was good, I’m still learning and that’s why I’m here, to learn just like you” I growled, losing my temper “Don’t think for a second I’m trying to de-mean you! Go ahead, throw me your best shot!” I dared him “You have me in your clutches and nobody is watching, isn’t that what you wanted to do?!”

That agitated him “What do you take me for?! I’m not the villain here” he held his fist up, winding up his punch “YOU ARE!”

I closed my eyes, waiting his punch. Instead he gets stopped by Midnight right before his fist reaches my face.

“That is enough!” Midnight said sternly “I don’t know what’s going on here but it’s not okay to hurt your classmate like this!”

“Aunty Midnight?” I gasped.

“How many teachers do you know here?!” snarled the classmate.

“Release him! There’s no point in struggling.” She demanded and seeing that the classmate was caught, he dropped his quirk and put his arm down “I’ll be talking to you later, change and go to class.”

I watch him walk away, still fuming, into the hero locker room. I turn to Midnight “Thanks for the save aunty.”

“No problem kiddo!” she smiled as she ruffled my hair “you got lucky, I was passing by to check on a different student. But are you alright?”

“I am, but that guy” I sighed “he’s right though, I am privileged and I don’t deserve to be here.”

“Don’t say that Iwata, we wouldn’t let you do two programs if we didn’t think you were capable” assured Midnight “you’re brilliant and have the potential to be very powerful in whatever field you choose. Like you said, you’re still learning.”

I was still having doubts but I wanted the conversation to be over “Thanks for that aunty, guess I should hurry and change.”

“Get a move on, I’ll get your sensei know what happened later” she said as she waved me off.

The rest of the day was tense. I felt his sharp gaze from across the room, making me feel uneasy. Pretty sure mom never had to deal with things like this! When I finally got home, I threw myself onto my bed to scream into my sheets.

“Rough day?” asked Tensei from his bed “because same.”

“What happened to you?”

“Lost my debate today because somebody played the ‘quirk inequality’ card and I didn’t have right to argue it because of my social standing as a double wielder” he said in a way that sounded very matter-o-factly “and you?”

“I made an enemy with one of my hero classmates” I groaned “all because I used my telekinesis in a spar and it triggered him to confront me when I went to go change. Apparently I’m just some privileged rich boy that was born lucky and I don’t know a single thing about the struggle.”

“Ouch, what a douchebag” cringed Tensei “like you’ve struggled with a lot! Who cares about if you came from money or not? You’re there to learn.”

“That’s what I said! But I got so mad that I egged him on to hit me” I flipped onto my back “but aunty Midnight came in for the save so I got spared.”

“Fuck, you almost got into your first fight” Tensei said as he sat up and crossed his arms “As someone who had their fair share of school fights out of self defense, you had the right to take the first hit!”

“I couldn’t even if I wanted to” I sighed and rubbed my face “I’m just trying to skate by and be chill with everyone. But of course they have to fucking bring out my Latina side and get me mad.”

“Curse the Latina rage!”

“Why don’t you just say my name huh?!” Hanaka busted into our room.

“We weren’t talking about you!” Tensei and I yelled.

The days kept rolling in and I was trying my best to be neutral with everybody. Training on my own on the weekends and busting my ass on the mountain of homework I get assigned. Wonder how my parents did this shit? Everyone says they were smart kids...wonder why that trait didn’t pass onto me and got absorbed by bitch ass Tensei. Literally, that boy has a high IQ and has perfect grades, yet he looks like the textbook definition of a punk. If you googled punk and clicked on images, he looks like the first image but with natural blue hair. Do it, it’s stupidly accurate!

-Fast forward...Thursday, intel homeroom-

It’s one month into this bitch and we just got paired into our semester project partners. To nobody’s surprise, I got Beizu.

“Can’t wait to show you what I made!” whispered Beizu.

“You already made it?” I whispered back.

Beizu nodded vigorously “Yea! I couldn’t wait and I got ahead of myself” he tapped his hands on the desk “Meet me at the tranquility garden after school, so I can show you it.”

I was surprised that he did that and wanted to show me. He rarely finishes his inventions this quickly! After school I rush over to the garden, knowing he was probably already there.

“I’m here!” I panted as I screeched to a halt.

“Great! Okay, here it is!” he said as he pulled out a cube from his backpack.

I take a closer look “It’s a...puzzle cube?”

“It’s not! Well... the outside is, I had to find a vessel that was just the right size so I gutted this puzzle cube I got at the 100 yen store” he explained “It’s a time-peekaboo machine! I figured out how to glance into the past without quirks, by accident of course! Who knew that making an energy blaster was five faulty connects away from making this?!”

“How do you know it works?”

“Well, I was at home alone when I was making and testing this” Beizu’s tone got a little sad “I fired the thing and I instead got a holographic but low quality environment of the room I was in but from years ago! I saw my dad working on something and I knew it was him! He had the same quirk as me” his voice got a little shakey “And my mom walked into the room but it was the past her, and I got startled because she said ‘Bei, come have some dinner’ and my dad looked up and said ‘coming!’. Iwa, I was named after him! My mom never talked about him to me, not even a picture!”

“Why would she hide pictures of your dad?” I raised suspicion “He’s your dad!”

“I thought that was weird too! But then the connection of that moment fizzled away, so I kept working on this until the images lasted longer and in better quality” Beizu looked into my eyes “I want to know the truth about my dad, I always felt a part of me was missing growing up. I’m not saying my mom is a liar but maybe this is something that needs to be confronted?”

I’ve never seen him so determined like this, it gave me courage to help him “I’ll help you in any way I can!” I put my hand on top of the cube “So how does it work?”

“I just press the button here and the hologram shows up” Beizu refocused back to the cube “I’m not sure how far back it goes, maybe to when we weren’t born yet?”

“Only one way to find out!” I said as I slammed my finger down on the button “YEET!” I saw the garden around us disappear except for this one tree and it stunned me.

“Wow this whole field area was so...boring and plain looking” said Beizu, looking around.

I scanned the area and caught sight of someone sitting at the roots of the tree “Who is that?” I took a closer look and saw it was two people “Oh, it looks like they’re having lunch?”

“What are they saying?” Beizu asked as he got silent to listen in and I did the same.

“...You didn’t have to make me anything!”

“I insist!...All just for you!”

“Why do they sound...familiar?” I said to myself as I clocked the voices but not the faces.

“Oh my god it’s like I’m back home!...”

“...I just wanted to do something nice for you, you bring me peace during these scary times.”

“Ooh! It’s one of those lunches!” Beizu commented “Gosh I wish I knew what year this was!”

“Shh! I want to hear what the guy is saying” I shushed, straining to hear.

“...And honestly, I haven’t felt like that since I got here but you helped me remind myself of the one thing that defines me. Thank you Iida-san.”

“Call me Tenya.”

“Ok then, Tenya, thank you for making me feel cherished and myself again.”

“No, thank you Ita!”

I went pale “Those...those are my parents?!” the moment I said that, the image fizzled and the garden reappeared.

“Ahhh! I can’t believe it!” squealed Beizu “We glanced at the beginning of your parent’s love story! This has to be like, what, 27 years ago?”

“Maybe? I don’t know” I was still in shock “she looked so small compared to him! But she looks different than I expected.”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, she looks...sad and shy” I said with concern “What happened to her? She doesn’t give off that sassy and cool energy like everyone tells me, I want to give her a hug and wrap her in a blanket!”

“Well, she was with your dad” Beizu commented “maybe she was dropping the act because she’s comfortable around him? He did make her lunch.”

“Hmmm, I don’t know what to think” I pondered “but that was quite the trial run! Maybe tweak it so we can see into different times? Like adding a clock we can set to a certain date to look at?”

“Ooh! I know what to do!” Beizu took out his phone to record himself “note to self: add a calendar setting to the cube.”

That scene of my parents fucked me up harder than I thought once I got home. Looking at my dad and how truly committed he is to my mom. 27-ish years and going strong! Wonder what’s that secret formula. But on the other hand, why was my mom so sad in the past? And what ‘healed’ her? And why is Beizu being held back information about his dad? Somethings not adding up, hopefully it’s not a mess of other interconnected shit...the fuck you think this is? A shonen manga?!

-Chapter 3, End-

#bnha #mha #self insert au #book 3 chapter 3 #not canon #will update regularly #ask me anything #//Palma-sama Speaks #SCHOOL ARC HAS ARRIVED AND I'M AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH #big uwu at Mimi teaching and the return of a few other faves from Book 1 (not Mineta)#The whole 'mom is keeping a secret' trope is this beginning part of Book 3 and it's super spicy #Iwata in the school arc isn't to mirror like Book 1 but to be more like how things should've been #More sibling love in this chapter! Tensei is a caring punk type...so you'll see more of his little nuggets of advice later #Basically this school arc is Beizu and Iwata sharing one brain cell between them...being two soft bois on an adventure #Have no fear! This book has plenty of queerness in it...just be patient!

0 notes

impracticaldemon · 7 years

Link

Bonus Prompt for January 31: AU (Alternate Universe)

Available at ff.net above or below under the image.

Chapter 1—Gajeel of the Shinsengumi

She couldn't remember having a name other than Levy, and nobody called her that anyway. The first part wasn't especially surprising, since under the laws of the Shogun, Lord Iemochi Tokugawa, only members of the samurai class were allowed to use a surname. The second part was also simply explained: the family that housed her, and more or less fed her, found the name 'Levy' too foreign for either safety or convenience; instead, they called her Aoi, meaning blue, which was the colour of her hair.

Levy remembered the day that her father had brought her to the Ikedaya, a mediocre inn found in the central part of the vast city of Kyoto. She didn't know his name, because to her he had just been otosan,(1) but she wished he hadn't left her in this place. He was the only person she'd ever known with hair like hers. Of course, he was probably dead now. It had been a dozen years since he had gone out to meet some friends and never come back. Ikeda-san was now the master of the house, instead of merely the heir. Levy didn't like him much, but fortunately his mother was still alive and she had been the one to insist on keeping the girl in the first place. It was assumed that Levy’s father had been swallowed up by the dangerous streets of Kyoto like so many others.

The day had started out like many others: she'd gotten up before dawn, started the cooking fire, and taken her mistress her morning tea. At this point, Ikeda Keiko-san was the one person Levy cared about in the household. Keiko-san had been kind to Levy when her father hadn't returned, and the only member of the family to return the tentative embraces of an affectionate child. There was a lot of gray in the woman's hair now, but otherwise she wasn't much changed. She had been stoic when her husband had died, but Levy thought that she was rather lonely, and didn't approve much of her son's friends. However, apart from refusing to be parted from Levy, she had acquiesced to all of her son's orders: after all, he was a man and the head of the family.

"We have special guests arriving today, Aoi-chan," Keiko remarked as she sipped her tea. "At least, my son thinks they are special, so he will want to have extra food and drink on-hand."

"Yes, Keiko-san."

"I will be down to help you shortly. After breakfast has been cooked and served, we will go shopping."

"Yes, Keiko-san."

The day had progressed accordingly, although the shopping trip had been more extensive than usual. As Levy had gotten older, she had learned that tying her hair back into a severe ponytail minimized the odd colour. Nevertheless, on a sunny day like today, she drew curious looks from those who didn't recognize her as the Ikeda's servant-girl. Lately, she'd also been subjected to the occasional nasty comment from the inn's patrons, who assumed that her parents must have been foreigners. Anti-foreigner sentiment had risen sharply in Japan since the Americans had forced the Japanese to trade with them more or less at gun-point about ten years earlier.

As Keiko-san had predicted, men arrived at the inn throughout the afternoon and early evening, many showing signs of wanting to avoid notice. The master himself stood at the door turning away the occasional potential client who wasn't part of the group of grim-faced men currently assembling in the inn's main rooms. It didn't take long for Levy to notice that all of the men were armed. She did her best to ignore the ongoing conversations while she silently served sake and brought out trays of food. Keiko-san had also insisted that she cover her hair that evening, and Ikeda-san had growled his approval of the precaution. Apparently his so-called friends were members of a particularly militant faction intent on ejecting all foreigners from Japan.

By ten o'clock, the meeting was in full swing, the rumble of male voices clearly audible to Levy, who had been sent to bed by Keiko-san once dinner had been served and cleared and the kitchen had been tidied. Levy slept in the storage pantry adjoining the kitchen, which suited her, as it allowed her to slip out the back door into the garden whenever she couldn't sleep at night.

Tonight she sat on top of her futon, still fully dressed and alert. She'd been increasingly twitchy all evening, and even the placid Keiko-san had told her to keep a knife by her pillow that night, in case one of the men decided to find out what other services the inn's serving girl might provide.

The first intimation of disaster was when the front door was flung open with a force that splintered the wood and a powerful voice called out:

"I am Commander Kondō Isami of the Shinsengumi. You are all under arrest for conspiracy! Those who do not surrender will be killed."

It wasn't so much a hint of things to come as a declaration of war. The Shinsengumi were Kyoto's ruthless, Shogun-backed police force. The known facts about them were bad, and the rumours were worse. More importantly, in the present situation, they were fierce enemies of the men gathered at the Ikedaya that evening. Levy didn't fully understand it, but she'd learned enough in the last year or so to know what while everyone said they wanted the foreigners out of Japan, there were some who felt that the Shogun should return full executive and military power back to the Emperor in order to accomplish this goal.

As the inn exploded with the clash of swords and the screams of men, Levy realized that her master's friends were part of this anti-Shogun group, and were under attack by one of the most dangerous quasi-military units in Kyoto. She stole noiselessly into the kitchen and peered out the back window, just in time to see figures in the unmistakeable light-blue coats of the Shinsengumi take up guard positions around the back of the inn.

"Bloody fucking hell." Levy had learned a number of words from the inn's patrons that she didn't use around Keiko-san.

She wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. She'd heard that the Shinsengumi could be just as ruthless with women as with men when it came to those who collaborated with the anti-Shogun forces. An undersized seventeen-year-old girl, who looked like a foreigner (supposedly), would be in considerable danger around such men. In fact, she could be in danger from either side, since the rebels wouldn't necessarily want her around to identify them.

After a short debate with herself, she placed her right index finger on the palm of her left hand. With a last nervous glance at the door, because the noise of battle was growing closer to the back areas of the inn, Levy traced the word light onto her skin. It was one of the very few things she had been taught to write as a young child, and of course she had been taught almost nothing as a servant. Keiko-san had shown her how to recognize a few basic words, but not how to form them. She'd never shown the Ikeda family her magic writing, of course—somebody, maybe her father, had drilled absolute secrecy into her well before the ill-fated trip to Kyoto.

Just then, she heard the sound of feet running toward the kitchen. Levy quickly opened the sliding door to the pantry a crack, and confirmed that it was Keiko-san, with tears glimmering on her face. Before she could hurry out to help the older woman, who was panting heavily, there was a crash and a scream. A massive figure wearing Shinsengumi blue had exploded out of the short passage behind Levy's mistress, and felled her to the floor with a single, punishing blow.

Heedless of her own safety, Levy dashed out of the pantry, knife raised.

"You bastard! Shinsengumi dog! She's just an old woman—leave her alone!"

Almost unconsciously, she flung out her left hand, and her passionate wish gave power to the flickering word traced on her palm. There was a flash of actinic light—much brighter than anything produced by human technology—and the intruder staggered back slightly, flinging an arm over his eyes.

"What the hell, you little bitch!"

Seen in the sudden flare of illumination, the intruder was even bigger than Levy had thought, his rough mane of black hair barely contained by his high ponytail and iron-reinforced headguard. His katana shone with wet blood and his jacket and loose trousers were liberally spattered with gore.

Realizing in despair that the police officer filled the whole doorway, Levy gave up any hope of escaping the kitchen and dropped to her knees beside Keiko-san, who was motionless and bleeding from her mouth and nose. Abandoning her knife without a second thought, Levy frantically dabbed at the blood and tried to rouse her mistress.

"Keiko-san! Keiko-san, wake up!"

To her surprise, the woman's eyes started to flutter open. "Aoi?" she whispered, in a thread of a voice.

Just then, Levy felt a massive hand close around her wrist. A moment later, she was yanked upward until her feet dangled several inches off the floor. The officer was holding her level with his eyes, and Levy almost blacked out from the wrenching pain in her left arm. The light was fading quickly, now, as it usually did, but there was more than enough to see that her captor's eyes were a sparkling, ruby red.

"What is your name, girl? Aoi? Is that it?"

"Yes… yes it is…" Levy could feel her determination slipping away from her to be replaced by fear. Her life might not be wonderful, but she didn't want to die just because the inn's owner was a rebel.

The man gave her a little shake, and she whimpered.

"Try again, kid—what's your name?"

Confused and overwhelmed, Levy blurted: "Levy. I'm Levy. B-but nobody calls me that."

She was set on her feet as suddenly as she'd been picked up. Her left wrist was numb with little shooting sparks of pain, and her whole arm ached desperately. She cradled it against her chest.

"Levy, huh." The Shinsengumi officer seemed to be thinking hard. Even stranger, he said her name perfectly, the way she remembered her father saying it. "That's… very interesting."

Levy crouched beside Keiko-san, who still seemed to be breathing.

"We weren't part of whatever was going on," she said, successfully keeping a whimper out of her voice.

The strange red eyes narrowed.

"No, huh?" The man had sheathed his sword and folded his arms over his chest. "Maybe you weren't. But that woman came between me an' the guy who owns this place; almost got me hurt. That makes her guilty, no matter what."

"But Ikeda-san is her son," Levy retorted indignantly. "Of course she tried to protect him!"

"Levy-chan? Doesn't matter at this point, done is done. If she's still alive when we clean up, then she goes to jail with her son. You too. If you're still here that is."

"Huh?"

Levy stared at him. He'd come into the room in a murderous rage, and almost killed a harmless older woman. He was the scariest man she had ever seen, bar none. But it sounded like he might let her go.

"Not gonna say it twice, kid. Hope it works out for you and… I'll find you later, if you make it." He turned on his heel and started to walk out.

"Wait!" Levy called after him.

He didn't look back, but he stopped.

"What? I've got bad guys to catch."

"Your name. What's your name?" Was she crazy? Why did she care?

"Hmm. Well, the Shinsengumi call me Tani Mantarō. But you can call me Gajeel—if I we meet up again."

Levy suddenly had a thousand questions for Gajeel-san. Unfortunately, he was gone before she could even open her mouth, and she had an escape to plan. With a sigh, she gently squeezed the hand of Keiko-san, who was unconscious again.

"Thank you for everything, Keiko-san. I hope you live and I can help you some day."

It took her less than two minutes to put together a small bag with her meager possessions. Then she slid out the back window and disappeared into the night.

[END]

A/Note:

(1) Otosan = "dad"

Yes, I have a fascination with the Shinsengumi and late Edo Japan. I also have an inability to write short, fully stand-alone stories (though I've managed a few). I hope you enjoyed this story. Reviews and comments (and reblogs!) would be *greatly* appreciated. Also, would you be interested in a sequel chapter?

~ Impracticaldemon (^u^)

#gajevy #fanfiction #gajevyweek #impracticaldemon #bonus prompt #prompt au #alternate universe

79 notes · View notes