#And he just wants her to be happy | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

softquietsteadylove · 1 year

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This is so random, but I’ve been rereading some of your old fics because I just cannot get enough, and I absolutely LOVE the Girl Interrupted AU you did. Gil was so so sweet with broken Thena and I’d love to see more of that if you get the chance 🥺 Love all of your works!

"Uh, hi," Gil blinked, startled as the door opened revealing Thena's brother Druig. He almost felt embarrassed by the rustling of the flowers he'd brought.

Druig didn't necessarily resemble Thena so precisely as he had the same 'look' about him. It was the sharp, vividly coloured eyes, the intimidating staring, the sculpted cheekbones. "C'mon, then."

Gil stepped into the modest townhouse with a sheepish smile. He had just barely managed to work up the nerve to actually contact Thena. She asked if he'd like to get lunch - she was rightfully eager to visit all the restaurants she'd been missing - and he had eagerly accepted.

Gil sat at the table while Druig poured himself a coffee, not bothering to offer one to Gil. He knew this was Druig's townhouse--an attached home he shared with Thena.

"Here."

Gil nearly jumped at the water jug smacked onto the table in front of him. It took him a second to realise it was for the flowers. "Oh, th-thanks."

"T's gettin' herself ready," Druig spoke slowly, letting his accent roll his syllables off his tongue lazily. He sat across from Gil, one hand on his mug and one hand in his hoodie pocket.

"That's okay," Gil shifted in his seat, tugging at his own jacket, "I'm early."

Druig let out a puff, somewhere between a laugh and a scoff. He leaned forward in his chair, "T told me she had some knight in shinin' armour in that hell hole. Guess that's you, since she begged me to give you 'er number before we left."

Gil blushed. He hadn't necessarily intended to be a knight in any kind of armour. He just...wanted to see her smile while she was there, even once. He looked down at the table. "Things certainly are boring there without her."

Druig eyed him up and down, and Gil tried not to shrink under the intensity of his stare. "How'd you end up talkin' with her? You served the food there, right?"

Gil nodded, toying with the zipper of his jacket. "I thought it was unfair that her treatments always made her late to lunch. She'd get the last of whatever I was serving all the time. She never complained, and she said it was still good, but...I just wanted to do something for her."

"So, I started making little 'test batches'. Just small portions so I could know how it would turn out when I made a hundred servings of it, y'know? Well, that was the excuse, anyway. I would make that test portion and save it just for Thena when I saw her. It didn't take her long to figure out what I was doing, even with whatever they were putting her through."

"Do you know what they put her through?" Druig asked sharply, and his tone did nothing to reveal whether or not he knew himself or if he was genuinely asking.

Gil frowned, arranging the flowers in the water jug to occupy his hands and keep his eyes off Druig's. "No, but she was obviously over-medicated. She was barely awake some mornings."

Druig muttered something directly into his coffee cup as he lifted it to his lips.

"Anyway, I kept on doing it, and then one morning...she was back there."

"Back where?" Druig looked up with a scowl.

"In my kitchen," Gil shrugged. "I don't know how she found her way in, but she was crouched down between the big 20 kilo potato bags. I didn't know what to do at first, but then security came up to the counter, demanding to know if I knew where the run off patient was."

"It was obvious they were looking for Thena. I'd seen her a few times, just wandering around the halls. They're not really supposed to do that there--there's always some activity or therapy or something to keep them under a watchful eye. But she'd chosen my kitchen as a safe place for her to hide."

Druig's eyes narrowed marginally, "and you honoured that?"

Gil wasn't offended by the younger man's skepticism. He obviously worried for every aspect of Thena's well being, and Gil couldn't blame him at all. "I told them I hadn't seen her, or I'd seen her in one of the outdoor sessions or something. Anything to get them away from her."

Gil smiled to himself, recalling the first time he'd gotten to see a smile that was entirely Thena, clear eyed and fragile. "She looked at me like I'd taken a bullet for her. I let her sit back there with me while I peeled potatoes and cut up carrots and did the dishes. Then she'd sneak back to her room like she was never missing."

Druig was quiet for a long moment, taking Gil in silently. Eventually, he set his hand down on the table. "When I visited on the weekends, she would tell me she had found a place to hang out through the day--where she wasn't bothered. She said it was her safe haven there. She didn't actually tell me where it was. Didn't want the security watchin' us overhearing, I guess. But I suppose it was your little kitchen cave she was talkin' about."

Gil's heart tightened in his chest, "I guess."

Druig set his coffee mug down, letting out a long, belaboured breath as he did. "Gil, I'll be honest; I was worried when T told me that she was goin' out with you today."

Gil supposed he didn't have any right to be offended by that. Thena had obviously been through a lot. He still had no idea why she was there in the first place, but clearly Druig did. Gil couldn't imagine how much it would bother him to know that Thena was left so vulnerable and then suddenly tell him she'd found an ally in what was essentially a prison for her.

"You seem nice enough, though."

Gil smiled, hoping to get one back in return. He didn't, but he was pretty sure he could see just a little bit of warmth in Druig's eyes, as hard as he might have been trying to hide it. He really was like Thena.

"But you make damn well sure she has a good time today," Druig grumbled at him as he leaned back in his seat again. "She comes home with anything but a smile, you'll be checking into an entirely different wing of that hospital."

"Druig, what are you saying to him?"

"Wow," Gil turned, immediately smiling at her despite being threatened by her younger brother mere seconds ago. He never saw her in anything but the standard issue clothes in the psych ward. Of course she had managed to be beautiful even then, but it did nothing to prepare him for how she would look now. "You look...wow!"

Thena went from glaring at Druig to giving Gil a small, almost shy smile. She brushed some hair over her shoulder before running her hands over her white cardigan and tight white skirt. "I guess you've never been able to see me looking like a human being."

"Come on," Gil chuckled, standing to greet her without even thinking about the flowers he had intended on presenting to her. His hand drifted to her elbow, as it had a few times before. "I know you probably didn't feel very human in there, but your face is just as beautiful there as it is here. It is yours, isn't it?"

Thena laughed quietly, his charm working on her better than any sensory techniques or blue rooms. Her eyes sparkled, and he realised he had never seen them quite so sharp and focused. They really did do her a disservice in her treatment there. "You're sweet."

"Well, I'm certainly trying," Gil shrugged, still hovering with their heads close to speak softly. He heard Druig clear his throat and stepped back just a half a step. "So, this place is really the best around for macaroni and cheese?"

"Second best," Thena amended, pulling her purse off the back of the chair. She gave him a wink, "yours may well still beat it."

Gil blushed even deeper.

"Ugh, go on, go on," Druig happily expressed his distaste at watching his sister flirt with a gentleman right in front of him. "Get out, you."

"Druig," Thena smiled at her grouchy sibling, heading for the door with Gil letting her go first.

"Oi, you better have a jacket with you," Druig sprang up from his seat, leaning his head out the hall after them.

Thena smirked at her brother, more and more of herself emerging from under the layers of frost. She raised a hand, tugging at the edge of Gil's, "Gil has one. I'm sure he'll lend it to me."

Druig faked a very loud gagging sound.

Gil chuckled as Thena pulled him out the door behind her. She tilted her head at him, her hair blowing in the light wind. He had never realised before that it was slightly wavy when it was washed and brushed properly. "Sorry, I'm just teasing Druig."

Gil took her hand in his, "sure, but I really am happy to lend it to you if you get chilly."

Thena pinched her lips together as another smile came over her. Her cheeks had a soft pink to them, although her eyes were teasing as she leaned herself against his side, "this is plenty warm for me."

#Thenamesh Life Interrupted AU #Gil is a sweetie #and Thena could never be broken to him #it's not a matter of fixed and broken #but she has healing to do #and he's going to hold her hand while she's doing it #and Druig is going to hate having to watch it #but he's a good brother #and he just wants her to be happy #and Thena wants to be okay enough for him to feel like #he can move in with Makkari instead of worrying about her #although now that Thena has a boyfriend I don't know if he will #stop worrying about her that is #I hope you like this!#I'm actually so delighted you remembered that one shot and asked this #I really liked how the first one turned out #so I'm charmed someone else did too

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saccharinerose · 6 months

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Furina: Anyone I've ever worked with probably couldn't wait to get rid of me... Since I'm just an ordinary person now. They'll probably just laugh in my face if I go asking them for help... :(

Neuvillette, the second Furina asks him about booking the Opera Epiclese, the process for which is notably cumbersome and complex: Yes, I will take care of it immediately. Btw does this mean you will allow audiences (myself included) to enjoy your outstanding acting talents once more? 🥺

#furina #neuvillette #genshin 4.2 spoilers #genshin spoilers #genshin 4.2 #genshin impact #he is so horrendously pathetically down bad for her #i want to put clown make-up on him and beat him up in a parking lot #MY MAN #YOU ARE ONE STEP AWAY FROM SERENADING AT HER WINDOW #so yeah i played furina's story quest #her 1st story quest was kinda depressing #but also hopeful #we still have her presumed 2nd story quest for the 2nd weekly boss of Fontaine #maybe this one will have an all-around happier note #building on the hopeful end of her 1st one #i just want furina to be happy :')#focallette #neuvifuri

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riickgrimes · 27 days

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Rick + giving Michonne gifts What are you up to, Grimes? I'm just working with what I got.

bonus:

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egophiliac · 5 months

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new chapter 7 installment dropped how we feelin????

YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND

THAT'S HIS DAD

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland spoilers #twisted wonderland episode 7 spoilers #twisted wonderland episode 7 part 6 spoilers #twisted wonderland book 7 spoilers #twisted wonderland book 7 part 6 spoilers #BABY DRAGON BABY DRAGON BABY DRAGON #i will take three thank you #god. lilia really has no idea how incredibly loved he is huh.#meleanor: (dies to protect him and her son)#malleus: (is literally born having a huge destructive tantrum because he wants lilia back)#silver: (bases his entire life and personality around how much he loves his dad)#lilia: wow i just can't understand why everyone is so upset about me dying #(somehow sebek ended up being the most normal about him and there's the most unexpected part)#man i really gotta redo lilia's um poster. i wasn't super happy with it to begin with but now there's like. fun shapes and context!#me: ha ha why is his magic called that. that's so weird.#me later: o-oh. oh i see.#SPEAKING OF SEBEK THOUGH there he is! THERE HE IS!#i was so afraid the armor was going to be a bad thing but NO he earned it!#he shook out his hair and turned out to have been beautiful all along!#episode 7 is about two things and two things only: dads and significant hair moments #and also speaking of dads!#i am taking lilia mistaking malleus for revaan based on his voice #as one more tick in the 'if crowley is revaan then there's going to have to be a really good explanation' column #the dulcet tones of dire crowley...#on the other hand if crowley tears off his mask and immediately starts sounding like malleus that would be THE funniest way to do it #auuuggghhhhh it's only been out for hours and already i'm like next part when #we've been cliffhanger'd again lads #idia finally came back to us and they were like 'please wait for the next release :)'#ortho did...did you somehow hack your way into silver's dream palace

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crybaby-bkg · 7 months

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cw: babies!!!! you’re also referred to as “ma” once

okay but like,,,,,first time dad Bakugou giving his baby their first bath after coming home!!! you’re fluttering around the kitchen, trying to make sure you have your daughters towel ready, her baby safe soap, a tiny washcloth, that her teeny tiny pajamas are in the dryer.

it’s only when you take a second to ask Bakugou something do you finally just—pause. your gaze instantly softens, a lovesick smile inching on your face as you watch your big buff pro hero husband hunch over the kitchen sink.

your daughter is resting in the baby bath seat, lilac colored and reclined back. she squirms when Bakugou lets the warm water run over her naked, fat little belly. her face scrunches at the new sensation, fists balling up against her chest. he coos at her, gentle,

“I know, ya little princess. Feels weird on ya, doesn’t it?” he asks her, voice so small under the running water. he cups his hand, holds a handful of water, tilts her fat cheek up to let it slide in her neck rolls that always smell like milk. she whines at that, sniffles and hiccups before she cries. you go to take a step forward, to console her, but Bakugou is so patient.

“It’s alright,” he kisses her tears away. “Daddy’s just tryna help you.” he runs the water all over her body, and paired with his softly spoken words, does she finally quiet after a few seconds. her little body trembles with the aftermath, pouty lips puffy and he can’t help but smooth his hand over the softness of her face.

“Yer a crybaby, just like your ma.” he whispers to her, grinning when that breaks you out of your stupor to smack him on the shoulder. you both laugh at that, and you finally feel the peace that is your little family. you lean against Bakugou’s shoulder, pressing a kiss to his jaw before looking at your daughter again.

“You’re gonna be a great dad,” you mumble into his skin. he doesn’t say anything, but you can feel his shuddering breath, and the calmness that blankets the rest of your house.

#ugly crying on the r floor #I thought about this earlier and forgot and then remembered again #and I was soooo happy bc I love this thought #first time baby baths were a nightmare with my niece LOL #she was colicky and hated everything so what was supposed to be a cute n sweet moment #was just her screaming to the tops of her lungs lol #but I believe bkg has a very well tempered first child which makes him want more #then the second one is HIM all over again and he’s like. thanks I’m good no more for me pls AKSJDKD #okay bye I’m gonna catch up on the dash 🏃🏽‍♂️#—new treat in the streets! 🍫#bakugou treats! 🍬#dad bkg

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xxcherrycherixx · 6 months

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cupid's gals meet

#monster high #ever after high #c.a cupid #abbey bominable #blondie lockes #heartlockes #c.a cupid x abbey bominable #abbey x cupid #theyre both my proud poly queens #cupid is dating blondie but abbey is her ex who she still gets on great with-#-if you know what i mean 👀#blondie is fine with it #in fact blondie encourages it- she encourages Recording it and sending it to her too- she just wants to make sure there's no funny business #thats totally the only reason!#also fuck it blondie is a monster fucker shes a big ol monster fucker with a big fat crush on her monster gf #and maybe a lil one on her monster gf's monster fwb- shh #abbey is happy to have open relationship. why waste time on relationship drama when you can communicate with your partner and agree to kiss #-whoever you want? she's dating heath and he definitely doesn't mind that way of thinking. long live the polycule!#im in a polyamory mood bby gonna blast the orion experience-cult of dionysus and chrissy chlapecka-affection brb #add space age bachelor man to that list because fuck yeah thats a polyamory song i forgot #my art

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a-dumb-sarcastic-bisexual · 9 months

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Nimona headcanons I wrote instead of sleeping

Sometimes the boys forget that Nimona isn’t human

Like they’re used to the shifting into animals aspect of Nimona because she does it as often as she breathes

But sometimes she’ll do some really creepy shit like make her arms longer to reach something when she’s too lazy to get up

One time they shifted just their neck to be like an owl so they could turn their head 180 degrees instead of just turning around cause that was “too boring”

Or he’ll mimic people’s voices without realizing it

Sometimes he’ll tell a story and suddenly he’s using Bal’s voice

The first time she did this Bal searched the whole house cause he was convinced that Todd has snuck in

Or she’ll grow an extra arm to hold more shit and they take a moment to realize “oh yeah we adopted a little weirdo”

They get used to it after a while and the arguments surrounding it are always funny because both the boys will complain and say “I don’t sound like that” and they have to be told “No love you do you really do”

You know those videos of babies reacting to their parents shaving their facial hair or putting on glasses

That’s Nimona's reaction every single time the boys change their appearance even the smallest bit they cant shave or wear their reading glasses because if they do he freaks out

Talking some “help me Nemesis I heard bosses voice but I can’t find him” while Bal was standing right in front of them

It was the first time he shaved his face in years and he’s never doing it again

Mostly cause Ambrosius kept telling him he looked like a teenager and it was freaking him out

I feel like Bal and Ambrosius are those kinds of people who will tell people about the little injuries but neglect the big ones

Like Bal mentioned that he thinks he sprained his ankle during the fight at the institute but he won’t mention that he’s pretty sure he got a concussion

(BECAUSE THIS MAN HEAD-BUTTED TWO PEOPLE WHEN HE HAS A METAL ARM)

(I’m bout to wrap this man in bubble wrap and give him a helmet because wtf)

Ambrosius will complain the whole day about the fact that he has a paper cut

But will completely neglect to inform his doctors “Oh yeah I can’t move my left arm higher than my waist without pain and I can’t see that well out of my left eye or hear that well out of my left ear do you think that’ll be a problem?”

It isn’t until Nimona makes an off handed comment about how this super weird that the laser did basically nothing to him that he told both of them

They literally dragged him to the ER because “Who thinks those symptoms are normal Nemesis what is wrong in that pretty little head of yours!!”

When Bal tells Nimona she’s being a bit of a hypocrite (cause who refers to an arrow as a splinter?) she turns to him and says “I know you’re not saying something Mr. Human battering ram”

It took literally everything in Ambrosius not to break down laughing

After that she forces them to have frequent checkups with the doctor because these dorks wouldn’t go otherwise

Honestly I'm fully convinced that some people in the kingdom don't know who Nimona is and are constantly confused why they let this little weirdo follow them around

And finally the curiosity will eat away at them and they’ll finally ask

Sometimes the boys will give some “normal” answers like “Oh that’s Nimona�� and they won’t elaborate at all

Sometimes they’ll give funnier answers like “Oh that’s a raccoon we found in the garage who turned into a person one day” “I don’t know they just showed up in our living room” and their personal best “You see her too?”

And their favorite that they only started using a couple of years down the line “Oh that’s our kid”

#nimona 2023 #nimona movie #nimona headcanon #nimona #ballister boldheart #ambrosius goldenloin #ballister x ambrosius #goldenheart #I just know these accident-prone dorks don't go to the doctor #which i respect because neither do I #Ambrosius would rather memorize the eye chart than admit he needs glasses #and that is a hill I will die on #I feel like NImona freaks out at changes in appearance because it reminds her that things don't stay the same forever #she's immortal the boys arent #she forces them into frequent checkups because she doesn’t want to find out too late that something is wrong #she wants to know that they did everything in their power as soon as they could of something does come up #and best case scenario they live very long happy lives #but I like to believe that they get reincarnated and find each other in every life #because I'm sappy like that #excuse my sleep deprived rambling #I’ve found so many issues with this post

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kawaiichibiart · 3 months

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Hello, yes, I need more cards where the characters interact with their younger selves.

I want more of this please:

#project sekai #project sekai colorful stage #hatsune miku colorful stage #proseka #prosekai #colorful stage #i didn't include toya's nocturne interlude trained card because while he is with his younger self #they aren't really interacting together? they're both just there playing their respective instruments #i want older toya to show younger toya that he found something someone that made him happy and enjoy music #i want to see older ena helping little ena with a drawing like she did for those school kids with emu and honami #i want to see older tsukasa put on a show for his younger self #or even just tell him that he's found more people who would help him pursue his dreams #saki holding her younger self the first night she has to spend in the hospital #honami baking with little honami #kanade holding out the music box (i can't remember if it was her mom's or her dad's) so her younger self can wind it up #mafuyu carrying her younger self away from something that looks harmful towards something that says safety #ichika telling little ichika all about leo/need's sekai and miku #emu is telling her younger self all about wxs and how they helped her save the wonder stage #do i need to go on?

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priceofreedom · 1 month

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#Elmyra approving of Zack makes me so happy 😭 FF7 Rebirth 20 / ?

#final fantasy vii #ffgraphics #elmyra gainsborough #zack fair #gamingedit #ff7 remake #ff7 rebirth #ff7 #elmyra #ff7 rebirth spoilers #rebirth spoilers #creaciones #i always thought she'd come to love him if only they had the chance to meet #glad to see it's exactly what happened :')#if zerith reunited she'd be so happy for them 🥺#knowing aerith would have the best boyfriend ever by her side #someone who would always take care of her no matter what #someone who would do the impossible just to make her happy #and he's good with kids too. like 🥰#zack already calls aerith's home HIS home i'm gonna go crazy #sorry for the fangirling but akhssjd if part 3 doesn't have them reunite and live together i'm gonna riot #the three of them deserve happiness!!!#and also i want zack to contact his parents so bad :( they deserve to see their son again #i'm making myself sad. i'm gonna stop now lol

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ddjstar · 6 months

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Them: you better not be cunty Adam Faulkner babysitting cutie patootie Diana Gordon when i get there

My goofy ass:

[click for better resolution]

#my art #saw #adam faulkner stanheight #chainshipping #saw 2004 #lawrence gordon #adam stanheight #saw franchise #diana gordon #I need them to be a happy family #i think adam let diana do that to him cause he can talk to her about oasis and weezer #she likes weezer but only cause her fav color is blue #i think they also cry at toy story together but they dont want lawrence to see them #he also teaches her how to take pictures #but she just takes wierd close up selfies of her stuffed animals

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stromblessed · 5 months

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Mizu's spectacles, and the levels of her disguise

In drafting some more Blue Eye Samurai meta posts, I find myself writing out the comparisons between what Mizu can and cannot hide about herself, and how that affects how she moves through the world.

Like, I get the jokes about Mizu's glasses, if only color contacts had existed back then, etc. etc., and I think (hope) that most viewers don't take the glasses jokes seriously, as in "I don't care about the suspension of disbelief because BES is a cartoon." But I wanted to write these thoughts out anyway without burying them in a text post about something else.

I think the points I'm going to lay out here are viewed very differently by different people, so please feel free to add to this post, reply, or put your thoughts in the tags!

Not only do Mizu's glasses not actually help her that much, there's surely more to Mizu's mixed race appearance than just the color of her eyes.

In my view, this was pointed out in episode 1:

I'm willing to bet most of us were expecting young Taigen to say "blue eyes," not "ROUND eyes."

Obviously this is still about Mizu's eyes, but not even spectacles can hide their shape.

I don't think the show is obligated to point out everything about Mizu's face that isn't quite as Japanese as the people around her expect. Though the creators have said that they specifically designed Mizu - and her clothes - to read both as "white" and as "Japanese," as well as both male and female. I think there's more about Mizu's features that read as "white" than just her eyes.

This is where my own headcanons start entering the picture, but it's my impression that people can just tell that Mizu looks different, whether or not they can put a finger on exactly how.

There's the little girl who looks at Mizu and then hides on the way into Kyoto:

When there's more to your face you'd like to cover up than just your eyes, big hats are a big help!

By the way, most of these examples have to come from the first half of the season, since by the second half, either Mizu is too preoccupied with fighting henchmen, or everyone Mizu is facing knows who she is already, and she therefore has no reason to hide her mixed race identity.

It's worth mentioning that the mere fact that Mizu has to hide multiple aspects of her identity - her mixed race and her sex - results in her having to choose clothes that really, really cover her up, which doesn't win her any favors either:

(Zatoichi reference, anyone?)

If it were as easy as, for example, tying her glasses to her head and wa-lah, nobody would ever know she was half-white - then (1) Mizu would've just done that long ago, and (2) Mizu wouldn't be so on guard and on tenterhooks 100% of the time the way she's depicted in the show, even when her glasses are on.

Her spectacles sure don't help her in the brothel, which is full of observant women who are trying to seduce her, meaning they get good long looks at her:

Mizu never takes her glasses off, but they still send a woman to her who has light eyes, thinking that must be what will interest a blue-eyed man:

No wonder Mizu gets mad after this, lol

So Mizu never takes her spectacles off in the brothel, it's dimly lit inside, and the women can still tell that she has blue eyes. I'm getting the sense that Mizu putting on her spectacles isn't a guarantee that people suddenly can't tell that she looks different.

And yet no one spots that she's female.

Mizu can hide her breasts, can wear her hair in the right style, can hide what's between her legs, can walk and talk and behave like a man - and she's been doing it for almost her entire life, to the point that not only is she very good at it, but the threat of being found out as female is deadly, but isn't presented in the show as omnipresent.

Let me explain.

She threatens Ringo for nearly saying the word "girl" out loud, because while she's constantly ostracized for being mixed race, being a woman traveling without a chaperone, carrying a sword, and disguised as a man will get her killed or flogged or arrested or some combination of these things.

But in addition, it's been drilled into her since she was a child that if she is discovered as female, the combination of her being mixed race and female will identify her as someone extremely specific, someone known to some bad people, and she will be killed:

I think of it as Mizu thinking to herself, "Being found out as mixed race means I'm treated badly. Being found out as mixed race and a woman means I'm dead."

Mizu's hair is cut as a child. But she isn't made to wear a big hat, or cover her eyes somehow, or anything like that. Because hiding her sex is a more successful endeavor than hiding her race.

Ringo finds out she's female by accident, but once Mizu accepts the fact that he won't rat her out, she relaxes pretty early on in the season. Because the threat of being found out as female is mitigated pretty much 99.9%, since Mizu has gotten so good at being a man. And also, because most of the time, people see what they want to see. Even if Mizu's face makes her stand out as "not 100% Japanese," no one in the world of BES looks at Mizu's clothes, her bearing, her sword, hears her voice, and will ever in a million years conclude that she is a woman, because expectations around gender roles in the Edo period were so rigid and so widely enforced.

One detail that proved this to me is after the Four Fangs fight:

Ringo takes off Mizu's clothes so he can stitch her up, then leaves her clothes off even after he's done. He doesn't even throw her cloak over her as a blanket or anything. There's a little a straw (pallet?) as a divider there on the left, but anyone could just peek around it and see Mizu and her chest bindings. (I think it's mostly there as a windbreaker.)

And Taigen is right there, but he doesn't give a shit:

Opinions probably vary hugely on this, but my impression is that because the show doesn't make any kind of deal about Taigen being in the room with Mizu here, my guess is that Mizu isn't in any danger of Taigen thinking she's female. Even when I watched the show for the first time, I assumed that Taigen had seen Mizu out of her clothes here, and that he thought nothing of it.

Eat your heart out, Li Shang (Mulan 1998). I actually do think that this scene is a direct and purposeful side-eye to that movie, lol

There's obviously some nuance to how "severe" being mixed race is compared to how "severe" being a woman is for Mizu:

After all, Swordfather can't bear to listen to Mizu confess to being a woman.

So a Japanese man can go wherever he wants, whenever he wants in BES. A Japanese woman has limited options: marriage, religion, or a brothel. A mixed-race man is an eyesore in this story. A mixed-race woman is a death sentence.

May as well eliminate the female aspect, and do what you can about the mixed-race aspect. Because that's just realistic.

Meaning Mizu can avoid the strictures Edo society places on women. But she can't avoid the repercussions that come with being mixed race. And I truly don't think that it's just because "there's no brown contacts yet."

#blue eye samurai #mizu #racism #bes #I am truly disappointed that we didnt get absolute confirmation that Taigen saw Mizus bound chest and just didnt think it was a big deal #but I still think that scene is making a point #again I dont think most people take the glasses jokes seriously #but its been bothering me ever since I first saw them #I really dont think Mizu just looks like a 100 percent Japanese person...... with blue eyes #and I bet that will be made even more obvious when she goes to London where Im sure she will meet plenty of people #who are more than happy to point out their observations to her #also I ran out of room in this post to go into it but this is also what made Mizus marriage an absolutely doomed prospect #Mikio talks about wanting to find the right creature for his lord and well... a mixed race woman is the right creature huh #he just needed a little push imo #getting kind of sad at the thought that Ringo is the only person in Mizus life who knows her whole identity AND accepts it wholly

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sixoclockuty · 23 days

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red giant starlo au doodles

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strangersteddierthings · 1 year

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Shovel Talk(s) Part 2

Part One 🦇Part Two🦇Part Three🦇Part Four

Nobody in the history of the world has ever referred to Eddie as jubilant but that was certainly the best word for him currently. Eddie has survived the apocalypse (even if barely), been proven innocent for the murders (the Upside Down exploding into Hawkins helped), and he has a boyfriend. It makes Eddie feel like he's floating.

Steve drops him off, walks him up to the porch, and gives him the sweetest kiss goodbye. Eddie doesn't go inside right away because he wants to watch Steve as he leaves and maybe blow him an exaggerated kiss as he drives away.

"Glad that boy finally did something about how pathetic you were being," Wayne says in lieu of a greeting when Eddie finally slips in the front door and into the living room, plopping himself on the other end of the sofa, dragging one of the throw pillows that came with the couch into his lap to clutch onto. Ground him, because he's still floating.

"I was not being pathetic!" Eddie is scandalized.

Wayne lets out a wistful sigh and says, in a poor imitation of Eddie's voice, "when will Steve end my suffering and notice me."

Eddie lunges across the couch with the pillow in hand, whacking Wayne with every word he speaks, while also trying to dodge Wayne trying to grab the pillow from him, "I do not sound like that!"

Wayne tricks him into thinking the pillow is his only goal and before he realizes what's happening, Wayne has him in a headlock, dragging both of them off the couch as he stands, giving Eddie the gentlest noogie of his life. "I think I know how you sound, hearin' you bellyache for the last 13 years. I've had to hear your relentless sighing and bemoaning about Steve for at least six of 'em."

Eddie beats him with the pillow more until Wayne releases the headlock and then they wrestle until his uncle fakes hurt, so Eddie backs down quickly, and Wayne steals the pillow and beats him back onto the couch until Eddie yields.

"That was dirty fighting, old man," Eddie says when he finally stops laughing enough to catch his breath.

"What was it you used to tell me, when I said you were fightin' dirty?" Wayne asks, "Scrappy."

"Oh, is that what you think you are?" Eddie swings at Wayne's knee half-heartedly. Wayne flings himself across the room and into the recliner there like Eddie shoved him. "Oh, you big baby."

"You're awfully callus about bullying your old man," Wayne chuckles and settles into the recliner, popping the leg rest out. "Now, tell me about your boy. He was a gentleman to you?"

Eddie pouts, "Unfortunately, yes. One chaste kiss and then he was off."

"Smart boy."

Eddie narrows his eyes. "What's the supposed to mean?"

"Means I scare him."

"What."

"That a question or a statement, son?" Wayne looks awfully smug over in his chair.

"What do you mean you scare him?"

"Just gave him the good ole father shovel talk. Y'know? Hurt my boy and I'll make you disappear," Wayne says.

"You terrible old man!" Eddie throws his pillow at him but Wayne bats it out of the air. "I'm going to die a virgin and it'll be your fault!"

Wayne just shrugs. "Fine by me."

"You are the worst."

Eddie can't make his leg stop jiggling. He feels sorry for Nancy, who is sharing the bench seat with him because he's sure that it's shaking the whole bench. He's filled with energy and doesn't know what to do with it.

Robin sits across from them, finishing up the last of her milkshake as they wait for the to go order they're going to drop off for Steve, who is stuck at Family Video for another five hours. He was supposed to be here, too, but Keith called him asking him to cover and he'd said yes. Eddie wishes he hadn't. This was Lunch Date Day.

"Are you still upset Steve took an extra shift?" Nancy asks. "Even though you know he's just going to spend the extra money on you?"

Eddie's pouting, voice whiny as he says, "I'd rather he be heeeerrrrrrrre."

"It's disgusting how in love you are," Robin says, shoving the now completely empty milkshake glass away.

Eddie's leg stops shaking because he full on freezes. "Uh."

"Are you afraid of saying the L-word? You are not subtle in showing it," Nancy says, ever the traitor, "but luckily Steve's just as smitten."

"You don't know that," Eddie says, arguing for the sake of arguing. He doesn't believe he likes Steve more than Steve likes him. He's pretty sure they're on an even playing field.

"Yeah, I do. I threatened to shoot him if he hurt you and he didn't even flinch. He'd have taken the bullet for you."

"You did what!?" Robin yelps. She's looking at Nancy like she's grown a second head.

"I didn't even bring a gun with me! Besides, Steve knows I didn't mean it," Nancy says with a wave of her hand, "it was just an obligation thing. You have to threaten your best friend's significant other. The whole conversation was like, 30 seconds tops."

"I'm your best friend!?" Eddie gasps, faking surprise. They have become good friends. She'd taken it upon herself to make sure he did get to graduate with Robin and herself, and they did form a sort of friendship from that. Also, from being the collective third wheel to Steve&Robin, which is enough to make people come together. Neither of them truly thinks of the other as their best friend, but it's fun to joke about their own Capitol with a P Platonic Friendship around Steve and Robin, as they become rather bitchy and defensive about their own friendship.

It's hilarious every time.

"Well, it's you or Argyle, and I don't think Jonathan wants to share his best friend, so...."

"Cold, Wheeler. Cold."

Nancy rolls her eyes and looks over to Robin. "Are you telling me you haven't given Eddie the shovel talk?"

Robin frowns as she thinks before her eyes widen in shock and she gasps, "I think I accidentally gave Steve a shovel talk instead."

Eddie bursts out laughing, "Robin, how the fuck did you end up accidentally giving a shovel talk to your own best friend?"

"I just told him to, like, be careful with you."

"Careful with me?" Eddie asks, a little incredulously. "What the fuck does that mean?"

Robin is going on the defensive, now. Eddie can see that in the way she squares her shoulders before saying, "it was said after your first date! Steve's had a lot of those, and you hadn't. I just- I dunno, wanted him to see the importance of that."

"So, what, you told him you'd shoot him if he hurt me, like Wheeler here?"

"No! I never said I'd hurt him for hurting you. I just said that he should be careful with you because, as your first boyfriend, if, and I did mean if, you don't work out, it's like... he's setting the precedent for how boyfriends should treat you. What you'll put with with, y'know?"

"That's sweet-" Nancy starts but Eddie's speaking over her just a quickly.

"Robin, that's stupid. I'm a fucking adult. If I'm not being treated how I want to be treated, I'll tell Steve," Eddie huffs. "You can trust that I say what I mean."

"Can I?" Robin shoots back. "Just like when you promised to get the fuck outta dodge and instead went on a suicide mission that ended very, very badly for you?"

"That was different, Buckley," Eddie hisses at her, sitting up straight to lean more across the table, trying to get in her face, "there was a lot of shit happening, and no way out that I saw. It's called trauma!"

It seems that a defensive Robin goes straight for the jugular because she hisses back, "No, actually, I think it's called survivors guilt and suicidal ideation. You know what, I should be giving you a shovel talk! 'Cause I don't fully trust you to not hurt Steve, either by lying or running once things get rough. You don't-"

"OKAY!" Nancy shouts, startling both of them into silence with one word. "We are in an, admittedly very empty, diner but still a very public diner, so let's not. Robin, you're not Steve's mom, it's not on you to look out for who is going to hurt him or-"

"You do not get to speak to me about hurting him," Robin points an accusing finger at Nancy. For all the anger she seemed to have for Eddie just now, he can see that it's almost doubled for Nancy. "I wasn't Steve's friend when you hurt him, but don't think I don't know every detail."

He knows this story, too. Had gotten it out of Steve one night, weeks ago now, when they'd been passing a joint back and forth on Eddie's bed. Before Eddie can pipe up, not that he knows what he'd say anyway, the waitress returns with the to go box and the check.

"It's my turn to pay," Nancy says, snatching the check before it touches the table, following hot on the waitress's heels to the register.

"Ugh," Robin flings herself against the back of the bench, both hands coming up to hide her face. From beneath her hiding place, she says, "I'm sorry, Eddie. What I said was unfair, and uncalled for."

"We're cool, Robin," Eddie says, "I forget how much of a buffer for our anxieties Steve is until we all hang out without him. He's able to defuse an argument before it happens."

"Oh, don't word it like that," Robin drops her hands and slides out of the booth, scooping up the to go box in the process," it makes Steve sound like the emotionally mature one."

They all climb into Nancy's car and apologies are said but Eddie feels like the next time Steve can't make it, they'll all bail on the weekly lunch. They're just a bunch of traumatized young adults and Steve is the heart of them, the person that bonds them outside the shit they went through. And maybe they should figure out a better way to deal with this than just pretending it didn't happen but- well, the world just kept moving on and they had to either move with it or get left behind.

It's two weeks after Eddie and Steve accidentally told the Hellfire crew they were a couple, which is why Eddie is not expecting it when Erica and Lucas corner him. He was expecting to be cornered by someone last week.

They'd been taking longer to pack up than usual, and that should have tipped Eddie off that something was up.

"Munson," Erica says in her no-nonsense voice, hands on her hips, face unamused. For sharing no biology with Steve, Eddie finds the resemblance uncanny. "I need you to understand that you might be my Dungeon Master, but Scoops Troop will always trump that, so if you fuck this up with Steve, you will have to answer to me."

Eddie gives a soft grin in response, amused, "no worries, Lady Applejack. I have no plans to fuck this up."

Erica's eyes flick to Lucas, then back to Eddie. "I mean it, Munson. I have it on good authority that sometimes you hurt people and then you don't try to right it. You just move on-"

"Erica, stop it," Lucas says, voice a little panicked.

But Erica continues, because nothing ever seems to phase her, "and Steve and Lucas are alike in that way. So just know that if you hurt Steve like you hurt Lucas-"

"Erica!"

"I will end you. I will ruin your life, Munson-"

"Erica, STOP!" Lucas finally steps forward, yanking on Erica's arm to get her to stop talking. It makes her stumble a bit before rounding on Lucas. "Stop it."

"No!" Erica glares at her brother as she removes his hand from her arm. "Go outside if you don't want to hear it."

They stare each other down and Eddie's not sure what he should be doing. Should he step in? He grew up an only child, is this normal sibling behavior? But he doesn't have to step in because Lucas huffs and storms out of the house, front door clicking softly behind him even though Eddie expected him to slam the door.

"Now, you," Erica whirls around to Eddie, "do you understand what I'm saying?"

Eddie does not. He's fairly certain he's getting a shovel talk from a twelve-year-old and while amusing, he senses there's more to it than just his relationship with Steve. "You're threatening me on Steve's behalf?"

Erica scoffs and rolls her eyes like she thinks Eddie's an idiot. He's starting to think he might be. "Yes, I am but also more. Your relationship has been the hot topic these days, and my brother brought up a good point but he's too nice to say it, so I will. When school starts, if Steve wants to take you to a basketball game, even though they fall on Hellfire night, you postpone the damn game and you go. No matter how much you hate basketball or jocks or- or... other things." She loses steam at the end, eyes flicking to the door.

"What?" Eddie is even more confused, "I don't hate basketball. And if Steve asks, I'm not going to say no, okay? I care about Steve. A lot."

Erica frowns, which contradicts the words that leave her mouth. "Good. That's good. I'd hate to ruin you, Munson."

"Is there... more to it?"

It takes Erica maybe three seconds to decide what she's going to say. Just long enough for her to look at the door, then back to Eddie. "You owe my brother an apology."

"Uh, sure, I'll apologize but for what?"

"Remember the basketball championship and the last session of the Vecna campaign that you wouldn't postpone so Lucas could play? You never apologized," Erica crosses her arms, another move reminiscent of Steve, before continuing, "You didn't apologize, and Lucas thought that it was because he's a jock, and you hate jocks. But now you're dating Steve and he's a jock. So, if you don't hate jocks, Lucas thinks you just hate him."

"What, no, I don't hate Lucas!"

"Then tell him that!" Erica glares at him, "and let this be a little lesson for you. Going forward if you hurt either of my brothers, intentionally or not, you can kiss the tires on your van goodbye."

Eddie tucks his metaphorical tail between his legs and goes outside to apologize, because Lucas deserves to hear it.

Then, once the Sinclairs are gone and Eddie's back in his room, he runs through every conversation he can remember having with Steve. Has he dismissed things Steve liked too easily, too often? Has he said anything offhandedly that could be taken the wrong way without explanation?

Eddie's was an only child and didn't have to grow up worrying about anyone but himself. He made himself an outcast and shunned the 'norm' by choice. Doing so didn't exactly let him learn the social graces of patience and understanding.

It's eye opening, to learn that a decision he made months ago without a second thought has been hurting Lucas this whole time.

Has he ever done that to Steve, and not known it?

Steve's been distant these past few days and no matter how many times Eddie asks, Steve's answer doesn't change. I'm fine he says. I'm fine. Just fine. It's fine.

Except nothing feels fine. And Eddie doesn't understand the sharp change. They've got a date planned for tonight. Neither of them has specifically said it out loud, because it's sappy and stupid, but it marks three full months as official boyfriends. So, they've got a date planned, but Eddie's worried how it might end.

Eddie's been floating these last three months, but he suddenly feels grounded. He can't fix whatever happened if Steve won't tell him what it was! And in the absence of actual answers, Eddie's mind has invented his own.

Steve's realized that Eddie's not good enough for him. Steve's realized that he's actually straight, but thanks for the experimentation. Steve's found someone else and is working on how to break up with Eddie without blowing up their friend group in the process.

And Eddie hates himself for thinking these things. For projecting his own insecurities onto a version of Steve that doesn't exist. Eddie's gotten to know Steve.

Or he thought he had.

But now he's pulling away. And the only person he knows he can talk to about dating Steve is Nancy and he can't do that! He can't just go to Nancy's house and ask 'so when you were dating Steve and it was all going down the drain, was he distant or is that just a me thing?'

Fuck. Fuck!

He runs his hands through his hair and regrets it as his curls tangle around the rings on his hands. He should brush his hair, be getting ready, but he's procrastinating that because he can't decide if he's going all out, making himself look his best to see if it'll bring some life back into Steve's eyes when he looks at him, or if he shouldn't try at all and see if Steve even notices he's wearing the same thing he wore yesterday.

And it's bullshit that he's even thinking about testing Steve. Not two months ago he and Robin had argued in that diner about whether he's talk to Steve about these kind of things or not and now he was kind of proving her right. Except not, because he did try to talk! Steve just didn't answer when he questioned, and you can't really build a conversation from nothing.

Fuck! He should have known this would happen. That he would fall in love and Steve wouldn't love him back because that's always been his lot in life.

Oh.

Oh no.

He's been avoiding thinking it because once it's been thought, once it's solidified in his mind, it's true. And now he's thought it!

He's in love with Steve Harrington.

And isn't it just fuckin' peachy that this realization doesn't accompany happy feelings. He's in love and can't even be happy about it because he's so fucking sure his relationship is ending tonight.

#steddie #my fic #hmmm less happy about this part but its been a goddamn STRUGGLE #i didn't want people to give eddie a shovel talk but Erica does what she wants sooo....#also had to kinda force the scene with robin eddie and nancy in the diner because i wanted nancy to explain her side #considering how many of you were so mad at her and just over here like #oh no #cause the first part was just in steves pov and he cant read minds #anyway #have this and the third part will be out soon

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