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dreamsmp-au-ideas · 3 years

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Teddy Bear Anon has purposed yet another interesting addition to the Immune AU which gives me plot ideas! In particular, a scene that would really help give past Dream a strong push into his character arc.

I like to image that immune!Dream’s character arc starts with the death of immune!Puffy. Sure, maybe he’s not sad yet, but he feels something for the woman who declared herself his pseudo mother. It’s what helps to crack the shell enough for the rest of the immune gang to start weedling their way into his heart. Immune!Dream after spending enough time watching the group he, starts to realize that yeah, connections to other people isn’t a weakness. It really is a strength. It’s something that takes time for him to come to terms with because Techno seems like a testament to the fact connections are a weakness. He was unbeatable until his horse got kidnapped. His only connection, his only weakness. But then there’s Tommy who seems to represent the complete opposite.

Where Dream represents strength from caring too little, Tommy represents strength from caring far too much. Now I’m a sucker for bamf Tommy, and I like to personally imagine that maybe the Immunes hold out for a year or two before they cave and try to make the portal. So Tommy has what really boils down to a two year training arc on top of already being a child veteran (I like to canonize SMP Earth as well because personal preference and it gives me even more room to make Tommy suffer. SMP Earth being canon? God, so much fucking trauma considering how the others treated him, a 15 year old child, like an adult.) Anyway Dream slowly realizes connections with one another are what kept the remaining Immunes alive, and he tries to force his younger self to understand that. Tries, but doesn’t really get far. Up until what everyone else calls The Fight.

Tommy’s always just kind of screwed around in fights as long as there’s only a threat to him. We know he has a tendency to throw if MCC is any indicator. But then they time travel and maybe they spend some time in the past trying to get the situation sorted and the past’s Dream maybe just kinda does something to Tubbo. Doesn’t even have to be big, it just needs to clock as a threat to Immune!Tommy who’s already lost his Tubbo and refuses to let his younger self go through that. So Tommy goes completely ape shit on the younger Dream. Sure, it’s only been two years for this Tommy. He’s probably, like, 18 or 19 at most. Still a child as far as a lot of people are concerned. He shouldn’t be stronger than Dream or Technoblade, and in the few cross group sparing sessions they’ve had he isn’t. He’s stronger than his younger self but no where near these two demi gods of combat. But then Dream suddenly registers as a threat to Tubbo in Immune!Tommy’s eyes and he makes the mistake of mocking Tommy while he’s at it. He knows that immune!Tommy lost his Tubbo and maybe the past Dream is lashing out slightly or trying to get some kind of foothold in Tommy’s psyche. He isn’t doing anything near what immune!Dream has done, but it’s enough to piss Tommy off. So immune!Tommy challenges Dream to a fight and Dream immediately realizes the mistake he’s made when Tommy starts to destroy him.

Say even Techno’s there for some reason or another and he realizes what’s going down so he tries to calm Tommy down, joining the fight just as Dream is loosing it. The situation quickly turns into the first time Techno’s ever gotten his ass thoroughly kicked by Tommy, leaving everyone spectating baffled (Tommy’s younger self partly included). They’re certain this kid is going on some rampage and none of them can stop him but the moment Dream and Techno are both taken care of (wounded, not killed, the older Tommy is always careful about that. He even throws a splash healing on them with some indifferent kind of disgust that hides the fact he does still care to some extent even hurting as he is.) Tommy immediately just switches focus to outright doting on Tubbo, ignoring any muttered Clingyinnits in favor of ensuring Tubbo is fine. Tubbo is completely find and just as confused, but the point stands and neither Tommy ends up leaving Tubbo’s side for the rest of the day. The younger Tommy, after all, is the only one the older Tommy’s told the full story to regarding the future (even when he couldn’t trust his own family he was always able to trust himself with the secrets that mattered, so he prepares his younger self in case the worst comes to pass.)

The older Dream, immune!Dream, he doesn’t get involved. He sit on the side lines and just kinda laughs, the sound drowned out by Sapnap’s loud encouragements and Sam’s half hearted attempts to get Tommy to stop (he could have stopped Tommy immediately if he’d stepped in. Sam is after all the only person on earth Tommy listens to without hesitation, but Sam lets it happen and pretends he tried.)

Immune!Dream just kinda smirks at his younger self later that night and mentions something about attachments really making you weak. After all, it’s not like the only time Tommy takes a battle seriously is when someone he cares about is in danger. It’s not like Tommy would turn the world into a seared ball for Tubbo, and Tubbo would do the same in return. It’s not like they’ve watched the people they care about temporarily rebuke the Crimson just to give the Immunes those precious extra seconds needed to survive in a fight. Attachments, they’re just a weakness.

The younger Dream doesn’t know how to respond to that. It’s the first time he thinks about his older self maybe being right.

Before I go I wanna leave you with two more ideas for the Immune AU

First up, Wilbur is eight years older than Tommy give or take. Wilbur had Fundy when he was around 16 and Tommy was around 8. Tommy was the best damn uncle he could be and for a while Tommy and Fundy were really stupidly close. They were both apart of the raised by Wilbur club and Wilbur was trying his damn best. Fundy aged/matured (physically and mentally) faster than a regular person for a while. They believed it was because he was a fox hybrid and Wilbur was ready to lose Fundy too soon. When Fundy was equivalent to 18 in human years though his aging process suddenly slowed to a crawl and his tail split into two, at which point the group realized he was actually a kitsune and it was just those first 8 years that passed by quickly (and Wilbur had a lot of questions for the now missing Sally who he’d thought was a salmon hybrid, genuinely, but became exceedingly less sure.) His family knows he’s a kitsune, but Fundy hid it from most of the rest of the server. A good thing considering later events.

Fundy was part of the Immune group for a while and I like to imagine that he and Tommy had a falling out during the Pogtopia era but after the egg started to take over they started bonding again and acting like, well, family. Unfortunately when it came time for them to activate the portal, Fundy ended up getting separated from the group and getting caught. The eggpire didn’t actually know Fundy was fully immune or a kitsune so he just kinda pretended to get infected, using his illusions to make his fur look crimson. I personally like the idea that Fundy at some point managed to get back to the time machine and being a little code wizard manages to get the thing working and yeets himself in. He shows up a little late but after fixing his appearance manages to catch up with the rest of the group.

Fundy is underrated. Tommy being a good uncle is underrated. Sam would absolutely adopt the traumatized fox baby in Eret’s honor. What’s not to love?

The last concept I wanna bring up that I really like is hybrid Tommy. Tanuki would be good since it’s another reason for the Sam Nook bit. Maybe Sam specifically picked Sam Nook since Tom Nook was Tommy’s favorite character on the grounds he was the only representation Tommy had ever gotten and it made the kiddo happy. However, I also personally really like phoenix Tommy and it would make an interesting plot point. Tommy accidentally losing his third life at some point and realizing he’s an immortal creature of fire would have led to him taking a protector role for his new family. He can’t die, but he can burn anything around him, why not send him out to get supplies when the worst the eggpire could do would be capture him. Even then he just literally cannot hear the egg. Which could lead to both some interesting comedic moments and some really good angst if Sam agonizes over his desire to protect Tommy and let him be a child suddenly being at odds with the fact Tommy is literally the best person for the job so to speak. Not to mention Sapnap, who I headcanon as a Blaze hybrid, would be even more attached the moment he found a new fire proof friend to burn forests with him. Regardless of which hybrid type he is, I could see him hiding it from everyone except for Fundy when he was a child and only ever admitting it later to the other Immunes once they become a found family.

Personally I like the idea of Tommy being part tanuki hybrid and part phoenix hybrid, but is that too mary sue? Is it just a little bit too cheesy to have him be both? I will never not try to incorporate phoenix Tommy into my fics but also tanuki Tommy would be such a mood for this au.

Like image Tommy just builds a den that’s in reality a vault/panic room a la Techno and he hides it under Church Prime since that is The Safe Spot in Tommy’s mind.

~Snapdragon & Firefly

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marjansmarwani · 3 years

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we’re not broken, just bent

7.1k || ao3

When the school year started, Carlos Reyes had not been expecting to fall for the new English teacher. When he met TK Strand, Carlos had not expected to find the love he had always wanted so close at hand. Now that they have each other everything seems just a bit brighter, and a bit lighter. Navigating the twists of turns or life and teaching and relationships isn’t always easy, but if Carlos gets to keep TK Strand in his life, he will do anything to make it work - even if he doesn’t always get it right on the first try.

Or, Teacher AU, Part 2

Revisiting one of my favorite AUs for Day 6 of Carlos Reyes Week. Find the first part here.

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“You would think that by now you would know better than to have your phone out at my table, Carlos Alberto Reyes.”

Carlos looked, startled, from his phone to find his mother looking at him pointedly while his dad tried not to look too amused from his seat across from Carlos. He blinked, before realizing he must have been staring at his phone for longer than he had thought before hastily sliding it back into his pocket. “Sorry,” he offered sheepishly, “were you saying something?”

His father didn’t even bother to contain his laughter at that and his mother rolled her eyes, “I was, but now I’m more interested to know who this boy that has you glued to your phone is.”

“Who says it’s a boy?” Carlos said defensively, ignoring the feeling of heat climbing up his cheeks.

“Unless something significant has changed in the past 2 weeks I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet, mijo,” his mother deadpanned. “He must be something special to make you smile like that.”

“I wasn’t smiling.”

His mom looked unimpressed, but his dad snorted outright, “it’s a good thing you’re a good teacher kid, because you would make a lousy actor.”

“You know if you guys are just going to keep ganging up on me I might just stop coming over for Sunday lunches.”

“It’s not wise to make empty threats Carlos, we all know you can’t resist my cooking.”

“I wonder what it’s like to have nice parents.”

Both of his parents ignored his jab. His dad returned his attention to his lunch while his mother leaned closer, “you know I have to tease you, Carlos, it’s my job. But if this boy makes you as happy as those smiles seem to indicate, then I am happy for you. I’d also like to meet him,” she added almost as an afterthought.

“Mom.”

“It’s a mother’s prerogative, Carlos. You should bring him by for lunch one Sunday.”

His mother was looking at him earnestly, but Carlos turned his gaze instead to the food on his plate, “things are still pretty new,” he admitted, “I don’t want to move too fast. He’s still a little gun shy from some past experiences, I want to make sure we go at a pace that works for him.”

He could feel the gaze of both of his parents on him now, but he kept his focus on his plate. It was something that he had been reminding himself of every day. TK had opened up to him, had told him everything and all the ways his ex had hurt him. He had made huge strides and put so much of it behind him, but Carlos was still wary. He didn’t want to push too hard; he didn’t want to risk what they were starting by being too hasty. What they had right now was so good, and if being patient and a little cautious meant he got to keep it, Carlos was okay with that.

He knew his mother was studying him without even having to see her face. When he did look up and meet her eyes, she gave him a smile, “You have always had a big heart mijo, it’s one of the things that makes you so special. You’ve spent your life always looking out for others, so I just need to ask: is that what you want too? Is that what is going to make you happy?”

He holds his mother’s gaze, and can feel his father watching them both. They’re waiting for him to answer, giving him time to think about it, but he doesn’t need to: “Yes Mom, he makes me happy.”

She smiles wide and reaches out to place a hand on top of his, “Then I am sure we will love him, whenever we get to meet him.”

-----------

“How was lunch with your parents?”

Carlos looked up from the coffee machine on TK’s counter to see his boyfriend watching him from the table. Carlos shrugged as the pot finished brewing, pouring the fresh coffee into two mugs, “Pretty much the usual, but with the addition of them giving me shit about being on my phone because someone was texting me.”

“I refuse to be guilted for wanting to talk to my boyfriend,” TK declared as he accepted the offered mug, “besides, if I had to suffer through Mateo’s niece's softball game, I wasn’t going to do it alone.”

“Good to know I could bring you some comfort in such trying times.”

TK rolled his eyes at him as he settled into the seat across from him and he grinned. He studied TK for a moment, taking in how at ease he looked. It was a far cry from the man he had met back in September, with walls a mile high and still living out of boxes because he was too scared to put down roots. Looking around his apartment now, you would never know.

The bookshelves were haphazardly arranged with books and mementos, and the walls were covered in pictures. Some included the backdrop of the Big Apple, but more and more were of his new life here in Austin. There were pictures of TK and his team on trivia nights and bowling outings. There was a picture from the faculty-student volleyball game, and more than a few of TK and Carlos. It was a physical reminder of how far they’d come; a visual representation of their journey together.

Not that Carlos had forgotten a single moment of it, but it was still nice to see it memorialized.

That reminded him of his mom’s question earlier, and his answer. He hadn’t needed to think about it and here was the proof: he was happy. It had only been a few months, but being with TK Strand was everything Carlos had always wanted, but had been becoming less and less sure he would ever get.

“They asked about you, actually,” he finally said, breaking the comfortable silence.

TK looked up abruptly, surprise written all over his face, “They did?”

Carlos nodded, “They, uh...they want you to come over for lunch with me some week.”

“Oh.”

The response was soft, but it set Carlos’s nerves on end. They were in such a good place, he didn’t want to ruin this. He should have never brought it up, “I told them it was too soon,” he said quickly, “that we were taking it slow.”

“Oh,” TK said again, voice still quiet, “okay.”

There was something in his expression Carlos couldn’t quite identify, but before he could dive deeper into it, TK changed the subject.

“Remind me again why we always seem to save all this for Sunday night?”

Carlos glanced down to his abandoned stack of papers waiting to be graded and back to find TK looking at him mournfully beside his own stack.

“Because we are responsible adults who understand time management?” he offered.

“Sounds right,” TK agreed, turning his focus back down to the paragraph he had been reading. Carlos finished the paper he had been on before he decided they needed fresh coffee and reached for the next one in the stack, only to frown as he read the first line: In the novel Things Fall Apart, the main character Okonkwo…

He doesn’t read the rest, because his classes don’t read Things Fall Apart. He holds it up to TK instead, “I think this is one of yours.”

TK scowled at the offending paper, “Do you want to grade it?”

“I do not.”

“And here I thought you liked me.”

Carlos gave him an unimpressed look and pushed the paper towards him. TK took the offered paper with a dramatic sigh, “I love teaching, I really do, but every time I let the grading pile up I question my life choices all over again.”

“I guess that is on us for deciding to teach English,” Carlos mused, “I hear other content areas don’t have to grade piles of writing each week.”

“So you’re saying we should switch content areas? Just show up tomorrow and tell Judd we’re teaching new stuff now?”

“Gym teacher always did sound kind of appealing,” Carlos admitted wistfully, “it would be a lot less grading.”

“Now that is an idea I can get behind,” TK said appreciatively, running a suggestive gaze over Carlos’s form, “does it come with those little shorts?”

Carlos gave his boyfriend an exasperated look before reaching over to grab a pen, which he threw at him, “Focus, Strand. Work now, play later.”

“Authoritative too - I’m liking gym teacher Carlos more and more.”

“You’re incorrigible.”

“Prepping for your SAT tutoring sessions?”

“Yes, actually. Which is why I really need to get this done, if you don’t mind.”

The words had far more bite than he had intended and he regretted them the moment they were out of his mouth. TK’s expression softened as he handed the pen Carlos had just tossed at him, “I’m sorry Carlos, I know you have a lot on your plate right now. I didn’t mean to distract you.”

“No,” Carlos countered, running a hand through his hair, “you’re fine, I’m sorry for snapping. I’m just a little tense, I think.”

“Can’t imagine why,” TK said lightly, “it’s not like you were asked to take over SAT prep for the entire 12th grade on top of everything you already do or anything.”

“Not the whole thing, just the English portion.”

“That’s enough Carlos. And you’re going to do great with it because you're an amazing teacher. And I’m going to help you, however I can - starting with shutting up and getting my work done so you can get some work done, I promise.”

TK gave him a smile and Carlos watched as he returned to his work, biting on his lip absentmindedly as he read, reaching down occasionally to write something in the margins. As he thought he gently tapped his pen against his mouth and when he went to stretch his shirt rode up ever so slightly, giving Carlos a peek at his toned chest. As all this was happening, Carlos made a decision.

“One more hour, then we put it away,” he announced.

TK glanced at him in surprise, “You sure? We still have a lot to do.”

“Nobody’s going to die if these assignments aren’t graded tonight,” Carlos reminded him. “Besides, I can think of many other things I would rather do on a Sunday night when I have you all to myself, Mr. Strand.”

TK confused expression melted and a coy grin took its place, “Oh, is that so Mr. Reyes?”

“I guess you’ll just have to wait an hour to find out.”

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

“Remind me again what we’re doing?”

“We’re putting up a bulletin board of 9th graders who have been on the honor roll for the first two quarters.”

“Uh-huh. And why am I - someone who does not teach 9th graders - the one helping you?”

“Because Marwani and Chavez get too distracted during this kind of stuff and while your boyfriend would usually be my choice, he’s grading essays. And you know how he gets when he’s grading essays. Besides, don’t pretend like you’re hating the chance to get to see some more of my face, Reyes.”

Carlos rolled his eyes at Paul as he handed him the next stack of papers to be stapled to the bulletin board in the front entry of the school, “That is blatantly false, I object.”

“Then maybe it’s the fact that you’re too nice to tell me no.”

“I am not too nice to leave you stranded here with no help Strickland, don’t tempt me.”

“It always does my heart good to hear the dulcet tones of inter-grade level cooperation,” a new voice said wryly and Carlos twisted around to see Judd Ryder approaching. “Do y’all need a babysitter or can you play nice?”

“I think we can handle it,” Carlos assured him, “but if not I’ll let you know.”

“Please try not too, I have so much paperwork to catch up on.”

“Ah, the glamorous life of an administrator,” Paul noted as he stapled more student names up onto the board, “next you’re going to wow us with tales of your endless meetings.”

“You laugh now, but give it a few more years and you might just decide to give it a try yourself. I think you'd have a knack for it - both of you.”

“But if we took you up on that you’d be down two teachers,” Carlos pointed out, “better not risk it.”

“Besides,” Paul added as he climbed down from the chair he had been standing on, “I greatly prefer only having to deal with misbehaving teenagers. You can have all the problem-causing adults, thank you very much.”

“I’d try to argue, but you’re right. Sometimes I miss the days where the kids were the only ones I was responsible for. Since I’ve got you here though Reyes, I wanted to check in - how’s the SAT prep going?”

Carlos shrugged, “we’re having our first session tonight, but the signup sheet makes it look like there should be a good turn out.”

“Good. Thanks again for taking on the extra work, I know it can’t have been easy.”

Carlos shrugged again, “if it helps them then why not? It’s only a few sessions, not a big deal.”

Judd nodded and gave him a smile, “Still, I really appreciate it. I do actually have stuff to do so I’m going to head back to my office, try to behave yourselves out here.”

With a wave to them both he was gone, and Paul turned to Carlos with raised eyebrows, “It’s only a few sessions, not a big deal? Man, talk about brown-nosing: you have been a walking stress headache since you took that on.”

“Yeah, but that was all the prep work. Running the actual sessions should be fine.”

“Either you’re Superman or you’re lying to yourself.”

“How are things going in the 9th grade wing? I’ve been so busy I haven’t had a chance to stop by in a while.”

Paul’s look clearly stated how much subtlety Carlos lacked, but he answered regardless, “Pretty good. No major drama for the past few months, thank god. Just a lot of the typical teen drama.”

“Then I guess they don’t change all that much because that’s pretty much how the Seniors are, with the added bonus of college applications. How’s Seth doing?”

“Better. He’s been doing some one on ones with TK and I think they’ve really helped.”

“I think they’ve helped them both,” Carlos admitted, “I think being able to see his past as something to help someone else has been a good thing.”

Paul smiled sadly as he began to gather up the extra supplies, “I’m happy for him. I hated seeing him so ashamed about it, and no amount of saying it was fine ever seemed to get through to him.”

“Are you calling TK Strand stubborn Paul?”

“Perish the thought.”

Carlos laughed as he helped Paul gather the last of the supplies and they turned back towards the 9th grade wing and Paul’s classroom. They walked in silence for a bit before Paul spoke, “Are you sure you don’t need any help with these extra sessions? I don’t know how much help I would be with the actual content part as a science teacher, but if you just want another body in the room or something all you have to do is ask.”

Carlos shook his head and gave the other man a smile, “I’m good Paul, really. Besides, TK has already offered at least 6 times.”

“Still, if you need anything...”

“If I need any help with a bulletin board, I’ll know exactly who to call.”

Paul rolled his eyes but made no comment as they neared his classroom. As they walked by the door to TK’s neighboring room Carlos paused. TK was walking through the room, glancing at student’s papers as they worked. As Carlos watched he paused and crouched down next to a student desk, looking at something on their paper, listening as the student asked their question. He answered, but as he was getting back up he looked towards the door and gave Carlos a smile that warmed him from the inside out.

Carlos smiled back, hoping that even a fraction of the affection he felt for the other man showed in the simple gesture. He lingered for only a moment more before he stepped out of the doorway, hoping he had left before he was spotted by any of his boyfriend’s students. The last time they had caught him in the doorway they hadn’t stopped teasing TK for a week, which meant that Carlos had gotten to hear about it for a week.

Paul noticed his hasty retreat and snorted, “Scared of some 15-year-olds, Reyes?”

“Not willing to deal with my annoyed boyfriend if said 15-year-olds drive him nuts for a week.”

Paul shook his head as he unlocked his classroom door, holding it open so Carlos could follow him in. They dropped the supplies on a table in the back before Carlos glanced at his watch.

“And I have a class starting in 3 minutes. Guess this is goodbye then.”

“Yeah, but try not to be such a stranger. I know you may not like us all as much as your boyfriend, but we’re still here you know.”

“Who are you again?”

Paul rolled his eyes, “everyone’s a comedian,” he muttered.

Carlos grinned, but paused right before he stepped out the door, “we should try to do something as a group after school, soon,” he amended, and Paul smiled at him.

“Apology accepted Reyes. Now get lost before you’re late for class.”

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At the end of his first SAT prep session, Carlos gathered his bag and headed out of his room, locking the door behind him. It had gone better than he had expected because, despite all his insistence that it would be fine, he had been nervous. But it had gone well, really. Yes, the extra prep work wasn’t ideal and it did cut into his free time, but now that the first one was done he realized that he had actually enjoyed it. Which was certainly not a realization he thought he would be having today.

If he was being completely honest with himself, he had been hesitant from the moment Judd had approached him. He wasn’t a fan of the concept of the SATs as a whole to start with, but like them or not they were a part of the college admission process, as Judd had reminded him. More than that, there were scholarships that were dependent on SAT scores. They were a necessary evil their students who were applying to college needed to face, and while maybe some could afford private tutors, most couldn’t.

Looking at it from that perspective, of trying to give students a leg up in an unfair situation, had helped to justify the extra time spent to himself. Now after their first session, he realized that he should have done it regardless. This was nothing more than kids wanting to learn, and he could never say no to that.

He left his room but instead of heading towards the exit, he turned towards TK’s classroom instead. He had told him that they could meet up after he was done, but TK has been insistent that he would wait for Carlos, that he had more than enough work to keep him busy while Carlos was working. Objectively Carlos knew that was true, but the thought that TK had wanted to wait for him to continue their habit of leaving together each day even when his day was significantly longer than usual filled him with such affection he couldn’t even put it into words. If he had to though, he would say it felt a little bit like love.

But he quickly abandoned that thought process. They hadn’t said those words yet and Carlos didn’t want to push. Slow and steady was their pace, and Carlos was loath to do anything to jeopardize what they had.

When he turned the corner into TK’s hallway to find the lone light of his classroom shining into the dark corridor, he was surprised to hear voices coming from the room. He approached quietly, peeking his head into the room and surprised to find his boyfriend sitting at his desk alone.

TK looked up at the sound of his footsteps and smiled at him, holding up his phone so Carlos could see that it was on, and on speaker. There was an unfamiliar voice coming over the line and TK indicated for Carlos to wait a moment before he turned his attention back to the phone, “Dad, I’m going to have to go now, but I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Okay, kiddo. Love you.”

“Love you too, Dad.”

With that TK hung up the phone and beamed at Carlos, “Hey babe, how’d the session go?”

“It went really well, actually,” Carlos admitted as he entered the room.

“I told you it would, but I’m still proud of you.”

Carlos smiled even wider at that, “Thanks, TK.” He watched as TK got up from his desk and began to gather his papers and begin piling them into his bag. “How’s your dad?”

“He’s good,” TK said absently as he searched his desk for something. He made a triumphant noise as he found it, placed it in his bag and zipped it, hiking it up on his shoulder as he turned to face Carlos, “He’s coming to visit.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. He has a good amount of vacation time saved up and figured escaping a New York winter for a bit might not be such a bad idea.”

“Any idea when?”

“Three weeks from now.”

“Wow, that’s exciting,” Carlos said, but really all he felt was panic. He didn’t know how they were supposed to approach this. He wasn’t sure if TK was ready to cross the “meet the parents” bridge, and he didn’t know how to ask. He also wasn’t sure how to avoid it if he wasn’t.

His anxiety spiral was interrupted by TK crossing to him and taking his hand before leading the way to the door. “He can’t wait to meet you.”

“Oh,” Carlos said, unable to hide his surprise, “is that what you want?”

TK froze at the doorway, turning to face Carlos with a furrowed brow, “Of course it is. You’re one of the most important parts of my life, of course I want you to meet my dad. Why, do you not want to?”

“No!” Carlos said hastily, “No, I don’t mind. It’s just, with the whole taking things slow and everything I wasn’t sure…”

He trailed off and TK’s expression softened as he dropped Carlos's hand and instead reached up to cup his face, “Carlos Reyes, you are somebody I am proud to be with, and I cannot wait to show you off to my dad.”

The intensity of his expression took Carlos’s breath away and they stood like that for several long moments: TK’s hand on Carlos’s face as they stood alone in the evening silence of the empty high school.

All too soon TK lowered his hand and gave a lighter grin, “Besides, think of all the embarrassing secrets you’ll get to learn, if you want to come that is.”

Carlos reached out and took TK’s hand in his own and gave him a warm smile, “Well, how could I possibly turn down an offer like that?”

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“Are you sure it’s not too soon though?”

“Carlos,” Michelle said, exasperation evident in her tone, “it’s been 3 months.”

“Yeah, but-”

“But what, Carlos? It’s been 3 months, you guys are solid, his dad is coming across the country to visit him and he wants you to meet him. It’s not that complicated.”

He scowled at Michelle who turned her attention back to her salad, jabbing at the arugula with more force than strictly necessary, “You’re mean today.”

“I am not mean, you are insane. He likes you, Carlos! He wants you to meet his dad! It’s not weird so stop trying to make it seem like it is!”

Carlos groaned and ran a hand across his face, “It’s just that we agreed to go slow, because he wasn’t sure if he was ready for anything else and meeting the parents seems like it might be surpassing the ‘going slow’ plan. I already got around it with my parents and I wasn’t expecting it to come up on his end.”

“Your parents want to meet him?”

“Yeah, they mentioned it at lunch a few weeks ago.”

“Did you ask TK about it?”

“I mentioned it.”

The look Michelle gave him was withering, “I would throw something at you right now but I don’t think anything in my salad would make enough of an impact.”

“There’s no need for violence, Michelle.”

“There’s no need for someone as smart as you to make such idiotic decisions either, but here we are.”

Carlos gave her a baffled look and she rolled her eyes before setting down her fork to explain, “When you mentioned that your parents wanted to meet him, what did he say?”

“He didn’t. I mentioned it and he looked kind of like a deer in the headlights, so I told him that I had already told them it was too soon.”

Michelle stared at him for a moment before dropping her head into her hands with a groan. When she looked up again a few seconds later her voice was measured as she spoke, “Did you even ask him if he wants to meet your parents before you made up your mind?”

Carlos held her gaze for several long seconds before he admitted, “No.”

“Carlos Reyes, I love you, but sometimes you can be an idiot.”

---------

Carlos rang the bell and waited anxiously outside the door of TK’s apartment, twisting the paper bag in his hand nervously. TK had texted him that they had gotten back from the airport and that he had picked up stuff for dinner, so logically he knew everything should be pretty much normal. But there was also a huge addition that made everything seem so far from normal Carlos could barely wrap his head around it. That was probably his anxiety talking, but the fact remained.

The door swung open to reveal his boyfriend but rather an older man with a striking resemblance to his boyfriend. Their eyes met and after a moment of confusion Owen Strand - for that had to be who this was - stepped forward with a smile and an extended hand, “You must be Carlos.”

Carlos matched the man’s smile and took the offered hand, “Yes sir.”

TK’s father stepped aside to let him in and waved off his formalities, “Please, call me Owen.”

“Well then Owen, it is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise, Carlos. What do you have there?”

“Oh,” Carlos said, suddenly remembering the bag in his hands, “Biscuits from Olamaie - a local restaurant.”

“You didn’t have to bring anything,” Owen assured him, “but judging by the smell of those I think I’m glad you did.”

Carlos smiled at the older man, who stepped further into the apartment, clearing the entry hall for Carlos could enter as well. As he steps into the main room his eyes find the kitchen, where TK is pulling a stack of plates from the cupboard, “Hey Carlos, I’m just getting dinner together. Why don’t you and my dad get settled at the table.”

“Are you sure you don’t want any help?” he asked, partially because anytime TK stepped into the kitchen it was a cause for concern in his experience, and partially because Carlos dreaded the idea of having to make small talk with his boyfriend’s father.

TK paused long enough to roll his eyes, “it’s already cooked, all I have to do is warm it up and get it on plates. Pretty sure I can handle that.”

“Okay, but if you change your mind…”

“Go,” TK said with a laugh and Carlos grinned before heading to the table and joining Owen. He sat down and looked at the other man, who was clearly appraising him. “How was your flight?” he ventured, not sure what else to say.

“Good, it was good,” Owen said with a vague nod. Carlos nodded too and they lapsed into silence. He was searching his mind, trying to come up with something to say, wishing he had done a google search of “conversation starters with your boyfriend’s parent” before he came when Owen broke the silence.

“Listen, Carlos,” he said, glancing over at the kitchen where TK was still intently assembling dinner, “I know we just met, but I wanted to make sure I got a chance to say thank you.”

Carlos frowned, he had absolutely no idea where this was coming from, “Thank you for what?”

“For being there for TK, for helping him find himself again. He wasn’t in the best place when he came down here, but I can tell from our phone calls and now seeing him again that he is happier than I have seen him in far too long. And I know that a good part of that is because of you, so thank you.”

“I’m happy you think he’s happy with me,” Carlos countered, “but I didn’t do much. Everything he did, all the healing and growing, is because of what he did, not anyone else. I was just in the room when it happened.”

He wasn’t sure what reaction he expected from the older man, but a beaming smile was not one of them. “I really am so glad that you found each other,” he said, voice thick, “and I am so glad he has someone like you.” He paused and gestured to the pictures lining the walls, “having my only kid move across the country has been hard not only because I miss him, but also because I was worried about him. Coming here and seeing this, seeing you with him, makes me feel so much better. So thank you, really.”

Carlos doesn’t know what to say to that, but he is saved by the arrival of TK bearing a platter of food and a stack of plates. He jumps up to help him carry them to the table and sits down with him.

“What have you two been talking about?” TK asks as he serves food onto plates for everyone.

“Oh, just getting to know each other,” Owen responded breezily, “and I think I like this one TK.”

“That’s good dad,” TK quipped, meeting Carlos’s eyes, “because I like him too.”

Carlos smiled back at him and as the food was passed around, the conversation morphed. Soon enough it was Owen holding court, filling Carlos in on all of teen TK’s antics while TK grimaced from his seat.

“And then,” Owen was saying, already laughing, “he decided…”

“Okay!” TK interrupted, face going red, “I think that’s more than enough for one night. Pace yourself dad, you’ve still got a couple more nights here. Wouldn’t want to use up all your material.”

“Oh, don’t worry kid: I have no intention of leaving any stone unturned or any story untold.”

“Great,” TK deadpanned, “remind me again why I was excited for you to visit?”

Carlos chuckled and TK turned his attention to him, “And you are enjoying this far too much.”

“I would say I am enjoying it the appropriate amount, actually,” Carlos corrected.

TK narrowed his eyes at him but Carlos just laughed before glancing at his watch, “it’s really late, I should go and let you two get some sleep too.”

“See you tomorrow, Carlos?” Owen asked as Carlos rose from the table.

“Count on it,” Carlos assured him, “there are so many more stories I still need to hear.”

“I’ll walk you out, you traitor,” TK said with a roll of his eyes.

Carlos waited until they were at the door before he spoke, “I really like him.”

“You only like him because he provides you with premium blackmail material.”

“True,” Carlos mused, “but I also like him because he’s a lot like you. Besides, when you meet my parents it will be exactly the same, I assure you. I’m just enjoying this before the tables are turned.”

TK's gaze was piercing as he studied Carlos, “When I meet your parents?”

Carlos nodded, “When. As in, whenever you are ready. I realized I should have asked you if you wanted to before just assuming you didn’t. So the ball is in your court: if you want to, I’d be honored to bring you home to my parents.”

TK smiled and leaned in to kiss him. When he pulled away - far too soon for Carlos’s liking - he smiled, “I’d like that a lot, and I think we should. Maybe next week, after my dad leaves?”

Carlos nodded, “consider it a date, Tyler Kennedy.”

“Oh he did not tell you that!” he exclaimed, throwing a glare back to where his father was still sitting.

“I like it.”

“And you’re lucky I like you, not everyone can get away with using that and live.”

“Oh, so I’m special?”

He said it as a joke, but the way TK held his gaze nearly toppled him. There was so much more intensity in his eyes than Carlos had been expecting, “You’re very special to me, Carlos Reyes.”

They head each other’s gaze in the doorway to TK’s apartment in the late hours of the night and Carlos could practically feel all the things going unsaid between them. Now wasn’t the time to say them yet, but maybe, he thought, that time could be soon.

----------

Carlos checked the clock on the wall above his desk. 8:01, the exam had just started. He leaned back in his chair with a sigh, running a hand through his hair. He knew that there was no reason to be here, he knew there was nothing more he could do. He had spent 5 weeks preparing these kids though, and had offered to come in early on the Saturday of the exam for any last-minute questions and pep talks. There had been more than a few takers but now they were all in the gym, opening their test booklets and Carlos was left with nothing more to do but wait.

Logically he knew he could wait and worry just as well from home, but somehow being here made him feel a little better. He pulled a stack of papers from the turn in tray on his desk on the pretense of grading them while he waited, but he knew that he wouldn’t get anything done. He was just considering maybe attempting to organize something instead when there was a soft knock at his door. He looked up to see TK, standing in the doorway with a tray holding two paper cups, a bag, and a warm smile, “Hey you.”

“Hey yourself, what are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy to see you,” he added hastily, “I just wasn’t expecting you.”

“Why, because it’s Saturday before 9 am and you're in your classroom?”

“More or less, yeah.”

TK grinned as he entered, setting down the bag to drag one of the chairs up to Carlos’s desk so he could join him.

“Usually you’d be right,” he admitted as he pulled two foil wrapped burritos out of the bag and handed one to Carlos, “but I knew you would be here, and I knew you’d spend the whole time worrying. So I figured you should at least have breakfast while you worried. And coffee,” he added pressing one of the cups into Carlos’s hand.

Carlos was too stunned to say anything, so he took a sip of the coffee. It was perfect, exactly the way he liked it. He set down the cup and studied TK, who was sipping his own coffee.

“You’re perfect, have I ever told you that?”

“Maybe, but a guy can never get too sick of hearing it.”

“So modest too.”

TK rolled his eyes but smiled as he settled into his seat at the corner of Carlos’s desk, unwrapping his burrito.

“Thanks for coming, I appreciate it. I could really use the company.”

TK nodded, “I figured as much. Besides, I kind of like spending time here, it makes me a little nostalgic.” At Carlos’s questioning look he explained, “this is where we had our first real conversation, and where I decided that you were someone I should risk getting to know, even though I was afraid of it ending up exactly where it did.”

“Oh, so you were scared of me?”

“Eh, I was,” TK said dismissively, “turns out you’re not that scary. And,” he added, voice going more sincere, “it turns out I wasn’t as broken as I thought. I just needed someone to help me see that.”

Carlos smiled at him, but soon enough his eyes were pulled back to the clock. It was 8:05 now.

“Okay, spill.”

“What?” Carlos asked, looking over at TK with a bewildered expression.

“Spill. I know you’re nervous, but maybe if you tell me why, I can help.”

Carlos took a deep breath and let his eyes wander to the clock one more time before turning his focus back to TK, “I know I’ve done everything I could think of, but this is still an important test. Most of the kids taking it today are taking it again in hopes of raising their scores so they can qualify for more scholarships. There’s so much riding on this; it could determine some of their futures. And, I just don’t know if I did enough - if I was enough.”

“Carlos…”

“There are so many other people in the department TK, I don’t know why they asked me. I’m not anything special, and this whole time I keep thinking that someone else could have done a better job. I’m worried that I let these kids down.”

“Carlos,” TK said again, more forcefully, “you are special. Don’t ever say you’re not again. You were asked because you are an amazing teacher. Don’t deny it,” he said when Carlos opened his mouth to interrupt, “because I’m right. I’ve seen you with your classes. They don’t only respect you, they trust you. They feel safe enough to ask you questions, to show that they don’t know something. And you have never responded to any question with anything less than understanding and compassion. You always find a way to help. That’s why they asked you - because you are the best at this. Sure, maybe someone else might be better with the technicalities, but no one can hold a candle to Carlos Reyes when it comes to helping students grow. It’s one of the things I love about you.”

Carlos could already feel emotions building within him at TK’s words and the sincerity with which he said them, but his last sentence froze him in his tracks. He was pretty sure his brain was short circuiting; it kept playing the last sentence on loop: It’s one of the things I love about you.

“Carlos?” TK asked, expression furrowing in concern, “are you okay?”

“Do you mean that?” Carlos asked instead.

The look he gave him in response was truly baffled, “mean what?”

“You said ‘it’s one of the things I love about you.’”

TK’s eyes widened for just a second, before he smiled, “Yes,” he said softly, “I do. I love you, Carlos Reyes, because of all of that and because of so many other things.”

Carlos blinked rapidly, trying to clear the tears that had tried to sneak out without his permission. This was everything he had ever wanted; TK was everything he had ever dreamed of. He had wanted this for so long, and he had felt the same way for TK for months now, even if he had been denying it. To hear that his boyfriend felt the same way meant more to him than he could ever possibly say.

So he settled on the next best thing, “I love you too, Tyler Kennedy, more than I have ever loved anyone. More than I thought I could ever love anyone.”

TK rolled his eyes, but it did nothing to detract from his beaming smile, “You just had to use the full name, didn’t you?”

“Unfortunately for you, I love it because it’s yours; and I happen to love everything about you.”

“You are a sap Carlos Reyes.”

“Yeah, but that’s one of the things you love about me, right?”

“Definitely,” TK agreed, before glancing at the clock. Carlos followed his gaze; it was 8:15 now.

“We still have 3 hours,” TK noted, “I think that might be time to get through some of the other things, if you’re interested.”

Carlos leaned forward to give him a quick but tender kiss. He took a moment to rest his forehead on TK’s, savoring the feel of the contact for another moment before he pulled back and grinned at him, “I’m interested in anything, as long as it’s with you.”

-----------

The next afternoon Carlos pulled into the driveway of his childhood home. He put the car in park and turned to look at his passenger. TK was fiddling with the collar of his shirt and anxiously smoothing it for imaginary wrinkles. Carlos reached over and grabbed one of his hands.

“Hey,” he said, “stop worrying, you look perfect. They’re going to love you.”

“Are you sure?” TK asked and Carlos’s heart hurt to hear his voice so small and full of doubt, “I can’t imagine that too many parents would love the idea of their child dating an addict.”

“What matters is that you have overcome it,” Carlos said firmly, “and that I love you. That’s all they need to know, and it will be enough.”

They had said those words roughly a hundred times since TK had first let it slip in his classroom yesterday morning and each time Carlos could feel his heartbeat just a little bit faster. He loved TK Strand and he was loved by TK Strand. Nothing in the world had ever felt so good. Now he was going to take TK inside to meet his parents where he would undoubtedly learn all sorts of embarrassing stories and become that much further entrenched in Carlos’s life and in his heart. He couldn’t think of a better possible next step than that.

He leaned over to press a kiss to TK’s lips, smiling when he felt some of the tension melt from the other man. When he pulled away he met TK’s gorgeous eyes and squeezed the hand he was still holding.

“It’s going to be fine and I’m going to be right beside you, no matter what.”

“Promise?”

Carlos nodded with a smile, “Yeah, I promise. There’s nowhere I’d rather be.”

#911 lone star #911 lone star fic #carlos reyes #tk strand #tarlos #my writing #tuserjamie #usermaximus #userac #userkimmy #userjilly #tuserpaige #aanathema #jazzyjezz #carlosreyesweek2021

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haec-est-fides · 4 years

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Hi, can we discuss how -- however he was influenced by Gaea -- Octavian was likely very familiar with the Triumvirate? It’s subtle, but it shows up most clearly in the way he talks.

(Personally, I think Octavian might have been raised by one of the Imperial Households, but you could just read it as him being in contact with the Triumvirate for a significant amount of time.)

The most glaring red flag imo is that we learn from Rachel (in Hidden Oracle) that the Greek / Roman parley in House of Hades was held on property owned by Nero. This is more important than the fact that Octavian was merely funded by Triumvirate Holdings, because a) it makes an in-person meeting more likely and b) Luke was also funded by the Triumvirate and he doesn’t have the same connection that I’m seeing in Octavian.

Looking back to the parley scene, Octavian goes so far as to mock Rachel by saying, “You’re the Oracle of Delphi? Right. And I’m the Emperor Nero.” It may feel like a throwaway line, but it’s foreshadowing, plain and simple. In universe, I’m almost entirely certain that the reason Octavian says Nero and not Augustus (his namesake, as he loves reminding people) is that he’d recently talked to Nero and knows whose building they’re on. It’s like a Freudian slip -- and it’s just the tip of the iceberg, because Octavian slips up like that a lot.

Let’s start small: Octavian tends to speak in a rather dramatic, formal way. (He says “alas” in ordinary conversation, for instance.) He’s intentionally dramatic and somewhat sarcastic at times, sure, but I think it goes deeper than that. {I bring up one of my headcanons here, but it isn’t the crux of the whole argument. Bear with me.} I find it likely that Octavian learned Latin as his first language -- namely from the fact that his family has been sending kids to Camp Jupiter for over a century and his attachment to the idea of being a true / traditional Roman -- which would have an impact on how he speaks English. It would make sense, then, that his English speech patterns are similar to those of other native Latin speakers -- like the Triumvirate.

Trials of Apollo shows us that the triumvirs also tend to use more formal English, such as avoiding contractions and using what we might consider to be dated terms and phrasings (though this certainly isn’t a hard rule). Again, I don’t think it’s really conscious, but rather a byproduct of being native Latin speakers. In Hidden Oracle, for example, Nero says (to Apollo), “My own forefather does not recognize me?” I’d consider both his use of the word “forefather” and his avoidance of “doesn’t” to be a concise example of what I’m talking about.

It’s also true that few other characters use “alas” like Octavian does. In Heroes of Olympus, it’s only gods / titans / monsters who use the word “alas” (besides Octavian). In Trials of Apollo, it’s actually Apollo himself who uses that word the most (though remember, he’s also the narrator). He says “alas” 5 times in Hidden Oracle and ups it to 12 in Dark Prophecy. Do I need to keep counting? Beyond Apollo’s narration, Macro, Medea, and Caligula all say “alas” at least once in Burning Maze. All of these characters speak ancient languages, and half of them are native Latin speakers. I’ll admit that maybe it isn’t wholly a Latin thing, but there’s still a case for Octavian speaking in a way that could have been influenced by the emperors and their entourages.

Moving a step beyond nitpick, the connection between Octavian and the Triumvirate can also be seen in what Octavian says and the words he uses throughout Heroes of Olympus. We can split the analysis into 3 ideological themes, really: loyal Romans, immortality, and the future.

In Son of Neptune, Octavian calls himself a “loyal Roman” in a conversation with Percy. It’s rhetoric, a succinct yet subtle way to express Octavian’s ideology / self-conception / political striving, and that’s exactly the point. Later, in Blood of Olympus, Michael Kahale criticizes the people that Octavian is recruiting into the legion, calling them murderers, thieves, and traitors. Octavian, on the other hand, calls them “loyal demigods” -- again, fully aware of the rhetoric of that statement. Bryce Lawrence, one of said recruits, calls himself a “loyal Roman” too in order to appeal to Octavian and be permitted to rejoin the legion after his exile.

The reason this recurring “loyal Roman” motif strikes me is that it’s eerily similar ideology and phrasing to something Nero says in Hidden Oracle. Apollo asks, “The other two emperors. Who are they?” and Nero responds, “Good Romans -- men who, like me, have the willpower to do what is needed.” A line from Caligula’s speech before battle in Tyrant’s Tomb echoes the same sentiment: “It’s time to be true Romans!” In Tower of Nero, Nero also talks about bringing back “traditional Roman values”.

Apollo hits the nail on the head with his commentary: “The fact that Nero -- a man who had killed his own mother -- was talking about defending traditional Roman values...that was just about the most Roman thing I could imagine.” The whole point in all of these cases is that the men talking know that the modifiers they use are 100% oratorical, are dog whistles to those who think the same way and near gaslighting to those who don’t. These modifiers -- “loyal”, “good”, “true”, “traditional” -- mean something entirely different to the person saying them than they do to the heroes / average person! That’s a fascinating and complex parallel.

Immortality comes up in similarly echoed ways, showing that Octavian and the Triumvirate seem to be on the same page, coming from the same viewpoint, thinking alike. In Son of Neptune, what Octavian says to Mars is interesting especially in light of the Triumvirate. Mars, explaining the danger posed by the open Doors of Death, asks the gathered legion, “Can you imagine a world in which no one dies -- ever?” Octavian, despite his showy deference, interrupts the god, “But, ah, mighty all-powerful Lord Mars, if we can’t die, isn’t that a good thing? If we can stay alive indefinitely--” Octavian isn’t outright stupid, so I doubt he’s entirely thinking through what he says here. Of course it would be bad for one’s enemies to never die, but if you consider Octavian to be the type to be tempted by immortality? His interruption seems more in character and more likely if he has immortals or even aspirations to immortality in mind at the time.

In Blood of Olympus, Reyna’s vision of the Roman war-camp gives more weight to what I’ll call the immortality hypothesis. She notes Octavian’s “gilded chair that looked suspiciously like a throne”, how his new title of Pontifex Maximus elevates him “almost to the level of emperor”, and of course there’s the altar: “a marble altar....no doubt for the gods. But to Reyna it looked like an altar to Octavian himself.” In Hidden Oracle, it comes up several times -- even from Nero himself -- that the Triumvirate turned the ancient Imperial Cult into something powerful, something that could make them immortal. The Imperial Cult, at its simplest, looked a lot like what Octavian is doing in Reyna’s vision. Whether the Triumvirate told Octavian to do any of this, he got the idea from them, or he came up with it on his own, it’s another sign of similar thinking, at the very least.

Finally, the future -- which, of course, is bound to come up often where an augur is concerned, but I’m thinking of one line in particular. In Blood of Olympus, Octavian tells Michael about his plans, blatantly admitting that he’s aiming to declare himself “First Citizen” like his ancestor Augustus. (That title is princeps in Latin, and it’s an imperial title all three of the triumvirs use.) His Augustan lineage, which makes Octavian a legacy of Apollo from the same bloodline source that both Nero and Caligula get that status from, is another puzzle piece. Octavian is open about his heritage, his family is recognized as wealthy and powerful in New Rome and yet is never present there, and the Triumvirate seems unlikely to lose track of their relatives. Even so, what Octavian tells Michael next is a less speculative tie: “We will rule the future.” This is, specifically, the way Apollo frames the threat posed by the Triumvirate throughout Trials of Apollo once he becomes aware of their plan regarding Python and the oracles. A lot of that description comes after Apollo hears something Nero says to Python: “When we control all four Oracles, we will control fate itself!”

I suppose a facetious TL;DR might be that if you told me that Nero (canonically the best orator in the Greco-Roman Riordanverse) had been giving Octavian (canonically the best orator at Camp Jupiter) lessons in oratory or that Caligula had taken Octavian under his wing and every Tuesday they talked about world domination over coffee, I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest.

Maybe this post is more of a Rorschach inkblot test for myself and how I read these books. Maybe I’m trying to read way too deeply. Whatever the case, I think that there’s something more to be said about Octavian and the Triumvirate than funding, and no one has been saying it.

#trials of apollo #toa #tower of nero spoilers #heroes of olympus #hoo #hoo octavian #triumvirate holdings #toa nero #toa caligula #toa apollo #I'm not tagging everyone #filodox!#basically this post is my attempt at writing out a vibe / something my intuition picked up on so idk if it really makes sense #or looks entirely crazy #you decide

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mediaevalmusereads · 3 years

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Pekolah Stories. By Amanda Bales. Cowboy Jamboree Press, 2021.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Genre: short stories, literary fiction, contemporary

Part of a Series? No

Summary: “Amanda Bales’s Pekolah Stories reveal the desperation of rural communities eviscerated by economic collapse, steeped in an unforgiving, poisonous religion, and accustomed to everyday meanness and ravaged families. Children growing up in cultural swamps, in these stories and in real life, never recover. Many die of suicide or violence or drugs. Some go to prison, few go to college, and even the ones who appear to survive carry hidden wounds that threaten to drag them back down. Bales’s stories fearlessly trace the grasping tentacles of generational trauma, leaving readers to reckon with truths that land like a punch to the solar plexus.” —Jeanetta Calhoun Mish

***Full review under the cut.***

Content Warnings: violence, blood, homophobia, references to abuse and drug/alcohol use, self-harm and suicide

Overview: In the interest of full transparency, Bales is a friend and (former?) colleague of mine, so while I will try to be as honest as I can in this review, know that my opinions are not unbiased.

I’m not usually one to read short stories, much less short stories set in contemporary America, but because my friend wrote this, I bought a copy and read it cover to cover. I was pleasantly surprised by how much it resonated with me - I think Bales has a real talent for eliciting complex emotions, and I think her stories challenge us as readers to view small-town, rural America as multifaceted - the opposite of the flattened picture pop culture tends to give us. I give this book 4.5 stars primarily because of personal preference; while I enjoyed Bales’s writing and the way she portrayed her characters, I would have liked to see each individual story feel a little more self-contained. Some stories contained scenes that I felt were set-up for the next story (more on structure below), and I personally like my short fiction to stand on its own a little more. Otherwise, if you’re a fan of literary fiction and want to read a more compassionate, multivalenced take on small-town America, I would highly recommend this collection.

Writing: Bales writes in a very accessible manner. Her sentences flow very well, and they aren’t bogged down by too much figurative language (as is characteristic of some lit fic). Instead, it’s easy to grasp what is happening in any given story and Bales balances showing and telling so the prose doesn’t feel mechanical. It’s the kind of style that I think most readers - regardless of background - will find enjoyable and engaging.

Perhaps my favorite thing about Bales’s writing is the way she evokes small town “feelings” (for lack of a better word). Most of the things that punched me in the gut were not outright declarations of “this town is poor” or “this kid is messed up,” but the little details that evoke atmosphere or mood without much ado. For example, there are sentences here and there about kids needing to be bussed to a different school, about people who commute long distances for jobs, about “bibles weighing [people] down like stones.” A lot is communicated in such little space, and Bales don’t hit you over the head with its significance - she lets it sink into your bones, so to speak, and it’s a technique I find very effective.

If I had any criticism, it would probably be that some stories were in first person, and I didn’t quite understand the creative value of using it. I’m admittedly a little biased on this one, though - first person almost always feels unnatural to me, and I’m always looking for what value it adds to the storytelling.

Plot: This book doesn’t have an overarching plot like a novel, and I’m not keen on reviewing every story individually (not to mention that would spoil so much of the book), so I’ll instead talk more broadly about the construction of Bales’s collection as a whole.

Bales does something very interesting in that her stories are united by setting. Each tale takes place in the small town of Pekolah (Oklahoma, I think), and most characters make multiple appearances. In this, her book reads like a composite novel (as Carrie Gessner notes in her Goodreads review), and I think the effect is a good one. It makes the small town “everyone knows everyone” (and their business) cliché feel real, but more than that, it shows off Bales’s ability to make form match function. If everyone knows each other, and the town really is that small, it makes sense that multiple characters would pop up multiple times or that the same events would be referenced across stories. I also really enjoyed that each story felt like an individual thread and that Bales was weaving those threads together to create a tapestry - a picture of a whole town, if you will. I don’t think I’ve seen that structure used in many other short story collections (though admittedly, my experience is limited), and I enjoyed it very much.

If I had any criticism, it would be that I wish some of these threads were a little more self-contained. Some stories felt like they were setting up others, and some had unclear “messages,” so to speak, that I wish were a little more overt. To Bales’s credit, she does comment on things like conversion therapy, religion, poverty, and the like, and I think these themes do come through in the work. I’m just coming from a background of literature that hits you over the head with its themes and morals, and I tend to like texts that are a little more heavy-handed. But if you like things to be a little more ambiguous or don’t like it when authors hold the reader’s hand, you might like this collection.

Characters: Bales’s characters are complex and nuanced in ways that I didn’t quite expect (though I should have known better than to doubt her). The opening story features an out lesbian, while subsequent stories showcase gay men, Indigenous characters, Trump-loving queer people, etc. I liked the way Bales portrayed these characters as flawed; not all of them are “nice” people, but all of them have something that readers can connect to, whether it’s Jack’s frustration and despair or Teddy’s resentment of (certain) White people. While Bales’s stories are not always uplifting and optimistic, the characters are always interesting, and I think they all work together to create a nuanced view of what small town life is like - not homogenous, but still familiar.

TL;DR: Pekolah Stories is a brilliant collection of short stories that treats small town, rural life with compassion while also implicitly criticizing religious zealotry, violence, and the like, exploring the nuances of family relationships, economic despair, community, and more.

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justabstractthings · 4 years

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Sleeping Scruffy (Fairy Tale!AU)

Pairing: Aizawa Shouta x Female! Reader

Warnings: Full on crack mode!

Word Count: 2.9k

A/N: This was actually for the @bnhabookclub Provisional License Exam event, but I didn’t get to finish in time! Honestly, this is a full on crack mode that just came to mind when the prompts included Fairy Tale!AU. Here’s the masterlist for the event that you guys should go read because they are amazing! Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy!!!

Once upon a time in a kingdom far, far away, there lived a king and a queen. The king and the queen were having a party to celebrate their baby boy.

“Am I the baby?”

“Do you want to tell the story? That’s what I thought. Now where was I?”

“The baby boy.”

“Oh yes, they were celebrating their baby boy.”

The king and queen loved their child very much, so they invited the fairies to come and give gifts to the little prince. The first fairy-

“What’s the fairy’s name?”

“Um… what do you want it to be?”

“Auntie Kaya!”

“I think that’s perfect!”

The first fairy, Kayamuri, sashayed up to the prince and looked at his sleeping face. She can already see him growing up to be a handsome prince. So she thought, ‘A little more magic isn’t gonna hurt’. With a whip of her long back hair, she pointed down towards the sleeping baby, “I give you the gift of rugged good looks. Not many people may see it, but you’ll be able to pull off even the scruffiest of looks. You’ll definitely be a lady killer.” With a wink and a sprinkle of her fairy dust, she completed her gift.

The next fairy-

“Nezu!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yep!”

The second fairy, Nezupal, stepped over to the royal crib. He placed his soft white paw on the baby. The baby merely looked at the fairy and went back to sleep. Nezupal stroked his chin and said, “I shall give him the gift of knowledge. A well-rounded education is the best form of revenge.” With that, he completed his gift and sadistically smiled with a tea cup in his little paw.

Then suddenly darkness covered the entire room. A dark figure slammed the doors open with a loud bang! “YOOOOOOOOOO, what’s up, my party people?” He bellowed into the large room.

“It sounds like Uncle Yama! Is he the bad guy?”

“Sweetie, you gotta let me finish.”

“Sorry.”

The evil fairy, Yamazashi, appeared into the room with a sneer on his face. All of the guests cowered in fear of his powerful quirk. He smirked up at the throne where the king and queen looked fearfully at him. But his eyes were focused on the crib with three other fairies guarding it protectively.

“The biggest party in the whole kingdom and you didn’t send me an RSVP? That’s wack, yo!”

“You are not welcome here,” said the king.

“Says who, King-miester? I get invited to ALL the hot parties in this kingdom!” He pushed the other fairies away and leaned over the crib. The child was awake, but did not shed a tear. The baby only looked at the evil fairy with disinterest. “This the kid? Well, he looks about ready to sleep.” An evil smile erupted under his thin mustache. “So, why don’t we make that permanent?”

“Please, no!” the queen cried.

“Because all of you fools didn’t invite me to the party of the century, I’m putting a curse on your prince. Before the end of his 18th birthday, I will let out the loudest yell that will spread throughout the whole kingdom and when he hears it, he will die!”

“Oh no!”

“Sweetheart, if you keep interrupting, we won’t be able to finish.”

“Sorry! Keep going!”

Yamazashi’s evil laughter echoed through the halls of the castle and with a loud bang, he disappeared! The king and queen were scared of what would happen to their baby boy. They didn’t know what to do. That is, until the last fairy coughed into his fist to grab the worried parents’ attention.

The third and final fairy, Allyagi-

“Hehe, that’s funny. I can’t see Uncle Might as a fairy.”

“I know, it’s kinda funny right?”

Allyagi never got to present his gift to the prince. With a sullen look, he floated towards the grieving parents who were protectively clutching their baby. “Unfortunately, my power is too weak against the evil fairy’s spell. This is the best that I can do. Even if Yamazashi’s voice is heard throughout the whole kingdom, the prince will not die. He will only be in a deep slumber until true love’s kiss breaks the spell.”

“Don’t give me that look. You wanted a fairy tale.”

“But kisses are icky.”

To keep the prince safe, the three fairies, Kayamuri, Nezupal, and Allyagi, devised a plan. They would disguise themselves as humans and raise the prince in an abandoned cabin in the woods. There, he would be safe and away from Yamazashi’s evil curse. It would be far enough that not even his mightiest yell could reach the prince’s ears. When the King and Queen agreed, they watched with sad eyes as their beloved prince disappeared into the night.

Many years passed and the fairies kept their word. They raised the prince deep within the woods and kept him hidden from Yamazashi.

“Wait! You never told me who the prince was. What’s his name?”

“Umm… his name… his name is…”

Briar Shouta. The fairies named the prince Briar Shouta. Unfortunately for Briar Shouta, the fairies were afraid that if he fell asleep, he would never wake up. So, he grew up with permanent bags under his eyes and a disheveled look from being so sleep deprived. Because of this, he did not look like a prince at all, so nobody recognized him.

Anyway, it was his 18th birthday, and it was a joyous occasion because Yamazashi’s curse had not been fulfilled. The fairies had a big surprise planned for his 18th birthday.

“We’ll make him a cake!” Nezupal declared. “And maybe some tea to go with it.”

“I’ll make him the most dashing suit,” Kayamuri exclaimed. “Hopefully, it will distract the king and queen from his tired and unkempt appearance.”

“But we don’t know how to bake or sew,” Allyagi reasoned. “Especially not without magic. We don’t want Yamazashi to find out we’ve hidden him here.”

“Then we won’t use our magic!” Kayamuri was already picking out which material to use for the prince’s attire.

“I’m sure it will be fine,” Nezupal assured Allyagi.

While the three fairies were making their gifts, Briar Shouta was out in the woods, looking for a place to sleep. Even if it’s just for 5 minutes, he thought. Not caring where he was, he pulled out his yellow blanket and fell asleep. All he wanted was 5 minutes of sleep.

Then a stranger appeared in the woods. She was a very beautiful girl who wanted to explore the woods and read her book. The girl was minding her own business when she stumbled over something and fell on her face. It didn’t help that she had her nose buried in her book while she was walking.

When she picked herself up, she noticed a man unconscious and wrapped in a bright yellow blanket. “Oh my gosh! Are you okay?” She asked.

Briar Shouta glared at his interruption and noticed the girl trying to pull his blanket away from him. He flashed his red eyes which caused the girl to gasp and let go of his blanket. Briar Shouta glared at the girl and said, “Noisy.” He pulled his blanket closer to him and turned away from her.

“Hey, I was just trying to make sure you were okay,” the girl said. “Why are you sleeping in the middle of the woods anyway? You made me trip and I lost the page I was reading.” When the prince said nothing, the girl sighed and plopped herself down beside him.

“Why are you still here?” Briar Shouta asked when the girl scooted herself closer to him.

“I’m just here to make sure nobody else trips on you,” the girl said. “You can go back to sleep.”

Briar Shouta sighed and went back to sleep. The girl smiled down at the strange man and tried to find her page once again. Just a few minutes of peace for the two strangers. But what they didn’t know was that it was the start of a dream come true.

A-Anyway, it was time for the party.

“Wait, what? That doesn’t make sense. They just fell asleep. You didn’t tell me what happened next!”

“I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

So, it was time for the party. The fairies told Briar Shouta that he was actually the prince, and that since it was his 18th birthday, he was going back to his parents and getting married. Of course, the prince outright refused because it was totally illogical, but the fairies convinced him to go to the party anyway.

“Don’t you look handsome?” Kayamuri, the fairy, exclaimed when Prince Shouta came out dressed in his dark black suit. She was happy that he decided on tying his disheveled hair back. “You actually look human for once.”

“Yes, much different than the baggy clothes you like wearing everyday,” Nezupal agreed as he sipped his black tea.

“Very much like a prince, except for one last thing.” Allyagi twirled his fingers and a gold crown appeared out of thin air. He placed the crown on the prince’s head.

Prince Shouta nodded and watched as Kayamuri, Nezupal, and Allyagi left his room. The prince never wanted the royal life. All he wanted to do was live in the secluded woods and sleep all day. And maybe meet the girl again. But mostly sleep.

Unfortunately, nobody told the prince to be careful of what he wished for.

Suddenly, a loud cry echoed throughout the whole kingdom. Prince Shouta ran out of his room to the dinning hall. The yelling only got louder and louder as everyone silently waited for what they feared the most. The fairies surrounded the royal family, ready to fight and defend their kingdom.

But it was too late.

He was here.

“YOOOOOOOOO, TIME TO BRING THE KINGDOM DOOOOOOOOOWN!!!!” The evil fairy appeared in a cloud of yellow smoke. Yamazashi slicked his long blonde hair back as everyone watched his every move. “Another party that I wasn’t invited to.”

Before anyone could attack or run, Yamazashi took a deep breath and let out the loudest yell anyone has ever heard. It spread throughout the whole kingdom. Everyone covered their ears but it wasn’t working. One by one, people dropped to the ground.

The fairies watched as their worst fear had come true. Briar Shouta laid on the ground in front of their feet. Fast asleep.

“Just like another little prince.”

You smiled as your son’s little snores echoed through the dark and quiet room. You softly ran your hand through his tangled black hair. He let out a quiet whine as he clutched his All Might plushie closer to his chest. You leaned down and placed a soft kiss against his forehead as you pulled his Fat Gum blanket over his little body.

As you slowly made your way through his messy bedroom, you carefully tiptoed around the many toys scattered around the floor. You successfully reached the door without so much as a stir from the little prince. After turning on the Hawks nightlight and making sure that your son was safe and snoring away, you slipped through the door and into the bright hallway.

You were met with your guests’ expectant stares. “What are you guys doing here?” you whispered with your hands planted on your hips.

“Why am I the evil fairy?” Yamada quietly whined as you herded your guests back to the living room where you found your husband stretched out on the couch.

“I have no complaints at all,” Kayama shrugged. “I make a lovely fairy that can make all the men in the kingdom swoon for her. No man or creature can resist my pleasure.” Kayama laughed haughtily as she gracefully sat on the lounge chair.

“It was just a fairy tale, Hizashi,” you reasoned as you nudged your husband off half of the couch. He groaned in annoyance but pushed himself up and decided to rest his weight on you instead. “Plus you would be such a great evil fairy.”

“Yeah! But Nemuri’s quirk can make people fall asleep in an instant. She’s practically an evil fairy,” Yamada continued to whine as he pointed accusingly at Kayama.

She merely rolled her eyes as she smirked down at Yamada’s distressed form. “Kid wanted me to be a good fairy, so that means I’m a good fairy. Deal with it, Hizashi. You’re THE evil fairy.”

“Sleeping Beauty?” Aizawa asked as he nuzzled further into you.

“Your son asked for a fairy tale and it was the first one I could think of!” Aizawa shrugged as he watched his friends continue to bicker about your son’s choice of characters.

Yamada snickered behind his hand as he slyly smirked at your sleepy husband. “At least I wasn’t the damsel in distress. Briar Shouta. Or should I say Sleeping Scruffy.” Aizawa scoffed and glared down at his loud friend as the room burst into quiet laughter, mindful of the little prince sleeping in the same house. Quips and jokes continued to be thrown in all directions until it was decidedly getting too late, especially for a school night.

After exchanging around of farewells, you softly closed the front door. However, before you could even make your way back to your bedroom, you were met with your husband’s solid chest as he trapped you between him and the door. You were about to question him until you saw his unamused stare boring into you. You visibly gulped. This was not good.

Aizawa leaned down as you tried to look at anywhere but his intimidating eyes. With a soft touch, he grabbed your chin and forced your eyes on him. Nowhere left to escape. At times like these, you could never understand what Aizawa was thinking. Even after being married for years, Aizawa was a complicated man which made it difficult to read his intentions. You could only watch with baited breath as Aizawa raised his brow. “Briar Shouta?”

You grinned sheepishly as your husband leaned back and stared at you expectantly. “What? I couldn’t think of anybody else for the part.”

Aizawa closed his eyes and let out a small chuckle. He grabbed your hand and pulled you towards the couch. You had to physically keep yourself from yelping when you were unceremoniously pushed onto the couch with Aizawa making himself comfortable on top of you.

You let out a huff as Aizawa nuzzled himself further into you like a cat. You ran a hand through his scalp until you heard him mumble something on your chest. “What was that?”

Aizawa pulled his head up and rested his chin on your chest. “Where did you leave off?”

You tilted your head to the side. “From the fairy tale?” Aizawa nodded and buried his head back into your chest which prompted a light blush to rise on your cheeks. You sighed and continued to run your hand through Aizawa’s tangled black locks.

All across the kingdom, everyone was fast asleep. The fairies looked worriedly at each other, unsure of what to do next. They flitted nervously until Allyagi remembered his gift to the prince when he was a baby.

“True love’s kiss!” he exclaimed.

“But where are we gonna find someone to kiss him?” Kayamuri asked. “If you haven’t noticed, we’ve been secluded in that forest for years.”

Nezupal cleared his throat and caught their attention. He smirked knowingly at them as he magically summoned a hot cup of tea.

“If you know something, just say it, Nezupal,” Kayamuri said as she glared down at his calm demeanor.

“While he was out in the woods, he met a girl, a princess actually. And he fell madly and deeply in love with her at first sight.”

“Hey! Stop laughing! I’m telling the story. Not you.”

“Sorry, dear.”

“Now, where was I?”

The fairies flew as fast as they could back to the woods. Luckily, they found the girl on her horse riding towards the sleeping kingdom. “What happened?” she asked.

“You’re Briar Shouta’s love! Come, he needs your help!” The fairies led her towards the castle. She jumped off her horse and sped into the castle. All she could think of was the boy she met in the woods. She climbed up many flights of stairs until the fairies stopped in front of a door.

She slowly pushed the door open and her eyes fell on Briar Shouta’s sleeping form. She smiled softly as she recalled the times she spent with the prince. She made her way to his bed and ran a hand softly against his face. She admired his relaxed expression and his handsome features. His stubbled face. His scar right under his right eye. His furrowed brow. But what she loved the most about him was his eyes. So full of emotion and love. She wanted to see them again.

“Then what happened?” Aizawa’s rough voice pulled you out of your thoughts.

“Then she kissed him.”

You pulled Aizawa’s face up and pressed your lips against his rough ones. Your heart hammered against your chest as you felt your husband’s weight press against you like an anchor to keep you from floating away. Aizawa caged you in between his arms as you welcomed his warm presence. With arms wrapped around his broad shoulders, you let yourself relax and fall deeper into his embrace.

When you separated, your heart continued to flutter under Aizawa’s heated gaze. You could never look away from his dark intimidating eyes. You smiled up at your husband and pulled him closer as you sighed against his lips.

“And they lived happily ever after.”

#bnhabookclub #aizawa shouta x reader #aizawa shouta #shouta x reader #female reader #fairy tale #fairy tale au #crack fic #fluff #bnha #mha #bnha x reader #mha x reader #bnha fluff #bnha imagines #bnha crack fic #aizawa crack fic #my writings #just abstract things

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everlarkficexchange · 4 years

Text

I Choose You

Written by: @wendywobbles

Prompt 51: Katniss E, the Valedictorian of Panem High school, is perfect in all fields of life. And that is the crush of awkward, average in studies, not so popular, never had a girlfriend, often bullied Peeta M. Not only does she have a very popular friend circle but also a handsome, popular boyfriend Gale H. Will she even want to be his friend? Is his crush doomed to fail? Eventual Everlark) [submitted by @white-dandelion-seeds]

AN: I hope I did your prompt proud. The title comes from a Sara Bareilles song that I love.

——————————————-

Peeta Mellark walked quietly in the door and leaned against the wall at the school assembly. He hated these things. Being trapped here for an hour while Principal Trinket droned on and on about what was coming up in the next semester was hell.

They had just returned from their autumn break and Peeta was counting the days down until this last year of school was finished. His experience in Panem 12th Region school had been long, dull and miserable.

Not for the first time he wondered if his dad had lived how his life would have turned out. Would he have been a popular jock with lots of friends and confidence instead of a feeling like a ghost in these hallways? He hoped college would be different. As far as he knew none of the dicks from his year would be attending Capitol U.

He had no idea what Trinket was talking about but he became aware the second the speaker changed……Katniss Everdeen was at the podium and saying hello to everyone. Instantly he paid attention.

Katniss Everdeen was in Peeta Mellark’s eyes the most perfect woman to ever walk the earth. She had long dark hair, clear olive skin and grey eyes.

She was a distance runner for the Panem 12th Region Athletics team. She trained hard , Peeta knew this because he had often seen her running in the early hours of the morning when it was his early shift at the Bakery or sometimes he would see her on the trails when he was out running she always had a smile and wave for him as they passed.

Her grades were always high, again Peeta knew this was down to hard work and not just luck.

Sometimes he would see her at the library when he was hiding out avoiding Cato and the other Jays and his maths whizz brother Leon had been tutoring her since last year.

She has a quiet confidence, and strength that just drew people to her and had a wide circle of friends but would make time for everyone whether it was a quick hello or a longer more in-depth chat. It was no wonder when she ran for student council she was elected president.

With a confident smile the object of Peeta’s affection began to speak

“Hi all! Hope everyone had a wonderful break, I know I did. Principal Trinket has given me a few minutes of the assembly today to talk about our Winter Formal. This year we are looking to do something a bit different and we are hoping that you guys will help us come up with a theme. This is the last 12th Region dance some of us will attend and we would love to make this something a bit special, but right now our ideas aren’t hitting the mark and I know that there are so many talented and creative individuals here so we’d love to hear from you.”

She looked behind her and Annie Cresta, her Vice President, handed her a cardboard box covered in silver paper. She held it up for all to see

“Okay, I know this probably looks a bit basic but this box will be left in library until next Friday. If you have an idea put it in. We will then post the suggestions online and then we can vote for our favourite. Easy right? I can’t wait to see what people come up with.”

“Thanks for listening and don’t forget Friday is the big Game against D13’s Coin Cavaliers and once again the 12th Region’s very own Mockingjays are out to destroy them. Show you school spirit by wearing black and orange. Go Jays!”

All around Peeta students began to cheer, he just rolled his eyes and slipped quietly away.

*********

For the rest of the day school was buzzing with excitement for the game and Katniss announcement. Peeta was glad when his final class was over and headed to his locker to collect his bag.

“Hey Bread Boy” called Johanna Mason, a short shaved head girl that somehow had become one of Peeta’s closest and dearest friends

“Yes Jo?”

“So are you making any suggestions for the Winter Formal? I’ve got mine in – Roller Disco with night vision goggles. Great, huh?”

“Seriously Jo? I mean while I can certainly appreciate the theme, how exactly would a person fund all those glasses……” he smiled.

“I’m the ideas woman, the reality is her ladyship and her minions area of work…speaking of which. Anyway I gotta go, see you later handsome “ and with that Jo sprinted away.

Peeta looked up and saw Katniss Everdeen walking down the corridor. She was carrying an armful of books, a bag and a bottle of water, had an apple wedged in her mouth and her shoe lace was beginning to open on her ever present black Cons. Peeta was thinking how this looked like an accident waiting to happen when Katniss reached up to take the apple out of her mouth, stepped on her now undone shoe lace and tripped herself up sending everything flying.

“Katniss! Oh my god are you okay?” Peeta was by her side in a flash and quickly helped her right herself.

Surprisingly she burst out laughing “Oh my god! I can’t believe that just happened. Thanks Peeta, I’m ok.” He started to help her pick up her stuff when Gale Hawthorne appeared.

“Katniss? What happened? You ok?” concern was all over his features.

“Fine, fine I tripped Peeta was just helping me collect my stuff.”

Gale nodded but proceeded to take the books Peeta had in his arms “Well I’m here now. Mellark you can …go do whatever it is you do. I got this.”

Peeta felt his face flame but kept his mouth shut previous experience had thought him that answering back to people like Gale usually ended up badly for people like Peeta.

“Sure. Whatever” he mumbled and moved to step away.

Katniss meanwhile shot Gale a glance that would have felled a lesser man, but Peeta imagined as Katniss’ boyfriend Gale was probably used to her looks so he just ignored her.(Imagine being able to ignore Katniss thought Peeta)

“Thanks again Peeta. Hey before you go, do you have the details of the English assignment? I can’t find where I wrote it down.”

“Sure, hold on” Peeta rummaged in his backpack and pulled out a notebook. He pulled out a sheet and copied the details onto the paper for her.

“Ummm here you go” he said handing it over.

“Katniss? Are you ready I’ll carry this stuff to your car” huffed Gale.

“Go ahead I’ll be right there. I just want to check something with Peeta” She called without looking at Gale.

“I’ll wait.”

“Dunderhead” muttered Katniss under her breath so that only Peeta could hear her, keeping her voice low she began to speak “Um I was wondering if you were going to submit any ideas for the dance. When we were kids I remember you always had a great imagination.”

Peeta blinked and stared and Katniss “Um no. I don’t….I mean I’m not interested in that kinda thing you know. I’ve never even been to a school dance.”

“Oh…right. Sorry I just, I guess I’ll see you in class or something.” Katniss seemed embarrassed and Peeta wanted to die. This was how he spoke to the girl of his dreams….Leon was right he was an idiot.

As she turned to walk away he called after her “Wait! I may not have an idea but um I’m pretty good at art and design maybe,I mean if you needed it, I could help you guys work on pulling it altogether?” he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“That would be fantastic! I know you’re headed to Capitol U next year to begin a Fine Art Degree so absolutely we would love your help.” Katniss smile was a mile wide as she said all this.

“Ok. Well keep me posted. Oh and Katniss you should probably tie your shoelace” Peeta smiled and her and began to walk away. It was only as he turned the corner he realised something. He had never mentioned getting into Capitol U …how had Katniss known that?

********

“So what did you need from Mellark?” asked Gale.

“Gale you were standing right there when I was talking to him - English homework and he’s offered to help with the dance.” said Katniss taking her bag from Gale. She reached down to grab the apple that she dropped and popped it in a bin as she walked by.

“Help how? Loser never goes to anything school related.”

“So? What has that got to do with anything? And he’s not a loser. Look Gale we need help with this dance and I’m happy to have someone like Peeta come on board-“

Gale cut her off “ Ooh I get it now, you get the nerdy runt to do all the work and you take the credit.”

“Shut up Gale. When have I EVER treated anyone like that? I can’t believe you would even think I would do that.”

“Oh relax, it’s High School not the real world.”

Sometimes Katniss goody two shoes attitude really annoyed Gale. Kill or be killed that was Gale’s motto(not literally of course) but sometimes you had to be ruthless on and off the field.

“Let me make it up too you… how about a movie?”

“Can’t I have to get home to help dad. I’ll round up the gang maybe we can all go see something on Saturday?”

Frustrated Gale rolled his eyes before responding “Katniss I meant …..”

Katniss knew exactly what he meant and after going out a few times two years ago, Katniss wasn’t going down that road again, Gale however still thought they were perfect for each other and was always trying to get her to agree to a date.

Katniss blundered on pretending not to have heard him “It’ll be a fun way for everyone to relax after Friday’s game. I’ll text everyone later unless you want to do it?”

Gale clenched his jaw frustrated at Katniss he wanted to say something more when his phone rang. It was Cato.

“I’m late for practice. Talk to you later” and Gale took off running towards the sports field.

A grateful Katniss watched Gale sprint away, glad of the reprieve from his hints and outright declarations that they would make the perfect couple.

She hopped into her car and got ready to head home, when out of the corner of her eye she saw the hunched figure of Peeta Mellark walking out and heading towards town, she watched him til he was out of sight.

There was something about Peeta that made Katniss want to get to know him better but the blue eyed blond boy kept himself to himself. She had has crush on him since the first day of school when he drew her a picture of her teddy bear.

She smiled recalling how upset she was being separated from her bear and was missing him something terrible on her first day. Seeing her tears Peeta had marched up to her pencil in hand and asked her what he looked like and under her guidance had drawn a pretty good depiction of Snowball Abernathy.

Katniss still had the drawing; her dad had laminated it years go and she used it as book mark. The bear was also still knocking around, slightly bedraggled, more grey then white these day but still loved.

She sighed remembering a time when they were younger and Peeta was much more open. It all changed when his dad died though he seemed to retreat from childhood.

********

Katniss knew from Peeta’s older brother Leon that it hadn’t been easy after Mr M had died.

She had met Leon when her parents hired him to help her with her maths. Leon was like a skinnier less good looking Peeta. He was in college locally hoping to be a teacher and he loved maths and tutored a few kids.

As Katniss and he worked together they became more friendly.He was kind and funny and talkative.

When Katniss got accepted to Capitol U to study Engineering she was overjoyed and then Leon told her Peeta had been accepted to CU too.

“That’s amazing! What program? I wonder if we’ll run into each other. That would be cool.” Katniss gushed. She was practically vibrating at this piece of news.

And had completely forgotten who she was talking too. She couldn’t stop the blush that crept up her face.

Leon felt a grin spreading over his face “Careful Everdeen or I might think you have a crush on my baby brother……oh my god you do!!!”

That was a few weeks ago and Leon kept encouraging her to talk to Peeta and teasing her that if she let the year pass without saying anything he would tell Peeta before graduation.

Katniss knew though her secret was safe. Leon was very protective of Peeta, and from what Leon had told her-and what she knew from the past herself and gossip- the death of Mr Mellark had hit the whole family hard.

The oldest Mellark brother Sean had taken over running the place full time (this had always been the plan but the death of Sean Snr meant things moved a lot quicker). He quit full time college and moved home.

Leon and Peeta helped out but right after her husband died Mrs Mellark seemed to “disappear” leaving Sean 20, Leon 16 and Peeta 13 to carry on.

The older boys tried to stay on top of everything.- the house, the business, school even dealing with their mom- but their home life was chaotic following in the weeks following their fathers death.

It was a lot to cope with, and they tried to do it all without any help - scared that if they let people know what was going on their family would be further torn apart.

Katniss remembered when Peeta came to school in the same hoodie for 5 days –not really a big deal but Cato Snow grabbed this and began to tease Peeta.

“Hey Smellark. Don’t you have any CLEAN clothes?”

His goons soon joined in for weeks whenever they could get Peeta alone they went at him, they pushed him, squirted hand sanitizer on him, threw water on him.

Some of the other kids tried to tell Cato to stop but no one wanted to make themselves a target so most just ignored what was going on. Katniss did too, and the memory still pained her.

It all came to a head one Monday afternoon Peeta finally snapped and swung at Cato. Peeta may have been quiet and smaller then the others but in the past number of weeks a fire had raged in him.

This particular Monday Cato had decided that Peeta needed a hair cut and got Tom Marvel and Derek Blight to hold him down and started to hack at Peeta’s hair.

It was the final straw for Peeta, to this day no one knows exactly how he did it but Peeta got loose and punched Cato busting his nose, the sight of the blood caused Marvel to flee. Blight wasn’t quick enough and Peeta managed to leave him with a black eye. Peeta picked up his bag and left the school vowing to never return.

While this was going on, an anonymous tip off was left with a children’s care charity begging them to check on the Mellark’s. A young case worker Finnick Odair took the call and hearing how distressed the girl in the end of the call was decided to make a house call.

He met a shaken, tattered Peeta at the house on the front step.

“Hey kid? You ok?”

And for the first time since his dad died and the bullying began Peeta cried and his story just tumbled out

Finnick met with the rest of the family. Mrs. Mellark was very obviously depressed, the boys were grieving but had no time to process everything that was happening as they desperately tried to keep things going. A decision was made to contact Mrs Mellark mother, Sae.

She arrived in a day and scolded her grandsons for not calling her sooner and hugged the life out of them.

She sought out her daughter and held her close as she wept and wept.

Then the five of them sat on the sofa together and Sae told Finnick she was sticking around for as long as was needed and he helped her to find the help her family needed.

Peeta however refused to talk about what had happened and wouldn’t confirm the bullying. He hoped by keeping his mouth shut Cato would leave him alone. (It hadn’t. Although Cato no longer actively sought him out he still tormented him)

When Peeta returned to school a few days later people seemed to give him a wide berth the story of his Hulk like anger had scared people. It made him sad.

When he went to his locker he found a bag there and inside was a paper dandelion, a packet of coloring pencils and notebook.

Peeta was confused and wary but the yellow flower was the first thing he remembered seeing in color; since his dad died life had just been grey. He smiled, just a small one but somehow this flower made him feel something he hadn’t felt in a long time -hope.

********

On Friday the school was buzzing. Peeta had on a black tee shirt and orange cons showing his school spirit.

He had noticed Katniss that morning in her black skinny jeans, a Jays orange jersey, black oversized cardigan, in her braided hair there was an orange ribbon and on her feet a pair of orange cons. He smiled when he saw them.

He was just slipping to class when she called him

“Hey Peeta! Look we’re foot twins.” She bounded over to him and stood toe to toe with him. His heart was pounding.

She pulled out her phone “Can I take a picture?” and she aimed her camera down before clicking a few snaps.

“I think yours look better” she smiled and looked up at him, suddenly aware how close she was to him.

“I’m sorry Peeta I’m such and space invader” she stepped back “like I was saying yours look better, they have that lived in Cons look, mine are brand new they need breaking in. I’m gonna put this on Instagram, want me to tag you?”

“Why? Why would you tag me? I mean we’re not exactly friends, besides I don’t think Gale or his friends would appreciate any part of me appearing on your feed. I have to go Katniss.” Peeta smiled sadly and walked away.

Katniss couldn’t understand what she had said or done but she quickly deleted the post.

********

When the dance committee opened the silver box they found a good deal of papers, half though were filled with utter rubbish- crude drawing, bits of gum wrapped in the paper and some downright dangerous suggestions -roller skating with night vision goggles???

The most surprising thing was that even though the students had been given free reign most were standard dance ideas. According to Delly Cartwright this was because despite claims to want to express themselves and be individuals most teenagers just wanted to blend in and follow the herd, and in the end there were only five familiar themes to choose from.

1. Winter Wonderland/Snow Ball /Yule Ball

2. Once Upon a Time(Fairytales and stories)

3. Enchanted Forest or Magical Garden

4. Candy land

5. Masquerade Ball

Students were just handed a ballot paper and asked to vote for their favourite and with the result revealed at the following weeks assembly.

The winning theme in the end was the Enchanted Forest, and Katniss was secretly thrilled. Now the theme was picked it was time for the hard work to begin, and time to see if Peeta was ready to join the dance committee.

********

Peeta and Jo were sitting on one of the benches outside the school when Katniss walked over.

“Hey” she called

Peeta waved, Jo gave a nod.

“Peeta, if that offer to help out with the dance is still on the table the dance committee is meeting tomorrow after school to get things moving. I was wondering if you’d like to come along and get an idea of budget, how we can pull off the theme and if we can actually make something out of nothing” Katniss joked.

“I don’t know Katniss-“ but before he could finish Jo interrupted

“He’ll be there. What time and can I help too? My dad owns the forest out past Turn 4. He might be able to help with some stuff for decoration.”

“Ok, well we be in Room 17 from about 4 pm and Jo it would be great to have more help. I’ll leave you guys to it then. Bye”

As she walked away she missed the glare Peeta threw at Jo and the grin that spread across her face.

“What? You have been crazy about her for years. Now’s you chance to woo her” grinned Jo

“She has a scary boyfriend or did you forget that? A boyfriend who has no issue with beating a guy like me and might I add he has the connections to dispose of me where no one can find me.” He muttered darkly

“I dunno I know what people say but, I don’t think they are a couple….. anyway never mind that it’ll be at least one fun memory we’ll have of going to this place before we head to Capitol.”

********

Over the next few weeks Peeta’s life and routine took on a different one. The initial meeting of the dance committee had been nerve wracking but the other members, along with Katniss made him and Jo feel very welcome.

Peeta was wary at first but there was no punchline, he wasn’t a joke to anyone and surprisingly he started to enjoy the meetings.

The other members Annie Cresta, Thom Dalton, Brian Turner or Beetee as he was known, Delly Cartwright and Cecelia Hubert were a mixed but fun group.

“Hey Peeta, can you take a look at this?” Katniss called

“What’s up?” he asked.

“This…. I think I did it wrong…..it looks..” they two of them tilted their heads looking at the mess in front of them Katniss was supposed to be making centre pieces from twigs adorned with lights, and flowers.

“I think you’ve glued things on upside down, it’s okay we’ll fix it” he tried not to laugh. Katniss was the least crafty person he had ever met.

“I like the arch way, you’ve made it look really spectacular, it will make the entrance look so special. You have really helped us to set the theme, you and Jo.”

“Well you know us art nerds” Peeta mumbled as he undid some of Katniss handiwork.

“I don’t….but I’d like too” Katniss whispered in a low voice.

Peeta didn’t dare to look at her but kept going with what he was doing. He wasn’t sure what to say. He took a deep breath and prepared to ask her what she meant when suddenly the door burst open and there stood Gale, Cato and the other Jays players.

Gale was wearing what looked like doctors scrubs while the others were dressed in tacky sexy nurse outfits that no nurse in their right mind could wear and work in.

“Hey Katniss”

Peeta would swear he felt Katniss stiffen beside him, then she took a deep breath and turned to look(along with the rest of the room)

Gale unravelled his sign which said “I’m no doctor but it appears you’re suffering from DATELESSNESS. My suggestion is…..” meanwhile the rest held up signs that read “A date with Gale?” And “What more could you want?” And “A dose of Vitamin G!”

“No!” she shouted and the laughter and shouts of the Jays stopped.

“Just no! I told you this last night, the night before. You NEVER listen to me? I don’t want to date you or even go to the dance with you. I’ve tried being polite but it’s gotten me no where, please leave me alone and stop this. I’m not your girlfriend. I don’t want to be. Just stop”

“You selfish b-“ Gale started towards Katniss but Peeta stepped in front of her.

“I wouldn’t take another step or utter another word Hawthorne. Just take your guys and go. Or would you like me to call Miss Trinket?” Peeta’s voice was low and calm. Thom and Beetee had stood up too and walked towards Katniss and Peeta.

“Or what Smellark?” spat Gale.

“Funny, real funny but I think after 4 years you guys could have gotten a bit more creative with your insults. Cato, why don’t you take Gale and the guys and leave. Katniss has refused Gale’s offer, there is nothing else to be said.”

In the crowd of guys a few looked angry but others just looked confused about what had gone on. Had Gale really been hassling Katniss? He made it sound like she had wanted this big fuss but what if she hadn’t? The team started to move away and soon the room was cleared.

“Umm thanks guys…now where were we?”

“Hey Everdeen, I thought that guy was your boyfriend?” asked Jo confused by what had happened.

“Nope. Never was, never will be. He’s never been my type” Katniss smiled

“Interesting…..and would you type maybe be a little less male perhaps?” teased Jo much to the amusement of the others

“Sorry Jo, I’m not into girls, but I do know that Delly happens to think you are real cute.” And with a shocked squeak from Delly the whole committee burst into giggles.

Once everyone had settled down Katniss walked over to Peeta.

“Hey Peeta? Thanks for what you did for me with Gale. I don’t know why he has to act like that you know?”

“Katniss it’s ok really. I’ll walk you to your car after we’re done here if you want? In case he’s still around.”

“Thanks, but I should be ok. Right I better get these to Annie.” She nodded her head at the closed box in her hands that she had picked up from somewhere.

“What’s in it?

“Flowers! I may not be much good at making centerpieces but if you need a paper flower I’m your girl” she grinned as she said this “open the box and have a look.”

Peeta’s stomach dropped when he opened the box there were daisies, roses and right at the top yellow dandelions like the one given to him all those years ago.

“Peeta? Are you ok?” a worried Katniss asked.

“Yeah. Sorry just zoned out. These are really pretty. I better get back to the trees.”

Peeta worked quietly for rest of the hour to trying to figure out why Katniss had given him the flower all those years ago and the pencils and notebook which became his companions. In the notebook he drew his fears, his hopes covering every page and when it was full his mom bought him a new one. Even now he always had a notebook in his bag.

“Peeta? Can I give you a lift home?” asked Katniss Peeta startled at her voice he looked around and was slightly shocked to see they were the last people there. He hadn’t heard the others leave.

“Ok.” He shrugged and gathered up his stuff.

“Katniss? Can I ask you something?” Peeta was nervous but he needed to know why she did what she did.

“Sure.” She nodded

“After…. the Cato incident there was a paper flower and art stuff left in my locker. Did you do that?”

He watched her hands tighten around the steering wheel and she took a deep breath before she answered.

“Yes. I just wanted to give you something nice you know. Those guys were so mean and the rest of us should’ve done more, told the teachers. I watched you almost disappear and I hated that the light in your eyes dimmed so much. Your family was going through so much.”

“You were just a kid Katniss,it’s ok. Really. We got help. As a family we’ve survived. What else could you have done?” He reached over and put his hand on hers, it was awkward in the car but he wanted -no needed- her to know that he was ok.

“Your flower gave me hope, gave my life some color at a time when I had none. Thank you for seeing me, at a time when I felt no one did.”

“I always saw you Peeta.” She was looking at him now Peeta wanted to look away her gaze was almost too intense.

“You’re a painter. You’re a baker. You like to sleep with the windows open. You are the noisiest walker I have ever heard. And you always double-knot your shoelaces.”

“I know these things because I’ve always watched you and yes I know that’s crazy and I sound like a stalker but I need you to know this because we’re going away to college soon and I would like to at least be your friend but what I really want is to know you better and Leon knows and he told me that if I didn’t tell you I liked you he would.”

“Slow down… what?”

“I like you. A lot. Your stupid brother found out and has been teasing me. He said he would tell you before I could especially since we’re going to be at the same college next year. If you just want a friend that’s fine but I would really like to go on a date so you could get to know me…. and then…..well who knows….”

“Okay.”

“Okay like let’s go on a date or like I’m going to get out of car and run away?”

“The first one.”

**********

And so they had their first date 2 nights later.

And their first kiss that night too.

Peeta asked Katniss to be his girlfriend on their third date.

They went to their dance together and danced under the canopy of trees and flowers they had helped create.

They had their first fight when Peeta struggled to understand what a girl like Katniss saw in him. He questioned why? He kept expecting things to fall apart and doubted what they had was real.

Eventually his mom took him aside and told him that his problems were bigger then him and a professional would be better placed to help him.

“You deserve happiness Peeta,let us help you find it.”

He started seeing Dr Aurelius with Katniss, his family and friends supporting him every step of the way.

He told Katniss he loved her one evening when they were in her parent’s house. They were watching a stupid movie and she was laughing. He watched her eyes crinkle, her chuckles ringing in the air as she sat there in a panda onesie and he blurted it out.

She smiled at him and throwing her arms around his neck she told him the same, placing tiny kisses all over his face.

And then they graduated. The one person who didn’t was Cato Snow who was expelled following a positive drug test and several reports of bullying.

Gale never spoke to Katniss again.

A few of the Mockingjays team had apologized for their part in the dance proposal telling Katniss they had believed Gale when he told them that it was her idea.

Neither wanted to go to the end of year dance, instead they went with some of their friends to a small cabin by a lake and had a quiet celebration.

And later, in the quiet of the night after they had spent time having their own private celebration. Katniss sang to Peeta

Let the bough break, let it come down crashing

Let the sun fade out to a dark sky

I can’t say I’d even notice it was absent

‘Cause I could live by the light in your eyes

I’ll unfold before you

Would have strung together

The very first words of a lifelong love letter

Tell the world that we finally got it all right

I choose you

I will become yours and you will become mine

I choose you

I choose you, yeah

There was a time when I would have believed them

If they told me that you could not come true

Just love’s illusion

But then you found me

And everything changed

And I believe in something again

My whole heart

Will be yours forever

This is a beautiful start

To a lifelong love letter

Tell the world that we finally got it all right

I choose You

I will become yours and you will become mine

I choose You

We are not perfect we’ll learn from our mistakes

And as long as it takes I will prove my love to you

I am not scared of the elements I am underprepared,

But I am willing

And even better

I get to be the other half of you

Tell the world that we finally got it all right

I choose You, yeah

I will become yours and you will become mine

I choose You

She had just finished and Peeta was about to say something when Johanna shouted.

“Seriously?? It was bad enough listening to you two screwing each other senseless now I have to hear you sing?! Keep this up and you’ll have to find a new roommate!”

After their laughter subsided Peeta turned to Katniss and whispering quietly he said.

“I choose you too. Always.”

#Springtime Edition 2020 #wendywobbles #white-dandelion-seeds #prompt 51 #early submission #submission

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princeescaluswords · 4 years

Text

Derek Hale is a Villain in Season 2

“You’re right. It is about power.” It’s as simple as that.

I get a lot of push back when I argue that most of the things that happen to Derek Hale in the early seasons of Teen Wolf are consequences of his own actions, and I strongly resist fandom’s very popular ideal that the production chose to randomly inflict pain on Derek for unnecessary drama. Derek was created by the writers to underscore certain points in Scott’s journey -- namely that emotional and physical trauma are not proper bases for making decisions and that power used for selfish ends leads to failure and corruption.

Because for some reason it is necessary, I’m going to restate that one of my favorite things about Teen Wolf is Derek’s redemption arc, but one of the reasons I love it so much is because Derek hit absolute rock bottom before climbing up.

When I make this argument, an accusation made against me is that when I say that a lot of what happened to Derek in Seasons 1 and 2 were the consequences of his own actions, I’m really saying that what Kate did to him and his family was his fault. I would never say that; what I am saying is that what happened six years before the start of the show is not as relevant as people make it out to be. My opponents claim that they don’t use Kate’s sexual abuse of Derek and her murder of his family as a way to excuse his actions, but, on the other hand, they certainly believe that it renders any consequences he faces for his later decisions unfair.

I’m not talking about some cosmic force of balance either. I’m talking about actions Derek took that had direct and logical consequences. I’ll go over them.

Jackson: At the end of Season 1, Derek gave Jackson the Bite. This is after Derek successfully diagnosed Jackson as an unstable narcissist, with sentences like “You know, I bet you haven't had a day in your whole life - where you haven't been afraid of something” and his amazing take down (with a bit of self-projection) in the Hale House as he was talking himself up into murdering Jackson.

Derek created the kanima. Scott may have excused him, but the truth is that Derek Bit Jackson without giving a single thought to what might happen. Take Jackson’s first full moon. Where was Derek? When he needed something from Scott, he certainly could surveille his uncle’s beta effectively. Instead, he left Jackson unsupervised because he didn’t really care. But the worst part is when Derek showed up at the high school the next day. He confronts Jackson, who is a little shit (as fanon likes to describe white boys being mean to other people), about being pack but then witnesses black blood pour from Jackson’s ears and nose. What does the alpha do? He leaves him to die. Either Derek understood that Jackson was dying and chose to abandon him, or Derek didn’t understand what was happening and chose to abandon him. What do you think would have happened if Derek had been a responsible adult alpha and took care of his beta? I guarantee you Season 2 would have been a lot different. What the kanima did, including what he did to Derek, is Derek’s fault, just as much as the Monster’s rampages are Victor’s fault in the novel Frankenstein.

Lydia: Peter savaged Lydia in Formality (1x11). At that time, Derek was captured, but still on Team Peter. And afterward? Derek acted as if she didn’t exist; he didn’t even check up on her. She didn’t turn into a werewolf, so what was the point in his paying attention to her? Pressuring Scott to join would make Derek more powerful, just as Jackson and other betas would. He did nothing for five episodes to look after the girl his uncle transformed, until he decided to murder her based on a supposition and an old wive’s tale that turned out to be wrong.

What if Derek, who passes himself off as a supernatural expert (”You think your little buddy Stiles can just google werewolves, and now you got all the answers, is that it? You don't get it yet, Scott, but I'm looking out for you.” 1x02) had come to her and tried to figure out what was wrong with her? What if he had earned her trust and she had told him -- because he had been honest and helpful with her -- that she was seeing his uncle everywhere? Do you think he would have still been caught flat footed by Peter’s resurrection plan? Instead, the first thing he does concerning Lydia is order her death!

Scott: This one is easy. Derek’s defenders act like the subterfuge Scott played on Derek in Season 2 came out of the blue. It had nothing to do with the number of times that Derek had concealed information from him (the existence of the alpha who bit him, the fact that he bit Jackson), had outright lied to him (the so-called cure), had betrayed him (Derek with Peter in the locker room shower), had demonstrated incompetence (”This is your fault! I know, now get in the car and help me!”), had inflicted pain as an expression of dominance (beating Scott and stepping on his neck because Scott tried to talk Boyd out of the Bite, when it had already happened), and had attempted murder (in his house!). There were ways for Season 2 Derek to earn Scott’s loyalty after Season 1, but Derek took it as a given because “I’m the alpha now.”

Stiles and Allison: Stiles was scared of Derek. He does not have the compassion of Scott, and he saw Derek as a threat to the people he loves, especially after he saved Derek’s ass in Abomination and then Derek turned around and said “I’m gonna murder your crush because this bullshit test I made up.” Stiles recognized a ‘pattern of violence’ in Derek’s behavior, and as late as 17 episodes into the show, tried to get Allison to murder him with a crossbow bolt to the head. And Allison? Everyone hates Allison for falling under Gerard’s spell, but it would take significant denial not to realize that Allison had every reason to believe that Derek could have bit her mother on purpose, after Allison had spent all the previous episodes trying to clean up the mess he created. She turned against her own family to save Derek’s first beta, and his response was to send that beta, Isaac, and Erica to beat her up and murder her best friend.

The Hale Betas: The prevailing attitude in the fandom is that he was trying to create a found family, but that just doesn’t fit with Derek’s actions. In Omega, a panicked Scott asks him what are the Argents doing? His answer. “Declaring war.” Then they listened as Gerard declared the Code null and void and that he was going to kill them all. And what did Derek do? He found three desperate kids and turned them into child soldiers. He bit Isaac and then, when his own monster killed Isaac’s father, sent him to school instead of establishing an alibi or getting a lawyer. When that disaster was resolved -- with Stiles and Allison’s help -- he decided, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. After all, he could always make more werewolves. So he seduced a 16-year-old girl and promised another boy friends, then he gave them war and meeting in a filthy abandoned building. Is that what family is?

He didn’t create a found family. In the time between the Isaac’s first full and Boyd and Erica’s first full moon, he said he didn’t have time to teach them to find their anchors, something Scott and Stiles, as amateurs, figured out between Scott’s first and second full moon, but he absolutely did have time to run them through combat drills and send them to kidnap and murder other teenagers. If he wanted a ‘found family’ why did he send Erica and Isaac to murder Lydia instead of going to do it himself? Was Stiles right? “It's got to be a pack thing. Like an initiation. You do the kill together.” Because just like Peter, he wanted to make sure they had no where else to go. “You’re not a pack without an alpha,” he declared, when his betas told him they were scared and hopeless. “You’re not leaving, you’re running,” he complained, yet he still had zero plan to stop Gerard. Is it still found family if they all die together? Boyd, Erica, and Isaac didn’t leave him because the writers were meanie-heads. They left him because he was an incompetent, power-mad alpha, with the only club in his bag being murder.

Derek’s abuse at the hands of Kate wasn’t his fault; the fire wasn’t his fault. Gerard and Kate’s prejudiced hatred wasn’t his fault. His desire to rebuild his life and self-esteem on the backs of teenagers he manipulated and used and visited violence upon was. And that’s why he’s a villain.

#teen wolf meta #teen wolf fandom problems #teen wolf racism #anti derek hale #scott mccall defense squad

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coinofstone · 4 years

Text

5x12 The Diamond of the Day pt 1

Final two episodes! Big finale! Why am I making myself cry in the middle of the afternoon! Both eps in this post.

I do love that they made Arthur a sore loser

Enter treacherous white woman #2. Srsly it was lazy writing when they did it for Mordred, it's worse now with Gwaine.

I do love the actual Round Table war room discussion but a) why isn't Merlin seated at the round table and b) why does Leon have so much goddamn faith in Camelot's walls? Like??? You literally said the same thing last year and yet Camelot *did* fall when Agravaine brought an army through the tunnels!

Poor Aithusa. Kid's had a rough life.

I do love Arthur responding to Merlin presenting him with all his supplies ready - which he prepared without his magic mind you - with suspicion 😂

But then he calls Merlin a coward and it's sad

Katie has such a great voice. That entire thing in the cave from her taunting to her laughter to the spell, it just just beautifully played.

Whole ass battle to prepare for and Arthur is just walking around moping cuz Merlin isn't there

So, Merlin's father-vision telling him he's magic itself and he just needs to believe in himself to get his magic going again, does this mean he *didn't* need to go to the cave to get it back? Cuz it seems like he needed to recharge in the cave itself, his injuries were healed when he woke up. That seems like magic cave stuff to me.

Also that "always have been and always will be" - I'm taking to mean 'always have been' in the sense that since he's 'magic itself' even before he was born, his magic existed in other, intangible forms, like we are all stardust etc. But now that he is, he will always be, aka he will not die.

Arthur waking up with his wife in his arms and Merlin's name on his lips, jumping out of bed to act on dream-info.

Balinor telling Merlin to trust in what will be.... like bitch that is literally not how this ends.

5x13 The Diamond of the day pt 2

You know that gif of the cat knocking everything off the table? That's literally Merlin shooting lightning at everyone from his perch on the ridge.

I have a lot of snarky things to say about Merlin coming out of the cave in full Dragoon gear and riding a horse instead of teleporting like the other witches but I'ma keep that to myself.

Mordred is a bitch and Aithusa has terrible aim. At least Aithusa's loyalty to Morgana makes sense.

Arthur said oh shit I'm magic - oh wait no it's that old man again

He also straight up "No! Bad dragon!"-ed Aithusa

Y'know, for all I've watched this episode and screamed about Arthur's death, I don't think I've ever focused on the exact moment he gets stabbed before.

Mordred catches him from behind and he meets it, no fault there. But as soon as he realizes his assailant is the knight who turned on him and joined Morgana, what does he do? HE LOWERS HIS FUCKING SWORD

He leaves himself wide fucking open and vulnerable and Mordred seizes the opportunity. I understand wanting the moment of recognition for Arthur, but on what planet is a trained warrior going to drop his sword mid-attack because he recognizes his attacker as a dude who only just recently decided to forsake him? It's soooooo dumb

There was a whole sequence a few episodes back where Mordred and Arthur are sparring, the point of it was to show that Mordred has become a skilled swordsman. So what exactly was the point in having Mordred run Arthur through as soon as Arthur idiotically lets his guard down? This should've been a meticulously choreographed sword fight, with Mordred getting the upper hand and sticking Arthur properly. Not this nonsense. Look at Arthur's FACE! Oh, Mordred... 👉👈 do you maybe wanna be friends again- STAB ... guess not

Uther's been rolling in his grave but he's taking an extra tumble watching Arthur forget all his skills and training in that moment.

I do appreciate Arthur getting Mordred back though. Like that moment of merciless anger followed by the hurt and regret playing on Arthur's face, warring with surety and responsibility. It was good.

I've rewatched the big confession scene about 16 times just now.

I don't quite understand why Merlin took Arthur to the woods to begin with. Instead of bringing him to the med tent in the battlefield or back to Camelot. What was the reason?

Merlin saying it feels strange (to use magic freely in front of Arthur) and him just going 'yeah' completely deadpan makes me laugh every time.

I really feel like Arthur's head should be elevated at a further incline if he's going to be fed.

Gaius refusing to outright expose Merlin as the sorcerer but nonetheless letting Gwen figure it out on her own warms my heart.

My God Arthur is sitting there dying, feeling betrayed about his best friend 'lying' to him, and still he can't stop himself from looking at Merlin's mouth.

Percival summoned MUSCLE POWER

Hey um random but why does Gwaine even know where Merlin and Arthur are headed? Why would Gaius tell him?

Arthur looks at Merlin so lovingly after he's killed Morgana 😭😭

And now he's literally grabbing at the man's hand 😭 "just hold me, please"

That's gotta be the gayest death scene in television history. If you can watch that without thinking Arthur puts his hand on the back of Merlin's head because some part of him wants to bring him down for a kiss, or that "just hold me, please" is in any way shape or form a 'bros' thing, and certainly not at all an intentional mirror/callback to Isolde dying in Tristan's arms, then I'm afraid you are what we professionals refer to as a dumb-as-nails fucknugget, more commonly phrased as 'willfully ignorant'.

"All that you have dreamt of building has come to pass" yeah except for the whole, y'know, magic still being illegal thing.

I've said this before, but, while I'm sure there was a determined intention to have Arthur die in his armor, probably in some kind of attempt to make sure the audience knows he's died a warrior's death, I *really* think it was kinda stupid that Merlin never removed it, despite Arthur being weak, despite the fact that there was something like five days between him getting stabbed and him actually dying, despite that for the duration of that time they were traveling or hiding out. Merlin managed to produce a cloak to put on Arthur, why did he need the full armor on that whole time? Like even if they left the chainmail on, those plates on his shoulder were just getting in the way, and it looked quite uncomfortable.

Also not for nothing but Lancelot got like, every flower in the forest surrounding lush verdant greens in his death boat, Arthur gets a bunch of sticks.

It suddenly occurs to me, watching this now, that the reason Leon/Percival is such a common side pairing in Merthur fics, is because these two motherfuckers are the only original Knights of the Round Table to survive the series. 🤦‍♀️ I dunno how I failed to notice that before now. My stupidity amazes me.

I'm *really* glad they decided to do this scene with Gwen wearing the Pendragon red dress instead of the black mourning dress. Yes she looks fabulous in it but it's more the symbolism than the 'reality' - with Gwen wearing her house's colors it represents a continuation rather than a finality. Camelot will go on, Gwen will undoubtedly end the war on magic and with Morgana dead (and frankly, I think by now she already brought about the death of all the angry incel type rulers in Albion) there stands to reason her reign will begin with a period of peace, possibly longer than Arthur's. We kind of have to assume that the 'time the poets speak of' is, inevitably, Gwen's reign - which only came about through Arthur's death. It's a little bit toooo subtle in my opinion, but at the same time, I understand the need for the focus on Merlin and Arthur - after all, this show was their journey - not leaving much time to focus on Gwen and Camelot in the aftermath of Arthur's death.

I will just say, the first time I watched this that fucking truck scared the ever living shit out of me. I also just immediately, viscerally hated that scene and declared it invalid - but I think it was because the truck made me jump out of my skin. It has since grown on me, particularly once I started reading 'Arthur Returns' fic.

Everything beyond this point is post-series spec and headcanon, so if that's not your jam you can exit safe in the knowledge that as usual, if there's anything worth commenting on in the S5 extras, I will create a separate post!

For those interested, my go-to post-series fic is We Begin Again by katherynefromphilly I fully headcanon this series as the continuation of the series.

I have a lot of thoughts about Gwen and Merlin post-Camlann.

For one, poor fucking Gwen. She's lost her father, her brother, and her husband, all by what, age 30? That's rough. And who knows what happened to her mom, that was pre-series and I don't think it was ever mentioned.

Merlin, dear god poor Merlin. First of all, I just wanna say straight off that my instinctive headcanon about Merlin was that he never returned to Camelot. I couldn't really say why exactly. I just don't think he could stand being there after Arthur's death. But practically speaking, Merlin's still got Aithusa to deal with, that dragon needs some godsdamned house training asap. He's still the last Dragonlord, it's reasonable to assume he'd immediately take that on considering Aithusa is partially responsible for Arthur's death (the sword Mordred killed Arthur with, only succeeded in killing Arthur because it had been forged in Aithusa's fire-breath) so he's either going to attempt to train the bad behaviors out of Aithusa, or...well...

The only thing is, I do not believe Merlin would abandon Gwen, or Gaius. So my hc is inherently flawed. I do think Merlin probably spend a couple months with his mum, and I do think he ultimately settled near lake Avalon waiting for Arthur's return.

But I do wonder, what must their relationship have been like? Gwen, surely, would've sought his guidance in establishing laws governing the use of magic. And surely, peace cannot last indefinitely, so Merlin absolutely would've defended Camelot and protected Gwen. There's just no way he could've completely turned his back on them, but I doubt he could bear living in Camelot. And Gwen is both strong and practical enough to get on without him there 24/7, even though I'm sure she'd miss him.

I also think she would've found love again. Whether with Leon, as many people hc, or someone else not in the series.

ANYWAY.

Thanks to everyone who came on this journey with me. I will post comments on the extras if I have anything worth saying - and I think I'll do a master post linking all these episode posts after I clean them up once I get time to sit at a computer and do so. Until then! 💙💚

(Gif source) (h/t @shut-up-merlin)

#bbc merlin #bbc merlin spoilers #merlin #merlin spoilers #merthur #onceandfuturerewatch #5x12 #5x13 #5x12 the diamond of the day pt 1 #5x13 the diamond of the day pt 2 #bbc merlin 5x12 #bbc merlin 5x13 #merlin 5x12 #merlin 5x13 #the diamond of the day #the diamond of the day pt1 #the diamond of the day pt2 #for the love of Camelot

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dilfdoctordoom · 4 years

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Literally all the oc questions I’m 👀📝

Urs... you’re my favourite person ever. Let’s get into this.

scarlet - What would your OC do if they found a mysterious sack of money just left unattended?

Okay, before Coast City gets blown up... Autumn tries to return it to their owner. There’s probably a small moment where she considers keeping it for herself, but, like, she’s a hero. She’s gotta do the right thing here, she’s pretty sure there’s a rule about it somewhere.

After the Coast City debacle... she doesn’t hesitate to keep for herself. Does she need it? Not really. Does she care? Also not really. She’s at a very selfish point in her life & is kind of... apathetic to other people.

amber - What would your OC do if they found out their significant other(s) are cheating on them?

Oh... this would be a mess. It doesn’t matter if it’s before Coast City is destroyed because Autumn’s already full of trust issues & if someone cheated on her... she’s already mentally unstable, people, stop hurting her.

She’d go to Hal, no matter what. Would that end well for her significant other? Good God no. Hal does not need a satantic cricket taking him for a joyride to commit murder for his protege, okay, he was down for that like two weeks after meeting her.

There’s definitely a messy break-up, because Autumn is generally a dramatic person, but something like this? Yeah, she’s torched their place. It’s on fire and she does not care.

Absolutely follows it up by crashing with either Hal or Carol & if she does go to Carol, then Hal will arrive with her favourite take-out. May bring her to beat up bad guys.

honey - What would your OC do if they lost a treasured possession? Imagine that there is no way this item could be replaced or bought again, that it is 100% gone forever and they can’t get it back.

She goes insane and commits mass murder. Autumn would probably freak out. Like, she’s got a little arrowhead necklace from Roy & she doesn’t wear it anymore (she hasn’t since Coast City) but it means everything to her & if she lost it... she’d be a wreck. Roy doesn’t even talk to her anymore & it’s pretty much all she has left of their friendship, the only thing that remains & yeah, it’d mess with her if she lost it.

And, well. It’s firmly established that this girl cannot regulate her emotions in a healthy manner.

seafoam - What would your OC do if they ever got stranded somewhere or lost? They have only a few basic supplies with them and have no idea where they are and are completely alone with only themself to rely on.

As shown... a lot... if Autumn’s on her own for too long, she loses her mind and starts to blow stuff up. She’s stranded on some alien planet with no way off? Nobody’s coming to get her? She’s alone for an extended period of time? Her powers are going haywire. She’d probably try to calm herself down, but it wouldn’t really work.

Honeslty, pre-Coast City Autumn would actually handle it a lot better. She has literal endless faith in Hal, Guy, John, etc, & convinces herself within minutes that they’ll find her. All she’s gotta do is survive & since Ollie’s taken her on so many camping trips, she reckons she’s fine.

cerulean - What would your OC do if time suddenly froze only for them?

Like, okay, Autumn in the beginning? She engages in assorted shenanigans, really dumb pranks that’ll never be able to linked back to her. She absolutely frames Wally for a few. They’re all pretty harmless thiugh & it’d take her a while to freak out, even slightly, because she’s accustomed to weird stuff happening & is like... ‘oh is this what we’re doing today? cool i’m drawing a mustache on martian manhunter’s face’

Later, she’s using it for murder, I don’t care. Time freezes, she realizes what’s happened & is like, well, I guess I gotta kill Slade Wilson, don’t I?

lilac - What would your OC do if they found a baby abandoned on their doorstep in the middle of the night?

She freaks out! Like, I’m putting this when she’s an adult so... she doesn’t fully trust herself around kids? I mean, look at Rachel; she did almost kill her. And babies are so fragile, she’s almost definitely holding this one wrong, oh god, she’s gonna crack their skull.

She brings the baby to Guy, in the end, because a) she trusts him & b) he’s a social worker, he’s gonna know what to do with a baby.

(Guy, meanwhile, is genuinely amused that she seems terrified by a baby. Trigon? Fine, no problem, she can handle that. A small human? This is it, this is how the entire world ends).

peach - What would your OC do if someone confessed their love to them?

There’s been, like, three people to tell Autumn that they love her in a romantic sense... when Arisia told her, Autumn was practically bouncing off the walls because her amazing, talented, beautiful girlfriend just told her that she loves her, oh my god, this is literally the best day of her life. To be honest, if anyone in her previous relationships had dropped the L bomb, she wouldn’t have been so okay with it, but her & Arisia have been friends for years.

Dick tells her that he loves her eventually &, uh, she doesn’t handle it that well. Like!!!! Autumn doesn’t think she deserves Dick in any way & she especially doesn’t think that she deserves his love, not after everything that’s happened. She’s also a lil dumb because every single ‘I could never hate you’ was a low key declaration of love.

When Kory tells her, it’s after Dick & Auutmn have suggested that idea of all of them beingin a relationship. I mean, let’s be honest, Autumn’s been in love with Kory for a while (seriously... Autumn, you don’t platonically think about your friends like that, there’s no such thing as platonic make out sessions, please grow a brain cell xoxo) & that goes both ways! And Autumn & Dick wouldn’t even be having that comversation with Kory if they weren’t very seriously committed to the idea of being with her, so... yeah, tht one goes down very well.

pearl - What would your OC do if a natural disaster hit their home? What would they do in the aftermath?

[insert wheezing here]

chocolate - What would your OC do if they were forced to sacrifice one of their most beloved people to save another of their beloved people? Only one can survive.

Okay, so!!! Matter of the fact is, Autumn, my sweet darling angel, would sacrifice literally anyone for Hal, even Dick. He is the single most important person in her life. Like, honestly, if Parallax had outright said that he needed Autumn to come with him... that’s it. She’s gone. He’s her family, in a way that nobody else really acomplishes, because he’s the only person that Autumn’s ever truly vinerable with.

So, yeah, if she whas to choose between Hal & anybody else, Hal wins. Hal & the universe? She picks Hal. He’s really not the biggest fam of this but, uh, he’s the same.

She would put Dick over a lot of people, too. He’s never gonna reach Hal’s level, but, yeah, she’d let a few people die for him.

If it ever came down to her picking between him & Hal though... she’d hate herself, but she knows who she’d pick. She always does.

pitch - What would your OC do if they were being interrogated for valuable information? *bonus* What would they do if this interrogation turned down a darker road e.g torture?

It... depends on who’s doing the interrogation, to be honest. Because, like, it has happened to her a lot. Girl has been taken into government questioning over things like the GLs but she does not talk. Autumn is loyal to a fault & it’s very hard to get her to crack.

Unless you’re Sinestro, in which case... yeah, fun added bonus of easily being able to emotionally manipulate her.

When it comes to torture... hm. Before everything that happened with Casot City & Parallax, I’d say it’d eventually work on her. Like, faster in her younger years, slower when she’s older, but ultimately, yeah. She’s between the ages of 13 and her early twenties, so she’d definitely crack eventually.

After that whole shit show, though? Lmao, no. No form of torture is gonna get through her. Exception is, of course, Sinestro for the sheer emotional pain it’d cause, but beyond that? Not happening. Although, honestly, in the direct aftermath of everything... who the fuck is even gonna try hurting her. Who even has the balls.

#q & a #oc: autumn alita #URS ILYSM YOU'RE AN ANGEL #en knee ways... autumn is just... wow. i love her. i should post about her more on this blog

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randomoranges · 4 years

Text

love potion au part 42

Étienne fiddled with his food and looked out the window absentmindedly. He was unfocused and lost in his own thoughts and Emma noticed. “Earth calling Étienne, come in, Étienne, do we have contact?” She asked as she waved a hand in front of his face. Her friend blinked and looked back towards her, apologetic smile on his face. “You okay there? You seem out of it – you’ve barely put in a dent in your dumplings.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” He said, dismissing her worries and that didn’t sit too well with her. Emma knew Étienne. She liked to believe she knew him best after maybe Élyse, but definitely before anyone else and the expression on Étienne’s face read “something’s bothering me and I won’t tell you until you pry it out of me.”

“Trouble in lover’s paradise?” She teased, waggling her eyebrows. She meant it as a joke, for every time she saw Étienne, he was always on about Edward and how great everything was and how happy he felt. However, something played on Étienne’s face for a fraction of a second, a blink and it’s gone moment where a crack appeared in his carefully constructed mask that worried Emma something was indeed wrong in regards to Edward.

“No – I mean, everything’s fine – well...” Étienne played with his ring – a nervous habit he was developing as of late every time someone asked him about Edward. He let go when Emma looked concerned, but the damage was already done.

“Okay, spill.” Emma demanded. She was Étienne’s best friend – his confidant since they had been kids and she had every authority on him to boss him around to tell her what was bothering him.

“It’s nothing, Ems, honest,” He tried to deflect, but Emma wouldn’t have it. Her friend deserved to be happy and if that lousy boyfriend-fiancé of his had done something wrong... well, she wouldn’t have it.

“Is it weird to feel like someone loves you – too excessively?” Étienne finally asked after a lapsed moment of silence. Emma looked at him, unsure she understood him and blinked, “As in – it’s not anything specific, but like – it’s just – he’s so loud about loving me.” Now that he had started, there was no stopping him, as if an invisible barrier had been lifted and Emma sat and listened to her friend stumble through his explanation. “Like – I feel as though – every occasion he gets to tell me, or show me, or declare his love for me he does. It was sweet at first, but – it’s a bit... too much, you know? But like – I feel like such an asshole for finding issue with that. Who the fuck complains about their significant other loving them too much? Some people don’t even get a fraction of that! And it’s not as if I have to get his permission to go out or see people, but – sometimes he gets – possessive? Like not in the kinky-sexual whatever way, but like – it’ll be in the way he says something, or he’ll react in a certain way at something – there’ll be a spark of – anger on his face, but it passes and he doesn’t do anything wrong, but it’s weird. I never saw this side to him and I never knew he was this – passionate about being in love, but like, I am happy? I genuinely do love him, but... am I overreacting, or?...”He trailed off, looking back at Emma, giving her the cue to pipe in with some sage advice or outright fury.

Emma was puzzled. She had been hoping it would be something worth perfect outrage – or something that would give her reason to call for Edward’s head. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the guy, but Étienne was her ride or die – she didn’t want to see him get hurt and if someone hurt her friend... there was always hell to pay.

She thought about it for a moment, weighing the words Étienne had told her, “D’you think, maybe, you’re just – unused to being loved so openly?” She finally said and this time it was Étienne who gave her a funny look, “I mean – your track record with relationships is less than stellar. You didn’t really do relationships and some of the ones you had were – not good. Maybe Edward just really loves you and you’re still a little overwhelmed by that and all the changes that happened in the last year. A boyfriend, getting engaged, moving in together... I mean, from what you’ve said, it doesn’t look like he’s being a giant dick, right?” Étienne shook his head at that, “So, like, maybe this is just his way of expressing his feelings for you and because the two of you weren’t together before, you never really noticed or paid attention to this side of his personality.” She offered him a comforting smile and took his hand in hers to give it a gentle squeeze.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right and I’m just over thinking it. I guess I can always talk to him about it, yeah?” He asked, squeezing her hand back.

“Of course. Communication is key, and if he wants you to be happy or to make you happy, I’m sure he’ll understand and tone it down a bit. If not and he turns into a jerk, dump his sorry ass and you can crash at mine. I’ll provide the ice cream.” She joked, but Étienne knew she was serious. That she’d have his back if for some reason this all blew up.

“Thanks, Ems.” He said, meaning it.

PREVIOUS: XLI

CURRENT: XLII

NEXT: XLIII

#pc: montreal #pc: ottawa #emma dubois #emma whatshername #étienne maisonneuve #au #ficlet #3 sentence fic meme thing #love potion au

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unstabletable69 · 5 years

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Viren is either evil or just badly written

A Case Study

There’s been a few arguments and questions about Viren, his motivations, his actions, how he treats his children and I think the best way to really examine his character is to go back through the cannon material.

It’s important we talk a little bit about King Harrow for starters- it’s pretty clear that one of Harrow’s biggest flaws is that he’s let Viren have no boundaries what-so EVER! When Harrow is having his royal portrait done (the one that does not include his family) he includes Viren. You might wanna say “yeah because they’re friends” but let’s really examine this with an IRL hypothetical situation. Say you managed a company, your best friend sometimes comes to hang out and maybe offers you up some advice but at the end of the day it’s /your/ company /your/ job /your/ employees and it’s success or failure is /your/ responsibility. Maybe you’re the BEST of friends even are you gonna imply to that friend that they are on equal footing with you? Even if failures that happen aren’t their failures? Stuff like having Viren be in his royal portrait is just kinda balls to the walls absurd when you think about the fact that he could have included his wife or that he didn’t include his wife yet included Viren because even the queen isn’t as special as Viren. Viren didn’t get to where he is in the series on his own, Harrow put his ass there and the first few episodes is where we see Harrow finally having had enough of Viren’s bullshit and calling out Viren for constantly pushing him in bad directions.

Here are the big three that we know about as viewers: 1. Harrow listened to Viren’s advice about how to combat the famine and his wife died. She wasn’t even in agreement with the plan, she advised AGAINST it but he listened to Viren. 2. Harrow was persuaded by Viren to go seek revenge for his wife’s death 3. Harrow was persuaded by Viren that the egg needed to be destroyed

And while yeah, number one would have meant tons of people dying and we can MAYBE look past that as his motivations being in the right place we can clearly see that 2 and 3 did NOT need to happen. Harrow initially wasn’t even down for number 2 until Viren straight up MANIPULATED him into seeking revenge. You can’t even act for one second as if Viren didn’t obviously take Sarai’s death as an opportunity for this, he wasted zero seconds laying the ground work for it by taking her last breath. Who the fuck does that? You can be as practical a person as you want to be but there’s a line between practicality overruling emotions and just an outright lack of emotions and doesn’t instantly going “oh shit you’re dying I need to get this for late uses!” kinda SCREAM lack of emotions? If anything what little we see of Sarai show us that she has an entirely different mindset to Viren and would that NOT make her an obstacle to him? We can take the example given and easily assume that “yeah I’ll bet she disagreed with him often and was quick to tell Harrow when she disagreed”

and now present day Harrow is going to die and he knows his son is in danger. King Harrow is fucking DONE with Viren’s shit and calls him out with his offer of “someone dying in his place” by saying “You wouldn't do it” because Harrow knows Viren better than the viewer knows Viren by this point. Harrow knows Viren isn’t going to just up and die in his place and he knows that if he does manage to live on his problems are going to get worse because so far every shortcut has led him into more problems. Now because Harrow has idiotically spent years allowing Viren to be his equal in decision making obviously Viren isn’t okay with this sudden turn- he’s allowed to be mad at this and hell, seeking some form of payback seems like a natural choice. Let’s say you spent years helping a friend run their business from behind the scenes and something your advised turned out to be bad and now your friend is placing all of the blame on you instead of actually running their business? You’d be cool with their kids getting killed .... oh no, wait you probably wouldn’t be cool with their fucking kids getting killed. And we’re gonna get to that in a minute. Also, Viren is pissed yet he keeps playing off as if he’s not, he plays off as if he might just go scrafice himself, he talks to his daughter as if it’ll be the LAST time he speaks to her. Is it because he things he might die? Maybe so. Is it because he thinks he might die for Harrow? I doubt that. but Viren be talking as if he’ll die because a few things could end him 1. Being in the way by accident 2. Attempting to kill harrow and the guards kill him 3. Getting caught killing Harrow and then put on trial Even Viren’s actions during the raid, the way he talks to Callum “your world is changing” Viren wasn’t coming back to save Harrow, the only way a viewer is possibly still going to think at this point that Viren was maybe wanting to save Harrow in ANY capacity is because they either haven’t seen season 3 or somehow just REALLY wanna believe that people are good deep deep down on the inside. At this point Viren should also be tipped off that the kids knowing about the egg mean the egg is about to go missing but he’s oh so focused on what’s going on with Harrow that he doesn’t put much focus on that detail. No, he’s well aware that Harrow isn’t gonna survive because his goal is to make sure Harrow doesn’t survive and he’s so focused on this that he doesn’t even entertain the idea that the egg might be getting rushed out the door. We can say maybe he underestimates Callum but he also has no idea who else knows this information. but again- Viren is focused on making sure Harrow dies be it by him or by the elves. Now let’s talk about Viren’s exchange with Callum. Callum is gonna tell Harrow about the egg and Viren says “what makes you think he doesn’t already know?” now that’s a good point but since season 3 we know that’s a god damned lie. Harrow doesn’t know! Actually even without seeing season 3- if Harrow really knew about the egg then why was it so important for Callum to NOT be able to yell about it? Why silence him? (Also how inept is the royal guard to have been ordered to take the princes out BEFORE all the bullshit started yet they didn’t manage to do that? Ya’ll can’t wrangle 2 kids?) Now MAYBE you could say Viren didn’t need Callum drawing the attention to the room where Harrow is and that it would put them in danger which would be fair, but NOT ONCE do we hear Viren say “shut up you’ll get us killed, you’ll get him killed.” no he goes off on a rant about how he thinks Callum is spoilled and how “tonight your world changes” (let’s also note how MULTIPLE witnesses hear this shit and not one of them is like “uhhhh bro we’re SAVING the king. nope they’re just all “yeah i guess he’s gonna die huh we’ll just stand here). Soren though- Soren pushes Callum out of the way and takes a spear doing so. without jamming it down our throats we get to see Soren doing his job like a good boy! Also let’s dog ear the fact that Soren wasn’t just gonna let Callum get hurt and I think that’s interesting because of reasons I’ll bring up again later. During that scuffle Viren even seems worried when Callum’s voice goes back to him, he has this look of “oh no” - I mean the BIG oh no SHOULD be that elven assassins are attacking them but Viren is CLEARLY worried about Callum being able to yell- so yeah I can’t see any evidence of Harrow knowing about the egg because aside from one CLEARLY-MEANT-TO-MANIPULATE-THE-SITUATION-AND-THE-OPINIONS-OF-THE-GUARDS-AROUND-THEM line we have NO other reason in story canon to believe that Harrow might know. Also go back and REALLY watch Viren in that scene! He’s not fighting, he’s not defending he’s backing the fuck away because Viren isn’t about to die for Harrow and MAYBE Viren already killed Harrow before the elves got there or he’s at least made sure to stay out of their way and not assist with any magic at all. Given how Viren didn’t even let Harrow’s body get cold before trying to outright declare himself king it’s pretty obvious that at the very least Harrow’s death is the perfect opportunity for Viren to seize power and at the largest point it’s a total coup. Something a LOT of people have brought up is how it’s strange that the Dragon Queen was super chill at the end of seasons 3 about humans even though she was supposed to have sent the moonshadow elves... what if she WASN’T the one that sent them? We could reasonable assume at this point that perhaps Viren could find the means of foraging contact ordering the assassination. and why? Well why does Viren want anything power wise in the series? because he THINKS he’s doing what’s best for humanity and while this might EXPLAIN him mindset it doesn’t justify his actions. Ya’ll know who else believed he was doing the right thing? Adolf Hitler. Believing you’re doing the right thing isn’t the fucking same as doing the right thing. Even the way Viren handles his enemies is unjust; a moonshadow elf that “participated in killing the king” let’s lock him up and interrogate him... I might free him if he tells me about some of my spooky stuff- oh he won’t? Okay I guess it’ll put him in a state of limbo with a bunch of other elves. People who are trying to protect their society would have just excueted after attempting to interrogate or kept them as a normal prison not put them in fucking limbo. This is a great example of something a sick fuck would do not someone who just “has a different idea about how to help his people” Now if you’ve somehow made it this far let’s talk about Viren as his kids! He sent Claudia and Soren after the princes because people were on to his bullshit and rightfully suspicious and his kids who love him aren’t gonna be like “ohhh maybe dad is bad”. Sure Soren is a good fighter and Claudia is highly skilled at magic but unless he was backed into a corner he would have been putting more resources into finding the egg if he truly thought it was important (and he seems to truly think that obviously). There’s been some posts saying he wasn’t manipulating Soren when it came to “return with the news that the princes have died” but my god the made said it MULTIPLE times and then said “I know you can do this, I believe in you”... let me remind ya’ll that like 2 days before this Soren took a spear for Callum, yeah he picked on him and called him Step-Prince for years but it’s clear that Soren was still on good terms with him and didn’t hate him so Soren wasn’t just gonna be like “yeah guess i gotta kill em for humanity” no he had weeks to think of his dad saying “I know you can do it” how many of your parents told you to kill the kids that lived next door and said “I know you can do it”? Here’s the definition of manipulation just in case we needed a refresher: nounnoun: manipulation; plural noun: manipulations 1.the action of manipulating something in a skillful manner."the format allows fast picture manipulation" 2.the action of manipulating someone in a clever or unscrupulous way."there was no deliberate manipulation of visitors' emotions" regardless of how much Viren might of thought that humanity’s best bet was to not have another child ruler he still had to tell his son he “believed in him” and that he needed to make sure that Ezran was dead. He also told Soren this in such as way that if it EVER came to light he could say “you misunderstood” this is why he DIDN’T tell Claudia to do this but instead told her the egg was more important than Soren which suits his narrative and fits into his belief that the egg was a powerful weapon. But you for sure DON’T go from “oh let me help you impress my sister by letting you knock me over” to “oh okay I guess I can make sure you don’t come home” without being manipulated. Soren was manipulated into believing Viren’s ideology about how it was best for humanity if Ezran and Callum didn’t come home. If this all doesn’t convince you that the series either wants us to think Viren is a villian or that the writers have no idea how to make a “conflicted anti hero” then let’s look at his response to the kingdoms not wanting to go to war with him? Sending dark magic elves to kill rulers. because that’s something someone who only had good intentions would do kill political leaders that disagreed with him do I need to bring up more IRL bad guys who also did this? Do I??????? I need to call out some writing here though because to do most of this Viren HAD to have inside help and the only time we really get hints of this is in season 3 and those hints are weak at best, would it have really killed them to animate a couple of guards passing a not or some shit for Viren or straight up supporting him in some of his actions? Several of them watched the incident with Callum and I find it hard to believe only Soren lived so clearly guards had knowledge but why no at least confirm ONCE that Viren had supporters just like how islamaphobes in the US support radicals and support lies and propaganda because they’re afraid? then season 3- season 3 if this STILL isn’t enough for you in season 3 Viren doesn’t give 2 fucks that Soren left- he clearly still cares that Claudia is around but it really seems like he only cares because she’s helping him get shit done we have only seen her disappoint Viren once in the series and that was by not bringing the egg home and even then he doesn’t stay super upset because Aaravos is like “ohhh spooky daughter very good at magics” and we see Viren get defensive but how much of that is genuine and how much of that is him trying to tell Aaravos who is in charge in their relationship? So he’s either a villain like Soren said or the writing isn’t so great because there sure aren’t many reasons for us to think otherwise even the instances where he saved lives all came with gains for him. Seriously I dare you to give me examples of Viren doing good things we see in canon that have NO gains for him! Because I don’t think there have been any. it’s like Soren says, you wanna think he’s doing stuff for the right reason and you wanna think he’s a good guy but he’s a villain and it doesn’t matter what his initial intentions were because he’s NOT doing good things. Do I need to go on even MORE?

#tdp #dragon prince #viren #look past that salt and pepper hottie old guy vibe #people think trump is hot ya know #long post #long rant #tl;dr #I could go on more #I really could #soren #claudia #ramble #rant

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shooter-nobunagun · 4 years

Text

Quarantine UST 7

//About to reach the climax (hah)...Apologies for the delay (gasp) but I took some time off and then when I came back work piled up so...this chapter took longer. Also, it went very differently than what I’d originally planned, so...I’m not sure if I’m 100% satisfied with the direction, but when the muses want something, there’s not much I can do about that. I think it turned out all right, I hope it feels natural and not too...’perfect fantasy’ scenario.

Warning, some mature content this chapter (masturbation) but not super explicit.

She stared at the text on her screen, debating if she really wanted to send the message, or simply relegate it to her ‘unsent drafts’; where it would join the hundreds of other ramblings that never made it to Asao.

[Sio]: I’m screwed; I seriously think I’ve got more than just a ‘crush’ on Adam...like, I literally spend all my time obsessing over whether or not he LIKE likes me ??? and even if he does, what if we get in trouble? >__<||||

“Ugh...mendoukusai...why do I always make things more complicated than they need to be...” Sighing, the sniper looked mournfully at the message, wondering if it was a good idea to spill the beans. Even though Asao was her best friend and had been a godsend this entire time, somehow just declaring it—even in text form—seemed to cement it somehow, instead of remaining this nebulous fantasy that she could always dismiss if things got too tricky.

For sure though, as the third week passed through, Sio noticed a definite change in Adam’s attitude towards her. He rarely made sarcastic or snide remarks anymore, and even his quips about her inexperience felt more like gentle teasing instead. No, there was something there, for sure...the real question now was whether it was a cozy, platonic friendship, or the stirrings of something deeper and more passionate. Shaking her head, she took one last look at the message, then hit ‘send’ before she could change her mind. She half-hoped Asao wouldn’t see it until the next day; if she responded now, Sio wasn’t sure she could sleep without another all-night rant session.

In the meantime, if she needed a way to wind down and get sleepy... Sio glanced at the phone one more time, before turning off the lights and pulling the covers up. With a practiced hand she casually slipped off her panties, preferring to touch herself directly. If she was feeling particularly horny and wanted to spend a little extra time stretching it out, then she kept them on, teasing herself through the fabric until she couldn’t stand it anymore and then plunged her fingers straight into her core. This time though, it was more a nightly habit than anything else; a little ‘me time’ and a good way to relax before bed.

She sighed as her fingers slipped through her curls, reaching that warm, secret spot. It usually took a bit of friction to coax her sensitive little pearl out from its hiding place, but that could definitely be helped along by just thinking about a certain tall, white-haired e-gene holder. “Mmn...A-Adam...I bet, your hands would feel pretty good, t, touching me down there...” Just the other day he’d put his hand over hers while helping her lift correctly, and the difference in size, along with those calloused, but gentle fingers, did not go unnoticed. Her own slim digits rubbed the outer hood, Sio shivering as she felt her folds getting moist from the stimulation.

‘Seriously, I don’t know how much longer I can keep it a secret...’ There was only about another week left on their quarantine, and Sio was simultaneously excited and depressed about it. On one hand, she couldn’t wait to return to some semblance of normalcy, but on the other, what if they went back to acting as if this time never happened? Boring as it was (save for a minor skirmish that did occur, and where Adam actually admitted her aim had vastly improved), a part of her was genuinely sad that there might never be another time where they would all be like this: acting like close friends and maybe even a family.

But most of all, what if these feelings she was developing for Adam never went anywhere? Or what if they faded, after things went back to normal? The twinge in her heart hit harder than expected, and her arousal dropped a little, to Sio’s frustration. ‘Ugh, just stop overthinking things, Sio...now’s not the time for it, anyway.’

She focused on her fingers instead, on the physical sensations this time rather than her mental fantasies. It was surprising how quickly she’d become familiar with her own body, and where it felt good for her. Her breasts, for instance, weren’t as sensitive, but it was still nice to massage them gently, and when she got really horny her nipples were nice to tweak with. Given that she was masturbating on a near-daily basis (and sometimes more than once a day), it was easy to experiment with different areas and techniques. After a while, she’d even worked up the courage to stick a finger inside, which wasn’t nearly as difficult or even painful, unlike most of the gossip she heard. It just felt a little weird, except the few times her fingers managed to brush a particular spot—though it hadn’t happened very often. Mostly she just like rubbing her clit, and it usually only took her a couple minutes to reach a satisfying climax.

“Nng...” Sio bit her lips; for some reason it seemed like she wasn’t really in the mood today. It was taking her longer than usual to reach an orgasm, and despite her fingers it felt like she was stuck at the plateau phase. ‘Maybe I should just call it quits and go to sleep...but argh, I’m already more than halfway there...’ She couldn’t decide which was worse: working towards a half-hearted orgasm, or trying to sleep while still tense and aroused. Taking a break she laid on the cool sheets, running a hand up and down her thigh, enjoying how smooth and soft the skin felt.

Funny how she couldn’t really remember when or what cause her feelings for Adam to change. Since the beginning, they’d always had this weird, almost love/hate thing going on, possibly since their first encounter in Taiwan. Sio knew she respected his skills on the battlefield, though his manners towards her could’ve used a lot of work. Even then, even back when he was all sorts of abrasive and prickly at her, she still couldn’t outright hate him. Be annoyed and upset, sure, but there was always a part of her that wished she could know him better, to find out what kind of a person he really was.

‘Adam...’ Just thinking about him, whether it was his physique or his interactions with her, filled her heart with a sense of longing. What kind of person was he like before DOGOO? Who were his friends? Was his ‘tsundere’ attitude just a facade to protect his true self? She wished she could just work up the courage and confess her feelings, consequences be damned, but she knew it’d probably never happen in a million years. But oh, how strong those feelings were, sometimes...to know him beyond his e-gene and touch his true soul... Slowly, her finger gently prodded her insides, Sio imagining what it would be like if he held her tight in those strong arms; whispering sweet nothings into her ear while brushing her hair soothingly, telling her how much he cared about her and admired her, how cute she was...

“Hnn...! Oh!” To her surprise her body started jerking, Sio so caught up in her romantic fantasies that she didn’t notice her orgasm until it literally shook her out of her reverie. “Hah, hah...A-Adam...I wish, I wish we were real...” Suddenly reality came back, and the sniper remembered where she was: in her own room in a borrowed house, in the middle of a foreign city, waiting out a quarantine with her teammates in the hopes that they wouldn’t get infected and die. Panting, she pulled her sticky fingers out, wiping them down before putting her panties back on again. Now that the euphoria was fading, she felt an almost crushing sense of defeat.

‘Hah, who am I kidding; there’s no way I can ever tell him...I just can’t! Not to mention, what if he...really doesn’t feel the same way? I don’t wanna make him feel awkward, not when we’ve finally established some kind of friendship...’ Yet the thought of taking this secret to the grave made her heart feel even heavier, and despite being physically exhausted, Sio sensed the beginnings of insomnia—and groaned.

Suddenly her phone lit up. She must’ve forgotten to silence it—but the sniper immediately snatched it up, scanned Asao’s reply, and hit ‘call’ without even bothering to text first.

“Moshi moshi? Sio-chan? Is everything alright?”

“Asao-san! I’m sorry for calling you so suddenly, but...I really need to talk to you!” Sio half-wailed into the phone, trying to keep her voice down.

“Oh my, of course Sio-chan. But calm down first, what’s going on? Aren’t you supposed to be asleep now?”

“Well, I was...but I just can’t fall asleep.” She heaved a sigh. “It’s about...Adam. And well, you probably already saw my text, but...” her friend hummed in understanding on the other end, “and well, you know! I just don’t know...what to do about this!”

“I see...” Her friend replied seriously, Sio so worked up she was on the verge of tears at this point. “How do you know it’s forbidden? Do you know for sure that fraternization among DOGOO members is illegal?”

“W-Well, no...I mean, I don’t know for sure...if it is, then I haven’t heard of it,” Sio admitted, “b-but even then, like, what if...what if he, doesn’t like me back...!”

“Okay, let’s take this one at a time,” said Asao gently, trying to get Sio to calm down. “Let’s not worry about whether or not it’s against the rules or whatever— I’m pretty sure even if it is, it wouldn’t stop your feelings.” Sio grunted in response. “As for whether or not Adam feels the same...I mean, what do you think? What’s your instinct tell you? I’m not there, so I can’t say anything aside from what I’ve heard from you—but it doesn’t seem like it’s completely impossible, right?”

“I...well, I mean...” Her instincts, huh? More than once the others had pointed out how Sio sometimes just seemed to know things, yet be unable to explain how she knew afterwards—except that it just came to her, like an instinctive pull. “I...feel like he’s aware that there’s something more than just, friendly camaraderie between us...I-I mean for sure, I’ve noticed he’s changed how he acts towards me and speaks to me...s, so, that’s a positive sign, I guess...”

“Mm hmm, that’s good.” Asao encouraged from the other end. “So he’s definitely not avoiding you or anything.”

Sio shook her head. “No, if anything we’ve actually been spending a lot of time together, lately...heh, who would’ve guessed,” she gave a small laugh. “But, I guess it’s just...I just can’t be sure, right? Who knows if he likes me like, that, or what if it turns out he’s just a really nice guy, underneath all that Jack the Ripper e-gene crap?”

“...Well, that wouldn’t be so bad, would it? At least you know he’s a decent guy then,” offered Asao, but that didn’t seem to console the sniper much, if at all.

“I know, but that’s not what I want!” She lamented, even though she knew how lame it sounded. “I know I know, at least he is a good person, and for sure, I am really glad that he’s not the asshole I thought he was. Trust me, if all we did end up becoming was just good friends, then I guess I’ll accept it, but...” Sio sighed heavily, scrunching up on the sheets.

“...I really like him. Like, I...want to be with him, for real,” she whispered, surprised at the sudden wave of emotions it triggered in her. “I-I mean, maybe it’s too early to say this, but...i-is this, what it means to...fall in love?”

“Ah...Sio-chan...” Even Asao seemed to be at a loss for words, Sio clutching the pillow to her chest as she tried to get rid of this heavy ache. “...If you have such strong feelings for him, then, I think there’s really only one thing to do.”

“What?”

“You should tell him,” was Asao’s response, Sio having frozen at the blunt suggestion. “I’m serious, Sio-chan. I know you, and the longer you keep holding it in, the worse you’ll feel.”

“B-But, but...what if he—argh—doesn’t...like me back?!” The poor girl nearly sobbed into the phone, still caught up in her emotions. “I just don’t know if I could handle that kind of rejection...”

“Now Sio-chan, you’re stronger than that,” her friend’s voice took on a stern tone. “Even if he rejects you, so what? Life goes on; trust me, if that happens it won’t be the end of the world. You’ll encounter a lot more challenges later on, after this. You can’t let this one thing dictate the rest of your life.”

Sio sniffed and wiped her tears, knowing Asao was right. “...I, I know... You’re right, Asao-san...I-I mean, I’m already half-resigned to just remaining friends anyway, so...” She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. “...You’re right. The worst part about this is just not knowing the truth. If he really isn’t interested in me, then fine; at least I can say I tried, and hopefully we’ll still be friends.”

“Sasuga, Shio-chan. I know you can do it.” Sio smiled at her friend’s encouragement. “Now you should be getting some rest. Tomorrow’ll look a lot better through fresh eyes.”

“Hai...oyasumi, Asao-san.”

“Oyasumi nasai, Shio-chan.” --------- “Mornin’ Ogura. You sleep alright?” Adam greeted the girl as she came down the stairs, a huge yawn tearing from her mouth.

“Hnn...ohayou, Adam-san...” She rubbed her eyes, Asao’s words from last night still turning themselves over in her mind. Tell him... hah, as if she could just blurt it out. If only she could plan it out beforehand, but no; experience told her that whenever it involved her and Adam, nothing ever went according to plan.

“Sunny-side up eggs alright with you?” The sniper nodded in thanks, before wandering over to the cupboards to fix herself some tea. “...Everything alright?”

“H-Huh? Wh, what do you mean...” She nearly dropped the cup, but caught it just in time. “I’m just, tired...stayed up too late talking to Asao-san again...” Adam’s perception was incredibly sharp; she’d have to watch herself to make sure she didn’t give anything away.

“...I see. How’s she doing, by the way?”

“Eh. Same as usual...from the sound of it, Japan’s doing okay, except they’re not in school right now so she says it’s kind of boring staying inside all day.” Before she knew it, she had somehow automatically made two cups of tea, even though Adam usually drank coffee in the morning. “Oh, ah...I forgot, you usually drink coffee, don’t you, Adam-san?”

He glanced over at the mugs just as the eggs finished and he slid them onto a plate, alongside the bacon, toast, and other trimmings. “Sure, but I don’t mind tea, either. Remember, I’m British,” he winked at her, “and we take tea very seriously.”

Sio found herself blushing at that playful wink, and before she knew it her lips curled into a small smile. Every time he did one of those little quirks towards her, she felt herself growing warm. As they ate their breakfast in a now-comfortable silence, she thought back to what she’d told Asao last night. About how she was resigned to just remaining friends, and accepting it, if he didn’t feel the same...

‘...But is that really true? Could I really be satisfied with just staying friends?’ That was what she’d claimed, but thinking on it now, and especially with the two of them like this already... Biting her fork, Sio was beginning to think she wouldn’t be able to settle for anything less than going all in. If she was rejected, then fine--that would be something out of her control, but to not even try...

“Say. You got any plans today?” She looked up with a start at Adam’s question. Why would he be asking her this now... Pretending everything was fine (when it was definitely not), she gave a casual shrug.

“Not really. I-I mean, aside from the usual stuff...was probably just gonna try and finish my FF7 file, since we’ve only got like, a week left...”

He nodded. “Yeh; seems like time was slow and fast all at the same time, didn’t it?”

“Heh, yeah it did; oh man, I remember when we first got here, and I was complaining about how I was gonna survive a month with everyone...but, now that we’re almost at the end, I’m actually gonna miss it...” She gave a melancholy smile, stirring the leftover bits of eggs.

“Well, I was thinking of just going for a drive along the shoreline. Maybe get out and walk along the beach...” For a few seconds there was only the sound of forks scraping the plates, as Sio’s heart started to pound in nervous anticipation, while Adam turned away so she couldn’t see his blush.

“...Is it, just...you?”

“...Well, that depends; you wanna come with?”

Their eyes met for a second, and Sio was sure she was probably redder than a tomato—but the strange thing was, Adam was also oddly pink, with an expression she’d never seen before. Later on, she would realize it was a sign that he’d been just as nervous as her, but in the heat of the moment, all she could think of was how to not make a fool of herself.

“U-Uh, I—I um, I...I’d like that,” she heard herself saying, though the voice seemed to come from somewhere outside her body. “If it’s...okay...”

“Of course; it’s definitely more than ‘okay’.” He got up to clear their plates, Sio grateful he couldn’t see her smile.

‘He’s actually taking me somewhere...just the two of us...! Wait, is this like a...date?!’ Her excitement was suddenly replaced with a bolt of fear, as Sio’s mind finally realized the possible implications of this. ‘Oh no, what do I do...! Maybe I should change—but into what? It’s not like I packed anything nice since all we’d be doing was lounging, not going out—’

Luckily she was saved from indecision by Adam announcing that he’d already written a note for the other two, and it would be easier if they left now before they woke up. They packed some water and of course, the usual masks and hand sanitizer; then Adam was easing them out of the driveway and onto the hilly streets, Sio finally sitting shotgun for once.

The car was awkwardly silent, Sio wrestling internally with wanting to start a conversation but not knowing what to talk about. In the end, she simply turned on the radio, and the two listened to whatever the latest hits were as the car wound its way out to the coast. At least the breeze was nice, Sio enjoying the fresh air while she subtly watched Adam shifting the gears; somehow, just watching his fluid actions, and trying to understand how everything worked, was quite interesting.

“Huh...so you have to shift in order...” she muttered to herself, unaware of actually speaking it out loud.

“Eh? You interested in drivin’, squirt?”

‘Ah! I did it again...speaking my thoughts...!’ The sniper tried not to panic, instead pointedly looking out the window.

“N, No, it’s just...I’m curious as to how you, uh, drive. Y’know, with the gears and all.”

Adam shrugged, navigating with one hand as they drove along the highway. “Mm, you learn it with practice, like everything else. Why, you want a driving lesson before this is all over?” He teased, shooting the girl a small grin. “Personally I’d recommend starting with an automatic, if you’ve never driven before...”

“No no, it’s fine; I highly doubt I’d need to right now, anyway...” Sio commented dryly. “...By the way, is it true? What Jess-san said...”

“About what?”

“That, you...also owned a motorcycle.”

So. She remembered. “...Yeh, it’s true. I do have a bike; it’s not here right now, though DOGOO has offered to ship it to one of their bases...” The sniper’s maroons grew wide at this piece of news, and inwardly Adam cursed at not having the foresight to having it shipped over. ‘Perhaps we could’ve gone for a ride on that instead...’

“Whoa...that’s so cool...” Sio mumbled, cheeks flushing. “Man, you’re like, perfect...you can do so many things, like—how do you even know all this stuff? And be good at them?”

To her surprise Adam started laughing. “Oh ho, perfect now, am I? That is definitely not the case...and if I really were perfect, then how come I still have trouble with speaking my mind or not being an arse?” He eyed her with a glance and the sniper’s cheeks turned pink, to his pleasure. “Besides, I’m pretty sure that was not your impression of me when we first met.”

“W, Well, still...I just feel so...I dunno, useless next to you—and everyone else, for that matter, sometimes...”

Adam didn’t respond, instead pulling the car into a space as they finally made it to their destination. Sio wasn’t sure if he was exasperated at her whining, or something else.

“C’mon Ogura, let’s go for a walk, yeh? Think that’ll clear your head a bit.”

“Ah...” She put her mask and silently followed him, right along the waves crashing against the rocks. The day had been cloudy for a change, and Sio shivered slightly, even with a jacket. It seemed San Francisco’s weather changed as often as her moods; sunny one day, and chilly with fog the next, sometimes in the same day.

“Brr...it sure is cold here,” she rubbed her arms, the wind piercing through her thin sweater. “Isn’t it supposed to almost be summer?”

“Hmm, reminds me a lot of home, actually. Well, granted it’s not nearly as cool, but, the overcast fog...” Before she could say anything else, Adam was shedding his jacket and gently laying it across her shoulders. “Here, this better?”

“Ah, uh...th-thanks...” There wasn’t much she could say, without revealing her true feelings—instead Sio simply nodded, hugging herself as she slipped her arms through, the fabric still warm from his heat. ‘Mmm...of course it smells like him...it’s comforting, somehow...’

“Don’t worry about me, squirt,” Adam answered before she could even ask. “The cold doesn’t bother me much; in fact, I find it rather refreshing.”

“O-Oh...w, well, if you say so...” She didn’t even need a mirror to know her cheeks were pink at this point—in fact her entire head felt like it was on fire as they walked in silence along the trail, despite the sea breeze. In an effort to distract herself, Sio took in the sights: the grey-tinged clouds, waves that broke along the rocks, and the occasional seagull brave enough to dive into the water. The air smelled briny and cold, similar to Tokyo Bay—but again different. It was mesmerizing to stare out at the waves, how they grew, then crashed, receded and then it started all over again. A few joggers and bikers were out, but it seemed most folks chose to stay indoors when the weather turned.

They hiked to an outlook with a few benches, Sio taking a water break as Adam leaned over the railing, taking in the view himself. She desperately wanted to break the silence, but at the same time, she didn’t know what to say. Even if Adam had other reasons for asking her to come with, somehow, it felt wrong to force the question.

“You doin’ alright, Ogura?” Adam turned around, nodding at her newly-acquired jacket. “Let me know if you’d rather head back. Wouldn’t want you t’ get sick.”

“I’m okay, thanks to you...” She hugged herself again, as if to remind herself this was real. “U-Um, A-Adam...” he turned around slightly, and Sio felt her heart rate speed up, but she couldn’t stop now. “Th, this place...um, s-so...why did you ask me to...come with you...”

“...Hn. That is a good question.” He wasn’t looking at her directly, but she knew he was paying close attention. “I can’t say I really know why, myself...just, I thought you might like some fresh air, for a change.” He shrugged casually, and Sio felt her heart drop a bit, even though a part of her was also relieved.

“And, well...truthfully it’s because, I guess I’ve come to enjoy spending time with you, is all.”

The sniper froze again, at that comment. ‘No way...it can’t be, is he really serious...is he, really saying what I think he is...!’ She wasn’t even sure what to respond, how to respond—to anybody else perhaps, it would’ve been plain as day that Adam was admitting he liked her, and yet, her insecurities wouldn’t let her believe it.

“A-Ah, y-yeah...um, I, I do...like being out of the house, once in a while...” She was stuttering and trembling, all limbs going numb because there was just no way this could be real, it couldn’t be what she’d really wanted, all along...

“Well, that’s...good to know.” He was coming over now, hands tucked inside his pockets as he sat down next to her. “By the way, I apologise for being blunt, but...I hope I’m not botherin’ you, dragging you out like this. It’s just...well, you often seem so glum about your inexperience and such, I...wanted to see if I could take your mind off that. Y’know, you’re doing quite well, for a rookie. ”

“Eh? N, no, not at all...” Sio wasn’t quite sure what to make of his words; of how he wanted to try and cheer her up, and to know she wasn’t doing as poorly as she constantly thought... “I’m, glad to hear that...b-but, if I’m doing so well, then how come you’re still teasing me about messing stuff up? And don’t even get me started on before...you used to yell at me all the time, or complain about this or that...”

To her surprise he began to laugh slightly, Sio feeling her cheeks burning in a mix of indignation and embarrassment. “Heh, you aren’t wrong; I admit communication isn’t exactly one of my better skills...and here you were saying how I was perfect,” he turned towards her at last, a small smile on his face. “But spending time with you, like this...has changed my mind.”

“Um...” Her voice quivered before she knew it, Adam quirking a brow at her sudden nervousness. “U-Um, I, y, you...” There was no way she could weasel out of this one, now. They were literally sitting next to each other, Adam had all but confirmed that he liked her and didn’t think she was a mere ‘half-baked squirt’; so why was she still trying to deny it?

“Y, You...probably shouldn’t say things like that,” she uttered quietly, picking at the sleeves of her borrowed jacket. “You don’t have to baby me, you know...I can handle the truth...”

Now it was Adam’s turn to look astonished. “...Beg pardon? You think I’m just buttering you up for something?” There was slight cough, as if he couldn’t quite grasp her logic. “I meant what I said, Ogura. I wasn’t joking around or talking shit just to make you feel better,” she winced slightly at his words. “If there is one thing I wish you would improve, it’s your confidence. And I’ll admit, I haven’t been conducive to that, especially in the beginning...but surely you don’t have that low of an opinion of yourself? After all you’ve accomplished in such a short time?”

“B, But, I...it can’t...” The sniper shook her head, frustrated because she knew Adam was right. Even before DOGOO, speaking up for herself and having self-confidence was always hard for her. Even if it caused her loneliness, it was easier than stepping out of her comfort zone, dealing with those awkward looks and moments where people never seemed to know what to do with her. “I...how, how can someone like you see that in me?”

“...What exactly do you mean by that?” His gaze was piercing, but not cruel. “What do you mean, ‘someone like me’?”

“Y-You, you’re...you’re the leader of the Second Platoon, you can do pretty much anything you want—cooking, cleaning, killing EIOs without breaking a sweat, driving, riding a bike, video games, keeping us on track...” She was rambling now, she knew, but Sio couldn’t stop. “How can I...possibly be good enough?”

“‘Good enough?’ For what? To be a part of this platoon?” She didn’t need to see his face to know Adam was upset. “That’s certainly not the case—you really think you’d still be here if you weren’t good enough—”

“—I know that! That’s...not what I’m talking about...” How was it that someone who was so smart could also be so dense? Did she really have to spell it out for him...!

“Then what are you talking about?” Adam sighed, starting to become irritated with her half-answers and nonsensical words. “Can you not just say it straight, Ogura, for once?

“—How can a hanninmae like me possibly be good enough for you?!” She burst out at last, not even thinking about anything else other than what she had to say, at the moment. She felt the man next to her instantly stiffen at her words, the sniper herself too emotional to look.

There was a seemingly endless stretch of silence after that, Sio squirming with embarrassment but knew she couldn’t turn away, not after all those words. It seemed like forever before the man next to her moved, Sio staying frozen in her spot.

“...Y’know, you really are something else, Ogura Sio.” She didn’t dare look at him in the face, not yet. “It’s funny that you say that...feeling that you’re not good enough for me...when I’ve...been wonderin’ the same about myself.”

“Eh...?” In one moment she forgot she was supposed to be avoiding his eyes and turned around, only to be met with a strangely bashful and...nervous Adam? “What, you...about me?”

Huh? Huuuh? The sniper’s mind flew into a frenzy, suddenly overwhelmed by the revelations—namely that Adam actually ‘like’ liked her, and he was insecure about himself? “A-Ano...wha, but you, I...”

“Need me to spell it out for you, squirt? Alright then, I’ll just say it straight: I like you, Ogura; a lot. And it’s not just friendship. You’re no fool, you know what I’m talking about. But I don’t want to force you into something if you don’t feel the same way. Least of all if you’re uncomfortable with the fact that we’ll be continuing to work together after all this.”

He was right. Technically, as members of DOGOO they still had a duty to work together, professionally. Rules aside, she knew that if they committed to a relationship with each other, it could potentially make things very messy. And yet...

“...I, I...don’t care about that. I-I mean, yes, I know it’s probably not the smartest or most logical idea, but...” She finally glanced up, trying not to let her tears fall. “I can’t change my feelings...heh, I think even if there were some kind of rule in place...it wouldn’t change my heart. ‘Cause I, I...really like you, Adam...a lot...”

“...Well, let’s be real, since when were either of us good about following the rules, anyway?” With that one statement, the tension seemed to crack, and Sio couldn’t help but burst into giggles, Adam following suit as the two just laughed.

“You’re pretty when you smile, you know that?”

“Ah—I, uh, mmm...” She blushed as Adam wiped her tears with a tissue. “Y, You should smile more, too...you’re much less scary when you do...”

Adam quirked a white eyebrow. “Oh? You found me to be intimidating? Well, I guess that’s another thing I’ll have to work on, huh?”

“We should both work on it. How to smile better.” The sniper screwed her mouth into a smile-grimace, which only caused the white-haired holder to laugh harder. “H-Hey, I’m trying...!” But she couldn’t help but laugh, too.

It felt like forever since they’d come here for their original purpose of hiking, but as Sio checked her watch, in reality it’d only been about half an hour. And yet everything before that point was now completely different; her feelings, perspective, and most of all what she and Adam were to each other, now...

“U-Uh...Adam-san...? Does, does this mean...well, what are we, now? Does this mean we’re...going out? Like dating?” Her face still flushed as she stumbled over those words, unused to saying them out loud.

He smiled at her, before gently taking her hand for the first time, Sio squeaking in surprise as his fingers closed around hers. “Sure, I suppose...I mean, I don’t really know much myself...but if that’s what you want, then I’m fine with it. Which means...guess I’ll be your boyfriend, from now on. Or lover, partner...” Those fingers brushed against her palm and she shivered; at last she could feel him in an intimate manner, but when it actually happened suddenly she felt very shy, even though it was nothing close to what she fantasized about.

“Mmm...I, I want that. Th-then, I’m...your girl...friend, now,” she nodded to reassure herself, squeezing his hand tightly in return. “Though, I’m not sure I want to tell everybody about it, yet...you know, like Newton and Gandhi...I, I’m sure eventually I’ll be okay, but just, for now...”

Adam nodded, rubbing her shoulder in a reassuring manner. “Same; frankly, it’s none of their business, and knowing what gossips those two are...” He rolled his eyes. “I’m sure it’s bound to come up, sooner or later...but for now, let’s just have this be our little secret, yeh?”

Sio couldn’t help but smile as they walked back to the car. “Hai! Oh, and uh, one last thing...” Adam gave a quizzical look as they got in. “U-Um, it’s okay to call me...’Sio’ now. Just ‘Sio’.”

Something warm bloomed inside her chest as she said that, more so when Adam’s cheeks turned pink (he was so cute when he blushed), before he nodded. “Of course...Sio. But that means, from now on...I’m just ‘Adam’, too.”

“Okay...Adam.”

#documentation #//oh no #//it took me 3 weeks #//actually i went on holiday #//and then i had a bunch of work #//also this turned out NOTHING like i originally planned #//oh

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