#only thing lacking is brother-in-law and nephew | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

overly-dramatic-artist · 7 months

Text

💖Week Two: Relationships💖

The primary relationship that overarches the entire story and evolves the most significantly is Angela and Bruno. From a young age, they declare each other to be the best of friends, almost always at each other’s side or poking gentle fun at the other. To be perfectly clear, neither see the other in any sort of romantic view for a long, long time, and even when it starts to develop, they are quite blind to it, brushing off their feelings as just being a very strong friendship. They have the kind of rapport where they can be talking back and forth over each other passionately without any sort of irritation, or sitting in complete silence together either reading or crocheting, just passing the time in the presence in each other’s company.

When Angela is 19 and Bruno is 20, their relationship….changes for lack of better words. There’s a spark. A shift in the stars. An awakening of senses that ties the strings of their friendship into an irreversible knot. And despite this ‘change,’ they still promise to remain friends and just friends; only friends. She is still processing the trauma of her last romantic relationship, and Bruno (who I HC as demiromantic) doesn’t really want to take the deep dive into romance. So, they are friends. Just friends…who happen to sometimes kiss and look at each other a little too longingly.

For a more immersive and in depth experience/explanation of their relationship, I suggest reading my fic Why did it have to be me?

Angela is also quite close with Julieta and Pepa, as well as Agustin and Felix. As young teens, Angela and Pepa are in the church choir together, with Felix and Agustin who act as instrumentalists for the group. Julieta and Bruno will occasionally be pulled into the musical antics. Of the sisters, Angela is probably slightly closer to Julieta, mostly for her ability to read Angel like a book and is able to hone in on what’s going on with the girl. Pepa on the other hand has her head slightly more in the clouds so to speak when it comes to understanding the shifting moods and feelings of her friends, mostly because she has such a huge responsibility already of trying to regulate her own emotions. Julieta has always suspected something going on between her brother and Angela, is eventually proven correct when the relationship becomes difficult to keep hidden. She was mostly just suspect of her brother harboring a bit of a crush on Angela, but just being in denial about it for many years to the point where it had been completely repressed.

(Forgive the old art, I definitely need to update these ones :0 )

Angel loves the Madrigal kids with her whole heart, and though she wouldn’t say it out loud, she considers them as her nieces and nephews (and technically speaking with the whole common-law marriage contingency, they *are* her sobrinos more so than her cousins kids). She is closest with Isabela and Dolores given that they spent more of their formative years with her more than the other kids, but if you ask her, she will adamantly deny having a favorite.

When they were little, Isa and Dolores loved when Angela and Bruno would watch them for an afternoon/evening, because they would make a production of keeping them entertained with outlandish stories, complete with melodramatic acting and costumes (they especially love getting into Angela’s wardrobe of fancy things, and Dolores especially loves Angela’s would-have-been wedding gown that she keeps tucked away in her closet, but when Dolores finds it and gushes about how pretty it is, she’s able to let go of some of the bad feelings surrounding it). The girls get involved in their fable telling, inserting their own takes of action into the plot (which is completely welcomed) (very much like that episode of Bluey with uncle Rad and Frisky). Once Dolores gets her gift though, loud and intense storytellings get overwhelming for her, especially with the addition of the other kids. So, from this point on, Angela would do private story-time for Dolores, most often done when she would braid her hair. Isabela, on the other hand, liked to take on a directorial role, and was adamant about her vision for plots. Early on, the girls’ favorite stories were La Fada Morgana and the tale of Ariadne.

Angela, for better or worse, sees a lot of herself in Isabela as she grows up. The pressure to be perfect and splendid all the time is far from unfamiliar for her, and she tries, though not terribly successfully, to curb the pain of having to fit into a predetermined mold by giving Isabela some creative outlets to express herself. Initially, Isabela is able to get some of her feelings out through art, but overtime becomes scared of the consequences for just having negative feelings, so she only ends up creating in a very limited manner.

Luisa was an armored by Angela’s dancing when she was very young. When Luisa was around four, Angela returned from a long trip wherein she had learned to dance the Bolero, and little Luisa fell in love with all of the twirls and movements of her tía’s long skirt and cape. Angel would take Luisa’s hands and spin her around the floor to the sound of Agustin’s piano playing, and lift her up in the air like a true prima ballerina. With Angela, Luisa was able to indulge herself in her desire for the soft and girlish things of life, like chiffon skirts the swish around when she spins and pretty ribbons decorating her hair in elaborate styles. Unfortunately, time for the frilly trivial things lessens as the demand for Luisa’s gift grows. When traveling, Angela tries to find little trinkets like earrings or hair pins that Luisa can wear will working so she can still feel some bit of fun femininity.

Camilo and Mirabel both thought that Angela and Bruno were married when they were itty bitty. It only got brought up at one point: Camilo had just turned five, Mirabel in a few months preparing for her gift ceremony. The family is in the dinning room/ kitchen, and Mirabel asks Angela why she never wears a ring like her mama or tía Pepa. She’s a little confused at first, like what are you talking about, why would I wear a ring? Cue slight tense atmosphere of gently explaining that they are in fact not married, and the awkwardness that ensues afterwards of the kids insisting that they must be married because they’re in love and if you’re in love you should be married. This adds a mountain of tension on the pair as well as her relationship with Alma, especially given she leaves for a long time after Mirabel’s gift ceremony.

Angela teaches Camilo to play guitar when she comes back from a trip from DR when he’s seven. She gifts him her old guitar, telling him it’s charmed to never go out of tune, but in reality, she and Félix take turns tuning the strings when Camilo isn’t looking. He doesn’t catch on until he’s thirteen.

She also teaches Mirabel to embroider when she returns from her first cruise six months after her gift ceremony. Mirabel is in a concerning depressive spiral considering how young she is, and Angela offers to take her out of the magic house for a little bit to be in her family’s shop. She tells her that she can find magic in the ordinary things and thus starts teaching her little thread decorations and embellishments. She’s able to cultivate a bit more happiness in Mirabel through crafts and tailoring.

Antonio, given his very young age, does not have many solid memories of Angela, but loves her regardless. When she comes back for Dolores’ wedding, he is still shy, but quickly acclimated to her presence (the rats have nothing but good things to say about her). She held him a lot as a baby, but her traveling and almost permanent move away kept her from being around when his consciousness evolved from baby brain to child-with-object-permanence brain.

Now for the enormous family tree!!!

The great grandparents don’t play much part in the story, so for sake of simplicity, I will skip over them. Quinuama Ixchel Maria Estrada - Villca Gonzalez and Raymundo Hernan Antonio Estrada - Rodriguez Villca are Angela’s maternal grandparents (they are primarily who raised Angel), who have children: Beatríz Adriana Pilar Carvajal - Estrada Villca, Naylay Ezekiel Hernan Estrada - Villca Ruiz, and Anamaria Yaamil Quinuama Morales - Estrada Villca. Beatríz marries Lucio Fernando Simoné Carvajal - Silva Estrada, and they have two children: Imelda Constantine Adriana Manuel - Carvajal Estrada and Dominic Simoné Lucio Carvajal - Estrada. Naylay marries Ramona Xiomara Laura Estrada - Ruíz Allard, and they have three children: Remedios Yoselín Magdalena Márquez Estrada Ruiz, Nicolás Raymundo Ezekeil Estrada Ruiz Vargas, and Narcisa Esther Xiomara Mendoza Estrada Ruiz. Anamaria marries Guillermo (listed below), and their only child is Angela Leilani Yaamil Morales Estrada.

On Guillermo’s side of the family there are the great grandparents Enele Aulii Taito and Kanani Sofia Anacoana Taito Flores Tuigamala, Chimalmat Itzamara Morales Canul and Matteo Guillermo Morales Delgado Canul. The two relevant children from these couples are Guillermo’s parents, Leilani Maria Onosa’i Morales - Taito Flores and Babajide Jacobo Matteo Morales - Canul Taito. Guillermo was distant from his family, setting out at a very young age to live with one of his uncles, Enele Kahiau Luis Taito Flores (Leilani’s brother) to learn the trade of raising goats. Enele sadly passed away years before the formation of the Encanto, leaving Guillermo to raise himself on his own since he was 16.

Of Angela’s five cousins (in order of age): Imelda Constantine Adriana Manuel - Carvajal Estrada, Remedios Yoselín Magdalena Márquez Estrada Ruiz, Dominic Simoné Lucio Carvajal - Estrada, Nicolás Raymundo Ezekeil Estrada Ruiz Vargas, and Narcisa Esther Xiomara Mendoza Estrada Ruiz; she is closest to Remedios. Narcisa, despite begin the closest in age, has an odd relationship with Angel from a young age, the two of them mixing like oil and water. Narcisa enjoyed teasing Angela as a child, and they would often get into little fights, sometimes escalating to crying and yanking on each other’s ponytails. Narcisa’s sardonic personality settled with age, and she became much kinder to Angela by the time she’s an adult. Remedios has a….reputation in town for her coquettish behavior and ‘revolving door’ of lovers. Angela is closest to Reme because of the older girl’s honesty and acceptance of things deemed ‘improper.’

Her relationship with her father is difficult to say the least. Guillermo became extremely detached and emotionally distant after the passing of his wife. He’s a man of very few words, even with his family. He’s one of those fathers who doesn’t want their kid to grow up, who would just keep them forever as a child if he could. It stems mainly from the fact that his wife died so young and seeing his daughter surpass his wife’s life breaks his heart.

Some other relationships include her three exes: Roberto Montoya, Aureliano Torres, and Esteban Cesare Moscote Suarez. Roberto is a sweet boy that Angela projected her desire for romance on to when she was 12 (totally based on my own experience of picking a relatively cute boy to have a crush on so I could feel normal) who was exceeding kind to her during their little relationship, but both ultimate decided that it just was not what either of them wanted, and Roberto came out to her saying that he had kind of done the same thing in ‘picking a sweet girl to project his feelings on to.’ Aureliano was the emotionally unavailable son of the cantina owners, who sauntered his way into Angela’s heart with a blasé smirk and several glasses of rum. She broke it off with him when a lie was revealed. Esteban was a seemingly kind gentleman who was the picture of perfection upon meeting him, but evolved into an extremely manipulative and abusive partner that Angela became engaged to after he put her on the spot in front of half the town with a proposal (Don’t worry though, she breaks it off after finding her strength).

I’ve probably talked way too long about this now :)

@encanto-extended-edition

#encanto oc appreciation #encanto #writing #encanto oc #encanto oc event #encanto extended edition #wdihtbm #Angela morales Estrada #bruno my beloved #bruno madrigal x oc #bruno madrigal #mandys drawings #angel morales estrada

31 notes · View notes

greeksorceress · 1 year

Text

anon request: blond jace as daemon’s son, jaceluke.

The room goes deadly still as King Viserys drags his body to the throne.

It’s a painful thing to watch. King Viserys’ sickness seems to be consuming him like fire melts a candle to nothingness, the metaphorical wax of his flesh is raggedly hanging by the bones that protrude what once was the gentle face of his grandfather.

Lucerys’ eyes drift to the other side of the grand hall where Queen Alicent Hightower and her brood stand, unable to cope with the proof of the King’s mortality. Alicent gasps, but doesn’t make a move to help her husband otherwise. Neither do Aegon or Helaena, who are both avoiding looking at their father’s decaying form just like him. Aemond is too occupied staring right back at Lucerys to rush to his father’s aid.

When the King trips and his crown falls from his head, the Queen and her children still do nothing but stare with bated breaths.

It’s his stepfather who swiftly approaches the King, and with a gentleness unheard of in the Rogue Prince, guides his own brother to the very top of the stairs, not minding that the monarch is resting most of his weight on him. A movement in the sidelines catches Lucerys’ attention, a flash of Targaryen hair moving towards the brothers.

Prince Jacaerys Targaryen, first of his name and heir of Princess Rhaenyra and Prince Daemon of House Targaryen, holds the crown of the King in his hands while he follows his father and his uncle and grandfather.

“My King,” mumbles Jace respectfully as he bends the knee in front of their ruler, crowning the weakened man who smiles down at him with crooked, half-missing teeth.

“Thank you, my boy. Such a promising lad.”

Jacaerys smiles back at his uncle and grandfather before Daemon and him step down, back to Rhaenyra’s —and Lucerys’— side. There are knots tightening in Lucerys’ lower belly with anticipation. His half brother’s smirk, so close to the Iron Throne, ignites a telltale wave of desire that shamefully licks at his stomach.

“I must admit my confusion,” states the King through heavy breaths, “I don’t understand why petitions are being heard over a settled succession. The only one present who might offer keener insight into Lord Corlys’ wishes is the Princess Rhaenys.”

When grandmother Rhaenys takes a step forward, Lucerys almost expects her to deny his claim. Her face is solemn, but she sends half a smile his way that helps to even Lucerys’ heartbeats.

“Indeed, your Grace. It was ever my husband’s will that Driftmark pass through Ser Laenor to his trueborn son, Lucerys Velaryon. His mind never changed, nor did my support of him.”

Vaemond scoffs at this. It’s of no consequence to the King, who has heard enough.

“Well, the matter is settled, again.” The King is already tired from the few words he had to spare and the trek to the throne, and his tone doesn’t lack finality. “I hereby reafirm Prince Lucerys of House Velaryon as heir to Driftmark, the Driftwood Throne, and the next Lord of the Tides.”

His mother lovingly squeezes his hand, the tension is lifted off her shoulders under the protection of her father’s words, like a bruise soothed by a fresh balm. Lucerys, on the other hand, doesn’t have the chance to unclench his jaw and stop working his teeth into dust.

Vaemond strides back to the center of the room, dangerous in his unveiled and unrestrained anger. The hall goes quiet once again, the precarious silence casted by the fury of the older Velaryon man makes Lucerys tremble with uneasiness.

“You break law,” he spits at King Viserys, “and centuries of tradition to install your daughter as heir. Yet you dare tell me who deserves to inherit the name Velaryon. No. I will not allow it.”

“Allow it?” his grandfather asks in angry disbelief, “Do not forget yourself, Vaemond.”

The Velaryon, more of a snake than a seahorse, turns back abruptly to point at Lucerys, throwing his accusations with venom coating his fangs, “That is no true Velaryon, and certainly no nephew of mine.”

Lucerys whimpers. Cold sweat runs down his back, the hairs of his nape sticking to his skin. His mother grips his hand with renewed ferocity, as if she was afraid of Lucerys being ripped from her grasp. She might as well be, for Lucerys knows that what Vaemond is implying right now is high treason, and were the royals and the nobles to believe his word, Lucerys would find a noose around his neck sooner than later.

“Go back to your rooms.” Commands Rhaenyra, and there’s credit to give her and the firmness of her voice as her hand quivers in their hold, “You have said enough.”

“Lucerys is my trueborn grandson,” states Viserys. “And you are no more than the second son of Driftmark.”

It does nothing to placate Vaemond’s ire.

“You may run your house as you see fit,” he hisses with disdain, “but you will not decide the future of mine. My house survived the Doom and a thousand tribulations besides. And gods be damned,” when his attention settles over Lucerys this time, he looks ready to pounce and snap his teeth around Lucerys’ throat, “I will not see it ended on the account of this—”

Then Vaemond shuts his mouth. He knows his grandfather might take this as a sing that the older Velaryon is weighting his options and the possible outcomes, but Lucerys knows better. Vaemond Velaryon is tasting the words, enjoying and festering on the acrid flavour of his cruelness.

Daemon’s voice comes as a soft, challenging whisper.

“Say it.”

It’s a trick, like the Cannibal pretends to be asleep when someone comes too close to his hill just to open his jaw and close his teeth around the cracking bones of the unsuspecting wanderers.

Vaemond doesn’t know this, though. He’s not a dragon after all.

“Her children are…” he comes too close to this hill as he screams his next words, “bastards! And she’s a whore.”

The gasps and exclamations flood the room and echo against the walls, but Lucerys can only hear the violent thrumming of his own blood in his ears.

His grandfather asks for Vaemond’s tongue. As his chest heaves erratically, he chances a glance towards Queen Alicent and his uncles and aunt and is not surprised to see Aegon and Aemond enjoying his family’s humiliation.

It makes his stomach upset with a speed that dizzies him, and he’s ready to vomit his lunch over his own boots when a metallic slice cuts through the air and through Vaemond Velaryon’s head.

Blood sprays everywhere. Some droplets hit Lucerys’ face and hair in the process. His eyes are open with horror, taking the sight of his grandfather’s brother corpse standing still for a second before loudly dropping to the floor.

The part of his head that is severed from his body rolls in the hall as the veins in his neck keep spraying red, tainting the marble and the stone. Lucerys can see the bones and the muscles torn open as a lamb in the Cannibal’s den.

The gasps have turned into piercing screams, nobles rushing to cover the eyes of the youngest guests of the Red Keep and knights rushing to protect the royals. While the green faction of the family took some steps back and let their fear show, his mother shields him, standing tall and proud as Vaemond’s body lays defeated. A true dragon, the heiress of this empire. She hasn’t stopped holding his hand.

When Lucerys looks for the culprit, he expects to see Daemon holding a red stained Dark Sister in his right hand. What he sees instead is Jacaerys, the beloved prince and heir, with The Promised still raised. The sword that Daemond and Rhaenyra gifted him in his thirteen name day is wet and tainted, but what weakens Lucerys’ knees and makes his blood sing is his brother’s face. Jacaerys’ amethyst eyes shine with vicious mirth, a bloodthirsty grin fixed upon his lips as he cleans the blade with his own cape. There’s blood dripping from his white strands and staining his cheek and the slope of his nose. Lucerys wants to lick him clean. He bits his own tongue to stop the moans that threaten to get past his lips.

“He can keep his tongue,” Jace says as he steps forward, “for I will have his head.”

Somewhere in the room, Otto screams at the knights. “Disarm him!”

Jacaerys simply raises his hand at this before pommeling his sword again. “No need.” He then walks around Vaemond’s corpes and crouches down to take his head, looking briefly into Lucerys’ eyes with intention before directing himself to his grandfather and uncle.

“Son,” Rhaenyra warns.

“Son.” Daemon rewards.

By the steps of the Iron Throne and before the wilting King Viserys, Jacaerys gets down on one knee and presents the evidence of his victory.

“My King. I present you the head of the treacherous Vaemond Velaryon, who insulted our family. I’ve defended my mother’s name, as well as Prince Lucerys’. And I would dedicate my life to do so were he to be wed to me. May the remains of Vaemond be proof enough of my intentions, and let the realm know what should happen if Lucerys’ blood is put into question again. Let this be the first of many courting presents, for no one else but a dragon could defend my brother with fire and blood.”

Queen Alicent sobs and screams something at their mother, but Rhaenyra is too preoccupied with her own rage towards her oldest son. The last thing Lucerys hears before everything turns pitch black is Daemon’s laughter.

#and then it's the dinner scene ;)#thank you so much anon for the prompt and request #i hope you liked this <3 #i might turn this into a longer chaptered version one day #who knows #jaceluke #house of the dragon #tw mature content #just some violence and references #tw blood and gore #about: my writing #blond jace as daemon son is not my original idea so credits to the person who thought about that <3 #i just followed a request <3 #jacaerys velaryon #lucerys velaryon #i know this might be full of mistakes and i promise i will check it tomorrow i'm just very sleepy right now djhsagdjsa

111 notes · View notes

outofangband · 10 months

Text

Thinking about the differing reactions between Morwen and Rían with regards specifically to trauma and pride (I’m always thinking about this but I started writing this up like a month or so ago for @tolkiengenweek day one)

I will actually make something less extremely rambling for day one later

Rían is gentle and seemingly fragile. She’s a singer and songwriter, she loves trees and flowers. I think with her craft there is an element of preservation. Is she trying to gather what few memories of home she has, like cupping water that will slip through her fingers? Or create something that will be remembered if her own being becomes ash and smoke

I imagine Rían as being, like her nephew and brother in law, as quick to pity and to quick to tears. The sorrow she has endured has made her response to the sorrows of others softer.

Morwen is stern and proud and is not moved to pity like Húrin and Túrin. She is sharp and severe and wants nothing from anyone.

I’ve said before, I headcanon that Morwen and Rían have an extremely close relationship that is generally healthy. Except there is a part of both of them that never entirely gets out of the headspace of being on the run and among strangers, sometimes hostile ones. They are both very protective of each other and very mistrusting of others and of authorities of any kind, even years after they’ve seemed to settle in

Only half formed thoughts at the moment but I don’t really think that Morwen’s pride especially with regards to Doriath and with Aerin can be looked at without the context that Morwen has already lived through this. She has already once come to a place, two places! with nothing and been forced to rely on strangers for shelter, clothing and safety, without a clear expectation of what they might want in return

When Morwen as a child let the people of Hithlum give her their clothes, house her alongside them, offer their own food, she was forced to allow these to take the place of her own. Perhaps more acutely did she feel this in Brethil. Her clothes, possessions and home were lost to the flames. The flora and fauna that made up her peoples food were killed or scattered too. She cannot grieve these things while being expected to perform gratitude in a certain way.

Morwen never fully accepts or understands what they might want in return. She knows what happens when people’s kindness turns, or when the object of their pity becomes unappealing to them. (I’ve talked about some of the struggles related to this in both Brethil and Hithlum and how much it impacted Morwen). I think a lot about her being contrasted with Túrin specifically with them being “quick to pity” because she was “stern with others as with herself”.

There is just…such a lack of control that is involved with young Morwen as a refugee and I think that is one aspect of her pride that is very important.

That and the monumental legacy that she and Rían must preserve, being among the last of their people alive.

And I think about too Rían’s response to this. Rían is never noted to have this same pride and I think unlike Morwen she is quick to pity and compassion. But while she might not bristle at the idea of being pitied but I don’t think she likes it much more than her cousin. Rían tastes a darker undercurrent to it and she can never completely relax.

They are never truly settled, they are always afraid, simultaneously, of being hunted, driven off and of being trapped and imprisoned.

(Morwen knows she is viewed as proud and has accepted that the alternative is worse.)

I’ve been thinking a lot about Morwen and Rían’s relationship lately and how devastating Rían’s flight must have been for Morwen especially after losing Húrin. It’s only the beginning of the story in the Narn but the sense of tragedy and loss and just unfairness is so palpable to me here. Morwen and Rían arrive together after, as the text says, the ruin of the Bragollach. They are both orphaned refugees in a completely unfamiliar world with each other being among their only connection to their home and family.

And eventually Húrin gains Morwen’s trust and friendship and later her love and then after only a few years he is taken. While Rían who has only been married for a month or so experiences the same loss. Once again they are together in grief and trauma and this time Rían is more than old enough to understand what has happened and what will happen. She doesn’t remember the invasion of Ladros in much detail but she remembers the fear and urgency and the exhaustion of fleeing.

And this time she runs again. Afraid and desperate for news. I wrote a bit more about this here, it’s difficult for me to put my thoughts on it completely into words. And Morwen never finds out exactly what happened to her. She knows Rían is dead and feels that any alternative is likely worse.

Rían would not do well in captivity. Morwen knows this as much as she knows anything.

And Morwen is alone, occasional visits from Aerin her only connection to others and of course these are always entwined with other fear and grief.

Note: I do not mean at all to insult or condemn Rían for fleeing and, like Morwen I have to wonder if things would have been worse for her had she remained in now occupied Dor-lómin. But I just wanted to explore this particular grief of Morwen’s

Anyways consider this drafting while I make an official complex trauma post for Morwen because being overly analytical about suffering is what I do. Also I want to rewrite my post about how the descriptions and examples of Morwen’s pride read so vividly as descriptions and examples of a form of complex trauma

#the silmarillion #the children of húrin #morwen #Rían #houseless for exiles #musing and meta #Aerin #it would be so easy to throw their marriages into such a dark light #I won’t (yet) because obviously I absolutely love Morwen and Húrin’s relationship and bond but yeah

34 notes · View notes

blade-that-was-broken · 19 days

Note

How does JD react to meeting his sister in law and niece/ nephews?

I’m going to assume you mean in I’m Still Here

Uhhh… he gets a little spooked. I’m not sure if they entirely warn him that Brandy is a giant but either way, it’s a bit of a jump scare for him.

Not only was he just kidnapped and nearly killed by some giant teenagers but also he’s got that whole… Chef almost killing him thing too. Don’t get me wrong, Vacaytioners are obviously very very different than Bergens or Rageouns but I think considering what he’s been through lately, not entirely unreasonable. He’ll get over it cause like I said, things are different but in the immediate, he might get a bit nervous around Brandy.

But I can't imagine her being NOT understanding about it, considering not only Troll History, but also JD's OWN history, while also coming off having just been held captive by giants. Branch healed from his fear of the Bergens when Poppy befriended the Bergens - and that was a work in progress. JD heals from his fear of giants (in general) with the Vacaytioners (and probably eventually the Bergens).

It's not their size entirely that makes him nervous, although that does play a large part. He's not, generally, scared of large things. But with his history and near death experiences with giants trying to eat him or drain him of his talent...he's got some stuff to work through.

After he gets through things tho, he and Brandy are cool. He's happy for Bruce and it's pretty obvious that they care about each other a lot. Brandy also recognizes some of the things that JD had to do when he was young, realizing that he played a huge role in raising his brothers. She also immediately spots him as Branch's dad. Like, to her, it is obvious he raised Branch entirely and that he sees him a his kid.

For a while at least, he doesn't really talk about that with his brothers, as it's kind of an awkward topic but it's something that he and Brandy end up having conversations about.

They are also great with knives and good cooks!

The kids however? That’s a different story. They aren’t nearly as big and that doesn’t make nearly as much of an impact. JD is good with kids, despite his lack of being around them for quite a few years, but is shows that he is a great uncle. Like, Bruce and Floyd already knew he'd be a great uncle but he just kinda fills into that role easy.

Now, I'm not comparing Bruce's kids to animals in the sense that they are, but their size only. JD is totally okay around large animals with his wilderness and stuff so he's got virtually no qualms about rambunctious kids almost(?)/half the size of Rhonda.

And since he doesn't have to BE a parent in any sense of the world, he can absolutely be that fun uncle, teach them random things, do whatever. idk. But he ends up getting along with them pretty good however a funny thing!

JD talks about his and Branch's adventures and for the longest time the kids think that Branch is their cousin not their uncle. It takes everyone a while to catch on and realize what is happening with that lol.

All in all, he gets there with his relationships with them. I can't say he's not a little surprised that Bruce married someone so tall/giant simply due to their pasts and he may not be the best with social cues but even he can see how much they love and care about each other.

#ask #I'm still here au #I think this is the au you are referring to lol

12 notes · View notes

missshezz · 1 year

Text

Title: Grief

Summary: When the jar tips and pours out the emotions you placed inside, Rick is there to comfort you.

Rating: All Audiences

Tags: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, friendship, found family, bit of a character study, set during Rick’s time after his kidnapping

————————————————————

Whenever you saw Rick Grimes your heart bled anew.

Not because you were in love with him and there was no chance of him loving you back because he had a woman and child waiting for him, but because he reminded you of your brother, Derek.

It wasn’t their being of equal height or possessing the same lean body and sleek muscles.

Nor was it the mop of dark curls threaded with silver that crowned Rick’s head or the beard he’d forget to trim until you’d start calling him Grisly Grimes.

It wasn’t even the roll of his shoulders as he swung a shovel or axe, his slow, easy gait as he crossed the compound or the way he sat a horse.

Sure, Rick wore his gun-belt low on his hips like Derek did, favored plain white t-shirts or simple cotton button-downs, and preferred cowboy boots over sneakers or work boots.

Yes, he could be a muleheaded jackass, had a helluva temper when riled, and lacked the sense to duck a punch.

He was also kind, considerate, and compassionate.

Loyal to those who earned his trust and respect.

Rick was a born leader. People listened to him when he spoke. Followed him without question.

Asked his advice on matters. Worked alongside him because he wanted the same thing they did: a future.

All things they used to do before your sister-in-law, Charity took sick and died.

Leaving your brother to raise your niece and nephew.

Another thing he and Rick had in common.

Something you discovered while he recovered from the injuries he sustained after blowing up a bridge to stop a horde from reaching the community he had been leader of.

Like Derek, Rick had been an officer before the shit hit the fan.

Married young, had a son he lost in a tragic turn of events.

His wife died giving birth to a little girl he chose to raise as his own.

Rick got shot in the line of duty and ended up in a coma before the virus spread through the country like wildfire. He miraculously survived his injury despite the hospital collapsing before he could be medi-vac’d to the medical facility established in Washington. He went on to become the leader of a group of survivors he referred to as his family.

A family he swore he’d get back too.

They suffered an endless array of nightmares together, relying on each other to get through some dark and desperate times, and working together in order to create a future worth living.

Same as you and the people in your community.

During a severe thunderstorm he confessed his sins, admitted his failures as a father, husband, brother, and friend.

Told you he killed a whole lotta people in a war he should’ve never started.

Said he deserved to rot in hell for all the suffering he caused.

Your heart, broken still from Derek’s death, shattered further at the myriad of emotions — anger, guilt, sorrow, and loneliness most prevalent among them — carved into his face, and burning in the depths of his eyes.

Eyes the same rich shade of blue as Derek’s.

Crinkles appeared at the corners of those eyes as he smiled at something your ten-your-old niece, Faith said to him.

She was the only one who could coax a smile or laugh out of him.

Same as she could her father.

Well, you amended as Faith ran off towards her friends, before Derek took to marinating himself in the shit that passes for whiskey in this place.

That was where your brother and Rick differed.

Rick exorcised his demons by working himself pass the point of exhaustion every night.

Derek chose booze, pills, and to sleep with every woman in the camp.

Married or not didn’t matter to your brother.

Neither did Faith and Ryan.

No matter how much you begged, he refused to seek treatment for his alcoholism. Even threats to take Faith and Ryan and go to one of the other compounds fell on deaf ears.

Nothing and nobody could stop Derek.

Her brother was a massive, unmanned train on a collision course with another train.

One loaded with a ton of explosives.

Twenty innocent men died because I couldn’t figure out how to derail Derek.

Husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons.

Who hadn’t known your brother was so drunk he couldn’t see straight.

You don’t realize you’ve started crying until you feel a gentle hand on your shoulder and hear a soft, “Hey.”

You can’t bring yourself to look into Rick’s eyes.

“Thinking ‘bout your brother?”

You manage a nod.

All you can offer since the lump in your throat prevented you from doing much else.

“The hurt won’t ever go away but I promise it’ll get more bearable in time.”

You appreciated his stone cold truth over the carefully worded commiserations of the others.

You could deal with honesty.

Half-truths only made the hurt worse.

This world was cold, cruel.

All of them had suffered.

None in your mind more than Rick.

Losing a friend, sibling, parent or spouse was terrible enough.

To lose a child?

Well, that was simply unimaginable.

His son’s death would haunt Rick for the rest of his life.

For him, it was his greatest failure.

The ultimate sin.

Yours was your inability to stop your brother before he got himself and others killed.

A choked sob escaped you as the jar you stored your emotions in after Derek’s death tipped over and everything inside poured out.

Your knees buckled.

You’d have sunk to the ground if not for Rick catching hold of you before you made a real spectacle of yourself.

Not that you cared.

Grief dug raw wounds in your stomach, tore fresh holes in your soul, and shredded what little remained of your heart.

The hurt was so deep you thought you’d drown.

Not that you would.

You wouldn’t descend into the abyss like your brother did.

Faith and Ryan needed you.

You’d go on living beneath this shroud as the rain poured down, down, down.

For now, though, you’d let yourself weep.

Your head tipped forward, forehead resting against Rick’s chest as you let your tears flow free. Rick’s chest vibrated as he mumbled something. He shifted, settled you more comfortably against him, and rubbed your back in slow, soothing circles.

As Derek had done before his heart had gone hard, hard, hard.

“So-sorry for cryin’ on your shoulder,” you managed once the choking sobs stopped.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it.” Rick produced a rag from his pocket that he handed to you. “It’s clean.”

You take it with a soft, “Thanks.”

He stayed as you wiped the tears away, not saying anything, but letting you know he was there if you needed him.

As you stood together under the dark clouds that gathered during your breakdown, you realized you might not be in love with Rick Grimes but you did love him.

As a brother.

One you decided to help get back to his family.

No matter what.

#the walking dead #the walking dead fanfiction #rick grimes #rick grimes x reader #walking dead fanfiction #rick grimes fanfiction #flashing gif #animated gif #Scorp writes fanfiction

53 notes · View notes

annelise-draws · 7 months

Text

OC-Tober Day 5: Relationships

A day late and I wanted to do my other collab children with Vafalls, but this was already crowding too many characters into one pic and there are so many AUs there, as tends to happen with characters you've had for over a decade. So here are my collab children with @carolmaclaine. Transcript and details under cut!

Isidore:

to Cassis: You make me feel alive again. (He's super gushy about Cassis. He will wax poetic for days. He hates everything about himself but Cassis loving him is a constant surprise and a reason to keep on...living? He doesn't know if he should call it that)

to Viorica: She's nice, but her taste in men... yuck. (He likes Viorica fine enough, but the fact that she's attracted to Johann, one of his least favorite people, makes him respect her a little less)

to Eloise: Younger sister, my ride-or-die. (Due to the lack of parental affection in their childhood, they're very close. Around the time he was banned from the lavish balls his father would throw, she'd take breaks and sneak him petit fours and wine so she could commiserate with him. Also distract her father and guards while he would go shag some knights.)

to Marcel: Younger brother. We aren't that close. (Sadly... they're not. There's nearly a 20 year age gap between them, but he harbors no ill feelings towards the guy.)

to Johann: I'm gonna get your brother pregnant. (He likes to mess with Johann. Given that Johann was sort of his boss when he was resurrected and tried to arrest Cassis and have him stolen back and constantly referred to Isidore as a monster/freak/thing, Isidore does not have much warm feelings towards him.)

Cassis:

to Isidore: Aww! I love you too! (He's not entirely sure how to deal with Isidore's self-depreciation, but he really loves the guy and he feels lucky to have him in his life. He wants to help him out as best as he can.)

to Viorica: Former student! So proud of her! (Viorica wasn't particularly interested in the subjects he was teaching, but took one of his classes on a whim. The two developed a friendship, and she was there to patch up his hand when he blew it off.)

to Tisane: Little guy! (He's a little guy)

to Eloise: Sister-in-law? She's so nice. :) (Nothing particularly interesting here! They're both sweeties haha)

to Marcel: Nerdy little nephew, aww... (Even though Marcel is technically his brother-in-law, the large age difference makes him seem more like a nephew. Marcel is interested in academia, and he likes talking to Cassis about magical studies.)

to Johann: Older Brother! So cool! (Despite everything his brother has done, he still loves him. They were close in their childhoods, and he has always respected and looked up to him.

Viorica:

to Isidore: I'm glad Cassis found somebody. (Cassis had... quite a reputation of getting dumped a lot when he was a professor. She thinks Isidore's a good fit for him, even if he can be a bit of pain in the ass.)

to Cassis: Former Professor, I owe him a lot. (Cassis being openly queer helped her to realize she was trans, which is what helped them become friends.)

to Tisane: My son! (Tisane cannot be released back in to the wild due to the fact that he is practically toothless. Viorica loves him and he loves her u v u)

to Eloise: Great friend! (On account of being the Only Women Here, she likes to hang out with Eloise to get away from the dudes. Sometimes she feels a little embarrassed with how much Elle spoils her, but that's how she shows her love...)

to Johann: Be kinder to yourself. (A big reason for their relationship is that Johann has neglected his well-being after an injury that ruined his knight career, which she helped him take care of and recover. He still beats himself up for not being as strong as he used to be, but this is the only Johann he's ever met, and she loves him regardless!)

Eloise:

to Isidore: I know your murder was an inside job and I will avenge you. (She was... really shaken up by his murder. Finding out that he wasn't as dead as previously discovered was great, but his his memory being a little shoddy her revenge had to wait. Still, he's incredibly important to her, and she's glad he's back in her life.)

to Cassis: My brother is lucky to have you! (She loves this guy! And she's glad that Isidore finally has the opportunity to be openly in love with a man.)

to Viorica: Bestie! (As said earlier, they like to hang out! She spoils Viorica, who is used to roughing it up in the wilderness, with nice clothes and nights on the town and spa days. Vi gets a little overwhelmed with this, but she never had much of an opportunity to wear fancy dresses before...)

to Tisane: Cute!!! (Viorica will bring him over for girls nights and after a few glasses of wine they usually end up dressing him in cute outfits. He does not like this, but he allows them...)

to Marcel: Protective. (After Isidore's murder, she's been pretty protective over him. Understandably so!)

to Johann: He's nicer than he looks. (Johann was a frequent hire for her father's parties. She spoke to him while his facial scars were pretty new, and they struck a friendship. She thinks it's a funny coincidence that their brothers are dating.)

Johann:

to Isidore: YOU WILL NOT [impregnate my brother]. (VIORICA TOLD HIM THAT THIS WAS NOT MEDICALLY POSSIBLE!!! STOP SAYING THAT!!! Their relationship is strained thanks to all of their former church baggage, and also the fact that Johann is a Good Fantasy Catholic Boy and Isidore is so relentlessly horny for his brother that it makes him really uncomfortable.)

to Cassis: You forgive me too easily. (He really does. Johann doesn't like how quickly Cassis has forgiven him for being a shitty brother, to the point where he's happy that Isidore is at least a bit abrasive. Also, he doesn't think Cassis should emphasize how much older he is;;; there's only a six month difference between them!)

to Viorica: I don't deserve you. (He's never been in a serious relationship before, so Viorica's presence in his life has been life-changing. He loves her, and he feels so lucky to have someone as smart and patient as her helping him out.)

to Tisane: Quit biting holes into my socks. (He will not. Tisane is a menace.)

to Eloise: A good friend with a terrible brother (not Marcel). (As stated earlier, Eloise would talk with him during parties, something he was not used to but thankful for. He didn't know Isidore at the time, thanks to his usual banning from the party floor, but he was horrified to learn that such a kind lady has such a menace for a brother.

#oc-tober #bweirdoctober

12 notes · View notes

cypriathus · 1 month

Text

Here are my versions of Kokabiel and Yeqon!

WARNING: There is a brief mention of copulation.

Koscharubiel is a fallen virtue with strong inclination towards nurturing and a well-needed optimistic outlook on life. He prefers to avoid the affair of humans and Ufrajozlens as the potential intensity of their situations stresses him out quickly. He’s marked by impartiality, honesty, and child-like wonder, fascinated by the natural that surrounds him. He often loses himself in beautiful and peaceful moments, trying to soak in all of the tranquillity without interference. After his fall from grace, he longs to return back to Eylvhraszokjumni, forgoing all worldly concerns.

Koscharubiel is 8 ft (243.84 cm) with a rectangular mesomorphic body type that has an average musculature, sloping shoulders, a slightly swollen belly, and prominent thighs. He has smooth snow-white skin with silvery purple stretch marks on his upper arms, belly, and thighs. His eyes are often closed as they’re a blinding golden light and the freckles on his face, neck, chest, and hands are like orange stars. He has a shoulder-length mop of messy hair with slight waves and a gradient of sunflower, red-violet, and blue chill. His iridescent wings are a stunning gradient of green, blue, and violet with a few standout bronze-hued feathers. He possesses a large eight-handled wheel that continuously rotates behind his head, which is branded in rose gold. He wears a rippling cyan skirt with silver tassels and blotches of gold-brown, yellow-orange, and purplish-burgundy, reaching to his mid-calves. He dons a velvety dusky red waistband with a blazing comet of opaque blue and pearly white that encircles it. Koscharubiel also has anklets and armlets of rose gold with seven yellowish-red stars on each one.

As a virtue, he’s able to induce miracles and strengthen the faith of mortals in the Hirczalotepus Tejasozuri. He’s the only son that possesses abnormal strength, endurance, and stamina that’s very similar to his father’s. Koscharubiel has total control over the four elements, motion, stars, planets, and moons, and possesses undeniable knowledge about astrology and astronomy. He can see the lives and affairs of all sentient beings and perceive the world on many different planes of existence.

FAMILY:

Semujozrinkha (biological father)

Unnamed Angel of the Dawn (biological mother)

Yhamuzosiel (adoptive mother)

Aftmelokhivus (adoptive father)

Yekihojan (twin brother)

Luxaszofer (younger brother)

Belszarvodi (sister-in-law)

Ezlaphorius (nephew)

Äbhiszelondur (nephew)

Blesaphongur (niece)

ALIASES/NICKNAMES:

Angel of the Constellations and Eight Planets

FUN FACTS/EXTRA INFORMATION:

He’s aromantic

As an Æylphitus, his name means “star of god”.

He’s a full virtue despite his father having cherub genes

His fall from grace was a result of him sharing forbidden knowledge about the stars and planets to humans.

He commands an army of 365,000 angels and demons

Yekihojan is a fallen cherub-virtue hybrid who’s overly self-confident about his mental and physical capabilities that it annoys other people. He doesn’t seem to be aware and concerned about what’s currently happening around him. He’s marked by an eager desire to investigate and learn new or unfamiliar topics, but he lacks mindful attention and a good memory. He’s extremely energetic and happy, constantly doing enjoyable things that personally excite him. In order to spread some fun, he utilises his good sense of humour and plays harmless pranks on people.

Yekihojan is 7’ 6” (228.6 cm) with a trapezoidal ectomorphic body type with broad shoulders, a square chest, and upper arms that carry some of his weight. His unblemished, rough skin is pallid and his eyes are a sunburst butterscotch-vermillion with flecks of green. He has sunset orange lips, jagged ice blushing on his cheeks, temples, and nose bridge, and feline violet eggplant eyeshadow. His wings are a gradient of brown-purple, burgundy-red, iridescent pink, and yellowish-white with a bronze sheen. He wears a silver waist girdle with a golden crescent centrepiece, purple deadly nightshade, and breadseed poppies. He dons a periwinkle silk loros with embroidered red-violet and pinkish-white camellias, and an ankle-length linen tunic of glossy Marian blue. Yekihojan also has a long gold and amethyst-adorned pallium, silver anklets, and a simple halo of blue holy flames.

He can induce miracles, control the elements and motion, and generate lightning and thunder by flapping his wings. He has cosmic awareness, omnipresence, an indomitable will, and the ability to generate fire and light through singing hymns and praying. He possesses otherworldly strength, endurance, and stamina that has slight improvements over his younger brother’s. He has manipulative control over witchcraft, the foraging of metal and gold, fornication, temptations, guardianship, and femininity.

FAMILY:

Semujozrinkha (biological father)

Unnamed Angel of the Dawn (biological mother)

Yhamuzosiel (adoptive mother)

Aftmelokhivus (adoptive father)

Koscharubiel (twin brother)

Luxaszofer (younger brother)

Belszarvodi (sister-in-law)

Ezlaphorius (nephew)

Äbhiszelondur (nephew)

Blesaphongur (niece)

ALIASES/NICKNAMES:

Angel of the Wicked Arts

FUN FACTS/EXTRA INFORMATION:

He’s bisexual

As an Æylphitus, his name means “he shall rise”.

He fell from Eylvhraszokjumni because he taught humanity witchcraft and how to forage metal and gold. He also partook in sexual relations with them.

He’s good friends with Kasvedolun and Äzosubhel

3 notes · View notes

wren-phoenix-sideblog · 2 months

Text

Making a separate post about this poll cause I need to vent about this. Tw: talks of experiences with death, emotions, and lack of

I need to rant about my emotions when people die because it feels like I have a very different experience than others. For me there has only one death that I have cried over.

When my grandmother died I was expecting the news. Even though this was my first experience with a loved one dying, I grieved the loss well before it happened because I hadn't seen her in years and even if I had she would not have recognized me because of her medical ossues, I was not sad because I knew her time was up.

When my grandfather had a heart attack a few months later, that was the time I cried. He seemed so healthy even if he was very old. I was only in middle school and my neices and nephews had only met their great grandfather once. And the thing with this death was that it felt so sudden, especially after the loss of my grandmother. So I cried, but after a day if crying I just accepted that he was gone.

The other death I've had in my family is the one that really messed me up because I felt nothing. It was when my sister in law passed away last August. I barely know my brother, he moved out well before I could remember anything, and his time in the military to escape my parents left me with very few ties to him, and even less ties to his wife and kids. So I felt bad that someone had lost something l, but the loss wasn't personal for me and I couldn't mourn because I had nothing to mourn.

And I think this is what confuses me. I can be sad and cry about harm being done to people, about the oppresion of people based on gender identity, race, ability,or any other reasons people have to hate. I can be enraged about stories of people who died because of bigotry. But to cry over an individual death, it has to be close to me and unexpected. And I feel like that is not normal for a lot of people so it confuses me.

6 notes · View notes

sketching-shark · 2 years

Note

I don't remember where I saw this interpretation for JTTW, but I love the idea that Erlang Shen admired Sun Wukong as much as he was terrified by the way he lived as who he was instead of fitting in. Which is part of why their bond frayed.

And now I'm imagining that Erlang Shen in LMK would be both relieved and unconsciously disappointed in Sun Wukong's changes.

It's great that he's stopped using violence as solution for every problem. But.

Where is the monkey who didn't care what others thought about him? Where's the refreshing bluntness? Where's the mischief?

His (initial?) lack of understanding is ironic.

aaaaaaAAAAAAAA anon there is SO much potential for both emotional and physical conflict between Erlang Shen and Sun Wukong precisely BECAUSE as you pointed out here they seem to (almost) exist in completely opposite sides of the spectrum in terms of their relationship towards heaven.

Now as per usual I need to note that I'm note Chinese, didn't grow up in the culture these figures came from, and am still quite ignorant in terms of the nuances and full picture of the stories concerning both Yang Jiang and the Quitian Dasheng. That said, from what I DO know one of the interesting facets about Erlang Shen is that he, as a demigod, began his story by basically having his existence declared illegal by the Jade Emperor who then had Erlang Shen's human father and older brother killed and his goddess mother Princess Yaoji (the Jade Emperor's own sister) trapped under a mountain in punishment for falling in love with a mortal. Yet in spite of this (and I apologize in advance for not knowing HOW exactly he arrived at this position) Erlang Shen somehow ended up in the position of Heaven's greatest and most loyal warrior god, in charge of enforcing heavenly law and so dedicated to this cause that he was willing to do the exact same thing to his nephew Chen Xiang that was done to him by his own uncle the Jade Emperor (that is, killing Chen Xiang's mortal father & imprisoning his goddess mother, Erlang Shen's own sister Yang Chan, under a mountain).

So given that the war god is THIS dedicated to upholding Heaven's law, you can completely understand why he would be at odds with Sun Wukong, who not only challenged Heaven itself and the Jade Emperor specifically (there's a whole passage dedicated to the Monkey King proclaiming he wouldn't stop his havoc until the Jade Emperor was deposed and he was made the ruler of Heaven instead). And yet as you indicated there is a real chance, given his history, that Erlang Shen would hold a grudging admiration, and perhaps even some envy, for this monkey man who he knew as a yaoguai audacious enough to feel he didn't need to change a thing about himself to be a member of Heaven's court, who always spoke his mind, and whose love of his family was always a core motivation for his actions. Sun Wukong was a warlord and a self-confessed murderer many times over, but I honestly can't imagine him ever, EVER intentionally harming a member of his monkey family. Hell, the whole reason he accepted the invitation to Heaven in the first place was to see if he could find a way for all his monkeys to live up there as well, and when he wasn't given the respect he felt he was owed the Monkey King was perfectly happy to leave the splendor of Heaven and go back down to Earth to live there among his family (after wreaking a divine banquet, of course). So yes Sun Wukong is like the opposite of Erlang Shen and they are understandably often presented as natural enemies, but I can definitely imagine the war god being secretly jealous of the monkey king for not just his willingness to fight against a heaven he sees as completely in the wrong (even though doing so cost Sun Wukong close to everything), but for having a loving family who frequently begged him to stay with them (in contrast to Erlang Shen, who's family seems to be either dead, existing in a emperor-soldier dynamic, or not speaking to him).

So if they were to include Erlang Shen in the lego show, I can easily imagine him being as you indicated pretty pleased that Sun Wukong isn't quick to violence any more. As Heaven's supreme soldier he might even be tempted to rub the monkey king's face in his failures ("Well that's what you get for challenging Heaven, dumb ape"). But I can also seem it coming as a shock to the war god to interact with a Sun Wukong who has become in many ways the exact opposite of the hypercomptetent and mega-popular warlord that he once was. Like sure his image his everywhere, but that's more related to Sun Wukong as an abstract character rather than Sun Wukong the actual individual. And unlike he was in his pre-Journey life, lego SWK is in many ways completely alone and kind of going out of his way to ensure that he'll remain as such, especially since he seems more than willing to accept and believe that everything bad is indeed his fault and that he needs to hold everyone from a distance because if he doesn't then of course he'll get them hurt. There's not even any monkey yaoguai on Flower-Fruit Mountain, and in Monkie Kid SWK has given 0 indication that he's ever tried to look for them in spite of how much he loved them in JTTW.

So if the Monkey King of Monkie Kid is supposed to be the "tamed" and improved post-Journey version but he's in many ways much more sad and lonely and even "dumber" than he used to be, well, I can see that being very discomfiting to Erlang Shen. On one hand it might just confirm in his mind all over again that going against Heaven's will is always a very bad thing (as seen in Exhibit A 'Everyone Understandably Hates Me and Every Decision I Make Is A Bad One' Sun Wukong) but on the other hand...does that mean that all that pain, all that suffering, all that violently enforced obedience to the will of others is completely good? Is the agony of failing and losing and failing and losing time after time again all for a greater purpose? Is squeezing yourself into behaviors where you never even think to speak your true mind or even try to make connections outside of a mandated circle always for the best, given these results?

Maybe seeing what the monkey king has become would make Erlang Shen start wondering if he himself is in some ways as broken as the former Quitian Dasheng.

#anon answered #sun wukong #journey to the west #monkey king #jttw #monkie kid #xiyouji #erlang shen

45 notes · View notes

hurremshiv · 2 years

Text

Mehmet deserved better (because yes, I‘m still salty about this)

I feel like the way Mehmet’s death was handled was one of the worst things in the show. And it’s because the writers wanted to have their cake and eat it too. They wanted to have Hürrem to be sympathetic enough so that her killing Mustafa wouldn’t make her irredemable. So they threw Mahidevran under the bus. But they also wanted Hürrem to be the bad guy who is responsible for her children’s deaths because of her paranoia and ambition. So they threw her under the bus too.

The first issue was that Mehmet was treated more as a tool for the character arcs of others than a character in his own right. This can be seen in how his relationships with Hürrem, Mustafa and Mihrimah are treated by the show. His relationship with Hürrem is more than anything else about her fears and paranoia for his safety. It’s not about him. His relationship with Mustafa is about what a good person Mustafa is and Mustafa’s Main Character Angst about being replaced by his younger brother. It’s not about Mehmet as a person. And his relationship with Mihrimah is about the evolution of her political awareness and involvement in ‘the games’ and schemes. The show cares about how he affects those around him more than it cares about him.

The show seriously downplayed the fratricide law. Especially when it came to the risk that it posed to Hürrem’s kids in particular. When Mehmet becomes the favourite son and he and Mustafa discuss the fratricide law, it’s not really written to be about the implications that it has for their relationship as two brothers who care about each other but have to contend with the existence of a law by that by necessity pits their lives against each other. Mehmet is characterised as innocent and naive. But the main purpose of that is to showcase Mustafa’s characterisation. It’s meant to drive home what a good and noble brother Mustafa is for promising to protect his brother. And completely ignoring the fact that as much as he wants to, he is very unlikely to be able to keep that promise. And the tension in this scene is about Mustafa’s angst at being replaced as his father’s favourite rather than an awkward tension between brothers who care about but represent a risk to each other. The nuance, context and potential interesting character work here is lost in favour of building up Mustafa at Mehmet’s expense.

Mehmet’s interaction with Barbarossa is odd. Its main purpose is to build up this idea of a prosperous future for the empire with great conquests. Not only is this imperialist message deeply problematic for various reasons, but there is an odd lack of tension. Barbarossa seems hopeful and ambitious for Mehmet’s future. And while it reinforces the show’s heroisation of the military, it conceals something. There is a lack of tension in this scene. Barbarossa is Mustafa’s right hand man. And so while it makes sense for him to be acting proud of Mehmet, for him to be genuinely supportive of his potential future makes no sense. Especially given the existence of the fratricide law. Mehmet’s best interests, or even his life, are not Barbarossa’s priority. And the show did not acknowledge this.

But it isn’t just Barbarossa, the entire Dynasty seem to completely ignore the fact that the fratricide law exists. For someone who does genuinely have a caring side to her and clearly loves her nephews, when Süleyman is sick Hatice decides to support Mustafa’s potential succession with shocking ease. Even though she should know what it means will happen to her other nephews. I don’t blame Hatice so much as I blame the writers for overlooking this.

The only person who takes the threat to Mehmet’s life seriously is Hürrem. And she ends up being framed as silly and paranoid for doing so. Even though her fears are entirely legitimate. I’m still unsure where Ibrahim pretending to kill him sits in terms of meant to be read as him being an arsehole and gaslighting her or ‘epically owning’ her. When she’s scared for his safety if he’s going to a sanjak, it comes off that she’s a paranoid and toxic parent wrapping him up in cotton wool. It doesn’t read that we’re meant to see her as worried about a serious life-or-death decision for the future of her son. Because him being sent to Amasya is very likely a death sentence. The show gets this when it comes to Mahidevran’s reaction to Mustafa’s exile to Amasya, but it isn’t acknowledged when it comes to Hürrem’s motivation for wanting Mehmet to go to Manisa. The nearest we get is Mihrimah telling him ‘Now that I’m a mother I understand why she does what she does.’ And while you can read it as implied here, the show never openly acknowledges that if he goes to Amasya, he is at significantly greater risk of dying because of the fratricide law. And that that’s probably why Hürrem wants him in Manisa instead where his position is probably safer as heir to the throne. It’s much easier to read it as ‘You know how hysterical mothers are when it comes to their kids’ and leave it at that. This does the nuance and context of the situation a lot of disservice.

Mahidevran was thrown under the bus. One of the reasons why Mehmet’s death happpened like that is in order to make Hürrem killing Mustafa more understandable as an act of revenge. This is problematic since the historical Mahidevran didn’t kill Mehmet. It makes Mahidevran less sympathetic than she should be in season 4. Which is a problem.

The way the show blames Hürrem for his death is unfair. Overall the narrative presented comes off that it was her paranoia and ambition that killed Mehmet. Because she couldn’t be happy to just send him to Amasya. And it isn’t helped by the fact that the audience is supposed to agree with Mustafa when he tells her that Mehmet’s death was a just punishment for sending Mustafa to Amasya. Yes it was unfair from Mustafa’s perspective, but the show views this primarily from his perspective. Not really that acknowledging to the same degree that Hürrem has her own kids whose interests and safety she has to fight for. Instead of ‘the actions both women are understandable because they’re trying to protect their sons’, it comes off that ‘as bad as what Mahidevran does is, it’s Hürrem who’s truly in the wrong.’ The show seems to acknowledge that risk and the fratricide law when it comes to Mustafa, but less so for Hürrem’s kids. So Hürrem is less presented as a morally grey person trying to protect her children from death than she is a wicked stepmother persecuting and oppressing Mustafa. And Mehmet is used as a tool for this purpose.

#şehzade mehmet #magnificent century #el sultán #muhteşem yüzyıl #mehmetposting

16 notes · View notes

little-writing-drabbles · 2 years

Text

☆٭Building Blocks٭☆

Ask: N/A

Genre: × reader

Word count: 8,758

Reader: gender neutral

TW: N/A

A/N: I genuinely hate how long it took me to finish this, like I had the majority of it done it just needed to finish a few things and then edit but it took me way too long :/

"Alright, so it's this one…?" You looked around at your surroundings in the neighborhood while standing outside of the house with mint-colored walls. If you remember correctly, this was your brother's house but that didn't stop you from taking a deep breath when you knocked on the door and waited for some sort of response. You had only been in Ruinwick for a day or two, the move there really did a number on you with your unpacking—or the lack thereof that is— and the search for a job wasn't easy.

You guessed that's why you've avoided moving but when push comes to shove you have to do what it is to get by. It's not like you minded it however, the small apartment you called home now was still fairly big and rather cheap compared to your old place so everything worked out.

You snapped out of your thoughts when you heard a set of footsteps make their way to the door and when it opened you were greeted with a smile. "Good morning Y/N, how are you?"

"Good, a little tired because of the flight but I'll live"

"Well come in, sorry I left you out in the cold" She moved to the side and you stepped into their home and stood by the door awkwardly as the women closed the door. You looked around the house casually, it was very nice looking even with the toys and loose papers scattered around. "Hi Y/N!" The voice of a small boy caught your ears as you looked down to see the smiling child.

"Hey, buddy!" You called out to your nephew but he simply laughed and ran off again and you smiled to yourself.

"Y/N did you have breakfast?”

"Oh yeah I did thank you" You lied to her, you didn’t have breakfast today but you couldn’t tell her that. She was always nice enough to offer you something to eat but the voice in your head stopped you from accepting what she offered. Not because of some outstanding reason like she was weird or past drama but just because she already seemed busy as she frantically ran around her kitchen."Is Giovanni home, or did he leave already"

She stopped dead in her tracks as she thinks for a moment “actually, " she turned to you with a concerned face and tapped the table with her fingers "I don't know"

"You don't know?" Her confusion made you want to laugh a little bit, sure your brother was prone to walking away when you weren’t looking but if he left the house surely she or even her son would have noticed. "You don't remember hearing or seeing him leave?" You decided to bring up what was on your mind, there was no way she didn’t notice.

"no no no he's here but where?"

"Y/N you’re here!" You and the woman that your brother called his wife turned to the flight of stairs to see your brother coming down them, all dressed up in a suit. He made it to the ground floor and walked over to you and gave you a bear hug and you stayed unmoving, you would have hugged back if you could move your arms. "Glad you came by"

"I'm glad I woke up in time" You covered your mouth as you yawned "I'm still really tired" upon hearing that comment, your sister-in-law smiled sadly.

"You didn't have to help, you could have just stayed home and slept"

"I could have but I decided against it, it's not like it's hard to drop Buddy off at preschool either"

“I guess so” the three of you turned to look at Buddy who was playing with his toys in the living room. Your sister-in-law tilts her head to the side while watching and lets a comment slip past her lips. “He’s just like Maxwell” You and Giovanni look at the woman standing in between the two of you in surprise. You looked at your brother who gave his wife a bitter look before turning and grabbing his things from the table behind him and walking towards the door saying ‘I’m already running late’.

You said nothing in response and just looked around awkwardly as your sister-in-law continued to admire her child, only returning to a smile when she turned to you. It made you uncomfortable to hear Maxwell’s name again, especially when it was her saying it but you said nothing in that regard as she gave Buddy a kiss on the head and made her way to the door. “Wait, what about after school? I can't just leave him here”

“We hired a babysitter who will show up here a little bit after you do, so just wait for her and she’ll take it from there” She left with a wave and you looked at the semi-made lunch she had left on the table and you decided to finish it and put it away in Buddy’s lunch bag. Silently you placed Buddy’s backpack on the table and looked through it to make sure he had everything he needed.

“Don’t forget this” You heard him call out and hand you a child-sized water bottle that was already empty. You could tell by the way he was breathing he had downed the water so you could fill it up.

“Ok, thank you Buddy” you laughed before going to fill up his water bottle with cold water from the fridge. Walking back towards him you placed his lunch bag and water bottle in his backpack before going towards the door “Ready?” Buddy pulled the velcro strap on his shoe down tightly and smiled.

“Ready” with that, you set off with your nephew.

You and Giovanni had talked prior to your move to Ruinwick about how small the town was and you didn’t really believe him until now. The crude directions to the school he had given you seemed nothing more than just an exaggerated way of showing how small the town was but after following them just you realized he wasn’t joking. Taking a left turn, a right turn, going past a small gas station and another left and there you were, parked outside of the small building. You wouldn’t comment on it.

You hopped out of your car and went over to Buddy’s side and helped him out and handed him his backpack which he happily placed on his back. You followed him as he walked and your eyes landed on a rather young boy that seemed to be around your age, it was the strangest thing you've ever seen but he was technically an educator right? You didn't have many teacher friends and you always assumed preschool teachers were older ladies.

“Oh, are you a new parent?” You snapped out of your thoughts when you had made it to the door and the teacher spoke to you.

“Not exactly, this is my nephew”

“Ah I see so you’re a member of Giovanni's family, are you dropping him off this one time or,”

“Nope, I’m gonna do drop off and pick up since my brother and his wife cant”

“I get it, work gets in the way and other things” He stretched out his hand to you while smiling and you took it, giving it a good shake. “I’m Ollie, the teacher”

“Ollie huh” He looked at you stunned for a second after you let go of each other's hands, no one has questioned his name before and this took him off guard slightly. Ollie rubbed his neck slightly, giving you an awkward smile. “I’m Y/N”

Ollie looked off to the side a little and mumbled something under his breath before fixing his jacket and giving you a smile. "Anyways it was very nice to meet you” You both stood still for a second as Ollie greeded Buddy and ushered him inside and turned to say something to you but instead yelped a little when a child, with long and deep green hair, ran up to Ollie and hugged his leg.

Ollie looked down at the child and placed his hand on their head and gave it a small pat. "Oh hello, did you want to greet the parents with me today?" The child didn’t move and simply looked up at you and your jumped slightly. Their red eyes sent an uncomfortable shiver down your spine and the black sclera that surrounded the iris gave them another worldly look. “Sorry this is Vruidru, but I call him Rue, he's a little shy sometimes”

“Oh, yeah no worries,” Rue made you curious and a sinking feeling placed itself in your gut and you debated asking Ollie about it. "Ollie? why are his eyes so…" You motioned to the whites of your eyes and Ollie looked at you confused, as if he didn't see the discoloration. "You know, the while part of his eyes are, well not white, their black" Ollie glanced down at Rue for a second before scratching his head awkwardly.

"Ah that," You kept your eyes glued on Rue and he had no issue in staring back at you with a cold gaze that wasn't normal in other children. Rue quickly got bored and looked around for something to entertain himself,never letting go of Ollie's leg. "Well, it's nothing you need to worry about, I can assure you that they are completely healthy" You nodded slightly and stepped aside when you heard other kids run up to or walked past Ollie and went inside. "I'll see you when class is over Y/N"

You jumped a little and waved slightly to Ollie who walked inside with Rue. You dragged your eyes down to the child and gulped slightly when you saw Rue giving you a nasty glare. You can help but feel something off about him but you shake the feeling off and go home to unpack. Even then you couldn't shake off the dreadful feeling and you couldn't focus, you wanted some sort of answer, some children can be a little creepy but not to this extent. You wanted to hang out with Ollie after work, he seemed nice and you genuinely wanted some friends.

Once the time came around, you drove yourself back to the preschool to pick up Buddy and you walked inside to get him. Your eyes landed on Ollie immediately, he was sitting on the floor with rue and you heard the familiar laugh of your nephew as he ran up to you and you crouched to meet his eye level. He held out a piece of paper to you, showing off his drawing "Wow it's so good! Did you pick all the colors yourself?"

Buddy nods. "Yeah"

"It's very pretty, your mom and dad are gonna love it"

"Do you think so?"

"Yeah I do" You stood up again when you saw Ollie walking towards you with a smile on his face. "thanks for taking care of him"

"Oh it's no problem, he's a joy to be around" You smiled and looked behind Ollie a little bit and you noticed Rue coming up to Ollie and watched him hug his leg again, his glare sticking into you again. Ollie didn't acknowledge the glaring "he was really excited that you moved nearby, he wouldn't stop talking about it" You laughed.

"I guess he beat me to it, I was gonna bring it up this morning but I didn't" Ollie nods his head as he pet Rue's head again and it didn't take long before Rue tried to pull Ollie back to the foam building blocks they were messing with and you called out to Ollie before he was pulled away "oh Ollie, I wanted to ask if you wanted to hang out?" Both Ollie and Rue look surprised at your question and Rue whined a little, pulling on Ollie's hand again. "I mean I'm new around town and I didn't know who else to ask"

Ollie tilted his head a little bit and his eye brows knit together as he thought about it. "uhm… " He trails off and looks down at Rue for a second before looking back at you, his smiles returning to his face. "yeah why not, I have to be here until the other kids are picked up so, why don't you meet me in the town square?" Rue whined louder as he continued to pull on Ollie's arm to get him to move but Ollie wasn't budging. "you know where it is right?"

"yeah, I saw it briefly" You were excited now, you had something to look forward to besides unpacking and this could be your chance to ask about Rue. You couldn't lie to yourself either, you did find Ollie kind of cute. "So I'll meet you there then?"

"Yep" Ollie spoke happily before right you going on his knees and Rue climbed onto his back and Ollie stood up again. "I'll see you soon then" Ollie turned to his head to the side while Rue whispers into Ollie's ear "alright alright I'm going" Ollie began making plane noises with his mouth while walking around for Rue while others kids continued to play with the toys that were scattered around and you left with your nephew.

"Let's take you home and wait for the babysitter, alright?" You take your nephew home and hang out with him for a bit while you wait for the babysitter to arrive before going home to change. You were dressed in sweats and a large t-shirt and you didn't want to go out looking like that.

After changing, you made your way by foot to the town square and sat on a bench while you waited for Ollie, checking the time every few seconds. Although you two never set a time nor did either of you exchange numbers, a part of you kept telling you he wouldn't arrive even if Ollie didn't seem to be the type to not show up to things. You opted to look around, the small square buzzing with life from all around, stores were full and small food stands were pulling you in by their smell.

While looking around you finally spotted Ollie walking towards you from afar and you stood up to meet him. You waved at him and little to confirm that he saw you and he waved back, calming your nerves. You drop your gaze downward and you notice the familiar dark green color of hair that belonged to Rue and your walking comes to a halt. Ollie had brought Rue along on what you considered to be a date. You kept the smile on your face as they got closer. "Sorry for being late, rue took a nap and I lost track of time"

"I thought, rue was getting picked up like the other kids"

"oh, I'm Rue's caretaker" Ollie rubbed his neck shyly and you were slightly stunned but you had already deduced that since it is the afternoon. "I'm sorry I should have mentioned it before now, you probably wanted it to just be me and you huh" Ollie felt bad for not mentioning it sooner, his sour mood all over his face and you shrugged to lighten the mood.

"I would have liked that but it's alright, I don't mind" This wasn't fine, you had to be honest with yourself and you weren't really ok with having Rue around, but you're not about to cancel today because of a child, besides, how bad could it be? “Hello Rue" You waved to the small child and smiled warmly.

Rue looked up at you and glared before blowing a raspberry at you and Ollie tugs on his arm slightly to get the boy to look at him. "hey don't do that"

"no it's alright" Ollie looks at you surprised, most adults would have been offended or even angry. "children don't really uhm…like me" Ollie stared at you blankly before laughing a little and a nervous feeling settled in your gut.

"I doubt that" Ollie began walking down the square and motioned you to walk with him and you followed him, matching his pace. "Kids tend to befriend everyone" Ollie quickly glanced down at Rue who was walking happily and looking around at the open shops for anything that caught his eye. "Except Rue, they don't really like anyone"

You rolled your eyes and buried your hands into your pockets "yeah I can see that" you swam in your thoughts for a second "but if Rue doesn't like anyone, what do you do while working?" Ollie hums as he searches his head for a proper response.

"I'm pretty sure he just tolerates other kids, I mean they don't really" Ollie slowed his walking as he looked down at Rue, his concentration being evident on his face "care?"

"He doesn't care? You say it like a question" Ollie sighed as he continued walking.

"I don't know if I'm honest, he just does whatever it is he wants" You think for a second and let the answer stir in your head before asking another question.

"So, why are you Rue's caretaker?"

Ollie didn't really understand your question "Because he needs someone to take care of him?"

"I mean" A bold question popped into your head and you decided to ask but needed to word it properly. Ollie had a thousand thoughts running through his head, each one taking a stab at his worries but he kept a straight face as he walked, the last thing he wanted was to alert you of anything suspicious. "Where are his parents?" Ollie stops for a second and looks at you with a blank expression with no emotions behind his eyes. Rue notices the lack of movement and looks up at Ollie worried before glaring at you.

"Rue's dad is a businessman, always traveling" Ollie smiles and keeps walking casually and you couldn't ignore an off feeling bubbling in your chest. Something was off about his answer, it was too simple, if that's what it always was, why did he take so long to answer you? "Anyways," Ollie looked away from you while he changed the subject "What made you move to Ruinwick?"

"It's cheap, really"

"Yeah I get that" Ollie didn't seem too surprised "can I assume it was to get away from city life and just enjoy the small-town style?" yep, he's definitely heard this before.

"Well that and family is here, kind of. My brother lives here and told me about a house down his street that was renting"

"Well Ruinwick is fairly small, this is the town square, this is kind of like a giant outside mall" You nodded and looked around, dragging your eyes over anything and Ollie felt awkward now, he's not typically the designated tour guide for new folks and he didn't know what to do or say. "So what do you do for work?"

"I'm a Folkloristic, I study folklore"

Ollie's surprised and slightly worried expression caught your eye, he smiled as a weak attempt to mask his nervousness. "oh really?" Ollie regrets asking about it.

"Yeah, I'm gonna work at the university here as a professor" Ollie's strange behavior struck you as odd, he was chirpy when you met him and now he was worried, almost scared of you and you noted it in your head. "I start next week" Ollie smiles and nods before looking off to some of the stores nearby to hide his face and you go to ask him what's wrong.

Almost on cue, Rue spoke up as he pointed off into the distance "Ollie look" You and Ollie looked off to where the tiny finger was pointing and Ollie let out a relieved sigh now that your attention was no longer on him.

"Oh right, I forgot the market was gonna be around" You turned to look at Ollie, only slightly confused "Every once in a while the town will announce that a market will open in the park"

Rue jumped up and down excitedly as he tugged on Ollie's arm "can we go look? please?" Ollie looked at you for approval.

"wanna go?"

"sure"

Rue skipped excitedly as he pulled Ollie along and you laughed at the sheer strength this child had. The market was rather large, stalls and vendors sat in the shade as they sold their wears, genuine happy faces were everywhere. Ruinwick was small and you felt like you could meet the entire town here. You found it very entertaining to look around at shops and even to see the grumpy Rue looking excited to be there. "It's very witchy isn't it?" You pointed out your observation out loud as you gazed your eyes over the vendors and what they were selling. Most if not all of it depicted dark, occult things.

"yeah, Ruinwick is very uhm" Ollie thinks for a second. "We have a very colorful history, lots of local legends going around" Ollie points to one stand nearby "but then there's just, the ones who sell horror type things, I guess you could say we’re a spooky town of sorts." Rue followed Ollie's point and walked up to the stand and stood on his tippy toes, trying to look at some of the necklaces on display. Ollie laughs a little and picks Rue up into his arms to help them see better.

"Ollie can I get that one?" Rue points down to a specific pendant and Ollie agrees with his tiny friend's wishes before setting him down to finish the transaction with the vendor. You noticed the pendant's rather spooky aura and felt it strange that a child would want it.

"Rue that one's a little spooky though isn't it?" Rue looked up at you very unimpressed and didn't say anything to you. "Don't you want a prettier one?" You questioned and Rue stayed quiet as Ollie crouched down and placed the pendant around Rue's neck. Holding it in his hands for a second, Rue then looked up to meet your eyes again.

"No, I like this one, it reminds me of dad." You furrowed your eyebrows in concern as you looked down at the pendant and noticed the deep red eyes that sat in the middle of it while everything around them was a large mass of tentacles swirling and wrapping around itself.

"what?" You questioned what Rue said to you and stood up straight, looking down at Rue as if he told you something a classic horror movie child would say. Ollie heard it too and became very worried about your expression and looked around to find something to take your attention away from Rue.

"Rue, there's someone selling beef jerky, do you want some?" Rue looked over at Ollie excited and ran up to him and waited for him to point him in the right direction.

"Yeah!" Rue ran past Ollie when he showed him the beef jerky man and Ollie followed close behind him, leaving you behind for a second before you rushed to his side again. What Rue said wouldn't leave your mind, children speak of what they know, so why would he say a monster looks like his father?

"Uhm, Ollie?"

"yeah?"

"Rue just said that his pendant reminds him of his dad" Ollie faked confusion and waited for you to continue. "What did he mean by that?" Ollie tilts his head and shrugs slightly, definitely not a response anyone would ever give you. His calm and clueless demeanor would have been cute if it wasn't used in such weird ways.

"I think that means that he just sees his father as scary" Ollie handed a few bills to the food vender who gave Rue his jerky and you both watched him eat it happily. "Yet again I can't say, I don't really know" Everything about the conversation seemed a little odd but you still continued to walk with Ollie and watched Rue wandering around. You were enjoying yourself for the most part, if it wasn't for the things Rue said and Ollie's reactions– you would be having more fun. Rue was strange to you already and now Ollie started to feel strange too.

After walking around the market for what felt like a while with very minimal small talk you began to feel hungry. Your stomach growls and Ollie turns to you and hides a smile "are you hungry?"

"a little bit" You laugh a little awkwardly, you didn't expect the sound of your rumbling stomach to be so loud. "It's not a big deal though, I can handle it" Ollie shakes his head a little and laughs.

"Nonsense, I can't just let you starve now can I?" That comment didn't sit right with you after his previous reactions and you couldn't help getting a little nervous. "There's this restaurant me and Rue really like, why don't we go eat something?" Rue looks over to Ollie aggressively before pulling on his arm.

"No!"

"No? Why not? I thought you liked eating there." Rue crossed his arms and mumbled under his breath, looking away from. Ollie sighed before he crouched down to hear him better. "I'm sorry Rue I can't understand you. Can you say that louder?" Rue pouts more.

"I don't want you to take them to our place" You looked unimpressed at his request and threw your head back. You hadn't done anything to this child and he treated you like you've committed a horrible crime towards him. "I don't want them to go there" Ollie laughs a little bit as he thinks about how to negotiate with Rue.

"Well, that place has those really big chicken tenders you like" You looked down towards Ollie and smiled as he tried to negotiate with Rue. He probably does this all the time but it's impressive how smart adults are when it comes to children. "We've gone to other places and you don't like chicken tenders as much and I can't let you go hungry" Rue thinks hard about the situation. "So can I bring my new friend along?"

Rue looks at Ollie and then angrily at you before tipping his nose up at you "fine" Rue turned his back to you and Ollie and stormed off and Ollie continued following him with you walking next to him.

"I'm sorry about them Y/N" Ollie sighs a little bit as he stares at Rue to make sure he's not too far away, "It's hard to make friends if I'm honest" You stare at Ollie, his comment made you think about Rue and how he must do this to most of the people Ollie talks too that weren't parents. "I mean, I'm not even 30 yet and I'm taking care of a kid, I love him, I really care about him but, " he stops for a second before shaking his head to change the subject "never mind" Ollie rushes off and catches Rue by the hand to stop him from wandering into the street.

You stayed quiet as you followed behind the both of them and walked into the restaurant and you took the lead and asked for the table. “Just three”

“Would you like a booth or table?”

“Booth” The server grabs two menus and a kids menu before motioning for you three to follow them to a booth inside. You wanted to leave Ollie alone for the time being, you wanted him to recollect himself after his slip up and you didn't want to feel guilty for him opening up. “Can I get you guys started off with drinks today?”

“Erm, i’ll have a (preferred drink)”

Rue got into the seat first and Ollie turned to the server before sitting down “A lemonade please,” He motions down to Rue slightly, “He’ll have an apple juice” The server nods and places the menus on the table.

“Alright i’ll get those drinks for you” She walked off and Rue began coloring on the kids menu with the crayons that Ollie placed in front of him. You looked around before turning your attention back to Ollie. “So, you’re a local here, has that always been the case?” Ollie jumped, your sudden speaking spooking him but he casually brushed it off and laughed a little.

“Yeah, I’ve always lived here” Ollie visibly relaxed and leaned against the table towards you. “I'm the oldest of three, guess that's why I'm good with children” You laughed, “that’s the younger child's laugh, I know it. Is it just you and your brother?”

“Yeah basically” You bite your tongue for a second, not wanting to say too much, but you felt bad for Ollie. Remembering what he said before you all walked in and sat down. “Does it suck? Taking care of little kids all morning and still having to take care of one?” You lowered your voice in hopes that Rue didn't hear you but Rue isn’t dumb. He glared at you for your comment and Ollie rubbed his neck.

“That’s not really an appropriate question” Despite Ollie's words and his hesitation when answering, it is fairly easy to take care of Rue, but he couldn't say anything without it sounding off or making more questions. “But I have no complaints, rue does what he wants” Ollie thought of a way to explain this himself as you sat confused in front of him. “Like, if they need something, they’ll come and find me and tell me what it is what they want and then he just runs off” You nod in understanding and turn your head to look at rue, “but you don’t really wanna talk about Rue now do you."

“That’s obvious, but I don’t want to ask bold questions yet”

“Yet?”

“Well yeah, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable” Ollie hums a response and the server comes back with your drinks.

“Alright, here are your drinks,” The server places the drinks down and you keep your eyes locked on Ollie before looking down at Rue's coloring. “I’m Tanya and i’ll be your server today, what can I get started for you guys?” You looked down at the menu quickly before looking at the server who was ready to write down their order.

“Oh uhm, I’ll have (preferred food)” She nods while writing and then looks at Ollie.

“I’ll have a burger…”

“How would you like the patty cooked?”

“Uhm, medium rare” Ollie's face contorted in discomfort while the server wrote it down. “and he’ll have the chicken tenders and fries-”

“Extra crispy please!” Rue called out and the server along with Ollie laughed a little.

"what kind of side would he like with that?" Rue opened his mouth to say something but Ollie cut him off quickly.

"he'll have the veggies"

The server nods as she writes it down and takes the menus while nodding. “I’ll get that order started for you guys” She leaves and Rue looks at Ollie and pouts, crossing his arms.

"I didn't want veggies"

"You haven't eaten anything healthy this week" Rue stares at the cup of apple juice and how it's too far and Ollie takes notice, "as long as you eat two or three of them today then I'll leave you alone about it ok?" Ollie brings the cup closer to Rue and he takes a sip from the straw before Ollie moves it away again, letting Rue continue to draw.

You watch Rue draw for a while, looking at the crayon in his hands and taking a guess at what he's drawing. Rue notices your eyes on his drawing and immediately covers it with his arms and you look at Ollie unimpressed, causing him to laugh innocently.

The lack of talking between you and Ollie made the wait for your order feel like an eternity. Ollie was looking at everything and anything besides you and for the most part you were doing the same but, on occasion, you would catch Ollie staring at you before looking away awkwardly. You made him curious.

After what felt like an eternity, when in reality it had only been a few minutes, the food arrived and you began eating along with Ollie. "I see why you and Rue like this place"

"you do?"

"yeah it's really good" Ollie laughed and wiped his mouth with a napkin while you noticed that Rue hadn't started eating, he hadn't even touched his food. Ollie followed your line of sight and tilted his head at the child.

"Rue why aren't you eating?" Rue stayed silent as he pointed to the ketchup bottle.

"ketchup please" You glanced at the bottle before grabbing it and handed it to Rue and he pulled his hand away quickly "not you"

"Rue… " You looked at Ollie and he tiredly takes it from you and placed it in front of Rue "You can't be mean to Y/N forever"

"I could if you let me"

"That's not the point" You laughed a little. Despite Rue being unnecessarily mean towards you, his comment was funny.

"It's fine Ollie you don't need to tell him to stop"

"if I don't it's only going to get worse" You scoffed a little and rolled your head on your shoulders thinking Ollie was joking but by his expression you could tell he wasn't. Your brows furrowed and smile dropped before you turned to look at rue with a judging look. "Excuse me though I'll be right back" Ollie turned to rue and grabbed his arm gently. "Don't get up ok? stay here"

Rue stays quiet as he nods in understanding while Ollie gets up and walks off. You watched him walk off before losing him behind a corner, you assumed he went to go to the bathroom or to make a quick call.

You and Rue were left alone at the booth with heavy silence besides the ongoing background noise. You slowly look over to Rue only to find them staring into your skin with an angry look. You shivered slightly and went back to eating, a way for you to try and shake off Rue's gaze but it was strong.

You shifted in your seat for a while before looking down at the plate in front of you and picked at what you ordered, paying no attention to Rue who continued to stare at you. The sounds of people talking and clattering silverware took your mind off of Rue, soaking in the coziness of the small restaurant before you felt something small and slimy hit your face. You quickly looked up and once again gave Rue your attention, this time he was holding a spoon but the same deep frown and glaring eyes remained. "Did you… launch peas at me?" Rue stayed silent as they grabbed, and ate a fry before scooping up more vegetables, mostly peas and this time a carrot, onto the spoon before shamelessly launching them at you.

You hung your mouth open in disbelief at the audacity this child had, Rue was doing this on purpose for no reason that you could tell. Ollie eventually came back after a few seconds and sat down casually as if there weren't peas all over the table, he didn't seem to notice them as he gave you a smile. You darted your gaze towards Rue, who had gone back to coloring once Ollie sat down, before looking back at Ollie and nodded your head downward towards the table. He seemed confused about what you tried to tell him and he looked down and noticed the large amount of peas that were on the table and even a few that stuck themselves in your hair. "Rue, why did you do this?"

"I told you, didn't I?" Ollie looked at you confused, "Children don't really like me." Ollie huffed slightly before laughing and leaning back into the booth chair before raising his hand to rub his temples, the slight pain settling on his face. "Are you ok?" Ollie gave you a strained smile as he nodded.

"Yeah I'm alright," he sat normally again and drank some of the drink he ordered and placed his hands in his lap. "It's just a headache, it'll go away." You bit your lip slightly and accepted the answer before looking down to the food you had neglected. The rest of the time there was nice, Ollie made you feel comfortable and welcomed and even went out of his way to keep Rue from messing with you. After some time, the three of you were getting ready to leave and you thought back on your cold apartment that felt more of storage than an actual living place, the only thing you bothered setting up was your bed and a few lamps that were just on the floor.

"I don't really want to go home if I'm honest" The comment slipped past your lips and Ollie tilted his head towards you while he helped Rue onto the floor from the booth chair.

"Why?"

"I don't really like being alone" Not entirely a lie, another reason you moved to this small town was to be closer to your brother in hopes of hanging out with him. That idea seemed like nothing but a wish now as you looked out the window, "never have" You blamed Maxwell for your codependency, you both were joined at the hip when you were kids but now you were left to wander alone. Ollie thought for a second as he looked down at Rue who shook his head in disapproval, they knew what Ollie was thinking and didn't agree or like the idea at all.

"We can head back to my house if you want." You turned to Ollie with a shocked expression and you watched his face go bright red while he cleared his throat, "I mean, you don't have to but I thought…" Ollie went quiet as his head scrambled to find an answer that didn't sound creepy. "It's nice having someone to talk to… " He turned away from you, clearly embarrassed and his gaze fell to Rue.

"Ollie-"

"It's nothing, forget I said anything." Ollie spoke quietly before kneeling down to meet Rue's gaze and moved some of his hair out of the way. Rue wobbled as the small soothing action made him sleepy and rubbed his eye before nodding, clearly answering a question that Ollie had silently asked him. Ollie stood up normally and grabbed Rue's tiny hand and you grabbed his arm before he could turn away from you, the demand for attention made Ollie freeze.

"We're friends now, Ollie, you don't need to feel so embarrassed." Ollie didn't look at you and instead just kept his attention on Rue who started leaning against him for support, "Let's go back to your place, it'll be nice to talk to you without another set of ears." You stood up and Ollie laughed at the comment and nodded before scooping Rue into his arms motioned for you to follow him out and onto the streets. The walk back to Ollie's place was quiet, crickets and frogs were chatterboxes compared to you both but you didn't mind. You spent your time looking around the street and to your surprise, you recognized it, it wasn't too far away from your apartment complex. That made you feel better, at least you wouldn't be wandering out in the dark after you left Ollie's place.

It didn't take long before Ollie led you towards his front door and quickly let you in to escape the cold, “I’m just gonna put him down for a nap, feel free to look around." You nodded silently and took off your coat while Ollie walked down a hallway and out of site. You placed your coat on the couch and you looked at the living area, coloring books, crayons and blank pieces of paper were scattered on the coffee table while toys were neatly tucked and stored away in plastic boxes, Ollie's doing no doubt.

Turning around towards a bookshelf next to the TV, you glanced over a few of the books and sorted them in your head. Ollie seemed to read a lot of horror, fantasy, and classic literature as well as some books that weren't in English. Picture frames that held photos of Ollie and his family were neatly placed on the shelf, looking through all of them you noted that Rue wasn't in any of them, although you figured it was normal since Ollie wasn't related to him but actually just his nanny. The sound of soft footsteps made it to your ears and you turned around to look at the source, Ollie smiled a little and walked around the corner into the kitchen and you followed him in. “Do you want anything? Coffee? Tea?”

“No I'm ok thank you, dinner was more than enough”

Ollie nodded and put a kettle of water on the stove anyways and sat down at the kitchen island where you had sat down. "Hey, I wanted to ask you something," you fiddled with your thumbs as you tried to formulate your idea into words, "Why do Rue's eyes look like that?" A direct approach was the best approach in your opinion, the question made Ollie visibly tense up and he chuckled as a way to try and hide it.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean” You rolled your head on your shoulders and sighed, “the sclera, its black- that's not typically something that happens with humans-” You cut yourself off at Ollie's sudden shift in addittude, going from nervous to offended with a hint of sadness.

“Y/N, What are you getting at?” Ollie couldn't hide his nervousness, it seeped into his words. You couldn't have known the truth, no one did and he intended to keep it that way. You simply rubbed your neck but pressed the subject.

“Can you tell me why his eyes are like that?” Ollie debated telling you before he spun around on the stool and leaned against the kitchen island.

“It’s a medical thing” You leaned in closer as Ollie spoke, interlocking your hands together and listening intensely as if he was one of your students who's grade dropped from an A to an F. “Rue’s father told me that it’s not harmful to him, and that it’s not a disease-it’s not contagious” The way he spoke was odd, any other person would believe what he said but to you his words felt empty. “There's not much else I can tell you.” Ollie stood up and turned his back to you while his attention went to the kettle that was going crazy on the stove, pouring some of it into a mug that was nearby.

"What does Rue's dad do for work?"

"I thought I had said he was a businessman." The comment hit you like a slap in the face, he was far more aggressive now and an unsettling chill ran down your back. "I'm sorry, I just don't like when people question Rue." Ollie turned around and leaned against the countertop as he stirred the mug of water that he had added instant coffee into, "He's always listening when his name is brought up." You looked around in confusion.

"I thought you put him down for a nap." Ollie stayed quiet as he walked towards the fridge and grabbed a string cheese and went back to his spot near the stove. Using the cheese to tap his face it was quiet before the pitter patter of feet and a small blob of green rushed passed your vision. You notice Rue's came running in and demanded the cheese Ollie held in his hand.

"I told you eavesdropping isn't nice." Ollie gave the child what they wanted before he walked out of the kitchen and back to the living room where the sound of cartoons began to play, "Rue has a hard time sleeping." You hummed a little before the words of what sounded like a lullaby made it to your ears. Slowly standing up from your seat you turned around and walked into the living room where Rue was, leaving Ollie behind in the kitchen.

"uh'eog ot n'ghft, nnn syha'h ph'hai Y''m fhtagn" Whatever Rue was saying, you couldn't understand it, maybe that's why you were so drawn to it, maybe the singsong way rue spoke made it seem like just a child talking in gibberish while they colored with crayons in his coloring book. "nnn fhtagnshoggg cahf ah'ehye ya fhtagn" As rue continued he noticed your form sitting on the couch near the coffee table and he smiled to himself, as if he was doing it on purpose. That fact didn't seem to bother you as much as it should have, all you wanted to do was sleep, whatever rue was saying was lulling you to sleep and you were giving in slowly.

Ollie watched as it happened, with worried eyes he looked between you and Rue. He didn't move from his spot just behind the couch, "Rue, stop that." Rue paid no attention to Ollie and his harsh and hushed tone as he continued with his little song.

"gnaiih hungers llll ehyeahog ng Y''ll tharanak ahog ehye ep mgahehyee" The small song began to echo in your head, each word slowly getting louder. "llll h' h' ainah f' uaaah shiver mgep f' ahmgep ng vulgtlagln" It was getting unpleasant, your head felt it it was being squeezed and you held it in your hands as blue and green splotches couded your vision. "a shugog llll ya cahf h''s uaaah, ahnah mg throdog" The more Rue continued the more the echos in your head got louder and the painful feeling made your head throb.

"Rue! Stop it!" You felt a warm hand touch your back before it went away and Rue stayed silent as Ollie kneeled next to him and grabbed his arms from what you could see through blurry vision. "I told you to stop twice already, I won't say it again." Ollie glanced at you with a worried expression before turning back to an annoyed looking Rue. "Stop it." Ollie let go of Rue's arms and walked around the coffee table and made his way to the kitchen, presumably to grab something while keeping his eyes on Rue to make sure he didn't say or do anything.

The moment Ollie turned his gaze away Rue leaned in closer to you as if he was going to tell you a secret.n"ph'nglui fhtagn fhtagnshoggg mgep Y' nafl'fhtagn ng ahuh'eog" He spoke quickly and you gripped your head to try and sooth the splitting head pain you were being caused.

"Rue!" Ollie's voice called out from behind you again and the sounds of giggling and small footsteps rushing away. Ollie let out an annoyed huff as he walked back to you and sat on the coffee table across from you. "Here take these." You sat up and grabbed the two painkillers he had brought you and popped them into your mouth and drank some of the water he had in his other hand. "I'll make you something hot to drink, it helps me so maybe it'll help you."

Ollie stood up and walked towards the kitchen and you closed your eyes, processing what had happened. 'It helps me so maybe it'll help you.' the phrase struck you as odd, Ollie didn't seem affected by it at all while you sat here holding you head feeling like it would have exploded. You turned around to look at Ollie who was looking through some tea boxes and you stood up feeling well enough, the pain wasn't gone completely but it was enough.

"Listen I'm shaken up from what happened I think I'm just gonna go home."

"Are you sure?" Ollie sounded and looked worried as you walked towards the door and grabbed your jacket, swinging it over your shoulders.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, I'll just go home and lay down." You and Ollie shared a nod as you opened the door, looking towards the hallway and seeing the familiar silhouette of a child.

Ollie watched you leave and close the front door from the kitchen and Rue sunk back into the hallway feeling proud of himself when he watched you leave and Ollie rubbed his neck "Vruidru, come here please" Rue jumped slightly as he peeked out from the hallway and looked at Ollie surprised before turning his gaze down to his white socks and stared at them with an upset look and slowly made his way to Ollie. He calmly sat on his knees to meet Rue's eye "Can you tell me why you did that?"

Rue shrugged his shoulders slightly and didn't make eye contact with Ollie for a second "I forgot… " he whined a little bit "I forgot I wasn't speaking English."

"I told you, twice Rue," Ollie didn't raise his voice, he just sat on his knees and talked to rue while holding his tiny hands. "I'm not upset that you didn't speak English, I'm upset that you didn't stop after the second time I told you too." Rue's eyes started to tear up and Ollie gently held his face to wipe his tears and Rue closed them "Can you look at me please?"

Rue opens his eyes and hiccuped a little "I'm sorry Ollie I didn't mean it" Ollie smiled slightly and moved Rue to sit him down on his lap and hugged him tightly while stroking his hair to calm him down, lightly shushing him as tiny and weak sobs came from Rue.

"I know you didn't" Ollie stays quiet before making Rue look at him again. "You understand why no one can know what you really are right?" fear took over Rue's expression as he tugged on Ollie's shirt.

"Are they going to hurt me?"

"No! Never, I won't let that happen." Ollie continued to pet his hair a little. "You're far stronger than all of us, Rue, nothing will change that" Rue nods in understanding, "that's why we have to keep it a secret alright?" Rue said nothing and just rested his head against Ollie before he stood Rue up. "Anyways, go play, I have to wash the dishes alright?"

Rue wipes his eyes of any extra tears before going off to watch TV and Ollie watches him as he stands up. He brings his hand up to his mouth and bites his thumb nervously. The last thing he needed was to have you go digging and find out something you're not supposed to.

However, both of them stuck with you, dancing around in your head and eating any other thoughts. You shook them off to focus on your way home and you were still shaken up after what happened at Ollie's house. You shook your head as you entered your apartment and started looking through all of your books that were still neatly tucked away in boxes, you needed answers and you hoped they would be here at your fingertips.

There were a few things that were certain and you kept them in the back of your mind as you searched, whatever Rue said wasn't English, obviously, but was definitely something old and it bothered you. What bothered you more was you couldn't find any sort of clue to indicate what that language was, it's not Greek, Celtic, or Egyptian for sure and it couldn't be Aztec and Indian either.

It's nothing you've ever studied before and you rubbed your eyes and stood up from your floor and decided to go into the living space to take a break. You looked around your bare walls and the stacked boxes before looking at the coffee table and deciding to read the book that was sitting on it. Picking it up and opening its pages, and finding where you left off to submerge yourself in the words printed on its pages but the more you read, the more the odd sensation that was in the back of your mind grew and you decided to analyze the book more. You didn't care if you wouldn't get an answer, you just wanted to soothe your thoughts that were eating away at you.

You reread the story from the beginning and it got you thinking for a minute before you connected the dots and the dreadful feeling took over your entire body. There wasn't much you could do with this information, but what you did know was that Rue was dangerous, and you needed to separate him from Ollie.

#oc #child oc #Rue #Ollie Walsh #preshool teacher oc #rue's corner #x reader #oc x reader #oc intro

3 notes · View notes

confundida25 · 2 years

Text

FANTASTIC BEAST AND PLEASE END MY SUFFERING

So, as always there are a lot, a lot of new stupid things in the new fantastic beast movie and because i decide this is my personal and selinflicted hell im gonna list all of them, SPOILERS by the way:

1.- whats with the blood pat thing? Honestly, are we gonna pretend unbrakable promises doesnt exist?? Or is this like the romantic alternative...

2.- just to clarified, Minerva Macdonagal didnt work as teacher at hogwart at the same time as dumblendore, she was an amazing student of dumblendore and when he get promote to headmaster he offer her the place of transformation teacher, j.k Rowling wrote the complete Macdonagal biography on her wepsite like 300 years ago, please im begging you stop contradicte the canon you wrote

3.- Queenie.... O my god... This witch... This woman kidnapped her boyfriend and pretty much make the magical equivalent to keep him in drug for i dont know how much time, then she join the magical nazis and commit a lot of war crimes and THEN she decide that uppsie do she was very sorry and everyone let her walk free and have a nice wedding with her muggle boyfriend, EXCUSE ME???? Action has no consequences in this world

4.- is so stupid how Tina is not in this movie and they just trow new no important caracthers to us instead, why she wasnt there??? Why we dont get to see her reaction at her sister betray??? The sisters were a pretty big deal in the first and second movie but in this she is nothing more that Newt love interest, is so so so so stupid

5.- wHo Is GoNnA LoVe yOu nOw DuMbLeNdOrE???? I dont know man... He is the must powerful wizard in the world, not to mention he is aparently "the purest soul" in all England acording to the canon of this movie and he look like Jude Law, im pretty sure he could find someone who is not a lunatic

6.- ok, i have like a million of problems with dumblendore so im gonna break this in varius points

6a.- Albus Dumblendore talk with Newt about his tragic tragic super sad backstory, ooooo.... I wonder how this scene could be more interesting, dont get me wrong i love to see two people talking in a dark room, but i wonder if only there was like i dont know a magical way to saw memories just so the audience could saw what happend in a more visual fun way, a devise we know Dumblendore use and own.. I dont know maybe im crazy or something

6b.- when dumblendore said his story with grimdelwald he said his brother tried to stop them... But he is very vage about why exactly, he never said that they want to murder muggles and change the statud quo... We know that but New doesnt so he may tought Aberford was just homofobic??? Some people behind me in the teather ask it during the scene so is not just me.. And another thing

6c.- He never mention the deathly Hollow, like it suppose to be the thing Grindelwald is obsess with, the thing that they bond over, but they never mention them, is soooo weird that we are three movies in and no one ever even mention them

6d.- The last scene when Aberfod reunite with Credence is so short and anticlimatic, and Albus is not even there, he make no efford to conect with him, with the son of his brother who he wish he had a better relationship, his closer relative with the same condition that his death sisther had, are you teeling me that Albus Dumblendore, the wizard who greater regret in life was to not be there for his family discover he had a nephew radical similar to his sister, conected with his brother, bitter for the lack of family love and AND dont try desperely to save him??? His reaction is " oooo he is far for salvation that suck for him i guess" absolutely bafooonery

7.- Out of the Dumblendore drama, the new character are not so bad, i mean the teacher is fine, i dont remenber her name and they never said what she is teacher of, but the other wizard who join Grindelwald and get brainwatched and then betray him, i dont care about him, i dont know nothing about him except he was the brother of the dead girlfriend of the last movie

8.- were they in elections of the minister of magic of the world??? Every country have his own minister and there is a bigger minister that rule above?? How we never knew about this upper minister before???

9.- Grindelwal can see the future??? Did he always had that power??

10.- tHrE PoIntS fOr HuFflePuF, omg i hate that joke so much, the points grand in numeric system of five, i know is a stupid little detail but its make me so angry

11.- the good things about this movie is that a) the magical criatures actually matter this time, b) the new Grindelwal is soooo much better that the Jony Deep version c) Finally after three centuries Dumblendore sexually is actually canon

In conclusion this movie is better than the last one but that was not a challenge, please stop we dont need more.

#fbtsod #the secret of dumblendore #my own personal hell #my opinion

4 notes · View notes

spicykaraage · 5 months

Text

Tenipuri Complete Profile - Hikaru Zaizen

[PROFILE]

Birthday: July 20th (Cancer)

Blood Type: A

Relatives: Father, Mother, Older Brother, Sister-in-Law, Nephew, Dog [23.5]

Father’s Occupation: Company employee (trading company)

Elementary School: Dotonbori First Elementary School

Middle School: Shitenhoji Junior High School

Grade & Class: Second Year | Class 2-7 | Seat 14

Club: Tennis Club - Regular, Future Captain

Committee: Library Committee

Strong Subjects: English

Weak Subjects: Classic Literature

Frequently Visited Spot at School: AV room

Favorite Motto: “A skillful hawk hides its talons.” ➜ “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.” [TP]

Daily Routines: Posting on his blog

Hobbies: Listening to (Western) music, video editing [TP]

Favorite Color: Carmine

Favorite Music: British indie music

Favorite Movie: Amélie

Favorite Book: Music magazines

Favorite Food: Shiratama zenzai, galette [TP], matcha boba tea latte [TP]

Favorite Anniversary: Any off day

Preferred Type: A family-oriented girl

Ideal Date Spot: A stylish cafe ➜ The new cafe in Horie [TP]

His Gift for a Special Person: “A song that I wrote myself.”

Where He Wants to Travel: Burano

Thing He Wants Most Right Now: An audio system ➜ MacBook [TP]

Dislikes: The bitter parts of fish, strong air conditioning [23.5], rocking rides [23.5]

Skills Outside of Tennis: Composing music on his computer ➜ “Hacking (grins).” [23.5]

Spends Allowance On: CDs, internet fees

Routine During the World Cup: Uploading videos

[DATA]

Height: 167cm ➜ 168cm [23.5]

Weight: 57kg

Shoe Size: 25.5cm

Dominant Arm: Left

Vision: 1.5 Left & Right

Play Style: All-Rounder

Signature Moves: Temari Zaizen, Zaizen Trojan Horse, Zaizen Wonderful

Average Body Temperature: 35.0℃

Favorite Brands:

Racquet: DUNLOP 200G90

Shoes: BRIDESTONE (APX COURTBREEZE MS)

Overall Rating: Speed: 3 / Power: 2 / Stamina: 3 / Mental: 4 / Technique: 3 / Total: 15

Kurobe Memo: “First things first, he did not even want to attend the training camp, making me wonder if he’s the genius type that lacks drive. It’s unfortunate he has no apparent desire to improve. If only he could acquire the drive of a hungry wolf, he would improve rapidly.” [RB]

#tenipuri #tenirabi #profile #my post

1 note · View note

the-letter-horror-lover · 2 years

Text

I gave it all up

AceBookworm13

Summary:

It reads like a fairytale; the highbrow noble woman falls for the pauper boy. The two run away together and live happily ever after. Only its not a fairytale. In fact the world is cruel and cold to them, taking all they love and giving nothing but pain in return.

A classic Romeo and Juliet tale but this time it actually works out, only not in their favour. A young Juliet Phantomhive makes the decision of a lifetime that would later cause her the crumbling of her own family. Brother dead, nephews missing, and a nomadic life of no security whilst also maintaining anonymity; What more could life have in store for our unlucky Lady Phantomhive.

Chapter 1: Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End

Chapter Text

Like every other day, our Lady Phantomhive awoke to the sound of crying and tears. Shaking off the feeling of tiredness, Juliet sat up and trudged her heavy-feeling boy over to the small wooden cradle across the room and gently lifted the child reaching for his mother. "7am, you're starting to sleep later and later my love," she coos. In his mother's warm embrace, the child calms and slowly drifts off to sleep again only to be startled awake and cry once more when Juliet placed him back in his snug crib. The woman sighed and sat at the edge of her shared bed, softly rocking her son to her breast whilst wrapping a blanket around him securing him to her chest "I guess today is a and day for you, eh little guy?" Even if the child could not yet speak, she knew that he would be anxious to leave her even if he was in the comforting care of his pseudo-aunts and uncles.

A man entered the room, smiling softly at the sight of his wife and child in the dim light emanating from the door "I thought I heard the little rascal," he chuckled softly, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead, took the little wooden hairbrush from the vanity by their bedside, and began brushing her hair in an attempt to assist her in the already tough morning.

"Hows his fever?"

"Burning up against my skin, and no less distressed than yesterday unfortunately,"

"Want me to get medicine from Doc?"

The exhausted Juliet leant against her husband, to which he brought her into a comforting embrace, and mumbled "'s alright, I'll drop by later and get some remedies."

The two stayed like that for a while, basking in the beautiful silence that rarely greeted them these days, and eventually started their day properly.

"Morning Ju!" exclaimed a blond boy, going by the nickname of Dagger. He was a precocious lad, full of energy and always wanting to help his pseudo-sister who went by the nickname of Beast. Dagger sat beside our Juliet in the makeshift dining hall and the two ate breakfast, mindful of the sleeping baby on her chest "What does the newspaper say of him this time?" she asked. Merely years ago, Juliet's older brother and sister-in-law were ripped from her by a fire (the cause of such a thing remained unknown to this day) and her two nephews had gone missing, leaving the grieving aunt heartbroken. However, two years ago, one boy had returned to her life. Ciel Phantomhive; Seemingly resurrected from the dead with a butler at his side oozing with mystique and curiosity.

No matter how much she wanted to, Juliet could not return to him for he would have no memory of her existence. Her lack of presence in her nephew's life made it difficult to even approach him let alone make a claim as his kin and so all record of her either vanished from existence or erased her in red ink in shame of her life choices. Nonetheless, she was happy.

"Nothin' much, another case solved all on his own. Intelligent little sprog ain't he?"

"He gets that from my brother, always solving puzzles and mysteries..." Juliet recalled memories of her childhood fondly. Vincent Phantomhive, her brother and the father of her nephew, was a few years older. As the only son of the Phantomhive family, he had the whole world in front of him on a silver plate in addition to a beautiful and loving wife and a pair of twin sons. As the youngest daughter, however, Juliet had limited options but still considerably more than her older sister Francis and yet still managed to become as infamous in her story.

The newspaper clipping Dagger had brought in from the stand across the street detailed exactly as he had said. Juliet couldn't help but admire fondly of the young man her nephew was slowly becoming, in the almost spitting image of his father. "Remind me again why you don't just go to him?" Beast, the aforementioned pseudo-sister that Dagger was fiercely protective of, sat across from the mother and snatched up the newspaper to read the headlines. Chuckling softly, Juliet combed her hands softly through her sons amber hair and explained exactly why. By the time all was said and done, the rest of their family started to trail into the dining hall rustling the ill baby from his sleep.

"I'll take 'im to get his temperature checked, you go rest my love" Joker, the ringleader of their group, husband and father, gently took their son from Juliet and said his hello's to the rest of the group before making his way to the medic. "There's my favourite patient!" the on-call doctor cried with delight as he saw the small bundle in the arms of Joker "How is the little one?"

"Feverish still, coughing and crying in the night. Gives Ju a dreadful fright that she barely sleeps,"

"Well it is an English winter, I'm not surprised the kid caught the flu."

The Doctor checked the child's temperature, settling down just fine against the cool hand of his, as well as the comforting warmth of his father, to which he had determined "Doesn't feel much different from the other days, unfortunately, and I don't exactly get much eucalyptus for his chesty cough until next week," he sighed, checking his small heartbeat, "Bring him in every morning, before his morning feed, and I'll see what I can do. I'll get some other things in from the local apothecary as soon as possible."

Thanking him, Joker then took his beloved son back to his sleeping mother and laid beside her, baby still holding on to his jacket. Sensing the sudden dip in their bed, Juliet turned over and whispered "Got a show tonight, yes?"

"Yeah, think he'll be alright?"

"It'll be hell but we've got no choice"

Sighing like a broken record, Juliet pressed a soft kiss to her husband's cheek and grabbed her winter coat "Will you be okay on your own whilst I'm out?" Laughing at the prospect of being unable to handle their son for a few hours, Joker nodded and watched as she set out for London. Nobody could predict the tale that this singular show could bring by existing alone, after all the past no matter how hard you erase it from record always comes back to haunt in the end regardless of how much money you invested to bleach the stain left by it.

Chapter 2: Chapter 2: The show of the century

Chapter Text

Standing behind the curtains, waiting for the opening number, the troupe of the Noah's Ark Circus stood around in anticipation. Joker, eyeing up the floods of crowds entering the tend, felt a small hand on his shoulder in comfort "It's just like any other show! We perform and then we leave, right?" Juliet gave him a dazzling Phantomhive smile and took his hand with confidence. In return, he smiled brightly in return and began motivating his crew. Little did our Phantomhive runaway know, buried within the crowds, her beloved nephew sat with a watchful eye waiting for any indication of a crime taking place.

The entire crew of Juliet's pseudo-family was itching with anticipation for the show that had yet to start. The feverish young child, beloved by many, was in the care of the Doctor during the show so that he could have a consistent watch of his health and behaviour whilst not under the watchful eye of his parents. Ordinarily, he did not like being without his parents or even the rare couple of aunts and uncles in the troupe, however the doctor's cool stethoscope and light blanket draped over him brought a temporary comfort whilst his parents helped to earn their keep. Many were stretching, others making last minute preparations. With our beloved princess and pauper, Joker was carefully crafting the face paint on his wife's face, dipping a small paint brush in a blue and stroking a tear drop on her skin in reflection of a beauty mark on the opposite side.

"You ready my Diamond?" Joker whispered, gently wiping at the face-paint under her eye to mimics her husband's own.

"I've been ready for several years now my love"

Pressing a gentle kiss to her lips, Joker strutted out to the arena and began the show under the strict gaze of his unknown nephew. Confidence and humour radiating from every inch of his body working in tandem with a big beaming smile; A complete difference from the calm, slightly serious, and focused man that Juliet had seen only seconds before. It baffled her every show, for so many years, how he could do this relentlessly and yet she hadn't thought about the exact same facade that every gentry and noble in that crowd had put on at some point in their lives, even her. If anything, their whole society was built on lies, performers and nobility alike.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" he cried with faux delight "On this fine day, we welcome you to the Noah's Ark Circus" the man took a bow, showing off the full extent of his costume which consistently mismatched diamonds on his coat which hung loosely on his shoulders. A skeletal prosthetic attached where his hand would ordinarily be, and between the skeletal fingers was several juggling balls. Ciel Phantomhive, the queens guard-dog and sole owner of the Funtom corporation, slowly grew bored with the mundane act that took part before him; not a single indication could be found of the case at hand and eventually it felt like a giant waste of time, that is until our dearest runaway came on to the scene.

"Don't tell me you were about to start without me?" Juliet called in mock hurt, a hearty laugh rang throughout the tent.

"Of course not! Everyone give a nice and warm welcome to my lovely wife: Diamond!"

An uproar of applause echoed and so Juliet, in her matching costume, ran into the arena beside her husband, glitter glistening in the lights and pale paint to masque her identity from the gentry who may be observing. She snatched the juggling balls from her husbands hands and bragged "I'll do one better than that disaster you gave our lovely patrons," she teased and did exactly that, triggering yet another onslaught of applause and praise from the audience.

"Doesn't that woman look familiar?" the Phantomhive boy wondered aloud whilst the whole act was taking place. He had never heard of a Juliet Phantomhive, mostly because his living family either never lived long enough to tell him, or where disgraced by her past that they didn't want the boy to harbour that in addition to all he had on his shoulders. "I say, she does bare some similarities to you my lord" the Butler responded with a small smile, eyes pouring in to the soul of the performer before him, however there was no way for him to prove his own theory. After all, only Grim Reapers would be able to identify her and her past quicker than a butler, though he wasn't just a normal butler and anyone who had ever seen him in the presence of the young Phantomhive could attest.

As fate would have it, the two Phantomhives locked eyes in the sea of people and for a split second, our Juliet allowed a flicker of fear to radiate in her eyes...those same eyes as his father, that same beauty mark as his father, the same bone structure and jawline and hair colour... "Is she...related to..." the boy dismissed the thought as soon as it came to him. It was merely a coincidence that she was the spitting image of his late father.

"And now, my dearest friends," her voice steadied, to continue the act with which she participated for many years already that it was almost second nature (though her erratic breathing exposed her ever-growing fear, though the audience could leave that down to nerves). She spread her arms like an eagle, her husband following suit, and plastered the money-winning smile she had perfected over her life on her face, "Let the show of the century," Joker began.

The two lowered to a great bow, as if to be presenting to a royal which (in the eyes of the gentry) they were, and the lights dimmed throughout the circus to complete darkness. Only the small candles on the sides of the isles could be seen. All of a sudden a burst of flames roared in the (most likely flammable) tent, the two sliding to the side to avoid being burned, just barely singing the long hairs on the backs of their necks, for both husband and wife to beam the words "Begin!" in perfect unison like the vows they had forged only several years ago.

Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Danger at the stands

Chapter Text

The pair introduced the first act of the night, their legendary fire-eater known as Jumbo took the stage in their place, "Joker I think we have a problem," Juliet whispered behind the scenes, her own fear finally shaking and echoing in her voice and body. The man laughed and wrapped an arm around her, "You're tellin' me! I almost got singed back there!" he joked. Rapidly, Juliet shook her head and shoved his arm off of her. Stood in front of him, she whispered so as no body around them would understand "You don't understand! Our past has come back to bite us!" At this, the man discreetly understood. He withdrew the curtain ever so slightly, scanning each and every person with as much detail as possible - in the moment, you never focus on small details like a singular person in the audience, and with the amount of lights on you its hard to see in general.

"Which one is it, Ju?"

She came up behind him pointing to the boy who, if you knew what to watch, looked out of place amongst all of these nobles, "See the little lad beside the tall man? The man is wearing all black."

"Yeah?"

"That's my brother's only surviving son." Silence befell the couple, staring in bewilderment at the boy who unknowingly had the power to completely ruin their lives if he had the motive. By comparison, the boy knew exactly what he could do, having used this a number of times against men and women alike that had wronged him. "If he recognises me, we could lose everything in a flash,"

"But why?" He asked, recalling the power that the Phantomhives had in general but barely comprehending the problems that it would cause for his wife and career.

"If you found out you had a living relative who knew that you was in need of a parental figure, you'd be pretty pissed off at them wouldn't you?" Joker thought about it for a moment, then nodded and understood the severity of the situation. In the meantime of this conversation, new acts came and went introducing themselves and wowing the crowd with extraordinary talents.

Resting his hands on his hips, Joker sighed "What do we do then? It's a lot 'arder to ignore something like this when we're gonna be 'ere for the next week or so," Beast, the next and final act to come up, interjected by asking what the matter was. The two explained the problem and instantaneously panic set in.

"What if Ju just doesn't go on stage?"

"That would've worked at the start of the show, but it's too late now,"

"Could claim that Vinny's cough got worse and needed his mother?" The couple looked to each other, an excuse entirely plausible and wouldn't warrant any questions from an outside party. And so, the plan set in motion. Juliet ran off to tend to her son in the medical tent. In the meantime, the show went on.

"I'm afraid my dear wife had to attend to our son, but it is with great pleasure that I announce our final act;

The legendary Beast Tamer, Beast!" and on stage came the woman, the Tiger in the cage being wheeled alongside her. A volunteer was required for this act and to the luck of the cards, the butler of the Phantomhive boy had offered himself up. Not seeing any issue with this, only focusing on the boy, Joker allowed the man to come down to the stage and participate. In spite of this, the man completely ignored the instructions set out for his own safety and made a bee-line for the tiger instead. In her ignorance, Juliet had her son on her lap in the medical tent, bouncing him and humming happy songs whilst he was tested and checked for his vitals and medicine's effects.

"Don't worry Vinny, Doctor is going to make it all better," she soothed as the man prepared an injection.

"And after this, Daddy and I are going to spend a whole weekend with you. Playing with your toys and eating your favourite food. How does that sound?" the boy gurgled in agreement, seemingly liking the idea quite a lot. The doctor on the other hand gave a small smile at the interaction, preparing the medicine,

"You two sure spoil the boy, its a wonder he isn't bratty or overweight," he jabbed, giving a loud laugh. The mother scowled a little before pretending to go along with the joke, "He is my firstborn after all, why wouldn't I spoil him?"

"He may be your only child though, wouldn't you want him to grow up into a strong and healthy child? He can work alongside me you know,"

"Are you questioning my parenting?"

"Nope. Just ensuring that your son is in good enough health," there was a sinister tone behind those words in the ears of Juliet. Being in his company for enough years to just barely know the ins and outs of the mysterious man and yet could barely comprehend the extremities he would go to like her husband did. Shifting uncomfortably, her grip on Vinny grew stronger. His cry of pain was what brought her back from her thoughts, and softly she cooed and wiped away his tears.

"Oh he's alright Julie, just make sure he's fit and strong."

"Don't tell me how to take care of my son,"

"Then don't tell me how to do my job." He quickly retorted. It was only ever in private that the two bickered and fought like this, never in front of people. In front of her husband, Juliet must maintain the idea that everything is okay and that she was never terrified for the safety of her son in the hands of the doctor. With one child, she was possessive and worrisome, so if she took on the orphaned Phantomhive nephew that was merely moments away what could she possibly do besides fret over every small sneeze and cough. Little did anyone know, at the time, something akin would arise.

Chapter 4: Chapter 4: The Die is Cast

Chapter Text

Loud gasps sounded the entire tent as the seemingly ferocious tigress attempted to take a bite out of the butler. The butler, however, was blissful in such a close proximity to the creature. He did not flinch nor did he even seem fussed that his face currently resided inside the beast's mouth. Beast had shrieked partially out of fear of the consequences, mostly from shock of the situation even happening in the first place. This had never happened before!

"Betty! Let go of him!" she cracked her whip in the direction of the tigress in an attempt to discipline, however the butler caught it long before it could even reach a single hair.

Calmly, he removed himself from the tigress' mouth, proclaiming that he was at fault for this happening and appeared quite unscathed. The audience, however, were stunned to silence. This man had caught a whip mid-crack without even looking behind him, similarly he had been bitten by a real live tiger and lived to tell the tale! What sort of man could do that, they all wondered. Joker at the side of Beast had witnessed it all, feeling that guilt in his gut about everything, "Ju was right...perhaps we do have to worry a bit," he thought. Even whilst the butler was scolding the professional for her treatment of the tiger, it only went and decided to take another bite out of the man!

Hearing the uproar from as far as the medical tent, Juliet glanced in the direction of the performance with a slight yearning for the adrenaline and fun that she was missing out on. Yet almost instantly, she was drawn back to her baby who was resting peacefully in a makeshift crib whilst the doctor oversaw his health, the woman was anxious to leave the child alone with him, "Well they sound like they're having fun," she wistfully sighed, her leg bouncing. The doctor pulled down his stethoscope and turned to her with a smile,

"Go and join them! You're in your costume after all, might as well oversee the end of the show,"

"I'm quite alright here," Juliet stayed planted firmly in her seat, showing no signs of leaving outside of her long gazes to return to the action of her career.

Meanwhile, the show had ended in the midst of the panic. The tigress was pried off of the butler with great difficulty and yet not a single scratch or drop of blood could be found on him. He walked with his master, a few feet behind him, whilst the aforementioned master sneezed up a storm.

"Nobody told you to go that far!" he scolded his butler, growing agitated with his incessant sneezes. The boy bickered with his butler - well bickering is a bit of an over-exaggeration, the butler mostly took the berating in his bliss of being so close to a cat. Joker, however, had comprised a plan to avoid further issues with this pair. Intending to share his plans with his wife later that night, he jogged up to the butler calling him a nickname to get his attention. Noticing this, the boy had hid behind a structure as swiftly as he could to overhear the conversation.

"We really are sorry about what happened out there," Joker apologised, feigning sheepishness.

"It was nothing really, no blood spilt," the butler insisted. However Joker was not about to give up so easily.

"I insist, we have an on-site doctor. At least let him take a look," to which the butler finally complied. The two men walked through the staging area of the circus, most of their supplies still packed up from the recent move. The medical tent was in sight now, and the dulcet cries of Joker's son was echoing from the entrance of it. They died down not longer after the two men entered the tent, the child was laying against his mother's breast finally calm. The dusting of pink across the boy's cheeks as his fever became more and more apparent. A cold washcloth against his forehead whilst his mother hushed and rocked him.

"Heya Joker, your arm giving you trouble again?" The Doctor asked, not noticing the butler initially. The demon eyed the man who brought him here, his demeanour changing entirely once he came within proximity of his wife and son.

"Not here for me this time, Hows Vinny?" he asked. Juliet shook her head, wiping some small traces of sweat from her forehead in anxiety, "Fever comes and goes, heavy coughs but no more than normal with the dry weather," she informed. Dagger, who had been in the same room at the time getting a tune up on his own prosthetic, gave the anxious performer a gentle but reassuring pat on the back,

"Don't worry, he'll be right as rain in no time!" and then the knife-thrower realised, "Hey you're the fella that got bit by Betty!"

All eyes then turned to the butler, Juliet gasped in horror when she finally saw him but managed to play it off with concern, "He was bitten by Betty?" her posh upper class accent shone a lot brighter in this moment compared to normally.

"It was merely an affectionate nip, my lady, no need to fret," the butler put a hand to his chest and bowed slightly. The Doctor, however, was having absolutely none of it insisting on examining him right that second. Joker took a seat beside his wife as she quietly scolded him for bringing the butler so close to their home, especially without her mask on. Even if the butler did not know precisely who Juliet was, there was no mistaking that she wasn't where she typically was supposed to be, "Don't worry, love, I have a plan." He began whispering the plan to her. To the others it was simply parents discussing their next course of action for their son. To some it was lovers secretly gossiping. But to the demon butler, he knew exactly what was coming.

Actions

↑ Top

Kudos

Sina_Arlert, Anastasia_Boo, and AlienatedSaucepan

#black butler fanfiction

0 notes