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tiramisiyu · 3 years

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Thoughts on Xia Yan’s Anniversary/Kiss Date

Not a translation, but rather an unleashing of the many thoughts I had for his date because it made me feel so many emotions and think so many things;;

Wordcount: 2.8k

Date Translation

Preamble

Tears of Themis’ 1st anniversary features one of the most significant in-story events you can view within an otome game - the confession event between MC and respective male leads. The gravity of this confession event, however, is intensified with respect to the ML Xia Yan, as their emotions towards each other is not the only focus of said confession - he must also reveal the heartbreaking truth that his life is likely to end in three years.

In the below sections, I will discuss the significance of various components that comprise Xia Yan’s anniversary date. My primary focuses will be on Xia Yan’s internal struggles, his care for MC, and the nature of the confession, and I aim to ultimately express why this date had such a major effect on me and whoa if you’re still reading this rambling part, I applaud you. I’m really just doing a fancy thoughtdump here.

The Nature of the Confession Event

From the beginning, XY never intended for the confession to be full of pomp and circumstance - and this was out of concern for MC, fearing that she would be too swept up in emotion to make it. Based on how the other guys’ cards look (them being outside and MC’s all dressed up), I assume that there was some ceremony-like aspect to their respective confessions, and I think that this draws a stark contrast to XY’s (who staunchly refused Yang Xiao’s offer to help make his confession just as ceremonial). In XY’s, MC’s not dressed up the way she is for the others, and both have been drenched in rain and are dissolving into tears of sadness as they speak. In addition, their desires are conflicting (rather than a situation where both parties confess and get together, and thus have coinciding interests) - despite what XY has said before, he does not want MC to be with him, while MC wants the exact opposite. It’s not a beautiful or gorgeous scene by design - instead, it’s very raw, very 狼狈 as the two lay bare their own painful emotions, discuss/cry about heavy topics, and show very vulnerable sides to each other, trying to get through to the other person.

Speaking of showing vulnerability, the fact that Xia Yan is so anguished by what he has to say that he has to sit down and cry hits particularly hard because he has always, always tried to put on a strong face in front of MC. Whenever his illness strikes and MC sees it, such as in aquarium date or Neruda poem date, he’ll smile and/or joke about it after. When the two were talking about his posthumous letters during the RRG date, he still had a calm smile on his face. Even when he talked about being shoved into a car trunk to be “disposed of”, he was still calmly smiling. As MC noted, his job has taught him to have extreme control over his emotions, so it’s almost overwhelming, trying to imagine how much sadness pushed him to that point.

Pathetic fallacy also plays a part in increasing the impact that the confession event had. In the days leading up to the last part of the date, storms keep striking suddenly, such that it’s even described as “strange”. Storms are, of course, generally associated with less-pleasant things, such as conflict, anger, depression, difficulty, and so on. The meaning behind why they appeared suddenly or frequently is a little harder to understand, but my assumption for the frequency of the storms (rather than an ongoing storm or gloom) reflects how things could not completely “clear up” (despite uplifts in emotion from time to time) until they confronted each other with their feelings. During the confrontation, not only is the storm still going on, but they’re also harshly drenched in the cold rainwater. It is only after the kiss, after their interests finally coincide, that the storm lifts and the beautiful starry sky casts its light on Xia Yan, who was holding the majority of the conflict/sadness/depression between the two of them. (This is also highlighted in how MC notes that Xia Yan feels slightly cold (during the kiss), and she tries to transfer her warmth over to him, trying to alleviate that heavy emotion that’s wrapped itself around him.)

The Location

The attic of their old home remains an important location for these two, and I pretty much can’t think of a better choice to set the confession. It contains their childhood memories, and it also came into play during Xia Yan’s first birthday after his return (i.e. the idea of continuing to make memories there). It’s also interesting to note that Xia Yan, from his rational mindset, did not intend to see MC… yet he still came to this place - a place that was equally meaningful to both of them, and a place where he’s likely to get lost in emotion. He may be restraining his emotions for MC’s good, yet they still show in small places. (At least, there doesn’t seem to be any logical reason for him to be there, since he wasn’t setting anything up there…)

The Humanizing and Internal Conflict of Xia Yan

I call it “humanizing” because I’ve done some commenting before on how Xia Yan has felt a little superhuman - so many skills everywhere, and rarely a moment of weakness. Now, this date really drives home that he is just human too, with the harsh reality of imminent death hanging over him (especially since we also learn a few more concrete details on exactly what his illness is). This point is brought into attention when he talks about how he’s neither able to be as brave as Schumann (who acted based on emotion) nor as silently strong as Brahms (who acted based on reason). He’s pulled in so many directions for all the things he wants - a desire to stay by MC’s side and do so much with her, whether as family or as something more, versus his rational mindset that tells him to not see her at all, to disappear from her life after, or to push her away even after her confession. There was also his “rationally” created plan in which he would give her the letter and let her decide, yet he still tries to convince her to not be with him.

The Schumann/Brahms comparison shows how he keeps getting pulled back and forth between reason and emotion. He reveals his feelings to MC (Schumann), but wants her to make the optimal decision, which he believes is to not be with him (Brahms). He then kisses her after hearing her conviction (Schumann) and then gives her the gift that’s linked to Brahms. In realizing that he’s not able to stick to either path, he calls himself a coward - but he doesn’t need to be like either person. As MC says, his restraint is a part of his own background, and his emotional wavering is because of his care for MC - all in all, his motivations are because he is Xia Yan, not Schumann or Brahms.

Personal Story Chapter 2 Parallels

In Xia Yan’s personal chapter 2, Yang Xiao sets up the story of 零/Zero and 玛丽薇莎/Marivisa to mirror MC and Xia Yan (respectively). The mention of what will bring Zero and MC happiness is starkly similar in these two situations:

⊳ Personal Ch.2-9

Xia Yan: 因为...这样，零会更幸福... 她不是在牺牲，她只是用自己的方式让零能幸福。Because this way, Zero would be happier… She wasn’t sacrificing herself. She was only using her own methods to make Zero happy.

MC: 但零的幸福就是她啊。But Zero’s happiness is her.

Xia Yan: 她已经无法给零幸福了。 It’s already impossible for her to give Zero happiness.

⊳ Date

Xia Yan: 如果你选择别的男人。。。只要他能给你幸福。我只会带给你不幸，我没有时间了。。。If you choose another man… As long as he can make you happy. All I can bring you is unhappiness. I don’t have much time left…

MC: 你怎么可能带给我不幸，你怎么可能做不到给我幸福。你在我身边，你的存在本身，就是我的幸福。How is it possible that you can only bring me unhappiness? How is it impossible for you to bring me happiness? You being by my side – your very existence – is my happiness.

Yes, the Zero/Marivisa story was intentionally made to parallel these two, so it might feel moot to compare them like this. However, I still really appreciated that they brought this discussion of what brings MC/Zero happiness back, especially since XY’s chapter 2 was very major in developing his character. Back then, MC is vehement in that Zero would have been happier spending all the time he could with Marivisa, as well as even having the choice to spend that time with her. I think that this part was instrumental in Xia Yan eventually deciding to tell her the truth and letting her make her own decision (as he explicitly stated to Yang Xiao in part 1 of the date). However, he still wasn’t fully convinced by what MC said back in chapter 2, so we satisfyingly see this discussion of happiness come full circle by the end of this date, when Xia Yan finally trusts MC to make the best decision for herself.

Xia Yan’s Considerateness

Xia Yan’s enduring consideration for MC displays itself in nearly every single action within this date.

The flashback, when he thinks about MC potentially having to go through what the widow is now experiencing, and how his own happiness for three years isn’t worth that

His conviction to give her the right to decide in this matter that involves both of them, because he can’t be the one to decide everything

He insisted on not making it a romantic event, because he wants MC to make the best decision without having a mind clouded by emotion. He’s also made peace with the idea of not being with MC, for the sake of her long-term happiness. All he wants is for her to know the truth of his feelings and illness.

His decision to still make MC a gift to retain some aspect of the romance in the confession (but he only gives the gift after MC has made her decision, again to ensure that her mind isn’t clouded). I think the concept of the gift is particularly beautiful - the little, happy holograms of them inside the glass, as if ensuring that he will always be by her side in some way; the music that brings back their childhood memories and alludes to an enduring, quiet, and protecting love that puts the recipient first (i.e. Brahms to Clara); and the rainbow, which has its childhood memories and treasure implications that are already mentioned in the date, but it also reminded me of the miraculous double rainbow in his Lost Gold date. That double rainbow was the trigger for Xia Yan to proactively seek out a future with MC, when he took the initiative to ask MC if she could be with him to seek out more miracles. Overall, there are a lot of beautiful memories and implications wrapped up in that music box/snowglobe.

The little comical segment where he worries about the optimal time to deliver the letter, worrying about MC’s sleep or if she’ll be able to eat well.

His stress over what he should’ve done after the letter was delivered, and how he immediately answered MC’s call out of pure worry, despite being so resolute about not answering her calls that he’d turned on airplane mode before.

Their ensuing discussion in part 3 is just full of Xia Yan’s consideration for MC at its peak -

Rather than being ecstatic about MC’s confession, his first instinct is to tell her to take a few days to think about it logically. (But really, emotions aren’t logical to begin with, so it’s not like MC would’ve stopped liking you after mulling it over for a few days, haha)

His immediate apology after yelling that he has to mention his death

His worry about how MC will cope after he’s gone, going so far as to saying that she would be better off with another man

I think that this particular (above) line got a particularly visceral reaction from Xia Yan fans, including myself. Because like MC, our initial thoughts fell along the lines of “How could I ever choose someone else when the only person I like is you? There’s just no way someone else could make me happier…”. Another reaction that I’ve seen among Xia Yan fans (yep, including myself) is how we originally viewed the story in third-person, seeing “MC” in the story, but this date (and this particular scene, where MC says nearly everything that I myself would want to say) dragged us into a first-person position.

The heartbreaking scene where Xia Yan cries from being unable to give MC the happiness that he wants to give her (or so he thinks).

He’s just so painfully selfless. I also really like the line during the kiss where MC tries to transmit her warmth to him, trying to balance things out between them and have him feel better, when he had already written himself off by thinking that his happiness is better off sacrificed for hers.

Jin Xian’s Voice Acting

Jin Xian’s voice acting deserves a whole section to itself, because I think that he did an amazing job of portraying the intense emotions Xia Yan feels during the date. Just going to list some lines that really hit hard - both because of the content, and because of the voice acting that really considered how Xia Yan would be feeling then.

我可以去追她，我甚至可以和她结婚。我可以把最后的三年过得很好，过的毫无遗憾，但是然后呢？她一个人要怎么办。。。谁陪她走出来，谁来照顾她。。。(“I could pursue her. I could even marry her. I could live my last three years happily, without the slightest of regrets. But what about after? How will she cope on her own… Who will be with her as she handles this? Who will take care of her…”) The ups and downs of this section’s voicing really hit hard.

The gentleness with which he speaks about what he plans to tell MC, especially the line 她从来都是这样 (“She’s always been like that.”)

He’s so cute in Part 2!! The tone’s a lot happier and relaxed and it’s really nice to see and hear.

In part 3, the vehemence with which he talks about how the risks of MC’s work aren’t comparable to his established time limit, which then softens into something sadder when he talks about how Yang Xiao’s efforts haven’t extended his time by much.

The intensity when he says 我必须说 ! (“I have to say it!”) (when MC reacts to him using the word “death”), and how he immediately softens his tone after. But then his voice starts to rise again as he worries for how MC will bear his death… and then he takes a break to calm down, and then makes the suggestion of MC finding another man with a near-inflectionless tone that gradually slips into a whisper

His whispering voice makes the impact of 我在乎。。。！(I care…!) hit even harder because it’s suddenly loud, and you can clearly hear the tears in his voice. Once again, he takes a breath to calm himself down and quiet his voice. But even as he keeps talking in a voice that descends into a whisper again, you can tell that he’s still on the verge of crying…

Also the 我也。。。好喜欢，最喜欢你. (I also… like you. I like you the most) line left me screaming with how it was whispered but really strong and adamant-sounding aaaaa

Anyways I could list more but at that point I might as well list Jin Xian’s entire script lmao. He did such a good job!!!!!!

Sound Effects

I’m laughing at myself for including this section - if you turn off the music that accompanies Xia Yan’s card, you’ll… hear some very interesting sound effects [狗头]

They’ve got to make the most of their limited time together, after all, and this is the only date out of the set of four that’s indoors… it makes sense…

Other Thoughts

Two kisses!!

What sort of treatment would leave Xia Yan infected with drugs with prohibited components? What were they even trying to do?

The date was short relative to the other, super-long Themis dates, but I’m personally alright with that because it places focus on the confession itself. It hit all the points that I personally was expecting for Xia Yan’s confession, including his past struggles with the idea of staying with MC, his confession about both his feelings and his illness, and how resolute MC is about staying with him vs. how hard he tries to get her to understand the implications of being him, considering that he doesn’t have much time left.

I think now’s a good time for the two of them to get married if they’re well aware that Xia Yan’s time is limited, so Xia Yan, where’s the ruby ring?

I wonder what implications this will have on the main story - e.g. will the rest of NXX find out about Xia Yan’s illness in Chapter 7.2? Or will they never know? Actually, I wonder if they’ll have MC be aware of his illness in the main story because… that implies his confession happened, which might anger fans of the other boys.

Conclusion

I love Xia Yan and I love this date.

#tears of themis #xia yan #luke pearce #rambles #this whole thing is kinda messy so kudos if you made it through

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lovelytarou · 3 years

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the language of flowers — oikawa tooru

pairing: oikawa tooru x gn! reader

genre: fluff, flowershop!au

tags: flowerboy!oikawa, slowburn, strangers to lovers

word count: 4.06k

a/n: i finally finished this after 2536484 years of procrastination! but thanks to my moots shae and julie for showing support and giving their opinions about this concept hehe. this is the longest fic i've written wow 😳

⤷ summary: the flowershop on the street you frequently walk on going home is a wonder you didn't notice until recently when the smell of flowers caught your attention. deciding to enter it one day out of pure curiosity, you met the owner of the shop and with it, the start of a blooming romance.

life was filled with repeating patterns, certain routines and habits that everybody has gotten used to doing. like the way you always took the same path when going home, passing by the familiar faces you encounter all the time, seeing the similar architecture and landscape that brings some sort of familiarity to you whenever you see it.

your feet stopped in their own accord when a sweet smell invaded your nose. you inhaled deeply, the aroma pleasant and fresh. going a few steps back, you finally saw where it was coming from. the flower shop stood out like a sore thumb in the street with its vibrant flowers that you can see through the clear glass. the sunlight was shining down upon the beautiful flowers and they looked charming even from afar.

you thought for a moment and decided that you'd stop by in the flower shop for a little while. besides, if the smell alone has caught your attention, who knows what else can?

the soft tinkle of the bell on the door signalled your presence. you were simply in awe at the sight of the decorations inside the shop. it was breathtaking. numerous flowers, bouquets, wreaths, and some that you don't know the name about were placed neatly and elegantly inside the shop to let the customers feast their eyes (and noses) upon.

giggles and loud laughter snatched you away from your thoughts, a huddled group of women and men alike are circling over something - or someone? - and they seemed to be too entertained about it than the flowers themselves. chuckling quietly, you shook your head and decided to look around the place more for yourself.

there were buckets and baskets of anemones in pinks, reds, and purple. there were also daffodils, camellias, and tulips of many colors that you can't help but get sucked in by them. you can't think which one to go to first, there are so many! the hanging plants are wonderful as well, they can make for great decoration. the succulents look cute and adorable, it can also be manageable if you find yourself too busy to take care of a plant.

you were too deep in your thoughts, caressing a blue tulip to even notice the sudden silence in the shop and the ringing of the bell at the door that tells you the previous patrons have exited the flower shop and you're now alone. or so you thought.

“beautiful,” a sing-songy, lilting voice spoke from behind you, causing you to jolt from where you're admiring the flower and turned towards the owner of the voice.

if the flowers took your breath away, well he made you get your breath stuck in your throat. he looks like he's not from around him, and simply breathing in his space is something short of disgraceful. you took in his wavy side-swept dark brown hair, and his welcoming eyes of the same color that shone with mischief. his lips are stretched into a smile.

wow, he is really tall. you're surprised he hadn't reached the ceiling of the shop. he seemed pretty intimidating with his height alone, but there's an air around him that screams playfulness.

“ah, i meant the tulips.” he apologized as a blush coated his beautiful clear cheeks, a hand touching his nape.

“oh!” you cleared your throat, immediately bringing the tulip back where it respectfully resides, “yes, they're very wonderful to look at. you have a lovely shop, uh…”

he seemed to perk up at the inquisition of his name, he chuckled to himself before offering his hand.

“oikawa tooru, nice to meet you! and thanks, i do try hard to keep this flower shop presentable for customers like you who have taste.” he winked, walking past you and you followed suit – eyes practically glued to his form as he moved swiftly around his small shop.

“must be difficult to run a business like this all by yourself,” you wondered, fingers brushing against petals that your hand can reach.

it's odd, but staying in there for just a few minutes has brought you a sense of relaxation. as if the flowers all around you and talking to oikawa is such a breath of fresh air.

“well, you get used to it after a while. besides, i have my friends, uh...help me sometimes.” he nervously chuckled, he certainly knew that 'help' means that force his friends to carry things around while blackmailing them and bribing them for lunch, then sure, he had them help him.

you only hummed in response.

he turned around after a while, a pink lily in his hand.

“i think this suits our gorgeous customer, don't you think?” he smirked, handing the flower with a flourish which you took gently – causing your hands to touch and making you feel that slight tingle people talk about in movies and books.

you felt silly about the way your face heats up at the small gesture, your gaze not straying away from the flowers in fear of letting oikawa see his effect on you.

but you can try with all your might, nothing can stop him from already seeing your flushed face. he always does these things to entertain the customers but he found his chest feeling warm staring at you like that.

going back to his place in the cashier, he started to tidy up a bit for the next customers that will visit the shop. his brown eyes kept staring at you from time to time as you walked around, trying to see if there's anything else you could buy along with the lily – but we all know it's just to keep your attention away from him and the fact that he can make your heart race with mere flirting.

“i never really noticed your shop before, and i have walked this street for how many times now.” you droned on, playing with the cute pots on the shelf – some of them were heads of the cliché green alien and other space themed stuff which you find adorable, bringing a fond smile to your face.

“oikawa's flower shop is like a secret garden, my dear customer.” he boasted, spraying freesias on the cashier desk with a smile on his face.

“it truly looks like one,” you agreed, with one final look in the flower shop, you walked closer to the cashier and got out your wallet.

“no, no. it's on the house, lovely.” he beamed, stopping the hand in your bag.

“really? thank you.” your face flushed at the feeling of his hands – the very same one who took care of these beautiful flowers – touching yours.

he recoiled, as if burned. his face painted a deep red like the roses by the windows. both of you looked away, like two magnets of the same sign – coming in contact with each other only to repel.

“well, um, i'll see you around then.” you muttered, breaking the silence.

“yeah, see you.” oikawa smiled warmly. hopefully much sooner, he hoped.

with one last look at each other, you turned around and exited the secret garden. you walked home that day all smiles and giddy, still feeling the lingering touch he has left on your skin, how warm and calloused they felt. maybe from how hard he was working.

you wondered if you'll ever see him again soon.

the second time you visited the flower shop was when you saw oikawa in one of the coffee shops you frequented. it turned out that he usually stops by for coffee and his milk bread when the shop's particularly slow. he asked to walk you home and since you're both taking the same path, you agreed.

he turned out to be a very chatty person – not the kind that will annoy you because they only talk about themselves, but the amusing kind because he has a lot of stories stored inside his big brain full of tales about him and his friends, and occasionally asking about your life as well.

you two had fallen into a comfortable pace as you walked together, sipping both your beverages.

“hey, let's play truth or dare!” he blurted, eyes sparkling in excitement and thinly veiled mischief, a bright smile on his lips.

“really? here? now?” you asked, incredulous. isn't this something people do in parties around a lot of people?

“yeah! it'll be fun,” he shrugged.

“well, okay then.” you sighed, before sipping your drink, “you go first.”

“okay…” he pretended to think hard, eyes darting everywhere as he hummed, “truth or dare?”

“you don't really need to think so hard about that,” you chuckled.

“just pick!”

“alright, alright. truth!” you beamed at him, trying to understand what his brain will cook up to ask you.

“ah, that's easy. what's your name?” oh, that's right. you forgot to tell him back then the first time you went in his flower shop. and so, you told him.

“y/n. what a beautiful name. okay, my turn! my turn!” he excitedly chanted, eyes never losing their sparkle.

you ignored the butterflies that erupted in your stomach the moment he said your name, as if he's taking his time and tasting it around his tongue like a foreign delicacy he hasn't tasted before.

you cleared your throat, averting his gaze as they zeroed in on you, “truth or dare, mr. milk bread?”

“hey, they taste really good, i'll have you know.” he scoffed, before his face morphed back into excitement again, “dare!”

you thought for a moment, there isn't really anything too interesting to do while walking. and then you smirked.

“i dare you to greet the person who will walk this corner as if you knew each other for a very long time,” you grinned devilishly. he gaped at that, before darting his gaze towards the street corner you were talking about.

“y/n-chan, i didn't know you would be the type,” he teased, you were about to retort when a huge, buff man walked around the corner. he looked intimidating, even for you and you wondered what oikawa might be feeling right now.

but you didn't need to wonder about it any longer as he was already walking up to the man, confident and grinning. he raised his hand in the air before slapping the guy on the shoulder.

“hey, long time no see, man! say hello to the wife and kids for me, will ya?” the man gave him a weird look before shaking his head, walking past and minding his own business muttering about 'kids these days'.

once the guy was out of earshot, you and oikawa bursted out in laughter, looking at each other with relief and surprise.

“i thought he was going to pulverize you!” you wheezed in between chortles.

“i know! me too! i thought he'll get mad at me or something,” he threw his head back as he laughed. you stopped your own giggles to stare back at him. he looked radiant as he let himself go, you thought he looked attractive with the way he candidly showed his happiness.

“something wrong, y/n-chan?” you hadn't realized he stopped laughing and was left staring at him. his head was tilted in curiosity as he peered at you in concern.

“not at all!,” you catch yourself, suddenly feeling hot and embarrassed, hoping he didn't notice you ogling him, “where were we?”

“it's your turn now, truth or dare?” feeling bold, you chose dare next.

oikawa gave you a broad smile, his hand extending towards you as if encouraging you to take it, “i dare you to stay a little longer with me in my shop,”

to be honest? you expected him to get back at you and maybe make you do an equally embarrassing (if not more) dare, but you did not expect this.

what you also didn't expect is the fact that you had stopped in front of oikawa's flower shop with your back turned to it. how did you reach there so fast? it seemed like talking and walking with him made time stop. a part of you would like to keep it that way, if only it was possible.

“i would love to,” was your answer. oikawa opened the door to his shop, letting you in first. he then led you near the back of the shop, opening into a wide backyard that resembled a small, gorgeous garden with different kinds of flowers. some even you haven't seen him display in the shop inside.

the two of you sat on the two seated table. you were simply at awe with how ethereal this all looked. your eyes couldn't get enough of all the wonderful colors that it landed on.

“wow,” was all you managed to say, taking in your surroundings and appreciating every nook and cranny presented to you.

“i spent most of my breaks here,” oikawa came back with two glasses of water and placed them on the glass table.

“usually talking to myself and talking to the flowers. i heard it helps them grow faster and makes them more beautiful.” he, too, looked around his small garden with unconcealed pride and fondness. if you looked closer, you could also see the hint of sadness hidden in there.

“you talk to your flowers? that's so cute!” you gushed, hiding your smile behind the glass of water as you sipped it.

“if anything, you're the one who's cute.” he complimented as if it was nothing, eyes boring into yours as his smile widened.

you choked on your water, coughing it up out of surprise and it was the opposite of cute. but his opinions didn't change.

oikawa barked a laugh, reaching over to pat your back soothingly. once you calmed down, you avoided his gaze once again and decided to stare at the sunflowers nearby.

“we should just continue the game,” you decided to divert the topic.

“truth or dare, cutie?” oikawa bit back the grin from emerging on his face. hiding it with a palm propped up on the table.

“d-dare,” you answered without thinking. and oikawa being the little shit he is, took this as an opportunity.

“i dare you to go on a date with me this saturday,” he sincerely declared, eyes not leaving you once. your head whipped back to him so fast, you swear you got whiplash.

you're not one of these flowers and yet you felt the butterflies going wild inside of you.

your heart beat rapidly inside of your chest, pounding hard and ringing in your ears.

“you don't need a dare to get me to say yes,” you reasoned with a wide smile.

oikawa tooru, like his flowers, is a lively, blooming person. you get to know that the moment you agreed to go on a date with him. it followed a few hangouts, and frequent bumping into each other considering this was a small town, afterall. how you haven't noticed such a vibrant person in your life was beyond you.

you see him everywhere, every day in your life right now. in the small bushes that your neighbor has in their garden, the alien and sci-fi movies in the store which were his favorite every time he invited you to watch a movie, the milk bread you saw in the coffee shop you both love to go, and even the characters in the books you love to read. oikawa tooru practically invaded your life the moment you invited yourself in his flowershop and you loved every second of it.

every time you two hang out together, he never misses to bring you any flower. you'd always keep them with you until you come home, placing them in a vase and watering them constantly, taking care of them like how much oikawa takes care of the flowers. you paid no mind to it, only thinking that it was a sweet gesture from him until your friend decided to comment on the fresh flowers on top of your coffee table.

the both of you had known each other for a very long time now and that she's going to get married, she wanted you to be a part of it too. setting down the tea in front of her on the table, you sat down beside her, engulfing her in a hug.

“oh, y/n! i missed you so much! it's been busy with all the planning for the wedding and the people to invite, i still haven't tried on my dress and tasted the cake, it's kind of stressing me out!” she immediately let her sorrows and agony free the moment you let go of the hug.

“speaking of stress, is there anything i could do to help?” you reached for her hand, rubbing it soothingly in circles.

she hummed thoughtfully, sipping her tea to calm her nerves, “now that i thought about it, we still don't know anyone good enough for the flower decorations in the venue,” she pouted, sighing sadly.

a lightbulb lit itself on top of your head, making you perk up, “i know someone who does!”

“really? are they good?” oh more than good, you wanted to butt in but shake your head free of those thoughts.

“of course! he's actually the one who gave me these, he takes real good care of them.” you gestured towards the tulips in your vase. it seems like her eyes lit up and she immediately fell in love with the flowers.

“tulips?! oh, y/n, my dear, he's in love with you!” she squealed in glee, bouncing in her seat like a little kid.

“how did you know that by simply looking at my tulips?”

“giving tulips to someone means a declaration of love, sweetie.” she sighed dreamily, “you might as well plan for your wedding too!”

“don't be ridiculous!” you exclaimed, trying your best not to smile too wide.

you weren't too against on the idea, but you just met afterall. it would be too early for another wedding. even though he never failed to show his affection every time you are together, there's still a lingering doubt whether he did like you in that way.

as promised, you asked oikawa about it the next day, stopping by his flower shop with coffee and his beloved milk bread since it's his break.

“y/n-chan! it's always a pleasure to be visited by you again,” he greeted you, he was attending to a few customers in the store and excused himself before talking to you. your heart swelled with the action, not being able to hide your smile this time.

“tooru, i was just stopping by to ask you a favor. my friend's wedding is getting near and she still doesn't have any flower decorations for the venue. i mentioned you and i was wondering if you're the one who could do it instead?” you bit your lip nervously, fumbling with the paperbag containing the bread as you looked up at him hopefully.

seriously, how can he resist you looking at him that way? your eyelashes fluttering, mouth formed into a pout, eyes shining brightly. you're just asking him to devour you whole. before he knew it, he had leaned in to peck the corner of your mouth.

it completely shocked you to your core. he hasn't done that kind of thing before, always being respectful and never doing anything you didn't want to. but strangely, you weren't mad at him for it. to tell the truth, you kinda wished he kissed you more.

“i'd love to, y/n-chan.” he uttered, pinching your cheek before turning to hide his own reddened face.

that was basically the last time you saw each other since you recommended him to your friend. and since then, he has been busy and you tried to help with the wedding as well. you figured oikawa has his hands full with taking care of the decorations for the wedding, but even then, he would still message you or even facetime you after – asking about how yiur day went and craving to see your face without him being able to for how long.

the day of the wedding came and it was magical. your heart melted the moment your friends said their “i do's” as everybody clapped and rejoiced with them. the moment you stepped into the venue, everyone was amazed, speechless at the decorations being the first thing their eyes could feast upon. pink and white roses was all you could see – ranging from vine-like ones hanging from the ceiling, to arches in the doorway, and some are even placed neatly on the tables.

to sum it all, it was breathtaking.

“your boyfriend did amazing,” your friend teased, bumping her hip to yours as she walked away with her husband to greet some guests.

you were left standing there, mouth agape as you took everything in. you couldn't wrap your head around the idea of oikawa managing to do all this by himself, but then again, he has surprised you by doing a lot of things you didn't know he could do.

“you know, if you stayed here longer there won't be enough food left for you.” the familiaf voice you grew to love and got used to spoke from behind you. something tugged in your chest, the events seeming like déjà vu all over again.

“i'm just admiring your work, tooru.” you smiled, turning around to face the man behind the beautiful decorations.

he's changed his clothes into a more formal attire than his usual getup with the aprons and white button up shirt for a maroon suit and tie. he even styled his hair back, if you didn't know him long enough you might have mistaken him for someone else.

“you look...good,” you managed to breathe out, it seems like the decorations aren't the only ones that are breathtaking. your eyes drank him in, how the clothes hug his frame perfectly, the color complimenting his skin tone, and the fact that his fluffy hair is swept away really makes you want to jump his bones right here, right now.

“and you look gorgeous. i must say, i don't mind you looking like this all the time, y/n-chan.” he chuckled, a shit-eating grin blooming on his face as he eyed you up and down slowly. your face grew hot against his stare and you felt naked, as if his eyes can see through you.

“th-thanks, tooru.” you mumbled, playing with the hem of your clothes. before any of you could speak, however, the emcee spoke on stage calling out the bride and groom to give a speech.

you all gathered around the small stage as they thanked everyone for coming to the wedding, inclduing the guests, their helpers, the staff. after all the mushy speech, she declared it was time for the dance, turned around and threw the bouquet (that's also from oikawa) to the audience.

you saw the thing flying to you and out of pure instinct, you threw your hand in front of you and ended up catching the bouquet. everyone around you clapped including oikawa himself as you stared at it wide eyed. your gazed met oikawa's and as if your face couldn't get any hotter, you also felt the fast beating of your heart when you stared at each other.

everybody howled and chanted teasing remarks at the two of you. instead of paying attention to the newly weds they picked the two of you as the center of their amusement.

your friend's voice overpowered them all as she also chanted, “kiss! kiss! kiss! kiss!”

oikawa looked at you with a raised brow and you can only smile bashfully in return before you felt the world turn upside down, oikawa dipping you as he kissed you passionately and deeply. time seemed to stop once again as everything blurred and all you can feel is him, and all he can feel is you. he hoped it would be enough to pour all the emotions and words he wanted you to know.

it felt like the kiss lasted forever before he pulled away, the two of you out of breath as you giddily smiled at each other, both sharing a lovestruck look.

“is it too early to ask you to marry me?”

general taglist: @chibishae34 @behan @bukojuiice (tagging you here bcs you're excited for this)

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nervousladytraveler · 3 years

Text

The Alibi

Inspired by the kiss prompt: A + B are in an argument, then they stop, just stare at each other, and then crash their lips together, because, like i said... fuck this shit Ross and Demelza

Requested by the lovely @veryflowerobservation

---

“God damn it, Demelza! I told you not to follow me tonight!”

For the last eight miles, Ross had been looking over his shoulder while Demelza drove. No one was behind them on the dark road, and it was most likely they’d been unseen, yet he continued to anxiously watch. There was nothing that would quiet the churning adrenaline that came from such a close call.

“Well it's a good thing I did follow you, otherwise…” Demelza snapped back at him.

“Otherwise what?!” He cut her off before she continued in what sounded like another self-righteous justification. Her words rang empty to him--she’d acted impulsively and it was just dumb luck that she hadn’t made things worse.

“You seriously ask me that?”

“Demelza, I would have sorted it instead of both of us being in danger!”

“No, Ross. In case you didn't notice I just saved your skin before you had anythin’ to sort. And you can’t just sort a thing like this with the police, by the way. Not even you. But now that’s a moot point and no one is in danger. Of gettin’ hurt or bein’ arrested--precisely because I came.“

Without any warning, Demelza took a sharp left at the Blowinghouse Turn bus stop, then minutes later turned right on the B3284 towards Truro. This whole time she’d kept the tiny Kia Forte steady at 30 mph, a frustratingly slow pace that further agitated Ross--and she was well aware that it would, no doubt. But she was right in her refusal to drive any faster. The last thing they needed now was trouble for speeding.

“Why didn’t you stay on the…” he started but stopped once he caught the acid look she flashed him. “You seem to know what you’re doing,” he mumbled.

“Yes, Ross. Yes, I do.”

To their relief, the road ahead remained empty. Then again people didn't really tend to be out driving at 2AM on a Tuesday unless they had urgent business. Or shady business.

“So was this all your plan all along--that you’d come out tonight and spy on me?” he asked.

“Spy? You’re not very good at keepin’ secrets, you know,” she sputtered. “Besides, you already told me what you were up to, just not when or where…”

“For good reason! Because I didn’t want you involved. But you told me that you’d stay home--you lied to me!” Ross’s dark voice filled the little car.

“Lyin’? You’re really speakin’ to me about lyin’?” Her laugh, bitter and sarcastic, met his anger head on.

Demelza Carne had worked for Ross Poldark for years now--since she was a teenager really-- first as an all around office assistant and recently as his bookkeeper. And she’d shown him time and again that she wasn't cowed by his moods. She was one of the few people in his life who wasn’t. She was also one of the few people in his life who hadn’t abandoned him once his business prospects began to fail. He shouldn’t have expected anything different from her tonight.

“But no, Ross, I hadn’t planned on interferin’ with your business. I do have a life of my own you know...“

“Demelza--wait--are you claiming I lied to you?”

“When you omit somethin’ on purpose, that’s also a lie,” she said calmly, then a moment later her agitation boiled up again. “Jesus, Ross! What were you thinkin’?! Comin out here on your own to meet those smugglers? You didn't think it was a set up?”

Smugglers. It rankled him that she insisted on calling Trencrom and his men smugglers as though this were some 18th century French scheme or an Enid Blyton novel, rather than a simple business arrangement.

But no matter what term Ross preferred, tonight proved it remained a dangerous business. And while the charge of “improper importation of goods chargeable with a duty which has not been paid” certainly sounded less exciting than smuggling, it still carried a severe penalty.

Tonight would have been Ross’s third transaction with Robert Trencrom, a local businessman who had approached him last summer with a proposition. It seemed that from time to time Trencrom and his associates had in their possession certain goods acquired through less than proper channels. What Trencrom needed was an unassuming place to store these goods until such a time when they could be distributed without suspicion. Nampara, Ross’s derelict farm, might provide the perfect cover since there were so many unused outbuildings, several that still had solid walls and intact roofs. It had been decades since the farm produced anything that needed storing, so why not let the space to others whilst Ross made a little cash on the side?

The past two times it had been Belgian cigarettes--not massive quantities but enough that the whole endeavour still carried a risk. Yet Ross’s involvement had been truly minimal, just as Trencrom had assured him. In fact, Ross had not even been home when the goods were delivered. Trencrom’s men had tucked the plastic barrels behind some rusting mowing machines, and Ross was only made aware that the goods had been removed some weeks later when an envelope of cash was left for him in his car.

And since these were cash transactions, Ross considered hiding them altogether from Demelza, who minded his books for him. But in the end, he explained in vague details what he had done and asked her not to question him further. Clearly she hadn’t approved but she said nothing.

It wasn’t drugs or weapons--or people--so it could be worse, he’d told himself. And as soon as he just got a little more out of debt, he’d cut ties with the lot.

When Ross didn’t hear from Trencrom all winter, he’d assumed the connection had faded and sighed in relief. He’d miss the income but not the entanglement.

Then a few weeks into May, Trencrom reached out again.

This time Ross was to be more involved and actually take delivery of the cargo himself. Naturally there would be considerable compensation--a figure Ross didn’t think he could refuse considering his current financial status. Trencrom hinted he’d been worried about the loyalty of such a big crew and so for this job he wanted to keep his circle small. He’d instructed Ross to meet them at the Rugby Football Club carpark just after midnight.

In the hours leading up to the hand off, Ross was determined to pass a quiet evening at home. So when his friend Dwight stopped by unannounced for a drink and a game of cards, he’d welcomed the diversion. He was also relieved that Demelza, who lived in one of the tiny cottages adjacent to the main house, seemed to deliberately be giving him a wide berth that day. She knew about the “business” Ross had later, but having already made her objections clear, there was nothing left to say on the matter. Normally she would have stayed--she liked Dwight Enys and the two of them playfully teased Ross as only true friends could. But tonight she left Ross with Dwight and went home early.

It was around 11PM that Ross received another call--the exchange point had apparently changed. He was now to meet Trencrom’s men at the airfield at 1:30 and he was to come on foot--without his car. The barrels were already loaded in a van so there was no need to remove them to another vehicle.That last detail did seem odd to him at the time. But once Ross had left for the appointment, he found it was a mild night, and figured he’d park at the beach and enjoy the walk to the airfield.

He was still almost a mile away when the familiar black Kia pulled up next to him. His every muscle tightened and he could hear the blood pounding in his ears.

“Demelza,” he’d hissed. “Get out of here!’

“Get in the car now, Ross,” she’d said simply.

“Look, Demelza, I know you don’t approve of this...” There was something in her eyes that made him take notice. Like an animal being hunted, she was on high alert.

“Get in,” she’d said again. “It’s a trap.”

“What?!” he’d asked, shaking his head in disbelief but still he climbed into the car without waiting for a satisfactory explanation.

“Seatbelt,” was all she’d said. He could hear the tension in her voice but she concentrated on the road ahead of her and didn’t even offer him a glance. “There,” she said finally and bid him to look to the right.

She drove on without slowing down so it was only a flash to him, still the chilling sight registered in his brain. Just beyond the tall hedges at the entrance to the airfield were three police cars, and two others that looked unmarked, all waiting in a circle with their headlamps off.

Demelza had been right--it had been a trap. And one he would have literally walked right into had she not shown up when she did.

It was doubtful that Trencrom was the one cooperating with the cops--it must have been one of the others in his crew. So Trencrom did have good reason to want to draw his circle closer. Ross wondered if he’d actually known there was a rat amongst them or just suspected it.

Ross knew he should be grateful for Demelza’s timely rescue but he couldn’t help resenting that she’d been right. She may have had a right to be so smug, but he didn't have to enjoy listening to her rub it in.

“I knew this would happen…” she muttered and drove on.

“Oh, you most certainly did not,” he growled. “No one did.”

“No one?” she laughed. “Well let’s see, Ross...the cops knew and someone else most certainly knew--whoever grassed on you, that is…”

“I would have thought, knowing you as I do, that you’d understand why I had no choice…”

“No choice? What sort of bullshit is that, Ross? Have you run round in your head how that really sounds? You know that's not an actual legal defense?”

“I mean I needed the money. I have a mortgage payment due and…”

“Yes, I am aware of that, Ross. Knowin’ me as you think you do, you should have talked this over with me. I’m your bookkeeper, for fuck’s sake.”

He didn’t want to think about what he should have done and whether he’d pushed her away as she claimed. He had good reason not to involve her--he’d wanted to avoid just such an argument with her.

And he also wanted to protect her.

“Turn left up here then pull over at the top of the hill and let me drive,” Ross grumbled as she rolled into the sleeping town.

“You’re most certainly not drivin’ my car!” she huffed but nonetheless turned as he had directed and pulled into the car park at the back of the Star and Garter Inn.

It was a clever move. They hadn’t spoken it but they both knew their friend Jinny Martin would be working the desk tonight. Perhaps she could get them a room and they could wait it out there until morning.

Demelza switched off the headlamps and then after a moment’s hesitation, the engine as well.

Ross heard her take in a sharp breath--more like a hiss--and waited for the tempest to continue.

“Well, yes,” he said just a beat before she opened her mouth to speak. “When the pick-up location changed last minute, I might have seen it was a set up.” It wasn't an apology but he hoped he could buy himself some time before her next eruption. “But I never imagined anyone involved in this arrangement would ever inform on me…”

“Oh Ross! I would have guessed it, and am surprised it didn't happen sooner. Honour amongst thieves and all that.”

“They aren’t--we aren’t--thieves.”

“Ok, not thieves per se but it’s still criminal activity to take delivery of smuggled cargo. Ross, you think you’re such a great judge of character but that lot...they’re greedy bastards and they just aren't your friends.”

“And you are?”

She stared at him, wide eyed and open-mouthed, unbelieving that he’d actually questioned her loyalty when she’d just saved him from a possible seven year prison sentence.

“Demelza, that came out wrong,” he said. Again it wasn’t an apology. At least not in its tone.

“Everythin’ you say comes out wrong, Ross. Or do you actually mean to be such an absolute arsehole?”

“Can’t you just admit that you could have put yourself in danger back there? With both Trencrom’s crew and the cops?” He put his hand on her arm and was surprised at how strong her muscles felt as she gripped the steering wheel. Instinctively he pulled away.

“Can’t you just admit how stubborn and stupid you can be?” Usually so bright and reassuring, her voice was hoarse from such rough use tonight.

“I’m stubborn?” he asked.

“No one saw me, Ross. And the important thing is that the police didn't see you. So you’re safe.”

“Well…”

“I suppose even if the cops had your name as someone possibly involved, since they didn't actually catch you doin’ any illegal activity, they can’t arrest you. Besides I’m your allibi for this evenin’. We can stay here overnight in case they’re watchin’ the house, and I’ll take you back to to pick up your car in the mornin’.“

“Wait! What if there’s CCTV here?” Ross felt a renewed jolt of panic tear through him.

“All the cameras are on the front of the building and the side where the guests park. This section is for employees.” She pointed to the few other cars around them. Older, tatty, bought second hand on the cheap but still at a cost as they most likely required constant maintenance. These were the cars of service workers--night clerks, cleaners, cooks. He recognised Jinny’s old Skoda with it’s Leicester City FC sticker on the rear. That car had been in the Martin family for almost two decades now and somehow, through mechanical expertise or through sheer will, her resourceful father had managed to keep it running. No one would bother these cars with the shiny new BMWs and Audis on the other side of the hotel.

“What about traffic cameras? Back along the road?” Ross asked, not sure if he was being cautious or paranoid.

“Maybe, but Ross, there’s no law against bein’ out with a woman.”

“Who happened to pick me up on the side of the road in the middle of the night…”

“Well, let’s assume we had to meet up in the cover of dark to avoid gossip since you’re my boss...and because of your jealous girlfriend.”

“Demelza, you know I don’t have a girlfriend,” he grumbled. “This is ridiculous…”

“I know that, but the police wouldn’t. A clandestine affair--a fake one of course--is a perfect cover for sketchy behaviour. But if you’d prefer I not be your alibi…”

“This isn’t a game!” he snapped again. He couldn’t stand that she’d laughed just now. Then a thought hit him and he had to ask. “How did you even know where I was going? That I’d be heading from the beach towards the airfield on foot?”

“Dr. Enys told me.”

“What? This just gets more unbelievable! Dwight knew this was top secret--why the hell did he tell you?”

“Top secret but still you told him?” she snorted. “Well, I’m glad you did, I suppose. He couldn’t follow you himself--he’d a call from one of his ‘patients’, which I think was actually code for Caroline wanted him to come round’--so he thought I might be able to stop you. At least he has some faith in me.”

“Oh come on, this isn’t about what I think of you…”

“Isn’t it though? You clearly don’t trust me and you don’t think I can handle myself and you think I’m silly.”

“Silly?”

“Oh sorry--ridiculous was the word you just used. Anyway Dwight was wary of the whole arrangement and thought it stank to high heaven.”

“Why didn’t he tell me that himself?!”

“He said he did--did you actually listen? And before you get angry at him, you should thank your lucky stars that he was still at Nampara when Trencrom sent word of the ‘new’ meetin’ point...”

“It wasn’t Trencrom who rang me,” he corrected her. “It was Charlie who told me the meet up was moved to the airfield.”

“Charlie Kempthorne? That tosser? Are you shitting me? And you didn’t think it was suspicious that Charlie would be privy to some secret revised plan and you wouldn’t?” she scoffed. “But really, Ross, you should be fucking grateful to have Dwight as a mate. He’s a real friend, you know.”

“I never said he wasn't.”

“No, you just said I wasn't,” she snorted.

“Oh come on, Demelza. You know I didn't mean that. What are you going on about?”

“In case it isn’t clear, Ross,” she hissed, “I am still so angry at you.” She spoke through clenched teeth. “That you got involved with those weasels in the first place, that you shut me out, that you almost...”

“It’s none of your business!” he shouted. “Why are you being this way?”

“Okay, it’s not my business and I’m not your friend, just some stupid girl who works for you and is used to clearin’ up your messes--and who knows she’ll be out of that job if--no, sorry--when you get nicked. Fuck this shit. And fuck you, Ross!” Without looking at him, she stepped out of the car and slammed the door.

Ross immediately followed her, afraid that she’d keep shouting and wake the hotel. She stopped in her tracks a few yards away and stood silently. It might have been the first time in nearly thirty minutes that she’d stopped yelling at him. Ross leaned against the still-warm bonnet of the car and exhaled.

Perhaps she’d known what she was doing, parking the car in a farthest corner of the lot, under a broken street lamp. They were completely hidden in shadow, still Ross could make out her face--her narrowed, feral eyes, her gnashing teeth that gleamed in the faint moonlight. For a moment he thought she might bite him.

He cautiously took a step forward then paused to read her posture.

The chill in the air--and in the words they’d just thrown at each other--was causing her shoulders to shake. He noticed she was wearing a blue jumper just a shade darker than her brilliant eyes. The sleeves were too long, and she’d had to repeatedly push them up, but they wouldn't cooperate and now hung past her fingertips.

It was his, he then realised, the old one he usually left hanging on the peg by the front door.

He almost asked her what she was wearing--or rather why she was wearing it--but instead, aware that he’d been moved and not all sure of the reason, he did something else. He made two broad strides towards her.

Startled, she looked up at him. Her shining eyes lit the night.

“Yes, like you said...fuck this shit…” he laughed and put his hand on her elbow, pulling her towards him. He expected resistance, but he found none.

It was only a moment that they just stared at each other but it felt eternal, and then at some unspoken signal, they crashed together.

It was an untidy and urgent kiss--almost violent in its clumsiness had it not been fueled by such sincere desperation. Then, as they both found their breath, their arms found each other. A great weight had been lifted--one that neither Ross nor Demelza even realised they were shouldering until that moment.

He wove his hands through her hair and kissed her again. This time their lips worked together, carried by the flood of surging desire and long-sought release.

“Demelza, I’m so sorry I got you in this.” His voice was low but soft. Now his hands framed her face, afraid she might slip away like sand through his fingers.

“Ross, I was just so scared for you.”

He could hear the tears she was trying to hold back and understood why she’d been so angry with him. He’d been such a spectacular idiot, and in more ways than one.

“Me too. When you turned up, Demelza...my blood ran cold at the thought that I'd lured you into danger. I would never let anyone hurt you…” He ran the backs of his fingers gently down her cheek then kissed her pulsing temple.

“I couldn't leave you Ross, I just couldn't,” she cried into his neck.

“Thank you for caring for me even though I don’t deserve it. Come, you’re shivering. Let's go inside. We can talk more…” But instead of letting her go, he pressed her closer until he was certain he could feel her heart beating against his.

“I don't want to talk anymore,” she sniffled.

“Me neither. I just want to touch you and know you are safe.”

“Will you, Ross?”

Good god, I’ll never let you go, he thought.

“And can you trust me?” When she looked up at him, the hunted, defensive animal was gone. Now she was raw, vulnerable. She was softly opening herself to him, and doing so completely.

Ross understood what would happen next, what was happening now. He felt it in his gut and knew things would never be the same.

“Of course I do,” he whispered. “More than anyone.”

The darkness of the night--their secret accomplice--wrapped herself protectively around them.

Demelza lifted her face towards him and Ross kissed her once more.

#lucretiassister #poldark fanfic #poldark modern au #fake dating sort of #kisses prompts #ross poldark #demelza carne

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avengerscompound · 4 years

Text

The Surrogate - Chapter 16

The Surrogate: A Clintasha Fanfic

Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing: Clint Barton x Natasha Romanoff x F!Reader

Word Count: 1714

Rating: E

Warnings: Pregnancy

Synopsis: A freak end of the world incident leads to meeting your two best friends, Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff. While your friendship with the two Avengers is anything but conventional, they are your all-time favorite people. When you find out that Clint and Natasha want to start a family but have exhausted all their options, you realize your powerset might allow you to give them what they want. Having your best friends’ baby might seem like a good idea on paper, but when you are as close as you, Clint, and Natasha are, will doing something so intimate mean feelings get a little mixed up?

Chapter 16

Natasha and Clint had both been attending birthing classes with you. It made sense really, they both planned to be there and this was their baby you were growing, even if you had started to think with the word ‘our’ more now. The classes were a little scary. Having to watch birthing videos made you worry there would be some kind of complication. It was one thing for your body to stretch to let out the little girl growing inside you, but if they had to do a cesarean then you were pretty sure she was going to get stuck. There was no way your body would allow itself to go unhealed long enough to cut her out of you.

Still, even though the classes were a little stress-inducing, it was nice to see Clint and Natasha respond to them. They each had their specialties and weaknesses and seeing them working together, it was easy to understand how they worked so well as a team. While they both were fine watching the birthing videos, Clint watched on like it was a horror movie and he was waiting for the Xenomorph to punch its way out of the mother’s chest. Natasha was much calmer about it, like seeing a baby passing out the birthing canal was just another standard day for her. Clint was terrible at helping you with breathing exercises, he just couldn’t take them seriously and if you followed along you’d be prone to hyperventilating. Whereas, Natasha was nothing if not calm and serious about them. On the other hand, Natasha struggled to change a diaper on a doll, whereas Clint could do it blindfolded and with one hand tied behind his back.

The classes were just held by the doctor who would be delivering your baby at the compound and a couple of the nurses too. Obstetrics wasn’t used a lot on-site, and while the doctor and one of the nurses were both experts, the rest of the staff were more versed at emergency patch-ups so they’d come along to brush up their knowledge before the big day. It was good to not have to worry about people treating you strangely because Natasha and Clint were celebrities or because there were three of you. Everyone at the compound was used to what the three of you had now.

As you left the class Clint was babbling about whether or not drugs would work for you for the pain. “I don’t see why the drugs wouldn’t work. I mean, my body would probably physically reject the needle if I got an epidural, but pethidine would be okay and they said they’d be me Nitrous Oxide if I want.”

“Can I use it?” Clint asked.

“No, you can’t, birdbrain,” Natasha teased. “Go get your illegal drugs elsewhere.”

“You can just squeeze Nat’s hand extra tight,” Clint said. “But not mine. I need them for my job.”

Natasha laughed. “And I don’t ever use my hands?”

“Not the way I do,” Clint argued.

You laughed and opened the door as you looked back at them. “You guys are such…”

“Surprise!!”

The shout of the group of people currently in the apartment made you jump and you spun around to see the room filled with people to almost breaking point. The place was decorated with pink streamers and matching pearlescent balloons. There was a banner along the wall that spelled out ‘Baby Shower’ in a gold script. Pink pieces of card cut into circles hung from various points of the ceiling with the words ‘Baby Shower’ repeated again and again in the same font. The dining table was laid out with fruit, finger sandwiches, dips, cheese, and crackers. At the center of it all, sitting on a raised cake stand was a round cake with pale pink frosting. A banner made out of sugar paste flags spelled out ‘BABY GIRL’ around the side and a sugar paste stork stood on the top holding a pink bundle.

The coffee table had been moved to the side and was stacked high with gifts, all wrapped in some combination of pink, white, silver, and gold.

At the front of the group was Kate Bishop and Wanda Maximoff stood holding out glasses of champagne with what looked like red flowers blooming in the bottom of the glass. “Happy baby shower, guys,” Kate said.

“You bad girls,” Natasha scolded, kissing each of them on the cheek and taking a glass. “I thought we were doing this in the function room.”

“Yeah, but a surprise is better,” Kate said. “Don’t you think?”

“I think you’re both lucky none of us were armed,” Clint said, taking a glass for himself. “I was ready to kick some ass.”

“Why do you think we chose immediately after your birthing class to do this?” Kate teased, handing a glass of champagne to Clint. “We know Doctor Harding doesn’t let you take weapons with you.”

“Here this one is for you,” Wanda said, handing you a glass. “Non-alcoholic sparkling grape juice. I know it’s not that exciting, but at least you can participate.”

“It’s lovely, thank you, Wanda,” you said. “What’s the flower at the bottom?”

“It’s a hibiscus,” she said. “Kate and I were looking up ideas, and it seemed nice and fitted with the theme.”

“Is the theme pink?” Natasha asked.

“I wanted to go purple,” Kate said. “But Wanda wouldn’t let me.”

“Damn it, Wanda,” Clint joked.

“It’s not just your baby, Clint,” Wanda huffed.

“Oh, Wanda,” Natasha soothed. “It’s lovely, you both did a great job.”

The three of you were practically dragged into the party and began to mingle. Kate and Wanda had done a great job with the guest list. All the Avengers were there, as were a lot of the other staff you, Clint, and Natasha were close to. There were also family and friends from your old life pre-avengers, though they looked very overwhelmed by the whole experience.

Unfortunately, the sheer number of people at the party meant the apartment was over capacity. There was barely any room to stand let alone sit. As you mingled shoulder to shoulder with your friends, you started to long for a comfortable seat.

There was a tapping of glass and you turned around to see Tony standing on the arm of a chair. “I think we all agree that surprising these three was a lot of fun, but this apartment is too small for this. So how about they open gifts and we all move it to the function room?”

There was a cheer and you, Nat, and Clint were shuffled to the couch where you were made to take a seat and open gifts.

There were a lot of gifts.

It wasn't long before you started losing track of everything among the cute little onesies and tiny shoes, the three-tiered cakes made of diapers and bottles, stuffed toys, rattles, teethers, and little wooden pull-toys. There were a few standouts. Kate had gotten a little onesie with a purple chevron that looked like the exact copy of the t-shirt Clint practically lived in. Carol brought an onesie that had I love my mommies and daddy on it with three big cartoon bunnies around a much smaller one. Tony, Pepper, and Morgan bought a stuffed giraffe that was so big his horns brushed the roof. Pepper made it clear it had nothing to do with her and all Tony and Morgan’s doing.

When all the gifts were unwrapped everyone started grabbing food and party games and carrying them over to the main building. It was amusing seeing the huge flock of people moving through the halls carrying plastic babies and plates of sandwiches.

When the group arrived it spread out like fluid, expanding to fit the function rooms’ much larger space. Food was laid out on the tables. Games were set up. People started helping themselves to drinks from the bar.

You grabbed yourself a drink and a selection of food and took a seat on the couch, putting your feet up.

“Is it wearing you out?” Steve Rogers asked, coming to sit beside you.

“Yeah, I’m always starting to wane by now, she’s really active in there,” you explained. “And with the birthing class as well.”

“Is she kicking now? Can I feel?” Steve asked.

“Sure,” you said, taking his hand and pressing it where she was currently kicking. It took a moment, but she soon shoved against his hand with what felt like all her might.

“Wow, she’s a strong one,” Steve said with a smile.

You chuckled. “Well look at who her parents are,” you agreed. “She’s going to be a fighter.”

“I guess she is,” Steve smiled. “It was very selfless of you to offer to do this for them. Especially given you must have had feelings for them when you did.”

“Well, the sparks, I guess,” you confirmed. “They were my best friends - are my best friends. This was their only chance to have kids, and you of all people should know what it feels like when there’s a good that can be done and it’s in your power to do it.”

Steve smiled affectionately at you. “I guess I do.”

“It’s moot now anyway, we’re all in it together,” you said.

“How do you feel about that?” Steve asked.

You smiled and nodded. “It’s a little scary. Didn’t exactly plan to be a parent. But I’m excited.”

“Well, good,” Steve said. “It’s not really conventional, and I’m not sure I totally get it, but I understand love, and Nat and Clint were never conventional. I think the three of you have got this.”

“Thanks, Steve,” you said. “That’s always good to hear.”

“Attention everyone!” Kate called out, over the P.A. “I think it’s time to play some games, and I don’t know about you, but I’d like to see which of the three future parents can change a diaper the quickest. So get up here you three. Anyone else, if you’d like to challenge them, we have plenty of dolls and diapers, and there’s a prize.”

Steve chuckled. “Sounds like you’re up.”

You laughed and shook your head as you pulled yourself to your feet. Today was going to be a long and very strange day.

// NEXT

#clint barton #natasha romanoff #clint barton x reader #natasha romanoff x reader #clint barton x natasha romanoff x reader #clintasha #clintasha x reader #clint barton x natasha romanoff #hawkeye #black widow #hawkeye fanfic #black widow fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #reader insert #pregnancy #the surrogate

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jjba-hell · 3 years

Text

Fate and Fortune

Part 7 (holy shit)

A bit of a filler but I swear the next part is gonna get juicy- the way I write Jotaro is just painstakingly layered in non-verbal communication so it takes longer to describe.

Content Warnings: familial loss, it is the Strength card arc (harassment) some sea sickness but that’s about it

For the moots keeping up with my bs: @risottoneroo @fyre23

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

“Vera?” Avdol’s voice rang on the other side of the metal door. “Are you alright?”

The concern was understandable- she wasn’t exactly used to sleeping in the top bench so when the ship took a particularly harsh hit she simply rolled off and with a loud thud landed on the floor. Too exhausted to move, she then simply pulled the blanket from the bottom bunk and tried to continue sleeping.

“I’m opening the door.” He warned before doing just that. The exasperated sigh that followed made her laugh to herself.

“What?”

“Vera, I was concerned you had hit your head.”

Once again she found herself taking his outstretched hand to get up, looking up at him with his hair half in and out of the signature buns atop his head made her laugh. “It’s an ungodly hour to still be working on your hair, don’t you think Avdol?”

“Oh and I suppose you’re willing to sacrifice your sleep for me?”

Vera dramatically held a hand over her heart like she was offended. “You think so ill of me, Avdol! After all that time of nightmares disturbing us both?”

She rose up from her blanket on the floor and with feign indifference fixed her pajama shirt. He only folded his hands over his chest, raising in an eyebrow at her in that same feigned annoyance.

“You can be so dramatic sometimes. Very well, Vera- could you please come help me tend to my hair?”

“Hmmmm, on one condition.”

“I’m listening.” He laughed.

“Just some fire from Magician for when I come back to bed, I’m cold.”

“That’s all?”

She nodded, strolling past him into the hallway, Avdol’s arms remaining crossed as he watched her wait all too happily outside in the hallway.

“Very well.”

Before Vera had as much control of her stand as she did, accidents were a common occurrence in Avdol’s house- Fortune being the cause but neither one of them noticing. One particular time, Avdol had burned just the tip of his finger on a stove top he believed had cooled down enough- using his usual hair care products in his hands annoyed him to no end. So she made him teach her.

Now she could do it with relative ease but the first time she did it, it was definitely a learning curve.

“I worry about you.” He had said as she was nearing the end of the last bun.

“Why? Because you find me on the floor with a blanket simply because I am too lazy to get back on the bed?”

“I’m more concerned for your nightmares. I haven’t seen you well rested ever since you came to Japan.”

She shrugged, knowing full well he couldn’t see. “You’re not wrong but there’s not much I can do.”

There was a stretch of silence and then, “What happens in your dreams? I’ve always been wary of asking you prying questions on the matter but perhaps speaking on it might help you resolve something deep within your soul.”

Vera’s hands shakily continued with Avdol’s strands, the lump in her throat growing bigger. “I dream of my mother, more than anything. I didn’t see my father’s face in death but my mother...”

With a shaky exhale she let the words pour out of her. “I never hear her, not like I hear my own screaming. I always just see her reaching out for me from the darkness- I’m always just a few inches short from reaching.”

She carefully wrapped the silk headdress over Avdol’s head, straightening out the little braid that ran down his back. “Embarrassingly, whenever I think of my father- the only face I see is yours.”

With a slight pat on the shoulder, like it would help him forget what she had said, Vera took her cigarettes from his bedside that she had brought and moved away towards the door.

Magician’s Red emerged from his user and offered a little flame in his hand. Fortune took the honor of taking it and with a smile she looked over at Avdol.

“You’re certainly an unexpected daughter, Vera... but I can’t think of a stronger person, even if I tried.”

“Thanks.”

And without adding any more sarcasm to ruin his good mood, Vera was off again back to her room, Fortune trailing behind with the little fire that seemed to warm her own hands in her pockets just as well.

The next morning she sat on the deck in the sun to get a better look at her bruised and splinter-filled leg.

For once it was Kakyoin using a metal tweezer to pull the splinters from her knee and shin- her head tipped over the backrest of the lounge chair she was seated on and a cigarette in her other hand.

“And you’re telling me it doesn’t hurt?” Noriaki laughed as he pulled a rather thick one out of the side of her shin.

“Of course it hurts but it feels more like an itch than stinging pain.” She answered, taking a drag and watching the smoke swirl up and dance with the subtle breeze around them.

“And you said it was from your fever?”

She threw her hands up, “Beats me- I just theorized that my nerve endings were burned half to death during the fever.”

Beside her, in her peripheral, she was watching as Jotaro’s eyes burned holes into Noriaki’s hand on her knee. He hadn’t ashed his cigarette in a while so she knew he was most certainly not casually smoking.

“And why is it that you refuse to heal yourself?”

Her attention returned to Noriaki. “Well for the most part, most of my injuries are from bad luck which is penance for manipulating fate. Also- I can’t revert my own luck. I can only move it forward under dire circumstances.”

Noriaki carefully disinfected the little holes literring her leg and had just finished wrapping up the ones still bleeding when a commotion below deck caught everyone’s attention.

Vera rose up and took hold of the first aid kit. She’d been trying to distract herself from the immense sea sickness that felt like a knife twisting in her gut but that last cigarette was the last straw.

On shaky legs she came to lean against the railing beside Jotaro, maybe a step too close for casual but she gazed up at him regardless. “I’m gonna take the first aid kit back- holler if you need me.”

He only gave a curt nod. She nodded right back, pushing off the railing and bumping into Jotaro in her disoriented state. He caught hold of her shoulder as she tried to regain her sense of direction.

“You look like shit.”

The comment probably shouldn’t have sparked so much anger in her but regardless she looked up at him and purposefully dropped the first aid box a hair width away from his foot.

“I’ll yack my breakfast out on you, Kujo. I’m well aware that I look like shit.”

With an angry shove away from him she pushed her way to the stair railing that led below deck. “Ms! Is everything alright?” One of the crewmate called from the bottom of the stairs and for once she was grateful to have someone help her down a flight of stairs.

She had just sat down in the captain’s quarters with a sigh when she looked down at the desk- a unopened letter with the Speedwagon Foundation seal lay on the top of a stack of paperwork. Her curiosity burned perhaps a bit brighter than it should have, so she let Fortune bring the letter to her hand- turning it around to see if it wasn’t open by any chance.

The letter was returned to the stack- after she realized it really wasn’t open- and then replaced by the piece of scribbled paper just below. At reading the name spelled in all capitals in the letter, her heart dropped to her already twisting stomach.

DIO.

“A false captain, huh?” Her eyes scanned the document further.

The sudden crash and tremors moving through the ship had her shoot up out of her seat and back towards the top of the deck. She was greeted my Mr Joestar’s wide eyes then slight relief. “Good, you’re not hurt- we’re evacuating the ship!” He announced to the crew.

“What? Why?”

“The captain was a fake- he’s gonna detonate the ship.”

She ran after him, trying to come up with a better solution than bobbing about on a dinghy. “Can’t we just find the bomb and I can delay the timer?”

Her duffel bag got put down right at her feet. “No time to look, ship’s too big.”

Internally, she was screaming as she picked up her duffel bag and ran to help grab the other guy’s bags as well before running up deck just in time to see them lowering the life boats.

It had been a few hours since they started aimlessly drifting in the water and Vera was losing her grip on whatever food had been pushing its way back up.

“I never understood when they said you become green when ill but I think I see it now.” Avdol joked from across the lifeboat from her.

The frantic laugh that left her lips had the whole crew watching as she pushed her head between her knees and think about solid ground and not the insistent bobbing of the waves around her.

“Funny joke, Avdol. Wanna lend me your robe?” She asked as she stuck a hand ahead of her.

Kakyoin’s hand rubbed soothing circles over her back, the subtle warmth on her back helping her ground herself. It was usually when Kakyoin as much as opened his mouth that Jotaro’s knee moved closer to her- the most subtle movement to bring himself closer to her. Vera couldn’t exactly complain- having his leg beside her helped her ground herself even more. But Noriaki, despite his flirtatious nature, was very careful not to move too close to her, even when she sat up, his shoulder rarely grazed hers- as if he was deliberately swaying himself away from touching her. Jotaro however, took his space freely- his arm was almost attached to hers and his knee only seemed to move away when he could tell Kakyoin was going to keep his distance.

So- in the name of gaining more grounding- she moved her other hand to extend across Noriaki’s lap. He seemed to get the message pretty quickly since he took hold of her extended hand, which was probably the ‘all clear’ signal for him since his knee moved against hers as well. Jotaro’s response was to lean his arms onto his lap- their arms touching once again.

“So which one of you are dating?”

Those words uttered by Anne was enough for Vera to end up feeling like the floor was ripped right under her. Both of the boys moved away from her, her head shooting up the overwhelmingly bright blue sky. Her eyes took a moment to adjust but there it was- another ship.

“We’re getting out of here!” She exclaimed.

Jinxed it.

Soon as she stepped on the stairs to the upper deck she stopped a moment. Jotaro was on the landing with her, watching her shakily bend at the knee to get closer to the water and rather undignifyingly let IT all out.

The strong hand on her shoulder came as a surprise though, as if holding her from falling forward into the water.

The handkerchief offered to her truly had her questioning if it was even Jotaro standing beside her. Did she miss something?

Without another word his hand left her shoulder and she stood up- now painfully unable to look him in the eye. He noticed just enough to give a huff of laughter before turning to walk up the stairs.

“Thanks.” She called back without looking back. Jotaro’s footsteps stopped for a moment.

“What did you say?” She could just hear the cockiness as he turned around on the step he was standing on.

Now this game she was not going to play. Vera spun around and walked up the stairs until she was one step below him, craning her neck to look up at him. “Thank you, Jotaro.” Her hand landed gently ontop of Jotaro’s hand holding the railing.

The smugness on his face slid off and was replaced by the same flat, stoic face with maybe a hint of surprise in the height of his eyebrows.

“Whatever.” He mumbled as he turned around and continued up the stairs.

On the upper deck she was asked to help Anne rinse off the saltwater in the bathrooms- she understood why but she was not into playing babysitter.

“You just had to jump onto a ship with a jean overall, huh kid?”

Vera ripped up one of her button ups along with the the last short in her duffel bag for Anne before standing guard at the bathroom.

Jotaro’s heavy step echoed through the hallway until he came into view and the first thing she asked was “Do you feel eyes on you?”

She’d say she started feeling as if she was being watched shortly after they saw that stupid orangutan sitting in its cage.

“I wouldn’t say eyes, but something does feel off.”

Vera leaned against the door frame, humming. They’d already had the suspicion that it could be a trap but the user would have made themselves known by now, wouldn’t they?

“Are you still sea sick?”

Her gaze trailed up at him, leaning across the hallway from her. He didn’t seem malicious in asking or even joking. The same stoic face looked back at her as he asked that.

“I feel a lot better but it’s kinda touch and go but thanks for asking.” It was probably the first time she didn’t answer with a bit that hint of sarcasm- instead answering him straight. The moment was gone the second a blood-curdling scream from the showers made her jump out of her skin and straight to where it was coming from.

Vera’s mind shut down at the sight of the orangutan holding her underwear, her duffel bag’s contents strewn over the floor of the bathroom and Anne cornered in a shower.

All discomfort she could ever have felt melted away in that moment and Fortune leapt forward faster than she’d ever seen her move. They had landed one good hit to the jaw, when the walls around her started to close in on her and her stand.

“What the hell?” She pushed against the metal boxing her in place with no success. “How the hell do you move like liquid in one moment and stay solid in the next.”

Out of desparation she brought Fortune back out and tried to push with her, the metal groaning in protest but not enough for her to get out.

When another scream on the other side sounded behind the metal walls separating them, desperation set in and she called out to Jotaro. “You boxed in?”

“Yeah. Any plans?”

“I’m gonna phase you in with her, you keep her safe- okay?”

She didn’t wait for an answer as she sent Fortune through the walls to where she’d guess Jotaro was and then dragging him through to the other side of the metal wall she heard the scream coming from. The walls started to cave in all around her, her arms starting to lose mobility the closer the walls crawled closer to her.

“To whoever’s stand this is, cop a good feel while you can motherfucker cause I’ll make sure you don’t have hands to feel with ever again!”

As she was about to attempt another struggle the walls seemed to slowly deflate like a balloon and on the other side was the busted up orangutan, Jotaro and Anne.

“Vera...” Anne started shakily as Jotaro almost marched with his back turned to them.

“It was the orangutan, the whole ship is his stand. We’ve gotta get off.”

She only listened with half an ear as she handed Anne the clothes she had originally intended for her to wear. Jotaro hastily grabbed her duffel bag and stuffed as much of her stuff in as he could before they booked it out of there- ending up right back where they started.

With Vera’s head between her knees trying to fight off the sea sickness.

#jojo's bizarre adventure #jojo no kimyou na bouken #JoJo part 3 #Muhammed avdol #Joseph Joestar #Jotaro Kujo #Noriaki Kakyoin #Jean Pierre Polnareff #OC Vera #OC content #Fate and Fortune

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goldenroutledge · 3 years

Text

Hi. I feel like I need to address some things that have involved my friends and I, so I’m just going to say a few words. As far as the few comments made circling a few of my moots and I, I would like to say something about that as well.

I understand where a lot of you are coming from. And from now on, I will take my thoughts off of tumblr for anyone to see, since it seems to be bothering some people.

I take responsibility for what I’ve said/done. So if you have been personally offended, or disgusted, I apologize. Hate towards myself or my friends isn’t necessary, there are much bigger things going on in the world. I won’t excuse my actions/words, because I know I was wrong. I hope to learn from this mistake and educate myself further on the issue. I hate that this used to be my safe space and now I feel like I can’t post anything anymore. I feel like I needed to say that because I don’t want to be looked at as a coward for stepping back, but in no way am I trying to play the victim. For the people I love on here, I’ll still be around if you would like to message me but I won’t be posting as much. However I understand if some of you want nothing to do with me. For those of you I do have left I will continue to support you silently. And with that, goodnight.

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ladyemberswrites · 4 years

Text

[Oh boy, OH BOY! Like some people are going to hate me for this, but here it goes!]

Author's Notes: Okay, so like I've had this in my drafts for awhile now. So, this is like a very, very rough draft of a Gargoyles Human Au I was working on, but then I ended up changing a whole bunch of things as I went along, so this is pretty much a scraped draft, drabble sort of thing, though I will probably end up keeping many of the main elements in the final product. So, yeah-

!Warnings! [ Adultery/Cheating/References to Toxic and Unhealthy relationships/Age Difference/Age Gaps]

● If any of this isn't your cup of tea this isn't for you!]

Summary: "Elisa?" She hated the way he said her name. He said it so delicately, so soft as if he feared it might break on his tongue. She hated that she loved how he spoke it "Elisa". It made her feel wanted, feel desired, feel protected with just an utterance of her name. And that's where the problem lay.

Why she can't look him in the eyes, but she does so anyways to catch his tired, obsidian eyes.

"We need to talk." She blurts and she can see him physically wince the moment the sentence leaves her lips.

"I know"

It was long after midnight, but of course, New York isn’t called the city that doesn’t sleep for anything.

But, the point was moot.

For the first time, she hated the noise of the city that she called home. The lights too bright, the sounds, the smells of greasy street vendor food made her want to vomit. She just wanted everything to shut up and give her some peace. She wanted to wallow but she had work in the morning so getting drunk like any sane person would have was out of the question.

And the thought of sitting around any longer in the silence of her dark, cramped, shitty apartment made her want to rip her own hair out and scream.

So, where does that leave her?

Not much of choice, no, not really she has a choice, a choice that needed to be made no matter how much she didn’t want to do it. She can be a coward and run, but her mama didn’t raise cowards. She’s no coward even though at this point and time she wanted to be.

To go run and hide away from the big scary world.

The 23rd precinct came into view and her dread only intensified. No one was there which only worsen the feelings even though the building being entirely vacant is a blessing. No one to hear, no prying eyes nor ears. Yet, that didn’t lessen the fear; her heart felt like a rock sitting inside her chest and every exhale and inhale of her breath burned as if her lungs were drawing smoke and brimstone.

The scent of roasted Ethiopian coffee wafts under her nose and it warms her, almost comforting her as she turns the corner and finds the only light in the dark beckoning her. Her feet kept going, they wanted to stop and turn around and run until her feet bleed.

But, she can't. She had to do this, she had to, not just for herself, but for them and too selfishly appease her own guilt that's been gnawing away at her consciousness every waking moment.

The rap of her knuckles across the worn wood sounded like a death toll in her ears. In a way it was.

"Captain Wyvern." Her voice wavered, she sounded so damn mousey and timid, but the door and rumble of his deep baritone made her feel so small and tiny.

"Come in." She didn't notice the tremble of her fingers until she struggled to turn the knob of his office door, she stopped and swallowed, her throat feeling raw and scratchy. Inhaling, she finally finds the courage to open it and meet Goliath's boring stare.

The dark circles of his eyes were hard to ignore nor the fading blemish that stained his dark skin a nasty shade of blue and black. She recoiled at the sight, darting her eyes away to peer at the floor.

"Elisa?" She hated the way he said her name. He said it so delicately, so soft as if he feared it might break on his tongue. She hated that she loved how he spoke it "Elisa". It made her feel wanted, feel desired, feel protected with just an utterance of her name. And that's where the problem lay.

Why she can't look him in the eyes, but she does so anyway to catch his tired, obsidian eyes.

"We need to talk." She blurts and she can see him physically wince the moment the sentence leaves her lips.

"I know" she steps closer, her eyes briefly scanning the mess of his desk scattered files and unfinished documents laid about, a whole pack of cigarettes burnt to their very buds sizzles in the mini ashtray she bought him as a last-minute birthday present. Her eyes lifted to meet his scrutinizing gaze and hated that too, that inhuman inquisitiveness his eyes give off, watching her every movement like that of an apex predator.

"I want to transfer" the words tasted bitter on her tongue, heavy as they were she had managed without tripping over her them in haste. Goliath looked at her like she had just punched a hole through his gut and suddenly that bruise on his face didn't sting so much.

"What?"

"I-want to transfer"

"Why-" as if he didn’t know.

"I overheard you arguing with your wife about me the other night." His face fell blank "Captain-Goliath you know why I can't stay here. You know that I can't." Dammit, she hissed she fumbles with her oversized police bomber and rubs her watering eyes. She hears a creak of his mobile chair and the soft pad of shoes hitting the floor and suddenly he's towering over her.

"Elisa, you belong here" of course she did, didn't she? But, the matter isn't about her sense of belonging, it's about what is right and what is wrong. And she can't stay no matter how much she didn't want to leave, she can't because she knows she won't be able to control herself.

"You're making this harder than it has to be" she mumbles exhausted and emotionally worn "I have to go"

"The problems between me and my wife have nothing to do with you" he's trying to placate her, to affirm what she has so unsuccessfully tried to do for months on end.

"It has everything to do with it me!" She snapped pulling away from his warmth "how can you say that!? I kissed you! And before that, I confessed to you drunk off my ass!" She shouted as she had to hammer those facts into his thick skull because he wanted to ignore the blatantly obvious. To put behind them and pretend that night didn’t exist at all.

You're a married man dammit!" God, she can only imagine what it would've sounded like if the 23 precinct was packed airing her dirty laundry for all to hear without a care in the world. Even in the quiet of the empty halls, she felt beyond mortified.

Goliath watched her almost apathetically mingled with what she had come to know as his " unable to process anything" look.

Whatever torrent of emotions were stirring through him she hadn't the faintest idea. Her captain was known for having a rather volcanic temper, but she had never, ever had him lash out at her, raise his voice yes, but never unadulterated anger. Right now, she wished he would get angry, lash out at her, throw something, flip the desk and let all its contents crash upon the floor. It'd make things easier for her, easier to pack her things and leave and never look back. And not cling to him like a lovesick puppy.

But he doesn't.

He runs a hand through his long mane smoothing it back for a lack of anything better to do or say.

"I need coffee." he mutters. For Goliath its code for "I need a minute to think".

He wanders out his office lost and leaves her behind struggling to keep her dwindling mental state from going straight to utter hell.

The silent tears do the opposite of what she's supposed to do, to keep a level head, but they come anyway, pouring down her cheeks in pathetic, wet globs. By the time he returns with two mugs of piping hot coffee her eyes are red and scratchy and he looks worse than when he left. Still stolid, still uncomfortably rigid as if he's standing trial.

She takes it and sips at it, just the right amount of sweetness she liked because of course, he knew exactly how she wanted it. Because he's attentive and she comes to hate him for that.

"Goliath?"

"Yes."

"Was she right? About what Demona said about you being infatuated me? About having a thing for me?" His chair squeaked, deafening in the silence.

"I-" her brows scrunch "you kissed me back that night. It was brief, but I noticed"

"...Yes…" he confesses and her fingers squeeze her mug so tight she feared it might break.

Brooklyn came in like a whirlwind, slamming the glass door of his office behind him it resounded like a thunderclap. Goliath glanced up from his documents, his prescription glasses sliding off the bridge of his nose.

"What the hell did you do!?"

"Pardon?"

"You're transferring Elisa!?"

He looks away from Brooklyn's accusatory gaze "Yes…"

"Why!?" He slams both hands on his desk "Elisa's a damn good cop and you know it! Just what the everloving hell did she do to make you want to transfer her!" Goliath hardly faltered under his younger brother's fury, he remained passive and unnerved.

"I thought you liked her"

"I do." He murmured, but Brooklyn took note of something, the perks of living with each other so closely for so long.

"But, I'm betting a little much, huh?" His tone was far from sarcastic his voice instead dripped with condescension, if not disgust.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Is that what you're doing!? Huh, covering your own ass because you couldn't keep your dick in your pants!? Never thought you'd stoop so low-"

"Enough!" He barked detesting the very insinuation that he'd kick Elisa to curb, that he'd use her to only abandon her for mere lust made him sick. As understanding he is of his brother's upset; he refuses to be accused of such a low, foul deed. Like a scolded puppy Brooklyn reels away with wide eyes.

"I know you're upset but I will not stand here and let you accuse me of something I did not do."

His gaze sharpened "This is not a decision I make lightly, but it has to be done."

"But, why!?"

"Enough, Brooklyn. You do not need to know the specifics only that I'm transferring Elisa to the 22nd precinct. My decision stands and you will accept it all the same."

"Just like that." He snapped his fingers.

"Yes." He says with finality.

"You're not getting away with this…" he hissed before he tapered away, slamming the door the way he had opened it earlier with a thunderous clatter.

As Brooklyn's loud, angry footsteps recede, Goliath resisted the sudden urge to hurl his mug across the room, to watch it crash and hit the floor, to shatter into a thousand little pieces upon the polished wood.

An appropriate metaphor for his current state of mind.

He heard his office door swing open again this time without a deafening noise.

"Always a lively lad" Hudson jeers. Goliath cracks his knuckles scowling at his desk.

"It is not always a good thing" his mentor hummed "Brooklyn lets his emotions run wild without thought or consequences too often."

"Aye, but the sentiment rings familiar" Goliath grimaced "lettin' one's emotions run rampant"

"I wasn't that bad"

Hudson laughed but shook his head "perhaps, but I'm not speakin of that" his mirth falters "it's about you and the lass"

There's no accusation in his voice.

"There is nothing between me and Elisa" as if it needed to be stated.

"If you're going to be carrying on an illicit affair, ye should be sure the walls don't be having eyes and ears" Goliath stiffened.

"I was in my office gettin some shut eye until the yelling woke me up. Nice thing to wake to seeing the two of you gettin' to know each other" Shame curled at the pit of his stomach his eyes left his mentor's questioning gaze.

"I had a serious lapse of judgment"

"I'll bet!" Goliath swallowed. Hudson crossed the room and took a seat.

"I do not know what's coming over me." He rubbed the bridge of his nose ", this isn't like me, Hudson."

"It'd be love I suppose"

"I don't-"

"Don't love the lass?" Hudson lifted a bushy brow "ye sure?" Goliath didn't answer, he didn't want to answer.

"I'm married, Hudson. A married man with a child! How can you say that!? In fact, you of all people should be furious with me!"

"And say 'I thought I taught you better'?"

"Yes!" he slammed the desk “What I did was wrong! I shouldn’t-I shouldn’t-” he ran both hands over his face in utter frustration “I should never have kissed her the way that I did. I shouldn’t be infatuated with her in the first place! Dammit….”

Goliath did not know what lunch with his wife might entail. He considered canceling out of guilt, but his conscience won in the end. He needed to face her, Demona, his angel, and to confess to her how he betrayed her in the worst possible way. He wasn't looking forward to it as he traps through the tables and chairs of her favorite french restaurant.

"Love." She was eerily at ease "you came."

"Of course."

"You are troubled"

"You stormed away last night. I was worried." Demona only let her lips downturn only a millimeter as she dusted her pencil skirt of invisible dust.

"I suppose I let my emotions get the better of me"

"I-before we eat. I must confess something to you"

"Is it about the Maza woman?" her tone dropped. To be fair her momentary jealousy wasn't as intense as it was before. She felt more aggravated by the fact she hadn't noticed earlier, she hates rude surprises. And what did she have to scorn the Maza woman over anyway? She's rich, she's powerful all gained and created by her very own hands. What exactly did she have to prove to her? It's an embarrassing sentiment, but a sentiment all the same.

Goliath nods mutely and Demona speculates that something serious between must have happened and as he spoke-not as nearly serious as she had thought. However, she found it both shocking and utterly amusing that Goliath of all people-it was almost laughable. He was cute; being completely racked with guilt. This Maza woman had certainly worked a number on him without actually intending to do anything at all. Quite impressive.

"I will not excuse my behavior"

"Why didn't you?"

"What?"

"What caused you to stop?"

"You of course!"

"A bit too late for that."

"I-" he swallowed "Y-yes."

"Seems my assumption was correct then?"

"I'm not going to leave you for another woman"

"But, Maza isn't just another woman." She cuts him off "Is she?"

Goliath froze.

"You feel a strong attraction to her more than anything I can garner "

"That isn't-"

"Isn't what? Why are you trying so hard to deny the obvious truth? You want Maza."

"So what!?" Elisa snaps "Do we just bang each others brains out? Then what?! Be consumed by a lifetime of guilt? Or do we just play pretend and spend the rest of our lives shacking up at some moldy, shitty motel acting like we did nothing wrong once the lights come on?"

Her shoulders sag, her voice cracks "Is that the kind of life you want, Goliath? Living out some lie that we know damn well isn't true?" She wiped her eyes with the back of her palm, she was crying again. Dammit!

Before she knew it, she's enveloped in warmth, his large arms and body wrap around her and she's pressed into his chest. Him and the oversized blue police bomber that he had given her to replace the once she lost on her first-night compasses her.

She inhales his scent; the heady smell of burnt oak.

And before she knows it she crumbles, her vision is blurred, everything outside is nothing more than white static in her ears as she wails against his chest.

A childish part of herself wanted to scream and say it wasn't fair, but she knew she can't-couldn't say it out loud.

"No." He finally says "that isn't the life I want for you." He squeezes her tighter, his fingers brushing through her short hair "you're young, so much younger than I am, you have your whole life ahead of you. I cannot keep you here, no matter how much I want you to stay."

It wasn't fair for him either. Forced to stay within a bitter, toxic marriage. But, that wasn't her issue to meddle in.

She sniffed "you're not that old" her tone is watery, heavy with grief, but she tries to lighten her mood.

"I'm old enough to be your father, Elisa." He says dryly with no ounce of humor.

"Yeah," she sniffs "but you're not my dad." She sniffs again "he's been gone for a long time…now.." as if this wasn't depressing enough, she shudders. Goliath holds her closer, letting his head fall upon her head.

#goliath and elisa #golisa #goliath #gargoyles #brooklyn gargoyles #gargoyles hudson #disney's gargoyles #gargoyles tv show

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queenerdloser · 4 years

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so i’m going to type this out so i can hopefully purge it out of my memory & because there’s no better audience than.a bunch of strangers on the internet. tw for some gross conservative opinions i guess.

so quick context; my step-dad is a hardline conservative and my mom has basically swallowed his bullshit hook line and sinker. they are, both of them, extremely inflexible when it comes to their opinions and very unwilling to listen to anyone who disagrees with them. i’m living temporarily in their apartment since i just moved back into the country.

so they came home tonight for the first time since i arrived back from japan and we were having dinner. i brought up that my sister wanted to take a trip since kids are doing online schooling here, which my step-dad immediately jumped on how it was not good and my mom started in on how it was so terrible for kids and how “they” want to bring down education and how the entire situation right now somehow reminded her of fahrenheit 451. when i asked who the hell the “they” was, it became an increasingly convoluted rant about the oppressive government that is somehow restricting american freedom bc they might require everyone to have a corona vaccine... which my step-dad, with all seriousness, thinks could contain a microchip to monitor the population.

so i point out how insane this entire reasoning is (when asked why he thinks this, he basically just said “well BILL GATES backed a vaccine and he’s the ceo of microsoft!! so!!” and i was like ??? is that a logical argument or?? i mean i’m no bill gates fan but that’s a hell of a fucking leap to make) they turned around and started waxing on about how america was founded on FREEDOM (and i use all caps bc that’s literally how they talked about it). when i, again, pointed out that at america’s founding it was actually just freedom for white men, my step-dad was like “well that doesn’t matter!! are you telling me bc some people didnt have freedom it’s okay to take away my freedom now?” and my mom was in the background literally screaming at me about how i need to have loyalty to my country and how it’s written in the constitution that you have to be loyal or you can’t be a citizen (which is uh... very not true unless i’m misremembering the constitution) and i should just leave the country if i hated it so much. when i explained that being critical of my country is very different from being an actual traitor, she just kept repeating that i needed to be loyal and then couldn’t fucking explain at all what being “disloyal” meant.

(also they brought up how the protestors were trying to change the country and they shouldn’t be allowed to do that and when i was like “uh actually we have changed the country many times over. the founding fathers changed their country!!” my step-dad and mom were both yelling about how, actually, the founding fathers created a country as if they didn’t do it in direct opposition to the british and a big old fuck you to their mother country. my parents are both die-hard founding fathers supporters so i didn’t bring up the whole “i mean they were wealthy white slave owners so can we stop idolizing them” argument either - wouldn’t have been worth it.)

meanwhile my literally insane step-father is going on and on about how people die everyday so the government shouldn’t require a corona vaccine - it’s people’s own lives they’re putting at risk (ignoring, of course, that by contracting the disease without a vaccine they risk further spread through vulnerable populations that can’t be vaccinated for health reasons a la the return of the measles). i told him it was beyond disrespectful to people suffering from corona and the thousands who’ve died from it to diminish it to some bullshit “well people die everyday” argument and he scoffed and told me it didn’t matter bc more people died from car accidents than corona. (which, when i checked later, is also very much not true lmao)

okay, i pointed out, but there are regulations in place to make cars safer and lesson accidents, right? he then somehow made the very insane leap that the government has no right to require people to wear their seatbelts because the choice to not wear a seatbelt and endanger your own life should be entirely up to you and that it’s somehow a restriction of freedom to make it illegal to not wear your seatbelt. i didn’t say this at the time but now i’m thinking that i probably should have brought up that people regularly choose to flout this law anyway, it’s not a jail-able offense, and most of the time cops do not run people down for not wearing a seatbelt - so it’s a fucking moot point, bc it’s a law we regard as cavalierly as jaywalking. and not wearing a seatbelt and getting into an accident can cause other people to die or make things worse for other people in your car. and.... like yeah, i really DON’T care if the govt decides to create regulations that are designed to decrease loss of life even should someone decide they want to lose their life. saying “oh well someone should have the right to choose to risk their lives without that damn government interference” is a very wild argument. like sorry the govt wants you to stay safe and alive in your car, i guess??? how dare they try to lessen the loss of life and set regulations for drivers and car companies to follow?????????

anyway, this then completely unravels into me bringing up again that i explicitly don’t trust trump’s government with how they handle the virus & our real concern should be big pharma jacking up vaccine costs just bc they can and my step-dad went on a long diatribe about how vaccine research costs money and it’s totally cool if they decide to make the vaccine itself 3x the production costs. when i brought up (stupidly) that i thought the vaccine should actually be free if the govt is really going to require everyone to take it, he basically exploded and went on a long gibbering rant about how could i expect anyone to do anything for free, we might as well let everyone do their job for free! who’s going to pay for it? was repeated over and over again. he brought up free education and was not happy when i explained that i was very fine with my taxes going to paying for free education instead of military expenses.

finally, the icing on this very shitty hour of my life was my mom trying to tell me with all seriousness that trump is not an idiot, that i should respect him for being a “financial wizard” (literally her words!!!) and that i can’t criticize or disrespect him bc he’s a president. when i pointed out that a) i didn’t vote for him so i don’t actually acknowledge him as “my” president and b) that’s fucking insane, she started in how she didn’t “raise me this way” and that, once again, I was being disloyal to my country, that i was clearly uneducated and didn’t know anything about american history, and that i was being brainwashed and overtaken by propaganda. (when i told her flatout that the only one being brainwashed and overtaken by propaganda was her, she was also not happy.)

i brought up how trump wants to try to delay the election - my step-dad scoffed and asked where i got my information. the news, i said, bc i read the article from the bbc. THE NEWS? he said with complete disbelief. YOU CAN’T BELIEVE ANYTHING YOU HEAR IN THE NEWS. okay, i said with increasing disbelief that this was my life. well then how do you get your information? my mom chimes in with a hysterical: FROM MY GUT.

(i told my step-dad i read a variety of news articles and he told me he does too, but then he went on about how i apparently read the “wrong” news bc i happen to disagree with all of his insane arguments.)

i pointed out that i might like trump more if he was at all competent, compassionate, interested in doing his job, and not sexist, racist, and homophobic. my step-dad, completely unwilling to entertain the idea that he might be wrong, scoffed and said that trump wasn’t racist. okay, i said with the increasing desire to murder something. how is that something you can possibly say. my step-dad goes on to smugly assure me that someone who hires black people can’t be racist, actually. unsure of how to even begin dismantling this mind-numbingly bad logic, i countered with the assertion that trump has been openly racist on many platforms. my step-dad and my mom turned towards talking about how “noticing someone’s race isn’t racist!” and “isn’t your bias against white people actually racist?” and that’s when i fucking lost it, grabbed my keys and my phone and ran out of the apartment to go have a fucking panic attack in the fucking backyard.

this was like an hour. my mom was screaming at me for like half of it and my step-dad was yelling and they constantly kept fucking talking over me and going round and fucking round in circles or making nonsensical general statements (”money doesn’t grow on trees!” “what about FREEDOM?” “loyalty is everything!” and so on). there was a literal comparison of being required to take a vaccine to nazi fucking germany. (my step-dad, clearly displaying how little he thinks of my intelligence, had the gall to try to “explain” to me that they killed jewish people during nazi germany. yeah dude. i learned that in fucking elementary school. i’m aware.) i was told that i was “too young” to understand what i was talking about, that i had no critical thinking skills, that my criticism of my country was treasonous and that i should just leave if i didn’t want to be here.

i left for two hours. i’m still shaking bc i had a panic attack & then several smaller attacks while i was walking around my neighborhood trying to figure out if i should disappear until they went to sleep and how the hell i’m going to stay in their household until september, where i thankfully have alternate housing lined up. my mom just came into my room all remorseful, trying to get me to tell her where i was and apologizing in a way that didn’t actually apologize at all (”i’m sorry for what happened” she said, not all enunciating that she’s sorry for yelling at me, calling me names, undermining my critical thought, and basically being an all-out fanatical asshole for no imaginable reason. “and on our first night together, too!” she added, as if this happened somehow out of her control.)

i knew that living with them would be uncomfortable but i seriously had no idea that i would be standing there, making jokes and trying to calmly explain myself in the face of their loud vitriol. like. i wasn’t yelling! i think the only time i even snapped at them was when they tried to cut me off when i was talking. i tried to crack wise, to get them to see the utter ridiculousness they were spouting and yet!! they were both so violently, fanatically angry at me for just like... not thinking america is the greatest country in the world. not thinking trump is actually a good president. not agreeing that a corona vaccine is actually a secret ploy to microchip people for the oppressive government.

i left panic behind an hour ago & have crossed steadily over into anger but the fact is that if i have to have another “conversation” like that with them i will lose it entirely and i don’t know how i can live in this house and somehow do the mental gymnastics to avoid all “taboo” subjects. my mom clearly wants to pretend it didn’t happen, which is honestly her m.o. whenever we fight, but how the fuck am i supposed to forget her calling me a traitor and ranting at me about how uneducated and dimwitted i am?

god. i’ll probably delete this, but i needed to lay it all out. in case anyone was wondering YES people who think this utter bullshit do exist and apparently i’m so blessed i get to have one of them as my own fucking mother.

#liveblogging life #i dont want to be here anymore and i wish i had never left japan! this is so great and fun!#i think tomorrow i'm going to disappear to a coffee shop as soon as i wake up #i'll take the risk of being in a public space over my mother #thankfully i'm going up north on weds with my sister and staying up there for most of august #and then i'm house-sitting for one of my sister's friends for most of september #and with any luck i'll find an apartment of my own for october.... so i hopefully never have to live with these fucking people again

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otp-armada · 4 years

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I am not looking forward to these flashbacks.

To date, we’ve had four onscreen kisses shared between Bellamy and Echo with additional, smaller moments of other forms of intimacy. I’d rather the show refrain from adding more tally marks to the count.

If humans were gifted with the capacity for purging unwanted memories, then all this discomfort would be a moot point. I suppose there’s always alcohol as a fallback option, but not even the prospect of temporary amnesia is worth destroying my liver. Turning to alcohol to drown my B/E-related sorrows would probably qualify more as self-harm than self-help.

I’d much prefer to cut directly to an imminent breakup scene without the pomp and circumstance of an agonized Echo’s trip down memory lane.

If anything, supplying us with visual evidence on how happy they were together is an even sadder remark on the state of B/E’s fragility, knowing it took 0.001 seconds for the mere mention of Clarke’s name to bring it all to ruin. No collection of past happy moments shared on the Ring erases the fractures in their relationship that occur between them afterward, originating with the revelation of a still-living Clarke. I'd be an absolute fool to believe otherwise.

But if Jason deems a tour of their greatest hits as necessary to the story, I trust his judgment. Showing us B/E's origins as their romantic relationship begins to fall apart in real-time brings it full circle, and it lends gravitas to the story he's telling with Echo. With this particular arc, the bigger picture is still Echo's evolution. It's not about B/E.

Once season 7 started, there was a visible shift in how Jason utilized B/E. ��Whereas seasons 5 and 6 primarily used B/E as the third leg in a love triangle designed to keep a pining Bellarke apart, season 7 uses their master-spy dynamic to bolster Echo's development almost exclusively. Post-season 6, Bellarke is so primed to get together, one honest admission of mutual feelings without Echo as an obstacle and BOOM. Canon couple.

Echo has a more extensive role than girl-to-be-dumped, and I'm not upset over it. She gets to stand up as a character after the majority of her life has been marked by slavery for her crown, and I'm not upset over it. As indemnification for the loss of her relationship, this orphan-turned-soldier is finding her place in a supportive, loving family while developing a sense of identity and independence, and I'm not upset over it.

I would’ve preferred Jason found a way to take her on this path without B/E remaining intact this far into the final season and theoretically for the foreseeable episodes. I would always choose to end them sooner rather than later, given a choice. But I understand why Jason didn't.

Echo can’t very well outgrow a master-spy complex if there is no master to her spy. And as much as I hate it, the romantic aspect of B/E is a believable, convenient tool to keep this complex in place until her story comes to fruition. Would Echo act so extremely in service to a recent ex-boyfriend who left her for another woman? Probably not. As far as I can tell, the pinnacle of her arc is the moment she realizes she has to break free from Bellamy. So narrative structure demands B/E stay together, however technically, long enough for her to break those chains.

I was initially excited about the flashbacks, if only because I took them as a sign of an impending breakup. But the timing doesn't pan out. Aside from the logistics of Echo and Bellamy presumably on separate worlds, and with her thinking him dead, we've only just reached the point where Echo might start to ask herself those hard questions she's been avoiding. She must have noticed a change in her relationship. Between Psychosis!Emori, B/E's 6x04 fight, and Anomaly!Roan, she's had enough cause for doubt. But I think she's suppressed any urge to reflect upon it for a number of reasons. Love. Continued hope they'll last. War. A mission to save him. It took a lot of meticulous maneuvering to corner Echo to this point. Now that we're here, I don't think Jason would pull a reverse Uno card in a 40-minute episode. It seems more likely that he will let her continue to stew in her emotions. Either she'll keep sinking until she hits rock bottom, or she'll start learning how to swim.

Jason could always prove me wrong. And if I am, I'd never be happier for him to do so. If I'm not? It's at times like this when I am reminded of the resolution I made at the end of season 6- rest easy in the comfort of knowing B/E will meet its inevitable end but do not try to speculate when that might be. Attempting to discern the specifics of "when" brings one only misery.

Jason’s signature sometimes-too-fast, other-times-too-slow pacing, is often liable to tempt one into ripping their own hair out. That being said, I’ve seen enough of this show to trust in his ability to tell a damn good story. Faith in his competency for the craft just requires on our part, the patience of a saint.

If nothing else, it isn’t my story to tell, so I’ll just have to suck it up and find a way to deal with any disappointments I may feel. Or I can try to find the value within the story told. It's a better alternative than to be left bitter. No promises, though.

Maybe Echo’s actions against the Disciples aren’t reprehensible, considering the people she’s killing are those complicit in kidnapping and torturing her people. But Orlando was a good, honorable man whose naïveté convinced him to play for the wrong team, yet helped our heroes when he didn’t have to. Not unlike Shaw, whom Echo sold to Diyoza to fulfill her mission. But I assume “We are not his people” is residual mistrust leftover from Ryker’s betrayal of her. She miscalculated the feelings of one possible defector before, she won’t make the same mistake twice.

If she was able to save Bellamy in the end, I’m sure she’d be able to justify the spilled blood it took to get there. But Orlando suffered at her hands for nothing, and she may not be overly concerned with morality, but she cares for the people she grows close to. Unless the episode proves otherwise, I’d like to think Orlando’s fate will weigh heavily on her.

They may not have been close. But five years in close quarters with only a few people akin to friends for comfort, it'd be hard not to feel the slightest bit attached.

Those of us who believe in Bellarke know Echo is the third-party obstacle in a love triangle. But what is far more interesting is the role she played in the seasons-long Blake siblings struggle.

Echo was persona non grata to both siblings following her and Octavia's mountaintop fight. Six years later, she highlights the difference in the siblings' maturities. Whereas Bellamy has learned to embrace empathy and forgiveness with open arms, Octavia is cold and unyielding. On a more personal note, B/E represents Octavia's persistent unwillingness to respect Bellamy as his own person, with needs and wants independent of her.

After her soul searching on Skyring, I thought she had buried the hatchet, as per her lack of vitriol in her 6x12 conversation with Bellamy, and enthusiastically joining forces with Echo in 6x13. Maybe she did. But Octavia has also proven herself an unreliable narrator, and Hope feels indignation on her aunt's behalf. Whatever the case, there's a reason why the dialogue keeps referencing Echo and Octavia's hostile history. And I think it's building to a head in 7x07.

I think mutual love for Bellamy is healing the divide between them when Echo is at her most fractured. She's isolated from Bellamy and the rest of Spacekru. Left in pain and seeking retribution as Octavia did, which, as we know, is where it all went wrong for the latter. Octavia, more than most, is in the best position to empathize with what Echo is currently feeling and how pain can destroy her if she lets it consume her.

If Octavia can remind Echo she's not alone, if a former enemy can convince her she belongs and welcome her with open arms- as her brother did before her- it might do well in healing some broken piece inside of her. And it would be a roundabout display of Octavia's newfound maturity. This is good for both of them. This spiral she is in will require her to look inward. Since her fixation with Bellamy is partly what landed her in this mess, absolution cannot come from him. She can only find it in herself if she wants it. But I'd be glad if Octavia can help see her through it. This is what I mean about seeking value in the story told. We're so concerned about Octavia calling Echo family, about the possibility of it legitimizing B/E, it doesn't occur to us that it's about the characters themselves. And B/E is only a vehicle used to bring us there. It's easier to see when not consumed by automatic seething rage, as typical of our fellow Bellarke compatriots, for anything remotely associated with Echo.

If my heart and mind weren’t chanting “BELLARKEBELLARKEBELLARKE,” there’s a good chance I’d be able to better appreciate the complexities B/E gives to the development of the four characters it directly impacts.

Our side of fandom has made lots of accusations about B/E since 5x01. It’s a forgettable, physical relationship worth little to Bellamy. B/E is unhealthy for reasons x, y, and z. We generate a different example in every episode. Click slideshow for more details. But the fact of the matter is, much of this isn't true. Until Echo went postal, B/E wasn’t unhealthy. Bellamy just had a greater love for Clarke. Up until their ending scene in 6x04, there was nothing they couldn’t come back from together, if both committed themselves fully, no more walls. It's not a particularly popular train of thought among us, but Jason absolutely could've written B/E as an endgame pairing. And all it would take to deliver a final killing blow is the inclusion of a single damning scene.

We can gripe over the length of time they've stayed together. But, in spite of what most people think about every new B/E development and Bellarke separation, Jason has never actually dropped an ax on Bellarke. Hope persists.

Jason is responsible for the development of dozens of characters, major plots, and dozens of smaller subplots. But our fandom reduced the story chiefly to Bellarke's romance. Our villains are those who stand in their way. Namely Echo, the only outside love interest to be an official obstacle. We fashioned Echo as our enemy. In lieu of removing her from the narrative (which is not in our power to do), we've done everything within our purview to diminish her. If Jason won't treat B/E and Echo as the jokes we know they are, we'll do it ourselves. Minimizing her role in the story makes it a hell of a lot easier to erase a character we'd rather didn't exist for our preferred ship to advance.

Lord knows how many times we've claimed she has no story. That absent relevance or substantial bearing, she's there simply because Jason is partial to her for some elusive reason. But the reality is, we never looked for her story because we wanted to be able to claim its inexistence. We wanted to be able to say she's frivolous to the story, and by extension, to Bellamy. We want to be able to dismantle B/E when it appears Jason doesn't. Except he is and has been doing so since day one.

Months ago, on a whim, when I was feeling benevolent towards Echo, I wrote a long post HERE giving her the benefit of the doubt, and I said:

In the grand scheme of the story, I think this is the purpose Echo serves, to represent the part that says, “We’re all human. No matter what tribe we belong to, we fight for the same reasons. We love the same way. When you leave allegiances aside, when you see someone for who they are at their core, an enemy today can become a friend tomorrow.”

True peace, a series-long running theme for our heroes, begins with embracing former outsiders like Echo and Emori. Easy to lose sight of this when focused on ship wars.

It is perfectly acceptable not to love all the components of a story. It is understandable to focus your attention on those select segments you find appealing. But a tunnel-visioned mindset lands you in trouble when you become resentful at the reminders that a story is a composite of more moving pieces than just the parts you like. And when you forget that screentime allotted to developing those pieces ahead of what you favor is permissible. Everything on a show has its time, all in due course.

On the other hand, B/E shippers overinflate their ship's significance. They take canon and twist it to say, "Look at how strong B/E is, Bellarke could never. B/E is endgame, and Blorkes are delusional." Their conclusion of an epic love is another bias-based fandom interpretation that doesn’t hold water, either.

I think the reality of B/E lies somewhere in a muddled middle of these two extremes.

One last point, and I'll get off my soapbox. Despite what the melodramatic diatribe in my opening paragraph suggests, B/E is never as atrocious as fandom makes them out to be. Greater fandom treats anything remotely associated with B/E as the next great catastrophe. And as it turns out, it never really is.

Tagging @sometimesrosy, because I think, after years of combating opinions you don’t agree with, it might be a refreshing change of pace to know some of us do have more balanced views regarding B/E. If I do say so myself.

#hmmm how i tag this in a way that will land me in the least amount of hot water?#the 100 meta #with a side order of #fandom wank #long post #the 100 #bellarke #b/e #c/b/e #the 100 season 7 #my post

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sailor-cresselia · 5 years

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Zi-O 44: A Wild Plot Appeared!

Watched live. Had a lot of lag while it streamed. Very little idea what I’m getting into re: plot because I couldn’t understand.

Let’s do this.

––

We open with some rando track athlete losing a race because he tripped… and getting. Surrounded by a bubble version of Decade’s Dimensional Walls… Well then. That can’t be good.

Even worse is that he turns out to have been one of Sougo’s high school classmates, named Nishimura. Coincidence? Mayhaps. But he’s one of multiple people who’ve recently disappeared.

Geiz, naturally, blames the Time Jackers. He’s incredibly valid in that, as Woz agrees. After all, Swartz did just steal both Tsukuyomi’s and Tsukasa’s powers. Painfully on both counts. You know, because we really needed to see said power stealing again. Which we did. Because I definitely wanted to see Tsukuyomi screaming in pain and Tsukasa dropping to the ground again.

Junichiro, bringing out breakfast, mentions that Tsukuyomi hasn’t gotten up yet… and Sougo says that he hasn’t seen her since last night.

––

Okay, so. Serious question time. How long has passed since the last two arcs? Because the Den-O tribute was one day, June 9 or so, and led directly into the Another Zi-O II arc, which was… the first episode was June 30 and ran until July 14. Now, normally, every arc is two episodes or so – some of the plot arcs have been three. Each story is usually one, maybe two days, and they have two weeks of downtime between arcs. We just had two arcs take five weeks. So, ostensibly, it could be June 10 in-universe. This is why timelines for shows get confusing, and seasons of Kamen Rider usually end in-universe at least a month before the final episode airs.

Please let there be a time skip during this episode. I watched raw, but I couldn’t tell how much time goes by.

Alright, serious plot and chronology wondering aside. Sougo says he hasn’t seen Tsukuyomi since last night, and everything begins to shake. The three Riders run outside.

––

…That. That sure looks like a black hole. Or a wormhole. Neither is exactly unprecedented.

Oooh, and a big ol’ circle opens up, with circuitry patterns racing up. Wormhole it is. With a very blue-and-white Time Mazine dropping down out of it.

According to Woz, it’s an early model, from the 2050’s. So, good continuity nod. I mean, the title alone made it clear that Kamen Rider Aqua was showing up, even if the previews hadn’t shown him. And Aqua’s single appearance was in “Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Fourze & OOO: Movie War Mega Max”, which I will be referring to as “Mega Max” because movie titles in this franchise are too danged long.

In Mega Max, Miharu Minato was said to be from ‘40 years in the future,’ aka about the year 2050.

And here he is! The good water boy! I mean, I’m not found of his armor – never have been – but his concept was always cool. He draws from the OG Showa riders using power from wind to transform, except in his case, he uses water. All we need now is someone to use earth in an old-school Showa Style belt and we’ll have a complete set! (No, I’m not forgetting fire. It’s implied in ‘Kamen Rider 1’, the Ghost spring movie, that Hongo can now use wind and/or fire for his transformation. Area cyborg is basically a literal phoenix.)

Turns out, the best water boy is here to bring Geiz and Tsukuyomi back… to… the future… Huh. Geiz has no idea who he is, so that’s interesting. He also has no idea why Miharu’d be bringing him back.

Cue Woz pausing time to narrate-

Wait hold on.

If the time powers are an inherent ability that Tsukuyomi and Swartz’s family have, and Heure and Hora got their time powers from Swartz… then where did Woz get his? We know he can at least manipulate time to some degree – not just for the recaps, but if I remember correctly, he’s been shown to at least be able to cancel out time stops.

Woz, whomst the heck are you?!

Okay, I’m just going to put that on the back burner for now and keep going.

––

Woz’s recap today shows the clock advancing again. And, I mean, it’s always at least been ticking in the background in his recap vault, but we don’t usually see the hands move. It always feels really ominous when they do that…

Basically, Woz says that Sougo has met many Legends, and taken their powers for his own. However, the enemy has effectively been doing the same. Now, Sougo’s journey is leading to the final battle.

We’ve only got a little over a month left, folks. Zero One starts September 1. That gives us… 6 episodes, including this one, and the Over Quartzer movie. …We don’t have time for this. Why were the ‘future riders’ necessary?! We could have gotten more plot back then, instead of how Shinobi and Quiz were basically filler! Okay, so Shinobi did establish Sougo’s future dreams, and Kikai established a little more of both Sougo’s backstory and powers… although I don’t think we’ve seen the dream thing since, so it winds up being a moot point anyway.

Hmph.

––

I absolutely love the Zi-O opening. Over Quartzer is a great song, and the sequence has actually bothered to update. My issue with Ex-Aid and Build’s opening sequences is that they just. Didn’t. The home releases included the actual sequences, as opposed to the movie-promotion versions that were in the aired episodes. But it made it apparent that they never finished updating them. Ex-Aid never included Taddle Legacy – the final form for the advertised Secondary Rider. (I still say that Taiga’s clearly the actual secondary plot and development wise, and Kiriya’s the secondary motivation wise. Hiiro is just there.) Build never updated with Cross-Z Magma, either. That opening kept freaking Cross-Z Charge through the end, even though he stopped using it like halfway through the show. You know. The form for the other Main Character. (Sento and Ryuuga are co-leads – they share the Main Rider spot, and you will never convince me otherwise.) Incidentally, Wizard never updated to include Beast Hyper… OR INFINITY. No, it kept the All Dragon form through the OP for the rest of the show after it’s debut, instead of. You know. The Main Rider’s ACTUAL FINAL FORM.

Yes, I’m bitter about that. If you’re going to do an updating opening sequence, then you ought to keep updating it!

Like, most of the phase two seasons are fine – they either didn’t make major changes to the sequence at all, as in OOO and Gaim, only minor changes when new Riders came in, aka Accel joining W, or kept up with the changes. That’s your Fourze, Drive, and Ghost. But Wizard, Ex-Aid, and Build didn’t.

Zi-O has! Each of Sougo’s new forms came and went – except Decade, I think, but that was more just a different Legend Rider power than an actual new form in itself. Zi-O II, Trinity, and Grand have all replaced each other as the show’s progressed. Geiz has always been in, and eventually got upgraded to Geiz Revive. When Hat Woz showed up, Kamen Rider Woz entered the sequence, and Scarf Woz eventually took over – his spot now shows Ginga’s three variants.

So yeah! The Zi-O opening’s done a way better job than the last two.

––

Heure’s running, but we don’t know from what. Or from who. Who seems to be a more likely option, seeing as he’s been deemed unnecessary by his boss.

Although, we can get a pretty good clue as to the ‘who’ as he climbs a set of stairs – because everything gets very slow.

It’s Slowdown.

Time for Another Drive.

Another Drive’s design is pretty neat! Roidmudes had… well, they had finger guns. There’s no way around phrasing it that way, they had finger guns, not unlike Deneb’s. Drive had a gun that was based on a car door.

Guess what Another Drive has on their arm. Go on, guess.

…Okay, it’s a car door. A car door with ‘keep out’ tape on it, which is hilarious. And – ohhhhh I couldn’t see this in the raw, but Another Drive’s ‘belt’? It’s a dashboard panel, the bit with the gauges. There’s a wheel hub sticking out of their shoulder, y’know, the part a tire attaches to. This is nice.

We waited literally the entire season for Another Drive and this beautiful literal car wreck was worth it.

Oh-hohoho and the face underneath what would be the helmet looks like a Roidmudes basic form, which is a great touch. Especially as a nod to the fact that Proto-Drive, the person partnered with Krim before Shinnosuke, was, himself, a Roidmude. This is a continuity nod in more ways than one, actually. The Drive and Mach equipment could still produce slowdown. Shinnosuke never did it, because he never would, and Gou only did it once, in his first arc. But they were able to…

And Another Drive can produce Slowdown in a Roidmude manner. The Another Riders are copies of their season’s enemies, after all.

With someone who can slow down the movement speed of everything around them…

It only stands to reason that they could cancel out Heure’s time stop.

In a COMPLETELY TERRIFYING MANNER, by the way! As in, Heure freezes Another Drive when they go to punch him, and runs off. Another Drive is still stopped for a moment…

Before their headlight eyes light up, and their mouth opens in a sort of a roar. One eye is white – the one that still has the headlight lens – and the other is red – presumably a busted taillight.

ALSO I’M NOT KIDDING ANOTHER DRIVE’S MOUTH ACTUALLY OPENS AS THEY BREAK THE FREEZE.

Facial articulation, be it CG or practical, is creepy. We had it with Another Build, and now we’ve got it with Another Drive. …Oh. And those are the first and last standard MOTW Another Riders. I mean, this is technically 19 down, Decade to go, but. Well. Decade.

––

Having made his escape, Heure runs to Hora, where they’ve presumably been hiding since Swartz pulled his ‘you have outlived your usefulness’ card. Hora’s surprised that an Another Rider would be chasing Heure. After all, Zi-O’s already got Grand Zi-O, so he should have all of the powers already. Why would there be an Another Rider at all? Heure suggests that it’s here to take the two of them out. Which, yeah, seems pretty likely. Swartz isn’t usually one to do his own dirty work.

Hora’s powers were taken from her, so what could Heure possibly do?

Hora, dear, I need you to stop putting Heure down constantly. Yes, he’s younger than you. Yes, he’s a little troll. Yes, he definitely should have booked it out of there after Swartz and yourself forced him into being Another Kikai. But he’s still good at this.

––

Back to 9-to-5, where Miharu’s saying that it’s a bad idea to interfere in the past, so he’s here to bring Geiz and Tsukuyomi back to the future. Geiz looks like he hadn’t even thought of that happening. In his defense, I’m pretty sure Geiz just sort of assumed he wouldn’t exist anymore after taking out Sougo before he could become Oma Zi-O, given that neither he or Tsukuyomi had an answer to the ‘and then what’ question.

Also, Miharu isn’t exactly one to talk about interfering in the past, given that he debuted via time travel last time. In his defense, it wasn’t exactly voluntary, and he was a bit ‘possessed’ at the time via a distinct overload of Core Medals.

…So, Aqua is in Woz’s book, but Geiz wasn’t? That’s just rude to the soldier boy. Although, all Wozes seem to be chronic liars, so he may have just been pulling one over. (More on ‘All Wozes Lie’ later.) But the book gives us a glimpse back at Mega Max – specifically; Miharu, his appearance as Aqua, and the shot of him leaving on his jetski into a time vortex identical to the one from earlier in the episode. That one has back-shots of the main OOO cast, because it’s archival footage. It’s nice to get that reminder that there were more characters in OOO than the Main Trio of Eiji, Ankh, and Hina. Date, Gotou, and Satonaka are all there, too, in their ass-kicking gear. (Toei please bring Ankh back we are begging you this movie was such a tease because that Ankh was from the future and disappeared immediately after this shot to go follow Miharu back and you are breaking my heart by reminding me of that and yes I am intentionally breaking everyone else’s hearts by reminding all of you of that so BLAME TOEI FOR NOT BRINGING ANKH BACK.)

So, yeah, Miharu acknowledges his own time travel incident, saying that he’s met past riders, too, and they shaped who he is. (Eiji I miss you!) But what Geiz is doing is different – he’s actively changing the past. Geiz says that’s what Swartz is doing, not him. But really, Miharu has a point. Both teams are basically just doing what they want. At this point, Team Zi-O is doing it out of necessity – they’re a bit stuck in this path, since it’s not like Swartz was going to stop, and would you want to leave Sougo as the only one fighting around here? No! No, you would not!

Geiz is pissed, as he is prone to being, when he gets compared to Swartz, and grabs Miharu by the jacket. All it takes is Sougo calling his name and a single shake of his head to get Geiz to let go.

Geiz please the Tsun-tsun act isn’t fooling anyone at this point. You like Sougo. I mean, I kind of ship it, but time travel plots make shipping a difficult task, so at least admit that you’re friends. Or, you know, use Sougo’s name. It’s been 44 episodes, and you’ve called him by name once.

…Oh no what if they’re saving that for when the time travelers are leaving for good. Because that’s almost definitely what’s going to happen at the end – they’re not going to be able to stay in 2019. They just… can’t. Causality won’t allow it, I’m certain. What if they’re saving Geiz finally calling Sougo by name, maybe even with a smile, for when he has to say goodbye.

Whoops I went and made everything sad.

Miharu also has something he’d like to talk to Tsukuyomi about.

Sougo: Where is she, anyway?

Seriously, how much time has passed?

––

Ah, here’s Tsukuyomi! And Tsukasa! They’re in the rain, on some sort of pedestrian bridge, which looks familiar for reasons I can’t quite place. I love that Tsukasa’s umbrella handle matches his outfit perfectly – it’s half the same black as his suit, and half magenta. Nice.

But anyway, she wants answers. Did he know that Swartz was her brother or not?

Turns out he’d figured it out, but not long before the others. When was the last time we saw him again? Because that was when he and Tsukuyomi went to her childhood home… Oh, right. That was Kabuto Arc, which… was the one right before Den-O. That would be about May 26, and since we’ve established that Den-O was June 9… if we assume that we’re still early June via episode-based time differences, he’s known for at most two weeks.

Tsukasa’s not lying, exactly, when he says that he and Tsukuyomi are the same, in that neither of them are from this world. He’s just not mentioning the assorted other ways. The innate spacial-distortion powers. The sibling with a variant on the same powers. The amnesia. Aforementioned sibling being jealous of them, and turning dark. The leadership role. Admittedly, I can’t exactly blame Tsukasa for not acknowledging his days as Great Leader Tsukasa, because it’s not exactly going to help his case right now.

Anyway, Tsukasa says that he wasn’t originally from this world, and that he came here to look into the space-time distortions. Tsukuyomi assumes he’s accusing Swartz – who is very definitely to blame – but Tsukasa is ‘leaning towards it being the Overlord’s fault,’ saying that Swartz is using it to his advantage. Which… isn’t wrong, exactly, Sougo’s definitely being used by Swartz just as much as everyone else has been, but it’s hardly fair to say it’s his fault. …Aside from the fact I don’t think Tsukasa has used Sougo’s name, either. Always ‘Maou.’ Always ‘Overlord.’ Almost as if the Overlord might not be Sougo.

And if it’s Swartz under the helmet, pulling the strings and, say, having swapped out for Older Sougo when they ‘saw’ Oma Zi-O transform when they met…

After all. We never actually saw Oma Zi-O transform. It was obscured by the explosions from Sougo’s attack.

Back to the show.

I was lying when I said I couldn’t place the bridge. I was pretty sure, but I didn’t want to say anything until I was certain. There was a whole lot of lag when I watched live, so I couldn’t be positive. But this is the same bridge that Tsukasa and Tsukuyomi were on when they watched what happened to Sougo after the bus ‘accident’, when Swartz did something to him. We still don’t know exactly what, but that purple light looks an awful lot like what he used on Daiki and Hora a few episodes ago. Not quite like what he did to Tsukuyomi, though – that was a little different, but I can’t put it into words.

According to Tsukasa, it’ll all become clear soon enough… that is, it’ll become clear whether or not he’ll destroy this world. Tsukasa, please, we all know you don’t know jack of what’s going on here, and that you weren’t actively destroying the worlds. That was just a side effect of something that was never made clear, some biology thing or power leakage or something like that. Narutaki’s just a tool who never explained anything, least of all what was going on. And it was implied that the whole… thing that happened W & Decade fixed that little… issue.

(Kamen Rider needs to stop with people getting stabbed, because I’m never okay with it, even watching things again, because it’s not okay and I’m pretty sure someone’s just into it or something on production staff. Like, I get it, a lot of people have swords, but that doesn’t mean they have to be used like that!)

Okay, Decade lore discussion being put off to the side…

According to Tsukasa, it’ll all become clear soon enough… that is, it’ll become clear whether or not he’ll destroy this world. But Tsukuyomi protests that – not because of the whole ‘why the heck would you do that’ aspect that most people would give, but because he’s had his powers taken. He says that doesn’t really matter. I mean, for all we know, the world thing wasn’t because he was Decade at all. He could go between worlds as a child, although he needed someone else to open the walls back then. Namely, his younger sister. Oh, look, the similarity thing comes back with his sister, who took over Dai Shocker from him. He could go through the walls she made, but she couldn’t, and she became bitter because of that. Sounds a little familiar, eh?

(See how I brought that back around? I said ‘off to the side.’)

Tsukasa, however, thinks that his power deal doesn’t matter right now. Tsukuyomi is a much bigger deal – just the fact that she’s here is a time distortion in and of itself. Neither of the two of them are supposed to be here.

––

Junichiro wants to know if it’s black tea that that one lady friend likes. This confuses the heck out of the three Team Zi-O boys – what lady friend? They haven’t had any women come, due to the overall lack of female characters in Rider except… for…

All three run out of the dining room, to find Heure and Hora in the main shop.

Heure’s asking for refuge, but Hora doesn’t seem to have realized that was his plan. But really, Sougo did promise to defeat Swartz, so it’ll just be for a little while, until then.

Geiz is basically all ‘Nope, not having this, you’ve made our lives hell, get out.’

But Sougo stops him, with a very good point. He’s being rash. After all, they’re not so different from him.

I’m pretty sure that Sougo’s not referring to the time-meddling that Miharu was talking about. I’m pretty sure it’s that they have nowhere else to reasonably go.

Sougo is such a good lad.

––

And then there’s a short scene with Junichiro… having conscripted Woz and Hora into making what appears to be okonomiyaki? Sure, why not. Also, he’s chastising Miharu for using a knife and fork to eat his. Hora wants to know why she has to be the one to do this. She didn’t even want to be here! Where the heck did Heure go?!

––

Heure and Sougo are overlooking the river.

Also FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. It’s evening now… on the SAME DAY WE STARTED THE EPISODE. I was hoping there was a time skip somewhere in here, between them taking Heure and Hora in and the okonomiyaki scene, but NOPE! Junichiro and Sougo are wearing the same shirts!

Anyway, this is a really touching scene. Heure’s kind of broken right now. He’d thought he could do anything, and looked down on everyone else, including Sougo and co. But it was all just a lie, wasn’t it? He and Hora, they were just being used, weren’t they? And now here they are, the time jackers looking for help from the person they were trying to dethrone.

Sougo says that it’s okay. After all, they’re working together now, aren’t they?

Heure thinks Sougo is either a complete idiot… or really does have what it takes to rule. Because they were bitter enemies, and now he’s helping them. Now he’s accepting them. Why would he ever do that?

Well, as Sougo says, it’s not that he’ll forgive them for hurting people – for hurting his subjects. But they were just trying to make a future in their own way, and he can understand that, at least.

According to Heure, it wasn’t even that in the end. He and Hora were just pawns, both brought here… from… different time periods. By Swartz.

Huh.

Sougo pauses, while Heure looks away. Maybe he was wrong, that the former Time Jackers and Geiz weren’t quite alike. Geiz has somewhere to call home, and they don’t.

They didn’t.

They live with him now. It’s not like Junichiro’s going to turn them away – he’s way too nice, too. So, let’s go help him out!

Heure, shocked that Sougo’s being so stinking nice, gets basically dragged off by Sougo, who’s wrapped an arm around his shoulder and is running off, ignoring Heure’s sputtered protests all the while.

Geiz watches from the bridge up above.

––

We come to a track meet. The same one we opened at. Nishimura doesn’t trip this time. He wins the race.

The faces of everyone else present are blank – in a censored manner, a skintone oval covering them, with little sparks of time-static every now and then.

Nishimura is estactic at having won.

Swartz is in the center of the track circle, watching, and saying that ‘this is his world’. His meaning Nishimura, not Swartz, for the record. I just can’t quite phrase it right. He’s speaking as if talking to Nishimura, but he’s not actually talking directly to him, just doing one of those observation things.

––

Back at 9-to-5, Geiz is on that couch in the dining room, pondering things, such as Miharu saying that ‘they can’t just keep changing time, so he’s here to bring them back’ and Sougo saying that Geiz has a home. He says Tsukuyomi’s name. It sounds like she still hasn’t come back yet.

Heure runs in, distressed.

Hora’s gone.

Sougo and Miharu – who, apparently, is also staying here for the time being – run downstairs, as Heure takes off, wondering what Hora could be thinking.

This house is getting crowded.

At least Sougo’s in a different shirt, and it’s daytime now, showing that we’ve had at least one day go by. So, that’s something, anyway.

––

Heure’s searching, panicked and panting. Where could she be? He sees her out of the corner of his eye, walking past him and out of side.

He turns around…

And Another Drive is there.

I didn’t notice this before, but the missing headlight lens? That’s sort of stuck on Another Drives jaw. It’s weird and I like it – Another Drive is, as I said, quite literally a mangled car wreck version of Drive, all dented and crunched metal, with visible wires and underbody elements. This is such a good design.

Panicked, Heure tries to run – he likely already knows that his time stopping isn’t going to be very effective, he probably saw from a distance that Another Drive can break out. Blaster shots impact on the door-arm. Tsukuyomi’s finally shown up, Faiz Phone X armed and ready.

Tsukuyomi tells Huere to run, and he books it out of there. She’s ready to keep fighting – and Miharu steps in front of her.

“You’re Tsukuyomi, right?” Another Drive’s advancing, and Miharu is starting to panic. “Ah, uh, hang on! I have to get these out-” He. He pulls out a pair of patterened boxers.

EIJI. Eiji you have never been a good influence. I mean, you’re a good influence in some ways, but also a terrible one in others.

Okay, for context on why Miharu would be calling a pair of colored boxers his ‘Brave Briefs,’ we have to go back to 2011, during Mega Max. (For the record, I can’t wait to see how O-T and TV-N translate that. I know that it’s basically a literal translation, but I just wonder what spins they’ll put on it.)

You see, Miharu is from 2050. He transforms using the power of water.

He is afraid of water. (Ankh, who is a literal fire bird and thus probably has no right to talk, thought this was hilarious. He got a t-shirt thrown over his head to shut him up.)

Eiji, being Eiji, told Miharu that he just has to do what he can today in order to see tomorrow. He’ll be fine as long as he has a good outlook and underwear for tomorrow. He also, helpfully, gives Miharu a package of new boxers, all in very eiji-like colors.

One of these is what Miharu has just pulled out. This is ridiculous and I love it. I also love the little guitar riff version of the old TaToBa jingle from OOO when he pulls them out to freaking look at them and gather his courage, and the medal coin-flip sound effect when he’s gotten said courage and starts to transform. And then he uses a very Showa-style pose as he transforms, with the same sound effect, or at least a very similar one, to Ichigo’s Typhoon belt, when his Aqua Driver activates.

Sougo and Geiz arrive on scene, and Geiz is confused as to why there’s an Another Drive at all. They’ve already gotten all of the watches, haven’t they?

Ah, right, Sougo probably hasn’t had a chance to tell them that summoning Drive didn’t quite work when he was in the future. He reminds Geiz now, anyway, that they technically haven’t actually obtained the Drive watch. Geiz admits, that’s fair, they kind of don’t have the correct Drive watch.

Time For Grand and Revive Typhoon!

Aqua is very, very confused. “This is Zi-O? Oh, man, time has changed way too much!” He’s just stuck watching as the guys have basically elbowed him out of the fight against Another Drive, and asks if he can just leave it to them. They barely even answer him, just basically telling him to go do whatever. So, he basically just takes Tsukuyomi and runs.

And then Another Drive summons a whole bunch of duplicates of Midnight Shadow’s and a few of Max Flare’s tires and whoops, now I’m really missing the Shift Cars.

––

Quick cut to Miharu and Tsukuyomi, where he tells her he’s come to pick her up from the future.

––

Back to the fight, where it turns out that even Revive Typhoon can not stand against Slowdown. Geiz is still moving faster than most people, but he’s still not making any progress.

Also the door is still a gun.

Suddenly, as Another Drive is about to beat the tar out of Geiz, who’s still stuck in slowdown, it’s Another Drive who’s frozen. Turns out that Heure’s not fond of being rescued, or maybe just not fond of owing.

Another Drive breaks out of being stopped just in time to be hit by Geiz’s finisher and one from Grand Zi-O’s use of the Steering Sword.

Hora stands up from the flames.

––

With Miharu and Tsukuyomi, we get some lore. Tsukuyomi’s family apparently ‘rules over time.’ Since she’s from the future where he exists, her being here is locking Sougo into the future where he becomes Oma Zi-O. You know, the thing she’s been trying to prevent.

Her and ‘her brother’ absolutely should not be in this reality – they’re from a different one, and as per what Tsukasa said, them being here is a distortion in and of itself.

Interestingly, Miharu is here to take Tsukuyomi and Geiz back to the future. I can’t tell, but I think that he thinks they’re siblings. WHICH HOO BOY PLEASE DO NOT.

It’s her and her powers he has to bring back most of all – but that’s going to be a little difficult. Swartz – her brother – stole her powers after all.

Miharu is very, very confused again.

––

Hora doesn’t answer when Heure asks what’s going on, just turns and walks away… as Swartz walks up.

He’s going on about how Heure’s been naughty, and asks what on earth Sougo – a pale imitation of Oma Zi-O – can do against him. And then he says that he’ll show them all the power he’s obtained.

Swartz pulls out a watch, and puts it against his chest.

Introducing: Another Decade.

I don’t have much to say about Another Decade’s design, honestly. It’s not exactly that great, just… y’know, a basic Corrupted Rider design. …Why does he have teeth? Like, regular bared teeth? And why is the driver basically a mouth? The green bits on the sides of his head – those are the lenses on the mask, just extended out – and they glow, too, along with the actual eyes.

Actually, he has the Decade transformation sound effects playing underneath the Another Rider transformation, doesn’t he, to go along with the cards flipping away and back over onto him from Decade, and the sort of after-images fading off in the distance as the transformation completes.

…Okay, I guess I had some things to say, after all.

Swartz – Another Decade – you know what, I’m just gonna call him Swartz, because it’s a little shorter. Swartz opens a dimension wall, and moves himself, Sougo, and Geiz to what looks like the same quarry from the Rider War, all the way back in Decade. It’s doing pretty well, honestly. It’s got some nice greenery coming in.

Well, up until Swartz started setting off all of those explosions, anyway.

Then, because apparently they were being too boring to fight, despite his having just set off no fewer than seven explosions, he decides to summon up some Dark Movie-Exclusive Riders.

Everyone, say hello to G4, Fuma, Dark Ghost, and Rey, from Agito, Ex-Aid, Ghost, and Kiva respectively.

All of whom are doing a pretty good job of beating up Grand Zi-O and Geiz Revive Typhoon.

And then G4 feels the need to pull out a MISSILE LAUNCHER. Wh- Where did he pull that from!? Why does he HAVE that?! What was going ON in Agito’s movie?!

We end the episode with our boys getting blasted by, I feel the need to emphasis, LITERAL MISSILES.

––

As for the preview, it opens with Aqua versus ETERNAL. You know. The guy from the W summer movie. Who, like several people we’ve met this season, is supposed to be very, very dead.

And it’s not even just a summoned version of him, either. It’s straight up Kasumi Daido. In person. Somehow. Thanks Swartz it’s not like this guy isn’t off his rocker at all. It’s not like he was willing to kill the entire city of Fuuto just to see if any of them would wind up in his weird undead state. Not like he was going to use Philip as a conduit for the program to do it or anything. Nooooo, not at allllll.

FFS we could have had proper Double rep, and you give us him.

We’ve also got shots of Another Decade holding Tsukuyomi up by the neck, and Heure looking very very injured while being cradled by Sougo. KID YOU SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN OUT A LONG TIME AGO!

The second to last shot is Grand Zi-O and Drive punching Another Drive… while moving in the exact same manner. As if one is just mirroring the other. …Dang it, it’s not actually Shinnosuke in there, is it? We’re just dealing with the same thing as Decade Complete, where he summons a copy of the Rider and they attack simultaneously, with the summon just copying his movements.

The last shot… is Geiz, silhouetted against the window of 9-to-5. Saying “Let’s go back to our timeline.”

––

Okay, so… @Miyukomatsuda and I were talking earlier – we watched the livestream together, and earlier tonight we got to talking… and. Uh. So, Swartz can pull people out of other timelines and realities, yeah? Because that’s what he’s done with multiple people. That one athlete in this ep, and now we find out both Heure and Hora, and, of course, he dropped Tsukuyomi into the Oma Zi-O timeline. Which… may not be the original timeline.

But there’s another timeline involved in all of this, too. Or so we’ve been lead to believe. See, one idea in an AU that Miyuko had was having Hat Woz pulling her characters AR counterparts out of their worlds and dumping them in the main line.

Turns out she just had the wrong guy… the guy who I then suddenly remembered something about.

––

Miyuko: I WAS FUCKING SO CLOSE

Miyuko: I HAD THE WRONG BASTARD

Cressy: Y'know. the guy who called Swartz 'sir swartz' OH SHIT HAT WOZ IS THE WOZ FROM SWARTZ AND TSUKU'S TIMELINE

Miyuko: BUT HE FADED AWAY

Cressy: IRRELEVANT

Miyuko: BECAUSE REVIVE DIDN'T HAPPEN

Miyuko: oh GOD

Cressy: GOT YANKED OUT BY SWARTZ. REVIVE WAS A PLOY

Miyuko: FEAR

Cressy: JUST LIKE CHOOSING A KING

Miyuko: HE LIED

Miyuko: WE KNOW ALL WOZ'S LIE

Cressy: I MEAN HE DID SAY "NOT NECCESARILY SALVATION FOR EVERYONE"

Cressy: oh shit 'a peace like time has stopped.' aka swartz and tsuku's main power

Miyuko: HOLY SHIT

Miyuko: ZI-O if you bring back hat woz

Miyuko: also so. Swartz's just spiriting away people huh

Miyuko: i uh like none of this

Cressy: i mean we never DID find out if Tsukasa and Daiki are summoning duplicates or the riders themselves

Cressy: so whomst the hell knows

Cressy: we're fairly certain SOUGO'S yoinking the actual riders, so Another Decade could really be going either way

Miyuko: Yeah

Miyuko: Eternal is apparently the real dude

Cressy: THIS IS FINE

(see, told you i’d get back to ‘all wozes lie’ at the end.)

#kamen rider zi o #kamen rider decade #kamen rider aqua

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elizabeth-234 · 5 years

Text

Chapter Sixteen

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18560182/chapters/45401884

Someone to Care

Chapter Fifteen

Happy Wednesday! It has been raining on and off the whole day here. Hope the weather is nice wherever you are!

Pepper sat at her desk shuffling through the papers scattered around her. She was organizing for a meeting that she had at the end of the week. This was a big one. Well, if she was being honest with herself and normally she tried to be it felt like every meeting was a big one since Tony appointed her in charge. Despite the respect the board showed her, let’s face it she was a wildly better boss than her predecessor, she still felt like she had to live up to his name; to keep getting exponentially better. And although the work was a passion of hers, it was difficult to constantly try to prove she was worthy, even if it was just to herself. Her phone rang interrupting her thoughts. She played with a paperclip in one hand as Selena relayed to her what the guy at the front desk had just called up to her. “Hi boss. Rob just called me to say that a girl just tried to swipe in. I wasn’t sure whether to just call security but Rob said that she scanned an approved identification card.”

“No you did the right thing in telling me. What was her name?” Pepper asked, her voice lacking the usual firm quality it held. Afraid she already knew the answer.

“It was a Miss Peyton Parker. Rob said she was just sitting in the front lobby. Should I have someone collect her?”

“I can do it. Thank you Selena.” Turning off her monitor she left her office. “Friday was Peyton supposed to be coming today?”

“Yes but not until five p.m.” Pepper tapped her manicured nail on the railing of the elevator as it went down wondering what the girl was doing here so early. It would be pleasant to see her again. Even since their meeting Pepper’s interest had been peeked and her thoughts kept circling back to her. The overall effects of her large eyes and innocent expression were so endearing. She hadn’t seen Tony so invested in something and in someone for a long time.

Pepper knew Tony better than anyone else. She knew that his confident exterior was many times just a ruse, a tool to get through an uncomfortable situation. Holding eye contact was difficult for him and as a way to distract from that he would talk loud and quick, mesmerizing people with his intelligence and wit. While he could command a crowd like no other he was uncomfortable in them. Always he strived to live up to the expectations his father had set for him, to step out from the shadows and be accepted for who he was. She knew all this like she knew the face that looked at her in the mirror. So when she stepped into the lab she had to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. It was like she was seeing a revived Tony. The lines on his forehead weren’t as dark and commanding of attention. His eyes were wide and sparkling with new plans and interest, no longer held down by the bruise like circles underneath. Even the contours in his beard seemed straighter, more kept.

It was almost hilarious the way the two mirrored each other. As all three of them talked Pepper could see the way Peyton kept an peeking over to Tony, noting how he was standing. Slowly, as if testing out the new pose she would move her body to match his stance. Looking more confident when she was sure no one was watching to try out the unfamiliar posture. And Tony was by no means oblivious to it. His smile when he caught her staring at him warmed Pepper’s heart and he was perceptive to the girl’s needs. The lab, which was always cold, held no exception that day and Peyton had tightened her sweater around her torso. Tony had noticed and without making a huge deal went over to turn up the heat, not breaking up the conversation. At one point an awkward silence meet the trio, the youngest of them assumed it was her fault and began to turn into herself looking between the two adults. Tony had distracted her with some far-fetched story about something and they continued on like nothing had happened.

The illuminated numbers continued to decrease and her muscles tightened ready to defend themselves from something unknown. Hopefully Peyton was just here early getting some homework done but she couldn’t help but worry. The large ledger appeared in her thoughts. Pepper could invite the girl to her office or an empty room if she preferred to be alone while she waited for Tony. The timing couldn’t be better. It would be a way to check in on her, make sure she wasn’t overwhelmed with everything going on. It was easy to hold onto secrets. To use them to cloak you away and Pepper didn’t want to disrobe any Peyton had wrapped around her shoulders. Maybe Pepper could be there for her; be a confidant of some sorts.

The tower was empty that night a week or so ago. The floor silent as mist and rain descended on the city outside. She sat in the dark thinking about the day, trying not to let the worry overwhelm her. His shadow was the first to enter the room stretching thin across the floor stopping just before where her feet were resting. Next came the rest of him, demons and all. His face was obscured by the backlight and she spied him placing his hands on the counter stretching his back. The cracks resounded around the space, hanging in the air. Without looking up he greeted her, “Pepper.” His voice rung dry and hoarse reminding her of many times in the past he would wake up hung-over, voice aching from the abuse. She caught his eyes and noticed a glassy quality caged in by the raw redness encircling them. His clothes rumpled even further as he walked toward her. “This actually isn’t the best time, Pep. As much as I enjoy your beautiful presence in my not so humble abode.”

Pepper was aware of everything that was happening and her breath went off kilter when she thought about Tony rushing off to fight those people. To fight their friends. Whenever things got crazy Pepper needed to plan and make sure everything was organized. The whole thing had been ridiculous and knew that if she had been there she would have straightened everything out in a matter of minutes. At least that’s what she liked to tell herself but it was moot because she hadn’t been there and she couldn’t fix this. No, this was something only her Tony could do.

She understood he was exhausted and couldn’t possibly understand everything that had happened but she needed to know, selfishly, so she could sleep better. She had to make sure everyone was okay. To make sure he was going to be okay. Being practical Pepper also needed to confirm about the damage to the buildings and any civilians. She knew protocol had him call ahead to make sure the area was evacuated but there could have been stragglers. It was important to assess if there needed to be a charity started or how much clean up was needed. They had worked on that together, the aftermath protocol. After seeing the damage left in the wake of these fights they made sure that the buildings had enough funds to repair themselves and make sure to try and look after the people. This whole thing left her feeling carved out. Although she knew now he could never give up on being Iron Man, that it was apart of him, it didn’t make it any easier to see his back walk out the door, uncertain if he would come back. Her and Tony weren’t together in the traditional sense but that was just because she felt like she wasn’t good for him in that time. She was just enabling his bad decisions in the past but she still loved him with all her heart. He just had to focus on himself for a while and not her. Being Iron Man was apart of that no matter how scared she was for him.

Tony walked across the room to her, his body overlapping his shadow on the floor the closer he came. He stopped half way and glanced to the side. Pepper’s gaze didn’t leave his face but she knew he was looking at the various shaped bottles stacked on the counter, all inconsistent levels of fullness. Tony sighed, continued to her, and melted into the couch. She asked him again to fill her in on everything after a moment of quiet. Then in a voice null of emotion he began recounting the proceedings of the weekend not stopping to draw breath. “… then I wasn’t there to stop her and she just flew across the air. I swear I could feel the breath leave my body.”

“Who, Tony?” So far she knew all the players in the game but was unfamiliar with this one.

“Spidergirl. Pep, I was helpless and I just had to leave her with Happy. You know what he is like and she is just so damn young.” He grabbed her hand tightly as he continued on and on. His voice was shaking now and when he told Pepper what happened to Rhodey they both wept. Their friend of many years was dear to them both and Pepper could see the guilt in Tony’s eyes as he spoke of what their friend had gone through. How they were in Germany longer than expected so Rhodey could have surgeries and how Tony was there by his side the whole way. “I’m so sorry I didn’t call you. I just couldn’t bring myself to speak it out loud.”

Tony had already figured out how to help him but Pepper needed to see him for herself. Worn out from reciting everything Pepper brought him over to his room. She tucked him in and watched his chest rise and fall, already asleep. A glass of water and a note to call her rested on the nightstand as she left the room; she turned off the light behind her. In the darkness Pepper couldn’t discern the man from the shadows that followed him constantly.

“Friday, can you notify me when Tony is awake? I’m going to check on Rhodey.” She stepped into the elevator and remembered something from before. “Could you also send me any files on Spidergirl, please?”

“Sent now Boss.” She smiled to herself and went down to see her old friend. He looked small sleeping on the bed but when she took his hand in hers and squeezed she was reminded of his great strength. Pepper knew he would come out on top of this. He was too stubborn not to.

Rob had informed Selena that the girl was sitting there looking pale, which held no concrete information and seemed not serious enough to call up to her office. The elevators opened and she stepped out, immediately spotting the girl who was slouched forward on one of the couches. She rested on the edge of the cushions like she was afraid to sit fully on it, which was ridiculous because they were comfortable. Pepper had picked them out herself. The girl’s face was turned away from her so all she could see was her hair. The curls, which when Pepper had seen her before had tighter ringlets were now frayed and pointing every direction. The girl’s hands were clenched at her sides, settled on the couch. Pepper’s heels clicked on the tile as she smoothed down the front of her white dress. Peyton didn’t glance up as Pepper approached her so she sat down.

“Hey Peyton. Are you okay?” She waited for a moment and when no reply came continued on. “It’s Pepper. Pepper Potts. Not sure if you remember me but we ran into each other on the elevator.” The sounds of people walking around them filled in the silence when still she didn’t speak. The girl looked over at her and smiled in a way that her lips wobbled in an attempt at turning upward before falling back down. That expression made Pepper’s hand itch to reach out and smooth across her cheeks.

“Of course I remember you Miss Potts. I, uh, hope it’s okay that I’m here early. I mean I didn’t tell Mr. Stark that I was coming but I had extra time and I didn’t want to go all the way home so I thought I would just hang out. There’s extra homework I can do down here. I won’t be in anyone’s way but I totally understand if this is for like business personal only or something.” Her words drifted off towards the end and she looked toward Pepper face on.

“Oh, sweetie.” She raised her hand in reaction to the sight before her and to get a better look when Peyton flinched back. Her hand hung in the air, violent intention seeping into an otherwise innocuous gesture. Peyton faced away from her muttering an apology. Stunned Pepper sat there for a second, trying to think of how best to go about the situation. “Will you tell me what happened?” The girl continued to sit there, torso contorted away from Pepper. The girl’s back was rising and falling rapidly. “Is there anyone you want me to call? Anything at all and I will do it. No questions asked.” After a minute of silence she turned toward Pepper again and shook her head.

The girl’s cheek was a mess. Plain and simple. It looked as though someone had painted black and purple over it. Her lip had dried blood smeared over it, which emphasized the puffy and swollen parts of her cheek. This was more than just pale. Pepper tentatively put a hand her shoulder trying not to notice the slight flinch. “Let’s go get someone to check that out okay?” She guided Peyton up and together they started the trek to the Medbay. Pepper kept talking not comfortable with just the music playing. “… and Tony isn’t actually in at the moment but he was supposed to be back in soon. I had a meeting with him this morning. Well, he was over an hour late so he missed the meeting but he got briefed on what he missed. Ah, here we are.”

The glass doors slide open and the white doctor’s jacket was visible from behind the desk. Dr. Casab was still there for the day, which Pepper was grateful for, and was rummaging around in a filling cabinet trying to find some paperwork. She glanced up and saw the two of them standing there, zeroing in on the state of Peyton’s face.

“Peyton, I thought I told you I didn’t want to see you again for another month, at least!” Claudia spoke with obvious sarcasm and a smile but it was lost on Peyton who stepped back into Pepper’s arm around her shoulder. The girl’s head turned downward to avoid eye contact as Claudia and Pepper gave each other a look.

“Would you mind looking at Peyton over and anything else that’s bothering her?” Her friend went right into doctor mode and ushered her into the room leaving Pepper in the waiting room for the moment. Sitting down she dialed Tony’s number. He picked up on the second tone.

“Buon pomeriggio, bellissima angelo. I am so lucky you finally descended from the heavens to join me on earth?” He laughed at his own joke, which never failed to make her smile.

“Hello Anthony.” Her voice full of mirth turned serious. “I have Peyton here with me.”

“What is it Pep? She must be early. Just put her on my floor and tell her not to break anything. She breaks it she buys it.” 

“No. It’s, she’s hurt Tony. I’m sure it looks worse than it is. But she’s pretty shaken up.” He remained silent for a second and she thought he hadn’t heard her. “Tony? I can handle it here. Just come whenever you’re free but I just wanted to tell …”

“No, I’m on my way right now. I’ll be there in twenty minutes. Actually make that fifteen if I have my way.” The line went dead before she could respond. The image of Peyton’s bruised face swam around in her mind. The feeling of her flinching from Pepper made her hand tingle. What had happened?

The file and all that it held seemed inexplicably connected to this incident. Pepper was sitting in the waiting room. Her thoughts focused on what had happened to Peyton. Surely it had something to do with what was in that folder. What Pepper had read all about. It had been massive and took her a whole night to get through. The bulk weighed not just physically on her, as it had been much to comprehend. The same child that muttered apology after apology, who could barely say something without rewording her sentence was a hero. She guessed she really shouldn’t be surprised, it seemed like everyone in her life turned out to be either a hero or some super villain but this one had thrown her for a loop.

Having read the file she had an uncomfortable amount of information on one, Peyton Parker. It had contained her grades and notes from teachers to the guardians of the bright girl. It had the dates of her parent’s deaths and the exact day Peyton had went to live with her aunt and uncle. There were intimate details of the tragic death of her uncle. Pepper knew that the girl had been there when he died, had witnessed it. The file even had transcripts from therapy sessions afterward but that had felt like such an invasion of privacy and she skipped those. She wasn’t even sure if Tony knew everything that she had found.

Her heart broke for the girl thinking about it. She had sat back in her chair, staring at the paintings on her wall. With all her heart she wanted to be angry with Tony, to go find him and yell her lungs out at him for recruiting this young person to take with him to Germany. Then she remembered the way he had cried, his shoulders shaking slightly as she held him in her arms. The girl obviously adored Tony and from the file it was evident she had been in a bit of a slump. She had quit band and never tried out for tennis even though she signed up. While her grades didn’t dip the teachers commented on a lack of enthusiasm. Maybe this relationship between the two would help each in their own way. Pepper prayed that it would.

She looked up to hurried footsteps echoing down the hallways before Tony strode toward her. His face pinched with worry as he rubbed his left elbow. “Hey Pep. I came as soon as I could. Where’s the kid? Is she okay?” She placed a hand on his elbow to stop him from going directly into the room. “What happened?”

“Claudia is with her now, Tony. I wasn’t sure what to do and she wouldn’t tell either of us what happened. But it looks like someone hit her on the face. Not to mention she’s been skittish since I found her in the lobby. Just be gentle with her, okay?” His eyes wandered from the room the kid was in to her at the question. His eyes narrowed in determination.

“Of course Pepper. Thank you for getting me.” He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her cheek before hurrying into the room. Pepper stood there, staring at the room for a second before moving closer to the doorway, not wanting to leave yet. She had to make sure Peyton was going to be okay. Both her physical and mental self. She watched as Tony entered the room, loudly announcing his presence while getting the rundown from the doctor. He cracked a joke with her before she left the room. Claudia gave Pepper a small smile before joining her on the wall. The two women stared at the man they had known for more years either of them would like to admit.

Peering into the room through the window blind slates Pepper could just make out the strained lines on Peyton’s face and could just see the ridged set of the girl’s spine as she sat on the examination bench. Tony was trying to make light of being in the hospital room, his mouth gaping as he looked around. Something he said must have triggered the girl because her eyes welled up with tears before she grabbed onto to Tony, giving him the tightest embrace. Her hands bunched in the fabric of Tony’s shirt causing pleats to form on his back. Pepper could see the girls shoulders shaking as Tony ran his hands up and down her back. How this brave girl could go from taking down Ant-Man shocker her. She could imagine him whispering comforts to the girl and hoped he would know what to say.

“That girl loves him so much,” Claudia said. “And somehow I think that she has wormed her way into his heart as well.” They smiled, slightly bittersweet at the image of those two broken people in the other room.

“Claudia. I was wondering how did you know Peyton’s name before I introduced her?” Her friend gave a response skirting around the question and in doing so peaked Pepper’s curiosity. So Claudia did know who Peyton was. That didn’t bode well.

“Anyway Pepper. I love that white dress. I’ve been so busy lately, we need to have a girl’s night out okay?” Pepper nodded and Claudia left. Her back was pressed uncomfortably against the wall as she watched Tony talk to the girl.

Pepper was first introduced to the shy and under confident teenager before she had even met her in real life. Tony had gone on and on about how smart she was and Pepper was impressed when he had shown her some of the notes she had taken but she worried. At first she was worried that Tony would become bored with the girl who obviously idolized him. She had kept tabs on them and had watched as Tony changed before her eyes. Changed was a harsh word. The characteristics he was displaying he always had. He was still the same man she loved but in getting to know the kid he had grown into the man she always knew he was. In the end it didn’t matter that he was Iron Man and she was Spidergirl. They shared something outside of that; it was obvious to Pepper looking at them. She turned around and left the floor, confident that Peyton would be okay. Yes, somehow these two had found each other in the whole world and Pepper was glad for it. Glad that Peyton had a mentor to guide her through all the impossible things she might face and glad that they had both found someone to care.

Thank you!

Chapter Seventeen

#fanfiction #marvel fanfiction #irondad #pepper potts #spiderson #female peter parker #peter is female #mcu #marvel #writing #spiderman #AO3 #ao3 fanfic #someone to care #eliza writes

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feywildatheart · 5 years

Text

Oh Darna. I wish you were here, too. I wish I could have that hug. I don't know about legend, but-- Well. I won't argue with you about that. I may have your stubbornness, but you've had more years to hone it, and I can recognize arguments I won't win.

I don't feel like a legend. Shouldn't legends feel like they have the faintest idea of what they're doing? When does that start?

I am sorry to make you worry. I hated writing you about the balhannoth, because I knew how it would make you both fear for me. I'm trying to be better, and smarter, I am, I just don't know... how.

You will, I think, be glad to know that we've begun the process of increasing our supplies. We've left Haewood and come to the port city of Arstead, which is quite sizeable. We stopped in at a shop for spell components for Elyn, so she'll be able to cast Teleportation Circle, which she's recently learned, and while we were there I bought a potion of climbing, to have should the occasion arise that I find myself in need of climbing swiftly and well, since Elyn and Cloudleaper are both far better at it than I am, and we went to the Pack and Tack where Elyn perused their armor, but ultimately didn't find anything she liked enough to buy, and I bought a set of lockpicks. We spent a few days making our way into and then up through the sorceress's tower when we were down in the ruins, just before returning to Haewood, and within the tower we found a few doors barred to us by locks and with no means at all of circumventing them, so I-- Well, I'm sure you both recall those adventuring novels I took a fancy to after the first time you took me to Cadiz Beta, and wheedled with you until you bought me my LICD and the rest of the series so I wouldn't be left in suspense when we returned home. They were always picking locks in those books, and goodness knows I read and reread them enough to have them practically memorized. And I'm decently good with my hands, a bit steadier in a pinch than either Elyn or Cloudleaper at any rate, and so I thought, well, what was there to lose? And I borrowed a screwdriver from Elyn and, with her tools and her encouragement and those novels buoying me up, I made a go at seeing if I could work the lock open.

And, nenîth, you won't believe it but it worked! There were a few locked doors in the tower, all told, and I was able to get each of them open in turn. It must be because the locks were so very old, I'm sure, they must be simpler technology, less secure. In any case, though, I didn't suppose that using the wrong tool for the job was going to make me any better at it, so I bought the lockpicks while we were at the Pack and Tack, and got a recommendation from them about where I might find a bookstore likely to carry an instruction manual that I can learn from, and with a bit of luck and a great deal of practice, perhaps the next time we encounter a locked door -- ancient or otherwise -- I'll be able to make sure it doesn't stand in our way.

I'm going to try, anyway.

There was a compendium of monsters and beasts at the bookstore, too, that I set my eye on, and when I opened it up to see if it had anything about a balhannoth written there (no one we've spoken to, really, seems to have much more than a vague notion of what it actually is, and I envy them that, but it seemed like a decent litmus test to identify just how thorough and useful the compendium might be), Cloudleaper leaned over quicker than I could snatch the book away and wrote in it, just wrote right in it, something about balhannoths being a nightmare to fight, as though that's news to any of us at this point. I protested, and the store clerks were highly disapproving, and Cloudleaper declared she was going to buy it for me, to make it up to us both I think, so I let her.

After the bookstore, we headed across town to find a tanner whose name Elyn had been given, to see if they could make something of the dragon hide that we found in the balhannoth's lair, and Cloudleaper started wailing in the middle of the street, because -- honestly, I'm still not exactly sure what happened. Elyn and I managed to convince her to collapse onto Squirt's back, rather than there in the middle of the street, so we could get her to a park and try to figure out what was wrong, which seems to be that her friend Stormflight, from the monastery, wrote her and something about the letter made her realize that she's in love with him, which she seems to think is something utterly terrible.

I really don't understand her at all.

There didn't seem to be anything that we could do to try to console her, so Elyn distracted her by taking her off to find trousers and boots to replace the ones that have been a mess ever since we fought the balhannoth, and while they did that I excused myself to go find a decent tech shop.

It occurred to me at some point during the few days we spent in Haewood, after leaving the ruins, when we were all rejoicing in having LICD connection again, that we could almost certainly afford an upgrade there, too, and I thought-- well, Cloudleaper's always so upset when she doesn't have access to the internet and the stories she likes to read, and I thought I could buy her one, as a sort of a gesture, and an attempt to repair some of what's broken between us. And then she was so upset by Stormflight's letter, it seemed the right time to go and get it, and try to make her happy.

It wasn't terribly hard to find a decent tech shop, and the clerk there was very helpful, and in short order I left with three IICDs, one for each of us, and with special access on Cloudleaper's to science databases, and on Elyn's to ones for music and history, and on mine to a beastiary, to hopefully keep us better informed about the things we might be finding ourselves facing.

Elyn and Cloudleaper weren't at the shop where I'd left them when I came back, but I managed to find them, wandering about in search of a tech shop themselves, it turned out. I gave Cloudleaper her IICD, and-- oh, Darna, she's so effusive! I don't think I'm particularly reserved when it comes to affection, but Cloudleaper's is always so overwhelming! Maybe it's only because she's twice my size that I'm so easily overwhelmed.

In any case, she sobbed, which was very concerning and the opposite of what I'd hoped to accomplish, and then she snatched me up in her arms and squeezed all the breath out of me, and when she finally set me down I gave Elyn hers, who looked very startled by it -- as though I'd have bought such a thing for Cloudleaper but left her empty-handed!

Once Cloudleaper had recovered, they mentioned their search for a tech shop, and I was going to show them to mine until Cloudleaper got that look in her eye that she sometimes gets and started being all insistent about how I hadn't paid more than fifty gold for it, had I? And, well, I was perfectly capable of affording what they cost, and I don't in any way feel that the price was unfair, but it was definitely more than fifty gold, and I just had a vision of Cloudleaper storming into the shop and terrorizing that poor clerk who had been so helpful to me, so I changed my mind about that right quick, and then Elyn reminded us about our plans to find the tanner Balla, so we headed off in that direction.

Balla was very kind and helpful, though his eyes about popped out of his head when I pulled the dragon hide out of our bag. He seems to know what he's about, though, and said that he could make a set of armor from it, and that the properties of the hide would likely give its wearer some extra protections against dragons. Elyn and I have both been feeling a need for a little bit more protection than we have, especially after that balhannoth, so it was a little disappointing to learn that there was only enough material for him to fashion one set of armor, but Elyn and I are close enough in size, at least, so we commissioned him to tan the hide and make a set of studded armor from it, in dimension that would fit either of us, and I suppose once it's finished Elyn and I can argue over who it belongs to. I'm inclined to insist that she takes it, since I have my cloak to help protect me and also it's really imperative to all of us that she stays on her feet, since she's the one with the healing magic. I think she's as inclined to shove it at me, though, she's always saying that it's important that I stay on my feet, because I have the wand of healing and can get her back on hers if need be. So, we'll have to see how that goes once it's finished, and perhaps in the meantime as we continue our shopping, she or I will find some other set of armor that we fall in love with, and the debate will be moot.

We decided to find a bank after that, so we could unload some of the considerable amount of loose coins in the bag of holding and put them into our account, but as we were walking Elyn heard music playing somewhere nearby, and so of course we had to make a detour to find its source. We met a pair of dwarven cousins who were busking, one playing the harp while the other sang, and after we'd watched for a while and Elyn struck up a conversation, they invited her to join them, and seemed to appreciate both her own harp and her gloves very much. They played a song from their home planet about the creation of the Ollamh Harp, and it was incredibly lovely.

Eventually Elyn said that we should leave before the bank closed for the day, though it was obvious she'd have stayed longer if she could, and neither Cloudleaper or I were rushing her away. But off we went, and took up some poor teller's time as we dug all nine thousand coins out, one handful at a time.

Cloudleaper and I got into a little bit of an argument then -- well, it wasn't heated, so I suppose it was more of a debate. But she started talking about how we should be investing our money, so that it earns interest and we can have more money, and ... I just can't fathom the purpose of that. We have so much already! What's the point of acquiring it for its own sake? She was talking about investing it in the sorts of places that wouldn't let us have access to it for years, and what if we need it? And when I protested she started demanding, what if I get hurt and I need it for my medical bills, what if I die and it's needed for funeral costs. I pointed out that there are temples dedicated to healing those in need of it, and that our funds would be better used in service to keeping us alive than squirreled away in event of our death, but Cloudleaper didn't much seem to hear me about any of that, and she was just getting more agitated and the conversation was just going in circles, so I said that she could do whatever she liked with her portion of the money, and left it at that.

I don't know, I don't think your or Cylla will agree with me, considering what you said in your letter about managing our money. It's not that I'm opposed to the idea entirely, but I need a better reason for it. Elyn mentioned saving up for a college fund for the kids, and that's a reason I can get behind, but I don't care about acquiring money just for the sake of having it. And we're already doing that, aren't we? If the balance in our party funds is anything to judge by, we're already acquiring money faster than we can spend it.

Anyway. Elyn cut through the argument by suggesting that we all go get dinner and talk about Stormflight's letter, if Cloudleaper felt like talking about it, and to my considerable surprise she did. So off we went, and what followed was a very bewildering conversation, in which Cloudleaper said with one breath that she loves him, and with the next that she'll never say so because she doesn't deserve to be happy, which is such bullshit. Even I, who has spent much of our time together unhappy with her and thinking she disliked me, wouldn't have ever said that she didn't deserve to be happy. We tried to gently encourage her to see that, Elyn and I, and I asked if that was why she'd cried when I'd given her the IICD, because I'd gotten it for her specifically to try to make her happy, and I told her she could give it back if she didn't want it (I didn't really think she'd take me up on that, not considering how delighted she'd been by it when I gave it to her), and she snatched me up again and squeezed me again and started going on about how I was hers now and she would fight to the death for me (I pointed out, with what breath I could manage, that she's already done that, she's killed lots of things for me and Elyn both).

I still don't know what to make of her. I think I've given up on ever knowing what to make of her. She talked in such a matter-of-fact manner about not deserving to be happy, like it was a simple and undisputed fact, like the speed of light or the force of gravity. And then she started talking about leaving like the one thing followed from the other, and only Elyn pointing out that the two of us will definitely die without her stopped that particular line of conversation.

In any case, at least now we all have our IICDs, and magical necromancer towers notwithstanding, should find ourselves much less likely to be out of signal range and out of contact than we so far have, which I hope will be a relief to you both. And we've made a start to better equipping ourselves, at least, and once we decide on where to go next we will hopefully be able to make some further progress on that. I wrote to Marsa, asking if she knew of where might be a good place to go to find magical supplies, and she suggested a few options that we've yet to decide between. She mentioned Sumula Station as one, and I think Elyn and I would both be glad for an excuse to go catch up with Biza, but there are a few others she listed as well, and we're thinking we might reach out to the adventuring guild for guidance on where to start. We've certainly the funds to take teleportation circles from one to the next if we felt the need to shop widely, though.

I'll write you both once I know where we're heading, or if anything exciting happens in the meantime -- though I certainly hope it doesn't, I think we've all three had our fill of excitement for at least a little while. I'd like to at least get our shopping done and the lot of us a little better equipped, before the next excitement finds us.

I love you both, more than my letters can ever convey.

Maliah

#in character #in character: letters #episode 72

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simplechicwithacrazedheart · 6 years

Text

Into the Great Unknown (Tom Holland x Spanish Reader

A/N: This may become a series, depending on the reactions! This was inspired by his Instagram story in which he found a dog with Harrison and took him to the vet. It has been so long since I’ve written anything so excuse the bad writing. I think the bit with Tom at the end makes the whole thing worth it, but I am biased. Let me know if you want more of these! Also, I wrote this in one-go, no proof reading. So sorry for any mistakes.

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Words: 2,606

[y/n] = your name

[y/s/c] = your skin color

“Babosa” = A Spanish word for dumbass/idiot (female)

*********************************

Thrill. That’s what rushed through her veins when the gate was left open. Her heart no longer pumped the blood that coursed through her, no, no, no. What pumped her blood was the sense of wild adventure that accompanied the Great Unknown. This is pushed her to bolt past the slightly ajar gate when no one was insight. The future was her to take hold and by damn, she was going to take hold of it. She was going to decide her path. She was going to run loose and take it all in.

All by herself.

The sun lowered into the sky, cars passed by. No one batted a single eye as she roamed around trying to take it all in. At least she hadn’t noticed anyone staring. The street lights flicked on chasing away the natural light of the sun. There she was.

Alone in the dark.

Hungry. In the sudden burst of adrenaline that had overtaken her, she had ignored the breakfast that had been prepared for her.

Lost. In trying to take everything in, she had gotten turned around. Everything and nothing looked familiar. The people who walked past her only seemed to hastily walk away from her. Unable to understand her cries for help. Unable to understand that all she wanted was to go home. In the end, she found it logical to lay under a tree and sleep for the night. For not much else could be done.

She awoke with the sun and began her search for the journey home once more.

The attempt was moot and she couldn’t remember the last time she had gone this long without food and the restless night of sleep plagued her mind. She missed her overprotective mother, who smothered her senseless. But, those smothering had made her feel loved. Cared for. It made her forget about how she had been abandoned, left in a box in an alleyway when she was young. These last few hours only brought up those memories. Her heart twisting, whimpers echoing within her throat yet never slipping past her lips. Why had she run out? She had the perfect life. A mother who spoiled her, who brought her ice cream, who let her sleep in her bed, who taught her English and Spanish, who taught her how to love again. Why had she been foolish enough to go out without her, especially when they had only recently moved into a new area?

It was in the series of depressing thought of resentment towards oneself did someone, or some people, approached her.

“Are you lost love?”

***

[y/n] walked down the sidewalk, hands deep in the coat pocket fiddling with the new set of keys and a brand new tag with a grocery bag dangling on her forearm as she hummed to herself, lost in her thoughts. Never had she planned to move out of the neighborhood she was raised in, must less to this section of Kingston. Not that it was a bad area, in fact it was quite beautiful to her, but that was besides the point. The point had been was that she was in a new area now and had a new number. This was a new life and the moment she got to her new home she would update her p-

Few things could interrupted [y/n]’s thought process. Seeing her gate pushed open did not only that but stopped her heart. Feet pounded the ground as she ran past the gate. Maybe the Babosa was inside the house by some miracle or in the backyard asleep under the tree. The backyard was as empty as [y/n]’s lungs. The air escaping her lungs, her lungs themselves burning, pulsing even. Her heart jackhammering against her chest. Keys jammed into the front lock, opening it yanking the door open, the grocery bag dropping to the floor. “Laika?? Babosa! Come here!” Silence. Not even the sound of trotting. Stepping in the house, disbelief coursing through her veins. “Laika! This isn’t funny!” Voice thick, eyes blurring. “Laika!”

[y/s/c] hands grabbed the keys that had been dropped into the bowl on the table stand by the door and ran out the house, barely managing to lock the door behind her.

***

“LAIKA!” [y/n]’s voice was raw, hoarse. It hurt to speak, to breathe, to run. She had been outside for about twelve hours, running around calling out her precious dog’s name. “Laika! Please! Vega pa ca!” (Come here!) She cried. She stopped everyone who even glanced at her. Showing photos of her lost german shepard mix lab until her phone had died. When it did, she would describe Laika down to the little scar along her left paw from when she was abandoned as a puppy.

No luck. That night [y/n] slept on her porch hoping that her dog would find her way back home by some miracle. That perhaps that God would answer her prayers. That all those times when her family would drag her to church Sunday morning would mean that she was in his good grace. That he would grant her this one miracle. She prayed in Spanish, English, and Spanish once more before sleep claimed her.

In the morning, she grabbed her phone from the charger and went out searching once more. She resumed her shouting, using her determination to find the only thing that made her home feel like home, pushing down the tears, pushing down the cold gripping fear that she had been runned over. That she had been stolen. While running around, [y/n] called every pound, every shelter. Her phone dinged and [y/n] unlocked it at the speed of light. Praying that the instagram notification was about her dog. It had not been. [y/f] had just send her a comment saying to check out Tom Holland’s instagram story. How it would “make her day better”. [y/n] wanted to punch her friend in the face so much at that moment. Seeing some actor, no matter how much she adored his personality, smile, and kind eyes, would not improve her day. Yet, she still tapped over the small circle at the top of her instagram feed.

“Bit of an odd message, walking around Kingston and we found this dog….so if this is your dog, please let us know we’re gonna take her to the vet to make sure she’s all ok.”

You had missed some part of what Tom Holland had said due to him revealing the dog.

Laika.

Laika was alive. And wagging her pinche cola (fucking tail). Tears ran down your cheeks as relief replaced the cold gripping fear that you had lost your piece of home forever. It was only after the story ended that you realized that you had no clue which vet he was referring too.

It was a long shot but you had to try. Your finger tapped the “send message” button and you tapped as if your life depended on it, having to correct misspellings due to trembling hands.

I know you have no reason to believe me. But the dog you found is my dog. I just moved to the area so neither of us knows it too well. Please can you tell me which vet you went to? The microchip information is incorrect. She has a scar on the underside of her left paw, about 1/4th centimeters thick and 4 centimeters long. She responds to the name Laika and Babosa, Ba- bow-sa. She responds to both English and Spanish commands. Well, her best trick is the give me paw one. You can have your hands behind your back and say the command and she still understands. You can leave first and then tell me. I don’t give a flying fuck right now. I just want my dog back, I have been looking for her for the past day and a half please. Solo quiero la única cosa que haci me casa sentí como casa de nuevo.

Not having noticed that you had finished the rambling in Spanish, nor that you had rambled you hit send and began calling every vet nearby according to google asking about a german shepard mix lab that had been brought in. Cursing at them, crying on the phone, when they refused to say or if they had not been brought a dog.

Her phone dinged once more and like before she whipped it out at an incredible speed.

Ello. I can’t believe posting a story like that actually worked if I’m quite honest. All of the details you gave proved that she’s indeed your dog. We’ve taken her to Goddard Vet in Kingston.-

There was more to the message but you opened up the UBER app the moment you found out the vet and called one over to the vet. The drive there felt as if it was an eternity, her heart never ceased pounding despite knowing Laika was alright. She wouldn’t believe it until Laika was back in her arms again.

Bolting out the uber with a quick, “Gracias!” [y/n] ran inside of the vet clinic, running to the counter, panting. Unable to breathe or catch her breath. She opened her wallet and gave the man working the front desk her ID. “Shepard Lab mix. Es mio. Is mine.” She correct herself. “Old information. New number. Was going to update it pero ella se (but she had) disappeared. Por favor.” She begged the man. “Quiero mi perra. (I want my dog) Owner nombre es igual entonces no problema right??” Her English was failing her. What if she came this far only to have her dog denied to her because they didn’t believe her. “Ella tiene,” she pauses at the confused look on the mans face. “She has a escar,” her Spanish accent becoming thicker when speaking English, “on paw left. Very small. Please.” Tears swam in her eyes and the man told her to take a seat.

Despite the dull ache in her legs and feet, she couldn’t sit. She couldn’t relax. She paced the waiting area, her heart pounded, lungs burning, doubt clouding her mind and she could swear that she felt people staring at her. But that was expected, she was pacing around like a mad man.

Hearing nails tap along the tile floor, [y/n]’s head whipped upwards. “Laika!” She managed to shout.

The dog ripped herself free from the vet’s grip on her new leash and bolted to her owner, to her overprotective mama. Laika pounced on [y/n] sending her to the ground and [y/n] didn’t mind one bit. Her grip tightened around her dog, tears rolling down her cheeks and onto the dog’s fur. Laika lick vigorously at the woman’s cheeks and face, tail wagging.

“Porque te fuiste?! Babosa de mierda! Me asustaste tanto. No tienes idea como me preocupa por te. Podría matarte ahora mismo por eso. Nunca vuelvas a hacer eso de nuevo! Me entiendes?!” (Why did you leave? Stupid shit! You scared me so much. You have no idea how much I worried for you. I could kill you right now. Never do that again! You understand?!) [y/n] mumbled into her dog’s neck, stroking the fur along her spine. After a few minutes, [y/n] pulled herself together and stood, not bothering to wipe away the dog fur on her clothing, grabbing Laika’s leash with white knuckles. Looking up she found herself looking into probably the kindest dark eyes she’s ever seen. Cue nerves.

“I’m glad you have found your dog.” A smile graced his lips, making his already thin lips thinner. She blinked for a moment, stunned that he was standing before her. She was at a lost for words. She parted her lips, realized she was going to speak Spanish and corrected herself.

“Thank you. Thank you very much. I owe you everything. She means the world to me. You didn’t have to help her and you did. You even got her checked up on. I can’t thank you enough Mr. Holland. I really can’t.”

“Tom.”

“Pardon?” “You can call me Tom, darlin’.”

A smile passes over her lips, “Thank you Tom.” With her free hand she pulled out her wallet and gave him all the cash she had on her. “This is to pay you back for everything you’ve spend money on. If this isn’t enough, I can write you a check.” Her hand extended towards him, urging him to take the money. Instead of him taking the money, his wrapped his fingers around her hand, closing it into a fist.

“I can’t take that. It was my pleasure really.”

“As much as I appreciate that. I can no...cannot accept that. There has to be something I can do. I can teach you Spanish? That way you can defend yourself in Spanish. Know more than tu puta madre.” Her eyes widen and she promptly wanted to kick herself in the mouth. Tom, on the other hand, laughed rubbing the back of his neck. Laika seemed to sense something for she nudged his hand with her hand and he began to pet her without skipping a beat.

“I know a bit more. That’s just my favorite word.”

“Words. It’s a phrase.”

“Is it?” “Si, and it’s a very dirty one. Like fighting insulting one. Not a sexy one.”

“Well, I’d love for you to teach me some Espanol. But I reckon I’d need your numbero for that. So you can add it to my phono?”

“Telephono.” She corrected him, smiling. Her nervous slowly disappearing the longer they spoke. She typed her name into his phone along with her number. “[y/n].” She says. “Mi nombre es [y/n] y es mucho gusto a concer te. Nunca crea que yo te iba a conocer, pero paso. Y me encantra a pasar tiempo con usted.” (My name is [y/n] and it is a pleasure to meet you. I never thought that I would meet you, but it happened. And I would love to spend time with you.)

“Well, looks like I’ll need a lesson soon. I understood just about nothing, save for your name. Which is absolutely beautiful. How about a lesson this weekend?”

“Es una cita.” (It’s a date.)

“Cita?” “It’s a deal.” She smiles to herself, grateful that she could cover up that little slip up due to his lack of knowledge.

“I’ll be seeing you around. Behave yourself and be good to your mum.” Tom instructs Laika and he gives her one last scratch behind the ears. “I’ll be seeing you this weekend.” He smiles at [y/n], lifting his hand as he walks away. She waves the fistful of her cash and watches him leave. Putting the money away you hear your phone go off, this time a text tone.

I’m free this saturday around 7pm. Does that sound like a sita to you?

A laugh falls past her lips and she looks at Laika. “He actually thinks cita means deal. I really saved my ass there”

*Cita. And that Works for me. We’ll figure out what you know. Food will be provided. It’s the Spanish way.

***

“You’re grinning like an idiot mate. You got her number?” Harrison questions as Tom buckles in his seatbelt and types away on his phone. The smile only grew at her response.

“Did one better and got a cita with her.”

“Cita?” Harrison questions, eyebrow arched with confusion. Tom feels a smirk pass over his lips and didn’t bother to hide it. “A date. That’s what cita means. You gotta keep up mate.”

#tom holland #tom holland x reader #tom holland spanish #tom holland x spanish reader #tom holland x hispanic

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matt-n-keith · 6 years

Text

A Spark Is All We Need

Fandom: VLD. Pairing: Katt / Rebel Fire. Rating: G

Alternate Universe: Magic.

[READ ON AO3]

"Pidge, I need your help."

Pidge froze for a moment, and then let out an aggravated, deep sigh.

"What trouble have you gotten into this time?" She rubbed her eyes and then turned to look at her brother, who smiled sheepishly at her and lifted up a small black kitten. She frowned. "That's a cat."

Matt nodded, but the way in which he pressed his lips together alerted her that, in fact, there was more to the picture than what it appeared at first glance. She narrowed her eyes and then groaned.

"Please, please tell me that it's just a stray cat you decided you want to adopt."

Matt held the kitten with one hand and with the other scratched the back of his head, laughing awkwardly.

Pidge sighed and took off her glasses, then put her hands together as if in prayer, in front of her mouth, and regarded Matt with a piercing stare.

"What." She took a deep breath and took on the kitten's overall stressed demeanor. "What did you do?"

Matt shifted his weight from foot to foot and carefully tried to pet the small ball of fluff, but the cat was obviously not up to that, if its hissing and batting away with tiny little claws was anything to go by.

"I might have, ah, been trying to cast a new spell and accidentally turned someone into a cat."

Pidge closed her eyes and let her face fall into her hands. Why, why did she always have to deal with this kind of stuff?

"What the fuck, Matt. You know that transfiguration is not something I'm very adept at. Heck, if it doesn't have to do with either computers or plants, I'm not good at magic, full stop. And that's a kitten. I don't see wires anywhere, and it doesn't look too leafy to me, does it?"

"He."

Pidge stared. "What?"

"He. Um. The cat is a boy."

Pidge felt like pulling at her hair. "Okay, he. That's perfect. Do you know who this person is, at least? Maybe he'll have some magical relative who knows what to... of course you don't. Of course," she lamented as she took in Matt's contrite expression.

"Ah, sorry," he said, and then hissed when the kitten successfully scratched his hand in a way that let him escape and take refuge beneath the couch. "I panicked, okay? I wasn't expecting anyone to be there! And suddenly... 'poof'." Matt made a broad gesture with his hands, and then quickly healed the one the kitten had scratched. "I really should stick to healing magic."

“You should.” Pidge sighed and rubbed her face. She bit her lip, considering, and absently drummed a rhythm on her knee with her fingers.

Meanwhile, Matt got on his hands and knees and peered beneath the couch, trying to entice the boy-turned-cat to come out. There was a hiss that clearly stated that the cat didn’t particularly want to.

“C’mon, kitty, kitty, kitty. C’mon, come ‘ere. I’ll give you something nice. Uh. Fish? Do we have fish? Or… milk?”

“Don’t you dare give him milk. It’ll upset his stomach,” Pidge scolded automatically. She sighed again, uncrossed her legs, and then stood up before making her way towards her brother. “Does he know he’s human?” she asked as she crouched beside him, peering into the darkness. The cat’s black fur hid him nicely—she couldn’t see him at all.

“Uh?” Matt yelped and snapped his hand back. The fingertips were bloody. He pouted, glared at the perpetrator in the shadows, and then put the fingers to his lips. When he took them away, they were healed. “What?”

“I asked if he remembers he’s human. I know that if I were the one who was suddenly turned into a cat by a stranger, I’d be pissed. And if I still remembered being human while said stranger treats me like a real cat, I’d be more than pissed. And humiliated.”

Matt paled. “Oh, no. Pidge, I think I might’ve fucked up.”

Pidge fought off the need to pinch the bridge of her nose, and instead turned to the angry—and probably very afraid—stranger-turned-cat. “Hey, dude. I’m sorry about my brother. He can be an idiot sometimes,” she said, ignoring Matt’s wounded look. The hissing stopped. Encouraged, she continued, “but he’s quite resourceful, too. I’m sure that if you come out we can help you go back to normal. I promise we won’t treat you like a cat anymore.”

They had to wait a couple of minutes after that, and Pidge could practically feel her brother vibrating with tension at her side. Then, slowly, a small paw tentatively took a step out of the darkness, and there followed the whole dark body of the boy-turned-cat. His eyes were wary and very, very human even though the pupil was slitted. Pidge smiled at him, but didn’t try to touch him. Matt’s hand twitched, but he resisted, too.

After a moment of quiet tension, the boy-turned-cat seemed to deem them trustworthy enough because his body language relaxed. Not completely, but enough.

“Hi. I’m Katie Holt, but everyone calls me Pidge. And this idiot here is my brother, Matt. I’m sorry we don’t know your name, but—”

The boy-turned-cat meowed. Pidge stopped and frowned. “Are you trying to tell me something?” A long, drawn-out meow. “I’ll take that as a yes. So, what is it? Um. We don’t know your name?” A hiss. “No? We do?” Another hiss. “I do?” A long meow.

“Since when do you speak cat, Pidge?”

“So I do know you?” A hiss. Pidge frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“Maybe you know of him?” Matt offered. A long meow. “You know someone that knows him, too!” A long meow. It almost sounded approving. Matt’s eyes widened. “Wait, do I know of you, too?” Instead of a hiss or a meow, the cat-boy did a weirdly cute huffing noise. “What’s that?” Matt asked, completely bewildered.

“Maybe he isn’t sure.” Pidge shrugged. “Okay, but for sure we know that one of my friends must know him, so let’s go with that—wait. Where did you say you were practicing?”

“I didn’t, actually. But, uh. It was at the College’s library.”

“So you go to the Galaxy Garrison?” A long meow. “Well, that makes it easier. Do you know Ethan?” A hiss. “Kyle? No? Hunk? Lance?” A long meow. “Lance?” Another long meow, accompanied by what seemed to be an unconscious pat with his paw. Pidge got excited with him, until she remembered that Lance had gone back to his family’s for the break. “Uh, sorry, buddy. Lance’s not here.” The ears drooped and Pidge’s heart melted a little. That was adorable. “Do you know Hunk? Shiro?” The drooped ears snapped to attention and Pidge found herself subjected to the most intense stare she’d ever been on the end-tail of.

“You know Shiro?” Matt asked in surprise. The cat-boy turned to look at him and meowed loudly. “That’s great! I can totally take you… or… call him here, yeah, I can do that, too, don’t glare at me, please.” Matt laughed awkwardly. “Shiro’s very good at magic, and I’m sure he can undo this without a problem. Especially since, you know, he knows you.”

The cat-boy took two steps forward and nuzzled Matt’s shin before retreating again, and meowing. Matt laughed, half-startled, half-delighted.

“Yeah, okay. I’ll call him now. By the way, I’m really sorry I caused you all this trouble. Once you can speak again, please tell me what I can do to compensate you.” He stood and left the room, probably in search of his smartphone.

Pidge shook her head and smiled at the cat-boy in amusement. “Try not to be too hard on him, he’s harmless, really.”

The cat-boy huffed, and Pidge would bet he was trying to laugh.

“So, let me get this straight.”

“You’re not straight, Shiro, so that’s a moot point.”

“... You just turned someone into a cat, and this someone knows me, and so you need me to go to your house to turn them back to normal?”

“Uh, yeah. Pretty much.”

There was a crackle on the other side of the line, and then Shiro sighed. “Be there in fifteen. Just—No, nothing. Fifteen minutes.”

“Thanks, man.”

The line went dead, and Matt let his arm drop. He went back to Pidge’s room to share the news, and found the poor guy he’d turned into a cat perched on Pidge’s shoulder while she typed away on her computer. He looked strangely fascinated.

Matt blinked and, before they could notice him, quickly snapped up a picture. They were too cute not to. He put his phone in the back pocket of his jeans and then cleared his throat. Little sister and boy-cat turned to him at once.

“I talked to him, he told me he’d be here in fifteen.” He grinned and clapped his hands once. Pidge beamed at the boy-cat and carefully lifted him from her shoulder to put him back on the floor.

“That’s great! You’ll be back to normal in no time!”

The boy-can let out a pleased meow and his whiskers twitched. Matt had to clench his fists tightly to avoid giving into temptation and picking him up again. He didn’t want to commit the same mistake he’d made before.

“Okay! What about we show you around or something until he comes?”

“You do that,” Pidge said. “I really need to finish this today, so I can’t be distracted anymore. I’ll let Shiro in.”

“‘Kay. Thanks, Pidge.” He turned to the boy-cat and hesitated. “Uh, do you want me to carry you, or would you rather follow me?”

Big gray-blue eyes studied him for a moment before the boy-cat jumped and, using tiny claws and incredible dexterity, climbed up Matt’s clothes until he was perched on his shoulder. Matt chuckled. “Right. That settles it, then.”

It was fifteen minutes on the dot later when the bell rang.

“Shiro’s here!” Pidge hollered from down the stairs, and Matt rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, I could say,” he muttered, grinning to the boy-cat that had left his shoulder to wander on his own. Matt thought he looked vaguely amused. “Let’s go get you back to normal.”

Before he could start for the stairs, however, Shiro appeared. His hair was in disarray and he had dark circles under his eyes, not to mention the shadow of stubble on his chin. Matt flinched.

“Bad week?” he asked sympathetically. He knew that look very well. It screamed: ‘MIDTERMS ARE HERE. I'M IN HELL.’

There was a worried meow, and the cat-boy rushed towards Shiro’s legs.

Shiro shrugged, smiling lopsidedly with a hint of ruefulness, but his attention was immediately on the little ball of fluff. “You weren’t kidding,” he said, a mix of exasperation and tired amusement. He crouched down and studied the boy-cat closely. “Hello, buddy. Who are you?”

The boy-cat meowed again and glared at Shiro. And then Shiro’s eyes grew wide, his mouth hung open. He blinked.

“Oh my God. Keith? Is that you?” The long, almost happy meow that followed couldn’t be mistaken for anything but clear confirmation. Shiro’s mouth twitched, and suddenly he was falling on his ass, laughing in a way Matt hadn’t seen in a good while. “Sorry, sorry,” he said after a moment, though he hadn't stopped chuckling. The boy-cat hissed angrily at him and then scurried off to sit behind Matt’s legs. “C’mon, don’t be like that. Get here so I can change you back.”

After a bit of negotiation and a promise not to laugh again, Shiro finally got to reverse the transfiguration.

And then Matt died. And ascended into heaven. Were those angels, singing?

“—to Matt, Earth to Matt. Do you copy?” Shiro was saying, but Matt wasn’t listening to him. He was too busy staring at the really—like, really—pretty boy that was now standing on two black jeans-covered legs in the middle of Matt's bedroom.

He was just a bit shorter than Matt and had dark, shaggy hair up in a ponytail and beautiful eyes. Matt felt that he could cry.

“You… you are so beautiful! So beautiful! I’m so sorry I turned you into a cat, but I’m really not sorry at the same time because maybe I wouldn’t have met you if I hadn’t and that would've been a tragedy, but I did and now I feel blessed by all the gods—would you go out on a date with me?”

Shiro was laughing again, but Matt ignored him. He was focused on Keith and his rather bewildered expression.

“Matt, you’re embarrassing,” Pidge said dryly from her spot on the doorway. And since when was she there? “Feel free to ignore the fool,” she added, this time talking to Keith. Who was now blushing. Well, would you look at that?

“No, actually,” Keith said, and he had a pleasant voice, and really, Matt was blessed. He looked sideways at Matt and then smiled, a bit shy. “I think a date would be… uh, what did you call it? A good compensation. For being turned into a cat, and all.”

Matt grinned. The angels chorused.

#voltron #katt #meith #rebel fire #matt x keith #my writing #fanfic #I'M STILL WORKING ON YOUR PROMPTS I SWEAR #but I had this started #and I finally got the inspiration to finish it #and it's silly and cliché and ridiculous #but I had a lot of fun #hope you enjoy! :D #pidge #shiro

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sirprizex · 7 years

Text

Let’s Find An Alternative

So I’ve done my share of complaining about the ending of the Carmilla movie and how they handed Ell’s character. Of course, complaining is easy, so I figured I’d see if there was an alternative. What could have been done to change the ending to something potentially better while retaining as much of the movie as possible?

This might be a little long, so stick with me, Creampuffs.

So let’s get into it. What are the options? (*Spoilers if you haven’t seen the movie yet, obviously*)

Well, I’ve been thinking and most of my complaints are centred around Ell and how she impacts the story as well as of course the fact that Carmilla gives up her humanity in the end.

On a side note, by the way, can I just mention that I’ve seen a few people call this a choice? I’m…not sure we were watching the same movie. When the options are either A) Give up your humanity and let innocent women pass on or B) Keep your humanity and doom said women to a spiritual realm of psychological torture for eternity, that is not a choice!

Imagine for a moment if Carmilla had taken option B and put aside how out of character that would be. Pretty hard to root for her suddenly isn’t it? Not to mention that, if Laura was remotely in character in her response, this would eat away at both her and their relationship. Laura might put Carmilla’s life before a lot of things, but one of the great strengths of her character is her incredible compassion.

Only an utterly morally bankrupt character would consider option B even remotely viable, which renders it moot as a choice.

Okay, done complaining now, I swear. Let’s move on to the whole point of this…which, now that I think about it, is basically to create an actually viable option B I suppose.

Anyway, let’s start with Ell as a character.

The main problem, as I see it, is that the movie doesn’t really give her time to be anything but angry. There is some sadness there, but it’s never properly addressed and I think a lot of us were left waiting for an emotional confrontation that never really happened. This made Ell kind of boring and it did little to set her apart from Carmilla’s other victims.

Now, that’s not to say I’m suggesting to get rid of the anger entirely. Instead, let’s do something more interesting. Let’s push that anger to a breaking point.

Keep everything up until the ritual, but involve Ell a little earlier. Just as it becomes clear that something is going badly wrong, you could reveal Ell’s involvement and have her come forward to take the broach.

Before she can, though, the others act. Laura tries to get Carmilla’s hands away from the broach while the others try to pry her and the Bronte sisters out of the circle. Of course, this screws the whole ritual up and it traps everyone in the spirit realm, including Ell.

The broach does still contain Carmilla’s spark, but it is now with the last person to touch it in the real world. In other words, Laura has it. Ell is not pleased and tries to hunt them down, starting a chase.

Now imagine this, because this is another thing that could have been super interesting. As it is described in the movie, the realm is basically hell just without the fire and brimstone. Your biggest regret playing over and over on loop for eternity. Why did we not see more of this?! Imagine how cool that would have been!

Imagine Laura fleeing through the mansion, trying to protect Carmilla and the broach while they stumble through scenes of the moments their friends regret the most as L:af and Perry try to work out a way to escape.

We saw Perry’s moment and Laf wasn’t too bothered with their own, but what about Mel and Kirsch? Hell, they might actually be pretty similar for those two, considering I think both would involve Danny.

When Danny died, none of her Summer Society Sisters were with her. They were busy outside. Now, Danny and Mel were never best friends, but they at least respected each other. Imagine how guilty Mel must be that Danny, one of her sisters, died because there was nobody there to watch her back.

For those of you looking for the romantic note, I’m pretty sure Charlotte would be very understanding of the desire to watch out for your sisters and the guilt when you fail to do so.

Fuck, imagine how guilty Kirsch must be, considering he was part of the Zetas.

It would be a pretty cool moment of character development for two characters who don’t exactly get much of it.

Now imagine Ell following Carmilla and Laura through all of this and then suddenly it’s no longer people she doesn’t know or care about. Suddenly it’s moments in Carmilla’s life.

The moment Carmilla died.

The first time her new ‘mother’ punished her.

The first girl Carmilla delivered to her mother.

The moment Ell left.

Being sealed in a blood-filled coffin.

300 years is a lot of time for mistakes and pain. And then suddenly there’s another face Ell recognizes. Suddenly Laura is there in Carmilla’s moments too.

The first time Laura managed to hurt Carmilla.

The time Carmilla went in expecting a date and instead wound up tied to a chair, viewed as a monster once more.

The time Laura sent her away after learning of her deal with the dean.

Their complete failure to communicate and the arguments that followed.

The death of Mattie.

The way she watched Laura emotionally crumble after Laura killed to save Carmilla’s life.

The death of Laura.

Everything, right down to that time they spent two weeks apart because they had a screaming row 2 years after Carmilla became human again about the fact that she flatly refused to at least try therapy and they both didn’t want to be the first to say sorry.

Now imagine an emotionally exhausted Ell finally corner Laura and Carmilla. Imagine her desperately clinging to that anger because it has been her driving force for so long and she’s scared to be without it. But now she’s been forced to face the fact that Carmilla isn’t the person she knew anymore.

Carmilla was hurt. Carmilla struggled. Carmilla found someone who made her want to be better. Carmilla loved. Carmilla tried to atone, nearly getting herself killed repeatedly in the process.

Carmilla has felt guilty for so long. Carmilla was never a monster.

And finally there can be an actual conversation. Yes there is room for anger and for shouting and no it probably isn’t going to fix or change anything, but at least we finally have that conversation.

I imagine somewhere around this point is where Laf and Perry would come through with the escape plan and zap everyone back to the real world…and then there is the ending.

And I can’t think of a way to fix that. Yes, bit of a cop-out, I know.

But the thing is, this movie writes itself into such an inescapable corner if you keep the set-up with the ghosts and the ritual. What else is Carmilla supposed to do that’s not utterly despicable?

Part of me wants to just say there’s another option buried the book somewhere, because it is never explained just why and how that book is there in the first place. If an unexplained plot device can get them into trouble, why can’t it get them out of it, right?

(But seriously, somebody explain how the book got there)

Anyway, that’s obviously not a good option. The problem is that I can’t see one that ends with Carmilla human, the ghosts gone and the whole thing still feeling like Carmilla actually sacrificed something. At least not if we keep the theme of taking responsibility.

Creampuffs, if you have a good way to do that , I’d love to hear it.

Hell, even tell me if you think I’m talking out of my ass with this whole scenario. Just…You know...Preferably in a constructive manner. XD

#carmilla #Carmilla movie #headcanon #Carmilla Karnstein #laura hollis #ell #Mel #Charlotte Bronte #I should probably sleep now

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