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cozywriting · 2 years

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Hugo Stiglitz Imagines

Pairing: Hugo Stiglitz x reader

Warnings: Graphic death mention, blood cw

Requested by: Anonymous

Imagine if Hugo survived the fatality of Operation Kino. There was just one more Nazi left on his list and the Basterds’ happily obliged.

The sound of crunching leaves caused you, Aldo and Utivich to turn heads.

“Well, Goddamn’,” called out Aldo as he drank in the sight of a brooding, blood-stained Hugo Stiglitz.

“Hugo,” you whispered, shocked with relief that he was alive.

You rushed past the remaining Basterds over to him. Hugo allowed you to cup his face. It was covered in dirt, sweat and dark red droplets. Your finger grazed his cheek and he brought his hand against your own.

Hugo gazed achingly into your eyes. He felt the racing beat of his heart and rested his forehead against yours. He was unbelievably grateful that you were still in one piece.

Aldo and Utivich watched the couple silently. Hugo leaned away from you and caught the attention of the two soldiers.

“Where is he?” said Hugo gruffly.

Aldo and Utivich did not have to exchange looks to know exactly who Stiglitz was referring to.

“Sorry you missed ‘em. I reckon he’s on his sweet way to the Land o’ Free any minute now,” Aldo confirmed. “That is of course, if you have anything to do about it.”

“I mean, we did give him a nice parting gift to bring home to America,” Utivich replied.

“Got’a scalp outta that little driver of his, too,” Aldo added. “I’d say that’s a win.”

“Not yet. That Nazi’s mine,” Hugo gritted through his teeth.

Standing so closely, you felt the warmth of his body temperature rise. His eyes narrowed as he was staring at Aldo. Your hand pushed the other side of his face towards yours so he was looking at you again.

“You’re not thinking of— ” you started before Hugo cut you off.

“He can’t keep getting away with it,” He said, his voice firm and unwavering.

“Hugo, it’s dangerous. You just got back…”

His hand pulled your wrist away from his face.

“I have to be the one to kill him,” he said.

You matched his gaze and knew in your heart that this was the ultimate truth. Though, it had been the grief of thought— Hugo laying dead in the tavern, that was too unbearable for you to let him go so soon.

You thought of Hans Landa and his orchestrated deal to live an entire new life, his get out of jail free card, so to speak. The revelation sickened you.

“And you will,” Hugo heard you say confidently. His head turned to its side and he smiled at your words.

—— —— ——

Hugo sat on a stone ledge, sharpening his blade. You walked over and took a seat next to him, watching the way he maneuvered the blade’s edge back and forth. It was a comfort to know he’d let you sit so close, sometimes just to watch him. The two of you shared the silence, basking in one another’s company.

The repeated scraping of the blade came to a halt. Hugo tucked it away into its protective sleeve. Aldo passed by the two.

“Ready?” Aldo asked him. Hugo nodded at the southern man, his eyes following him.

“Hey,” Hugo’s quiet voice spoke out. You turned to him and felt his fingers entwine with yours. You looked over and saw a warm glow in his brown eyes. “Try not to miss me too much,” he whispered with a grin.

Hugo gently brushed his lips over your hand and you smiled. The soldier got up from the stone ledge and followed Aldo into the vehicle. His newly sharpened blade packed into his pocket.

“He’ll be okay,” you heard Utivich’s voice.

You smiled sadly, as the car drove off. “Yeah,” you agreed. “And that fucker doesn’t stand a chance against Hugo.”

Utivich laughed. “He’ll be scared shitless.”

—— —— ——

Aldo’s boots squeaked as he stepped out through the hospital’s bleak hallway. A German soldier guarding a door spotted him.

“Hey! You’re not supposed to—” His words were interrupted by the deep slit of his throat. A river of blood leaked out from the wound. The uniformed German collapsed and Hugo stepped over him, making sure to leave a dusted boot-print.

They reached the wooden door and the two men exchanged glances.

“Bingo,” Aldo said, nodding his head to the now lone door.

Quietly, Hugo turned the knob. There he was. The despicable Jew Hunter. Fast asleep, nestled on his cot. He had layers of bandages wrapped over his head.

Hugo’s eyes roamed back onto Aldo, and he smirked. “I’m a big fan of your work.”

Aldo shut the door behind them.

Hugo hovered over Hans’ sleeping body, lightly slapping his facial cheeks. Hans stirred awake, eyes widened in horror at Hugo’s menacing smile.

“Ah, Lan-da,” Hugo acknowledged in a tune.

Hans audibly gulped in fear. His big eyes flickered away from Hugo. “Aldo…” He warned. “Our deal!”

“Yeah, ‘bout that,” Aldo replied, stepping forward. “You remember what I said about gettin’ chewed out? Well, here it is.” He shrugged his shoulders.

“Auf wiedersehen,” Hugo said as he flashed a smile at the former SS officer. Quickly, he tugged at a pillow, covering the Austrian’s fearful face. Hugo, unsheathing his knife, forcibly stabbed through the cushion. Again and again and again.

Stab.

Underneath Hugo, Hans’ body reacted in a frenzy. His legs squirmed in a fit of struggle, his hands both gripped the sides of his bed.

The former officer’s grip loosened, eventually falling at its side. Hugo removed the pillow and admired his masterpiece. He crawled off of the body and pushed it to the floor with a thud.

Hans’ limp figure lied on the hospital floor. His sandy hair was tousled and stained with mists of dark red. Fresh blood was gashed across his face, dripping down his neck. With one last look, Hugo spit on the dead Colonel.

Aldo kneeled down and pulled out his knife. He began to scalp the last, most infamous Nazi on their list. With Hans’ scalp in his hands, he looked over to his fellow soldier.

“Nice work, Stiglitz. Let’s get’cha home.”

#inglourious basterds #inglourious basterds fanfiction #quentin tarantino #hugo stiglitz #hugo stiglitz x reader #hugo stiglitz imagines #sorry this is my first time writing for hugo but im happy w how it came out!!#also i’m living for hugo being soft for the reader and overall grumpy towards everyone else <3 #i think from this point forward i'll be creating my own gifs for these posts #request #cozy writes #imagines

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withoutawar · 1 year

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it's come to my attention that there may be some misunderstanding around the url withoutawar. it's in reference to when ultron calls steve, ' god's righteous man, pretending you could live without a war. ' and what steve says to tony at the end of the movie, ‘ family, stability ? the guy who wanted all that went in the ice 75 years ago. i think someone else came out. ’ pair this with peggy telling steve that she has lived a life, and her only regret is that he didn’t get to live his is interpreted on this blog as steve taking a step forward in moving on from his lost past ( because up until that point, he was a man out of time. )

it is not in reference to steve passing on the shield and supposedly retiring ( fanon ), getting trapped in and / or returning to the past ( au. ) on this blog he doesn't actually retire. returning the stones is his final act as captain america. what he sees on the journey, glimpses of time that he missed / could have had, glimpses of worlds beyond his imagination . . . it certainly puts things into perspective but it's not enough for steve to disappear from the world, to not be there when there's the smallest possibility he might be needed. his past, and what his future could have been will always be there to taunt him - we see that first hand when he freezes when he sees peggy in the 1970s retrieving the extra pym particles.

steve struggling with what he’s going to do with himself is not a cap issue, it's a steve issue because it started before the serum. it started when he was the smallest kid in class and couldn't protect himself or others from the bullies. it continued when he was older and couldn't help his sick mother put away groceries because the flu that season hit him harder than her. it manifested when every other man was either volunteering or being drafted into the war and he viewed his illnesses as a get out of jail free card. the notion of ' going home after the war ' is stripped from him the minute he takes the serum and instead of america ' getting an army, all they got was him. '

now that is childhood trauma on top of the expectations he placed on himself after the serum that he has to overcome to even feel like he deserves to have a break, or a life outside of being of service. he hasn't even thought about it come 2-3 years out of the ice. 4 years later, tony actually has to remind him that the reason they fight is so they can go home afterwards and steve's like a home ??? what is that. he says he’s home gazing off at the avengers compound. and maybe it can be interpreted that he means he’s home in this ‘ time ’ now, which is another hurdle he had to overcome. i strongly believe this was a turning point for him. he had 5 years to think about it after thanos fucked the world in half --- but losing to thanos only added to that hatred of feeling helpless and honestly, left him with more issues despite giving him the opportunity in the form of time to heal.

steve has many struggles but this blog does predominantly ( at least current phase ) explore the obligation steve feels to serve the world because of the gift he was given in the form of the serum, how the serum itself is like any other power e.g. thor's lightning, tony's armour but because it physically makes steve up he cannot separate himself from it, and he cannot separate himself from his service to his country and the world. there will need to be a shift in the way he views himself, the way he talks and treats himself, the way he views the serum, and a drastic shift in his priorities for him to ever not serve ( even though the definition of that has varied through the years. ) endgame was bogus for a lot of reasons but the number 1 reason is that they didn't provide us with when or why that shift happened.

people argue that steve and / or cap is a boring character because he’s apparently a fully fledged good man straight out of the womb, whereas the traditional journey a lot of other characters take is redemption, or finding themselves etc. this doesn’t apply to steve, as much, but he does still have a lot of growing to do, and because we were robbed of that in what should have been the 3rd cap movie . . . i explore that on this blog. i’m not turning down the possibility of steve eventually learned to put down the fight, but that it needs to come through plot / verse exploration and i’m down to figure it out.

#ooc.#files & about & headcanons.#i might link this to the pinned post because i dont want people coming here looking for a steve they're not going to get

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cchapsticck · 1 year

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UNTITLED RECORDING ca. 1987-1988 (10370 words) by cchapsticck Chapters: 5/13 Fandom: Stranger Things (TV 2016) Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson Characters: Eddie Munson, Steve Harrington, Jeff (Stranger Things), Gareth (Stranger Things), Unnamed Freak (Stranger Things), Robin Buckley, incidental OCs Additional Tags: Eddie Munson Lives, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Recreational Drug Use, Gay Eddie Munson, Bisexual Steve Harrington, Neurodivergent Eddie Munson, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period Typical Attitudes, Internalized Homophobia, Vignette Narrative Structure, Eddie Munson POV, Character Study, Relationship Study, Discussions of Parental Neglect, Self Referential Homophobic Language, In This House We Handwave Away The Vecna Situation Conclusion, Friends With Benefits, Friends With Benefits To Lovers But No One's Saying It, Implied/Referenced Parental Death Series: Part 1 of METALHEAD Summary:

Steve’s parents are not, and seemingly have never been, around much. That's kind of a big feature of the Steve Harrington mythology. The part that doesn't come up but is sort of crucial here, is the part when they are around. Because when they are, it's unannounced and their company is cold at best and agonizing at worst based on how Steve’s talked about it. So saying he’s got to make a call because someone’s expecting it gives him a get out of jail free card on enduring their company for long periods of time. He usually calls Robin out in Chicago but sometimes that’s a non-starter and so while it makes him feel stressed out and anxious that he can’t see Steve’s face when they talk he’ll make the effort knowing Steve’s looking for a life raft in the shark filled waters of the ocean of parental obligation. The conversations are usually short anyway, Steve will make up some reason Eddie needs his help so he’s gotta go see you later folks.

He doesn’t even get that this time.

But Steve’s standing at the end of his driveway with his backpack, half crushed cardboard box of demo tapes and leftover spray painted t-shirts and Eddie’s old battle vest that still has his blood in it over his arm right where he expects him to be when he picks him up for the drive out to Madison for the weekend.

#stranger things fic #steddie #steddie fics #steddie fic #steddie fanfiction #steveddie #steve x eddie fanfic #steve x eddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #fic: metalhead

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finance-planner · 1 month

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he financial world offers a variety of instruments beyond just buying and selling stocks. Derivatives are one such category, and they derive their value from something else, like stocks, commodities, currencies, or even interest rates. Among these derivatives, futures and options are the most popular. Understanding the key differences between them is crucial for making informed investment decisions.

What's the Deal?

Futures Contracts: Imagine a handshake agreement. You and someone else agree to buy or sell a specific asset (like a stock) at a predetermined price on a set future date. This binding contract is a futures contract. Both parties are obligated to fulfill the agreement, regardless of the asset's price movement in the meantime. This can be risky, offering the potential for significant profits or losses.

Options Contracts: Think of options like having a "get out of jail free" card. An options contract gives you the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an asset at a certain price by a specific date. This flexibility comes at a cost – a premium that you pay upfront when you enter the contract. The good news? Your potential loss is limited to the premium you paid. Options can be a good way to limit risk while still offering the chance for high profits.

#Derivatives Basics #Futures Trading #Options Trading

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toonqueen · 2 years

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16. Maintenance Duck

I guess my first thought was my not fully fleshed out ideas of what a Negaverse Odin would be like. My headcanon for Nega Donald and Uno is not having them be villains since that would technically be opposite of Donald./Duck Avenger things going on in prime verse. But I like to play around with the idea that Negaverse and Primeverse aren’t exact opposites. I see Negaduck and Darkwing Duck as having the same big ego.

So in my headcanon, long story short, in ‘present’ time I have Nega Donald having to be a muscle thug for his Uncle Scrooge during the day, but an anti-hero at night helping undo the damage he does for his Uncle during the day. Going by Duck Revenger instead. Uno’s Negaverse version is named Alpha, and a more cynical bitter A.I. He actually doesn’t like organics much. He likes Donald though, and will help and protect him when he does his anti-hero work.

Here’s a lovely commissioned pic of my headcanon for them done by @sleepy-oggyoger

So anyways, for Negaverse Odin-

So being a little bit further in the future, Scrooge doesn’t have control of Duckburg. For my Nega Odin I may end up sticking with the name Osiris for. I wish I could find another ‘O’ named god that also means one but it's HARD.

He’s taking care of the citizens of Duckburg because that's what Donald would have wanted, he assumes.. Nega Odin is really- hm- extreme with taking care of the city’s folk. Not in a Darkwarrior Duck way, but in a, kinda very micromanaging way. Like everyone still have freedom, and can even leave the city if they want. But he also has everyone tracked to make sure they’re living the safest healthiest life? Like the average organic adult should go to be at 10 pm. He’s not gonna throw you in prison but he’s gonna have drone he’s talking through show up at 9:45 pm and see why you have had trouble sleeping. If this is your third offense he’s going to take all the caffeine products out of your house and replace it with much healthier things and also here’s some extra healthy groceries for you too. Here’s some new pillows, let the little arms on the drone fluff those pillows for you. Let’s check your organic body readings and see if a medical solution is needed and instantly get a prescription to help.

Nega Odin, for the most part, is being ‘good’ to the citizens of St. Canard but has the energy of Legolas’ Dad in the Hobbit. And like, can give that speech Agent Smith gives in Matrix about how he hates humans but then after that speech on how he’s so disgusted with humanity he’d then offer you a granola bar and tell you to watch your cholesterol and give you a little pat on the head. Run along now child go do a mentally stimulating craft activity.

They do have freedom to leave the city if they want. But If you look at the shit shows going on in St. Canard and Spoonerville (I’m assuming Nega-Spoonerville has some Mad Max stuff going down,) maybe getting micromanaged by some tech dude but still having a nice life in the long run isn’t THAT bad. I mean, crime is barely anything, and jail is 100% a rehabilitating structure. Free healthcare! Paid a living wage and your boss can’t treat you like crap or Nega Odin himself will show up and fire your BOSS. Not having complete privacy but uh, after having a break up with your partner you got a gift basket from Nega Odin with your favorite foods that bring you comfort and has high Omega-3s to improve mood. And an encouraging card with a list of upcoming singles mixers. Like alright…. Creepy but cared for? I guess?

And the Duckburg know Nega Odin something immortal but he doesn’t let him know he’s a robot. They’re left to wonder how he’s not aging over the decades. Maybe he’s a vampire? That would explain some things…. Anyways poor Nega Odin/Osiris feels obligated to take care of/ maintenance these fleshbags because he misses Donald and it's what he thinks Donald would have wanted. Weh.

Man I just realized I kinda had him mirco manage Donald too like, NO CAPES WHEN HEROING AND EAT HEALTHIER and be more polite lets learn you some manners. So now with Donald gone he’s doing it to the whole city. sobbbb.

#duckvember #duckvember 2021 #duck avenger #odin eidolon #donald duck #negaverse #duckburg #negaverse duckburg

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1-800-sunset · 4 years

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Okay I got a college Dabihawks quirkless AU ft. Trans Keigo

Keigo is just another broke college student who made it in on a scholarship. Even though he was on a scholarship, living in an apartment with his best friend Rumi was hard. Not to mention Testerone shots weren’t cheap. Thankfully Rumi’s family has always had his back. When they were still in high school, it was thanks to them that he was able to get top surgery and get his name changed. His home life was pretty tough; his mom and dad were both terrible people. His dad was always in and out of jail and when he was home he would hurt his mom and him. But his mom wasn’t any better; she also took out her anger on him and would abuse substances. In eighth grade he was kicked out of the house when his mom went through his phone and found out he was Trans. Rumi’s family swooped in so quickly to take him under their custody. It’s not like either of his parents cared enough to fight them in a custody battle. Rumi had always been there for him. The Usagiyamas offered to pay for his college tuition but Keigo couldn’t let them do that so in High School he worked his butt off to go on a scholarship. Sure he was intelligent but he also put in the wok to earn what he wanted. The college he attended had one of those student program jobs which he gladly accepted the one where he got to work in the library. It just made sense to him since he was an English major.

His favorite class had to be poetry. Sure he loved to read novels and add little notes in the margins but he has always felt comfort in poetry. Poetry was what kept him alive on those dark days in his parents’ old trailer. But it was sometimes hard to focus in that class because there was a guy who sat behind him in the next aisle that was always staring at him. He went by the name Dabi, whenever the teacher tried to say his name he would always cut her off. Dabi dressed like your stereotypical delinquent, always sporting ripped jeans and leather jacket. His nose, ears, and mouth pierced, tattoos that ran down his neck and arms and not to mention his hair was obviously dyed black. On the days Keigo really wasn’t having it he would turn around and send him a death glare as a way to tell him to cut it out. Dabi unfazed would just smirk back at him, earning an eye roll from Keigo who clearly gave up.

If the staring in class wasn’t enough Dabi eventually found out that Keigo’s worked in the library and soon started to show up there to the dismay of Keigo. This guy sure did like to bother him. Rumi after telling her what was going on, laughed and said Dabi was probably trying to get with him. Keigo only laughed and threw his pillow at her. No way a guy like him was trying to get with Keigo. One day Keigo got sick and couldn’t make it to his job. But Rumi needed to meet up with a partner to work on a project in the library. There she found Dabi who seemed like he was looking for someone. Just from the description that Keigo gave her, she was able to figure out that he was Dabi. So she decided to help the guy out a little. She sat across from him, and he looked up at her in a way that told her to scram. She just smirked.

“Keigo’s not here today. He got sick yesterday and it’s taken him awhile to recover.”

His blue eyes widened in surprise because he didn’t expect her to know why he was here.

“The name’s Rumi. I’m his sister.” She said while extending her hand to him which he reluctantly shook. She knew that he was questioning their relation since they looked nothing alike.

“Dabi. Now why are you telling me this?”

“Look Dabi, Keigo may be obvious but I am not. I know what you are trying to do.”

Her suspicions were correct in the way that his cheeks flushed and diverted his eyes.

“Normally I would threaten to rip you apart but I decided I was gonna take pity on you and give you a hand.” His eyes lit up in a way that reminded her of a puppy. Oh yes he may be just what Keigo needs.

“Keigo loves sweets. Sugar is his favorite thing in the world.That bastard has the fastest metabolism I have ever seen; he could eat desserts for days without gaining a single pound. If you want to get to his heart go through his stomach. Bring him poetry god he loves poetry more than life itself.” Rumi said with a soft look in her eye. She got up from her seat and before walking away Dabi spoke.

“How do you know if you can trust me.”

“I don’t.”

“.... thank you” was all Dabi could mutter, earning a smile from Rumi.

Dabi decided to take Rumi’s advice and started to bring Keigo sweets before their class started. Keigo was surprised to say the least that Dabi was giving him food but he wasn’t going to turn away sugar and would accept it. Making Dabi smile at him. He sure was confused to why he was doing this but hey free food is free food. On the days he worked. Dabi would stop with the whole staring at him from afar and snarky remarks when checking out books. Instead he would lean over and talk to him about their class and discuss their different analyses. Turns out Dabi had some pretty solid points. Dabi would sometimes even slide a poetry book over to him and every time he would try and return it he would refuse insisting Keigo keep it. Keigo’s reaction would always be to smile and look down at the floor as he hugged the book. Dabi’s heart would flutter at his smile only making him want to bring it out even more. One night when Keigo was leaving work Dabi decided to ask him if he would want to go to a local cafe. Keigo originally said no but his stomach eventually gave in. Dabi was ecstatic and they ate together. It was during this time that Dabi realized how much smaller Keigo was compared to him.This became their routine. Keigo would always try to fight him on paying the bill but Dabi would always win. He used his card so damn often that Keigo was definitely worried for his credit score. Dabi would only give him a lopsided smile and assure him that it was fine.

Rumi one night asks him how was his date with Dabi in which he denies it is a date. But the thought stays in his head and he can’t help but think were all those trips to eat were dates. The next day he doesn’t even look at Dabi; he's too caught up in his own mind. This stresses Dabi the fuck out because he doesn’t know if he accidentally did something to make the blond mad at him. So at Keigo’s job he asks if he did something wrong. Keigo really can’t bring himself to lie to the guy he really grew to like.

“Dabi… were all those trips to go eat together dates?” He asked not to look at him jut in case he was wrong he wouldn’t have to see the rejection.

Dabi sheepishly rubbed his neck debating whether or not to tell the truth.

“Well um uh yes…”

“Oh…” blush rising on both their faces.

“Look Keigo, I really like you and I want to continue to go on those kinds of dates. But if you don’t I um… understand.” He was able to push out laying it all on the line.

“ I want to.. I mean yes I will go on more dates with you.” Keigo was able to say as the blush on his face grew darker. Dabi’s entire face lit up in happiness.

They start to date each other doing normal things aside from eating out. Dabi goes out of his way to shower Keigo with both gifts. Dabi really liked to show his affection physically in the forms of hugging and kissing. But sometimes they would start to get frisky which would always freak him out because he hasn’t told Dabi he was trans. He was mostly afraid. He really liked Dabi but he was so afraid of him breaking up with him. Dabi never pushed him to tell him what was wrong and would drop it, opting to hold him instead. One instance he decides to tell him the truth, he expected him to maybe yell at him in betrayal but instead he got a kiss. Dabi reassured him that he still liked him even if he was trans. Things start to get easier after that and Dabi even begins to help buy his testosterone shots, even bringing him cookies as a treat to make him feel better.

Eventually they talk about their childhoods. When Keigo tells him, he has to physically stop Dabi from getting up to try and hunt his garbage parents down. He explains how he doesn’t care about them anymore and the Usagiyamas are his true family. Dabi reveals that he is actually Touya Todoroki, son of Enji Todoroki, a well known billionaire. His dad was a terrible person, Dabi told Keigo of all the things he did to his family like the physical, emotional and mental abuse they had to endure. This drove them apart. After his mom finally divorced his dad, he was legally obligated to give all members of his family a generous amount of money per month. Dabi used his on his college tuition and then later used it to shower his boyfriend with sweets and gifts. Dabi found it hard to talk with his family without feeling overwhelmed with bitter resentment for his dad. That night they just hold each other not wanting to let go.

During winter break Keigo decides to invite Dabi to celebrate Christmas with him and Rumi’s family. Dabi was reluctant but eventually gave in. The Usagiyamas were one of the nicest people Dabi has ever met and he was glad that they were able to care for Keigo for all these years. Rumi’s parents take a liking to him and unofficially make him a part of their family. It’s after this trip that Dabi realizes he misses his family. With Keigo by his side he reaches out to them and they decide to get together for New Year’s. Keigo offers him a gentle squeeze of his hand when that day arrives and they are in front of his sister’s door. He looks into Keigo’s golden eyes and gives him a nervous smile. Everything was going to be okay.

#dabihawks #bnha takami keigo #bhna hawks #bnha dabi #takami keigo #dabi #Dabihawks college au #trans hawks #trans keigo takami

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edda-blattfe · 4 years

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It’s my birthday and if it is not too much to ask how would the house leaders react ? Thank you!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DARLIN’!!!! May your day be filled with joy and good company! I’m gonna imagine that reader hasn’t told the leaders about their birthday until that day. Make those boys sweat a little. 😈

Riddle

- It’s your birthday? And you didn’t tell him until now?!?! Riddle immediately starts barking orders at his dorm mates underlings to get a party organized, RIGHT NOW.

- Thank god for the third years who keep emergency stashes of party supplies in the dorm! They had the whole thing set up in little over an hour, complete with the birthday dishes and tea cups.

- Even luckier, the kitchen keeps a supply of tiered ice cream cakes just in case there’s a last minute party (the staff doesn’t want a repeat of the February 4th rampage, they had to remodal the kitchen after that) so there wasn’t any need to wait! Riddle made sure you got the biggest piece he got the second biggest.

- He’s a little upset that there isn’t time to get you a formal present, but he tries to make up for it by instigating a variety of party games that he may or may not have threatened the other students a beheading if they didn’t take part. Expect some croquet matches! Riddle thinks everyone loves croquet and won’t accept anything contrary to that belief.

- If nothing else, Riddle will unintentionally fill your birthday with laughter.

Azul

- “It’s your birthday, ey? Well, I suppose we’ll have to do something special for you. Free of charge.”

- Free desert of your choice at the cafe!

- Don’t worry, that’s not the only gift you get from the miser. Azul gifts you with a “get out jail, free” card that will nullify any contract you make with him. It can only be redeemed once, so make sure it’s worth it!

- If you’re not already wearing one, he’ll give you a birthday pin and put $50 on it. Azul might be a miser, but even he understands that you can’t cheap out on a birthday!

Kalim

- “IT’S YOU’RE BIRTHDAY?!?! FANTASTIC!!!! Hold up, I gotta go get a few things! Stay right there!”

- Hire’s an entire circus last minute to celebrate. I’m not even joking. Kalim WILL make your birthday unforgettable, that’s his primary goal!

- Will invite everyone in the school, yes even the professors, to celebrate at Scarabia unless you don’t want him to.

- Is there anything you’ve had your eyes on? Ask Kalim! He’ll buy you anything your heart desires, we all know he has the bank account to afford it.

- Kalim will take you on a magic carpet ride at the end of it.

Vil

- So, this might sound a little repetitive of my other headcanons, but I’m pretty sure Vil treats everyone to a birthday spa-day. It’s kind of a tradition for him, and one he enjoys giving as well as receiving.

- If you have time, Vil will take you shopping afterwards. Everything is on him, so go nuts! But, be prepared to receive some constructive criticism on anything you have your eye on.

- Not much of a shopper? That’s cool! Vil will be happy to take you to a botanical garden or something of the sort instead.

- Afterwards, you’re definitely going to a nice restraunt! The bill is on him, of course. It doesn’t matter if you two are couple or anything, Vil simply wants you to enjoy your birthday to the fullest!

- Will also give you his most expensive self-care products as presents. If you are anything like me don’t know how to use them, Vil will give you a little demo and a schedule for when to use each item.

Idia

- “I-It’s your birthday? Erm....uh, happy birthday?”

- He’s not entirely sure if he should do something for you, or if it’s too late to try. He’s a nervous boy, please understand.

- If you have that birthday pin on he’ll give you some money and call it good. If not, he might give you one of the cute lil robo cams he’s been working on for a little while.

- I suggest hiding the pin just to get the robot. Those things connect to your mobile device and can take better quality pictures than any digital camera known to mankind. They’re also way sturdier than drones and, again, way cuter!

- Might send Ortho to hang out with you. Not that he really has to ask.

Leona

- “Hm? It’s your birthday? Good for you.... What? Are you expecting a present from me? Hah!”

- Lazy ass cat man isn’t particularly proactive when it comes to birthdays. He doesn’t feel obligated to give a gift or do anything special unless you’re a couple.

- If he knows it’ll get a rise out of you, he’ll offer to give you a kiss just to see your reaction. If it looks like you’ll accept he’ll laugh it off and tease you for wanting to swap spit with your charming upperclassmen. He’s a sadistic asshole like that.

- Will probably send Ruggie to pick an actual gift from Mr.S’s for you.

- Or stick a few bucks into your birthday pin. It all just depends on the circumstances.

Malleus

- “Birthday? Are you having a party?...No? Ah, good. Happy birthday.”

- Wants to make sure you didn’t just forget to give him an invitation to your party. After assuring him that there wasn’t one he relaxes and asks if you’d like one.

- Say yes and Mall will immediately use magic to cover the dormitory in streamers, balloons, and confetti. All of the second and third years know exactly what the appearance of the decorations mean, they’ll start pulling out the tea sets.

- Expect to spend a while dining with the Diasomnia members. Mall won’t let you leave until you’ve tried all of the dishes he summons out of thin air, including the towering cake stood in front of you. The party is far more elegant than the Heartlabyul one, but still casual enough that you don’t feel too out of place.

- You’ll find a gift at the foot of your bedroom door with a note from Malleus, wishing you a happy birthday and apologizing for not having your gift ready sooner. Inside is a gorgeous new cloak/dress/whatever article of clothing you’d like and in. You can tell it’s handmade and of the finest quality. Upon further inspection you might find that it has a few magical qualities, such as pockets with an endless amount of space or shimmering star patters that actually reflect the current position of the stars at this time of year.

#disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland #dorm leaders #twisted wonderland headcanon #headcanons #headcanon

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animeniacss · 4 years

Text

6 Years - Hoseok x Reader - Chapter 33 - Coming to a Close

Synopsis: 6 years. That’s all it can take to take another look at someone and see that they have completely changed. You were once an eager 20-year-old, with your dreams all in view, and Jung Hoseok at your side to view them with you. However, after a break up the end of your junior year of college, everything seemed different. Now, you’re a recently divorced single mother of two, and your life is nowhere near what you thought it would be. However, after reuniting with Jung Hoseok, you may just be able to capture a little bit of that exciting youth you once knew so long ago.

Feat. BTS Members, Nayeon (TWICE), and Yuna (itzy)

Genre: Romance, SingleMother!AU, Past Relationship, Drama, Some Depictions of Violence/Domestic Abuse

Length: approx. 4k words

Chapter 33 - Coming to a Close

“What the – What is she doing here?! This is highly inappropriate!” The lawyer shouted angrily. You gulped, feeling Chun-Hei lay a gentle hand on your shoulder. “There is absolutely no reason for her to be here.”

“She wants to be. Don’t worry, I got permission. Besides, she wanted to come.” Myung-Dae said simply. Weong-Bin quickly stood up, walking straight in your direction. He expected you to cower in his approach, however, other than a deep and noticeable breath, you didn’t flinch. You stood tall, a stern expression on your face. The shaking in your hands had slowly begun to stop, and you were gripping the SD card. To say it threw Weong-Bin off was a total understatement, it absolutely shocked him.

“What are you doing? Don’t be stupid.” He said. “You should be rest-.”

“Don’t try it.” You said softly. “You have until the audio is over to think up a good reason why this is happening.” Without another reason, you walked towards Myung-Dae, who kindly pulled out a seat for you, and in return, you handed him the SD card for him to slip into a tiny portable laptop. Weong-Bin was motioned to his seat by Chun-Hei, who then joined her superior, who was typing away on the computer to pull up the audio files. Weong-Bin glanced at his lawyer, but the lawyer was just as silent and stoic as you had seemed to be. There was a moment of silence, other than the tapping of the laptop keys. Weong-Bin felt as though that noise would make his eardrums burst, it felt almost deafening to him. His heart was pounding as Myung-Dae’s fingers clicked one final button, and finally, Weong-Bin’s voice crackled into the room.

“Just stay around. I’ll be in touch. Trust me, I wouldn’t be doing this if I wasn’t desperate. This guy has ruined my life for long enough…and I’m tired of it.”

“Just promise me that you will kill. Jung. Hoseok. It’ll probably get your family a nice Christmas this year.” There was a moment of silence before Shin-Il responded with his promise to do so. Weong-Bin looked at you. Your eyes were glued to the computer screen. He could see how wet they were getting, and you had to chew on your lip to keep yourself collected. Weong-Bin groaned in annoyance, and Myung-Dae looked up.

“What’s wrong? Don’t worry, my favorite part is coming up too, just wait.” He teased, hitting the fast forward button. “All this is specifics on where your family lived, where Hoseok worked, his hours, your daughter’s schools, and even your ex-wife’s work. I’m sure you remembered every anniversary too, didn’t you, smart boy?”

“Not once.” You said softly, earning a glare from Weong-Bin that you had to cast your eyes even farther down onto the keyboard to completely avoid. Myung-Dae laughed, before finally hitting the play button again.

“I need you not to just kill Hoseok. I thought about it for the past few days. I can’t handle not being the one in their lives, and I won’t watch while someone else is. I need you to just kill them all.”

“Turn it off.” The lawyer said. Myung-Dae quickly obliged, and Chun-Hei gently reached out to offer you a tissue. You took it, using it to dab your teary-eyes. “Where’s the punk Shin-Il that my client identified in these calls?”

“Arrested.” Myung-Dae said. “In fact, what he told us was a huge help too. The records are just the sprinkles on this delicious sundae I like to call ‘payback’, Mr. Cho.” Myung-Dae looked at the glaring Weong-Bin.

“Don’t be cute.” The lawyer hissed. Myung-Dae shrugged. However, the lawyer knew a punk in trouble with arson testifying against Weong-Bin was one thing, but these audio clips were legally obtained, and therefore, extremely beneficial in putting Weong-Bin away not only for the assaults but attempted murder and conspiracy. That’s a long sentence for this guy. “…What if we make a deal?”

“A DEAL?!” Weong-Bin snapped. “Are you fucking nuts? No way.”

“Listen to your lawyer, kid. If we get the prosecutor in here and make a deal then we can get you in jail for a much shorter time than honestly, you deserve. You may get found innocent for the assault, that’s one thing. But once these audio clips and Shin-Il’s testimony, along with Officer Song, yet another individual whose life you’ve manipulated for your selfish gains, you’ll be found guilty before the judge even leans back in his chair to take a breath. Then, you’ll never get out. Be smart.” Weong-Bin looked at you, finally seeing you staring right back at him.

“Honey…” He said gently, sitting back down. His cuffed wrists reached out to you, hoping you would take them. You didn’t move. “This has to be a setup. There’s no way I would ever hurt you and the girls, you know that…” You hummed, reaching out and taking Weong-Bin’s hands into your own. He smiled a bit.

“Can we talk alone?” you asked, looking at Myung-Dae. He glanced at the lawyer, who looked at Weong-Bin. Weong-Bin looked over.

“Officer Oh has to stay.” The lawyer said, motioning to the cop in charge of Weong-Bin. You nodded, your eyes focusing on the hands that you had gently placed inside Weong-Bin’s as you heard Chun-Hei, Myung-Dae, and the lawyer exit the cell, assuring you they would be nearby in case anything occurred. Once they were gone, you took a shaky breath, and Weong-Bin was unsure what to say as well. Silently, your fingers enclosed around his, allowing your nails to dig deep into his flesh. He winced a bit, and when he tried to pull back his hands, your grip prevented him from doing so. “Ow. Let go.” He huffed.

“No,” you said softly. “Please tell me what put you in this position. How could you…even think about burning your daughters alive?” Weong-Bin blinked. “The two girls you claim are your whole world…You were willing to end their lives because of what? Your jealousy?” Weong-Bin was silent again. You looked up at him, eyes pooling with tears. “TELL ME!” You snapped.

“Don’t yell at me.” He hissed, glaring at him.

“Why? You’ll find someone else to try and kill me if I do? I’m…not scared of your threats anymore.” You said shakily.

“It’s a setup! You know I love you and those girls more than anything!” He said angrily. “I just don’t want to lose you to someone else.”

“We’ve been divorced for like two years, Weong-Bin. Stop living in your fantasy world, please! I don’t want to live there with you, it’s an awful, torturous place where only you make the rules. I can’t handle this anymore.” You looked down at his hands again, seeing that your nails were leaving signs of red markings. “Please…if you have any respect for me at all, you’ll come clean and tell me why…just why?” You choked out. You wanted to cover your mouth, but you didn’t want to pull your hands away from his fists. You were enjoying the slight control that this simple act filled you with, but at the same time, you were mortified he would lash out the second he was free.

“I already said I couldn’t bear to watch you and the girls with someone else.” He said simply. “You’re my family, not anybody else’s. I made the three of you into what you are today, nobody else knows you like I do.” You groaned.

“You’re a monster….” You sniffled. “An absolute monster.” You looked at him, releasing your tight grip on his hands, but not moving your hands entirely. “You tried to kill the people you claim to love so much.”

“You guys were going to leave me for good. What was I supposed to do?”

“Serve your assault sentence and come out a better man for your children! I’d at least have some respect for you if you did that. I never would’ve expected this from you…I couldn’t believe it at first.” You glanced up at him. “You’ve ruined so many lives with your selfishness, do you know that?”

“Oh, have I?” He scoffed. “Whose?” You couldn’t help but laugh at his response.

“Officer Song is at risk of losing his job because of you, Shin-Il is imprisoned and may never see his child again because you manipulated him with money, Min Ja’s anxiety has only heightened after the fire, Hoseok’s lungs were almost as black as a chain smokers, your ex-girlfriend Sooyeon had to listen to you talk endlessly about your disgusting obsession with control over us, and your lawyer has to put up with you, which is torture enough.” Weong-Bin’s lips turned into a deep frown, and you shivered. “I’m sick and tired of dealing with you.” Slowly pulling your hands back, you stood up. “I advise you to take the deal being offered to you.”

“I’m not doing that. I don’t lose.” Weong-Bin hissed, hopping out of his seat. Officer Oh approached, prepared to hold Weong-Bin down if necessary. You stepped back. “You’re so stupid. If you guys had died, you would’ve been so safe and happy together until I got there. I would have been at peace until I saw you again…what am I supposed to do not knowing what you’re doing?” You blinked, staring at the face of Weong-Bin. It made you think back to the small smiles he could give you as you passed on the college campus, the face of the handsome, yet the slightly mysterious and aggressive man that all the girls swooned over. Yet, for some reason, he had chosen you, over all the girls on campus that would’ve killed for a glance. You felt so lucky that Weong-Bin was there to help you get over not only the break-up with Hoseok but the time after losing your child. The face of that beautifully mysterious individual was now replaced with dark, emotionless eyes. Eyes that only feasted on control and selfish intent. If Weong-Bin ever was a good person, which you now began to fully doubt, that person was the only person that died within the fires he tried to cause. It was if you were staring at a stranger for the first time, their life story a total mystery to you.

“…Oh my God, you’ve cracked.” You said softly. “This must have been what you’ve always been like.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” He hissed.

“I used to tell myself sometimes that something happened that caused you to be so different from when we first met. Was it the difficulty we faced having more kids? Was it the divorce? Was it before that? Did I do something to make you this way, was I not a good enough wife or mother to our children? Those thoughts ran through my head all the time, every time I was hit and demeaned. But nothing changed. You’ve always been this way; you were just good at covering it up until you had me in your grip.” Nodding your head, you sighed. “I was going to say for you to try and find that Cho Weong-Bin that I had fallen in love with back in college while you rot in prison, but…that Weong-Bin never existed, so any form of soul searching or praying will be in vain. It’s a shame…” Scooping up your bag, you sighed. “Don’t expect me to bring the girls here to visit either.”

“You can’t do that; those are my kids.” He choked out. You didn’t respond. “Hey-.”

“I told them I’ll never judge them if they chose to love you because you’re still their father. But until they’re old enough to make those choices themselves, I won’t let them in this building. But by the time they are that age, they’ll never want to see you again just like I don’t.” With that, you slowly began to walk away. Weong-Bin called your name a few times, but as you approached the exit of the cell, you didn’t respond.

“ANSWER ME!” He snapped. “You can’t…you can’t end on that.” You stopped in your tracks, turning to look at him.

“You’re right. There’s one more thing…” you said softly. Slowly, you walked towards him. Lifting a hand, you quickly punched Weong-Bin in the stomach. He grunted, doubling over a bit. Without hesitation, you took his arm and yanked him up onto his feet.

“What the fuck was that for?!” He shouted. “I’ll sue you for harassment!”

“That was for me, and for Yoo Hyun, who now has to grow up parentless because of her father’s stupid decisions that can be traced right back to your selfishness.” You huffed. “But don’t worry, I know where to hit that won’t show any marks. I’ve had enough experience that I’ve learned all the good spots.” Weong-Bin scoffed as he watched you exit the cell, only for Myung-Dae and the lawyer to return.

“She just punched me!” Weong-Bin snapped. “I want her charged for assault! Officer Oh saw it-.” When he looked to the officer for back up, Mr. Oh shrugged, simply shaking his head. “What?!”

“Alright enough horsing around. Our prosecutor is here. Ready to make a deal?” Myung-Dae asked, sitting back down.

The moment you were out of earshot of Weong-Bin, you collapsed right onto the ground. Chun-Hei knelt beside you.

“Are you alright, Miss. Cho?!” She gasped. You nodded, gulping a bit. “You did wonderfully, I’m sure. Weong-Bin will finally be put in jail and away from you for good…” You nodded, finally taking the moment to let all the tears you tried your best to hold in while in the cell escape your eyes and onto the floor. Chun-Hie silently watched as you sobbed hysterically, your body shaking and make-up smearing. She rubbed your back, looking towards the cell where Weong-Bin was finally sealing his fate.

-------------------------------

Finally, the day arrived. Weong-Bin’s trial was coming to an end, and everyone had gathered to watch him plead guilty in the promise of a lesser sentence. Lesser was a tame term, he was expected to be in jail for 40 years instead of over 60, allowing him to get out of jail at age 67, depending on his behavior. Shin-Il’s testimony as well as the audio recordings and camera evidence were not needed due to Weong-Bin’s plea. Shin-Il’s trial would be within the next few weeks, and follow a similar pattern at Weong-Bin’s, as he also planned to confess to what Weong-Bin told him to do in exchange for some money. You planned to attend that as well. But for now, you sat stiff as a board in the courtroom. Since Weong-Bin was pleading guilty, the judge found no need for there to be multiple people-watching in the room. However, you were given permission and found yourself sitting in the front row, giving you a perfect view of Weong-Bin as he stood responsible for his crimes. Myung-Dae had joined you as well, as support, but that was it.

“Does the defense agrees to all terms that come with their plea of guilty?” The judge asked curiously. Weong-Bin glanced at his lawyer, who nodded. Despite the absolute agony he must have been feeling, Weong-Bin nodded. “Excellent. Then, after reviewing all evidence regarding both the assault charges as well as the attempted murder and conspiracy charges, I final Cho Weong-Bin guilty on all charges and sentenced to a maximum of 45 years in prison, allowing him a chance to receive bail in the year 2065. That is all.” The judge slammed the gavel down onto the table. Weong-Bin immediately looked at you, and you could hear a slight commotion from the people you had waiting for you outside. You stared directly at Weong-Bin he was guided out by two cops. All of the memories you two had shared, good or bad, where exiting right out the door along with Weong-Bin. He was not putting up any sort of fight anymore, he was just watching you until the door closed behind him and ended his view.

Myung-Dae put a hand on your shoulder as Weong-Bin was led out, and you glanced over.

“You did a great job.” He said gently. You smiled a bit. “You okay?”

“I think so…” you said softly, your hands fiddling together in your lap. “It…doesn’t feel real at all…to think, he’s really in prison.”

“He deserves it, the jerk.” Myung-Dae hummed, standing up. “Shall we go?” You glanced up, watching as the judge, the lawyer, and the other cops exited.

“…Can I just sit here for a moment?” You asked. Myung-Dae nodded, smiling.

“Sure, I’ll go outside and tell your family.” Myung-Dae offered you a gentle pat on your head before exiting the room, leaving you alone in the empty courtroom. You let the silence take its time to envelope you, and you closed your eyes, resting your face in your hands as your elbows balanced in your lap.

It was all finally over.

-------------------------------------------

Weong-Bin was led out of the courtroom and down towards the car that was waiting outside to transport him back to jail. This meant that he had to pass through the hallways of people, which he honestly dreaded. He watched as all of your friends and family entered his view, talking to Myung-Dae. They were all grinning, and it pissed him off immensely. As he got closer, they looked over to him, the first one to move from their spot was Yoongi. Fuck.

“I hope this finally taught you a lesson.” Yoongi hissed angrily. Namjoon fixed his glasses.

“No need to engage with the idiot, Hyung.” He said simply. “Don’t stoop to his level.”

“Well I can!” Taehyung huffed, pointing at Weong-Bin, who forced himself to stop in his tracks and turn to the young man when he heard his deep voice. “I hope you enjoy your new home you piece of garbage! I knew this would happen one day and I’m so glad I’m alive to witness it!”

“TAEHYUNG!” Jimin held his shoulders as his friend continued shouting insults. “I know you’re happy, we all are-.” When he said that, he looked right at Weong-Bin, who scoffed. “But don’t make a scene. You’re upsetting your parents.” He glanced at your mother and step-father, who was watching this along with the prosecutor.

“Why not?!” Jungkook asked. “All that humiliation to Noona and he can’t get any in return!?” He pouted.

“Jungkook understands!” Taehyung shouted, the duo giving each other an extremely strong high-five. The cops tried to lead Weong-Bin off, but he refused to move.

“I want to hear what these idiots have to say.” He said. “It’s the last time I’ll ever see them, I hoped we could part with some KIND parting words.”

“Parting words? Are you a madman!?” Jin huffed. “You think you’re so funny, I can’t wait to see how smug you are behind bars for a few more years, you know?”

“Seriously! Don’t act so pompous, asshat. And if we ever find out you’re bothering Hoseok or any of his family again-.” Yoongi smirked when he saw Weong-Bin grimace at the comment. “You’ll be getting a visit from me, understand?”

“Okay, let’s go.” Weong-Bin scoffed, finally deciding to go along with the cops. As he headed towards the elevator, he continued to hear Taehyung toss out childish and stupid insults that he simply shrugged off with slight amusement. However, just as the cops were to guide him down a separate staircase to e sure privacy, the elevator doors beside them opened. Hoseok, who had been out of the ER for a few days, stepped out, and Weong-Bin stopped in his tracks again, mostly out of shock. Hoseok had a bottle of water in his hand, capping it as he came face to face with Weong-Bin.

“…Jung Hoseok.” Weong-Bin said simply. Hoseok blinked.

“Cho Weong-Bin…” he said. “That jumpsuit looks good on you. Better than any suit I’ve seen you in.” Weong-Bin scoffed. “I knew this would happen. I’m so happy, you have no idea.”

“…I hate you.” Weong-Bin scoffed. Hoseok smiled, but Weong-Bin found no joy in that smile whatsoever.

“The feeling is mutual. That’s why you weren’t going to be invited to the wedding regardless.” He smirked.

“Wed- WHAT?!” He snapped, finally being pushed forward by the guards. Hoseok waved him off as Weong-Bin was led off.

“Bye, byeeee~.” He cooed, Once he was gone, Hoseok let out a soft sigh. “Idiot.” He hummed, turning back to the crowd of friends. Just as he did, he saw you walk out of the courtroom. Hoseok stood in place as he watched Jungkook be the first one to spring into your arms.

“NOONA! I’m so proud of you!” he said happily. You quickly hugged him back, grinning at the 22-year-old. “That jackass won’t bother you ever again so long as we can help it, okay?”

“Don’t curse.” Seokjin said, Jungkook blinked.

“Hyung, I’m legally allowed to drink, cursing is nothing.” He said, nudging his older friend playfully in the stomach, as he grunted in slight pain. You smiled a bit. Suddenly, you were embraced by another hug, this time, a collective one of Taehyung and your parents.

“You were amazing. Congratulations.” Your mother said gently. You nodded, resting your head on her shoulders. Almost immediately, Jimin pushed everyone together.

“Group hug, group hug, group hug!” He chanted, and everyone did just that. You laughed a bit as the courtroom hall was filled with chanting young men who were circling you in a huge hug.

“You’re making a scene.” The prosecutor said, crossing her arms. The group hug finally broke up, and everyone looked around to see the confused looks of passing by individuals that had witnessed…well…whatever was going on here. You smoothed out your dress and hair, unable to control the giggles at the boy’s utter stupidity. However, before you knew it, those giggles were turning into whimpers and choked out sobs. Eyes fell onto you as you quickly wiped your eyes, sniffling as you felt yourself beginning to cry again.

“I-I can’t believe I’m still crying…” you sniffled, wiping your eyes. “I shouldn’t have any more tears by this point.” Jungkook wasted no time pulling you into another hug, which you quickly returned to the boy. “Heh. I’m honored you’re giving me so many hugs.”

“It’s only for you, Noona.” The normally girl-fearing boy mumbled shyly.” I wouldn’t do this normally…” you smiled a bit. As you continued to hug Jungkook, you heard footsteps approach. When you looked up, you saw Hoseok walking over, water bottle in his hand. He passed it over to you and smiled.

“I figured you might need this.” He said simply. You smiled, taking the bottle into your hands. “You did amazing…I told you it would be a walk in the park.”

“I know.” You said softly. “How are the girls?”

“I just called Yuna. They’re waiting for us to come home.” You nodded, smiling a bit. “Oh, Uhm…” Hoseok shifted a bit. “On an unrelated topic, completely unrelated, do you want to go on a picnic Friday?” You blinked.

“A picnic?” you asked.

“I need fresh air in my lungs.” He grinned. “All I’ve been inhaling other than smoke is Lysol spray and plastic tubes.” You giggled a bit.

“Okay…” you said simply. “Can we…get something to eat now, though? I’m starving….” Hoseok laughed a bit.

“Chicken?” Jimin asked, peeking around Taehyung’s shoulder because trying to go over would be a failed attempt.

“CHICKEN?! Yes, chicken.” Taehyung said. “My treat. We can go get the girls and Yuna and just go eat until we’re full or until I’m broke, whichever comes first.”

“You’ll be way broke if you put Seokjin-Hyung at the table.” Jungkook said simply, only to receive a playful shove by his Hyung. You smiled, and the group of you finally left the courtroom together, to go get some well-deserved food in your stomachs. The entire walk, you gripped tightly onto Hoseok’s hand. He had no problem with this, of course, as he held you close to him and offered you kisses on your hand every single chance that he got. Walking to get chicken with every single person who had done nothing but provides support and love when you needed it most was the best way you felt this entire experience could end.

Now, there was only one thing you had left to do before you could finally declare this story a happy one.

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southern-belle-outcasts · 3 years

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4, 5, and 20 mun views

Mun Views

4. On your fandom.

Which one lmao....um, well X-Men? Cool, a lot of the fandom to some degree is drawn cuz they can relate be they part of some type of minority group. Don’t see too many assholes, I think most of the jerks that were on here fell off during nippocalypse. There is a divide with the comic elitists vs xmcu and it’s dumb. I used to be an xmcu blog cuz I WANTED to read the comics but I was a broke ass college student who had literally no access to that, but I’d seen Wolverine and the X-Men, plus the movies that were out at the time. If I’d let those asses run me off, well, wouldn’t have continued to build my comic book collection (I’d already read Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, I’m talking specifically X-Men comics).

Arrowverse? I don’t follow many of the blogs, I have a select few I follow. My fandom experience is pretty much my friends with fairly similar views so I can’t speak on the fandom outside of the fact there’s a loooot of veiled hating on women of color under the guise of griping with the crappy writing. I try to avoid it. I don’t hold with Iris and Cecile hate, they’re good characters subjected to the writing of white men, what do you want.

Star Wars? NOPE. Hell naw. No thank you. Bye. I have no interest. I make it very clear this is a “the prequels are the shit, TCW is a fucking joke and trashes the characters, not!Star Wars mouse sequels are non-existent, the og EU is not legends it’s the only recognized canon” blog, and I’m this unapologetically. I have extremely strong opinions, I’ve literally been in the fandom since I was 6, I’ve spent hours reading EU content, visual dictionaries and encyclopedias, concept art of the movies books, comics, novelizations, etc. If you’re a stan of the other...stuff, I’ll probably say shit that will offend you and it’s probably for the best you don’t follow me cuz I’m not censoring these opinions, ever, at all. And for the love of all things holy, if you want to call R*ylo okay, or Anidala toxic, we meeting up behind Denny’s, yo.

Supernatural? Kinda sorta, considering I don’t link Nil and Farrar to any of the show canon besides using some of the monster lore. Like we don’t do the appropriation of native spirituality on this blog, so there’s no use of W*nd*g* cuz you’re not supposed to write or say that, like no. I have major problems with the show, that’s a mile and a half long, past season 5 it went downhill, they really should have left Swan Song as the finale. The queer baiting and bury the gays, the trash trash trash finale, the way any poc and female characters are handled, there’s so much oof. I stay away from it. Honestly kind of nice to see the SPN crowd was mostly quiet, it was RAMPANT when I first got on here, and there was a looot of drama. The way the extreme crowd of the fandom conducts themselves with the actors and stuff tells you a lot. Another nope. I prefer to stick to fandomless urban fantasy.

5. On exclusivity.

If that’s someone’s jam, that’s cool. Doesn’t bother me. At one point I was exclusive to a few versions of characters. Not anymore, but I can understand how sometimes someone just clicks for you to the extent it rubs you wrong seeing a different version. It doesn’t stop me from writing with other people so I literally give no fucks and don’t see why anyone else should either.

20. On 'popular' blogs.

Here’s where I piss a lot of people off, and I don’t really fucking care, as having at one point been an even more actively sought out blog back when the MCU was taking off in 2012-2014 and having tons of asks and thread requests, I can more than speak on what it’s like being a popular blog.Technically still am, you don’t have to take my word for it, just look in my thread tracker, and that’s not even all the threads cuz some are in drafts cuz they’re starters and I can’t add yet.

There’s nothing wrong with people enjoying your writing and following you. Awesome, good for you. It often proves to be a lot for people and I don’t like when I see people biting off more than they can chew but still pushing for more followers and asks and threads. Frankly, it’s really, really rude. I get wanting to make people happy, or wanting to try new threads and stuff, but you should also be reasonable with how much you can manage. If I see someone complaining about having too many drafts and asks and then not being able to write because of the pressure, but then daily pushing their promo or their wire or memes...and nothings coming of it...and they’re admitting they can’t get their muse to reply...then STOP. “You don’t owe anyone anything” means you don’t owe anyone respect and obligations that aren’t due.

When you decide to join a collaborative writing hobby, you’re still committing to your partners to write to some degree. Now if that means you’re going to be slow, and super minimal with which followers you actually interact with THAT IS FINE...as long as you have that communicated and make it very clear to the people who follow you they’re probably just following to be lurkers. But I can’t get with constantly pulling for interaction then within the same day the whole inbox is being dumped, drafts are being dumped, the same three people are the only ones ever getting a reply for the past three months, etc.

There’s been times I’ve said I can’t plot right now, there’s been weeks I bump all the memes in my queue further down so that they don’t post so I can catch up. I’m so secure with partners I don’t follow back unless I get my rules code sent in (newsflash: 9/10 I never see it). I never post a promo. I really don’t need to, if I see someone I really want to interact with on my dash, I’ll follow first, but I can’t in good conscious promote myself when I’m at a decent spot keeping up with a LOT. Sometimes I’m really glad I’m a multi with OCS and mostly female muses, it helps avoid ever reaching the point where I’m just getting too many followers to keep up with, but giving yourself a cut-off isn’t a bad thing people. Trying to do too much is.

There, I have successfully pissed off a ton of people, but I’m not taking it back. There’s way too much immaturity on this matter on here, and it’s really a litmus test of the people who HAVE been in group hobbies that are interdependent of cooperation of all members offline, and those who haven’t. “It’s my hobby” isn’t this get of of jail free card you get to wave everywhere when you want to ignore people. You can’t pull that in most hobbies that involve more than one person, whatever it may be, if it’s a DND group, rec sports, chess, whatever. This is my hobby too. I just probably take hobbies and commitment to other people to a more...respectful level. If I have real life, or physical issues, of course that takes priority, but here’s a little secret...we ALL, like 99% of the community, have some degree of mental health, nuerodivergence, jobs, home life, chronic physical issues. I want you to single me out the mun that doesn’t have any of that impacting their writing capabilities to some degree. Please, find them for me. You having those things doesn’t make you special and if you can’t communicate that it’s too much, you need the “flood of follows” from your promo circulating but can’t ever write...I’m just sighing over here.

If any of these opinions rub you wrong, I don’t mind you just unfollowing,that’s fine. No one is forcing you to remain. I strongly believe the people that don’t want to remotely take it seriously, and the people that do take it more seriously, should just keep to themselves, that way no one is getting offended by the other for how they choose to enjoy their hobby. You should enjoy it, goddamnit!!! But NOT at the expense of stringing other people along. Communication is kind of essential here, as much as people want to go “I’m too shy, BLOCK”, but y’all I have ADHD, RSD, social anxiety (I used to live in an anxiety attack it was so bad), and I still do my best to communicate with people even on uncomfortable topics. If I can manage, so can you. And if you CAN’T be mature...and communicate...then mayhaps stick to fanfic until you learn how.

#;out of the south #;munday #DUMPTRUCK OF SALT ALERT #watch my follower count go off the cliff i really don't care #hey nonny nonny #;little asks are made of gunpowder and lead

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skvaderarts · 4 years

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Chapter Thirteen: Matronymic

Masterlist can be found Here! Thanks!

Note: Thanks for all the kind comments! I loved talking to you guys!

The peaceful sound of waves hitting the shoreline was shattered by the sound of children laughing as Kyle, Carlo and Julio darted about, kicking up sand and generally causing mayhem. Nero chased after them, earnestly pretending that he couldn't keep up with them. It was debatable if he was actually faking it when he stopped mid way and bent over, complaining that he'd hit his foot on a rock. The children kept their distance, not willing to take the chance that he might be kidding and risk being snatched and carted off. After recovering from his supposed injury, the young devil hunter hightailed it after the children again, unwilling to allow too much distance to form between him and the kids. Despite the fact that the two older children could actually swim, he still felt the need to keep an eye on them. And Carlo had to be watched intently. He was thrilled to spend time with them like this for once. Most of the time Nero was so busy that he didn't get to just spend a day with the children without some sort of interruption. No one was at fault in this circumstance, but it still pained him at times that he couldn't just sit and enjoy the children while they were still… children.

From the edge of the boardwalk several yards behind them, Vergil stood with his back to the road. The darkslayer hadn't strayed from his place at the edge of the boardwalk, the shadow of a large, healthy tree of some sort casting ample shade and shielding him from the harsh rays of the sun. It wasn't particularly hot there, but Vergil had spent enough time in the intense heat of the underworld to have grown tired of its influence. He'd adapted to it and accepted it as a reality of his existence, but tolerating and enjoying were two totally different things. He tolerated Nero's slights against him. He enjoyed smiting his enemies. They were different matters entirely.

Just a few feet behind him, V approached. He eyed the sandy expanse in front of him with an unreadable look in his eyes, his soft green orbs casting a shadow of their own between where he currently stood and the water. His eyes lingered longer than they probably should have before he averted his gaze towards his shoulder bag. It was still in Vergil's possession, and he would have to retrieve it at some point in the near future. After all, he'd brought it with him from their hotel room for a reason. His belongings served him no purpose while they were inaccessible inside of their carrying case.

Dante waved at them over his shoulder as he passed by, heading towards the water where Nero currently was. Vergil allowed himself to consider what his twin might be up to given the careful effort he seemed to be putting into sneaking up on Nero, but it didn't take much to come to the conclusion that it was probably something silly and childish. But the more that the oldest Son of Sparda watched his twin carry out whimsical episodes of youthful stupidity, the more that it occurred to him that there was something… hollow about it. It was as though he had constructed some sort of mask or wall to hide something behind. Vergil himself had done so for years, so it wasn't exactly difficult for him to pick up on after long periods of exposure to his younger doppelganger. What he didn't comprehend was the purpose behind it. What could Dante be concealing from everyone, especially from his older twin? It perplexed the blue devil to no end, though he tended to not try and dwell on it. There would be plenty of time and then some to get to the bottom of what was going on with his younger sibling.

One thing was for certain however.

Something had changed in Dante during his absence.

He was not the same carefree teenager that he had once been. And the more he tried to ignore that, the more it bothered him. In a way, Dante seemed… tired to him. It was a sentiment that they both shared. But what had happened to trigger such a drastic tonal switch in him. Dante had once been hyperactive and reckless, going so far as to do rash and insane things with little thought or planning. It had always been a stark contrast to how Vergil went about his own goals. But Vergil couldn't help but notice that as they got older, they seemed less and less different. They were closer now than ever, but their minds were miles apart. He couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly, but Dante just seemed distant to him now, even when they were close to one another. It wasn't as if he were avoiding him outright, but he was definitely avoiding something about Vergil or something relating to their relationship with one another. For now, all Vergil could do was speculate as he waited for V to join him. And he was determined to hate every second of it.

V joined him a moment later, opting to sit on the bench that was connected to the railing. He faced the road quietly, glancing over his shoulder at the beach behind him. Although he was still near Vergil, he had purposely put distance between them. At the end of the day, the white haired summoner needed his space, but there was more to it than that. He'd spend a considerable amount of time over the last day or so considering what Magnolia had said to him the other day in her home. She had made a valid point. But he couldn't put aside Vergil's past transgressions as easily as he would have liked to, regardless of home much mental energy he spent on it. The harder he tried to move on from his unfortunate history with his father, the harder he dwelled on it. It was as if he were caught on a snare and the only way he could break loose would be to sever the part of him that was caught in the trap, but he couldn't see what was caught in it. He was only capable of reaching out in the dark, blinded and suffering but unable to do anything to fix it despite the fact that he was willing to do what was necessary to rectify the situation.

In truth, it was exhausting.

He felt as crippled mentally as he did physically.

Perhaps even more so.

A short distance away, Dante sprang his trap. Nero was in the process of trying to wrangle his mischievous children together in one spot so that they would prove less difficult to keep an eye on. As such, the young devil hunter had his back to Dante and was none the wiser that he was present, leaving the older hunter an opening to enact his clever plan. With quite literally no forewarning whatsoever, Dante caught Nero under the arms and he was going to lean over and give the children a stern talking to. The younger of the to floundered instantly, in exactly the wrong position to try and deliver any sort of meaningful counter attack. Dante then snickered and flung him several feet into the ocean water, garnering hysterical laughter from the children. They had seen his approach and had opted not to tip their adoptive father off to his arrival. Although they hadn't spent a ton of time with their new uncle, they were aware that he tended to do things they found funny to Nero. And that was enough to guarantee their cooperation. So long as Dante kept them entertained, they were happy to be his partners in crime. And he was happy to oblige their request. Pestering Nero was truly one of his favorite pastimes.

Nero hit the water with a loud smack, indicating that he had landed less than gracefully. But then again, he hadn't really been given the option to do so in the first place. Dante joined the children, bending over and placing his hands on his knees as he cackled hysterically. Was he fully aware that his beloved nephew was probably going to sneak out of his hotel room when the children fell asleep tonight to skin him alive. Yes. Did he really care that much? Well, there were stupider ways to die. At least it would be at the hands of someone he liked. In retrospect, he wasn't sure if that was better or worse…

"Dante what the fuck is your problem!?" Nero shouted with as much air as his lungs could scrounge up as he broke the surface of the water. The children might have been impressed with Dante's inhuman display of physical strength and sneakiness, but the younger devil hunter most certainly was not," You just wait! I'm gonna get your ass!"

The more experienced devil hunter folded his arms across his chest and chuckled slightly, raising his eyebrows. He was as unimpressed as he was unworried. At the end of the day, Dante knew that Nero couldn't do anything to him out in the open within the line of sight of so many pedestrians. Until they went back to the hotel, he was totally in the clear. And he planned to capitalize on that.

"Oh, I'm sorry… Kid. You looked a little hot. Thought you might be suffering from heatstroke, so I thought I'd help ya cool off," With much effort, Dante managed to contain the shiteating grin that attempted to spread across his lips as he spoke. One he was sure that Nero's white hot furry had reached a literal boiling point, he turned in the direction of the kids,"Don't repeat anything he just said. I'm pretty sure your mom would like that. But if you slip up, I'll back you up when you blame him. That sound good?"

The children nodded. They had absolutely no reason to rebel against that plan. What child in their right mind, even one who didn't really understand what was going on, would turn down a free get out of jail card with an infinite expiration date? Dante took a step away from the water and was caught off guard as Nero lunged forward and grabbed him, using his redirected body weight to throw them both into the water. The children erupted into another fit of laughter, still unsure as to what on earth was going on. Thankfully, they were too young to be able to identify attempted murder. Nero didn't need any witnesses in the event of a court case.

From across the soft, white sands of the beach, Vergil shook his head. As far as he was concerned, the heat had gotten to his younger twin. Nero had an explosive personality if his experience with him was anything to go by, so he couldn't fathom what had to be going through his head to decide to do something like that. That being said, he wasn't going to condone the murder of his idiotic twin. No. Dante had to continue to live and suffer his presence. It was the ultimate form of punishment.

V let slip a soft chuckle, smirking at the scene unfolding before them. He was starting to see where Nero got his more playful side from. Dante's personality was largely forign to him. They hadn't interacted extensively during the Redgrave City incident, and before that, they had never met. Slowly but surely he was educating himself on the members of his family. But Dante was… challenging. One could only hope that Dante didn't attempt to fling him into the bay like that. Things would take a decidedly negative turn quite rapidly if he did so.

"They seem to be enjoying themselves," Vergil said with a slight shake of his head. He closed his eyes for a moment as his mind tried to refocus on the task at hand," It's truly a wonder that he's managed to live this long. I'm almost impressed."

"Satisfaction isn't in your nature, it seems. I can't imagine that you were always like this," V said as he attempted to scoot over and out of the sun. The light breeze had picked up and turned into a mild wind, shifting the angle of the shade," Though I do advise you against doing something like that to me."

With a slight tilt of his head, Vergil adjusted his gaze. He gave V an unreadable look, but was unsure of how to react when V seemed to dismiss it all together. That wasn't something he was accustomed to. "... I'm assuming that Dante's foolishness isn't what you came here to discuss."

A quick nod of V's head confirmed Vergil's suspicions. The darkslayer gritted his teeth in discontent. Though he was eager to get this uncomfortable conversation out of the way, he didn't feel the desire to do so right now. But he wasn't gaining any points with his oldest son by holding out on him. With an almost protracted sigh, he closed his eyes again, leaning into the rail. "What would you like to know?"

Uncomfortable silence fell over them like a thick weighted blanket as V seemed to ponder the question. There was a part of him that didn't expect to get as far as he just had. As such, he didn't really have any specific questions in mind. The young summoner settled on something he considered rudimentary and uncomplicated. It seemed like a reasonable place to start.

"You can start with her name. I have no memory of her." V's head fell slightly as the words left his mouth. With every word, his tone grew more faint. It seemed that he physically wasn't prepared for the conversation they were currently having. Actually getting answers was something he had always told himself would more than likely never happen. Everything about this conversation seemed… surreal. And he had no idea how finally knowing the truth would actually affect him.

With a long, uncomfortable sigh, Vergil stood up again. The eldest Son of Sparda folded his arms, wishing that he hadn't brought this up so soon. While he never had what he would consider a "good day", today had been better than most. He wasn't sure if this conversation would ruin that, but it was a definite possibility. And the conformation that V didn't know his mother was almost physically hard for him to swallow. He'd assumed that a while back based off of other things that he had overheard V say in casual conversation, but having it so blatantly stated as fact cut him in a way he couldn't put into words. Vergil had never imagined that she'd…

"... Vivienne. Her name was Vivienne. Though her last name escapes me at the moment," Vergil paused for a long moment, both to allow V to process his statement and to try and recall her maiden name. It bothered him that he couldn't remember what it was, even if it had been difficult for him to pronounce at the time she'd told it to him. That was a lifetime ago now."... I believe it was… Beaumont, but she went by her mother's maiden name, Monroe. Some sort of falling out with her father if I'm not mistaken. It was complicated."

There was a long moment of silence between them as V digested the information that had been given to him. He nodded to himself, unsure of what to say. After a while, he glanced up at Vergil. In a way, they both looked equally distressed to be talking about this.

"Do you think she's… Is she…" V couldn't quite make himself think or speak the words he wished to so that he could finish his inquiry. There was a part of him that didn't really want to know. It was as if his mind was playing tug of war with itself. Luckily he didn't need to. Vergil sighed quietly as he looked down at the ground and then over at him. For a moment they shared a silent instance of consideration, not needing to express their thoughts or emotions out loud. For perhaps the first time, they were on the same page.

"I have no idea… But I intend to change that,'' There was a note of finality in Vergil's voice as he turned towards the stairs that led down to the beach and took a step towards them. It was time that they met back up with Dante and Nero," I searched for her once before when she disappeared all those years ago. I think it's time I did so again."

(-~-)

Some big revelations in this chapter! Heck yea! One of the biggest requests was to tackle this topic, and I think we were all on the same page here! As always, I look forward to discussing this chapter in the comments, and I hope you like the chapter! I feel like this will spark some quality conversation lol! It's nice to have this whole week's chapters finished by Wednesday morning for once! Time to get a head start on next week. As always, I hope you had a great weekend, and I hope to see you next week. Take care!

#Apocrypha #DMC #DMC5 #DMCV #Post DMC5 #Post DMCV #Dante #Vergil #Nero #V #Vitale #Devil May Cry #Devil May Cry 5 #Post Devil May Cry 5

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mr-and-mr-diaz · 4 years

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Sorry for the delay! Life hit the fan after posting chapter 1, so to make up for the GIGANTO delay, I’m posting 2 chapters today! The plot thickens :D

M/M Romance, Arranged Marriage - Also available on AO3

Chapter 2: The Marriage Contract

"...And he has grown up so much, of course! A lovely young man. And with wonderful prospects, too, you would of course have seen in the papers about his engagement to Henry Shawdun?" My mother tittered over a glass of brandy, waving her fan freely at the assembled ladies in the room. She was a tiny woman, and the generous cream-colored sofa she sat in almost swallowed her.

In my single-minded desperation to get home, I had forgotten that she would be entertaining today. I had hired the first hackney that would take me and ran into the house, winded and rumpled. Her friends turned to look at me, genteel smiles freezing at my harried appearance.

"Philip?" The couch released my mother as she stood to look at me. "I thought you were spending the day with Henry?" Her tone told me that all her assembled friends knew I was to spend the day with Henry and I had better come up with a convincing story fast.

"He started feeling quite ill, I'm afraid. Heat exhaustion, Henry thinks. He sent me home post-haste to refresh myself so I would not feel the same." I laughed with a dry throat. "A day like this, we were so lost in each other we didn't stop for even a sip of water. He sends his apologies." My own words were giving me heat exhaustion. I put my hand to my forehead. "But I'm afraid he was too right in his fears, because I do feel a bit of a headache. Do excuse me ladies, I should lie down." With a small, polite bow and a pointed look at Mother, I headed to the stairs with as much grace as a dusty coat and flyaway hair would allow.

I did have a headache. I hadn't drunk enough that day, and had spent the better part of the afternoon dodging through odd nooks of the city in my mad dash for freedom.

Or the illusion of freedom. I knew at the end of the day, no matter how far I ran, he would eventually appear, waving the marriage contract in my face with my hopeful parents and a solemn priest in tow.

Truly there was nothing much wrong with Henry. He was rich and generous with his funds. And handsome; my description at the dress shop was accurate in every way except the slight build and the freckles. As for build, he had a naturally strong build, tall and muscular. And as for the freckles, those were mine. And if I could give them to him, I would.

No, it wasn't Henry's appearance or lack of eligibility that made me resent him so. It was his personality--smug, self-assured, cocky--and the painful fact that I was inescapably tied to him for the rest of my life. His every smirk reminded me that we would be shackled together, and there was nothing I could do about it. When he entered a room it became a jail, and my every dash from his company was my own small way of fighting to breathe.

There had to be a way to break this engagement. Surely the contract came with its own set of loopholes, how's and heretofore’s, something .

If only I could get a glimpse of it. There were only two copies, one held by my father in his private deposit box and another held in the Shawdun mansion, presumably under lock and key. I refused to go to Shawdun mansion except under duress; I hadn't been there since the engagement dinner two years ago except when dragged by my parents for social to do's.

Desperation required I make an exception. If I so much as made an innocent inquiry as to our copy of the contract my father would become suspicious. Nothing would get in the way of him being able to continue his wanton lifestyle. I went to rest with this idea firmly in my mind.

And woke up the next morning with a plan.

Putting on my finest cravat and hose, I reached for one of my nicer suits of clothing, gritting my teeth as I peeled off the tailor's card with Henry's name on it. If I were to show up unannounced, I would have to do all else I could to make a good impression. And pray that Henry was in a good mood and ready to oblige my unusual request.

I grabbed a gentleman's taxi this time, riding in clean comfort to the Shawdun family's massive mansion. They lived right next to the Countess in town and,title or not, were one of the most influential names in the city. The townhouse had a massive garden, with a long path leading to the front of the house.

...

"Is Mr. Henry Shawdun at home this morning?"

"I'm afraid Master Henry is out visiting. Is he expecting you?"

I thought quickly. "Ah, yes. Indeed he is. We arranged to meet in his study not five minutes from now. If you would be so kind as to escort me there, I'm more than happy to wait for him to conclude his other business and meet me then; he told me himself I was free to make myself comfortable."

The butler nodded thoughtfully and led me through the house. "The young master Henry doesn't have a study, but I imagine he meant the business study. I will seat you there and send someone to inform you when he arrives."

"Thank you." I murmured, excitement warming the pit of my stomach. This could not have gone better! The butler led me into the study and shut the door behind him.

As soon as I heard the latch click, I stood. No telling how much time I would have before Henry arrived back home. I looked at the papers littering the top of the desk, but none were the one I needed. Then I gently opened the drawers one a time, rifling gently and making sure to replace everything exactly where I'd left it. Nothing.

In desperation, I glanced around the room, felt under the desk for a secret door, cabinet, a nook where a roll of paper could be hiding. My eye caught on a painting of Henry next to his father. They both looked solemnly at me, as though judging my every move. Henry, unlike myself, had inherited his father's traits, large built and dark hair with piercing blue eyes. I had inherited my mother's: small, though not as slight as she, with hazel eyes and freckles. I looked away from the photo, scowling.

Next to the painting on the wall was an ornate parchment, framed in a dark burnished wood. It looked like a certificate of sorts, signed at the bottom and stamped with two seals in blue wax. One was a simple merchant's seal, a hammer over a crate, that I recognized as the Shawdun family seal. The other one was... Ours.

I walked over to the frame, squinting to read the tangled script. Surely this had to be it!

" In exchange for debts accrued over a lifetime, and the provision of a comfortable life, Sir Roland Edward Mallory does promise his son, Philip Alexander in marriage to Henry Matthias Shawdun. In the union, Henry Matthias will take on the Mallory name and all titles owed to the family. The family endowment and all honors at court will be shared by the two as wedded partners.

This is a declaration of engagement. The engagement cannot be annulled lest all forgiven debts be recounted and accrued to the Mallory name in payment of debt, in addition to ten thousand pounds in payment for embarrassment to the Shawdun family name."

I sighed in defeat. Never in a thousand years could we pay such a sum. Blearily I read on.

However, if Henry Shawdun conceives a child with another partner, thus performing a breaking of trust and shaming Philip Alexander, the marriage will be annulled and all debts assumed by the Shawdun family shall remain their responsibility, and the ten thousands pounds penalty will not apply. However, no further assets will be sent to the Mallory household and all ties broken thereforth.

I felt a glimmer of hope at that. Such a debt I at least had a prayer of paying.

In addition, if Mr. George Shawdun or Mr. Henry Shawdun were to annul the engagement himself, the above would apply, and they would owe two hundred and fifty pounds to the Marjory Family for embarrassment accrued.

The bottom of the contract was signed by my father Aloysius Marjory and Henry's father, George Shawdun. I paid little attention to their signatures. Henry would never agree to annul our engagement, but if I could somehow put him in the path of a beautiful woman... Afterwards I would be near penniless, a working man with two aging parents in need of support, but I could do it. I would do it if it meant not spending my life tied permanently to that cursed man, at the disposal of his family and their every whim. The title-hungry new money would not be sucking me dry.

Gleefully, I turned to leave. I could feign a headache and get out of the house before Henry even arrived. I reached for the doorknob when it rattled under my hand and the large form of George Shawdun himself filled the doorway.

He was not as tall as Henry, and far rounder in the middle. His hair was silvering, but had not receded in the slightest, still spilling over his forehead in the fashion many of the rich merchant's class had taken to wearing about town. His eyes regarded me solemnly over a set of wire glasses. I felt like a crate of merchandise opened for his inspection.

"Young Sir Mallory. I wasn't expecting you here."

I summoned my most innocent and charming grin. "Mr. Shawdun. I came here by request of your son, but he never arrived for the appointment, and now I must return home to attend to my mother."

He sniffed at me curiously. "Of course. You will of course be attending our small to-do this weekend with Henry. I trust you saw the invitation? Our footman told me it was delivered straight into your hand." He smiled down at me, expectantly

Disgusting social climbers!

I fought up a grin. "Of course, I wouldn't miss it for the world." Unless Henry is unfit to be wed to me any longer.

Henry would conceive with a woman before the weekend, I was determined. It was only a matter of which one.

I pondered this problem as the same butler escorted me to the front door and into a waiting carriage. Certainly there was no shortage of women who would be eager to be wed into one of the richest families. I had already spent many a social gathering suffering their ire, glowering at me as though my attachment to one of the most eligible bachelors in the county was somehow my doing or something I was remotely pleased about.

Two particularly charming and aggressive specimens came to mind; Lady Evelyne Egret, and Lady Burnett de Witt. Of all the young women I knew who were eligible and jealous, they were as shameless as they were well attached. I quickly added Miss Lyla Havisham to the list, as she was a cunning, sharp woman who would be motivated to social climb. Any one of them being caught in an indiscretion would mean a quick marriage and my freedom.

When the taxi arrived home, I already had the beginnings of a plan in my head. A drawing room gathering. Intimate, low lighting. Wine and spirits flowing freely. Poetry, to feed the romantic air of the room. And then I would be called urgently away late in the evening, leaving a very drunk, hopefully aroused Henry alone in the company of three equally ambitious, determined young ladies. The rest would surely take care of itself.

Chuckling, I hustled to my writing desk and went about writing the invitations.

#mm romance #arranged marriage au #the reluctant fiance #original story #original work #not well researched #historical inaccuracies #EVERYWHERE #Philip Marjory #Henry Shawdun

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floatingcatacombs · 4 years

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Why Tomoyo’s Mom is a Political Lesbian

12 Days of Aniblogging, Day 1

In my Cardcaptor Sakura gushpiece last year, I made an offhanded promise to write about why Tomoyo’s mom is a political lesbian once I finished my watchthrough. With all 70 episodes under my belt, it’s time to investigate what I was grasping at there.

I will never be over Sakura’s poncho in episode 2

We hear about Tomoyo’s mom as early as the second episode of the show. After Sakura and Tomoyo make plans to break into their school at night, Tomoyo arrives with a full security escort in a tinted vehicle, with an armored van full of costumes for Sakura right behind her. You see, her mother is the president of a very large toy company, which means that she’s ridiculously rich and able to assign bodyguards to her kid like it’s nothing. The two observations that instantly come to one’s mind are that a) all of the bodyguards are women, and b) they all have the gayest haircuts imaginable.

“And here are my conspicuously butch and femme bodyguards”

The rest of Tomoyo’s family situation really only shows up in Episode 10 and 11. We are properly introduced to her mom (Sonomi), and the chip on her shoulder. She’s out to spite Sakura’s father in increasingly lavish ways, and we learn that this stems from a long-standing grudge – Sakura’s dad married the girl that Sonomi was also helplessly in love with. So that’s the ‘lesbian’ box checked off of my argument.

That haircut..sure is asymmetric

But what about the ‘political’ part of ‘political lesbian’? I probably should have started with that rather than Cardcaptor wiki synopses. Political lesbianism is a combination of second-wave feminist ideals with the notion that sexuality is a choice. Rather than dumping a manifesto onto you, I’ll sum up the underlying philosophical argument at play here:

1. Sexual orientation is a choice, as is choosing to act on sexual orientation. 2. Heterosexuality is inherently patriarchal and oppressive. 3. Women have an obligation to avoid and fight patriarchy wherever they can.

___________

Conclusion 1: All women should avoid heterosexuality. Conclusion 2: All women who continue participating in heterosexuality are abandoning their obligations.

This is a seriously weighty argument. If we accept all three premises, we are left with the conclusion that not only is heterosexuality harmful to women, but women must abandon straight relationships, otherwise they are actively collaborating with the enemy.

What does the world even look like if one follows this argument to its conclusion? Most political lesbians also believe in lesbian separatism – the notion that women’s liberation cannot be achieved by collaborating with men. Women ought to give up marriage, families, and sex with men, otherwise they will never be able to overcome institutional sexism. As an alternative to sex with men, women could consider…sex with women! But whether they have sex with women or none at all isn’t a big deal in the scheme of things. What really matters is the political action of refusing heterosexuality.

political lesbian praxis

The Daidouji family’s living situation all but confirms Sonomi’s commitment to separatism. She lives in a modernist mansion where all of her maids, guards, and other servants are women. Most notably, she has no husband or male partner to be seen whatsoever. Sakura even makes the observation that Tomoyo never talks about her father. Other than whatever happened for Sonomi to have Tomoyo, she appears to have completely cut the concept of men and patriarchy out of her life. If her goal was to create a lesbian separatist dynasty, she appears to have succeeded (Tomoyo is, of course, a baby lesbian in the making).

Me gaining class consciousness

There is a certain allure to political lesbianism. The idea that men are the root of all suffering and cutting ties to men provides a fairy-tale escape for some women. For anyone who has ever felt threatened or imbalanced in heterosexual relationships, it offers an explanation on top of the way out. Of course, choosing to be a political lesbian still requires swallowing some pretty big pills. Should we try?

The most challenging premise at first is the idea that sexual orientation is a choice that can and should be changed on a whim. The social construction of sexuality is definitely not a mindset that has won out. In fact, the modern gay rights movements in the United States has specifically been spearheaded with the idea that gay people are “born this way”, a purely biological challenge to the idea that someone can just decide to like women once they hear about the evils of men. Indeed, the political lesbians of old were somewhat split on whether sexuality is socially constructed or a biological impulse. However, they can just take the middle ground and argue that it doesn’t really matter – lesbian relationships may or may not be able to provide an alternative to heterosexual relationships for historically straight women, but what really matters is the political act of refusing heterosexuality. If a woman cannot bring herself to love other woman, she can simply take a vow of celibacy or otherwise avoid men. This brings us straight to the second and third arguments – that heterosexuality itself is oppressive and must be actively resisted.

Sure, patriarchy and oppression are bad, but the routes chosen to argue against them are important. Although they believe in flexible and constructed sexuality, political lesbian’s arguments against heterosexuality are extremely biological. The seminal pamphlet “Love your Enemy?” argues that “there is a very special importance attached to sexuality under male supremacy when every sexual reference, every sexual joke, every sexual image serves to remind a woman of her invaded centre...” Penetration, specifically, carries strong symbolic significance in reinforcing the power of men on top of its physically invasive component. Even non-penetrative heterosexual sex still contains that roleplay of power and powerlessness to a political lesbian. There is no loophole that will allow women to keep loving men ethically – the demands of political lesbianism are Kantian maxims.

Sonomi loved Sakura’s mom to the point of viewing her pairing off with a man as a betrayal. It’s very easy to see it as an ideological betrayal on top of the personal one.

The elephant in the room is, of course, the third-wave notion that femaleness and maleness are not inherently tied to genitalia. After all, to the shock and chagrin of many a radical feminist, some women have penises. Is their sex inherently heteropatriarchal? What about men who don’t have penises? Do they have a get-out-of-jail-free card from this whole mess? What about nonbinary people, who have been completely ruled out of this conversation so far? In arguing a biological model of oppression, political lesbians will need to be able to answer for all of this.

Most of them respond by biting the bullet and doubling down on their original positions. They claim that trans women are just scheming men in dresses, that trans men are gender traitors who want to abandon their fellow women in pursuit of male privilege, and that nonbinary people are simply confused. It is through this reasoning that so many political lesbians grew up to be trans-exclusionary radical feminists. Many former members of the Leeds Revolutionary Feminist Group, such as Julie Bindel, have gradually pivoted from arguing for women’s rights on all fronts to single-mindedly becoming obsessed with making sure that trans people are forcibly excluded from all gendered spaces. Not only is it depressing to see so many radical feminists fall down this pathway, it’s terrifying to watch as TERFs gain more and more of a media foothold as they start to team up with their enemies, the religious right, over their shared hatred of transgender existence.

shut the fuck up, terf

It’s a depressing turn of events! Still, even knowing that the movement is rooted in transphobia, can political lesbianism be salvaged? The idea of women’s-only-spaces as a place for comfort, safety, and liberation still feels powerful and immediately understandable and implementable. Though the mainstream LGBT+ movement gained widespread acceptance through advocating that there was nothing they could do about their sexuality, compulsory heterosexuality is still a real thing for many women and spaces to help recognize that would be very useful. Of course, the definition of a woman is going to have to broaden to be trans-inclusive, and as recent efforts to amend the Gender Recognition Act in the UK have shown, this is very difficult in the current TERFy political climate. But I don’t think that every bit of political lesbian ideology needs to be shelved or trashed. As future waves of feminism start reigniting and reconciling various second-wave and third-wave conflicts, I’d estimate that political lesbianism is going to get a fair reevaluation amongst mainstream feminists sometime within the next decade, with the bad parts hopefully cut and the strong parts returned to public consciousness.

pretend kero-chan is giving this lecture ok

So where does this leave Tomoyo’s mom? uhhhhhhhhhhh

Tomoyo’s mom manages to achieve the lesbian separatist ideal of a life lived without men, but she only manages to do so by taking advantage of her vast wealth to set up her own miniature state of sorts. However, this totally goes against the radical feminist principles of grassroots organizing and class consciousness. In achieving the physical goals of political lesbianism, Sonomi has completely missed the symbolic goals of the ideology and is actually reinforcing heteropatriarchal power structures. With her vast concentrated wealth and vertical power hierarchy over her guards and maids, Sonomi is reproducing the very male supremacy power structures that radical feminists work to fight against. Though she may fancy herself a political lesbian, she probably would not be welcomed by any of them.

Also her hairstyle is still kind of bad. terf bangs, lol

#12daysofanime #12 days of anime #cardcaptor sakura #feminism #political lesbianism #sweet baby lesbian tomoyo and her ideologically compromised grownup lesbian mom

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aprincessofdaxam · 5 years

Text

So here's the thing. When the Supergirl S3 finale aired, I absolutely hated it. And it took me nearly a year to be willing to watch it again. Because not only was I just flat-out upset because I ship Karamel and because my two favorite characters were written off the show (although at least they have each other - wait, do you hear that sound? It’s the sound of Imra screaming from the 31st century as Mon-El and Winn drive her nuts) ...

But Mon-El’s final scene? With the speech about how for a minute he thought maybe, just maybe, this was his place? Gutted me. Absolutely gutted me. We all get set off by different things, and I kid you not, that scene gave me a wicked surprise attack of homesickness and I literally cried until 4 a.m. (sometimes I hate you and your emotive acting, Chris Wood).

(complete gifset from @the-karamel-blob here)

But you know what, a year down the pike? I don't hate it. Don’t get me wrong. I'm still pretty bitter about the Karamel bait-and-switch, I still miss our outer space stray puppy terribly, and I call total BS on the "it was always a two-year arc" thing, but I actually think it was a really beautiful and meaningful send-off for Mon-El in that moment.

And anyway, it's been awhile since I've written a literal essay about Mon-El and our space puppies so LET'S CHAT. Novel on the S3 finale beneath the cut, for dash prettiness.

(also included: Why I still think Karamel is endgame, why I think Mon-El will be back, what I really think went down behind the scenes, and what Winn's appearance in S5 might mean)

Tagging @peggystormborn and @facepalming-since-chernobyl because why the heck not, you all like character/plot analysis

When Kara first creates her superhero identity, she spends a LOT of time comparing herself to Clark. And others also compare her to Clark - and she internalizes all of it.

"What, Metropolis gets him, and what does National City get? Some rookie superhero?"

"It's funny - that was the first thing he did. Save a plane, I mean."

"If she's anything like him, she's a hero."

"What are you waiting for? Superman would've blown it out by now!"

"Why do you keep criticizing Supergirl for trying to save the city? When Superman started, it was he, he, he. Him, him, him."

"My cousin didn't have a get-out-of-jail-free card when he first started. Neither should I!"

"I was supposed to be the one saving him, not the other way around. How am I supposed to really become a hero if Superman has to keep saving me?"

"If I was in Metropolis, Clark and I could protect the city and keep each other safe. And there's still so much I want to learn from him."

Now, this isn't about whether it's valid to compare Kara to Clark, or about the layers of problems that come in when you start comparing women to men - that's a whole other essay. It's about Kara's feelings, how Kara defines being a hero, and the standard she feels she needs to live up to as a hero. And since this show is built around Kara, Kara's standard for heroism become the show's definition of it, and the standards the other characters in the show should be held to in their various pursuits of goodness in the world, as well.

And that creates a very interesting comparison between Kara's arc through the first two seasons of the show (S1-S2) and Mon-El's arc in the two seasons he's appeared in thus far (S2-S3).

When Kara starts out in her journey, at the start of S1, she is in this headspace where she is constantly comparing herself to Clark. But she learns so much and accomplishes so much and shows so much strength, that by the end of S2, they have moved her to this point in her hero's journey where she is Clark's equal or superior - not only in terms of physical strength (when she defeats him after Rhea brainwashes him with silver K), but in emotional strength, as she chooses the greater good over her own personal self when she has to let Mon-El go. And her status at that point is by Clark's own admission - the person she was trying to live up to all that time.

"I think it goes far beyond 'the right thing.' I couldn't have done it, Kara. I'm humbled by you. Yeah, I'd like to think that if it came down to a choice between Lois and the world .... but I don't think I could."

So how does that relate to Mon-El's journey? Because there are a lot of parallels between Kara's hard decision at the end of S2, and his hard decision at the end of S3. And if, at the end of S2, we're supposed to see Kara as a fully-realized hero, a true champion, then that's how he's sent off as well (I'd definitely argue that Mon-El showed brave and heroic qualities even in S2, even while on a steep learning curve, but go with me here, because the parallel is really meaningful when you get to it)

Just as Kara held Clark up as her bar for being a hero, Mon-El holds Kara up as his ideal and his definition of a hero when he starts off on his journey - to the point where he eventually founds the Legion in her image.

"And whether we're together or not, being near her, it makes me a better person. It makes me the person that I want to be."

"I think we could all stand to be a little more like you. More optimistic and brave."

"I mean, you do that every day. I don't even understand it. You make it look so easy to do the right thing that you wouldn't even guess that it's that hard. But it's hard. You sacrifice a lot for everyone else, and I know I'm beginning to sound like a broken record here, but I admire you.

"I promise I'm going to be the man that you thought I could be. I promise."

You inspired me. So when I founded the Legion, I chose to use you as an example of what we could be. Of what we aspire to be."

"We base the entire philosophy of the Legion on Supergirl. Have you considered that she might have the right approach here?"

And just as Kara faces that harsh decision at the end of S2 that she needs to give Mon-El up for the greater good, Mon-El faces an identical decision at the end of S3. And, just like Kara (who made a decision Superman himself says he couldn't have made, who is a true champion), Mon-El makes that hard call.

And just as Clark told Kara when she made that hard call that he was humbled by her, validating her admiration of him, Kara gives Mon-El her hero's blessing of his decision, too. Now, I don't think these writers are particularly clever or good at continuity :P But they use the word "admire" so consistently between Karamel that I have to believe it's a deliberate choice. Mon-El tells Kara throughout S2, as he's learning, how much he admires her. And his journey takes him to a place where Kara is able to return that word to him, sincerely and meaningfully.

"There wasn't much to inspire me on Daxam." "What about the prince?" "He wasn't worth admiring. But I wanna be."

"I mean, you do that every day. I don't even understand it. You make it look so easy, to do the right thing that you wouldn't even guess that it's that hard. But it's hard. You sacrifice a lot for everyone else and I know I'm beginning to sound like a broken record here but I admire you."

"You wouldn't be the man you are, if you did. The man I admire so much."

(Tacking on to this because there’s plenty of other things to read and link to here - there was an excellent discussion we had a long time ago about Kara’s emotions and reactions during this scene where @emarasmoak and @i-am-aci01 had some great catches)

The other thing that strikes me as a parallel between Kara and Mon-El in those two season finales is the dissonance between the two of them, who have made the hard, heroic choices, and everyone else.

At the end of S2, everyone seems happy except Kara, who proceeds to isolate herself. Alex and Maggie get engaged. J'onn and M'gann are (temporarily) together. Winn and James are currently successful in their vigilante superhero forays. Clark goes home to Lois.

And at the end of S3? Mostly, our characters are happy. Kara says she's decided where her true home is, but knows her mother is safe. Winn is setting off to the future, where he knows he's important and needed. Imra has her sister back. Alex has her new role and plans to pursue parenthood. J'onn has lost his father, but is setting off on his new path. James reveals himself as Guardian. And Mon-El makes a decision out of duty that guts him. @sweeter-than put it very well: "Everyone else in this episode got an optimistic season’s end coda. Meanwhile, Mon-El is leaving the love of his life to go fight a dangerous war. ... [He] is the only character framed as being separated from his ideal destiny, where the destiny and the obligation have no middle ground."

Now we've talked about what this show wanted to tell us here. Are they saying you can't have it all - which, in Kara's case, is an inherently more complicated discussion because she's a woman? That heroes are always doomed to sacrifice? That work-life balance is a joke?

I think what's MORE IMPORTANT though, and the real message, is what Cat tells Kara (and hell, the title of the S2 finale itself). It applies in both cases. It really applies.

"You, my dear, are on a hero's journey. And yes, you have hit an obstacle, but you will soar right over it."

That's the message.

MOVING ON!

.....

I think that applying that statement to Mon-El is part of why I feel so strongly that his story isn't over yet. Because he's on a hero's journey. The story the show was telling with this character was someone evolving into a hero, someone who is a sympathetic character, someone we're supposed to root for. And how could the final picture of him we have at the moment, where he's so sad and so weighted down, be our final picture of that character? Yeah, the innermost cave, belly of the whale, whatever you want to call it, is part of the hero's journey. But just as Kara goes into those depths and then emerges to find triumph and happiness again, I have to believe they're not going to leave another character they spent so much time investing in that unhappy. We're going to see him again, and they'll give him a happy ending. Or, if they can't work out another appearance for him, because we're talking about real people with a lot of moving parts, we'll get some sort of confirmation he's happy (more on that in a second). They're not going to leave him at loose ends if they can help it.

Now when I talk about them investing in the character - think not just about the storytelling, with this slow burn they had going with Karamel throughout S3, but about the level of promotion during that season, especially the back half. They had Mon-El in the CW midseason sizzle reel, and in a number of promotional posters/photos. They built up to the red-and-blue suit SO MUCH, and why do all of that if it was something you were only going to use for a literal handful of episodes? Some of those pieces of evidence, plus the slow burn/abrupt shift storytelling, plus how open-ended they left things with the relationship, makes me call TOTAL BS on the "it was always a two-season arc thing," and makes me keep believing Karamel is still endgame.

IMHO, Karamel has always been written with that endgame-ish type of storytelling - enemies-to-lovers trope, true love's kiss, spending so much time re-building the relationship between them, etc, etc, etc. You all know what I'm talking about. ((And please note, even though this could be another essay entirely, just because I think they're endgame doesn't mean I think neither character should ever be in another relationship again. I think you LEARN things from every relationship you're in, and Mon-El and Kara were both relatively inexperienced relationship-wise when they got together - Mon-El came from a planet of hedonists where he had flings, not relationships, and Kara had crushes that she couldn't really act on because broken noses, amirite? There were things I genuinely loved about Mon-El and Imra. And I'm not freaked about the possibility of a midgame LI for Kara - it wouldn't lessen my feelings about this being endgame))

Anyway - the story they were telling throughout S3 pointed to Karamel reuniting. They really dialed it up through the final episodes with the robot-cockblocked conversation on Argo (actually everything on Argo - Mon-El with the kid and Kara's heart eyes, the double date, etc, etc, etc), Mon-El pulling out the necklace at opportune moments to remind the viewers he never forgot her, Kara’s multiple conversations with Alura about him (there’s a cut scene from the finale, as well, where Alura tells her that love stories are never simple), Mon-El’s conversation with Winn about not being able to lose her again. They point at it, and then do an abrupt about-face in the finale. I really think that they were heading toward a reunion. We’ll never know exactly what happened behind the scenes, and I know people have different theories, but my gut feeling is that they were discussing behind the scenes whether or not Chris would be back for S4, the writers headed toward their planned ending (a Karamel reunion and a relationship in S4) while hedging their bets with the slow burn, and Chris ultimately made the decision to leave late in the game, and so the writers threw the switch in the finale.

Again, this is entirely me speculating, but I think that Chris made the call to leave not only because he's a multifaceted person who had other behind-the-scenes things he wanted to pursue in the field, but because he walks the walk with his own mental health, and we all know there is a LOT of bullshit that flies around with this show on social media, etc. I'm reading a LOT between the lines here, but the S3 finale aired on June 18, 2018, so I'm assuming they were doing some editing and locking down of the things in May. Chris posted this the first week of May 2019. Excerpts -

"Well look at that: it’s Mental Health Month again! And what interesting timing for me, personally… let’s talk about it. This year has tested me in so many ways." "And while you’re at it, use this occasional toxic and negative platform for something positive and good." "Sending love and kindness to everyone, even the trolliest of trolls out there."

BUT ANYWAY.

Faced with the resources they had and the information they had, the writers still chose to leave things SO OPEN between Karamel. The original draft of the finale - which was shared by @emarasmoak + @snarkymonel ages ago, had a line from Mon-El, “Part of me will always mourn that our paths did not align … But I will always cherish knowing you.” That, to me, suggests a much more FINAL goodbye - and that line was cut, in favor of what we got - where there wasn't really a goodbye, because it might not be one. And the ring and the “In case you ever need me” is definitely a door left WIDE the hell open. The ring is a deus ex machina in case they ever want to use the character again.

My gut feeling - and again, with no inside information - is that Chris didn't want to be a regular anymore, for a number of reasons, but that he didn't leave on bad circumstances, and that he'd be happy to do a guest appearance because he wouldn't be walking into an ONGOING shitstorm (especially if it was something toward the end of the series run).

And regarding the other news we're starting to get about S5: I don't think the fact that Winn and Mon-El left together, and we've heard about Winn coming back but not Mon-El, means he WON'T be back. They could be dribbling out information a bit at a time to keep people interested as a marketing strategy - the Crisis crossover is the most ambitious thing they've EVER done, and you know they'll want to keep ramping up the excitement up all the way from now until December. They could have finished negotiating with Jeremy first while they're still working on Chris for that, or for another event down the line. Supergirl has a lot of "big event" potential coming up, between the crossover, the milestone 100th episode, Melissa's debut as a director, and they've got to be thinking ahead down the line to the eventual end of the series. All of those are things they'll want to really build up excitement for and maybe have some familiar faces around for.

I DO believe that Winn's appearance will tell us something about if, or how, they intend to use Mon-El again at any point, however. Look, the two of them are close. I wasn't that cranky when Brainy didn't mention Mon-El much last season - I got the impression they were more coworkers than friends, things were tense between them for a solid chunk of time over Brainy's role in Imra's secret plan, and then there was some SERIOUS snark thrown between them in the S3 finale in a cut scene (as for Brainy's one mention of Mon-El and his comment about "microagressions," we all dissected that here). I will be cranky if Winn, who has always been a close friend to Mon-El and is coming directly back to the story from working with Mon-El, doesn't mention him. But again, I think that mention will tell us a lot about the future of the character. He could tell the Superfriends (and thus, the audience) that Mon-El has reconciled with Imra, or has moved on to someone else (side note - in the comic canon, Mon-El's pet name for ShadowLass is "Shady" and I think that's adorable). He could even have some sort of tragic news about him, which seems less probable to me, because why go through the trouble of bringing him back from the dead in the S3 finale and then leaving things so open-ended if you were going to kill him offscreen? On the other hand, if Winn tells Kara Mon-El says hey, or he misses you (she misses him too!) or if they have some sort of heartfelt conversation about him, then that's obviously a positive sign.

I mean, who am I kidding, I have epic trust issues from their bait-and-switch with this story and I don’t trust any of the writers/showrunners as far as I can throw them and I am about three inches from FLIPPING OUT over this entire situation :P But I don’t feel so bad after some deep analysis.

#mon-el #mon-el defense squad #otp: comets #karamel #chris wood #supergirl #supergirl speculation #and all that jazz

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