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gaylittleeddie · 4 years

Note

some buddie prompts: "you're my family too" "when I first met you I didn't think you would become this important" "I didn't want to cry" "I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong" "it's alright I'm here I'm real, it was just a nightmare" I'm a sucker for angst with an happy ending lmao, sorry if you have already done of this.

I’ll probably do another one of your prompts too but you said angst with a happy ending so here you go. I apologize if it’s bad. This is my first time doing prompts

prompt: you're my family too

word count: 1585

sent in by: @lil-italian-disappointment

Send me a prompt :) it can be for any characters/ships but I don’t do smut so

Eddie didn't know what to expect when he showed up unannounced at Buck's house, but it certainly wasn't this.

Buck was in his kitchen, sobbing over a picture before he had turned to look at whoever walked in. The older man didn't know what to do but stand there like an idiot in the doorway with his hand clutching the doorknob so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Sure, they've had their emotional moments. It's not like the two have never been vulnerable with each other. They're best friends. That's part of the point of someone being your best friend. You trust them with you and allow them to know parts of you that never usually never see the light of day.

But the way the blond quickly wiped at his face and pulled a grin that didn't quite sit right only made Eddie believe he walked in on something that he wasn't meant to ever know about. Which, kind of stung a bit. He smiled back anyways, "Hey man."

"Hey," Buck responded, sliding the picture into his pocket, "To what do I owe this pleasure to?"

It was a weak attempt at a joke. Or rather, a way to brush off whatever it was that had been witnessed. Every part of Eddie was screaming at him to investigate. To figure out why those blue eyes were bloodshot from tears that should have never even been there in the first place. They stood there, bodies tense. Both most likely afraid of what the other would say. What is there to say? What can they even talk about?

The city a couple of stories below was still the same as it had been just moments before but somehow the whole world had felt almost darker than it did. On the borderline of eerie. Something heavy had found its way in and rested uncomfortably in the area where his heart should be. The sound of throat clearing slightly shook him out of it.

"Oh, uh. I just wanted to see you, I guess," Eddie chuckled.

That was the truth, honestly. He never planned on telling Buck that. However, it was out there now, floating around innocently. The brunet probably, if not under the circumstances that he was now, would have died before admitting that to himself much less Evan Buckley. It held meaning. Hidden in plain sight but very obvious at the same time.

“I wanted to see you” didn’t mean just now. When then? Every day. For the rest of their lives if he was given the chance. He did want to see him that much, true. Yet, there were so many other things that he wanted more. Like two matching wedding bands glistening in certain lighting or turnout gear with the same names etched on the bottoms of it. He wanted family. Not that they weren’t now. But, he wanted a different kind. Not the “my best friend is someone we consider to be a pseudo-member” but more of “this is my boyfriend/husband and my son.” They were there, just out of reach of it. Eddie swore it taunt him every day.

He allowed himself to finally close the door. The taller man pulled out two beers and opened them before gesturing to one. Eddie continued, "It was getting a little boring staring at the same four walls in silence."

As he made his way over to the beer and picked it up to take a sip, he thought about how exactly to approach this situation. Comforting people was never a strong suit, of course excluding Christopher because that his son. It’s somehow easier. Well, kind of. He still needed his friends help with that sometimes, too. So how does one console the person who’s usually doing it?

“Eddie, I’m fine,” Buck sighs.

Even though he claimed that, it didn’t match what he was conveying. The firefighter’s posture was slightly slumped, his eyes were still red, and his hair was unkempt as if he’d been tugging at it in frustration. “I didn’t say you weren’t, Buck.”

“You didn’t have to. I can hear your thinking from here.”

Even though he knew it was just a saying, the thought of having Buck being able to hear his every thought scared the hell out of him. But that’s totally off topic. Eddie sighed into the air, shaking his head. He knew his friend wasn’t okay. He knows that man like the back of his hand.

“What’s going on?” Eddie asks, “We both know I saw you so let’s just not cut corners and get right into it. Why were you crying?”

The blond huffs, walking to the stairs and sitting down. His blue orbs glared at the floor, like it was it’s fault that he was feeling this way. The other man sets the beer down gently before coming over to lean against the railing, willing to wait for him to be ready to talk whenever. No words came, though. Instead, Buck reached back into his pocket and held out the picture.

Eddie took it. At first glance, it was nothing special but upon further inspection it was easy to make out that it was both Maddie and Buck. They were staring at the camera, neither smiling. Suitcases were piled in front of an old beat up car and a bag was slung across the older sibling’s back.

“That was one of the times she left. College. I’m not mad at her, obviously. I ran from our parents as soon as I could too. But looking back at it, especially after Red, really makes me realize that at the end of the day it’s always just been me,” Buck explains, “And I’m not even enough for myself so I get why everyone leaves.”

Eddie’s head snaps up at that. Did this man really just have the audacity to say that? Buck not being enough? That in itself doesn’t even sound partly right. “Buck, what-“

His partner cuts him off, “Don’t Eddie. I know you want to make me feel better but it’s not going to work. It’s true. I’m not enough. That’s why I have no one. Everyone around me has someone else, has family outside of the 118, so it has to be something wrong with me.”

Eddie felt like someone just punched him clear in the chest. No, actually he’s felt that before. It doesn’t hurt as bad as this. This was like he couldn’t breathe in a full breath, as if someone was strangling him. How long has Buck felt like this? How come he’s never noticed? Why would Buck feel this way?

Couldn’t he see? Couldn’t he tell that Eddie was so helplessly in love with him? Why didn’t he know that Christopher looked at him as if he created the world itself. Was Buck that good at hiding it or was Eddie just not paying attention until it slapped him clear in the face?

So many questions, none with clear answers. Eddie swallows down all of his own feelings, sitting next to Buck and stared at him until their eyes met. The younger man seemed slightly taken aback from the reaction, probably expecting him to say something rather than just observing silently.

“You have family,” Eddie states.

“Not like that-“

“Exactly like that.”

Buck blinks a couple of times at that. Confusion was slowly forming upon his features and Eddie’s heart broke just a tiny bit more at the fact that this man didn’t know how important he was in the Diaz unit. Without him, where would they both be? Chris wouldn’t have met Carla, Eddie would of probably gave in and move back to Texas. So many things would have been different and not for the better. Hell, his parents probably would have tried to get custody over their grandson at this point and something tells him he wouldn’t have won against them. Not because he’s some terrible parent. No. He just works a lot. Buck has improved their lives so much.

Of course, it only went worse from there. The tears were coming back from wherever they were stashed away before and wasn’t that just a kick in the chest?

“I mean, I know I have Maddie but she has Chim. Hen has Karen, Denny, and Nia. Bobby and Athena have each other plus their own thing going on with Michael, May, and Harry... You have Chris-“

“You’re my family too, Evan,” Eddie whispers slightly, “And not just in the best friend way.”

And the look that he got from that little sentence? It was like he hung the stars. Complete awe. Buck looked so beautiful, just like always but somehow that expression just complimented him so well. Why haven’t they always done this? Especially when it’s like Evan Buckley was meant to gaze at Eddie like that, with hopeful eyes and a genuine smile.

“Yeah?” Buck swallows.

“Yeah.”

He took a leap of faith and reached out to wipe a stray tear from his best friend’s cheek with his thumb. Buck leaned into the touch, grinning even wider if possible. They move together at once, both closing their eyes and pressing their foreheads together.

The city below resumed to it’s busy life, the darkness from earlier no longer being a threat to it. Eddie knows, in the very deepest part of him, that he got his partner to understand tonight. Just for safe measures, however, he breathes, “Mi familia es su familia.”

#tv: 911 #911 on fox #9-1-1 #911 fox #evan buckley #eddie diaz #buddie #send me a prompt :)#otp: you wanna go for the title?

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rachelkaser · 4 years

Text

Stay Golden Sunday: Nice and Easy

Blanche’s niece visits and is a little too much of a chip off the old block. Rose and Dorothy try to figure out what to do about a mouse.

Picture It...

Blanche is preparing for the arrival of her niece, Lucy, who’s in town to interview for a college transfer. Dorothy comes running in from the kitchen, afraid of a mouse that has invaded the home, and Rose’s defense of the mouse fails to sway anyone. Lucy arrives and almost immediately leaves to go on a date with a doctor she met on the plane. Blanche, who can relate to wanting to nab a hot guy, approves of her going.

ROSE: If it weren’t for a mouse, just like that little one in the kitchen, I wouldn’t be sitting here today, telling you this story. *beat* SOPHIA & DOROTHY: Call the exterminator.

The next morning, the mouse is still in the house. Blanche is upset because Lucy never came home, though she does almost immediately as Blanche says that. She spent the whole night with her doctor and now has to prep for her interview. The girls discuss this, with Rose disapproving of Lucy’s sleeping with a man she’s only known a few hours. Dorothy doesn’t want to pass judgement, and Blanche makes a comment that this isn’t in character for Lucy (oh boy, is Blanche out of touch).

Later that day, Lucy returns home from the college interview and tells Dorothy how well it went -- and that she won’t be home that night. She’s going on a date with the man who interviewed her. When she sees Blanche, she asks for permission to go away to the Bahamas, leaving out that it’s with a new man, and Blanche approves. Dorothy tells Blanche the truth and does a 180 on her previous refusal to pass judgement, telling Blanche that Lucy may be going just a bit too overboard with men -- or, as Sophia says, “Girl’s a slut.” Blanche is now more concerned about her niece, and Dorothy recommends that Blanche talk to Lucy when she gets home.

DOROTHY: *after a long story about a promiscuous woman who slept with every man in Sophia’s “godforsaken village”* Ma, what does this have to do with Lucy? SOPHIA: Not a thing. It’s the only slut story I know. *quadruple jumps over Dorothy’s checkers*

A few nights later, Blanche wakes up to see Lucy coming home with a third man, a policeman named Ed, who arrested her interviewer paramour for marijuana smuggling. Now Lucy wants to go home with Ed. Blanche finally sees that Lucy may have a bit of a problem, and puts her foot down -- or tries to, anyway. Lucy refuses to listen when Blanche tells her not to go, saying she’s an adult and can do what she wants, and storms out of the house with Ed close behind.

Blanche recounts the story to the other Girls, unsure what to do. The other Girls point out that Lucy’s at the exact age for a college rebellion. Rose relates what she did during her rebellious phase, with her example being stealing her dad’s truck to meet a boy at a bar as a high school student. Blanche’s stories are a little more sordid, and include multiple instances of running away from home -- though she says her big sister Charmaine always brought her back. Dorothy convinces her to play that role for Lucy, and they all decide to go find Lucy at Ed’s apartment, with the mouse giving them a good jump scare on the way out.

DOROTHY: Maybe Lucy could use a big sister herself right now. ROSE: If she doesn’t already have one, I don’t think it’s humanly possible.

At Ed’s apartment, it turns out his white suit wasn’t just a bad costuming choice -- he’s actually a huge fan of Miami Vice, which Lucy’s never seen. Blanche, Dorothy, and Rose arrive, and Blanche takes Lucy into another room to talk to her. Rose makes a comment about Miami Vice, and Ed goes full fanboy on her, quizzing her on the minutiae of the show and being impressed when she knows all the answers.

Blanche talks to Lucy about how the way she’s behaving around men probably isn’t getting her the kind of attention she wants, and Lucy calls her out on the hypocrisy of her saying that. Blanche points out that she dates men for her own enjoyment, not to boost her self-esteem. Lucy tells Blanche that, after being an ugly duckling in her youth, she enjoys being noticed, but Blanche says the problem is that she’s still the ugly duckling in her head, not loving and respecting herself, and no amount of male attention will fix that. They leave the apartment, with Ed asking if he can call her sometime -- Lucy is flattered, but that question was actually directed at Rose.

ED: Rose, you’re just incredible at Miami Vice trivia. I’ve never met anyone so smart! DOROTHY: Ed, for a policeman, you’ve led a very sheltered life.

Later, Dorothy corners the mouse in the kitchen with a broom in hand, prepared to kill it. However, staring it down, she can’t bring herself to hurt it, and proceeds to talk to it, not noticing Rose walk into the room. She finally tries asking the mouse to leave the way it came, and it does, shockingly. Rose is now convinced Dorothy has the power to talk to animals, much to Dorothy’s bemusement.

Lucy leaves, saying goodbye to everyone. The other Girls ask what Blanche told Lucy to help her change her attitude, and Blanche says she told Lucy that she (Lucy) doesn’t need to rely on sex to be liked. Blanche also adds that she implied that she’s not as promiscuous as she likes to claim in order to deter Lucy, but plays coy on whether or not that’s actually true.

“Rose, are you telling a story or performing Our Town?”

This episode manages to pull off a difficult task, I think, by telling a story about sexual promiscuity that is both sex-positive (in a time before that would have really been a thing), and gently remonstrative. I realize that, given we currently live in the age of Tinder and hook-up culture in general, this episode can come off as a little preachy, but I think the general message, about how no amount of shallow attention will take the place of self-love, is still relevant.

DOROTHY: *to Lucy* We enjoyed having you. SOPHIA: So did half of Miami.

There’s a delicate balance to be found in an episode like this, because it’d be very easy to slip into a Madonna/Whore dichotomy, where a woman seeking pleasure for herself is “bad,” but this is The Golden Girls. One of the main characters of the show is an older woman who talks about sex with the same self-indulgent gusto with which most of us would describe a junk food dinner. Fittingly, Blanche does go out of her way to tell Lucy that there’s not a goddamn thing wrong with enjoying the company of men.

But the thing is, as Blanche points out, Lucy’s not doing this for pleasure or to make a connection with anyone -- she’s doing it because she needs the validation. It’s an old stereotype, but I feel like we’ve all met at least one person who measures their worth by how much attention of their desired sex they receive. And Lucy’s not just acting how she thinks popular girls act -- she’s acting how she thinks Blanche acts, and it’s fitting that it’s Blanche who helps Lucy see that this isn’t what she really wants out of her relationships.

It’s very telling that, when Lucy interrogates Blanche about what she (Lucy) looked like as a child, Blanche says that Lucy was beautiful. Lucy protests, as she didn’t see herself that way, but you never get the impression Blanche is insincere. As she points out, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, even the people who think well of you: the important part is loving yourself.

BLANCHE: Let me get a look at you, girl. Mm! Terrific little figure, gorgeous hair, perfect skin. Just like looking in a mirror. SOPHIA: Get some Windex!

It’s a nice sentiment, but the show does kneecap it a little in the final scene when Blanche tells the other Girls that she told Lucy she embellishes the amount of men with whom she’s slept. This bothers me for two reasons: One, we saw the whole conversation between Lucy and Blanche, and Blanche didn’t say that. Two, Blanche just had a scene where she said there’s no shame in having sex with men -- it seems neither in character nor in keeping with the episode’s message for her to get all demure now. I choose to believe she’s just teasing the other Girls and not being strictly serious.

Getting back to Lucy, though, I do have a question: How exactly is she related to Blanche? It’s not uncommon for relatives of the Girls to randomly appear out of nowhere and never be mentioned again after their spotlight episodes -- ironic in this case considering Blanche wants her to transfer to Miami specifically so she can see her more often. You could make a damned riddle out of reconstructing the Golden Girls’ family trees.

For example, we know Lucy is Blanche’s 20-year-old niece, but we don’t know how she’s related to Blanche. Is she Virginia’s daughter? Charmaine’s? Clayton’s? At least when grandson David visited, we knew he was the offspring of Janet. Blanche mentions not wanting to talk to Lucy’s mother about Lucy’s promiscuity because she doesn’t want to breach Lucy’s trust, but the suggestion that that’s who she should go to first suggests to me one of Blanche’s sisters is her parent -- if Blanche’s brother were her father, I think Dorothy would be more likely to say, “You should talk to her father.” Beyond that, though, I have no idea.

ROSE: It wasn’t a rat! it was a cute little mouse. DOROTHY: Rose, it doesn’t wear white gloves and work at Disneyland.

By the way, I don’t mean to be petty, but I have a nit to pick with the Golden Girls Fandom Wiki: It just straight makes up shit about the Girls and presents it as fact. One of the things it makes up is the names and relationships we don’t see in the show. It gives Lucy’s name as “Lucy Warren,” and lists her as the daughter of Virginia and Tom for literally no reason other than “because we said so.” Shape up, guys! I don’t need your headcanons in my tv show encyclopedia!

Though, speaking of encyclopedias, a little trivia for you: The allusions to Miami Vice in this episode aren’t just NBC promoting their other hit show at the time. Miami Vice inadvertently inspired the Golden Girls, as an NBC promo sketch from 1984 had Selma Diamond and Doris Roberts (of NBC shows Night Court and Remington Steele, respectively) ogling Don Johnson, and saying something about a show called “Miami Nice,” about retirees in Florida. I don’t know if any footage of that clip exists -- I sure couldn’t find it -- but Roberts and Diamond’s snappy dialogue and repartee convinced several people within NBC to develop this joke show into the real thing. Several iterations of the idea later, and we got the Golden Girls.

I also enjoy that NBC wasn’t above poking a little fun at itself and the other show. Ed’s apartment is decorated in an unbearably kitsch style, including a life-size fake sheep that Rose spends the entire scene petting. His clothes and self-conscious attempts to look “cool” are lampooned by the Girls, and even Ed admits, in a moment that feels like one set of NBC writers tweaking the collective nose of another, that the salary of an actual Miami police officer isn’t anywhere near enough to fuel the opulent Crockett and Tubbs lifestyle.

ED: Are you a fan of [Miami Vice]? ROSE: I adore it. ED: Me too! Miami Vice has been the biggest influence on my life. That’s why I joined the police force. That’s why I drive a fancy car. That’s why I wear expensive Italian suits. That’s why I’m up to my neck in hock. You can’t afford all that stuff on a vice cop’s salary... Who knew, huh?

Oh, and speaking of Ed, I think he may be one of the earliest and best depictions of a Capital-F Fanboy. He cosplays as Crockett, he attempts to emulate the Miami Vice lifestyle -- hell, it’s influenced his whole career. It’s funny, because his affectations are (rightfully) portrayed as kind of lame and silly, but nowadays I feel like he’d have a six-digit Instagram following and a successful YouTube channel.

Regarding the B-plot of the episode, there’s not much to say, except perhaps it’s the first instance of Rose’s St. Olafian quirks being the main source of conflict -- in this case, her being convinced that she can talk the mouse into leaving rather than being killed. That’s funny because usually, when Rose’s good-natured idiocy causes a problem, the other Girls more-or-less walk around it, but this is resolved by Dorothy basically doing the exact thing she chides Rose for thinking she can do: Talk the mouse into leaving.

Also, this is going to sound silly, but whoever edited the kitchen scene is a champ. You have Bea Arthur acting at nothing, and B-roll footage of a real mouse on a kitchen set somewhere with an animal handler. Whoever edited it managed to match the perfect little mouse flinches with Bea’s dialogue, so that it really looks like it’s responding to what she’s saying. The best part is when she calls it a rat, and it looks straight at the camera as if to say “Excuse me?” I never thought I’d be praising the acting of a mouse on Golden Girls, but here we are.

Episode rating: 🍰🍰🍰 (three cheesecake slices out of five)

Favorite part of the episode:

ED: *to Rose* Tuesday night, I’m getting together with a couple of buddies. We’re going through Don Johnson’s trash! DOROTHY: Good night, Ed. We’re going to go home now, and I want you to know we’ll all sleep a lot better knowing you’re . . . off-duty tonight.

#stay golden sunday #golden girls #blanche devereaux #picture it #stay golden #dorothy zbornak #rose nylund #sophia petrillo #nice and easy #s01e17

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wordsdrippinginink · 5 years

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ShanksMakinoBenn first meeting in an AU where they meet somewhere other than Dawn Island

“Gramps is stubborn,” Ace says frowning as he crosses his arms over his chest, watching the Melody gaining on them. “Should I throw something else, Miss Makino?”

“He’s too far out,” Makino answers, leaning over the shoulder of the navigator they had picked up two islands back. He claimed to be the best, but Makino’s heard enough claims of that to be cautious. “Tell me there’s an island near by that we can loose him at.”

The navigator snorts, maps spread across the table as he flips between them and looking at the log pose, “If I had something, we’d already be shifting course, Captain.”

“Let me know if anything changes.”

Makino pinches the bridge of her nose as she steps to the railing to join Ace, “Is Luffy below deck?”

“Nap time,” Ace answers curtly, politer since she’s proven to be a trove of stories about his mother. “I told him if I’m not there when he wakes up to stay in his room, but,” he shrugs.

“That sounds like Luffy,” Makino sighs.

The Melody isn’t gaining on them, but neither is it falling behind and that is the worrying part. Schooner isn’t made for the rougher waters of the Grand Line, but there’s not been time, or funds, to try and get something better. Not on the run from Garp.

“Is he gonna make us go back?” Ace asks softly. “You won’t get in trouble, will you?”

Makino laughs, “I’ll worry about that Ace, it’s nothing to be concerned about. Not yet.”

Ace’s mouth purses into a thin line and Makino thinks sadly of Rouge for a moment before ruffling his hair, pushing the hat that Luffy had found two ports back and gifted him into his face to watch him sputter.

“Check and see if we’ve got anyone else in bound, please? We can’t afford to escape Garp and roll right back into a fight.”

“Right.”

Crocus snorts, joining her with his spear resting on his shoulder, “He’s far too serious a child. Nothing like his father.”

“His father wasn’t hunted before he was born,” Makino shoots back, because as grateful as she is for Crocus’ help escorting them deeper into the Grandline, he is still one of Roger’s men first. And she’s not sure Roger’s crew deserves to know about Ace. “I don’t suppose you have any allies around here?”

“No, I don’t think that I do. And even if I did, most of them wouldn’t come out to help.”

Makino nods, nails biting into her forearms as she tries to make a plan.

“Ship off the starboard,” Ace shouts and Makino drops her head onto the rail before pushing herself up and over to join him, accepting the spy glass. “It looks like either Red hair or a rookie. The wind makes it hard to see the scars.”

“Good eye,” Makino mutters, checking the flag herself and wishing the wind wasn’t quite so active. They’re making better time than Schooner and Melody, it’ll be on them in minutes. “Go below deck and make sure Luffy doesn’t try to involve himself.”

“I can help,” Ace pouts, stubborn if nothing else. “Please?”

“You are helping, helping me by keeping Luffy safe and making sure that no one makes it below deck.”

“Next time?” he tries, because they both know this isn’t the time to argue.

“We’ll discuss it,” she answers, knowing he’ll accept it. “Take Kotatsu with you, he’ll get underfoot.”

Ace clicks his tongue, grinning with the tiny ball of razor claws and sharp teeth scrambles across the deck into his arms, “Can I have a dagger?”

“Remember, the sharp end-”

“-Goes into the enemy,” Ace finishes for her, grinning widely. “Thank you!”

“I can’t believe you let that boy run around with a knife,” Crocus groans. “Do you know how many children get knife wounds because of things like this?”

Makino smiles, sharply as she twists her spear to press under his chin, “Do you know that Ace used to fight wild animals at least twice his own size to be able to eat? I don’t want to hear it from a man resting on his laurels while the child of someone he cared for suffers,” she spins it back to her side. “Get ready for another attack.”

The other ship seems to inch closer, the fear of an attack on both sides lingering until it waves a flag of parlay when it reached level with the Schooner, a member of the crew swinging over to speak.

“Benn Beckman,” he introduces himself. “Of the Red Hair Pirates. May we ask what you’re doing in our territory?”

“Would you believe running from the marines?” Makino offers avoiding her own name, gesturing to where the Melody still lingers. She doesn’t think it’s gotten closer yet, but if it has, it’s not enough to notice. “I’ve upset a very powerful one.”

Benn whistles, raising an eyebrow as he watches the Melody, “That looks like Garp the Fist’s ship.”

“It is. I’ve upset him, you see.”

“How could you upset Garp the Fist? Steal his crackers?”

“His grandsons actually,” Makino answers, shifting her stance when Benn’s hand moves to his gun. “But he wasn’t very interested in them anyway.”

“That doesn’t mean you kidnap-”

“Ace, I thought you were going to stay below deck.”

Ace grins, too wide as he sits on Benn’s shoulders, the dagger she had given him pressed to Benn’s throat, “Luffy went back to sleep after I gave him a snack! He was gonna attack you, Makino.”

“Benn Beckman, please meet one of Garp’s grandson’s Portgas D Ace. Ace, we’re not going to fight.”

“Fine,” Ace sighs, standing upright and jumping onto the deck, hurrying to her side once he lands. “Is he going to make us go back?”

Benn watches Ace curiously, “Do you want to go back?”

“No. Makino’s lots nicer. She makes sure Luffy and I get to eat and she’s teaching me to fight. Gramps only visits sometimes.”

“And your parents?”

“I don’t think that’s your concern, Benn. After all, you labelled this kidnapping, not me. I just offered Ace and his brother a place on my ship.”

Benn sighs, “I suppose that I did. However, my Captain will want more answers, he’s very against kidnapping. A deal perhaps?”

“A deal?”

“Our assistance with your tail and then you provide us with more information on why you decided to pick up Garp the Fist’s grandsons?”

Makino nods, “Deal. But if you turn on us, expect the boys to kill you faster than I could.”

Ace grins, all sharp teeth and fire eyed, the same thing that got his father taken seriously so quickly, to prove her point.

“Deal.”

#makino (one piece)#portgas d ace #corocus (one piece)#benn beckman #op fanfic #canon au #makino sailed with rouge #and after her captain died #she went home to dawn island #where she eventually found both of garp's 'grandsons'#and got really upset about how they were being raised #she stole them and is going to raise them herself #garp is not amused #shanks doesn't actually show up #but this is eventual shanksbennmakino #he doesn't have to show up yet #wordword #minister-of-silly-walks

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lokisgame · 5 years

Text

A Generous Donation [16]

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5] [part 6] [part 7] [part 8] [part 9] [part 10] [part 11] [part 12][part 13] [part 14] [part 15]

She pulled his mouth to hers and it was as if they were kissing for the first time. Mulder pushed the album gently aside and puled her into his lap, feeling the warm, trembling silk under his palms. They didn't rush. Holding tight and slowly claiming his mouth, she grounded his heart. These kisses could last a lifetime, if only he had time to breathe. "You wanna go to bed?" She asked, never letting go of his shoulders. "I don't think I can sleep," he said and they both laughed, relaxing into each other. He ran his hands over her back, feeling the silk slip under his palms. "Where did you get this robe?" Looking up, she met his smiling eyes. "I tell you, you have a son and you ask about my sleepwear?" "I guess I am."

"It was a gift," she explained, "from Will and Emily." "Wow, that's not something a son would buy for his mom." "But definitely something a grown-up niece would buy for her single aunt." That made him laugh. "She spent some time in Japan, and Will went to visit." "Japan? Impressive." "That's Missy in Emily, once she tasted independence, she could never stay long in one place. Will brought this back, saying he and Em picked it out for me, when they visited Kyoto. You like it?" She spread her arms, letting the sleeves fan out and he saw white cranes flying across midnight sky. "It's amazing." "You can borrow it sometime," she teased, watching as his expression changed to somber again. "Does Will know?" Mulder asked and she lowered her gaze, drawing reassurance from his embrace. "He does about the IVF." She said, swallowing the memory. "When he turned sixteen he became obsessed with this idea that his father abandoned him. So I told him the truth." "How did he take it?" "Pretty good, considering age and his rebellious streak." "Meaning?" "He didn't talk to me for a week." "I'm sorry." "He thought he was a vanity project." "What did you do?" "Charlie talked to him, and we never spoke of it again." "You know what he said?" She shook her head, pulling herself closer. "Right now I'm just happy you're still talking to me." "Don't worry," he sighed, hugging her tightly, "I'm not going anywhere." "What about bed?" He laughed and kissed her neck. "Okay, fine, let's go to bed."

With her arm around his chest and her thigh draped over his leg, it was easy to believe, that this could be the first night of the rest of his life. Warm breath washed over his neck, filling his head with a mixture of shampoo, body lotion and something unidentifiably feminine, bringing up images of homemade cookies and clouds of perfume in the morning. This tiny weight draped over his side, once carried a life inside her. They grew together, winning, failing, learning. Now where did he fit into that story? Certainly not in the main credits. A supporting role, somewhere in the third act, maybe, Will's Father. Even if they shared genes, he couldn't claim the title with a clear conscience. He wasn't there for his first fever, first step, first bike rides and fist scraped knees. The thought humbled him and put fear in his heart. What if Will still believed his father abandoned him? What if now, he would refuse to accept him? What if this new knowledge, once more turned him against his mother? And what did Mulder actually know about the role of an adult male in a young man's life? His own father abandoned him, he could at least relate to that. Could he be the father, his father never was? Scully stirred beside him, drawing herself closer, fingertips flexing on his chest. "I can feel you thinking," she mumbled. "Shhh, go back to sleep." But she was already shifting, lips grazing skin and climbing onto his chest. Face to face in the faint glow of waning moon, he felt fingers comb through his hair. "It'll be okay," she whispered, honouring the midnight hush. Mulder sighed, running his hands over her thighs and back. "I'm sorry, I just have trouble processing it all." Beyond words, she let her head drop, and he held on. "Where do I fit in, Scully?" "Here," she replied softly, wrapping her arms around him. "Right here."

Scully woke up late, in an empty bed. "Oh no," she groaned and rolled over, burying her face in his pillow, "it was too good to be true." She breathed in the last of his scent, cold but still there. If she could have it bottled, just to have something to remember him by. "Hey, I still need that." She heard his voice and looked up, but blinded by her own hair, all she got was a soft thump and a laugh, when she tried to blow the tresses away from her eyes. "You still there?" He chuckled, parting the strands and taking her face in his hands. "There you are, good morning." "I thought you left." She said, before giving back the small kiss that was quickly becoming the best part of her morning. "Ye of little faith," he grinned and kissed her again. Scully sat up, giving back the pillow in exchange for a steaming cup of coffee. The pillow landed against the headboard, followed by Mulder, then her back, resting against his side and finally his arm around her waist. Settled, they both sighed. "Thanks for telling me," Mulder said, pressing a kiss to her skin before resting his chin on her shoulder. "When do you want to tell Will?" "I don't know," she said taking a sip, "he's so fragile right now." "But he's a grown-up too," Mulder said gently, "he has the right to know." "It's been ten days since transplant," she sighed, "I don't want stress to ruin his recovery." "Will he suspect something, if I visit more?" "Maybe, but he adores you, so we might get away with it, for a while at least." "Who else knows?" "Charlie," she said, sheepishly. Mulder chuckled. "That explains things." "And I guess Emily." "That's why she called me Uncle Mulder." "I don't know if Charlie told her or she figured it out on her own, it's like she has a sixth sense or something. I'll talk to her before I set out to kill my baby brother." "It's your mother I was worried about." "Oh, there's no need," Scully laughed, "you saved her favourite grandson, you could eat fried kittens for breakfast and she'd still love you." "Kittens?" "Or puppies." "I'm going vegan." "No you're not." She laughed and turned, setting her mug on the nightstand and draping one, slender, bare leg over his lap. The short, silk nightshirt rode up, and she saw his eyes follow the tantalizing lines. "You're right, I'm not," he teased, his tone turning smoky as he pushed her to lean back, "just don't tell your mom what I really like for breakfast."

"Hey kid." Mulder said when Will woke up. "Hi, where's mom?" "They called her in to some ER emergency." "Oh, right, it happens sometimes." "So, what's with the face wear." "You guys wear something all the time, I got jealous." "Don't joke." "They say my saturation is a little low," Will said, fixing the tube under his nose, "I told them, I could use some fresh air, but they insisted on this canned stuff." "Not a fan of the can?" Will laughed and rubbed his nose. "It tickles." "Leave it, try not to think about it." "There's not much to think about left." "What did you think about?" "You know, the usual, school, girls, grades." "Girls." "There's this nurse who usually comes for nightshifts." "And?" "I think she likes me." "You're a likeable kid." "No, I mean, she doesn't call me honey or darling, like the other mother hens around here." "What does she call you." "Will, just Will, and she doesn't treat me like a needle cushion. Very gentle, nice hands too, from what I could tell through the latex." "What else?" "What do you mean?" "You said you thought about FBI, investigative work. Even the smallest detail can be crucial to solving a case, so, pay attention. Practice on something that's easy on the eye before you have to deal with the gruesome stuff." "What did you see?" "You don't wanna know, and I don't feel like remembering." "That bad?" "If it didn't affect me so much, I would probably be an FBI agent, myself." "Agent Mulder," Will said, testing the words, "it has a nice ring to it." Mulder laughed. "It does, doesn't it."

"Dinner's in the oven." Scully said, plopping down on the couch, then promptly falling over. She pulled one of the throw pillows under her head and set the egg timer on the floor, making the little bells inside chime quietly. "Okay, but I repeat, you should have let me help, I'm surprisingly apt in the kitchen." "I'm sure you are, but this is my way of winding down. I tend to take out my frustrations on the chopping board and I wouldn't want you to get into crossfire." "That dangerous, huh?" "Fair warning." "I'll try to remember that, want a blanket?" "No, I'm good, ignore me, I'm just gonna doze for a bit." "Okay." Comfortable silence fell between them. Mulder worked at his desk, Scully relaxed on the couch, timer ticked off minutes going by. "What do you want for Christmas?" She asked suddenly, when he was sure she had fallen asleep. "What?" "Christmas, gifts." "I'm half Jewish." "And the other half?" She murmured, keeping her eyes closed. "Atheist and I think it's always been the bigger half, because it always wins." "There's no such thing as bigger and smaller halves," she said, smiling, "a half is a half." "Nobody likes a math geek, Scully." "Nobody likes a party pooper either, so what do you want for Hanukkah, Mulder." "You won't let this go, are you." "No," she replied, grinning, still with her eyes closed. "Then I'll let you know." "Okay, just don't take too long." She said and went back to playing possum.

"Professor Mulder!" Mulder heard someone call and, surprised by the audacity, turned around then laughed. "Charlie!" The younger man grinned and stopped his bike a foot from where he paused. "I had you," he said as they shook hands. "No you didn't." Mulder chuckled, "I thought we were meeting downtown." "Sadly, I don't have that much time, but I was in the neighbourhood, so I figured I'll catch you here. Traffic is awful." "And it's just the beginning of Christmas rush." "You're a psychologist, so you gotta have some reasonable, scientific explanation." "Nope, beats me, and I don't even participate." "Right. Is there somewhere we can sit down around here?" "Sure, you wanna eat? There's a good Thai place down the block." "Lead the way." Charlie got off the bike and they picked up a steady pace. "I wanted to give you a heads up," Mulder said after a moment, "Scully is coming for you." "She usually does," Charlie laughed, "what is it this time?" "You telling Emily about the test results." "Oh," Charlie looked up, surprised, "oh! She told you!" "Yeah," Mulder smiled, slipping hands into the pockets of his coat and Charlie put his arm around his shoulders. "Thank you for what you did," he said with complete sincerity, "Will is a great kid." "In large part thanks to you, I imagine." "No, thanks to Dana, she did an amazing job raising him. And just when she was about to lose him, she found you, exactly when she needed you the most. I'll be forever grateful for that. Still," his tone changed, if only a little, "if you hurt her, I'll be there to make you pay for it." Mulder glanced up and saw the grin, back in full swing. "What? She is my sister." "I'll remember that." "I'm sure you will." Charlie laughed, good-naturedly slapping Mulder's back before letting go. "So, is that what you wanted to talk to me about?" "No," Mulder chuckled, "actually, it's about Christmas." "What about it?" "What kind of gifts does she like?"

#generous donation #au #x files fanfic #msr fanfic #sweet nothings

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homenum-revelio-hq · 4 years

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Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix, Kait!

You have been accepted for the role of ANNALISE FAWLEY! We loved your thoughts on the very Hufflepuff nature of Annalise’s loyalty-fueled treachery and all the details you gave of her “normal” life before she lost her sister, and can’t wait to see all the trouble she’s going to cause for the Order. We’re so excited to have you join us!

Please take a look at the new member checklist and send in your account within 24 hours! Thank you for joining the fight against Voldemort!

OUT OF CHARACTER:

NAME & PRONOUNS: Kait, she/hers

AGE: 25+

TIMEZONE: EST

ACTIVITY LEVEL: I’m returning to in-person work after 3+ months of WFH, so I can’t say with absolute certainty what my activity will be, but I’ll definitely be able to post every couple of days at least!

ANYTHING ELSE: No triggers. I have a bit of rp experience, in a similarly character-focused, literate marauders rp.

CHARACTER DETAILS:

NAME: Annalise Fawley

AGE: 23

GENDER, PRONOUNS, and SEXUALITY: female, she/hers, identifies as straight

BLOOD STATUS: Pureblood

HOUSE ALUMNI: Hufflepuff

ANY CHANGES: Nope!

CHARACTER BACKGROUND:

PERSONALITY:

Everyone knows Annalise—she’s one of the many Fawley cousins, a cheerful former Hufflepuff, a familiar face at pureblood soirees. But not all that many people really know her. Very few know that she’s good at sketching but definitely can’t paint. Or that she’s an excellent liar, even if she almost never uses that skill. That she often feels shy when she has to meet new people. That she doesn’t have a temper, but she does hold grudges like nobody’s business.

A relatively private person, Annalise has always been content to live a simple life, compared to many other pureblood women. She’s happy with her flat and her job and her friends. She adores her sprawling family— anywhere she turns, she can find a familiar face. And she delights in the social whirl of pureblood society— the beautiful dresses and jewels, the gossip, the parties. The fact that she’s never at the centre of that whirlwind is perfectly fine with her.

A sociable extrovert with a touch of shyness, Annalise craves interaction but isn’t always great at making new acquaintances, and her shyness can sometimes make her seem standoffish to strangers. She’s certainly capable of saying the right things—her mother raised her well and she can handle whatever social situations she needs to—you can’t survive long in pureblood society if you don’t know how to hide your thoughts and say the right words. But Annalise has always been most comfortable around people she knows well. And there’s no one closer or more important than family.

While at Hogwarts, Annalise had been sorted into Hufflepuff house, and it had been an absolutely perfect fit. She has always been patient and hard-working; though far from a prodigy in any of her classes, she managed to earn consistently good grades simply by putting the time and the work in applying herself. This has continued into her adult life. Not coming from money, she has worked since finishing school, and even though she’s jumped jobs a few times as she tries to figure out what she wants to do, she’s never had a bad word from an employer.

And of course, loyalty. The Fawleys as a whole tended to value loyalty, especially to family, and Anna was no exception. She never snitched on her sister for stealing a cookie when they were little, never dated a friend’s ex, and she’s always said that she would kill for her family. It had been meant as a figure of speech… but, well…

These traits are the sort that normally define people from her house as cut-and-dry good; there’s a reason Hufflepuff boasts the fewest dark witches and wizards of any house, after all. But after Leina’s death, every one of those values honed in on finding justice for her sister. Annalise has always believed that those in the wrong should be punished, and since she obviously can’t rely on the Ministry to avenge her sister’s death, there was only one choice: become a Death Eater, and make those responsible pay.

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF FAMILY:

Annalise Fawley was the younger of two daughters. Or, she is the younger. She’s not quite sure. Are you still a younger sister, if the elder has died?

Leina Nott, nee Fawley, had been a year older than Annalise, but when they were small they’d always claimed they were twins. Though there was a difference in height, they had looked similar enough that a stranger probably would have believed them. But more than in appearance, they were as close as twins. The age difference was near enough that Leina didn’t remember a time when Anna hadn’t been around, and when they weren’t visiting the many Fawley cousins scattered around the country, they mainly had each other for company.

The sisters grew apart somewhat as they grew older; Leina having had a year’s head start at Hogwarts, and Annalise being sorted into a different house, meant they didn’t spend quite as much time together as they once had. But they were still close, even if they disagreed at times. Not very long after finishing Hogwarts, Leina became engaged to Josiah Nott. Annalise never quite understood her sister’s decision to marry him; yes, he was wealthy and well-connected, but he wasn’t exactly likeable—not to mention he was so much older than them! But Leina seemed happy enough, and even more so after her son Theodore was born.

The match had been quite a coup for Leina; though the Fawleys were a perfectly respectable family, part of the Sacred 28, and automatic invitees to all the best parties, they weren’t from money. Their branch of the Fawley family tree was one of the less important ones—Annalise’s father Alistair had been the younger son of a younger son several times over, so they’d never had the opulent wealth of many of their peers. But they’d never quite lived in poverty, either. The one thing that the Fawleys were rich in was connections, and through a combination of Hufflepuff work ethic and a touch of nepotism, Alistair worked his way to a high-ranking position at the Ministry, and was able to keep his family comfortably sheltered and clothed and fed. He always made it clear to his daughters that there was nothing shameful about hard work, and he lived that example as he climbed through the ranks.

Annalise’s mother, Calliope, left her own job at the Ministry once her husband began to advance and their daughters were born. She needed the time when she was raising two children—the Fawleys were never quite in a position where they could afford help. These days, though, she has an awful lot of time on her hands. Enough time to have absolutely devoted herself to arranging Leina’s marriage and planning her wedding, and more recently, fussing over her grandson, and pushing prospective husbands in the direction of her younger daughter.

Leina’s murder hit the whole family hard. Family was everything to the Fawleys, and with her death, their family was broken. Alistair has thrown himself into his work, while Calliope has been focusing all her attention on caring for Leina’s child, Theo (and though she’d never say so much to her mother, Annalise hopes it stays that way; she does not have time right now to fend off her mother’s matchmaking.)

Annalise, of course, has been busy. After the initial shock, it wasn’t sadness threatening to overwhelm her; it was anger. These people, these self-proclaimed do-gooders, they’d broken into Leina’s own home and murdered her. Because she’d been in the way. They’d taken her sister’s life and shattered her family, and she was going to make them pay. She was going to burn the Order of the Phoenix to the ground for what they’d done.

OCCUPATION:

For the Fawley girls, there were two options: earn a living, or marry money. Though her parents certainly expect her to marry a pureblood wizard sooner rather than later, they haven’t pressured Annalise too much about this; Leina had made such a good match, after all, that it bought her some leeway. She certainly wasn’t opposed to the idea of marrying well, but she also wanted to actually like the person she married.

So, while her sister opted to marry up, Annalise chose the employment option. She was her father’s daughter, after all, and she was not afraid of hard work. After finishing Hogwarts, she moved through several different jobs, helped here and there by a recommendation from a Fawley relative. She was an assistant for a while, spent a bit of time in the Ministry, and passed one very unpleasant summer waiting tables.

For the past year or so, she’s worked at Twilfitt and Tattings in Diagon Alley. It’s a perfect job: decent wages and commissions, hours that don’t conflict with her social life, and a generous discount on robes (a very useful perk when you don’t have a bottomless Gringotts vault to spend on new dress robes for every party). When she first started, she mostly just worked the cash register, but she’s picked up more responsibilities over time, and has recently started design work as well.

Working in a high-end boutique means that she has very steady contact with all the well-to-do of the wizarding world. As she pointed out when she approached the Order—who knew what sort of conversations she might overhear? And, of course, the revolving parade of customers will make it easy for her to smuggle information back to the Dark Lord, too.

ROLE WITHIN THE ORDER/THOUGHTS ABOUT THE ORDER:

Annalise is filled with grief for her poor sister’s untimely death. She knows that her brother-in-law is almost certainly a Death Eater, and he put Leina in danger by conducting Death Eater business in their home—and now her nephew is left without a mother. She’s determined to help the Order stop the carnage before anyone else can be hurt in the crossfire. And, with her pureblood connections and her job in one of the most upscale stores in Diagon Alley, she is a definite asset to the Order.

As far as the Order is concerned, that is.

Annalise is a wolf in sheep’s clothing—and she makes a very convincing sheep. Wide green eyes filled with tears, insisting that it was that bastard Josiah’s fault that Leina died—that she wanted to help end the war before any other innocent lives were lost. There’s a chance some people might be suspicious, but she is pretty certain most people couldn’t fail to be convinced. Especially when it’s mostly true. She did blame Josiah, for putting her sister in danger in the first place, for not being more careful, for not protecting her. And she did want the war over before anyone else she cared about was murdered. The part she didn’t add was that it was the Order, not the Death Eaters, that she was determined to stop at any cost.

As far as Annalise is concerned, it’s not even that risky a plan. Certainly these cowards are capable of murder—her sister’s grave is testament to that. But she is confident in her ability to convince the Order her intentions are good. She’s always been an excellent liar, after all, able to think quickly on her feet. Yes, she will be the perfect spy, and by the time she’s finished with them, every single one of these courageous and honourable cowards will be dead.

Though her grief and anger are driving her to waste no time in burning the Order to the ground, Annalise has always been a patient woman, and her anger has always been the sort that burns cold and slow. She’s playing a long game, and she can’t get caught before she has found a way to destroy every single one of these people. The Dark Lord doesn’t expect daily intel, or trivial hints about the Order’s day-to-day operations—certainly she is to pass on what information she can without getting caught, but her focus is on rising through the ranks until she can learn valuable information. The type of information that will bring this entire organization to its knees.

SURVIVAL:

So far? She’s survived by not being involved. But her sister wasn’t involved, either, and now she’s dead.

The Order isn’t as ruthless as the Dark Lord and his followers, but Annalise is still going to have to tread very carefully. They clearly are willing to kill, after all. She can’t pass over information that might expose her as a spy—only things that most people in the Order know, or information that she comes across by snooping, that can’t be traced to her. But letting the Dark Lord down could be dangerous, too.

Everything about her position is dangerous; quite aside from the risk of discovery, she could be killed by a Death Eater as easily as anyone else in the Order, since only a handful know she is one of them. And if the worst happens and she’s found out, there’s no telling how much help will come. Though Annalise would never have described herself as a reckless person before, she probably wouldn’t have said that she was overly cautious, either—but she’s going to have to be, now.

RELATIONSHIPS:

Family is the most important relationship, as far as Annalise is concerned. Her parents have both been devastated by Leina’s death, but like Anna, neither are wallowing in it. Her father, always one to lean on the side of emotional unavailability, has retreated into his work, while her mother is devoting herself to caring for her motherless grandson. The three of them don’t really talk to each other anymore—her family has been shattered.

After an initial retreat from public life to mourn her sister and plan her revenge, Annalise has returned to socializing and attending parties. Though most of her thoughts and energy are now devoted to destroying her sister’s killers, the social scene is a good distraction at times when she just can’t take it. An extrovert who is prone to shyness, she’s rarely had close friends outside of her family, so the friendships she’s maintaining are relatively shallow—but it’s easier that way.

Joining the Order gave her a few shocks—in terms of how many people she recognized. The number of purebloods from good families is astonishing. Vanity, Greengrass, Selwyn and Macmillan—these are names she knows, faces she’s seen at parties. The Yaxleys—she knows they are Death Eaters, so what in hell is Branwen doing here? Could she be on the same page as Annalise, or has she actually fallen for the Order’s bullshit?

And the McKinnons—they might not have been quite high society, but she’s still surprised to learn of their involvement. The fact that Marlene is using her family’s house for the Order—that she has werewolves camped right outside—does she not see that she’s putting her family in danger? It’s so selfish! And Alaric—she’d known him at school, they’d been in the same house, and she knew her parents had tried to arrange a match between them. She probably dodged a bludger, there. Learning that he was working with the Order was disappointing—but at least he’s not actually one of them.

Frank Longbottom is a distant cousin, and it’s dreadful to know that there is family here. Does he just not care that they killed Leina? But she’s willing to use that connection to her advantage. After all, the entire extended family shares one value in common: family is important. So of course he’ll look out for her.

She doesn’t recognize Peter Pettigrew or Severus Snape. The names are vaguely familiar, since they were only a few years below her at school, but they’re not even a blip on her radar. The fact that the Dark Lord has other spies in the Order is not known to her—and she certainly wouldn’t have picked Pettigrew as one of them.

At present, she doesn’t know that Lily Evans was the person responsible for her sister’s death. If that fact is revealed to her, it’s going to take all her self-control and willpower to keep her cover and not avenge her sister on the spot.

OOC EXPLORATION:

SHIPS/ANTI-SHIPS: No ships in particular, just chemistry. Honestly, Annalise growing close to anyone in the Order (romantically or platonically) would be fascinating, since she’s only there to see them all dead!

WHAT PRIVILEGES AND BIASES DOES YOUR CHARACTER HAVE?

Annalise did not come from money, but her family was never poor, either. She is a woman in a patriarchal society, but she is a woman from a well-connected and respectable family. Her bloodline is pure, going back at least a dozen generations. Annalise’s position is unquestionably one of privilege—not extreme luxury and decadence perhaps, but certainly privileged enough that she’s been able to opt out of caring about the war until now. She is aware of her privilege to some degree—knows the value of her connections and status—but she doesn’t really think about it.

While she’s dimly aware of her privilege, she has no concept at all of her biases. She really would consider herself among the more progressive of purebloods. She works for a living, after all, and while she’s never been moved to fight for Muggleborns rights, she’s never actively fought against them either. It’s not like she supports the Dark Lord’s ideology, after all. And while she certainly thinks that any sort of contact with the Muggle world is to be entirely avoided, she’s never felt the urge to go around murdering them for fun.

Certainly she looks down somewhat on Muggleborns, and half-bloods to a lesser extent, but that’s not a bias—it’s just a fact that purebloods are superior. It’s nothing personal! She had plenty of half-blood friends in Hufflepuff, after all. It’s just the way it is. Sure, there are some half-bloods who exceed expectations, but they’re the exception, not the rule. As for certain Muggleborns—well, Annalise has always privately believed that the more talented of that lot probably have some magical blood in their history. Honest-to-goodness talent can’t just spring up out of nowhere.

In the same vein, half-breeds are dangerous and have no business socializing with regular folk. That isn’t bias. It’s fact. Werewolves—they’re wolves! The fact that there is one of their kind in the Order—well, it’s just another nail in the Order’s coffin, as far as she’s concerned.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? The amount of attention and detail that has gone into this rp is incredible. I’m all about worldbuilding and the world you’ve created here is fascinating! I also just love Annalise’s bio—she’s a loyal, hard-working, and patient Hufflepuff, who is channelling that loyalty and hard work and patience into burning the Order to the ground. She’s not fuelled by lust for power or pureblood idealism—this is personal. That’s the most Hufflepuff way to go dark, and I’m here for it. I’m so interested to see how she’ll balance the need to stay under the radar and out of suspicion, with the need to advance and gain access to more information—as well as how she’ll cope as she gets to know people in the Order better. It’s easier to hate all of them when she doesn’t actually know any of them.

PLOT DROP IDEAS (OPTIONAL): I’d definitely like to see information that Annalise passes on, be put to use against the Order. Also, plots that will challenge her and put her in difficult situations—for example, if a Death Eater is taken hostage by the Order, will she be able to risk setting them free?

ANYTHING ELSE? Just that this group looks so great, and I hope you like my app!

#homenumaccepted

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soundofseventeen · 6 years

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Anywhere But Here (Boo Seungkwan)

I hope the Joshua one wasn’t too terrible! Unto Seungkwan! (I own nothing except the words.) -Bee

Masterlist

Seungkwan remembered when he was a teenager, he read a book by some American author about a guy who was looking for a girl, but he didn’t actually know who she was or where she lived, but he found her by chance and he remembered thinking how that was the stupidest thing a person could ever do. But it wasn’t how it conveniently played out that made him think that. It was the fact that the guy walked the whole way to her. Granted, if his curiosity wasn’t as great as it was, he’d be on his couch back in Jeju and not walking in the forest in the middle of the night following the red string that was visible only to him. (He did however, vow not to critique any other fictional character since he now knew their struggles.)

This endeavor might have been his most challenging feat by far. He could recall being younger and following the string coming out of his pinkie to see where it’d lead him but he would make it to the end of the block before one of his family members would come out and take him back inside. Of course as he grew up, he ventured a little more just to see where it ended, often growing frustrated because the end never arrived. (On one occasion he ended up somewhere in Taiwan, and another between the North and South Korean border when he was supposed to be on vacation.)

Many times he found himself holding a pair of scissors ready to cut the accursed thing, only to be scolded by his mom not to be doing that because it was dangerous. However, the one time he did manage to do it, he ended up breaking the scissors and he didn’t even know why that happened. His dreams plagued him on what was on the other end from finding the lost city of Atlantis to picking up the lottery ticket off the floor that could earn him millions and once he even found the famous Michelle Obama at a comic convention. The final straw for him was when the end led him to a spaceship that took him to a different planet and the people there made him their king. He tried to ignore it, but when that left him restless, he sold his safe house (probably not his best idea if he was being honest) and with that money, hit the road with nothing but his backpack with necessities and the skin on his back. He supposed he could’ve used that money to drive to the destination, but he figured that would’ve been anticlimactic and what could he say to friends back home if he didn’t go above and beyond? Well, if he had friends that’s what he’d tell him, at least.

By day, he roamed where the red string led him, sometimes through the woods, other times through a suburban neighborhood, and by night, found a hotel that would meet his standards so he could shower and wash his clothes. In one instance, he rented his own boat to cross the water that led him to a dock that led to nowhere where he walked and walked until he ended up in Busan. Sometimes he felt like giving up and when he wanted to turn around, he’d feel a light tug as if pulling him closer to where he needed to be. He backtracked maybe once or twice but pursued nonetheless. He ran out of cash a lot sooner than he expected and instead of withdrawing from his bank account, he resorted to busking in the streets and relying on his voice to keep him going. Nature was his constant companion and he didn’t know how he ended up enjoying the quiet, but he realized that once he did, he couldn’t get enough of it. He eventually bought a blanket to carry around with him when the days were cooler but even then he came down with a cold, which made him stay indoors a lot longer than he liked, like now. At one point, it got so bad, he was bedridden for a couple days, and right before his fever broke, he felt like something was pulling towards him, but because of his lack of strength, he couldn’t do anything except moan and groan that he couldn’t. He could feel the physical force of the something pulling at the thread and if he wasn’t so weak, he would’ve gone up and searched for the culprit. By the time he recovered a bit, all he could see was the string he was supposed to follow.

“Thanks for the help DK!” You exclaimed, stepping back to admire your newest painting that had been delivered. You might’ve been fond of art, but when it came down to the flowers and trees and everything that Mother Nature created, there was only one person who could capture its beauty and that was Chinese painter The8. You’d had your eye on one of his works that would continuously sell out but had finally been able to snag it albeit you had to go through different cities all over South Korea (and sometimes leaving it!) to find it. You handed him his paycheck once you were back at one of the counters before he clocked out for the evening and he gave you the day’s sales from his deliveries plus loose change and tips despite the fact that he was alone for a few days. He chatted away of the day’s events, filling you in on the events from how one of the people at the retirement homes was looking more and more like the undead and how one of his friends at the thrift shop was consuming an unhealthy amount of coffee and the neighbor’s dog Aji chewed on his welcome mat while he was on lunch break.

“Aren’t you pissed about that?” You asked him. “If that was me, I would’ve...never mind, I wouldn’t.”

“Nah, she was just hungry. Usually I leave her snacks since Mingyu is okay with it, but how you left early and I had to open, I didn’t have time, so I guess there’s that.” He glanced up at your painting. “I still can’t believe you went all the way to Jeju for that. Where’d you sleep anyways?”

“At a hotel somewhere in Busan…”

“That’s...quite a tourist move.”

You didn’t tell Seokmin about your time in Busan. It’s not like he wouldn’t have understood, but there was something there that kept you from leaving. Your curiosity had gotten the best of you and used part of your free time to see how you far you could get following the string around your finger. It led you to a hotel on the other side of town and that’s where the fear set in, mentally using the excuse of being needed for orders at Smile Flower and keeping things in order even if you were short handed. (You hated to admit that you went up to the door and deliberated whether or not to knock, and opting to pull the string.) You scratched your pinkie finger, digging your thumb nail into the soft material of the red thread that wouldn’t be seen by the boy you were conversing with and opted for a shrug. “A change is good sometimes.” A fake yawn. “Well, I think we should we head out now. I have a long list of orders for this weekend and please remind me to put up a help wanted sign in case we stop being able to handle it. Good night.”

At precisely 4:47 the next afternoon, you delivered the bundles of flowers to Adequate Eternity, the coffee place next door with the help of Dino, one of their workers. He was a colorblind boy who often asked you about the colors you picked and you were always happy to answer. The reason was because of the eccentric old lady who owned the place. You figured Yoon Jihye must’ve been alive during the Great Depression (maybe longer!) but she had the youth of a child. She liked telling tall tales of soulmates and how some people were born with one (like you, she once said but you’d laughed nervously at that.) She was also one of the few people who could see your red string even without the help of the full moon so you trusted her judgment, even if she sounded a bit far fetched at times. She claimed she had a gift and that wasn’t a doubt you had for a second.

Auntie Jihye usually had Jeonghan, her great (you weren’t sure how many greats he was if you were being honest) grandson and caretaker call in an order weekly to place on the tables so the guests could have something good to smell and different types to see. You bid a good day to Wonwoo who was sans Jihoon (probably in class or something. Wonwoo himself didn’t go to university until dark from what he’s told you when you bumped into him out in the streets) but working quietly on an assignment. Seungcheol had your check ready along with the small order Seokmin had placed beforehand.

“Lovely day isn’t it?” Seungcheol commented, using his permanent marker to draw a happy face on your coworker's cup of chocolate milk. “It feels like Christmas is upon us.” He stopped long enough to assess your reaction, knowing that you had no rest.

You plucked a chrysanthemum from the bouquet and handed it to him. “I love it but not that I’m not ready for overtime.”

“Ahh my young soul. Your impatience is that of a toddler. Yah, Chan! I told you to open it now!”

“Oh, I’m impatient?” You had to snicker. “I just don’t wanna feel like I’m wasting my life away to make sure everyone’s arrangements are perfect.”

“Why not make a post on FaceTwit or however you youngsters get your news out nowadays?” He looked out the window a little too dramatically. “In my days, why, I think we had only a newspaper.”

“Seungcheol? I’m pretty sure we’re about the same age.”

“Don’t mind him; full moons make him nervous,” Jihye interrupted the conversation. She had a bright smile on her face, arms wide open, expecting you to give her a hug, which you did because who wouldn’t wanna hug an elderly woman that loves you to bits? “Look at you, looking prettier everyday.”

“Good day Auntie. Where are you headed at this hour?” You waved at Jeonghan who had just appeared behind her. He smiled at you politely, busy chewing on his granola bar to answer. Your eyes widened. “Oh! Is it Saturday already?”

“Just some errands; we’re all in for an exciting remainder of the day...things to do and people to meet, words to explain. Not me, of course, but rather to guide them. Full moons mean I have a lot to do,” she mumbled more to herself. “Let’s see candles, wax figures, oh and can you get some roses ready for me too? Any color will do.” She grabbed your hand without warning. “My, my. Is it me or is your string looking...better? Ah yes, you’re in for some changes. I can tell by the look in your eyes.”

“Come on Grandma...let’s leave Y/N alone, shall we? We have a full day ahead of us. Ow!”

“You rapscallion. I wasn’t talking to you, or are you in a hurry to get somewhere?” She waggled her finger at him. “We’ll get there when we get there. But you’re right. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can come back. It’d be rude to keep my guests waiting. And you have plans with the dream boy. What was his name? Joshua. ” She turned her attention back to you. “Now, if you don’t want an angry customer, I’ll expect my roses tonight.”

“Yes Auntie!” You saluted her. You picked up your drinks, bid them a good rest of the day and went straight back to Smile Flower, sighing when you realized the rest of the work ahead of you and then the phone rang an hour or so later. When Seokmin came in a few minutes later, you were rushing out the door, with only a vague explanation of you leaving for an auction in China and finding help for the time being. You heard him laugh at your enthusiasm but promised to keep to the place standing. By the time you turned and waved at him, a handmade help wanted sign already on the front window for passerby to see and you waved to Jeonghan who was coming back from the presumable dinner with his friend. In an instant, there was chaos but you were already running late to see for yourself. You cursed The8 for being an artist with too much talent. The only thing you had caught was Jeonghan kneeling on the floor and struggling to pick something up.

It was a little after dusk when Seungkwan finally set foot in Seoul and he cursed under his breath when he saw that his string was leading him the same way he showed up. He put his foot down though and decided to settle in Seoul for a time because he didn’t leave Jeju just to probably go back. He walked around aimlessly, looking at the department stores, thrift shops, a few malls, a couple of chains that sold international products, recording studios, too many coffee shops to keep track of and even a flower shop sporting a help wanted sign. The door opened not much later and out came a boy carrying a rather large bouquet of flowers in a vase. He set them on the floor and locked up when he noticed Seungkwan. “I’m sorry, did you need something? I’ll be back in like five minutes.” He picked them up. “I just need to take these next door.”

“I uh, couldn’t help but notice you were hiring.” He decided to walk with the boy. There wasn’t harm in asking a few questions.

“Yeah my manager is currently on the way to China and I need someone to deliver while I stay there….HI EVERYONE!” Not being used to having eyes on him (it has been awhile since he had attention) he picked nervously at his string. The barista at the register acknowledged him with a greeting and he deemed it rude to not respond, so he ordered a hot tea and a cake pop, waiting for the boy he was walking with to finish his run so he could discuss the possibility of a job. He sat at a table where no one would question being alone, feeling at home despite the fact that he was an outcast. There was people despite the hour, two boys chatting amongst themselves at their own table near the door, a couple of actors with killer makeup skills that gave them an undead look, and a guy with his grandma, looking expectantly around them. She would say something to him and he’d nod in response. The only other worker was asking about the colors of the flowers and Seungkwan almost snorted at him for not being able to differentiate the red from the purple.

“I was starting to think I wasn’t going to meet you.” The old lady startled his people watching and he stared at her confused. “The red string,” she elaborated. The boy escorting her pulled a seat out for her and she sat across from him while his just jaw dropped. The boy then called for a Hansol who had emerged from another door, while they bugged the zombie looking actors. He only caught the name Joshua, but the other slipped his mind, remembering someone claimed his attention.

“I don’t-” She sighed, took his pinkie and yanked at the thread and his hand involuntarily shot forward. “How’d you know about that?”

“I don’t need a full moon to see it,” she laughed fondly. “And I can tell you we’ve been waiting for sometime to meet you. How rude of me! What’s your name young man?”

“S-Seungkwan.” He furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean we, Auntie?”

“Goodness, look at the time! Everyone out. I must get this done by midnight.” She looked at the analog clock on top of the entrance doors. “Anyone who dares contradict me is more than welcome to help me get this ready. I am old and frail after all. Seokmin! Get this boy a job with you! Lord knows you and Y/N need the help. He will be a very good asset to the business.”

“Uhh, yes Auntie!” The boy named Seokmin pulled on Seungkwan’s arm. “Come on, I guess you’re hired. Let’s go get you a form filled out and you can get started tomorrow!”

Seungkwan surprised himself by staying a lot longer than intended in Seoul. He got the hang of making his deliveries in maybe one week. Granted, he had to learn the lay of the land first, but once he did, he realized how different life was here and he wasn’t complaining. He liked the rush of feeling like he was living in the fast lane. Seokmin turned out to be a really great coworker as well as friend. (He hated to admit he was slightly afraid of him though because of the “ghost girl” as he called her that followed him everywhere. DK swore though that she never tried to harm him, but he didn’t like the fact that he couldn’t see what he looked like.) They went to a lot of places together, from the thrift store they regularly delivered to an aquarium on the coast near the outskirts of Seoul. He had a friend who worked there regularly and despite the minor clashes, Seungkwan liked him right away. He also befriended the boy named Hansol, a boy who was literally cold to the touch, only because his roommate started spending more time with a boy she’d met, as he had learned his friends weren’t actors, just heavily sleep deprived.

He became an everyday customer at the Adequate Eternity, learning the names of Wonwoo and Jihoon who both seemed rough on the edges but melted that exterior rather quickly as well as Seungcheol who had a funny way of talking and Chan who he learned couldn’t see colors (and that made him bad for judging the boy when he first saw him. He made it up to him by trying to explain what they looked like though.)

He learned to confide in Jeonghan about his doubts and any worries. Seungkwan knew that he knew about the string (he figured it was Auntie Jihye who told him since they spent so much time together. Jeonghan simply adored her even though she was very sarcastic and tended to hit him playfully. He also learned it was part of the relationship) but he never brought it up in conversation or even hinted if the string even had an endpoint.

He spent many years accepting the fact that it was the mathematical vocabulary word ray; it had a starting point but the string could go on forever. Jeonghan would simply shrug and pull out the pendant he wore around his neck. “It’s like this,” he explained one day when it changed color. “My grandma said it changes according to moods, but it’s not my mood, but rather someone else’s. Some things just don’t have an explanation, and sometimes it’s up to us to find them. That’s why you’re here, right? You didn’t come all this way to get away from home. You want to see where it leads you. I don’t blame you though. I’d be curious too. But regardless, I’m glad it led you here.”

“Hey hyung, what do you think it could be? Why is it us?”

He paused, toying with the object. “Soulmates,” he finally admitted. Some things are much too powerful to be anything else.”

Seungkwan nodded, feeling oddly satisfied with the answer. It was the first time he thought a person could be on the other end and it seemed more probable. He didn’t grow up scorning the idea that someone was out there just for him and he thanked his family for being as open minded as they were about it.

However, he supposed a lot of his nervousness came from the fact that he didn’t know who his manager was, despite the fact said manager phoned in a few times a day. Seokmin often filled her in on the day’s events and assuring her that Seungkwan was being a lot more helpful than he thought, spoiling the fact that he was hired on Auntie’s recommendations. He did speak to Y/N once though and he floored by knowing how friendly she seemed. She shortly explained that she left often because she was a fan of The8’s works and his art popped up all over Asia but she was thankful for him helping out. She was due at the end of the month though and he was excited for that notion.

You were gone a lot longer than you thought and you felt guilty that you hadn’t paid either of your employees but were grateful that they were understanding. You were bummed that you couldn’t get The8′s newest work but it wasn’t a complete loss since you managed to buy one of his books, so it was a small victory. The growling of your stomach made you stop with Yoon Jihye, despite the fact that that it was a little passed closing. Okay it was almost midnight but still. You knocked on the door, and Jeonghan opened the door, giving you your welcome back hug. “Here I was thinking you skipped town and moved to America,” he joked. His pendant was clear that night, but still illuminating the dark place. “Shouldn’t you be home, or on your way there?”

“I was hungry and I needed to check next door first. My priority is to pay whatever damage DK and his friend caused and them too for being good sports. Hi Auntie.”

“Welcome back dearie. We missed you. How was your trip? Unfortunately Seungcheol burned our last batch of zucchini bread so I can’t offer you anything. Poor boy must’ve had a bad day.”

“That’s okay. I guess I can just stop by one of the stores still open. But I guess I’ll see how my business is. Good night.” Luckily for you, Seokmin had started the filing the receipts that needed to be sent out as well as stamping the checks that could be sent out for depositing and you saw several orders with upcoming deadlines as well as rough outlines of how to bunch them together. The place was spic and span, albeit a few stems strewn about. You texted him and told him you’d be closed tomorrow so he could have a couple of days off (which were gonna be paid as a thank you for taking over with no complaints) but you told him to let the new coworker meet you at the coffee place so you could decide if you really wanted him or not. Based on your conversations with Seokmin, he was new to the area but was rather efficient so keeping him definitely seemed likely.

Your growling stomach didn’t let you do much else so before heading home, you did a quick shopping trip just so you could have something in your system because ordering out took too long and it was too late to get pizza delivered. You deliberated with yourself the whole way there. Instant noodles seemed like a really tempting option but you really didn’t want to be hungry again after an hour but a home cooked meal would take too long to prepare and you were sure you’d fall asleep before it finished. You weren’t really a fan of microwaveable food either, so frozen was definitely out of the question as well. So your best option was to have what teenagers ate for lunch: chips and an energy drink. It’d keep you full until morning but you’d switch that for water for the simple reason that you wanted sleep.

You waved to a few of the workers, chatting idly before getting back the mission at hand. You finally found the aisle you were looking for, craving salty and going to the other end of the aisle until you can across the specific brand you were looking for and it seemed like your luck ended there because there wasn’t anymore, or so you thought. You crouched to the bottom row and there was one more left. You didn’t even have to stretch far to get it but you didn’t notice that someone else had their eye on it because they grasped it at the same time you did. “Hey, that’s mine,” you grumbled, ready to fight. You looked at the chips in your hand, and almost dropped them in surprise. The red string on your finger was tied to the other person who was looking just as dumbfounded as you. You stared open mouthed at each other for sometime, the food in question already on the floor. Slowly, painstakingly slowly, extended his hand out in a greeting, which scared you a little but otherwise shook it, disregarding the fact that the custom in South Korea was to bow.

Behind you, a trio of old ladies giggled at the sight which made both of you whip your attention towards them. They said nothing but looking satisfied at how the situation turned out. “Congratulations,” you heard one of them whisper and they disappeared almost as quickly as you noticed them. “Two down.”

“It was you I’ve been looking for,” he murmured in awe. Tentatively, he reached for your hand again, both of you watching the string grow in length when he pulled away and shrinking when he came close.

You broke out into a smile and you were sure you could’ve cried if you weren’t in public. You weren’t weird after all. And then it hit you. Against your better judgment, because hello you just met him, you asked him a single question. “Can you come with me?”

As it turned out, Jeonghan and the old lady were long gone by the time you reached them. Not that it mattered because you had gone back alone because he declined saying he to get ready for work the next day and you respected and admired him for that. He left you his phone number in case he finished early and he suggested Adequate Eternity which was more than convenient for you. You had more than enough time to spare to get to know Seungkwan so you decided to grab him a cup of hot cocoa before you finally met him. Saturday mornings for some reason were busier but that was beyond your control, not that you were in a rush or anything. You took your time starting an order for a grand reopening of an art museum you were so fond of and and giving the place an overall cleaning Since you had finished earlier than planned, you decided to go for the coffee run, locking up just as slowly, well once you were sure someone had your small order ready. The only thing out of the ordinary was quite literally bumping into a girl who seemed more focused on her watch, and before you could open the door for her, she gasped. “My card!” She exclaimed and turned around just as quickly. “I’m sorry!”

Inside, you heard a cry of frustration, followed by the sight of an annoyed Jihoon running out of the bathroom, a bit of toilet paper stuck on his shoe. “Damn it, not again,” he groaned. He resumed his spot next to Wonwoo, and they continued writing down some notes. (At least that’s what it looked like to you.) They argued quietly and it never ceased to make you think they’d end up being those friends who grew old together but instead of spending their days in the park, it’d be here.

Chan waved at you and continued his window cleaning with a newspaper and some kinda drinking alcohol while Seungcheol read his copy out loud. And the people you were looking for were were looking for some keys. “Grandma, where did you leave them?”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t ask you to look for them, right?”

“Good morning Auntie. Hey Jeonghan. Auntie, guess what happened last night?”

“From the light in your eyes, I can assume something good.” She pushed Jeonghan slightly. “Isn’t Y/N glowing?”

“Radiant Grandma. Ow! Hey, that wasn’t sarcasm! I meant that.”

“Oh hush, it’s rude to interrupt when someone is talking. Find the keys. Joshua said Babylon’s shipment is a can’t miss! You were saying, my dear?”

“I think-” you snickered at Jeonghan’s face and composed yourself, “I saw someone on the other end of the strand. What does that mean?”

“That I will explain when Jeonghan and I come back. Poor soul didn’t know where he left my keys. I think he’s the one with bad memory.” She winked at you. “Have you met the young man that’s been helping around?”

“Not yet. I told him to meet me here at noon. Um, this is kinda embarrassing, but do you know what he looks like?”

“He’s already waiting for you.” She pointed in the direction of where Seungkwan was sitting, eyeing the red string connecting you both and smiling smugly to herself when she saw the look of surprise on your face. “By the way, you’re soulmates. Jeonghan, let’s move! I have them right here!”

To say the least, you were nervous as you walked up to him. But then again, actually no, there was no then again. How the hell did something like that happen. Soulmates were extinct, weren’t they? There hasn’t been any evidence of them in years, so why now?

“Some things don’t require explanations though, right?”

“Holy shit, can you read my mind too?”

He smiled at you. “No. I was really surprised too but it makes sense. Hannie hyung helped me to understand that.” He pulled at the string and it brought your hand to his. “I guess what we decide to do with the knowledge is up to us. I know I came a long way to find you so I know I’m staying here for the time being. If you’ll have me as an employee and friend, that is.”

“Seungkwan, it would be a privilege to have you here as long as you’d like.” You returned his smile. “It’s officially nice to finally meet you by the way.”

“The honor is mine Y/N.”

A few days later, he took you out to the aquarium his friend worked, casually linking pinkies as you walked along, seeing the marine life, watching them swim in circles and come up for air. “Hey Hansol-ah!” He waved at someone you recognized, but he looked like he was on a date with a girl you noticed as someone from the museum you frequently visited and you smiled shyly at her. “What brings you here?”

“Enjoying the beach vibes my friend.” He waved excitedly at you like you were good friends and you returned the gesture. Anyone Seungkwan was fond of, you adored, especially him because of how well they got along and how there was no secrets between them. “Are you on a date too?”

“Yeah, this is my soulmate Y/N.”

“Nice to meet you. Well, we better get going but it was great to see you Kwannie.”

“You know, I hope he’s as lucky as I am and has a soulmate too. Do you think it could be her?”

You shrugged. You’d found out from Jeonghan that they came back in this century but only a rather near nonexistent percentage. “I’m not sure. It’d be nice if he did too, but if he doesn’t, well, I hope he ends up with someone that could be like one.” You agreed that not everyone was lucky enough to have an other half though. He threw his arm around you as the wind blew and he kissed your hair, messing it up that much more.

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blankdblank · 5 years

Text

Undercover Pt 4

Pt 1 - Pt 2 - Pt 3

Requested by - @deepestfirefun

All –

@himoverflowers, @theincaprincess, @aspiringtranslator, @sweeticedtea, @ggbbhehe4455, @thegreyberet, @patanghill17, @jesgisborne, @curvestrology, @alishlieb, @jogregor, @armitageadoration, @fizzyxcustard, @here2have-fun, @lilith15000, @marvels-ghost, @catthefearless, @imjusthereforthereads, @c-s-stars

x Thorin – @evyiione, @deepestfirefun, @queenoferebor

…

The movie went over splendidly for the boys who got to experience their first actual visit to a cinema. Outside the mall in their bouncing into the waiting car sent for you the boys chatted with Estel, who scrambled into his own car seat to be secured by Boromir as you secured the boys and buckled in beside them wetting your lips shaking your head at Jimmy’s concerned gaze seeing how pale you were. Straight away you were driven to the Palace where the boys cheerfully bounced outside peering up at your in Estel’s offer to show them his room.

With a nod you said, “Go on. Your Grandpa should be here soon. Have some fun.”

They giggled and turned racing off while Boromir set down his girl who soon raced after Faramir’s girl and Izzy off to head to their garden playhouse while Jimmy wrapped his arm around your middle, “Come on. Let’s get you to that Doctor.” Turning to lift you in his arms for the walk behind Faramir to the Doctor’s Wing fully stocked for any emergency.

“What all are your symptoms Miss Pear? I heard you swallowed your tracking ring.”

“I um, ya, well I threw that up in the mall.”

His grin flinched wider passing off the blood samples for testing he had just drawn, “Good, that is good. Just lingering nausea now? You are looking really pale.”

“I started to get these pains in my pelvis.” He nodded, “And I thought it might be the stress, but, I started bleeding,” he nodded, “And it really was way more blood than I usually lose with my period. And I keep having these stabbing pains.”

He nodded, “Well, if you wouldn’t mind removing your shirt and lay back we can take a look.”

The buttons across the front were easily removed and you set your top aside leaving you in your strapless bra as you started to lay back only to wince and freeze at another cramp. Exhaling shakily you lowered with the Doctor’s help only to bite your lip at his feeling around your stomach. With brows knitted together he asked, “Do you have cramps like these usually?”

“Not really. Few bad ones in the second day, other than that no, nothing close to this.”

He nodded, “For now I’m going to give you something for the pain and some fluids while we wait on those blood results.”

“Okay.”

Laying back again you eased your hand across your chest to grip your arm under the blanket they had given you in your chills even with the borrowed scrub shirt on you. A plane touching down on the private airstrip was heard and with it brought the distant sound of Thror greeting his grandsons while voices carried on their path to your door. Through the heavy door your father passed through with your four oldest brothers who hurried to your side and folded around you in tight hugs. Settled beside you your father stretched out holding you through another painful cramp even with the meds you whimpered through gripping his shirt tightly. Behind them the door opened again and you all looked up at the Doctor entering again as you shifted up wincing at another cramp.

Anxiously he looked you over and said when he stopped at the foot of your bed. “Miss Pear, I believe I found out what happened to have you in this much pain.”

“How bad is it?”

Inhaling sharply he stated, “Well your scans on your stomach came back clear, no damage from the ring. Though, your blood work came back positive, I believe the sedative and stress from today triggered you to miscarry.”

“I,” tears welled up in your eyes and your father folded around you at your lean into his chest, not giving you a chance to feel ashamed at conceiving without being married or what having to share the news with the Durins.

“The pain should ease and pass in a couple days. It was quite early, barely over a month I would guess for it not to appear on the scans yet.” Quietly the Doctor slipped out of the room leaving you to calm down while your brothers folded over what little was left exposed of your back.

Against the chest collecting your tears you mumbled weakly, “I didn’t know.”

Kissing the top of your head your father cooed back, “I know. You would have said something, to them and us.”

Sniffling again you tried to add jokingly, “Just once and baby, great genes.”

Your brothers chuckled as your father rumbled out while stroking your back, “Just how your Mom and I were wed.”

Peering up at him he smiled at you knowingly as your eldest brother said, “I wasn’t born till your second anniversary.”

He nodded wiping your cheek, “Some times early on, it just happens.” A tear streamed down his cheek matching your next one he wiped away, “Eru sends us little ones, sometimes even when we don’t notice. So comes snow after fire. It hurts but we will find happiness again through this.”

“How am I supposed to tell them?” You weakly trembled out.

Turning towards the door he heard Thror approaching and he asked, “Would you like me to tell the King?”

Nodding you replied, “If you wouldn’t mind.”

He kissed your forehead again, “Just relax, we’ll have you on the plane back soon enough,” and eased off the bed and turned to head to the door.

On the other side of it he hurried to wipe his cheek catching Thror with a concerned look on his face asking, “The Doctor wouldn’t say much past the ring being purged and not harming her, how is Bunny?”

“She is still in pain, the Doctor said that would pass in a few days. Past that there isn’t much he can-,”

“Surely we can do something? Was there a broken bone or-?”

His words broke off at your father stating plainly, “She was pregnant.”

Thror’s heart sank, “Was?”

“The Doctor believes between the sedative and the stress her body wasn’t able to-, he said it was barely over a month, not uncommon for stress to, even she didn’t realize she was-,” With tears looming in their eyes Thror moved in claiming a momentary hug catching a glimpse of you laying between your brothers through the window on the door, stepping back he said, “The jet will be ready soon. I’ll see to it she has everything she needs when we get back.”

“Of course. I’ll make sure she’s ready.” Thror nodded then turned to go back to find the boys again, uncertain of how to spread the word himself, especially to Dis. Your acceptance into their clan now was official with the nameless child to be marked to Thorin’s line of heirs with you officially his Consort now, soon to be delicately announced to their people when they were certain you had found your solid ground again.

The jet was finally fueled up and on your feet again holding your own shirt again you grinned lowering to accept Prince Estel’s hug that the girls joined in on before racing off again freeing you to rise and accept hugs from Jimmy, and the Brothers. King Arathorn walked out to bid you farewell with a handshake of his own along with his hushed condolences as Thror held the boys already nodding off in his arms mumbling still about the film. Behind the trio you walked under your father’s arm holding your worn blazer as your brothers took the diaper bag you had bought from the aid who had first taken it in your arrival.

Against his side you grit your way through the flight back watching Erebor grow closer. When the wheels touched down however you had passed out fully and were carried off by your father, who was asked to take you in to their own Doctor’s Wing where a full private room was set up for you. Right away you were groggily helped into the sweats and tank top B and C had brought you along with extra blankets and pillows for you. Nestled in the nest they made for you another bag of fluids were added to the iv still in your arm as you dozed off again hearing the Durins cheerfully greeting the groggy boys being taken off to be bathed, changed and readied for bed.

Anxiously looking around Dis spotted Thorin still staring at his phone after the unanswered message to you when he had helped Kili into bed alongside Frerin, looking at her grandfather she asked, “Jaqi went home?”

Thror shook his head, “No, Jaqi is in the Doctor’s Wing.”

All eyes turned to him as Thorin said, “What happened?”

Thror wet his lips, “Apparently, the sedative and the stress, caused her to miscarry.”

Gripping Thorin’s shoulders Dwalin and Balin kept him upright as Frerin leaned against the wall through Dis’ clapping her hands over her mouth mirroring her mother and grandmother’s tearful reaction. Vili, “Is she in pain?”

Thror nodded, “The Doctor said she was barely over a month along, not uncommon for stress to cause this. The worst of it is mostly over, just a few days rest and, physically she should be fine. Bit of a shock even Dabondor said she had no clue, it was so early.”

Between his cousins Thorin made his way for the door with Frerin behind him. Tearfully in the hall he mumbled, “There has to be something we can do for her pain.”

Gripping Thorin’s shoulder Frerin, “Thorin, you need to take it easy.” Thorin turned to face him with a tearful glare to find his tearful gaze in return, “You were there too, either she didn’t want to make more of that night or was worried about what it meant, we haven’t talked about it the three of us. Now she finds out she conceived from it. I know it hurts, but we have to ease into this or she might get more upset.”

Thorin, “How are we supposed to be calm? Gramps doesn’t even know-,”

“Thorin,” lowly he cut him off moving him aside saying, “From what I remember I was behind her the whole time. Jaqi is your Consort now, unless by some off chance the baby is fine, even then still they will be added to your line.” Thorin’s head shifted to the side a tick, “I love her, as a Sister, you know I do. You are in a relationship. Unless she says otherwise she remains your Consort. No need to add to any stress by publicly throwing me in the mix.”

Nodding abruptly Thorin turned through a sharp exhale continuing his way through the halls until they found your private room, pausing at the door they knocked gently and entered peeking in finding you shifting onto your back with a groan at your next cramp. Your brothers were lounged out on cots around the room as your father stood at their entrance. A grin flashed onto his face with a nod, “Your Majesties.”

They shook their heads and Frerin said, “Please, you’ve known us long enough, we don’t need titles.”

Thorin wet his lips, “Mr Pear, we should probably-,”

Your father shook his head, “We can handle all the customary discussions later. As for now, I have a call to make to my Wife. Your Grandfather has agreed to send out for the best Obgyn, should be landing in a couple hours for better scans. It was just a blood test back in Gondor.” Thorin nodded and he watched him pass by after saying, “Shouldn’t be too long but I’ll be back in a bit if she asks, so you can have some time alone.” After a pause he looked the brothers over saying, “If it helps, I believe you would have managed to work it all out. Would have done right for the little one, even through school.”

Alone in the room they turned to your bed where they settled around you, Frerin and Thorin snuggled at your sides as your eyes peeked open curiously at them. Weakly you chuckled saying, “I suppose it wasn’t a dream after all.”

Cupping your cheek Thorin sweetly kissed your lips, “Are you in a lot of pain?”

You shook your head, “No. It’s better now.” Wetting your lips you asked, “Thror knows?”

Thorin nodded and Frerin answered, “You have been recorded as Consort for Thorin. It will be marked down on Thorin’s line.”

Leaning back you caught Frerin’s eyes asking, “Just his?”

Frerin nodded cupping your cheek with a soft chuckle, “I do love you, however, you are in love with my brother. Unless by some chance I have won you over-,” you rolled your eyes and giggled in his folding around you in a tight hug kissing your forehead. “Thought so, either way, head over heels to hear you’re finally dubbed Consort.”

“Does this mean I have to be in a parade or something?”

Thorin chuckled kissing your forehead, “No. Just rest, a specialist should be here in a bit.”

Dwalin at your feet moved the blanket so he could start to rub one of your feet while Balin took the other, each sharing just what details of the celebration coming up along with what you had missed in your courses. The work for all of which had been collected for you with countless questions about why you had missed school at all and why the Princes had been missing all but rugby practices as well.

On your back staring at the screen while the specialist pressed the wand into your navel, “It looks like you had a ruptured ovarian cyst. I don’t see any more, which is good. As for miscarriage,” around the room the Durins and your family hopefully listened in as she shifted the wand and your brow inched up and you asked, “Why is there a ghost on the screen?” Pointing at what seemed to be a cocky ghost grinning on the image before you.

The specialist chuckled saying, “Those, would be your triplets.”

Your mouth fell open and your father chuckled leaning in to kiss your forehead, “You three looked like a seal on your first picture.”

Grinning at you the specialist stated, “Now, as far as the cyst goes, it appears your body had to pick which to keep feeding. Cyst simply split free and burst. The fluid mostly flowed out of you, the pain is from the pressure of your body moving what is left to be reabsorbed. It still is early, I would say a few more days on bed rest to be safe and bi weekly check ups through the first trimester.”

The rest of the stop in was filled with detailed instructions for your diet and self care tips taken down by the Durins, all of whom lit up at the news of their new member. None more elated than Dis, who stole the spot at your side across from Thorin when the specialist left to start sharing tips and plans she had for your entire pregnancy. Though an urgent call tore Thror from your side only to have him and his anxious walk back to your bedside causing you to ask, “Is anything wrong?”

Wetting his lips he turned on the tv along the wall he set to the news that replayed the story about the reason for your absences being that you had lost the Prince’s child, though which one they still had no clue leading to one anchor leading the others into agreeing with him you were Consort for both. Folding your fingers over your mouth you watched the story build and build for the few minutes you watched until Thror’s asking, “Bunny?”

Your eyes turned to him and your brows inched up, “Hmm?”

“Are you alright with me giving an official announcement? People are bringing tokens to the gates.”

Wetting your lips you sheepishly said, “I don’t really know the best way to say this.” He nodded, “They could belong to both.”

A snort came from behind the hands of one of your eldest brothers covering his mouth as he hid behind your father at the Princes both awkwardly grinning at you as you said, “It, was the once, but still-,”

Thror’s grin earned a chuckle from your father as well in seeing the King nod and say, “I shall announce you as both of their Consorts then, even if you still choose to only wed Thorin in the future. We will get this train to stop circling its caboose.” A curt nod ended his sentence making you giggle in his turn to hurry off to give the emergency notice.

Peering up at your father you caught his chuckle in his reach over to pat your ankle as the brothers snuggled against you starting to delve into the put off conversation of courtship and honoring your bond to the pair of them now. In the opposite end of the Palace the King spoke to a camera broadcasting all through the kingdom stirring the growing crowd outside to silence as it played over the speakers aimed out to the gates. Their tears for the unspoken heir presumably lost welled into a growing hope that the now confirmed heir to both Second Generation Crown Princes would remain healthy through the full term, however long that would be at their half Dwarf lineage against your assumed Numenor blood.

The real shock came with both brothers exiting the front of the Palace grinning to the groupings of people arriving. A trail of guards along with them as they accepted the gifts and flowers, shaking hands and accepting the hugs of children along the way sharing news you were safe in bed resting. By noon word had rippled through to all of Thror’s kingdoms and the lands around Erebor already sending congratulation and well wishes for the heir along with wishes to see the celebration for your union and to publicly record the heir. Comfortably you laid back relaxing as the guys returned to school, settling into the schedule again they handed off your completed assignments for you and confirmed you would be back again soon.

The first day back and you felt all eyes on you as you passed through the sea of students. Each Professor beamed having you back again taking their own silent pool on when you would give birth. Professors Baggins and Reeves had the most animated reactions to your return. Soon enough the days blew by and your progress in classes and growth were splayed out publicly for the world to see and as the ninth month passed by without you sprouting so much past a small bump the world groaned at the slow long wait of typical Dwarven births.

A full year had passed and with a series of courses you had tucked under your belt and together with the Princes, who relished having another year to sandwich you through your shared classes stealing brushes of their hands across your growing bump, all sat with you to help share the course stealing so you can get your credits sooner.

Second New Years had come and gone and again headlines flew across the world each time you were just a few moments behind schedule. Nobody however expected the explosion your sudden labor would cause. Wide eyed after an exam in one of your lone classes you sat after a long exam, in fetching your bag you sat down again at a sharp pain in your pelvis. Quietly you tore a page from one of your notebooks you crumbled to throw at the guard mentally drifting off along the wall. His head turned sharply to the room finding your hand subtly waving him over as you finished packing your bag, at your side he crouched to hear your whisper, “I think I need to leave.”

Hastily he shouldered your bag and helped you up guiding you outside where he lifted you in his arms carrying you after giving the alert over his radio. Inside the car again on the way to the Palace you steadily breathed in the back until you stopped at the side entrance. The door on the car opened and in your rise to your feet a squeak left you at the splash of water between your legs, softly you said to the driver, “I am so-,”

He chuckled shaking his head, “No need for sorry, you go and relax as best you can. Nothing a few towels can’t sop up.”

Wetting your lips you heard assurances that your relatives were on their way as the ruling family would be back from the Iron Hills as soon as the storms keeping them there could allow. Silence seemed to flood through Erebor for an agonizing week. A long painful wait came to a head for a half hour long end to your labor with three crying children, far too into the labor already your planned c section was tossed into the wind by the time the assigned surgeon got on the line. In the sea of blondes your mother ended up aiding the most in your labor with your father catching the last that was eager to join its siblings. Settled back into your healing bath after while your parents and the midwife rinsed off the trio your eyes met Thorin and Frerin’s over the video chat B had been keeping going with progress checks.

No official announcement, no raised flag or presentation of the chosen flock of Ravens to spread the word through the streets the people sat waiting until their King would come home. The fifth day had come and gone with only a brief sighting of you at one of the balconies stirring up a spreading grin on the faces of the crowds waiting for news growing more concerned by the day. A nip at your lip was followed by your lean in to whisper to the first of the antsy Ravens that hopped close enough for you to nab, a gentle toss later your hands released and the eager bird took off to the crowds sharing a simple number, 3. Behind him at the discovery of their missing member the Raven hall emptied and they all soared over your head to join their kin.

The number soon shared and elated gasps from the crowds rippled out through each of the streets while the growing flock of Ravens spread the news across Erebor. Two days more and finally the King returned, cheers and shouts sounded while the Royals met their newest members with all of the crowds outside starting up once again at sunrise in singing the traditional songs to welcome the new heirs to their next day. Noon again brought with it the long awaited traditional announcement with names and number of the first set of triplets in their line’s history.

Behind that came a flood of gold changing hands as bets were both won and lost, though none could tell just how your futures would grow. Two fathers to help with your little trio, all in school so close to the public bringing a new look into the lives of those ruling their lands for the generation you were born into. Hopes would rise and fall, but no matter what, none of you would forget the grand parades the birth and following marriage for you and Thorin. And none would forget the day fire lit up the sky and just as soon as their Princess had arrived she had vanished in the clutches of an all to unexpected rise of the shadow clad Lord Smaug, and the ripple of destruction that followed until a badly bloodied blonde floated down the river of Raven Hill. Straight into the arms of a startled watchman who sounded a long since awaited alarm at the cracking of icy green eyes.

#Thorin X Reader OC #Frerin x Reader OC #Hobbit #lotr

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skunts-own-truth · 5 years

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Oh no, I sleepily felt compelled to write a short story

No planning or editing went into this. Just laid down for bed and started typing. If it’s trash it’s trash, but hey, told myself I’d start posting my writing somewhere! Here you go, friends, if you want to read this sleepy-time tale of gods and curses, you’ll find it right here:

The firepits had not worked, Grenel realized as he saw his grandmother roaming the fields behind his large mudbrick dwelling. It was raining, and the rice fields were drowning in dark water and muck that came up to his grandmother's knees. She sloshed through it, lifting powerful dead legs and slamming them down back into the mud. Having not yet noticed her grandson, she would wander aimlessly. He would have to put her back down.

With that in mind, the huntsman Grenel went about preparing himself for the slaying. It had been found that dismemberment severed the body parts of the dead from the spell that raised them. Stabbing weapons, like a spear, were useless in this curse. The warriors of his tribe learned that early on, and that lesson was a costly one. The warrior cast of the united clans was but a memory now, leaving only the hunters, woodcutters, farmers, and beastmen to apply their respective trades on the freshly dead.

Wearing thick mammoth hide no cursling could chew through, Grenel moved silently around the flooded fields of rice. His grandmother was still plodding along, making a clear trail of slosh and upturned muck and vegetation behind her. It saddened the already emotionally tried huntsman to see his grandmother, a proud leader of the tribe's warrior cast, taken by this devil's curse. She deserved better than this humiliating march through the mud and deserved far better than meeting her end by the swing of a blunt axe. Still, it had to be done. So many brave men and women had died when the curslings first began to rise. The warriors had not been the only ones to perish in that tide of undeath; now only a handful of his people remained.

The rain fell hard and thunder boomed signaling a battle between gods and monsters. They wared so much in these hot months, and as a child, the hunter's warrior grandmother would tell him tales of when the gods did their fighting there in their homelands. A sight he had hoped they would see again, with her by his side of course. That could not happen now. The rage was building under his calm hunter's stance. He could hold it in, but not forever. She would eventually spot him as he prowled around the fields. That much was fine, he would need her to see him at some point.

Grenel laid simple traps as he stalked his cursling elder. They were strong things, faster than an angry cat and stronger than the beastmen's aurochs on a charge, but with the rain coming down this hard he knew he could make use of hidden ropes and simple blades in the mud. They weren't expert works of the hunter's art, but fine enough to trip and bleed the thing that had been his grandmother. That was fine enough. He closed his eyes, begged the storm to see the gods cut down in their battle so far away, and let out a soft, comforting tune. It was a song Grenel's grandmother, Varan, had taught him when he was a boy.

The tune did exactly what he had planned for it to do. The cursling's head snapped towards the sound, its body twisting under the broken neck to face the singing hunter. For good measure, he began to swing his sling around building deadly momentum. Sometimes these cursed dead only needed light damage to see them lay back to rest. As the warstone flung from his sling and cracked open her head, spilling out the rotten brains and a single eye, he knew this would not be as easy as that. She charged without any other sound than her cracking bones. Somehow, he felt he could hear that over the thunder's roar.

Grenel stood his ground, axe in hand as she ran at him like man become beast, tearing through the ground on all fours to get at him. His tears fell freely then, as her arms and legs found the ropes. They caught her, despite her strength she was sent flipping into the mud, and right onto the blunt blades in the muck. Black blood flowed out, darkening the slick brown of the earth. Still, she made no sound. Even in those last moments as his axe came down and freed her body from the curse.

He fell to his knees when it was over, shaken to the core by the grotesque experience. His grandmother's spirit could rest, but he knew his own would not. This was a cursed land. Abandoned by gods, left to rot at the mercy of evil forest things that toy with the lives of men. He was alone or felt as much. His own clan was dead, burnt to a crisp in a firepit, missing, or dismembered and sinking down into thick chunky earth. Those of the tribe that were left had little to do with Grenel besides relying on his sling to bring in fresh game. It was more than too much for the hunter, and a part of him considered walking into the fire he would soon build for the corpse.

Two days go by without another cursling to kill. The gods won their battle, the sky became clear once again. The rain allowed so much of the farmer's food to sprout in a rapid, near miracle speed that an elder actually thanked the gods out loud. Grenel could have ripped the old man's head off for that affront to all who had died in these terrible months.

The gods, he had spat at the old man, sending his sons into a rage. Grenel offered no apology, simply accepting the beating that came soon after. He had blackened both of the young fools' eyes, broken one's nose, and bit a chunk out of another... but he regretted that. The huntsman knew he should not have antagonized the old man, he was only dreaming of days long past, when the gods looked over the tribes of their land. He had no right to shout at the old man, nor to spit on him in curse. He held no grudge, though he knew that was not a mutual sentiment.

Grenel would leave only a few days later. Axe in hand, mammoth hide on, and a sack of rabbit meat salted and ready for a long journey out of his homeland. He was not a cruel man, so he left his tribe pounds of bore and deer flesh, salted and dried for ease of storage. Some had begged him not to go, while others wished he found his death in the haunted forests around their home, and he shared in their wishings. "I will not return," he told them all, "cursed in death or alive and hungry. I have no place here, nor do I feel a need to fight any more dead for land already forsaken."

There were fourteen of them in total. The strong ones, but not the strongest. The smart ones, but not those smart enough to have left long before this. Strangers bound by land, a tribe of barely over a dozen. At the rate they had dwindled already, he knew they would not last the cold months when they marched down from the Northern mounts to wage war on life. The frost always won, but if they could store enough food... perhaps they could survive to see the time of rebirth when the cold grew bored of its victory.

"Wait," said a woman in the group that had gathered to see Grenel off. He did not know her name but knew she had been born into a family of beastmen and married into a clan of warriors. She still carried a copper sword that was even blunter than his own woodcutter's axe he had borrowed from his own late wife. She towered over the hunter but did not look down on him with any sort of disdain, and for that, he stopped to listen to her words. "We have all wondered where you could possibly go when you leave here; the elders believe you go off simply to find peace in death. Our generation claim you know of a hidden tribe that you found in your travels, that you plan to abandon us to our fate as you grow fat on fine auroch raised in peaceful lands... but, none of this is true."

Her expression was serious, more so than Grenel's own. He found himself almost intimidated by her, and perhaps would have been if he had not cut down his own family's rotten corpse so recently. He stood his ground as she approached. "You are going to find the land of the gods, aren't you?"

Grenel could not bare her fierce glare, so he looked away, back towards their fellow tribesmen. His defiance was directed at them, not at her. "Yes." He said without any hesitation, "I go to see what was so important that they abandon us, their people. I go to see the monsters they face, and the great halls where they drink..." The huntsman spat, "and I will find my death in their lands, perhaps at their own mighty hands, but as I am cut down they will hear the names of my clan and they too will taste the bite of a cursling dead as it taints their precious home."

The hunter thought he would never get a chance after an outburst like that. However, no fist was swung, no rock slung, nor did he find a speartip jutting from his chest. Instead, the last warrior in the village held her blade out in front of her and pledged her sword to this death. "Then I will go with you, Grenel Godcryer, and find my death by your side... I would yell my defiance with you, and curse those loathsome beings for leaving us to our fate."

The tribe had nothing kind to say about the two departing Godseekers, so they planned to leave as soon as the hunter's new warrior companion gathered her belongings. They snuck a few extra hunks of meat from the supply Grenel had left for the tribe, and when they were sure they would not starve together in those haunted woods the pair left their old homes behind.

Grenel leaned the woman's name was Yvettle. A descendant of a prophetess of the same name, her clan had gone from nobles to farmers after the gods made priest-kings and future-seers a thing of the past by taking their godly magic away from the land. She was a soft-spoken killer he found, and thanked his luck for it. They did not talk often but enjoyed the quiet conversations when the trails got too hard to walk and camp needed to be set. She had lost as much as him; a wife, an adopted son, and a husband. Yvettle could no longer bear to stay in the cemetery their home had become and needed any excuse she could to escape that gloomy place. She had found that in him, and he did not resent her for it.

Theirs was a tired friendship, built on loss and death. As days turned to weeks, they had learned to work together well. Grenel found it a shame their tribe had set tasks for clans, as this woman could have done everyone's job alone. She was as talented a hunter as she was a herder, and her skill with a sword was as deadly as his aim with a sling. There was no doubt in his mind she could have contended for chief if life had stayed normal for their clans, and that was a shame.

As months came and gone, Grenel and Yvettle found their bond made for an effective killing unit. Like gods of war, they came together to end the lives of those unnatural things that stalked the forests and kept the tribesmen bundled behind walls and safe in their huts. Long things, boney and covered in loose skin crawled from the trees on hands of ice. Wolves that burned like the sun circled Grenel's freshly killed deer. Once, a woman in a river nearly beckoned Yvettle to save her, only to reveal herself a hungry eel below. Each time they acted without fear, and each time they pulled each other out of the clutches of death. The infernal beasts eventually left them alone, and not long after that, the pair found the first marker that proved the land of the gods was not so far away.

A sword as tall as the tallest tree, made from the shining god-metal, jutted from the broken skull of a monster that surely had to be the size of a mountain in life. They did not speak as they came out of the forest to find this great blade, instead, they were possessed by a second wind. The gods were close, and neither would rest until those immortal beings felt Grenel the hunter and Yvettle the warrior's shared rage. Together, they marched into the lands of mythology to face a death they craved more than life. Side by side, they would challenge the gods and seek to defile their holy lands with their tainted corpses, and only then would the bonded pair find their peace.

#fantasy #sword and sorcery #gods #mortals #undead #short stories

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azeher · 6 years

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The Villain Problem (which is easily solved)

I’ve seen frequently a lot of posts and threads (making emphasis on “frequently” and “a lot”) here on tumblr and on twitter making a claim that people just don’t want their villains to be redeemed because they refuse to give them character development. This is my take on it and how I solve it.

Well, for starters, character development goes both ways so a villain that starts as someone who wants to do mildly bad things but ends up mass-murdering, raping back and forth, torturing other characters and so on, already got character development. They went from bad to the absolute worst. Of course, a writer’s storytelling skills have the power to make or break a story, so even this can be poorly executed.

To continue, at least in my case, I’m only not into the “redemption” thing when the villain has reached a point of no return, because their actions are bigger than anything else. Something like the example I provided above. And no amount of sad backstory caked with child abuse will change my mind.

Actually, when a story (and by “a story” I mean all of them) gives me the sad backstory and the child abuse excuse--which is an insult to every real child abuse victim ever who chose not to harm anyone, and to those who were victims of people who used this excuse, it completely loses me. Not every bad person had a bad childhood. Having a bad childhood doesn’t excuse them from owning their bad actions. And in the case of the villain, last time I checked, having their mother killed in front of their eyes when they were a little kid didn’t prevent them from creepily smiling when brutally killing a woman in front of her innocent child’s eyes. At this point, having a story give me a sad backstory for Evil Guy not only makes me roll my eyes so far back I can see my brain cells dying, not only increases my anger towards Evil Guy, not only diminishes what respect I might have for the author and their ability to tell a good story, it also actually makes me lose any interest I could’ve had about the villain. And villains are supposed to be interesting. They’re supposed to be the spice of your story.

Other instance in which I might be against the villain’s redemption is when the redemption actually takes away from the story. Some villains were born in the whimsical space of our minds to be evil and go grand about it and tell a message about it. Suddenly redeeming them erases anything that the writer was trying to say.

So how to tell when a villain can be redeemed? Everything depends on writing skills, really. You’re the one writing your story, right? Then you’re the one who will know if this villain can or deserves or wants or needs to be redeemed. You’re the one to know if your story will suffer from it or gain from it. It’s not the readers who decide this; what they feel about the villain, positive or negative, is completely up to them and their fanfics. It’s only you and your intention to tell a good story what matters here.

My list of personal tips, tho, are:

a. Treat your villain as another Main Character, which in a way they are. Villains that are faceless shadows lurking in the awfully decorated halls of what looks like a BDSM dungeon and the result of a quarrell in IKEA, are boring. And I’ll bet not even you fear/care for them.

b. Give Evil Guy a goal that matters to them as a person. Goals are better and more believable than stupid tragic backstories. Also a must if you want a 3D character. They don’t need to be huge goals. I mean, some people would harass and send death threats to someone else over ships, right? Think about that.

c. Add the sad backstory if you want to. Just know that its actual purpose is to give the villain an origin story, not excusing them. Heros also have sad backstories usually and you can still see them being normal people, working on retail at the start of their hero journey. Actually scrap the sad backstory if you have your hero or villain working on retail, that’s enough torture already.

d. If you don’t like or have any interest in your villain, why are you expecting others to? When you don’t like or have any interest in your villain it is because of different reasons: They’re not believable, their goal isn’t believable, you just don’t know what kind of person they are. Do what I do. Talk to them. Sit alone, organize an interview or a really messed up date and get to know the guy. (I do this with every character, really, but villains make for really big experiences).

e. Be prepared to love-hate them. You’re creating a monster. You have to be happy with the kind of monster you came up with. “You’re the worst and don’t have a place outside of the deepest pits of hell. You’re perfect!”

f. Only after you know your villain and how far they’re willing to go to accomplish their goal, you can consider whether or not to redeem them.

g. Realize what role this villain plays in the lives of the rest of your characters. And they must play a role since Evil Guy has been antagonizing them since the beginning of the story. Sometimes, there are other kind of relationships or ties involved that might be the ultimate decisive factor. Let’s use Kubo and the Two Strings as an example. (SPOILERS) Evil Guy was Kubo’s grandfather, but the story chose to give him a new chance to be good and care for his grandson because Kubo had literally no one else. It was such a powerful resolution, because Moon King also despised humankind and their warmth and having to look at them, and thought of himself as superior for being immortal, but then he was turned into a human, was convinced that he was the most compassionate man, and was made to look at humans in the eyes every day until he died someday. But MOST IMPORTANT, it was Kubo’s decision.

(Don’t force a character to end up with or forgive their abuser. Kubo did it amazingly but it’s not something everyone or every story can do. Forgiving is a very personal and intimate thing that isn’t about the abuser but the victim. Forgiving doesn’t mean allowing the abuser back into your life and it definitely isn’t about falling in love with them. It shouldn’t be played as the exoneration of the abuser).

In mp100 (SPOILERS AGAIN) Shou forgives his father. Shou took the decision to give his father another chance. A chance to finally be the father Shou deserved to have. A chance for Touichirou not to disappoint his son again. It was all about Shou, and mp100 is a story about growth and decisions and choosing to be better, so Touichirou also chose to take the chance Shou was giving him. This completes the themes of the narrative and is not forcing us, the readers, to sympathize with Touichirou, it’s only showing us what kind of person Shou is, what his needs are and why we have to respect them, and what he and his father decided to do about their conflict.

h. Realize what sort of story you’re telling or trying to tell. You know, sometimes the message can be pessimistic. Sometimes you want to talk about morality, sometimes about amorality. Sometimes you simply really want your villain to mean something. Once you define this you can choose HOW you want to redeem them (if you had chosen to redeem them that is).

i. In general, antagonists that take bad decisions but deal with an internal conflict of good and evil are the ones we all want to see redeemed. Think Zuko, Loki and (tho it never happened) Draco Malfoy.

j. No matter what sort of redemption you gave your villain or why, make sure they still get to face the consequences of their actions. It doesn’t matter if you love them so much that you are willing to overlook murder cuz “Aw, c’mon, I don’t go to jail for killing all my chances for a decent future, do I?” or “It’s medieval times! Everyone had at least killed five people by the age of 18 back then”. Their actions must come back to them, somehow. It doesn’t have to be jail time, or death or stuff like that, but they must feel real regret. If they don’t, you’re not really redeeming them, you’re just letting your Evil Guy win by gaining MC’s trust and getting to live a full live without any inconveniences. I mean, I guess that’s what uncaught serial killers, corrupt politicians and some Nazis got to do so it’s not that unthinkable.

I, myself, have a thing for villains, which is a reason why I don’t understand the oversimplified posts that go: “People who don’t want villains to be redeemed think you’re evil if you like villains. People just don’t want character development for villains.” I may think that any specific villain doesn’t need a redemption, that doesn’t mean I think no villain can have a redemption. I may think that the villain that doesn’t deserve the redemption is a literal disgusting creature, that doesn’t mean I can’t be impressed by how amazingly and cleverly constructed the villain is. My biggest example: The Joker. And every character needs character development, else they’re not really characters but plot devices.

As for the other side of the argument: “They think you’re evil if you like villains”. I might be missing something here, but the one complaint I’ve heard barely reminiscent of this claim is the one that surfaces when a fandom collectively justifies or ignores the villain’s actions (as if that’s necessary to be allowed to like the villain) and that’s a complaint as valid as any other; or when the story itself justifies the villain’s actions then chooses to never mention them again, which, yeah, is bad writing (see Snape).

If you choose to ignore a villain’s actions, doesn’t that just mean that you like the character but not exactly what they did? Tho, the route you’re taking isn’t the best but still. If you justify a villain’s actions (murder is common, rape is worse, they were having a rough day, they were depressed--bitch, I’m depressed!, she asked for it, it’s okay because they fall in love later, they just don’t know how to express love in a healthy way that doesn’t involve emotional and physical and sometimes even sexual abuse, they grew up in a violent and/or manipulative environment, they have an awful father…), and then make a big deal out of that and talk about it online, don’t be surprised if someone disagrees with you, or you touch a nerve with an actual real life person and get called out. Because, it was you who made it internet-relevant.

It’s your right to like a villain for whatever reasons you want and you don’t owe an explanation to anyone, but thinking critically about your fave, recognizing their flaws, or the themes they embody are also important things. And even if you just don’t feel like doing that, which is fair, that doesn’t change the fact that the villain is a piece of shit and other people will notice it. Not everyone will love your sinnamon roll. You’ll have to deal with the two sides: Enjoying your small villain fandom with your nice group of peers, and seeing posts where other people trash your fave. That if the story itself doesn’t do it.

#rape mention #murder mention #writing tips #text #long post #i give mentions to Kubo and The Two Strings and mp100 with some major spoilers #mine

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fireandneurosurgery-blog · 7 years

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Better Latte Than Never || Bobbi and Leo

Bobbi and Leo bump into each other and start to reconnect.

Bobbi looked around Ceres Coffee House with a gentle smile trickling across her face. The latest issue of Scientific America sat on top of the Economist and a stack of the other magazines that she was still subscribed to, but at the moment she was half way through Vogue. Realizing her cup of coffee was empty, she headed to the counter for a refill and was half way back to her table when she slipped on the wet floor sign (the irony of the action was not lost on her), her cup went spinning onto the floor, splattering the man in front of her. “I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed, before she looked past the dark beard and the locks of raven hair and into the kindest eyes she’d ever seen. “What the fuck?” she blurted.

Leaving the Legion and moving into a real apartment was not as difficult as Leo expected it to be. It felt odd not being there to see his siblings everyday, but it wasn’t as bad of a feeling as he thought it would be. He had quite a bit more time to work on his craft and that feeling of freedom made up for the guilt that was still bubbling away in his stomach. Leo had been trying to chip some paint off of his sleeve when suddenly coffee was dripping down his chest. “It’s no problem! Accidents happen, that’s why they’re called accidents.” He looked up at the woman in front of him and let out a strange, shocked noise. He blinked slowly, staring at the woman in front of him. “Y-you, I mean, no it can’t be. Can it?”

Of course he would be sweet when she was trying to be surprised. Bobbi frowned and looked down at the broken mug. Its porcelain pieces scattered across the floor in front of her. Swallowing, she looked down at the coffee once more and then back up at Leo. She was sure that this couldn’t actually happen because Chiron had been very specific about the fact that only demigods and legacies of Greek or Roman gods were able to live within the confines of New Rome. Which would’ve meant that Leo fit into one of those categories and suddenly everything made sense. “Leo?” she asked, because she had to be seeing things. She was convinced that he wasn’t there. There was no way that he could possibly be standing in front of her and she was certain that in a moment he would disappear and leave her alone with a broken cup of coffee.

Leo’s mouth was dry and he wondered if he had spent too much time in the studio today. Paint fumes could cause hallucinations, right? There was no way that his Bobbi was standing right in front of him, she was in New York. There was no plausible explanation for this, Bobbi was a mortal. He rubbed his eyes, half expecting a different woman to be standing there when he opened them. Instead, Bobbi still stood in front of him. He nodded mutely, he didn’t think he could talk right now. Yet, he forced his mouth open to answer her. “Y-yeah, it’s me. I’m Leo.” He couldn’t remember the last time he was this tongue tied. He bit his lip before whispering,“Bobbi?” There wasn’t anyway it was her, but he had to ask. Just to confirm that he was going crazy and needed to go to a hospital.

Hearing Leo’s voice again convinced Bobbi that this was actually him. Stepping forward she wrapped her arms around him, he was so broad that they didn’t even meet behind his back but she didn’t care. Leo was actually here and that was amazing. “Leo,” she whispered with tears shimmering gently in her eyes, she wondered who his godly parent was. Had he always known or did he only just find out. Taking a ragged breath she paused for a second before kissing him. She wasn’t sure why she did it, maybe a moment of lust or just simply an impulse that she had ignored for too long. “I’ve missed you so much, thank fuck there is someone in this city that is actually normal.” She felt breathless, but that didn’t exactly matter right now. Leo was what mattered.

The moment Bobbi’s arms went around Leo, his heart skipped a beat. She was real, she was right there. She was in his arms again. His own eyes started to tear up, overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught of emotions. He had never in a million years would have guessed that Bobbi would be able to come into New Rome. His breath left him when her lips met his, but he kissed her back, his large hand cupping her cheek. He left his hand there, thumb brushing softly against her cheek as he looked her over. “There’s no one in this city who’s normal. How… How are you here?” He knew that she must be some sort of demigod, she had to be if she were in this cafe, but still he couldn’t quite believe it.

Breathlessly, Bobbi pulled away from the kiss and tried to force some oxygen to her brain. “How am I here?” she laughed, “how are you here?!” She brushes a tight curl out of her eyes and smiled. Pushing Leo towards her booth, she quickly cleared up the mess she had made of her coffee cup. Depositing the glass and tissue in a waste bin she glided over to Leo’s side, slipping into the booth next to him. Taking a moment to compose her thoughts. “I’ll go first,” she suggested, “not long after we last saw each other I was attacked by a harpy, luckily a protector named Grover stepped in and saved me before taking me to Camp Half Blood, once there I was claimed by Athena which was amazing,” she paused for breath and to order her thoughts, “I spent just over a month at Camp and learned everything I could before moving out here.” She bit her lip and sighed gently. “What about you?”

To say Leo was at a loss of words was a bit of an understatement. Bobbi was in New Rome, Bobbi was in New Rome and just kissed him, Bobbi was in New Rom and just kissed him and she just moved here. “You live here now?” He grimaced at how dumb that sounded and tried to clear his head. “What about your job? Did you get hurt?” Had he already gotten his coffee, he would be using it to keep his hands busy. He was pretty shocked by the whole situation, making his fingers twitch a bit. “I, uh, I’ve lived here my whole life. Um, I guess you can say that my family has a lot of history with the Gods. I’m the son of Discordia and the grandson of Nox. Among others.” He scratched his neck, feeling almost awkward about how many gods he was technically related to. “Jax and Cat are too.” He added as an afterthought.

Nodding gently, Bobbi shrugged and nodded. “I moved here the other day,” she replied with a shrug, “actually this is only my first full day here but that’s besides the point…” she shrugged. “I had to quit it, all the research I did indicates that monster attacks only go up when you’re attacked the first time and I couldn’t stay in New York. It wasn’t safe.” She shrugged and lifted her shirt up to reveal three claw marks on her hip, “just a couple of scratches, I was lucky that Grover arrived when he did.” Pausing, she frowned. Betrayal wasn’t exactly an emotion that she’d felt before. “Really, your whole life….” she listened to him carefully and tried to make the connection between the gods, Discordia was Eris and Nox was … she wanted to say Nyx but she couldn’t be sure. “Why did you never say anything to me?” she asked, “It isn’t as if I wouldn’t believe you, did you not trust me …?” she trailed off quietly, running a thumb over the edge of the table. “This is all surreal,” she replied with a frown and a shake of her head, “both Cat and Jax and you here too?” she replied with a confused smile, “it’ll be good to see you all.”

Leo’s eyebrows furrowed together, he was pretty sure someone had moved into an apartment near his sometime in the last few days. “Where’s your apartment?” He thought it pretty unlikely that they lived close together, but the entire situation was completely unlikely in general. “I’m sorry.” He said quietly, he couldn’t imagine having to completely uproot your life in only a month’s time. “Have you been able to find a different job?” The injury wasn’t the worst that Leo had seen, but still it hurt to see that Bobbi was injured. His hand almost went to touch the scratches, but he pulled it back. He wasn’t sure if she’d want him to touch her like that. He sucked on his bottom lip trying to formulate a proper response. “Being in the mortal world was really freeing and I think I wanted to pretend to be normal. It didn’t help that you wouldn’t have ever been able to come here. It seemed unfair to tell you about a city you weren’t allowed to be in.” He nodded, sighing a bit. “They’re the same as me. Children of Discordia. They run the first cohort of the Legion. I’m sure they’ll be excited to see you.”

Pausing for a moment, Bobbi ordered two coffees for Leo and herself to make up for the one that they broke earlier. “I’m told that it is in the lake district, on Constantine Road, apartment 69 actually, which still makes me giggle.” She smiled widely and paused before shrugging. “Don’t be, you didn’t have anything to do with it.” She wouldn’t allow Leo to take on this burden, she knew him well enough to know that when he was over protective he tried to do everything on his own, she’d seen it in high school and she wasn’t about to let it happen now. “I’m working as a surgeon at the Hospital, they didn’t have a neurosurgery position and it was a step backwards but I didn’t want to give up work all together so it was all I could really do.” She bit her lip and curled a hair around her index finger. “I get it, I know you were just trying to make things better…” she paused for a second before frowning. “Hold on you’re telling me that Cat who never talked to anyone and Jax are leading a cohort in the Legion?” she had read all about it, and had discussed the makeup of the various cohorts with Annabeth, but she’d never actually gotten round to learning who led them. “They’re like military generals or something…”

Leo felt his mouth actually drop, there was no way. There was a few apartment complexes in that area, but he doubt that they also had someone move in on the same day Bobbi did. She was the new next door neighbor. “I’m apartment 68. In the same complex, I think. Considering someone new just moved in next to me. I was going to try to rent 69, but the natural lighting was better in 68.” He told her with a grin that expressed that he too still found that number funny. “The Hospital here is pretty good, considering that a lot of our injuries can be pretty bad. I’m sorry it’s not the position you wanted, but I’m sure you’ll get there soon.” He laughed, but nodded. “Yep, Cat and Jax are in charge of a bunch of soldiers. And kind of the pseudo parents to a bunch of kids. They’re both really good at it. I just left the Legion myself.”

Bobbi wasn’t sure if it was the shock of such a huge cultural shift or the fact that she was transitioning but this all seemed momentus to her. Especially learning that she was living next to Leo. “Really?” she asked slightly shocked, “I can’t believe that, that is such a coincidence….” she frowned gently. “I was trying to surprise you, I was going to stalk your facebook until you went into Berkeley and then I’d just arrive and we could talk.” Bobbi couldn’t imagine that this had actually happened. As the smirk died from her face, she shrugged gently. “I start next week, they said that they’d give me some time to get everything in order before I started work so I don’t know yet. But it is a job at least and I’m helping people get better so really I can’t complain, things could be much worse.” She could’ve been stuck at Camp Half Blood for the rest of her life, she was sure she’d have gone stir crazy sooner or later. “That is where you learned to fight like that?” she asked curiously, shocked to find out that the love of her life was a completely different man from the goofy artist that she’d fallen in love with. “Have you ever killed someone?” she asked, shocked by this sudden twist.

Leo nodded, feeling a little off from all the sudden shocks too. He really hadn’t thought that he would have had a chance with Bobbi again. And yet here he was sitting in a coffee shop with her, after she kissed him. When the two coffees came to them, Leo slid one to her gently. “I mean, at least we know people in the building now? Instead of both being the newbies.” He laughed at her admission to going to cyber stalk him. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t wait until then. It would have been a while, with everything going on I don’t see myself leaving for a while.” He grimaced, hoping that someone had explained to Bobbi already and that he didn’t just throw that on her already. He was sure this conversation was already a lot for her. “They’re going to love you there. I think you’ll enjoy it a lot. I hope you enjoy it.” He was confident that the staff at the hospital would adore Bobbi as much as he did. He couldn’t imagine anyone disliking her. “Well, my father taught us how to fight since we were pretty little, the Legion just advanced what we knew.” He shook his head,“I don’t know if I have, but I know I have hurt people badly.” He chewed the inside of his cheek. “War was difficult and I tried my best to incapacitate people, but sometimes bad injuries happened. I couldn’t stay around long enough to see what those injuries lead to.” He would have preferred her never knowing that about him, but he was about to lie to her. She deserved the truth, especially after he spent most of his time with her lying about what he was.

“Although I wonder how much time we’ll actually spend talking to other people,” she admitted before frowning gently, Bobbi wondered exactly what Leo meant about everything going on. “What do you mean?” she asked curiously completely unaware of the majority of the political problems going on here, Chiron had filled her in that there was some unrest, but hadn’t exactly painted the full picture. “Me too, I’ve been wondering what I am going to do with all this free time and now I think I know that there are a few things that I can do to fill my time.” She smiled suggestively before she paused and took a sip of the scorching hot coffee. It was pure black and very strong, just the way that she liked it. “Well, I hope so, it is always nice to be able to go to work at a job that you know that you enjoy. Especially one where you’ve made friends,” she paused for a second. As Leo admitted everything that had happened, she found herself frowning and wondering whether she would ever be able to do half of the things that Leo had done. Looking at him now, he was almost a stranger, but somehow still the same person that she had grown up with. “I… I wasn’t there and although I don’t agree with the decisions that you made, I understand that they must have been difficult to make and I’ll try my hardest to respect your decision.” She just hoped she never got into a situation like that.

Leo poured a good amount of honey in his coffee before adding a little bit of cream. It was rather clear the man hadn’t grown out his sweet tooth. He took a few moments stirring it trying to find the right way to phrase it. “To say the political climate isn’t the best is an understatement. Greeks, which you are since Athena is your mother, are being considered a threat to the safety of New Rome. The Senate was burnt down when I was with you in October. Using greek fire, which is a bit on the nose, leading people to think it was the Greeks. So, the Senate has come back with a bill that bars Greeks from doing certain things and has labeled them as ‘aliens’.” He bit his lip hard and debating telling her what his family had to do with that. “I left the Legion in protest. But, you should know, my father is one of the senators who helped get the bill passed.” She needed to hear it from him, too many people would try to twist it. Leo’s eyes widened at the suggestive look and he tried not to choke on the sip of coffee he had taken. He attempted to gain his compourse with a smirk back,“Oh, Care to share your ideas?” Bobbi was one of the few that could really fluster Leo and he loved it. “If not at work, you’ll have friends outside of there. Have you met Annabeth? She’s also a daughter of Athena.” Leo hoped that Bobbi and Annabeth would get along, both were very strong women and he could see them working together. He sighed heavily, he hadn’t even wanted to be there for those battles. He had gone out of obligation. “I live with the consequences everyday. It was my duty to be apart of the battles. I couldn’t let there be a hole in the line.”

As she listened to Leo’s explanation, her frown grew. Bobbi sighed gently, suddenly feeling a lot more stressed than when she had woken up this morning, but seeing Leo made all of that okay, even if it came with bad news. “Well, you and your dad never really got along so I can’t say that I thought that things would be any different this time around.” She sighed, “I’m proud of you, without even knowing that you were doing it you were still somehow managing to stick up for me.” She smiled sweetly and took a long bitter sip of coffee. Swallowing, she looked Leo in the eyes and rubbed her temples. “Well, this is a shit load of things to take in and I don’t have anywhere to be, so we could have a little house warming gift, just you and me.” She winked and bit her lip before sipping at her coffee once more. “I’ve spoken to Annabeth a few times on skype and we’ve written some letters to one another, but other than the two of you there isn’t anyone else that I really know, unless any other members of our high school were secretly demigods and decide to turn up.”

Leo couldn’t imagine how this all must felt for Bobbi. Told she can’t really live a normal life, told there’s a safe haven across the country, told “her kind” wasn’t wanted there. It overwhelmed him and he was simply hearing about it. “Yeah, me and Dad still aren’t on the best terms.” That was the polite way to put it. “You okay? I’m sure this has been a lot of information to process.” He couldn’t help the little, proud smile that went over his face. “You taught me to root for the underdogs. And right now the Greeks are the underdogs.” Even with his actions lately, he still wanted to do more for them. His lips turned up at the corners, his smirk growing. “I could clear my schedule for that.” To be quite honest, Leo’s schedule today, if he hadn’t run into Bobbi, was to go to Cat’s room and lay on her floor on she kicked him out. “You have Cat and Leo. I’m sure some of my friends would be super willing to show you around too. I used to talk about you a lot, so I’m sure they’re a little curious.” He laughed and then shrugged at her,”There’s a good chance some of you favorite celebrities might be demigods or legacies.”

Nodding gently Bobbi tried to smile. “Well, I’m sorry you’re having to go through this, and y’know if there is anything I can do for you.” Smiling, she nodded again. “It is a lot to process but I think that things will work themselves out, at least, hopefully they will.” They had to be okay because there was nowhere else that Bobbi could go. Shrugging gently, she smiled. “Well, if you would prefer to do that I can have a house warming party on my own,” she winked gently at him, “but that doesn’t sound like nearly as much fun as if my very good friend was with.” She smiled brightly and shrugged gently, “I heard about Houdini, a son of Hermes, how fascinating. I wonder whether the high levels of celebrities is because of our enhanced nature. When we were able to do so well in sports in high school, I never thought it could be because of godly genetics.”

Leo smiled at her, amused by the apology. They both knew that his relationship with his father would be never be good again. There wasn’t much either one of them could do about it. Nevertheless, he still thanked her. “Right now, I’d just suggest trying to get settled in. Read over the bill so you know the law, but otherwise, for now, try to just get used to New Rome.” It was so much easier than said, but he hoped she would be able to settle in. He grinned at her,“My plans can wait, you deserve a good welcome back party. I wouldn’t want you to be spending it alone.” He nodded,“I always assumed that being a demigod helped with athletics, but it would make a lot of sense for it to help people get to celebrity status. I’m sure there are quite a few children of Apollo on the big stages around the world.”

Smiling gently, Bobbi sighed and settled back into the booth to finish off her coffee. She felt comfortable with Leo, she’d never felt that way with Andrew. There had never been any ease to their relationship and although he was the sweetest man in the world, he wasn’t Leo. “I think that as long as I am with you, and as long as I have you with me, then there isn’t a thing that will stop me from being at home, and my parents are under an hour away so I can’t really complain.” Smiling she drained her coffee and placed the mug gently down on the table. Sighing gently, she contentedly settled in. “Well then, we’ll need to make sure we get some booze, and then we’ll need to go and have a good time and really break my apartment in.” She smirked and nodded. “I knew that Beyonce was too good to be true, there was no way that anyone could be that perfect.”

#better latte than never #p: leo #para #f&gwriting #chatzy para

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fauzhee10069 · 4 years

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Caato Higashikata, 34 chapters (8 volumes) MIA and still overhyped

Warning: this post was written when chapter 96 was the latest chapter of JoJolion and edited when chapter 98 got updated, therefore I’m not responsible for the new chapters after ch-98 that potentially be contradicting with this post.

Yeah, there are still many people who believe that she will be the big villain, despite her total absence in 34 chapters (8 volumes) of JJL!! (though she was occasionally mentioned).

I did list some common reasons of how she could be the main villain (see the related post) & put my thought about those, but there is something I had missed, thanks for the discussion with one of the Caatofags. Here is the argument:

About Caato’s past:

It is a backstory for both of them, but when you look at it, it is moreso for Cato. Look at how the chapter is framed and how each character is used. The chapter starts with Tsurugi explaining the dilemma of Higashikata parents and Cato being worried about Jobin, the middle is about Cato healing Jobin by sacrificing the kid, and it ends by focusing on Cato going to jail. You bring up FV's childhood, but 1. I think Diego's backstory is a might have been a better parallel for the point you were trying to make and 2. In that story, the focus is clearly on FV.

But then we look it again, Diego and Valentine didn’t share the same backstory, unlike Jobin and Caato. Sure, obviously it is because the later are family (and I do like that flashback), but it’s still more about the introduction of Jobin’s character development, so that we know him even further even when we already familiar with him. And yeah, both Diego and Valentine’s flashbacks were childhood flashback, like Jobin’s… not the motherhood flashback of Caato.

In this chapter, the focus is almost always on Cato. You bring up Jobin appearing more, but you should be looking at how he is used instead. Whenever Cato is onscreen, she is the one who gets the most focus, with Jobin being used as Cato's motivator. When Jobin takes the focus, it is always to bring focus back onto Cato. He almost kills the bully, causing Cato to act.

The character development of how Jobin is ambitious and justifies any means… is because of this flashback. Yeah, there is also a little character development of Caato as the mom who desperately wanted to save her son, yet she hesitated in the way in which she had to sacrifice herself so when the opportunity came without having sacrificing her own life… she did it… immediately. It’s just by the name of mother’s love.

He is strangely healthy, causing Norisuke to look to Cato.

Norisuke IV’s suspicion of why Jobin healed without anyone in the family dying and the suspicion was confirmed when she was busted by the police.

Speaking of which, even the art supports this by heavily focusing on Cato.

Yeah, this is Caato:

And this is Jobin:

Same screentone btw.

And sorry, that’s the way the fanatic fan would answer.

While this is definitely an important moment for Jobin, he is a passive entity for most of it, with Cato being used to frame and end it, commit the defining action, and receive much of the focus.

Okay, if that is your answer after you compared Jobin’s backstory with Diego's one, then you may say that in Diego's backstory, it’s actually about his mom too (which a shame that she wasn’t named), of what had happened to her and what was her action & reaction, because his mom is the MVP who did most of the action. Look at her (Diego's mom’s) panel, she got some big panels & focus too (though I’m not showing that here, just look at the chapter by yourself).

SBR chapter 30: Scary Monsters - Part 3

Even though the story mostly focused on his mom, the backstory still belongs to Diego. You can say that both little Jobin and Diego were observing their moms’ actions then got inspired, that’s why Jobin becomes ambitious (climbing higher) and justifies any means and Diego maintains his pride and will not let anyone look down on him.

I still see that the flashback for Caato was more to resolve the mystery of her character (of why she was in prison). I hope she gets more flashback if she really has to be the MV, perhaps something outside her identity as the Higashikata ex-matriarch, her childhood perhaps, what was her birth family like or why she got married to the Higashikata, what was her expectation and how she reacted when she discover the hereditary rock disease, did she already know prior to the marriage? Whatever because I still more familiar with Jobin than her.

Clashing motivation with Josuke:

Also, you bring up JJL being about Josuke wanting to heal Holly, but there is a deeper motivation to him. Josuke's goal, at its core, is about wanting to regain the life he lost and find a family. Healing Holly is how he will get there, but taking back his life and finding people to care about him is the heart of his character and his goal. You know who else shares that goal? Not Jobin, he already has all of that. It's Cato, a woman who had her life taken from her and wants what she has lost. But unlike Josuke, she feels it is owed to her, and does not seem to want to earn it, but to take it. Cato works as a much better foil for Josuke than Jobin, who is moreso a foil to Norisuke, because she is like a dark reflection of his goal, which is what all JoJo villains are to their respective JoJo.

When Josuke's identity discovery would make a good parallel with Caato's identity recovery, that still wouldn't make a direct confrontation compared to "saving my mom” (Josuke) and saving my son (Jobin)", because the later requires the same objective to fulfill it (The New Locacaca fruit) and whoever obtains it first could be the winner, thus confrontation would likely happen. Then again, when Josuke's other goal is to discover his identity, didn't he already get that and accept it? Yet last time Caato declared what she really wants (fortune & rights), she doesn't even take a single action yet. Her action & her further background is still in the dark. There are already Josuke & Jobin's clash moments and the closest Caato clashed with Josuke is when she called him freeloader (LOL).

I’m aware that JoJo fan nowadays are too obsessed on the “parallel thingy”, whereas the more important aspect in story-writing (that we should give more attention to) is when the two events/actions collide (regardless of the reasons of why they happened) and makes a great conflict or an impactful event.

I guess with that kind of answer, you prefer anything with deep meaning to structural and impactful events.

I think at this point it's hard to tell what she will do, but there is a lot there that points to her being main villain material. The only thing working against he is the fact that she is barely around, but she'll have to pop up again soon.

At least you admit that she is still lack in action, then keep dreaming LOL (joking). While it becomes a mystery of why Caato is still MIA (missing in action), there is still a bigger mystery of why Kyo (as Holy’s daughter) is still MIA as well. In fact, I think that Kyo should get a greater priority to have any action rather than Caato, due to their relationship with their respective family. There is still zero interaction between Caato and Tsurugi compared to Kyo who clearly showed that she cares about her mother. Why doesn’t she (Kyo) show up at the hospital? Visit Holy? Meet Josuke? Then (perhaps) help him? Where the hell is she right now? We still know nothing about the relationship between Caato and Tsurugi, especially of what Caato thinks about her sickly grandson, in contrast to Kyo’s feeling about her mom, Holy.

Caato is not completely forgotten (or gone... like Kyo), I’m aware. She did get mention sometimes between her last appearance to chapter 98. However, none of the mentions were about her current action or her whereabouts, but rather her as the “cause and reason” (Jobin’s questionable action that is for the good cause he said was based on like she did in the past, the bully of Tsurugi due to Caato’s murderer background and Maako’s interest on that past rumor), all of them are in the past and tied to the same one event: The Backstory of Mother & Child chapter). Although this can still be counted as foreshadowing for Caato to be the big villain, that claim is still weak by the lack of her current action during this climax. Unless if there will be another (one) arc after this Dangerous Pursuit with The Head Doctor and the race for the ultimate Locacaca, where Caato will shine, but I doubt it because JoJolion had already surpassed Steel Ball Run in the chapter length. I am sure we are heading towards the end of JoJolion right now.

Still, my best bet is that Caato will be Jobin's Yoshihiro in a much better way.

Now, this is my hypothetical scenario of how Caato was supposed to be set up as the original ally (or mastermind… whatever) who collaborated with Damo’s group:

Jobin’s involvement with Damo’s group confirmed:

JJL chapter 63: Dolomite's Blue Lagoon - Part 5

The revelation of Jobin as merely a gofer (right after his childhood backstory):

JJL chapter 64: Mother and Child

But then, Dolomite hesitated to say more like… “I know nothing more, in fact I feel safe if I just let myself to be kept in the dark.” So, the real player he meant must be more dangerous than Jobin.

JJL chapter 64: Mother and Child

“This isn’t about Jobin anymore” said Dolomite, “This is about someone more dangerous than him, which actually led to his mom, Caato” said any Caatofags.

Nah, but this weird though, why would Dolomite hesitated (and was afraid) to sell Caato’s name if he felt safe enough to sell Jobin’s name which literally her son. Why would he let Josuke know about Jobin (which might cause Josuke potentially confront him)? Will Caato sacrifice her own son after just a few pages flashback ago she literally saved his life? I’m sure had Caato heard that Dolomite was about to selling Jobin’s name, she would immediately prevent it by killing Dolomite on the spot.

Also, this chapter should be a great timing to reveal her as the true associate of Damo’s group, just after her backstory had just been told, a great momentum to start set up Caato as the big villain like what Caatofags suggest.

The “one group of people” Dolomite was talking just after he said that Jobin was not a real threat, do you seriously believe that the group is the one that is being led by his mommy (Caato)? Nah, I’m sure he was talking about “The Locacaca Organization” led by The Head Doctor. Though of course Caatofags still theorize that HD (and Tooru sometimes) is either part of her disguise or her decoy. Silly...

The introduction of The Head Doctor (mentioned only) after the investigation of the connection with mysterious ambulance during Ozon Baby’s Pressure arc (chapter 76):

JJL chapter 83: The New Locacaca

The Head Doctor’s introduction was 19 chapters (5 volumes) after Dolomite’s confession and 7 chapters (3 volumes) after the ambulance scene, still in a reasonable interval to introduce the big villain. Then after that, the Dangerous Pursuit arc featuring The Head Doctor began.

So much had already happened, but you can’t deny that there is not a single action yet from Caato between those events.

I’m not saying that Caato can’t be… and won’t be the main villain, NO! It is still possible. However, the claim to say that she definitely will be the main villain is too early with pretty weak proofs to back it up (and then they make theory… theory… and theories with revolves around “parallel” shits). What Caatofags got so far is still mainly just clues which are still unconfirmed. While they think that her backstory & personality (then motivation… they say) are legit, her actual action tied to the current climax event is still nonexistent.

This worries me even more of how fanatic Caato’s supporters are. Already gone for 32 chapters (8 volumes), they’re keep saying that she will be The Main Villain, rather than focus on talking about Jobin and The Head Doctor for a while, who currently are very active players or maybe even Caato’s possible action & her role placement. They are only keep saying that “Caato will show up and be the big player, Ha Ha EPIC!” I can’t even imagine what will happen once a single panel of Caato appears in the upcoming chapter.

I hope I don’t end up hating Caato just because how annoying, loud, gullible and delusional her supporters are.

Sister post: Caato Higashikata, 36 chapters (9 volumes) MIA and still overhyped

Related post: JoJolion Cardspiracy: Caato & Damokan group

Related to:

Caato Higashikata, the case of a character getting overhyped

The legit hype Caatofags once had