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a-small-batch-of-dragons · 3 years

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Just Fine

Prompts: I just finished your Merlin fic Not Bad, and was wondering if we could have something of a sequel to it, if you're willing? Thank you either way! - anon

hi omg i absolute love your works on ao3, you're such a talented writer! i'm in love with your touch starved! merlin fic on ao3 and if you're still writing merlin fics and if you wanted to write it i would love to see a second part! (i've never used tumblr before so i don't know if this is where you even take promps/ requests but i figured i had to try, i love your works so much!) - anon

So many people asked for a part 2 so now we have a part 2 yay

Read on Ao3 Part 1

Warnings: this chapter is fluff all the way down, folks

Pairings: platonic merlin & everybody, can be merthur if you want I don't care

Word Count: 4729

Healing isn't supposed to be easy, but maybe the others can help make it easier.

He did say he was going to be pulling Merlin into his bed to cuddle with him in the mornings.

The sunlight is a menace, Arthur’s sleep-slack brain decides one day as it slices knife-like over his eyes through a slit in the curtains. He furrows his brow and turns, nuzzling his face into his pillow and doing his very best to ignore the fact that it’s morning now which means he’ll have to get up and do things. He’s royalty, he shouldn’t have to do anything he doesn’t want to.

…well, okay, maybe that’s not true.

Arthur muffles a snort into his pillow.

That should show how much Merlin’s been rubbing off on him since he came to Camelot, Arthur before Merlin would’ve huffed in that arrogant prat way—he’s not too proud to admit he has his moments—and said that he gets to decide what he wants to do, no one else. Arthur after Merlin knows that he’s his people’s servant as much as they are his. He may not have had the words to express it before Merlin but he’s always felt that way. Seeing someone so blatantly defy the status quo—and by extension, Uther—helped bring that out of him.

See? This is why he’s tired and deserves more sleep. He’s already waxing poetic about Merlin. He turns over in bed again and resolves to try and get a little more sleep.

Of course, as soon as his head hits that side of the pillow, the door opens, and in come Merlin’s footsteps.

The curtains are pulled open and Arthur winces, the light beaming onto the back of his head. Merlin putters around, probably setting up breakfast going by the smell of sausages, and then there’s a tug on his blanket.

“No,” he mumbles, holding it closer to his face, “lemme sleep.”

“You have to get up, Arthur,” comes Merlin’s amused snort, “you’ve got a meeting with Leon in a few hours.”

Arthur grumbles, refusing to open his eyes. “Then why can’t I sleep until then?”

“Because if I don’t get you up now, you won’t have enough time to wake up properly.”

“But it’s just Leon!”

“Yes, and you know he has this annoying habit of looking pristine even when he’s covered in mud.”

This is true. Arthur sighs, cracking his eyes open, and is immediately greeted by a wonderful sight.

Merlin, his Merlin, is standing in the sunlight.

It felt like a knife on Arthur’s face, but on Merlin, it looks like a cloak. A cape. Something to be worn with pride. He glows, that’s the only way to describe it. Even his eyes are shining.

How can anyone believe that Merlin isn’t magic?

…yeah, he must be really tired.

“Arthur,” Merlin calls, and only then does Arthur realize he must’ve called his name a few times, “you okay?”

Arthur nods dumbly, still grinning dopily up at Merlin. Merlin looks warm. Warm Merlin. Merlin should be warm. Warmth is good for Merlin.

Something cold ripples through his chest as he remembers how cold Merlin was the first day he let them hug him.

Merlin shouldn’t be cold.

“Arthur?” A gentle tap on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

Arthur blinks and holds his arms out. “C’mere.”

Now it’s Merlin’s turn to blink. “What?”

“Come here,” he insists, reaching for Merlin, “just come here.”

Merlin’s face flushes an adorable red. “Arthur, I—“

“I’ll get up in a minute, I promise, but come here first.”

Merlin sighs. “Alright, you big baby.”

But Arthur can see the way he trembles with uncertainty as he sits down to take off his boots. He can see the way Merlin’s brow twitches and how he isn’t quite sure of himself as he slides under the covers.

Well. Can’t have that.

“I said come here,” Arthur murmurs, gathering Merlin into his arms, “there.”

“…’rthur?”

“There,” Arthur sighs, snuggling into his new Merlin-shaped pillow, “perfect.”

Merlin’s tunics are scratchy. He’s a bit elbows and knees. He doesn’t seem to know what to do with all his limbs.

But as Merlin’s arms shakily come up to hold Arthur back, a contented rumble comes from Arthur’s chest.

Merlin is warm.

Yeah, they’re not getting up for a few hours. Leon will understand.

Merlin doesn’t like going hunting, which is fine, which is why they’ve affectionally renamed it ‘a woods trip.’ Actually, he’s pretty sure Gwaine calls it ‘get Arthur out of the castle so his prat nature doesn’t consume him,’ but everyone gets the point.

The point is that it’s one of the few times where they can just be a group of men, bit worried about getting stabbed by bandits, yes, but not worried about the rules and hierarchies and eyes of the city on them all the time. They can mess about and joke and partake in the bizarre sense of humor they all seem to have without any of the guards looking worriedly at each other when they think they won’t be seen.

Honestly, most of the guards at this point have just…accepted it. Arthur will never quite get over the one time he overheard a conversation with one of the new guards outside his room.

“Shouldn’t we tell someone that the servant is conspiring against the King?”

There had been a scoff from the older guard, Kodi. “You must be new.”

If Merlin had wondered why Arthur was muffling snorts into a napkin when he returned, he didn’t ask.

The woods aren’t exactly safe, not like Camelot is, but as Leon says, the safest place for a ship is in the harbor but ships were made to sail.

It’s what he tends to pull out whenever one of them complains about camping out for a night.

“Come on,” Gwaine mutters as he tries to get the fire to start, “come on, you bastard…”

Merlin glances over and hides a smirk. “Need a hand, Gwaine?”

“No.”

After a few seconds pass, Gwaine stifles a sigh.

“Maybe.”

Merlin stands, takes the flint and steel from him, and crouches down. He strikes it once and there’s barely a spark. He frowns. Another try yields another failure.

“What’s wrong with this thing?”

“So it’s not me. Great.”

“No, it’s—did someone leave this out?”

“Ah—“ Percival raises his hand— “that might’ve been me. One of the canteens spilled over the pack that it was in.”

“Well, yeah, that’ll explain why the—yeah, that’s it.” Merlin sighs. “Okay, well, um…”

“Can’t you just—“ Lancelot snaps his fingers— “you know?”

Merlin stiffens.

“Hey,” Gwaine murmurs softly, resting his hand on Merlin’s shoulder, “Merlin. Hey, Merlin, look at me.”

Merlin turns, his mouth a hard line.

“You have magic,” Gwaine says gently, “we know. We don’t care that it’s illegal. You’re not bad for having magic and we won’t punish you for using it.”

“…thanks.”

“Anytime.” He nods toward a scrap of kindling. “Now come on, I’m hungry.”

It gets a weak laugh out of Merlin as he stretches his hand out and mumbles something. A fire sparks into existence and roars merrily. Gwaine smiles and wraps his arms tightly around Merlin.

“Good job, Merlin,” he says quietly as Percival drops a hand onto his shoulder and rubs, “good job.”

“…really?”

“Yes.” Percival gives his shoulder a squeeze. “Good.”

New rule they figured out: Merlin isn’t allowed to go near bodies of water unsupervised.

It’s the end of winter and the trees are just starting to grow their leaves out again. The grass is turning green under the lumps of snow that still remain and the birds have started to sing. All around them is the sharp sweet smell of new, the soft cracks as the ice melts.

Soft cracks, mind you. Not big ones that mean someone is about to fall through a thawing lake.

He didn’t actually fall through, but it had been a close thing.

Elyan had fretted for a good few minutes as Merlin’s teeth chattered until they figured out the poor man had just had a clump of snow fall on top of him, he hadn’t fallen through the ice into the lake. He gets a half-hearted scolding as they whip up a fire and a warm drink, quickly replaced by questions of whether he’s okay, is everything still attached to him, is he hurt?

“I’m fine,” Merlin insists, huddling by the fire, “just a bit cold.”

“You’re still shivering,” Elyan points out quietly, “give me your hands.”

“What? Why?”

“I’m going to make sure you don’t lose circulation.”

Merlin frowns but lets Elyan take his hands. The knight begins to rub his fingers in a pattern Merlin recognizes from Gaius, stimulating blood flow back into the digits to ensure that everything is working properly.

Elyan works patiently for a few seconds until he realizes that Merlin’s eyes have glazed over.

“Merlin?”

Merlin blinks and seems to snap out of whatever daze he was in. “Sorry, sorry, I just—um—“

Elyan tilts his head, Merlin’s hands still cradled in his lap as he struggles for words. Absentmindedly, he swipes a thumb over Merlin’s palm and Merlin bites back a whimper.

“Merlin, am I hurting you?”

“I mean…yes? But no, no wait, I don’t want you to stop, I just—it—“

“Shh,” Elyan says, “it’s okay. Tell me what hurts.”

“I just…you’re really warm,” Merlin mumbles, “and I guess I’m just not used to…to…to touch yet.”

“Ah, I see.” Elyan moves his hands slowly, seeing the blood flow is mostly back to normal as he cups Merlin’s hands between his own. “It’s still warmer than you’re used to, right?”

Merlin nods.

“Can I keep holding your hands?”

“Mhm.”

Elyan holds Merlin’s hands in his own until they deem it safe for him to ride back to Camelot.

If Lancelot knows the secret to getting Merlin to feel a little more comfortable in his own skin, it’s to have him hold something.

He’s not sure why it takes Merlin’s mind down an edge as he begins to fiddle with whatever’s in his hands, but it does. The worried furrow in his brow softens into one of concentration, the anxious twitches of his fingers grow more fluid, more relaxed as he twists and turns the thing between them. Over the years, he’s gotten good at figuring out what Merlin needs to be holding, if he does say so himself.

When Arthur has an important meeting that makes Merlin’s eyes dart around the room, Lancelot hands him a shirt that needs to be repaired. Merlin’s hands navigate the stitches with ease as he makes sure Arthur’s got his armor of a different sort.

When there’s a tournament full of knights coming from far away that Merlin can’t trust quite yet, Lancelot hands him a pouch of seeds to sort, collected from one of the children from the flower store. Merlin sorts them deftly, putting each group into a little envelope to be returned, using it to hone his eye.

When there’s a terrible thunderstorm and Merlin can’t sleep, when Lancelot finds him wandering the castle late at night, he gives him a little plush toy. It’s a small thing, stitched together from remnants of clothing, and something that the servants pretend doesn’t exist. But if you know where to look, and who to talk to, there will be a little stuffed toy sitting on your nightstand if you ever need something to hold. Malwen raises an eyebrow when he asks for one but once she knows it’s for Merlin, Lancelot has it before the day is out.

As he watches Merlin fiddle with the toy, twirling one of the buttons around and round its thread, he wonders.

Is this the only form of physical comfort Merlin has ever allowed himself to have?

The answer is an incredibly disheartening yes, and Lancelot resolves to always give Merlin what he needs to help himself.

Then there’s a moment where Lancelot has no idea what Merlin would want to hold.

It’s a visiting lord, because it’s always a visiting lord when it’s not bandits or a visiting knight. They storm inside—Lancelot hadn’t bothered to remember his name—and pronounced that he missed Uther’s way of doing things. That when Uther was in charge, Camelot was strong, that there were roots of evil snuffed out at every turn.

Of course, he was quickly glared into submission by Percival and Arthur had cooly informed him that evil was snuffed out by not giving it an environment to grow, not futility ripping weeds from the soil.

But not in time to stop the lord’s words from getting to Merlin.

Lancelot finds Merlin on the balcony that isn’t a balcony, an abandoned training ground far above the rest of the city. He sits on the old stone, swinging his legs back and forth, staring at the ground with a glazed expression. His hands twist and turn over each other and his breathing is a little too controlled to be safe.

“Merlin,” he calls softly, not wanting to startle him, “Merlin, can I come sit with you?”

“Mm.”

“Thank you.” Lancelot eases himself down onto the stone bench, speaking softly as if he’s trying to soothe a wild animal. “Are you hurt?”

“No.”

Merlin isn’t hurt, good. Lancelot glances down at his hands. They twitch and knead at the fabric of his tunic. They clench into fists only to open a few seconds later. They look like they hurt.

They’re trembling.

Lancelot takes a deep breath and carefully, oh, so carefully, takes one of them in his.

Merlin goes limp, all but slumping into his shoulder. His hands are so cold.

“I’m right here, Merlin,” Lancelot murmurs, giving the hand in his a squeeze, “I’m right here.”

Slowly, he reaches out to take the other, feeling Merlin’s hands twitch lazily in his. Every so often, Merlin will squeeze and he will squeeze back. Merlin’s head tucks itself under his chin and the warm rush of his breath hits Lancelot’s arm. His hands stay safely in Lancelot’s grip.

Lancelot will always give Merlin something to hold. It’s no accident that includes his own hands.

Not many people in Camelot know that Leon isn’t just Arthur’s right hand, but the closest thing Arthur had to a brother.

They grew up together, in the streets and fields and halls of Camelot, running around with sticks before they got given swords, fighting dragons and monsters before they battled the real ones, helping each other in secret before they rose to places where no one could hurt them.

Leon remembers holding an Arthur too young for any of this as his father raged, as the swords clashed too close to his face, as a peaceful village burned around them. He remembers a younger Arthur holding onto his cloak, his sleeve, his hand, always asking, asking, asking Leon to be there, just to be there, the way he didn’t feel anyone else was.

They’re older now, and now Arthur is a man Leon is proud to know. He asks Arthur for things now, for help dismantling the things they hated as children, for help finding ways to take care of the knights when he doesn’t know what to do, for help figuring out what to do in this world where things are starting to make less and less sense day by day.

Arthur is his brother, his friend, and his King. Leon is Arthur’s brother, his friend, and his Knight.

To most others, Leon is nigh untouchable. He is the longest-serving knight in Camelot, he is almost royalty with how close he is to the Pendragon family, and he is near unmatched on the dueling grounds. He has the ear of the King, the unwavering loyalty of the knights, and the faith of the Council.

There is a short list of the few who know he this is not all he is.

There are a few children in the lower town who know he is a kind man before he is a great knight, that there are scrapes and bruises they receive running from something only to be protected by a red cloak and a calm voice. There are a few servants who know that his presence as they walk to Gaius is an impenetrable shield on one side and the softest guiding hand on the other. There are a few stable boys who know that they will never again be beaten for who they are because he is just like them.

But Leon has not truly cared for someone younger than him since Arthur was little. Not the way he used to.

Of course, as he is with most things, Merlin is the exception to this rule.

Merlin, with all his magic and baffling charm and bumbling wisdom, worms his way into Leon’s heart by the time he gets assigned to be Prince Arthur’s Manservant. From there, it isn’t hard for Leon to watch with a certain glow of pride in his chest as Arthur starts to change, from the hardened fist Uther wanted him to be to the man the little boy he grew up with was supposed to be. He keeps his words to himself about how kind Merlin is, relentlessly so, and smiles quietly when Arthur begins to clumsily mimic the acts of kindness. He grows to care for Merlin quickly, making room next to his heart for one more, nestled close.

But it isn’t until he has a chance to comfort Merlin properly that he begins to think of him as a brother.

Don’t get him wrong, Merlin is his brother the same way the knights are his brothers. But Leon hasn’t loved someone the way he loves Arthur in a long time.

He receives a call from Gaius and responds, hurrying down to the physician’s chambers to see Merlin’s face is awfully flushed and his eyes red-rimmed in tears. He hurries faster to Merlin’s side, asking what’s happened, what’s wrong?

It seems Merlin has been fixing something wrong with the magic of this bracelet Gaius shows him, a silver one with a big amber stone in the middle. It looks familiar, it reminds Leon of Morgana for some strange reason, but he can’t quite place it. But it seems something went wrong and now…now poor Merlin is upset.

Leon knows what to do.

He guides Merlin carefully into his room, stopping to remove his mail shirt and leaving him in the softer under-tunic and cloak, and sitting Merlin carefully down on the bed. The poor man looks cold, small, like a scared dog.

“Merlin,” he says softly, “Merlin, I’m going to sit next to you now.”

He eases his weight down onto the bed and waits. Waits for another tear to roll down Merlin’s cheek to let out a soft noise of concern, melting at the sight of someone crying.

“Come,” he murmurs, opening his arms, “shed your tears, Merlin.”

And oh, he hasn’t seen those eyes for a very long time. Not since little Arthur had looked up at him, shining with undisguised hope and want but holding himself back, like a starved puppy too scared to eat. It breaks his heart and he lets out another low noise, reaching for Merlin.

“When Arthur was little,” he murmurs, his voice low and soothing as he begins to gather Merlin into his lap, “he never used to like sleeping alone when his father was away. He said the castle was too big, too empty, even with all the people inside.”

He takes Merlin’s hands and guides them around his neck.

“I never liked sleeping in the castle either, it was too quiet. I didn’t know where anything was, except for Arthur. One night, he came into my chambers and all but tackled me in a hug.” He smiles fondly at the memory. “He insisted I let him stay.”

“St-stay?”

“Yes, Merlin, stay. Stay with me, let me hold him until we both fell asleep. He pulled himself into my lap—yes, just like this, your legs over mine—and wrapped his arms around my neck—there you go, just here, that’s it, you hold onto me now—and we stayed like that until we fell asleep.”

Merlin’s hair ruffles as he settles, Leon’s breath warming the top of Merlin’s head as he tucks the poor man close. Merlin’s hands are ice around his neck.

“And when the nights got cold, we would wrap ourselves up in the blankets,” he continues, beginning to swaddle them both in his cloak, “until we were bundled so tightly together that even the coldest night wouldn’t get it. It was warm, I remember being warm, there, in the bed, in the blankets, safe…and warm…”

There’s a quiet sigh against his neck as he wraps the cloak around the both of them. It’s warm, a perfect little nest. Merlin’s weight settles against his chest and part of him that’s been suppressed for many, many years starts to warm.

“He stopped coming to me when he got older,” he murmurs, “whether because he didn’t need it anymore or if he got too big. Between you and me, I’m sure it’s the second one. He’d still try if he weren’t worried about hurting me. I think he misses it, sometimes.”

He pauses, then leans closer and tucks his face against Merlin’s temple.

“I know I did. I still do, every now and then, but I know Arthur feels safe now in a way he never did when we were growing up. And most of that is thanks to you.”

“M-me?”

“Yes, Merlin,” Leon whispers, “you. You make him feel safe, make the rest of us feel safe. You’re a good person, Merlin, and we care very deeply about you.”

“…you do?”

He can hear the sleep coloring Merlin’s voice. He hushes the poor thing, cuddles him close, rocks the both of them closer to slumber.

“Of course we do,” he whispers to his brother, “of course we do.”

+1.

Sometimes Merlin has good days. Days where he’s smiling and laughing and joking with the knights. Days where he’s bantering back and forth with Arthur like it’s nothing. Days where he uses his magic the way he always has, like it’s a part of him.

Sometimes Merlin has bad days. Days where he’s quiet and they can’t get him to smile. Days where he is every bit the perfect servant for Arthur, which means he’s about as far from Merlin as he could be. Days where he seems to want to pretend he’s never had magic in his life.

Today is a bad day.

Merlin doesn’t talk until one of them asks. He goes off on his chores and they don’t see him for hours. Gaius is worried. Leon is worried. Lancelot is worried.

Percival is angry. Some of the new knights believe Merlin is a traitor—for whatever reason—and spends time educating them on the training fields.

Elyan is afraid. Gwen came to him and said that she hasn’t seen Merlin all day, which means Merlin is avoiding the servants as well as the knights.

Gwaine is upset. Because he can’t find Merlin anywhere and the longer he stays away the worse he’s going to be when he comes back.

Arthur walks into his chambers at the end of the day and sees Merlin sitting on his bed.

He stuffs away the outrage at himself for not thinking to look here first, stuffs away the fear and sadness that Merlin is upset, stuffs away the need to order him to Gaius and have him looked over, and replaces it with a soft call of: “Merlin?”

“Sire.”

Oh, no.

“Hello, Merlin,” Arthur says softly, “can I come over to you?”

“If you like, sire.”

“I would.” Arthur crosses the room slowly, wary of Merlin’s reaction, until he can stop within arms’ reach. “Hello.”

“Hello.” Merlin looks up at him. “May I ask you for a favor, sire?”

“Of course, Merlin, anything you like.”

“…m-may I have a hug, please?”

Arthur’s heart shatters.

His face must do the wrong thing because Merlin flinches, withdrawing into himself. “I’m sorry, sire, that was rude of me to ask. I’ll leave you be, now.”

“No, no, no, Merlin,” Arthur stammers, “no, that’s not what I meant, stay, stay, Merlin, of course you can have a hug, come here, come here—“

He gathers Merlin into his arms, to his chest, wrapping him up as snugly as he can.

“You don’t need permission for a hug, Merlin, that’s why I was upset,” he mumbles, “I don’t want you to think you have to earn it, you don’t—“

It seems his ramblings, however embarrassing to him, are helping Merlin calm down. Or at least get over his fear enough to wrap his arms around Arthur too. Arthur squeezes him tight and is content to sit there for a moment to let Merlin have what he wants, but then he feels something tug at his chest.

Tug, tug, tug.

Arthur frowns, tries to tug back, only for the tugging to grow more insistent. He follows the tugging to scoop Merlin into his arms, carry him to the bed, and lie down beside him. As the tugging persists, he tucks Merlin’s head under his chin and pulls him closer, threading a leg through his. One last tug and oh, oh, he understands now.

“You’re not bad,” he murmurs, ruffling Merlin’s hair as he talks, “you’re not evil. You have magic, Merlin, that’s alright. You’re my Merlin. I don’t want a proper servant, I don’t want a normal servant, I want you. You’re my Merlin.”

There.

Whatever wall there is crumbles as Merlin begins to sob desperately into his chest. The tugging renews, guiding him this way, that way, to hold Merlin close, to pull back and let him gasp for breath, to murmur reassurances in his ear, or to roll a little and hold Merlin down as he seizes with the force of the cries.

And through it all, Merlin never stops asking for comfort.

His fingers never loosen their grip on Arthur’s shirt. His legs never let go of the one Arthur wraps through his. His nose never strays far from the crook of Arthur’s neck. He never stops pushing himself into Arthur’s chest, almost as if he’s trying to climb inside and make a home for himself there.

He already has one.

Arthur realizes the wordless asks and answers, holding him as tight as he wants, listening to the tugs in his chest to take care of his Merlin properly, never stops murmuring that yes, this is good, this is alright, Merlin can have whatever he wants, Arthur’s here, he’s here, he’ll take care of Merlin.

He’ll be here. He’ll always be right here.

After, Arthur will ask him softly about the tugs, and Merlin will blush and realize that his magic was asking for help when he couldn’t. Arthur will smile and ruffle his hair and tease him about his magic liking Arthur better than him. The smile will soften when Merlin shakily admits he’s thought the same thing.

After, Merlin will start asking for touch more. He’ll brush his hand against Lancelot’s, sit a little closer to Gwaine or Percival, start accompanying Elyan on his daily walks, or find himself reaching for Leon’s cloak only for Leon to bundle his hand in his and keep it safe.

After, Merlin will slide into bed the moment Arthur opens his arms, letting them both sleep in a little more and enjoy the feeling of warm, warm, warm.

But right now, Merlin is crying in Arthur’s arms and Arthur isn’t going anywhere.

He’ll always be right here.

#merlin #merlin bbc #bbc merlin #merthur #merthur fic #arthur pendragon #knights of camelot #dragonbabbles #fic

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mymelancholiesblues · 3 years

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No, Mia isn’t "low-tier" compared to Ada (morally speaking, or w/e) – a measured answer?/essay

So, a couple of Ada haters tried to put up a false symmetry between both of these characters there on twitter, and it inspired me to put my own thoughts down in a more articulate essay as to why that's (Ada's somehow being morally worse than Mia) not sustained by canon in Resident Evil.

standing there, killing time

can't commit to anything but a crime

all the good girls go to hell

'cause even God herself has enemies

and once the water starts to rise

and heaven's out of sight

she'll want the Devil on her team. ⁕

First things first: let us debunk the false symmetry that they tried to establish between these two characters with extremely distinct archetypes – and worse, the following replies to this false symmetry and its poor arguments trying to validate it, pointing out that, in fact, no, character B (that would be Ada, btw) – which is so evidently and ridiculously different from character A (and that would be Mia) – is, in fact, WAY WORSE than character A, and then proceeding to assert some unsupported propositions about misogyny in Resident Evil (which, tbh, definitely IS a recurring problem in the franchise, but that in this case particularly, little or does not apply AT ALL) and how Ada contributes to "the perpetration of a biological cold war".

Starting with what differentiates Mia from Ada grotesquely: we know NOTHING of Ada's true alliances in RE's world. Mia, however, canonically worked for a group that participated in the importation and exportation as well as the manufacturing, testing and marketing of biological weapons: "The Connections", a CRIMINAL SYNDICATE which, amongst other things, was also involved in money laundering, assassinations as well as weapons and drug trafficking. I don't care at all about Mia, so I don't intend to waste much of my time going on about her role in the plot, but people should've already realized by just that much how infinitely dishonest is to try to put these two characters as "similar" ones, or argue that Ada is somehow worse.

Another detail that shouldn't escape anyone's attention too, are the origins and nationalities of both – and yes, I intend to briefly bring up racism against eastern-Asian looking characters (a silent plague that takes form by each passing day in all fiction fandoms) and anti-China xenophobia, but for now, hold this tea there just before I drop it: Mia is canonically American, and previously a Texas-state resident; meanwhile, we have no confirmation of Ada's nationality except for her pretty evident Chinese ancestry. But, as I said, hold it there for a while.

i) espionage — the job

red so silent

wait a minute

or just a little while.

what are you looking for? ⁕

At all times that Ada's "job" was brought up in this franchise, in ALL of her cameos, she has NEVER been called a mercenary in the original Japanese. She's always referred to as a SPY. Even in RE2R, the most recent title in which she's featured in, the original text of the game makes a point of labelling her as a SPY (and not a mercenary) in the dialogue that transpires between Annette and Leon.

It's the North-American translation and correspondent localization that now and then falls for the equivocal use of this other term. This distinction is important since espionage NECESSARILY implies operating in an organized service for, perhaps a country, or a political cause, or a class/group, or a corporation, or whatever. While a mercenary is someone who's acting per their self financial interests, indiscriminately selling their specialized "labour" and skills to anyone who'll offer more.

Ada's not a mercenary, she's a spy. But Mia, in addition to being hired to a canonically criminal company, was also the handler personally assigned to Eveline. I don't care how exactly Mia got in that predicament but the fact is: Mia was canonically employed by a company that profited over illicit activities and directly watched as a family was destroyed and toyed with by this new killing machine (Eve). Yet, we can't state for sure that we know to whom or to what Ada is truly affiliated with.

ii) sources — check them

who's a heretic now?

am I making sense?

how can you make it stick?

and I'm on a trial

waiting 'til the beat comes out. ⁕

This fandom should put a little more thought into which translation and localization of the game texts, dialogues and files they are using to support their arguments. I know that in some cases the United States people have a bit of an inclination to think of themselves as the owners of the planet and deem English as the only language that matters in this world, but let's not forget that RE is a Japanese franchise (wow, insane, right?!). Therefore, the most valid script, with the greatest amount of details, and highest credibility, is the Japanese original. Throughout these years, there have been several errors in translation and localization of the Japanese original to North-American English. And, believe me, curiously enough, plenty of those concern Ada, since she's often mentioned or referred to in a very vague way – without the use of pronouns or adjectives or adverbs that could help in indicating gender. This ended up causing those details and mentions to her to get overlooked, even though in the Japanese text it was a clear reference to her character (per observation of context).

iii) the good guys — one of

head in the dust

feet in the fire

labour on that midnight wire

listening for that angel choir

you got nowhere to run

careful son, you got dreamers plans

but it gets hard to stand. ⁕

Yes, as much as haters try to minimize it, it is SIGNIFICANT that Ada saved so many important characters and stood for unquestionably heroic actions in so many moments - like stopping everything she was doing so she could help completely random Chinese civilians with the helicopter she managed to pilot in that chaos in China (yeah, I know you haters love to forget about this, but it happened, it's there in canon, and no, it wasn't her direct OR indirect responsibility what was going on in China: REPLAY RE6 and for the love of GOD, never again argue that what she did was somehow "the equivalent of evacuating a city after selling a WMD to destroy that same city". It's a case of pure intellectual dishonesty to say such a thing. It's canon that Carla was the one who caused what happens in China, PLEASE, PLAY RE6).

Furthermore, Ada shows compassion on some occasions even for characters who are directly putting her in harms ways, like Annette (in RE2 OG, right after - in order to defend herself - she slaps Annette leading her to lose balance and collapse over the sewers fences, Ada makes an effort in trying to pull Annette back and prevent her from falling) and Carla.

Replay RE4 and pay attention to it, pay attention to her solo campaign: getting involved with Leon's journey in Spain hasn't brought any real benefit to her mission or herself: Ada deviates from her main path several times due to worrying about him and trying to help him and almost ends up dead in several of these occasions over her insistence in doing so: by saving him from Bitores Mendez, by helping him and Ashley against Sadler, by confronting Krauser and stopping him.

It's so lazy to only read/listen to a file in which she says in English that "Leon might be useful to her plans" (this is way more nuanced in the Japanese original of Ada's Report), and ignore everything that was SHOWN in the game: every effort she made to ensure that Leon could rescue Ashley, remove the parasite from his and her bodies, and escape from that hell-island.

The jet-ski she left for their escape was ALREADY there before she was captured by Sadler (or you think she arranged it while she was caught?). Leon having to intervene and save her from Sadler WASN'T her plan. It WASN'T her plan to take the sample from Leon's hands. She wanted to help him get out of there with Ashley and she guaranteed he could do so, she wanted to get the sample by herself and escape too while sending that hell to kingdom's come. But, because she chose to help Leon rescue Ashley right in front of Sadler, she ends up captured.

On her end, Mia never did anything minimally compared to that, and all of her "selflessness" or self-sacrificing actions involved a much, MUCH smaller scope than Ada's: wanting to help her husband and HERSELF is not at all comparable to saving a few dozens of unknown Chinese civilians. So no, they aren't "cut from the same cloth". They don't come from the same place, nor do they share the same intentions or goals, and their contributions to the RE storyline are quite different.

iv) unknown true purpose (shades of grey)

lining up in the background

waiting for the crowd shot to be seen

in the shadow of the big screen

everybody begs to be redeemed. ⁕

In databooks, Ada is recurrently described as "a Chinese spy with extraordinary physical abilities, vigorous health and composed mind and spirit, capable of coping with grim situations and handling even the most difficult requests without losing composure". If we are paying attention to the storytelling ingame, however, we know that this isn't always the case: Ada did let her mask of unswerving emotional and physical strength fall and showed a very fragile side under strenuous circumstances a couple of times already.

Also, in these databooks, they often point out that "she has her own 'true purpose' and has FREQUENTLY betrayed organizations and clients to achieve it". Huh, we can AGAIN, by this only, see how completely different she's from Mia, who personally watched an entire family being driven to insanity by Eveline's hand.

Furthermore, in these databooks, it's often said that "this true purpose is still obscure and whether she truly cared for anyone or simply used her charms to manipulate people that crossed paths with her isn't ever clear". If people are willing to be open-minded and exercise their text comprehension skills, though, they'll see that in multiple occasions of emotional confrontation it has been established time and time again that yes, Ada DOES care. She wasn't capable of shooting Leon and there has been a couple of other times that failing to choose a cool, sociopathic calculation and pragmatical demeanour over empathy and humanity towards others has put her in harms ways: nonetheless she still chose it.

v) positive impact

I'm gonna break the cycle

I'm gonna shake up the system

I'm gonna destroy my ego. ⁕

To this point, RE's plot systematically leads us to believe that Ada has been covertly acting behind the scenes of multiple biological incidents COLLECTING INFORMATION (the job of a spy, who would've thought! lmao), that is valuable to numerous organizations, companies, groups and different contexts, but at the same time of allegedly offering to handle this knowledge for the right price to the big players involved with bioterrorism and clandestine trading of bioweapons, she's also working to sabotage said players.

This is evident throughout the franchise: she intended to hurt Umbrella's business. She outwitted and deceived Wesker multiple times. She even undermined Simmons, someone who was in a position of power in the US government and actively using that position to lead bioterrorist ventures on the parallel side.

There's no concrete evidence or hint as to what she does with the information she collects, and for all purposes and effects, I can presume that she's gathering this knowledge to assist in the discovery of countermeasures and vaccination studies. I might as well argue that she is a Chinese spy who is working against European and North-American capitalism and the imperialism that creates such monsters like the biochemical and bioweapons industry and that her real objective is to dismantle the market for bioweapons and bioterror supported mainly by the USA (see: Simmons and The Family).

That is, as long as it is unclear what her true purpose is, I have the freedom to surmise whatever the heck I want and that all of what she's been doing was for the sake of the greater "good" - and I'll even have canon moments to support this reasoning as it's clear that she regularly sabotages her customers (customers that are unquestionably established as playing for the "evil" side, with perverse intentions) - throughout the franchise. She did this on RE2, RE4, RE6 and Damnation. It's there, transparent in canon, people just choose to ignore it.

She laughs in the face of whoever she's talking to by the end of Damnation, saying she doesn't intend to deliver the Plaga; she scoffs at Simmons; she betrays Wesker and kills Krauser. She had been sabotaging Wesker for so long, that he sent Krauser to be the main agent in the mission in Spain, and Ada was just a "side effect" that he didn't have in control and had to keep an eye on, so he ordered Krauser to keep tabs on her. It's not a mutually beneficial dynamic. Ada doesn't want Wesker to succeed, she despises him; this is clear in the games in which they interact. There are even files that indicate that she was trying to double-cross and get in the way of his plans for at least 2 years before Spain, and he was constantly catching up with her. See here and here.

On her end, Mia was employed by and consciously working for a criminal syndicate.

vi) a (secretly) helping hand

oh, I'm a master pretender

just felt more alone

the further I'd go

but I'll stick around

I'll be your master defender

yeah, I'll stick around. ⁕

Ada approached characters such as John Clemens and Luis Sera, and both had a canonical intention to, in addition to putting an end to their connections with the criminal companies and organizations they've been working for, also expose and denounce them for their crimes. It's in this context that Ada comes into contact with them. And why is that?

Check John's background: he had made up his mind about disclosing Umbrella's crimes to the public. Check Luis' background: Ada went to Spain to assist in his extradition since he feared for his own life if he resolved to turn his back on the cult of Los Illuminados, and also dreaded the consequences of the liberation of Las Plagas on an international scale.

Keep in mind that Ada handed over to Wesker a USELESS Plaga sample. Wesker only got the sample currently circulating in the underground market because he went after Krauser's body. We don't know what Ada did with the master Plaga sample she obtained. We only know from Ada's Report and the Plaga Recovery file that she didn't deliver it to Wesker, and he needed to go out for a plan B to get it.

Even the G-Virus sample that fell into the hands of the clandestine business, it's possible to argue that Ada's involvement in it was flimsy, since Simmons CANONICALLY made over a thousand laboratory tests in Sherry, and, as we know, he was a leading figure in bioterrorism and bioweapons trading with the aid of his position in the US government.

But, guess what, Ada clearly is a non-white character with obvious Chinese heritage and Mia is white, so of course, OF COURSE, someone can so nonchalantly affirm that Ada, this "vile bitch", is somehow WORSE than Mia. The same Mia who watched the Bakers being destroyed. Right.

Also: trying to validate one's point by claiming anything related to the misogyny present in RE franchise, while IN THE SAME BREATH AND TWEET reducing Ada's entire character arc to that of "a sociopathic bitch cured by the magic dick of her love interest" is supposed to be a joke, right? No, really. Joke.

conclusion and a word against misogyny

we are waiting on a telegram to

give us news of the fall

I am sorry to report

dear Paris is burning after all

we have taken to the streets

in open rejoice, revolting

we are dancing a black waltz

fair Paris is burning after all. ⁕

To any Ada fan that has been reading this so far: PLEASE, I ask to consider refraining to use the "oh yes, Ada did some bad shit, bUT" take to defend the character because that isn't sustained by canon in RE, lmao. She didn't do anything evil that had an indisputable bad impact on the plot and other characters arcs. For one, I myself do love some villains, but that isn't the case with Ada.

She did do some unconventional shit yes, since she's a morally GRAY character and an anti-heroine, but by the end of the day, each and every action of hers had a positive impact on the journey of other characters and main plot. Just pay attention to it.

Like idk man, Black Widow, Elektra Natchios, Scarlet Witch and Black Cat from Marvel, Catwoman from DC, Yennefer from The Witcher (some pop culture examples that come to mind).

Saying that this is an "extremely selfish prototypal bad bitch except when it comes to the magical redeeming dick of her love interest" it's a grotesque reduction of a complex female character, and, in its attempt to critique the misogyny present in RE's franchise an expression of misogyny in itself.

Remember: Ada has actions and impact on the franchise ASIDE and IN ADDITION to her romantic involvement with Leon.

#Resident Evil #Ada Wong #Leon x Ada #Ada x Leon #Aeon #Leon Kennedy #[mine]#[meta]#//#Aeon fandom

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residentevilbots · 4 years

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Jackson Wang as Leon S. Kennedy

"Is it just me, or does everybody always ignore what I say?"

⚠︎ @yanlee @yanlee-spam og

⚠︎ @yanderejacks og Jackson Wang

@gamer-jeno @demon-nct @skz-cb @skz-chatbot @heathenxbovs @heathenxgvrls @time-for-confession @dungeonhybrids @idol-academy @shin-haneul @secretadmirer-nct @hanjisung-bot @mafia-chaeyoung (salamat for the tags uwu) @vampiremomo @marcelinethevamp-cb @m00n-purplerose-chatbot @m00n-silverlions-chatbot @sub-chungha @sweetandsleepyjamie @madmanwoodam @midari-jieun @darkfaeskz @svt-hybridcenter @hunter-chaeyoung @demon-yeonwoo @thepack-cb @deadly-skz-gods-cb (dm to be added or removed)

#hi guess what #aha

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tviirus · 1 year

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❝ why isn't take out for dinner ever an option ? ❞

#━━ ✦ leon * in ‚ is it me or does everybody always ignore what i say ?#━━ ✦ in * dc ‚ i don't care if you're sick #s i g h

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acciobamon · 4 years

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Our choices seal our fate

When Uther finds out about Arthur and Merlin relationship, it's up to Arthur to convince him to not banish Merlin.

[also on AO3]

Arthur had been requested for an audience with his King far too many times to count now. Yet, he had never been more scared than today. Previous audiences with his father had been to discuss the many important and perhaps more boring affairs of running a country; from taxes and town disputes, to alliances with other kingdoms.

Right now though was entirely different matter.

“I’m not asking to talk to the king,” Arthur said. “I’m asking to talk to my father.”

This stopped Uther. It was long past since Arthur had stopped differentiating from them both, even long past since he himself had stopped.

“Very well. I’m listening.”

“I know you know about Merlin and me,” Arthur started. “And I know you don’t approve. You think it’s below me, that he is just a servant and not worthy. You had made it clear with Guinevere, but at least she could have bore an heir. Merlin is a servant and a man,” not to mention a sorcerer thought Arthur, “and for that, it’s wrong. If it was only a fling, maybe we could pretend it wasn't happening. But you think it makes me lose sight of my priorities.”

“It does,” Uther cut him off. “How many times have you disobeyed me, disobeyed your king, just for the sake of him? How many times have you put your life at risk, putting the entire kingdom at risk, for the sake of a peasant boy?”

“I’m not denying this. Yes, I would put my life at risk for him, but have you ever seen me putting Camelot aside? Have you ever seen me leaving a battle, leaving Camelot unprotected? Have you ever seen me abandoning my duties?”

Uther didn’t answer. Even if Arthur wasn’t acting like he wanted him to, he knew that his son always did everything he could for the kingdom.

“Maybe, but it doesn’t change the fact that you would, that you will risk your life if it can save his. If sending him away will keep you safe, then I’ll gladly do it.”

“And I will go with him. Don’t think I wouldn’t. I could leave this room right now, pack our bags, and we could leave Camelot and simply exist. You don’t know how many times I’ve thought about it. I even suggested it to him.”

Uther was watching him in horror, ready to yell at him, but Arthur just snorted and shook his head.

“Even if I ordered him to pack our things, so we could leave, he wouldn’t do it. He’d tell me that I can’t escape my destiny, that I was made to be king, that I can’t leave Camelot because she needs me, and I her. He’d tell me that everything is going to be alright, and that we’ll find a way, like we always do. Then he’d complain about having to put back everything in its place.” Arthur smiled, imagining the scene. It was a private smile, so fond that Uther almost wanted to smile too.

Almost.

“What about yout future queen? You keep saying you’re trying, before turning down potential queens, but how long will it go until they start turning to someone else? I know you want to marry for love, but how could you if you refuse to let go of that boy? Your... infatuation will make you ignore everybody, and one day, the kingdom will find itself without an heir to the throne and will collapse. I will not allow this to happen.”

“Do you really think I’m that naive? That we are that naive? We both know I’ll have to marry. Hell, I’m sure he will find me the perfect match because he’s like that. He'd go searching for her right now, if I asked him.” Arthur let a humourless laugh escape. “The problem is not that he is a servant, but that I am to be king, with everything it implies, and that’s why he never did something until…”

Arthur stopped and took a deep breath. “This has been between us for so long, and if it didn’t happen sooner, it wasn’t because I was ashamed of his rank, or that he isn’t a woman. It didn’t happen because Merlin is the one who sees farther, and he knew that who I am would make this impossible. He’s not delusional. He knows what awaits me, and what it’ll mean for us. He won’t try to stop me from marrying. He will push me to do it because it’s the right thing.”

“Then why does it matter to cut this thing off now? The sooner, the easier.”

“Because we are doomed.”

The certainty, the hurt in Arthur’s voice made Uther wanting to reach out to his son.

“We are doomed, anyway,” Arthur continued. “We won’t have a happy ending. One day, he’ll finally succeed in dying for me, or he’s going to decide this is not enough and that he wants someone he can share a future with. Maybe he’ll stay, but I won’t let him wait for me while I’m married to someone else; it won’t be fair to any of us, and I’ll have to let him go. We are doomed to not be together, in the end. I’m doomed to lose him,” Arthur all but whispered. “So please, I’m begging you, father, to let me have him while I can.”

Uther knew a thing or two about broken hearts. He had one, after all. He could see his son’s was too. And what was even sadder was that it was broken before it ever had to.

Uther wanted to send that boy away, to stop this happening under his own roof, to put Arthur back on the right path, and to make sure Camelot would have a king with a clear mind.

He was ready to say this, but he looked at his son, his son who had learnt years ago to hide his feelings, who had learnt to not let his emotions rule his acts, his son who had stopped sharing his sentiments with him because it wasn’t fitting. This same son who was now bearing his heart open in a way that was too raw and too heavy; this same son that was crying in front of him and who was already crushed down by the weight of a crown he didn’t yet wear.

And behind the disgust and anger Uther could feel, he also knew that whatever bond between his son and his manservant was real and deeper than almost every relationship he had witnessed in his life. It certainly wasn’t the kind of love he wanted for his son.

It was something more profound that he could understand.

It also meant it would provoke a profound suffering when it would collapse. A pain so deep it was already felt before it even happened.

Uther felt a rush of pride and admiration for his son (and perhaps to some extent for Merlin), who knew what was coming for him, and was still willing to face it.

And maybe he hadn’t acted like a father for a long time now, but he was still one. If he was able to make his son happy without risking the future of the kingdom, so be it. He could always banish the boy later if he saw that they forgot their places — which he doubted; as much as it pained him to admit it, he knew Merlin would always put Arthur first, and that Arthur would always put Camelot first.

“Fine,” he finally said. “If both of you are truly aware of what is expected of you, then I won’t do anything, as long as it doesn’t threaten the kingdom.”

It was only because he was so used to keeping a straight face in front of his father that Arthur didn’t collapse with relief. “Thank you.”

“Where have you been?” Merlin asked when he entered the room and saw Arthur sitting in his chair. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” He approached Arthur and hesitated before saying: “Leon told me, what your father wants to do…”

“Yeah. I was talking with him about that.”

“To what, ask him to not send me away?” Merlin asked, dubious.

“Yes. He won’t.”

Merlin was taken aback. He had been expecting guards to come for him for a while now. He had no illusion of what Uther thought about their relationship, and knew that he’d do everything to stop it.

“What did you say to him to manage that?”

“The truth. That I was doomed to lose you anyway, so he didn’t have to worry.”

“What are you talking about?” Merlin asked. “Arthur, you’re not going to lose me.”

“Yes, I am. One day, you’ll leave, or you’ll die, or I’ll have to let you go, and I will lose you. The only reason he accepted to not send you away is because we are doomed, and he knows it.”

“And he bought that?”

Arthur looked at him, confused. “I just told you we are doomed, and that’s how you react?”

“Arthur, we’re all doomed. Of course one of us is going to lose the other, but so is every other person who loves someone. Maybe I’ll die tomorrow and you’ll lose me. But one of the knights can lose their wives as well tomorrow, or the gardener will have to watch his leave for someone else. Do you call them doomed as well?"

“It’s not the same.”

“Why?” Merlin was now kneeling in front of Arthur, his hands resting on the prince’s thighs, and his thumbs tracing soothing circles through his pants.

“Because, we… we won’t have a happy ending.” Arthur’s voice was so full of sadness that Merlin felt his throat tightening.

“What’s a happy ending?” he asked.

Arthur looked at him as if he was daft. “Two people who love each other and live…”

“Happily ever after? Arthur, no one can live forever, happily or not. There is no happy ending, someone always ends up hurt and alone. What matters is to be happy in the here and now.”

“I will still lose you.”

“Yes. You’ll lose me, tomorrow, next month, in ten years, or when we’re old and grey. Or maybe never because I’ll lose you first.”

“And that doesn’t bother you?”

“It breaks my heart,” Merlin smiled sadly. “I want nothing more than to live happily ever after with you. But I also know every person you love is someone you’ll risk losing later. I’ll lose Gaius, and you’ll lose your father, and we will lose knights, and children will lose their parents, and husbands their wives. So, yes, we are doomed. But so are everyone else, and that’s not going to stop me from loving you and from making the most of what time we have, however long that might be.”

They stayed silent for a while, Merlin still tracing patterns on Arthur’s thighs, while Arthur was mulling over everything Merlin had said.

“It doesn’t matter, then,” Arthur slowly said at last.

“Not really. If it means we are together right now, then I’ll happily be doomed.”

Arthur smiled at Merlin, and hoisted him back on his feet, before pulling him in onto his lap. They stayed like that for a moment, Arthur nuzzling Merlin’s cheek while nimble fingers were carding through his blonde hair.

“We are doomed. And I guess I am doomed to keep putting up with you,” Arthur sighed dramatically.

“Think you’ll be up to the task?”

“Hmm. I am to be a great King, after all. I can’t back down from a challenge.”

Merlin let a laugh escape, and when Arthur kissed him, he could feel his smile against his lips.

They were both doomed to loss, but also doomed to happiness, and realizing this, Arthur didn’t feel like knowing he was to be doomed was as heartbreaking as he'd originally thought.

Thanks again to my wonderful @merthurlocked for beta-ing this <3

#merthur #merthur fic #merlin fic #merthur fanfic #sometimes i write #La minute Camille

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thesportssoundoff · 4 years

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Lists ‘N Stuff: The Top 10 UFC WWs from 2010 to 2019

I like lists! It’s my thing these days I guess. I started doing this particular list because my attempt at creating the top 10 boxing welterweights of the 2000s was pretty much DOA given how most of the guys you’d expect (Cotto, Mayweather, Pacquaio, Mosley) all jumped around weight classes so frequently in that era that I’d either be left removing Floyd (who fought thrice at the weight) or Pacquaio (twice) or trying to justify how Carlos Quintana and Louis Collazo were actually really genuinely top 10 welterweights. I figured I could extend that to just 140 and 147 lbs but at that point I gave up. Instead let’s jump sports and go right to MMA which I’ve been chronologically bullshitting about on here since 2012. Just HOW good was the UFC’s welterweight division from 2010 to 2019? Well let’s do the hard work!

Couple of caveats here:

-This is strictly based upon 1) your fights at WW only and 2) your fights ONLY in the UFC. Guys who were fighting outside the organization don’t have those fights count against your record.

-There’s a FIVE fight minimum to be eligible. This is primarily due to not wanting to have to deal with “What about Conor/Nate/Nick?!” questions.

-Unless a fighter actually popped positive on a drug test, I did not try to dock anybody who I suspected of being on PEDs. We know the UFC was the wild wild west for most of this era so rather than be the equivalent of the guy who swears RDA is on steroids because “Well he started winning then he lost!”, I stuck to the facts.

Honorable Mentions:

Colby Covington- As much as we all may dislike Covington for what he does and says, the fact of the matter is that Colby Covington is a genuinely good welterweight. Wins over Robbie Lawler, Demian Maia and Rafael Dos Anjos are his two big punctuation marks but this is also a guy who gave Kamaru Usman hell for an extended period in their title fight and holds a bevy of solid under the radar wins over the likes of Max Griffin and Dong Hyun Kim. I could see somebody putting Covington on their top 10 and I wouldn't begrudge them at all. I just couldn't cross that bridge on my end.

Rafael Dos Anjos- RDA is probably a top 10 all time lightweight and one of the greatest fighters of the 2010s but I still think I prefer RDA's dominance as a lightweight. As a welterweight he got off to a tremendously hot start in the weight class punctuated by a win over Robbie Lawler but from then on? It's been a pretty dry run. Since the Lawler fight, RDA is 1-4 and the pattern is pretty much out there. If you pressure him early and prevent him from getting a good feel for the space and pace of the fight, he's a pretty easy touch. He's gritty and durable but he basically exists now to test if you're ready for the big step up. I'm not a big fan of the gatekeeper label for dudes like RDA so I prefer the term mini boss. He's the guy who checks to see if you're ready for the big boss.

Leon Edwards- Leon Edwards is 10-2 and coming off a career defining win over RDA and yet he's not in the top 10? Against fighters who have better records than him?! To begin with, Edwards has a looot of dead air on his resume. We're talking about guys who weren't even relevant at the time of their fight. A green Vicente Luque and Bryan Barberena were his good wins but not exactly top 10 worthy, especially given the UFC roster bloat. There's also only one guy on the top 10 list who did NOT get at least an interim title shot and that guy beat him up in a backstage fight so it's not like I could squeeze him in. I also have to admit (unfortunately) that Edwards is sort of a dull fighter who tends to get overlooked on lists like this.

Jake Shields- I don't think there's anything wrong with Jake Shields sneaking onto this list. Shields' run as a welterweight in the UFC was a 4-3 jaunt (that felt like the 100 year war) with wins over some damn good fighters but mostly in close contested score card-y fights. On paper though wins over Woodley and Maia SHOULD get you into the top 10 though so again, if he's on yours then fine. No shame in losses to Hector Lombard, GSP and Ellenberger.

Jake Ellenberger- If you remove the last five fights of his career when he was just sort of being trudged out there because “He hit hard so he can always win a fight!”, Jake Ellenberger has a spiffy record of 9-6 with wins over the likes of Jake Shields, Josh Koscheck and a not exactly cooked Diego Sanchez while his losses are to the likes of Rory Mac, Robbie Lawler, Wonderboy and the generally underrated Martin Kampmann. Not a top 10 for the decade even at that point but the rise of the elite four in Colby, Masvidal, Usman and Woodley and him continually getting fights over and over and over haven’t been kind to him. Ellenberger, Kampmann and Carlos Condit are the three guys who will always be sort of forgotten by modern fans who deserve their just due.

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1- Georges St. Pierre Record in the 10s (Jan 1st 2010 to December 31st 2019)- 6-0 Record in title fights- 6-0 Record against other fighters on the list- 2-0

So in hindsight, GSP's resume is not exactly all that hot. Dan Hardy, Jake Shields and Josh Koscheck all pretty much faded out of relevancy shortly after their title fights although GSP probably ended Koscheck's career. GSP's record is a mere 6-0 and he pretty much sat out the Woodley/Lawler/Hendricks era of MMA minus a cameo to claim the UFC's middleweight crown. Ignore that part of his resume and instead remember that GSP tore his ACL on TWO separate occasions and there were genuine questions about his ability to come back and fight. Not only did he come back but he came back with basically the same style that made him a legend slightly tweaked and amplified to overcome his lack of explosiveness. GSP will always be viewed differently because he didn't finish fights but again, he was pretty much cooked physically well into his early 30s due to repeated knee injuries. What's more? GSP should be #1 overall if only because he is one of the few guys in MMA who was able to continually dictate his own terms. He was able to pick who he fought because for years he fought EVERYBODY there was to fight. He was able to choose where he fought because he was the UFC's biggest draw before the rise of Conor McGregor. He beat Hendricks in a close fight, realized his health took priority and retired. He started a media war with the UFC and won that too. Then he returns, coaxes the UFC into giving him a middleweight title fight, wins that and then realizes that he doesn't have to fight anymore against what was at the time a rising crop of genuinely bad ass middleweight contenders like Robert Whittaker, Yoel Romero and the likes of Weidman, Jacare, Gastelum, Rockhold and so on so forth. GSP got in, got titles, got paid and then got out when the situation didn't seem right to him. That's #1 shit.

2- Tyron Woodley Record in the 10s (Jan 1st 2010 to December 31st 2019)- 9-3-1 Record in title fights- 4-1-1 Record against other fighters on the list- 4-2-1

To quote the always esteemed "Tyron Woodley is just going to continue to piss people off." Woodley's UFC reign began with him bombing out Jay Heiron on short notice and then he followed that up by smelting Jay Heiron and then sort of stumbled over his feet to the tune of a 2-2 record. After his loss to Rory MacDonald in June of 2014, Woodley went on one of the welterweight divisions more impressive tears with wins over Dong Hyun Kim, Robbie Lawler, Stephen Thompson and Darren Till to name a few. Woodley's fights were either really great (Thompson I, Till) or really awful (Thompson II, Gastelum) with very little in between space. His 4-1-1 record in title fights and 4-2-1 record against competition on this ledger paint the picture of one of MMA's best neutralizers and one of the greatest resumes of the 2010s. Woodley's 2019 pretty much hit the skids as he lost to Kamaru Usman in a blow out and then pretty much disappeared with hand and shoulder issues. Woodley's probably approaching the back 9 of his career but I would be stunned if he wasn't in the top 3 welterweights all time even when the NEXT decade ended. All hail MMA's greatest nuisance.

3- Robbie Lawler Record in the 10s (Jan 1st 2010 to December 31st 2019)- 9-5 Record in title fights- 3-2 Record against other fighters on the list- 4-2

I remain a sentimentalist I suppose. The latter days of the Lawler era are painful in large part because years of wars and a style that willingly sacrificed rounds 2 to 4 finally caught up with Robbie Lawler. He just sort of fell apart which isn't too surprising since from December 2013 to Jan 2016 he fought NINE times with FIVE of those fights going a full five rounds. From that period of time Lawler has win over Rory MacDonald (twice), Carlos Condit, Jake Ellenberger, Matt Brown, Johny Hendricks with FOUR fight of the nights and FOUR UFC title fights. Robbie Lawler spoiled us to believe welterweight fights were always awesome because every fight he was in WAS awesome. The latter era of Lawler is pretty sad. Woodley beat IMO the last image of a prime Robbie Lawler but after that I think it's fair to say the fire was gone. He probably deserved to lose to Donald Cerrone as well if we're being honest. The one brief flicker of light was against Ben Asken in a fight I thought he won prior to Askren pulling out a sub in a rally come from behind 1st round "win" dare I say. Lawler has had a lot of injuries, a lot of inactivity (he fought the same number of fights in 2014 alone than he has since the start of 2017) and sometimes the magic just runs out.

4- Kamaru Usman Record in the 10s (Jan 1st 2010 to December 31st 2019)- 11-0 Record in title fights- 2-0 Record against other fighters on the list- 2-0

Next to Wonderboy vs Rory MacDonald, Lawler vs Usman was a tremendous struggle for me. Kamaru Usman's steadier and had more of a balance to his career. Even if he had slipped up once or twice prior to this, Usman's overall dominance is stupendous. Wins over RDA and a bunch of good welterweights like Leon Edwards, Sergio Moraes and Colby Covington are good enough to get you on the list but getting into the top 5 requires you to scalp Tyron Woodley in a blowout. Usman's here because for most of the early portions of his UFC career, he was borderline brutal to watch and his competition was pretty blegh/eh/meh. Usman's rise really took off in after the Emil Meek fight and the Woodley/Covington back to back performances vaulted him up the rankings big time. The fun part with Usman is seeing how high he'll go when this list is re-done in 2030 or so. By the time we hit 2022 or so, Usman could have wins over Masvidal, Edwards (again), Covington (again) and potentially a whole new banner crop of welters.

5- Stephen Thompson Record in the 10s (Jan 1st 2010 to December 31st 2019)- 10-4-1 Record in title fights- 0-1-1 Record against other fighters on the list- 3-1-1

If we decided to rank these dudes in order of politeness, Thompson and Maia would be fighting for the #1 spot. Sometimes I wonder if Wonderboy is forgotten when we discuss the best UFC fighters to never win a title. On this list alone, he beat Johny Hendricks, Jorge Masvidal and Rory MacDonald. He gave two tough title fights to Tyron Woodley while holding the title of having arguably the biggest disparity in title fight quality in said title fights. He'll probably never live down getting smelted by a pudgy lightweight in Anthony Pettis and that alone could've been enough to knock him down the charts I suppose. I wonder how the WW division would've changed if Wonderboy arrives in, say, 2010 or so as opposed to 2012. He's just never had the gear to go out and take a tough fight away from the other guy which is why he lost twice to Woodley and suffered that kind of brutal decision loss to Darren Till.

6- Rory MacDonald Record in the 10s (Jan 1st 2010 to December 31st 2019)- 9-4 Record in title fights- 0-1 Record against other fighters on the list- 2-4

Rory entered the UFC in 2010 and was gone before 2016 was over. In six years, he has one of MMA's most impressive resumes with a whose who of fights against the elite of the elites. He fought Robbie Lawler twice, Carlos Condit, Demian Maia, Stephen Thompson, BJ Penn, Jake Ellenberger and Tyron Woodley and that's all without looking it up. He'll always be defined by the war vs Robbie Lawler that basically broke him beyond repair. Rory may not be a top 3 WW but of the ten names on this list, he's arguably among the more culturally significant to the MMA landscape. Rory is without question one of the best welterweights of his era and I also think he's one of the few dudes who did it while almost certainly without steroids. My hat is off to him.

7- Demian Maia Record in the 10s (Jan 1st 2010 to December 31st 2019)- 12-5 Record in title fights- 0-1 Record against other fighters on the list- 2-3

So when I originally did this list, I had Demian Maia MUCH higher up. Like above Rory higher. Maia being ranked above Rory Mac sounds like a bit of a crock given how MacDonald beat Maia BUT I'm also accounting for long term career relevance in a sense. Maia's still having competitive fights at WW (pause on that Burns fight) and beating up on dudes sometimes 15 years younger than him while Rory is 3-2-1 since leaving the UFC and 3-4-1 since 2015 ended. That said when you factor in the Woodley performances for each guy plus Rory's prime being so magnetic (and the win in the H-2-H matchup, I made a switch). When you consider how utterly one dimension Demian Maia is, it's a testament to how insane that dimension is that he's up this high. Maia has wins over list guys Carlos Condit, Jorge Masvidal and relatively dominant performances over dudes you'd recognize like Ben Askren, Lyman Good, Neil Magny, Gunnar Nelson and then undefeated Ryan LaFlare. His losses are to genuinely legitimately awesome fighters like Rory MacDonald, Kamaru Usman and Tyron Woodley.

8- Johny Hendricks Record in the 10s (Jan 1st 2010 to December 31st 2019)- 10-6 Record in title fights- 1-2 Record against other fighters on the list- 2-3

Hendricks is another dude who had an unceremonious ending to his career. From 2011 to 2015, he was genuinely at worst #3 in the welterweight rankings. We're talking a resume loaded with guys like Josh Koscheck, Carlos Condit, Martin Kapmann, John Fitch, Matt Brown, GSP and Robbie Lawler all on the docket. I went back and watched Hendricks vs GSP for this and still come away thinking Johny got jobbed. Hendricks' career will always be filled with question marks and what if's. We'll never know whether he was on steroids and we'll never know what would've happened if Hendricks would've kept himself in shape more consistently to avoid the ballooning up that eventually fucked his body up. We'll never know if he would've beaten GSP in a rematch or how he would've done had the rumored Nick Diaz vs Johny Hendricks fight that was in talks for 2015 (the one which led to Anderson vs Nick Diaz) would've panned out. Hendricks is a what if but the fact he is a what if while also being a top 10 welterweight for a loaded decade of great fighters is a damn testament to how big of a whirlwind he was for the beginning of the decade.

9- Jorge Masvidal Record in the 10s (Jan 1st 2010 to December 31st 2019)- 7-5 Record in title fights- 0-0 Record against other fighters on the list- 0-2

Jorge Masvidal makes it onto the list primarily due to his run on the back half of the 2010s. Regardless of how you feel about Darren Till, Nate Diaz and Ben Askren, those are three of the most impressive wins of 2019. He was in the running for 2019's FOTY (I believe he WAS my pick) and is having a seriously impressive second half of his career. Even his losses are all in pretty damn close fights minus Wonderboy who just casually pieced him up. The reason he's so low is that the two guys on this list that he fought, he lost to. Masvidal historically has been a guy who can feast on the lower portions of (insert division/rankings here) but when it comes to the step up, he never actually takes the next step in fights he can CLEARLY win. If he ever fights Kamaru Usman, he could move up higher on the list and if he wins then we need to talk about Masvidal as having a Bisping-esque career resume.

10- Carlos Condit Record in the 10s (Jan 1st 2010 to December 31st 2019)- 6-8 Record in title fights- 1-2 Record against other fighters on the list- 1-5

If Carlos Condit had simply retired like he planned to after the Maia loss, he would've retired 6-5 with wins over the likes of Rory MacDonald, Nick Diaz and Martin Kampmann from 2010 to 2019. Instead his resume was littered with rough losses in three straight fights against substandard competition. Carlos Condit's run from 2011 to 2013 is stuff of legend but the tide clearly turned after tearing his ACL vs Tyron Woodley. He had one big turning back the clock performance vs Robbie Lawler in a fight I still to this day feel like he won. Condit's body and lack of significant pop in his hands just put the ceiling on his career. Condit's back 9 of the 2010s are ugly but on the front leg, he was the first dude to beat DHK, the first to beat Rory MacDonald, beat Nick Diaz, gave GSP his toughest fight in years and IMO beat Johny Hendricks. Also come on now dudes. If you think Condit wasn't on this list somehow then you don't know me.

#UFC #MMA #Woodley #Condit #Hendricks #Lawler #Shields #MacDonald #Wonderboy #Usman #Masvidal

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lily-rose26 · 5 years

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O. Doremi fanfic - The apprentice of wizard Kotake

Season 1 - Episode 1

Pov Kotake ON Hello my beautiful readers, because whoever is reading this probably likes my ship with Doremi (or at least doesn’t hate me!). My name is Tetsuya Kotake and I am 8 years old. I will not talk about how I look because I’m sure that everyone here already knows me quite well. I’m not that vain. Lets continue... Unlike the version of me in Ojamajo Doremi, I am living with my cousin Kimitaka. His parents live in a different country and have left my family with this devil that only bothers me with me and with my parents who do not make another life than work. Let's talk about me... I have two dreams: First, I’d love to be a soccer player, and second, I want to win Dojimi's love. The second one seems impossible. What do I have to do to make Doremi love me? It is impossible!! She always looks for the cool guys! “Hey, lovebird! Speed it up! Don’t talk to yourself!” I’m not talking to myself! I am talking with my readers! I left my room and looked at Kimitaka who was looking at me angrily. “Stop dreaming about that crazy Harukaze and give me my food!” “The food is in the fridge! And don't insult her! Only I can do that! I go to the kitchen to get something to eat. Do you want me to take you to the kindergarten?” “Of course not! What will my friends think if they look at me with you?” “I think in reality you are thinking about what Pop will think if she sees you with your big cousin.” I commented with a mocking smile as I put his food in front of him. His face has been red ever since I told him that. Revenge! “I do not care about what a fool thinks!” Kimitaka yelled with his face all red. “Yeah yeah ... Kimitaka ... It's just us, the readers and the author of this fic... You can tell the truth!” “You're so weird …” By now, he’s gone to completely ignoring me. After eating I left school. Like always I stalked my Dojimi, the love of my life. (...) Ah look at her watching ... Igarashi............ Then the fans are surprised that my other me of the novels makes her wait for my love ... I hate that Igarashi! Who does he think he is?! He has everything! Is it reasonable to wish that you were somebody who you hate? "Good morning!" “Masaru! You scared me!” Masaru Yada has been my best friend since kindergarten. He is very quiet, maybe even antisocial, but has a good heart. But you already knew that, didn't you? “Again stalking Harukaze?” he gawked at me, ”When are you going to tell her your feelings?" “When you tell Fujiwara how you feel.” Ahh~ha! Look at his face! He stopped talking. “Alright, you win!” He conceded, “But you’d better say how you feel quickly, Kotake. You know how the author feels about your relationship with Harukaze.” “She can be so cruel though!” I complained,” Do you remember what happened last time?” The school’s bell ended our talk. Like always in class I watched as Doremi acted like the clumsy idiot that she was for another few minutes. She had some weird obsession with magic. I didn't care about having magic, but do you know what I would do if I become a wizard? I would make Doremi love me and make myself the best soccer player in the world! When I stopped daydreaming, I realized that I’d gone a little further than I intended. I was in an unknown place. I felt like I’d seen the store somewhere before though. What a strange Deja Vu. "Store Flat 4" That’s a weird name. Is this real? What can I buy here? Apartments with 4 rooms? : v (Flat = apartments for those who do not know). Since I had nothing to do, I entered the store, but it was quite dusty, and I found myself coughing quite a bit. “Finally a customer! Welcome!” Four boys appeared in front of me: One who looks like Segawa Onpu,(Note of the author: It is Kotake who is narrating so it is normal that he makes some jokes about Akatsuki. Akatsuki will make some jokes about Kotake too, so there’s no need to be angry, Akatsuki fans), another boy with orange eyes and hair, a third boy with blond hair and blue eyes, even lighter than mine, and another blue-green one. Everybody was quite strangely dressed. “What are you looking for?” “Uh?” I looked at a table that had some odd emerald necklaces. I stepped up to it. “That's a magic necklace, you can wish what you want with them!” Magic? There’s no doubt that Dojimi will like this ... “Is it really magic? Surely you’re kidding!” I inquired with an arched eyebrow. “Do you want to try one?” The orange-haired boy asked as he tossed me a necklace. “I would.” I caught the necklace and closed my eyes. “Wait!” The purple haired boy interrupted me, ”You can not change feelings of people or heal wounds, and trying to wish for a massive desire, such as becoming incredibly famous, probably wouldn’t work.” “Then I don't want it,” I put the necklace back in its place, placed my hands in my pockets and started walking toward the exit. “WAIT!” All four boys kneeled at my feet “DON’T GO! PLEASE, SEE IF THERE’S SOMETHING YOU’LL PURCHASE! YOU’VE ONLY JUST COME!” “But I'm not interested in magic,” I replied frankly, ”and those things won't help me at all.” “Surely you can find something here that suits you!” The blond boy spoke to me, “You have the style of a boy who enjoys sports! Try this! It will help you with sports!” He gave me a rather strange amulet which looked almost like a soccer ball. Even Dojimi could make something that looked better than that. “Ehm ... No thanks,” I walked towards the door, ”I'm leaving!” “Wait! Please buy something!” They pleaded less emphatically than last time. They almost seemed hopeless. It was pathetic. Such weirdos. ”Ask for whatever you want!” The guy with purple hair said as he approached me with a crazy look, “We can give it to you!” he continued, “What do you want? Sweets? A soccer ball? A PSP?” “I want a statue of my crush!” I figured that giving them an impossible order would be enough to make them give up. “Okay!” “AKATSUKI N…” the boys tried to stop him, but before my very eyes, a statue of Doremi appeared. According to the mirror across the room, my face looked like an overripe tomato. Crimson, and just a little bit deflated. “HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT I LOVE HER?! WAIT... AND HOW HAS THIS APPEARED HERE?!” I've looked at them, a little scared, but also a little curious. “Magic amulets, huh?” I've stared at that Akatsuki. I was frightened, and I knew it, but I kept up my strong front. “Y-You are…” I pointed my finger at him, “A witch!” “I AM A WIZARD NOT A WITCH!” he shouted carelessly. “OK! OK! A wizard it is t…” that boy's body started to shine as he became an abnormal purple creature. “What the heck!” I exclaimed,” See you later!” I grabbed the statue and ran for the door. “DON'T LET THAT IDIOT GO!” Hearing what Akatsuki said, the blonde guy grabbed me. “AAAAAAH!!! I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!!” With magic, they put me in a chair. Akatsuki was sitting on the table with a very annoyed expression. “Let me go! Take my money if you need to!” I exclaimed. “I don’t want your money!” He shouted, “Look what you've done to me!” “I didn't do anything! I just said that you’re a wi…” One of his friends covered my mouth. “Humans can not know that wizards exist! It’s forbidden!” I gaped at him in confusion, ”I became this ugly creature because you called me a wizard!” Finally the other idiot let go of my mouth. “So you're like this because of me? What do I have to do to make you normal again?” “You have to become my apprentice!” “Eh? I don't want to work in a store! I am a kid!” “It’s so that I can make you into a wizard and you can cure me!” he claimed. “EEEEEEEEEH!? ME, A WIZARD?!” My eyes have shine like stars. With magic I could make all of my dreams come true!!! Be a soccer player! Make the SOS trio and Reika Tamaki disappear! And ask… “Don’t make that face,” he interrupted my wishful thinking, ”The rules of the magic necklace are the same for any magic!” “What?! Could I at least make money appear?” “Yes…” Oh well something is something! “But before you transform, tell me your name.” another one told me. “Tetsuya Kotake.” “I am Akatsuki, my ginger colleague is Fujio, the blond is Leon, and the last one is Tooru. We all came from the wizard world so that we can earn money to buy back land that was taken from us by the witches.” “What!?” I asked,” I don’t understand why you don’t live together?” “No way!” he answered, “Witches and wizards have always been enemies! Or at least for as long as I’ve known…” “OK OK! What do I have to do to use magic?” I spoke very quickly because my parents hate when I get home at night, and I had just seen the clock. Late. “Fujio go get the box, and you, follow me Kotake-kun…” He took me out back to a garden. I looked at the garden while Fujio put the box on the table. “This box has something in it called a tap. You’ll use that to transform into a Wizard Apprentice.” It was a small, circular, white object. Around its circumference were eight small buttons. In the center was a much larger button. The central button reminded me of a soccer ball in its design. “You have to press the biggest button.” Leon instructed me, “This tap is like an instrument so each small button is a musical note Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do.” “For your Magical poron you have to press Do-Mi-So and high Do.” The orange-haired boy told me. I pressed the button and quickly put on the blue shirt that appeared before me. “The best future soccer player in the world is here!” I posed like a superhero. “What did you say?” Everyone has looked at me confusedly. “All magical boys and girls have a magic words!” I pressed the buttons that Fujio told me. A black magic wand shot out of the tap (which was connected to the uniform.) “That’s a poron! You can do magic with that. You just have to make your wish out loud!” I think the orange one was the brains of their group. “OK!” I moved my wand and pointed it at the ground, “I want a soccer ball now!!!” A blue light erupted from the tip of the poron, and a soccer ball appeared where I pointed. But it didn’t take long for the ball to disappear. “Your wishes won’t last long for now. Once you pass the nine exams and become a full wizard they will!” Fujio reminded me. “How boring!! I want to go home!! But first how do I fly?” “You're a wizard apprentice ... You don't fly idiot!” Akatsuki answered, “And you have to listen to me! I am your master now! You can't do many magic or you will run out of magical spheres!” “Ok... Can I go now?” “No! You have to listen to me!” I looked at him as he spoke. “Ok you can go! Leave your window open I'll see you tonight!” “I like girls…” “IT'S NOTHING WHAT YOU ARE THINKING IDIOT!!!” He yelled at me with his face all red. I'm going to give you magical spheres!" “Can you take the statue of Dojimi too?” “What if I don't take it?” “You'll stay like this forever!” I returned to normal with a smile. “I hate you…” Tooru caught Akatsuki before he hit me. I left the store smiling. In this dimension, nobody can hate me! End of Chapter 1! Next chapter: Being Masaru for a day! Written by: Me Translated by: Me and Meridia

#ojamajo doremi #tetsuya kotake #masaru yada #flat4

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miscaestheticsinc · 6 years

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“Is it just me, or does everybody always ignore what I say?"

Leon S. Kennedy from Resident Evil Chris and Piers Jake and Sherry Ada and Helena

DO NOT REPOST

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#resident evil #aesthetic #resident evil aesthetic #leon kennedy #leon kennedy aesthetic #re2 #re2remake #re2make #resident evil 2 #resident evil damnation #resident evil 4 #resident evil vendetta

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silenthillmutual · 5 years

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pride week - day 5 - AU free-for-all so this AU is a crossover because when i first looked at the prompt i was like half-asleep and thought it said crossover. whoops.

He’s coming to the conclusion that Kiyotaka’s family is just fucking weird. He’s still not exactly sure what their relationship status is, since they’ve only been on like two and a half dates that might have not even been dates and nothing between them seems to have actually changed - but even speaking as a best friend, it was just really fucking bizarre

The other sections of the bake sale that did not have an entire bottle’s worth of food coloring dumped into the mix did exceedingly well, letting them schedule trips to meet up and hang out with the GSAs from other colelges in the area. It was a neat little idea Makoto and Kiyotaka had come up with on their own time that also kinda made Mondo want to punch himself in the face.

It mostly just starts with this: he thinks he has competition.

The reason he thinks this is because Leon tells him he does. They’re meeting with MU in a bowling alley that’s somewhere in between both schools and while it’s not the only GSA in the area, it is the only one available or interested in reaching out to them. And the gaggle of students who pick to play against them in a four-on-four match just happens to consist of three rough looking boys and one chick.

Striek one. It’s not exactly a secret that Taka has a type, and that type is punks. (Well, and Makoto; but he’s everybody’s type, so he doesn’t count.) He’s never said out loud that he finds that kinda thing appealing, but Hifumi’s Halloween Theme suggestion, “Book of Eibon” (which earned him the group name moniker Anime Trash) really took. People dressed as whatever they found most attractive - or in Hifumi’s and Chihiro’s cases, the kind of aesthetic they really dug.

Hifumi’s magical girl outfit was absolutely outstanding. They really did have to give him that.

...where was he? Right. Taka had shown up to the party in all secondhand clothes, studded belt and motorcycle boots and fake piercings, pleather jacket over an embroidered white vest covered in safety pins. It sure as shit left an impression.

And it was such a goddamn come-on. he’d thought before then that Taka’s staring was judgmental and had a hard time stringing two words together at the implication that he was staring because he was attracted to Mondo.

Not that Mondo was the only punk in the group. Tanaka flushed and tried to hide beneath his scarf, realizing too late he didn’t have it included in the regal get-up he came dressed in. And Leon said to Mondo, “If I wasn’t straight, I’d so hit that.”

Leon figured out pretty quickly that he wasn’t straight, and also that Taka was way off limits.

Mondo’s been trying to figure out how to take a more direct approach, since Taka’s misconstrued all his flirting as friendliness. Which - okay, yeah. He’s kind of learned along the way that he might also be in love with the guy platonically, too. he is the best friend, in terms of quality, that Mondo’s ever had, and he doesn’t plan on that shit changing just ‘cause he wants to add hand-holding into the mix.

So strike two is this: Ishimaru seems to actually know the guy in too much purple who practically launches himself at him. They embrace in a tight hug, and that smug asshole has his hairstyle too. Rude. Utterly, unbelievably rude.

The guy introduces himself as Josuke. He looks like he might be a couple years older than them, with pretty blue eyes. He’s the president of the MU GSA, which he does not hesitate to tell Kiyotaka, “I love what you did with the name, dude. Very kewl.”

Kewl. Like he’s fucking twelve and it’s the nineties.

Taka blushes like he does when he’s embarrassed or flattered and it takes a lot for Mondo not to slug the guy. He’s really only distracted from Kiyotaka’s refusal of the credit by the guy with the little ponytail and two-toned grey hair saying to him “Hey, man, nice mods,” referring to his jacket.

He’s kind of forgotten about it. He doesn’t wear the longer coat he had in high school anymore because yeah, he’s not in high school anymore, thank you very much Daiya. “Uh, thanks,” he says, but the shorter one with the kinda silvery blonde hair is smirking at it, mouthing the words Crazy Diamonds under his breath. Like it’s some kind of joke.

“I’m Okuyasu,” he says, and nudges the blonde so hard the guy almost falls over. “Shit, sorry - this is Koichi.”

“Right,” he says, not liking the look of private joking between the two of them. “I’m Mondo.”

“I’m Leon,” Leon all but shouts, almost crawling on Mondo’s back to extend his hand to the two boys and - of course, of fucking course - the girl with the knee-length black hair. “And you are?”

“Yukako,” she says, and Mondo’s never before heard someone say their own name with such deep and intense hatred.

There’s not a single thing about these people he trusts. The guys might seem nice, but he’s always hated the feeling that people are laughing at him. And that girl? She looks like she’s ready to commit murder.

At least the jackass in the purple-and-yellow shirt is done taking up Kiyotaka’s time, only that Kiyotaka looks kind of embarrassed now. He’s not sure if that’s better or worse than his flustered face. But he punches in their names on the board to distract himself, and Josuke comes up to Mondo and sits so close their knees are touching. “So,” he says, “You’re his kyoudai, huh?”

“Kyoudai?” Okuyasu says. “Man, how come we can’t get cool nicknames like that?”

“Yes, please start calling each other bro. That won’t get irritating at all,” Yukako snipes from where she’s sitting.

“Yukako, come on,” Koichi says, turning to look back at her. “You promised you’d be nice today.”

She looks torn, but sighs, and Mondo thinks he hears her mutter “Only for you.”

“Dude,” Leon says, “You gotta teach me.”

One thing Mondo can say about the kids from MU is that, except for Yukako, they suck at bowling. And that does make him feel a little better, if only in a shallow way.

It’s kind of irritating, and that irritation must be obvious to everyone involved, because Kiyotaka has tried his best to keep Mondo and Josuke separated. Leon’s pretty chill, and Makoto can make friends with everyone, but it just seems strange to Mondo that he spent so long trying to get on friendly terms with Taka only for some other guy - a complete stranger from a different school to just undermine that -

Makoto pats his shoulder, like the way you’d pet a dog to soothe it. “Calm down, Mondo,” he says. “He’s just being friendly.”

Maybe he is. Mondo can accept that there exists, somewhere, a possibility that Josuke is just a nice guy, like a punk version of Makoto, but he’s gotten so deep in his own sense of insecurity and paranoia that every time Josuke so much as talks at him or is friendly with Kiyotaka...

Well, it feels like he’s being mocked.

He might be a little jealous.

And when Taka leaves to head out to the bathroom, he might call Josuke’s hair stupid.

Koichi, for whatever that’s worth, and Okuyasu and he goddamn swear Yukako’s hair all jump in to restrain Josuke from throwing punches. Leon slaps his arm at the same time Makoto smacks his head, both of them shouting some variant of “You have the same hair!” and the end result is the five of them tell the two of them to go resolve their differences by the snack bar, and work something out fast before Taka comes back and panics.

“I don’t get what your issue with me is,” Josuke says, hands in the air. “We picked this group to go up against because Taka said you were cool. Now you’re just acting like Rohan used to, and I didn’t even burn your house down!”

Confusion mixes with anger as he says, with feeling, “What?!”

“Never mind!” Josuke snaps. “Just - whatever your problem with me is, just say it, man. Quit giving me dirty looks. It’s making Kiyo upset.”

KIYO?! Mondo hits the counter with a little too much force and says “That’s my goddamn problem!” And before Josuke can give him some other ridiculous pet name he says “We’re like - we’re - we’re kind of - !” Jesus. Jesus Christ, why can’t he just get the fuckin’ words out? “I’m inta him!”

“Yeah, and?” Josuke asks.

“And you’re fuckin’ flirting with him! Of course I got a damn issue with you!” Josuke looks blindsided for a couple seconds, and then he bursts into laughter. “And then you go an’ do this shit, shovin’ it in my face!”

“Dude!” Josuke has the audacity to put his hand on Mondo’s shoulder, ignoring every time Mondo tries to throw it off. For someone as thin as Josuke looks, he’s unfairly strong. “Dude. I am not flirting with him. That’s so gross.”

Two-faced bastard! “You got a fuckin’ problem with my friend?!”

“Dude. He’s my cousin.”

“Yer - what?” Mondo blinks, all his pent up energy dissipating in the shock. “Then - then what the fuck were you sayin’ ta him to make ‘im blush?”

“I’m teasing him about you, ya dweeb.” He snorts. “God. No. I’m not flirting with my fuckin’ cousin. And even if we weren’t related, I’m not gonna hit on some guy in front of my boyfriends.”

“Oh.” He’s...totally deflated now. And feels like an asshole. “Uh...” Great. “I’m sorry fer bein’ such an asshole,” he grumbles.

Josuke lets it slide rather easily, shrugging it off. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve had worse interactions.”

Mondo still rubs the back of his head, anxiously, and he’s still not all that comfortable with Josuke’s smirk. “Gotta say,” he admits, “I never woulda thought the two of you were related. Ya don’t exactly look alike.”

Josuke shoves his hands in his pockets and leans back against the counter. “Well, it’s not by blood or anything. His dad married my ne- uh, I mean, my uncle -” Was he just going to say nephew? “But we take family very seriously, and we’re...kind of a large family.”

For a second, he looks almost depressed by his own statement, eyes kind of foggy, lips pulled down and staring at his boyfriends with some kind of intense anxiety. He sighs, and slaps Mondo on the back. “Let’s just get back to the game, ‘kay? I think Taka’ll be happier when we get along.”

He feels like he missed something, but says “Sure, okay,” following Josuke back to their seats.

Whatever it is that’s on his mind, it’s either passed or he’s hidden it by the time they’ve reached their friends. Josuke reacts to Kiyotaka’s suspicious glare by ruffling his hair. “So, Kiyo -”

“Don’t call me that,” he groans.

And Josuke ignores him. “A former delinquent with a bad temper, huh? I bet your stepdad’s gonna love that.”

Kiyotaka lets out a scream, and drops the bowling ball to the floor. Mondo tries to pretend he doesn’t see something faintly pink and blue grabbing it just before it hits the ground.

#nori talks #danganronpa #ishimondo #nori writes #fanfic #jjba #josuke/okuyasu/koichi implied #they're both vague aus in addition to a crossover...#icarus.docx #mine

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adriennescomingbacktolife · 4 years

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(OOC: This is collab piece with the handler of Silvio Leon. The writer(Ampersand) is extremely talented and I absolutely recommend that you expand your horizons and check their site out.

https://oracularmysteries.wordpress.com/

Thanks!)

===

“Hey, you made it!” Silvio beamed as his client and co-worker walked through the front doors of the coffee shop. He’d already settled in at a table, a cold brew, a pink cake pop and his deck of cards set out before him. The shop was relatively sparse, though a few people milled about, sipped their drinks, or tapped away at their laptops. The air was redolent of coffee, brewing tea, rich pastries, and the walls were hung with art from local creators. “You want a coffee or a tea or anything? My treat.” Adrienne Levi, phone in hand, was just finished firing off a text when she acknowledged Silvio with a smile. Sitting across from him, she finally answered. “Oh, um, mint tea if they have it.” “Sure!” He got to his feet, nodding toward the counter. “Back in a flash. Anything you want to nibble on?” “Surprise me.” Silvio gave Adrienne a little salute before heading back to the counter, returning a few minutes later with a steaming cup of fragrant tea and a croissant dusted with sugar and slivers of almonds. “Figured this would be a good combo,” he said, setting the food down for her and taking his seat again. “Don’t want to do a reading on an empty stomach, y’know?” He leaned back and sipped at his coffee. “So, have you ever done this before? With the tarot cards, I mean.” Taking a sip as well, Adrienne shook her head. “I’ll be honest. I’m kinda intimidated by this. Not by you personally.” Her voice was quiet, just loud enough for the table. “I think perhaps by the idea of the unknown. Skeptics would say that you’re just good at reading people.” Almost down to a whisper, as if those people could be listening. “But it feels like something not easily explained.” She paused, perhaps feeling ridiculous. Her normal conversational tone resumed. “Sorry, sometimes I talk too much. No, I haven’t is what I mean.” “Aw, I don’t think that at all. I like hearing people tell their stories.” He picked up the deck and started shuffling it. “I’m asking because I just want to let you know things might get kinda personal. The cards might tell me things you would rather I not know, and that’s fine. If things start getting a little too intense, let me know and we’ll stop. I don’t want to be poking my nose where it doesn’t belong. Is that cool?” Adrienne bit into the croissant, taking care not to dump sugar all over her t-shirt. Between chews, she acknowledged Silvio’s conditions. “Very.” “Okay, then, let’s get started.” Spreading the cards across the table between them, he sat back and gestured with an open hand. “I need you to choose six of the cards here. Think about what you want answers to; it’ll help guide the reading.” Adrienne’s hands hovered over the cards, feeling trepidation over a choice that could be considered rather mundane. Silently, she separated six of them in no particular pattern. This was after much thought, she had no real idea of what these cards were except that maybe one of them meant that she would die any moment. Or one saying that she’d become a princess and have her own castle. That lack of knowledge released her to allow someone who clearly knew what he was doing to take over. “There. Six cards.” Lacing her hands on her lap, she sat up, watching Silvio intently now. “Alright. We’re going to do the universal six-card spread reading. If I need to stop at any time, just let me know. First, we’re going to see how you’re feeling right now.” Turning over the first card revealed an illustration of an angel blowing on a trumpet. Below it, grey-skinned men, women, and children rose joyously from their crypts, arms raised. “Judgment. You’re feeling like you’re putting a chapter of your life behind you or moving on to a new phase. But that’s not a bad thing. You’re sort of taking stock and figuring out where to go next.” Glancing up at her, he said, “I think that fight you had with Lab Rat King was a turning point. There was something different about that match, wasn’t there?” The nightmares could attest to that. And while some of the lesser wounds had started to fade away, the boot shaped bruise on Adrienne’s neck had started to color up like the prettiest sunset. “Didn’t feel like it was a fight, Silvio. I don’t know what that was. Like it was the worst night in a long time but afterwards, people started talking. No one’s ever paid much attention to me. Kinda weird.” He nodded and turned over the next card. “Let’s look at what you want.” The second card showed a crowned man seated on a throne, holding a scepter and looking out with a stern expression. “The Emperor. You want the support of a male figure in your life. I’m guessing that’s probably Knox for your upcoming match.” Looking up to meet her eyes, his brow knit. “You still okay, or do you want to stop? We’re about to get into what your fears might be.” Adrienne thought about Knox briefly. He had been polite at every turn. But he had also dictated her involvement in that match. But she didn’t fear what he may do. She felt empowered to voice any discontent with him. This certainly was not the norm for any woman much less Adrienne. But Silvio’s insistence of continuing consent was refreshing. Instinctively, she looked around, just in case someone was eavesdropping. “I’m okay.” He nodded and turned over the next card to reveal a figure of an old, white-bearded man shrouded in grey. In one hand the old man held a staff and in the other a lantern he held aloft. “The Hermit.” Silvio looked thoughtful, lips pursed as he tapped the card lightly with one fingertip. “You’re kind of the odd person out here. In a group of four, you’re the only woman. There might be some fear there that you’re not going to get the kind of support you need. Those douche canoes you’re facing off against said and did some pretty shitty stuff to you. It was inappropriate floor to ceiling, but I get the feeling they’re not used to having somebody point out their asshattery as specifically and incisively as you have. Knox stepped in, but let’s be real - no guy is ever going to understand being targeted like that. You are unique in this particular scenario, and maybe there’s some trepidation about what that means.” He took another sip of his coffee to give them both a moment. “You still cool about going on? The next card is going to deal with what you’ve got going for you.” She put a finger on the Hermit card. All of the other women in this company seemed so complete. Completely actualized. She knew that wasn’t the case but the card struck a chord alright. Sharing a few words here and there was one thing, but she felt out of place. Adrienne just wished she had someone to talk to other than her mother. Looking up, she nodded back. “Yeah. I’m good with this.” The next card he turned over showed a woman robed in white and wreathed in flowers with a serene expression on her face. Bent at the waist, she calmly holds the jaws of a fierce-looking red lion. “Strength.” He smiled and looked up at her with dark eyes that spark with delight. “Not that surprising. You’ve been showing everyone time and time again how much heart you have; how courageous you are. That’s what you’ve got going for you. That’s what’s going to see you through this. It will not fail you.” “Is that one real?” She twirled a strand of her dark hair nervously. “I mean, they all sound pretty right. I feel pretty pathetic sometimes. This summer’s been the first time I’ve ever been out of Clearwater by myself.” “There’s a Japanese saying I like. ‘Fall down seven times, get up eight.’” The fortune teller looked at her with a gentle smile. “Everybody has rough times. Everybody fails. That isn’t always your fault - you can do everything right and still not win. That’s not you being pathetic - that’s just life. What matters is that afterward, you still get up and you try again. You aren’t weak for losing. You’re strong because you don’t let it stop you. I’ve seen you fight. I see you changing and adapting with each match you have. And y’know what? Whoever thinks of you as weak does so at their own peril. You have the right heart for all of this. Everything else - your physical conditioning, your mic work, your move set - those are all things you can learn. You can’t teach heart. You either got it or you don’t. Believe me - if and when we ever get into the ring together, I’m not going to be stupid enough not to take you seriously.” “Thank you, that could actually be fun. And not terrifying.” Silvio grinned and turned over the next card to show a robed woman sitting between black and white pillars, a crescent moon at her feet and a diadem on her head. He clucked his tongue and raised a brow. “Ah hah. See, I kinda feel like this is cheating since you already told me, but what you’ve got working against you is insecurity. Those feelings might be coming from within or they might be imposed from without. But whatever the case, there’s some Doubting Thomas in your life. Ignore them. They don't know what they’re talking about. You’re on the right track.” There was that first urge to stop. She barrelled through, fingers clutching the gold band on her finger. “I guess. You’re ...you’re talking about Danny, right?” Adrienne still wasn’t clear on how this worked so maybe she was just confirming what was obvious. “Danny’s complicated. But th-there’s one more, I’m okay with that.” Silvio’s brow knit and he gave her an apologetic look. “Hey, I’m sorry if that struck too close to home. And, maybe that is who the card’s addressing, but you would know better than me. This last card is how things are all gonna turn out. You’re sure you want me to read it for you? If you want a minute, that’s fine.” Settling her nerves, Adrienne smiled. “I’m ready. I’ve worked so hard and sometimes I’m not sure what for. Stopping now would be unfair to … me.” He nodded and flipped the last card to reveal a woman suspended in the sky, swathed in blue silk and surrounded by a wreath of greenery. In each hand, she held a baton. “The World. This is good. Success and fulfillment. This is going to be the culmination of your endeavors and hard work. I’m pretty sure you’re going to break out into a win here for Chaos 95, and it could not be more deserved. I, for one, cannot wait to see you pummel that skin melting penis-faced manifestation of toxic masculinity with below average hair and his mopey, complicit little crony who clearly missed the entire point of Watchmen and is likely salivating over the prospect of jerking one out to the, fabled ‘Snyder Cut.’” He gave a little shrug. “Pardon my language there.” Adrienne shrugged. “You’re cool. They’re jerks for sure. But they’re also the real deal.” She looked at the card. Everything felt right, but this one resonated with her. The words he said, and the art. Adrienne had come a long way. She’d been Danny’s girl for so long. And in the darkness, she was less. Face down, with a forearm against the back of her neck, she’d been told her place explicitly by a monstrosity she didn’t want to name right now. But this image here defied that. “But I’m prepared for them, Silvio. And I realized that they aren’t an exception here. They’re caricatures, but I know better. I’m going to drag them all out into the light.” “Hell yeah, you are!” he laughed. “I mean, dang, we’ve each gotten our shit rocked by Knox at this point, so we both know he’s a strong partner to have. Those jack wagons have shown everyone their true colors, and now they’re upset at people calling them out for what they really are. Disinfect them with sunlight, Adrienne. They might be a real deal, but there’s a reason to forgo Great Values for name brand, y’know?” Sweeping up the cards, he took out a box for them from a backpack he had hanging off the chair behind him. “I gotta head out soon, but I have a gift for you. I do my readings for my promos with just the Major Arcana cards, but there are also four suits that you can use along with them. Wands, cups, pentacles, and swords. There’s one that made me think of you.” Pausing to stick his cake pop in his mouth, he shuffled through the deck before coming to the card he wanted, then drew it out between his index and middle finger. “Here you go. The Queen of Swords.” He laid a card between them. It showed a woman seated on a throne wearing a crown of butterflies upon her head. She was dressed in regal fashion, and held a sword in one hand while the other was extended forward. Behind her, grey clouds gathered on the horizon. “The sword suit’s element is air. She holds a sword in one hand and holds the other out in greeting; she’s open, but doesn’t lack self protection. Her open hand can also be interpreted as putting thought into action. The butterflies she’s crowned with indicate free thinking and an active intellect.” Silvio tapped the clouds gently with one finger tip. “The dark clouds here signify that she has known sorrow in the past, but she is not letting that prevent her from seeking the horizon. She is determined, independent, and isn’t afraid to tell it like it is.” The card is pushed across the table to Adrienne. “It’s yours.” If it were anyone else, the little gasp would have looked facetious. Like any person, Adrienne had received a number of gifts over her life. Rarely, if ever, had she been given something that was given to her - with her in mind. The recently departed bike was a gift with the implication that Adrienne didn’t fit into that blue dress like before. Quickly, she wiped away the wetness in her eyes because she could go do that later and maybe not be weird in public. Holding the card gently with both hands, Adrienne focused on the image. Queen’s something used too often these days. But this was better than anything else she’d been. Finally, she looked to Silvio, astonishment in her eyes. “Thank you.” Silvio face contorted with concern over the reaction for a moment, fearful he’d said or done the wrong thing. As she looked at him, though, that expression on her face, he gave her a sheepish smile with teeth slightly pink from the candy coating of the half-eaten cake pop. “Aw, heck, I’m just glad you like it. You’re doing a great job, Adrienne. I can’t wait to see what you have to show us next.” Washing down his dessert with a last swig of coffee, he got to his feet and hefted his backpack over one shoulder. “I got a client to meet at the parlor, but if you ever need anything, drop me a line, okay? I got your back.” “Same here.” Adrienne waved goodbye with her free hand, clutching about the coolest thing she’d seen in a long time to her chest. “Bye, Silvio.”

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ramajmedia · 5 years

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Veep: 10 Hilarious Amy Brookheimer Quotes That Were Just Plain Vicious

Amy Brookheimer was a complicated character. She had no illusions about the game of politics and could play it as well as the next person. She had a moral compass. She didn’t always follow it, but it was there. Mostly, though, she had no time for incompetence, idiocy, or anything that didn’t forward her goal of putting Selina Meyer in the Oval Office.

She did not suffer fools gladly. Unfortunately for her, fools surrounded her. She spent so much energy trying to save Selina from her own worst instincts, she didn’t have any left to prevent her from being brutally honest with those around her. This led to some truly wonderful rants and insults.

RELATED: Veep: The 5 Best Episodes (& The 5 Worst)

10 “You are like an earlobe. You’re just there, just wobbling.”

One of the most incompetent people on Team Meyer was Communications Director Mike McClintock. Aside from Gary he’d been with Selina the longest, but he’d never been particularly good at his job. In the episode “Catherine”, he avoided making an announcement that he knew would be met unhappily. His continual reluctance drove Amy crazy. They finally laid down a concrete event where he had to make the announcement but when asked if he had informed people, he was still avoiding it, not wanting everyone to be angry at him. In the end, everyone still yelled at him, including Amy.

9 “Dan is a shit… He’s a massive and totally shit. When you first meet him, you think surely to God this man can’t be as big a shit as he seems, but he is.”

Amy and Dan dated before Selina hired him in the first episode. Before Selina hired him, she wanted to find out more about him, so she asked Amy what she thought about him. Amy let her know immediately what she thought of Dan and held nothing back.

RELATED: Veep: 10 Selina Meyer Quotes That Represent All Of Us

Amy continued, “Because like if there were a book with covers made of shit, you’d think, ‘That’s intriguing. I wonder what’s in this book that they saw fit to give it covers made of pure shit.’ And then you open it and… shit.” Despite Amy’s vivid descriptor, Selina still invited Dan to join the team, and he more or less proved Amy right.

8 “You’re not even your mother’s favorite Jonah, Jonah.”

With the amount of abuse he took in the show, Jonah would almost be a pitiable character. Instead, with everything he does and says, he just makes himself worthy of the bile thrown at him. The sole reason he worked at the White House is because his uncle Jeff owned the New Hampshire vote. But he acted as though he was the most powerful person in Washington.

As the White House liaison to the VP’s office, Selina’s team had to deal with him. But they didn’t have to like it. So when Jonah enters the office with, “Look who it is, everybody. It’s your favorite Jonah,” how else can Amy respond.

7 “Hello Leon. It’s always good to see the most left-swiped face on Tinder.”

Amy tried to play nice with the press. She knew that staying on their good side was the smart thing to do. The one person she couldn’t really manage that with was Leon West. Working for the Washington Post, Leon had a huge audience. But he was also an enormous pain in the ass of Team Meyer. He always lurked, trying to catch them out on something.

Leon ambushed Amy in the grocery store, trying to get her to spill which of Selina’s staff members had called her a c***. (It turns out it was everyone, with the exception, of course, of Gary.) When he approached with an insult, she had to respond in kind. She couldn’t help herself.

RELATED: HBO's Veep Characters By Myers-Briggs Personality Type

6 “She’s offering you vice president, you monument to vaginal dryness.”

In the final season, Amy left Selina’s staff after being offered a better, more challenging job as Jonah’s campaign manager. Her years in Washington had taken any idealism she had left and ground it into a pulp. She didn’t believe in anything Jonah stood for, but she knew if she managed to have him be a real contender for president, her credentials in Washington would go way up.

Managing Jonah was an arduous task. He wouldn’t listen to anyone, he insulted everyone, and his most heinous ideas always took off with his base supporters. But he did have a strong base, which, in order to secure the nomination, meant that Selina had to offer him VP to get his numbers. But Jonah, as always didn’t understand what was going on, leading Amy to snap at him.

5 “You have three kids by two different men. Maybe your last word should have been, ‘no’.”

Possibly the most contentious relationship in Amy’s life was that with her sister, Sophie. Other than sharing parents, the only other thing they had in common was an attraction to Dan. Very occasionally they got along for a short amount of time, but it always ended with them sniping at each other.

When their father had a health scare, Amy went to the hospital even though it’s during the mid-term elections. It turned out to be nothing, and Amy was frustrated that her sister made it seem like their father was dying. In their argument, Sophie accused Amy of always needed to have the last word. Amy certainly did in that fight.

4 “Gary, your inner child needs to grow an outer man.”

For the most part, as long as they didn’t threaten her position in Selina’s administration, Amy got along with the rest of Team Meyer. That included Gary, who many others made fun of or ignored. Of her whole team, with the exception of Mike, they were with her the longest and were the closest to her. That being said, occasionally she would be frustrated with his meekness. When he avoids telling Selina about a painting that he had moved, leading to problems with Native Americans, Amy and Sue both tell him that he has to just do it.

3 “Were you sent from the future to destroy me? ‘Cause it’s working! ‘I think that each candidates has merits and demerits, and I don’t know my left butt cheek from my right butt cheek, but I believe in listening to both butt cheeks and farting out my asshole mouth.’”

Amy never hated anyone the way she hated Karen Collins, an old friend of Selina’s who joined the campaign as advisor. Karen was infamously indecisive, never coming down on one side or the other. As Selina’s campaign manager, Amy kept trying to get Selina to make firm decisions, but she’d be swayed by Karen each time. Finally, when Doyle dropped out as Selina’s running mate, Amy tried to get her to ask Tom James as his replacement. Selina asked Karen’s opinion, and as always she equivocated.

Amy continued, “That’s not even bullshit. Bullshitting takes talent. You have none. You’re just a blah-blah-blah bitch.” An excellent take-down and something everyone had wanted to say.

2 “You are not Michael Jordan. You are a seven-foot-seven, goony-looking Lithuanian who’s going to drop dead of Marfan Syndrome.”

Again the target of some of Amy’s most poisonous bile was Jonah. But he set her up perfectly. In Nevada, Amy and Dan tried to get a recount of the presidential votes as Selina lost by a very narrow margin. They were forced to take along Richard who had in depth knowledge of Nevada’s voting system, as well as Jonah, who had been regulated to Richard’s assistant. Jonah, of course, chafed at that, saying, “You guys have Michael Jordan sitting on the bench here, but you’re starting Hakeem Olajutwat.” Never has a Jonah insult been more deserved.

RELATED: Veep Season 7: Every Celebrity Cameo

1 “You have achieved nothing apart from one thing. The fact that you are a woman means that we will have no more women presidents because we tried one and she f***ing sucked.”

In the same scene where Amy took down Karen Collins, she also turned on Selina. The fact that Anna Chlumsky didn’t win an Emmy for this scene alone was a travesty. For years Amy offered Selina sound advice only to have it ignored and then be blamed when things went wrong. She’d finally had enough and told Selina exactly what she thought of her on her way out.

The lead-in to the above quote was just as good. “You have made it impossible to do this job. You have two settings – no decision and bad decision. I wouldn’t let you run a bath without the Coast Guard and the fire department standing by, but here you are running the country. You are the worst thing that has happened to America since food in buckets. And maybe slavery.” Brilliant.

NEXT: Best Reaction Memes To Stranger Things Season Three

source https://screenrant.com/funny-amy-brookheimer-quotes/

#screenrant

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byroncarter · 7 years

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Azize and motherhood

I would like to talk a little bit about Azize and how good of a job she is doing (or not doing, sadly) when it comes to motherhood. Beforehand I should probably add that, unlike many other viewers, I don’t dislike Azize as a character. She’s been accused of being dumb and impulsive and narrow-minded and all sorts of things but I have to say, considering all the problems she is facing and everything she is going through, she is handling life as well as she can. When I first saw Azize, I found her to be a quite refreshing character, actually. Above all things, she is passionate. And she puts that passion into everything she does, be it her duty or her love or scolding her children (I admit: I love the scenes where Azize gets tantrums over her kids. She is all the bit of the all-time-Turkish-mom who would throw her shoe after her children or chase them with the rolling pit). But despite her passion; her love for Cevdet; her thoroughness when it comes to her job as a nurse; her commitment to the rebellion… there is one thing Azize is genuinely struggling with: Being a mom to three children. (Four, technically; the one she keeps in her womb since over a year because she knows she won’t be able to handle one more.)

Sometimes we look at Ali Kemal, Hilal or Yıldız (mostly Yıldız) and complain about what awful actions they engage into. But if you truly think about it… wouldn’t it be Azize’s job to educate her children on how to act like a decent human being? Can we really blame Ali Kemal for being a brute; Hilal for being too cold and too withdrawn; Yıldız for being selfish and not knowing that money and wealth are not enough to make her happy? Admittedly, however hard a parent may try, sometimes children develop the way they do. Sometimes there is nothing you can do as a mom or a dad to change your child, after a certain point. But when I think about all the mistakes either Ali Kemal, Yıldız or Hilal ever did in this season, and how Azize reacted to those mistakes… I have to say, I wonder if she couldn’t have prevented most mistakes her children do, if she acted more like a mother should act.

Let’s start with Ali Kemal:

In the first episode we see Ali Kemal as a young man of 20-21 years. He has no job. He has no education. He spends his days getting drunk and wasting his time. Azize sees that the boy has a problem (she sees that much, at least). She feels that her son is struggling with something and won’t talk to her about it. But she is absolutely clueless on what his problem might be, even though the “problem” (Yıldız) is right in under her nose. Remember episode 3 where Ali Kemal and Yıldız attend the ball together with Cevdet. Cevdet (who didn’t see his children for seven years) spends five minutes in their company and starts giving the two of them suspicious looks. He immediately senses the tention between the two: Something is wrong, something doesn’t quite fit, something feels OFF between Ali Kemal and Yıldız. And Cevdet gets this through ONE LOOK. One really wonders how Azize, who literally has been living under the same roof with these two couldn’t sense something. Couldn’t feel that whatever Ali Kemal’s problem is, it has to do with Yıldız. It’s incredible how outrageously ignorant Azize is when it comes to her children. Kinda makes me wonder if she really doesn’t see or if she chooses to ignore it deliberately, because she has enough problems to deal with outside of her children (like snapping at her traitor husband, who’s not actually a traitor). How would you guys have found a scene in the beginning of S1, where Azize sits Yıldız down in private and says: “Alright, child. Tell me what’s wrong between you and Ali Kemal.” Don’t know about you, but I kinda would have liked it.

Let’s go on with Hilal:

If anyone is the perfect example to show how ignorant and utterly blind Azize is about her children, then it is Hilal. Again, I’m going to make the comparison to Cevdet, because man, is Cevdet a good father and man, does he know his kids: Despite the fact he didn’t see Hilal growing up and the last time he saw her was when Hilal was about 10 years old… Cevdet takes one look at Hilal and sees her very soul. Remember episode 10 when Cevdet visited Hilal in her cell and told her: “Your duty is to live. Your duty is to WRITE these things you witness and to pass them on to the generations to come”. It always fascinates me, how Cevdet who didn’t even see his child growing up, knew that Hilal was good with words and good at writing, whileas Vasili (whose child grew up under his nose) said: “What do you know of writing, soldier? Everyone should do what he knows best” when Leon suggested to write the article on the bombing. Vasili looked like such a bad parent in that scene, and I am truly sorry to point it out but… is Azize any different than Vasili? Cevdet took one glance at Hilal and he seriously suspects Hilal of being Halit Ikbal. Meanwhile Azize: Halit Ikbal’s original handwritten texts turn out from Hilal’s very room and Azize immediately believes that Hilal is only a mediator for the real Halit Ikbal, without a second thought. She doesn’t even consider that… Hilal… might actually… BE THE REAL HALIT IKBAL?! Like, please, Azize, open your eyes, for God’s sakes! The original texts of Halit Ikbal appear in your daughter’s room; your daughter who has her nose burried in a book most of the time, who sits on her desk and writes something whenever you enter her room. And you don’t even get the idea what your child might be up to? That’s lame. Really lame.

Not to mention Azize’s reaction to the relationship between Hilal and Leon:

“You’ll forget.”

Ah-huh. Yes. Ten points for Azizerindor!

Honestly, even the fact that it took Azize this long to even GET the situation, was pretty much a shame. But her reaction to it? Was even worse. I’m not a magnificently huge fan of Veronica’s skills as a mother, but I have to say, her reaction to Leon’s undying love for Hilal was a lot more like what these kids deserve.

Moving on to the most troubled child in the family: Yıldız.

I saved Yıldız for last, because she is truly an awful person and she makes some horrible, horrible mistakes over the whole season. But all Azize ever does regarding Yıldız, is making things WORSE.

I’ll start with Yıldız first and foremost mistake: Her obsession with Leon (or, to be more specific, with the mansion). Azize’s first reaction, and the first precaution she takes, in order to get Yıldız into line again is: Threatening her. “I’ll tell you this once, Yıldız, and only once: I will never see you speak to that Lieutenant ever again.” Period. No talking, no reasoning, no explaining. Just a blunt order, with an underlying threat. Of course (like most teenagers would probably do) Yıldız doesn’t listen. People see her with the Lieutenant in public. And what does Azize do? “I’m going to marry you off!” Another ten points for Azizerindooor! Again: No talking, no reasoning, no explaining on why Yıldız should keep her distance from Leon. Why she shouldn’t be flirting with a man just because he is rich.

I don’t know if some of you might know this show, but I used to watch a series called Öyle bir geçer zaman ki a couple of years ago. Aylin Akarsu, the youngest daughter of the family, marries a man for his money in that show.

(In the beginning, I always used to say ‘Yıldız is the Aylin Akarsu of this show’, but later on I realized Yıldız is far worse than Aylin). I only ever realized Azize’s deficiency, when I compared her to Aylin’s mother Cemile. When Cemile found out that Aylin wanted to get married for the boy’s money she told her daughter: “When you’re living in your great mansion, with your servants and jewelry, you’ll be lying all alone in your cold, grand, luxurious bed! And then you can take your money into your arms and see if it warms you up. It won’t. And then you’ll give yourself away to temporary loves, you will waste yourself away, you will regret what you have done! … And I won’t allow my daughter to do something she will regret.”

Have we heard anything resembling to that from Azize’s mouth ever? Did Azize ever take Yıldız in front of her and tell her: “Child. You’re young. You yearn for a better life. But do you think money and a big house and glossy parties will bring you happiness? It won’t Yıldız. It won’t replace what you truly yearn for, like everybody else does: Love. It won’t replace it. Please, Yıldız. Stop ruining your own future. This isn’t the road to happiness. You don’t love Lieutenant Leon. Why waste your future for a man you don’t even love?”

I’m sure it would have been more effective, than forcing her to marry Mustafa Sami, a wanted man, who was going to take her to Anatolia, a place Yıldız could never survive at.

And I truly have to emphasize at this point, how ridiculously stupid Azize’s insisting on Yıldız’ marriage with Mustafa Sami was. The guy was a wanted man. Greek soldiers had orders to shoot on sight. He was taking her daughter away, to Anatolia. Did Azize never think of all the dangers she was exposing her daughter to? Did she never even consider that her daughter might not be able to take all that? I’m not particularly a Yıldız-fan, but honestly, Azize provoked a lot of stuff Yıldız did.

Pressure usually results in backpressure and that’s exactly what happened with Yıldız. It’s what MOST teenagers do, when their parents give orders, use their authority, and try to force children into doing something: They do something horrible in return. In Yıldız’ case, it was reporting Mustafa Sami to the Greeks, because it was the only way to get rid of him. Even though I hate Yıldız for what she did, and even though I absolutely do not believe that Yıldız EVER assumed that the Greeks would merely “question” Mustafa Sami (Yıldız is smarter than that. She knew he was going to get killed), I still have to say that Azize reacted in the worst possible way. When Azize heard of Yıldız’ accomplishments she gave her daughter a thorough beating. And what did it do? Nothing. It only made Yıldız think of herself more as “a victim” and a “poor princess who deserves better than all this”. Azize lost her whole authority and all the trust on Yıldız’ side, when she beat her and then locked her up. She never even considered sitting down with Yıldız and actually talking to her, on what she actually did there, and why it was wrong.

I think Azize is hopelessly overwhelmed by a troubled child like Yıldız, and she is absolutely clueless on how to treat her.

You can see this in her disputes with Yıldız on the invasion, too: Yıldız mouths off in front of the whole family, about how she doesn’t believe into the Ottoman Empire anymore, how she doesn’t care if the Greeks are here, how everything that happened to Hilal and her friends is their fault, because they’re sending out invitations for cruelty. All Azize had to say in that scene was: “Go to your room!” (Another ten points for Azizerindooooor!) She doesn’t bother to tell her daughter: “Yıldız. Come here. Sit down. Those fancy Greek invadors you like so much. You know what they’re doing? They rape our women. They burn our villages down. Drive us out of our homes. And these are the people who are in the right, for you? You want to be a part of them?” Nope. No such thing from Azize. And Yıldız got worse and worse… After the spectacular surprise engagement party, Yıldız comes home, and Azize is again, clueless on how to act. Educating your child, also involves dampening its magnificent ego now and then. How come Azize didn’t tell Yıldız: “Where was your honour, when you went to a place you knew you weren’t wanted?” No. Azize only continued to not talk to her daughter in terms of “how to be a good human” and to overprotect her when she didn’t deserve it (by snapping at Leon).

To conclude, I think Azize has some serious struggles when it comes to being a mother. She doesn’t bother to notice her children, she is ignorant about their problems, she doesn’t put very much of an effort into showing them how to distinguish between right and wrong. She doesn’t even really know any of her children by heart (at least she doesn’t act like it). For Azize, all that ever counts is Cevdet. Cevdet is the most important thing in her life, and I believe he even stands above her children sometimes (or many times, or always). I’ve been comparing her to Vasili in the beginning and I gotta say, there are quite the parallels between Vasili and Azize: Both of them love their partners above anything and everything else. I’ve always said that the most important thing for Vasili was always Veronica. No one could compare to her, not Dimitri, not Leon, nothing. All he ever did and all he ever fought for was for Veronica. And after some thorough inspectation, I have to say: The same goes for Azize. When it comes to Cevdet, everything else is secondary. Even her children.

I think in Season 2, when Cevdet Jr. is finally born, Cevdet should retire (God knows, man must have had enough by now) and should stay at home with the kids, and Azize should work. Cause, hands down, Cevdet is clearly the better parent, out of the two.

Thank you so much for reading, I know this one got long.

#vatanım sensin #wounded love #azize hemşire #miralay cevdet #azcev #hileon #yıldız #ali kemal #analysis #back at it again with the overly long metas

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