#'the rescue'.......... BORING ASS TITLE | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

wesavegotham · 2 years ago

Text

Batman vs Robin #4...spoilers and a long rant under the cut.

Waid continues what he started doing in the preview and wastes Bruce's inner monologue on listing the martial arts moves they are doing. What is he trying to tell us with this? They know a lot of fighting techniques, what a revelation. The parts not about martial arts aren't that interesting either.

When I got to this page I thought for a split second that Bruce was finally going to reflect on his relationship with Damian a bit, but it's the most basic, surface level deep stuff you could possibly write. And instead of picking something meaningful from their history (Bruce gifting Damian Titus, Damian giving Bruce one of Martha's pearls he searched for in the sewers, the scavanger hunt, their trip to the moon, Bruce reviving Damian...) the artist gave us...this. Heartwarming. You can really feel how much writer and artist care for the relationship this book is supposedly about according to the title.

Also apparently obligatory Talia bashing.

I believe Bruce saying "he's my son" here was supposed to make me feel something, but it's all just so damn basic. He's Bruce's son, and? He doesn't seem to like him as a person and Damian being Bruce's son has never stopped Bruce from letting Damian down. Badly. If Damian being his son truly meant anything their relationship wouldn't have gotten this bad.

If anyone feels happy that Bruce's injuries from the last issue didn't get ignored here, let me assure you, despite it looking like it for a few pages none of this is going to matter later.

(I'm going to skip a page here, it's just more martial arts move and Bruce thinking that Damian can counter all of his moves. I'm really not sure what Waid wants to tell me with this. Am I supposed to think that Damian is a real threat? But Bruce already said that he could easily beat him under normal circumstances. Pride? But again, he's doesn't seem that impressed? Idk. I don't get Waid's Bruce.)

It's not compelling.

Also, as if anyone would even think for one second DC would let Bruce seriously be beaten by Damian. DC makes Damian lose against characters that picked up martial arts like two weeks ago to hype them up or to "teach Damian a lesson"

(Another uninteresting page of Damian punching Bruce and talking about killing him I'm going go skip here.)

Because why should Damian ever be allowed to have a win?

Also, we could have gotten a cool scene of Bruce rescuing Talia and talking about saving their son together, but instead Waid chose to go for the boring "gotcha, Bruce always pulls something out of his ass" route. I swear to god, DC writers are so afraid of letting Bruce make mistakes or be in real danger that it's infuriating. It's so boring to read Bruce. I know this twist is coming, I'm just always hoping they don't do it because it's such a predictable twist at this point.

Yay. Batgod😒

With the power of the helmet Bruce simply breaks Nezha's control over the possessed characters and teleports most of them home.

Damian immediately begging for forgiveness from Bruce kinda irks me. Especially when I consider how Bruce talked to Damian in the first issue and how he thinks about him...it just all gives me the vibe that this book is trying to "put Damian in his place". It's all so...patriachal? In a really bad way.

Bruce starts fighting Nezha. Bruce is batgod and Nezha is boring.

Talia and Damian go after Mother Soul, but Mother Soul can't really do anything on her own, so they beat her easily. She's also boring.

Nezha continues to be generic.

Bruce's line could have been really cool and touching. If Waid had built up to it. But at no point did Bruce reflect on anything Damian said to him during this book or think about how his mistakes as a father landed them in this situation, so when and how did Bruce reach the conclusion that this was actually about being the father Damian needs?

Because to me it feels like Damian was only in this as an excuse to draw Batman going up against demons.

*sigh* I feel like I read this dialogue 100 times already.

Bruce is still fighting Nezha, but is too cool to use magic correctly, so Nezha is able to pull the helmet off his head and the helmet breaks and lands in the lazarus pit, releasing all the magic it accumulated into it. If Damian had pulled something like this he would be laughed at for his arrogance, but this is Bruce so instead Nezha just rants about how great Bruce is:

You know, for one second I thought Damian was actually allowed to something useful for once in this story and save Bruce, but of course it doesn't go that way.

Instead Bruce ends up saving Damian. Why actually talk about their relationship issues if you can just throw in a heroic sacrifice to resolve it all?

Do you know how many times DC has "killed" Bruce this year? He'll be fine.

Also, Bruce had basically nothing nice to say about Damian or Talia this entire book so seeing them care so much about his death is just...guys, he's not worth it.

King Fire Bull arrives and starts fighting Nezha because he apparently killed his real parents. I don't care, they are both generic.

Black Alice revives Bruce with the lazarus magic running through Nezha's veins. I guess that is why Bruce turns into a demon in Lazarus Planet.

Nezha flees, the humans run to the plane Bruce arrived with and King Fire Bull blows up the volcano that spews the contaminated lazarus pit water all over the world.

Uff. I just feel like Waid has absolutely nothing interesting to say about Bruce and Damian's relationship. There is zero reflection going on. This book only exists to make Bruce look cool and everyone else is only there to give him opportunities to do so.

#bruce wayne #damian wayne #batman vs robin

89 notes · View notes

callsign-bunnie · 2 years ago

Text

Teeth and Skin Character details (Teeth and Skin is the name of the Zombie AU Now)

Soap:

Was an orphan, joined the military at 18, served until he was 24 when he was discharged for an injury that made him unable to serve.

Soap was vacationing in Mexico when the apocalypse

Survived alone for 2 years before he got stranded on the roof of a house and rescued

Ghost:

Same backstory as before but instead when he dug himself out of the grave, the apocalypse had already started.

Experiences fairly extreme psychosis from it and is half convinced he’s not alive

Found Soap on the roof of the house, considered leaving him behind, but Soap grabbed his arm and it was the first time he felt alive in 2 years

Is now obsessed with Soap, no one is allowed to touch him

Rodolfo:

Same backstory as before, he was best friends with Alejandro, followed him into the military

Was still actively running the Las Almas base when the apocalypse happened

Doesn’t trust anyone because everyone they’ve met that they didn’t know before was evil

He and Alejandro are stranded in a convenience store after a supply run gone wrong

Alejandro:

Joined the military at 18, was given title of Colonel way too young, does his best to keep the base active, even if they’ve abandoned the military title

Works with Valeria so both the cartel and the Vaqueros stay alive

Is injured during a supply run and gets them stranded in a convenience store

Price:

Boring ass white man backstory

He and Gaz were in Mexico when the apocalypse happened, trying to find out what happened to Ghost’s unit

Is unsure about locating Rodolfo because he knows about the Las Almas cartel

Gaz:

Was an orphan, joined the military once he was out of the foster system

Was with Price on a mission. He had uncovered the cartel at the time the apocalypse had happened and they discovered it was ravaged by zombies

Hears Rodolfo’s distress message on the radio system and sets out with Price to find them to help

Graves:

Was on break from missions when it happened, gathers the shadows afterwards.

Semi-antagonist until he joins the crew

Valeria:

Was pressured to join the military by her family

Left to become El Sin Nombre

When everything happened, she and Alejandro agreed to put their differences aside to ensure survival for both groups

Is found by Roach and travels with him to rescue Alejandro and Rodolfo

Farah:

Generic backstory

When the apocalypse was happening, she was called in for a favor by Laswell to track down Price and Gaz when they went missing, met with Alex in Washington state when it all went to shit and got stranded, has spent the last two years trying to find Laswell,

locates her 2 months before current events and now they’re trying to get to Mexico because she found evidence Price and Gaz are alive

Alex:

Orphan

Was receiving Farah when the apocalypse happened, didn’t talk about it but was freaked out when Price and Gaz went MIA, now they’re trying to find them

Is basically glorified body guard for Laswell and Farah on the journey to Mexico

Laswell:

Basic white woman backstory

When the apocalypse happens, her wife is killed by Zombies and she goes MIA while dealing with it, eventually locates Alex and Farah and guides them to her location when she finds evidence Price and Gaz are alive

Now is trying to get back to them

Roach:

Same backstory I normally use, mom died in childbirth, dad abandoned him.

Successfully lied about age due to this and signed up for the military at 16 but left at 20 and became a mercenary. Was in Mexico on a job dealing with Roba’s cartel when the apocalypse happened, found Ghost shortly after and they struck a deal working with each other.

Got separated from Ghost and ends up locating them so they send him to the Vaqueros to get them to send a truck, accidentally finds Valeria, instead, who travels back with him and a few of her men and rescues them

#teeth and skin: a zombie cod AU #Johnny Soap Mactavish #Simon Ghost Riley #Rodolfo Parra #Alejandro Vargas #John Price #Kyle Gaz Garrick #Phillip Graves #Valeria Garza #Farah Karim #Alex COD #Kate Laswell #Call Of Duty Modern Warfare II #Call of Duty #Gary Roach Sanderson

50 notes · View notes

thenightling · 1 year ago

Text

So Jack Skellington is problematic Now...

Ugh... In my re-embracing of my childhood favorite (Nightmare before Christmas) which turns thirty years old this year, I have had the displeasure of encountering "New" interpretations of the characters. I kind of hate that the Tumblr generation has discovered Nightmare before Christmas.

I'm stumbling across hot take after hot take about what an awful person Jack is and people "Cleverly" pointing out that Jack didn't listen to Sally, that he talked over her, that he does a lot of harm... Yeah, that's kind of the point. He's a f--k up. And he is oblivious. But he's not evil. And he's not abusive.

I even came across one tonight that said he's mentally unstable. No, his emotions are conveyed in a musical with song numbers by a very expressive and eccentric man who likes to play with his own vocal range and emotional expression in song. That's not "emotional instability." That's passion. All of Jack's emotions and reactions are warranted in the story.

One of the earliest hot takes I came across called the movie a "Dumpster Fire." And the person essentially said that Jack needs to be punished and that the mayor should strip him of his Pumpkin King Title. I think they don't realize a king out ranks a mayor, usually, and Jack isn't some beauty pageant winner. He is the king of Halloween. I think this new backlash against the character stems from interpretations that the movie is about cultural appropriation. People thinking Sally is too passive because they're used to "Strong women" actually fighting and kicking ass. But Sally is a strong character. She just doesn't do physical combat. I think we need to veer away from this shallow interpretation of "strong" requiring brute force. Sally is defiant. She questions things. She poisons her creator to escape him on a regular basis. And she even almost got away with freeing Santa Claus (almost at the cost of her own leg). That and a cultural stance of being anti-monarchy. It's kind of depressing seeing this sort of hate toward Jack. I know it's a children's film but it says a lot when people can't forgive the protagonist of a children's film for being oblivious (toward Sally and about taking over Christmas). There are actually people who think Jack will eventually get bored and lose interest in Sally because she's just "another high" for him and think he's a narcissist. If Jack was a true narcissist he would not have rushed to their rescue the way he did. Also The soundtrack album and novelization both tell you that Jack and Sally had "Four or five" children together. Jack never gets bored with her. The thing that Jack was missing the whole time was love- an emotional connection to another on a personal level. That's why he became obsessed with Christmas. He sensed the pure love attached to the holiday. He just didn't realize how close that potential connection- that love actually was. To think Sally is just another high for him is to miss the entire point of Jack's Lament, what the emptiness and longing was inside of Jack, and also ruins the intended sweetness of the ending. Despite what a lot of sequels do today with romances, these two were meant to be a Happily Ever After- without question. The idea was that Jack's obsession with Christmas came from a high, yes, but that high came from sensing the love innate in the holiday itself. That's the longing and emptiness he felt in the song Jack's Lament, the lack of deep interpersonal connection- love. He had fans but he didn't really have someone actually care about him as a person and get to know him or try to.

Jack would probably have other adventures and screw ups. But I don't think he'd get bored with Sally, she is a connection he has with no one else. And that's very important to someone who has experienced profound loneliness.

In regard to Jack's behavior in the movie... "Never attribute to malice what can adequately be explained by stupidity." Jack isn't stupid. But he IS very naive. And he makes horrible mistakes. Once he realizes he has made these mistakes he sets out to make things right. A more adult version of this issue came up when I first got into Neil Gaiman's The Sandman. Someone sent me an anonymous ask on Tumblr that read "Do you acknowledge all the terrible things Morpheus has done or do you ignore them because he's your fave?" He's my favorite partly BECAUSE he's a screw up. I like characters that make terrible mistakes and then attempt to set things right. I like redemption stories. I like character growth.

Has our culture reached some very unsympathetic and rather cruel point that protagonists can't make bad mistakes, can't have faults and failings? They need to be perfect and always do the right thing at all times lest forever be condemned as problematic?! For God's sake, I'm reading rants on why the King of Halloween wanting to do Christmas and not listening to the girl who has a crush on him should result in a beheading. Kids... Calm down. Not everything needs righteous rage.

#Nightmare before Christmas #Tim Burton

19 notes · View notes

harborpointeblvd · 4 months ago

Text

I Watched Every GMMTV BL series part 4/?

2016/2017

2018

2019

If your favorite BL came out in 2020, you should probably scroll past this post now.

BTW, before anyone says it, I didn't forget The Shipper. I watched it and decided not to include it because I don't consider it BL. Body swap stories are not my cup of tea, but I thought it was pretty good. I enjoyed it more than any of the shows I'm about to talk about, at least.

Sorry in advance for writing a whole ass essay on a show no one watched.

2gether - 2020

When first year college student, Tine (Win Metawin) is relentlessly pursued by Green (Gun Korawit), he asks handsome and popular Sarawat (Bright Vachirawit) to be his fake boyfriend. I feel like I don’t need to explain any further. You’re familiar with the fake-dating plot.

Honestly, this plot was so nothing that I’m bored even trying to write about it. The series is thirteen episodes, but could’ve been condensed to, like, eight. I feel like people unfairly judge Jittirain works based on this one, because it's (I think) her most popular one. But it's an outlier, Vice Versa was good, dammit!

Why does his leg look like it's bending backwards like a flamingo?

Still 2gether - 2020

As the title suggests, Tine and Wat are still together. For five episodes. Although for two of those episodes, they are separated with no contact.

While 2gether The Series has barely any plot, Still 2gether has no plot at all. That being said, it’s only five episodes and the couples act more like couples this time, so it’s easier to watch than the first series.

I don't remember why I took this screenshot, but I'm sure I had something very witty to say.

My Gear and Your Gown - 2020

Disclaimer: I was not aware of any of any actor’s legal troubles before watching this series, so that did not factor into my viewing experience.

After returning from studying abroad in England, Pai (Pawin Thanik) starts his final year of high school as a new student. On his first day, he is rescued twice by the same mysterious boy. After being roped into becoming president of his academic club, he learns that they are about to lose their club room to their rival athletic club. His hero becomes his enemy when the rival club’s president, Itt (Marc Natarit), turns out to be the same boy who rescued Pai on his first day.

I’m not gonna lie, this show really had me going in the first half. It sort of dragged, but I was ready to give it a passing grade. And then it all fell apart. I feel played by this drama. The first half of this show is set during their final year of high school and the latter half takes place during their freshman year of college. The high school stuff is just your basic enemies-to-friends-to-secret-crush story, but it felt true to life. The college stuff makes no goddamn sense.

Some spoilers ahead.

The high school portion moves pretty slowly, but I liked the way the relationship developed. Initially, Pai is forced to tutor Itt, but as they grow closer, he begins to genuinely care about Itt’s future, and he continues to tutor him after he no longer has to. After they have their falling out, he continues helping Itt in secret, and despite being heartbroken, he is happy for Itt when he does well on his college entrance exams. It’s heartbreaking and bittersweet, but also strangely satisfying. That might just be a Me thing. I find it so gratifying in dramas when the person with a one-sided crush just…gives up. I'm pro giving up.

Then we see Pai in college, where he discovers that Itt has chosen to attend the same university. He tries to avoid him, but Itt just keeps showing up to harass Pai. He convinces Pai to join the university’s Moon contest by withholding an item that Pai lost in high school that holds sentimental value to him. You know, romance. Anyways, it’s revealed that Itt is actually doing all of this to push Pai out of his comfort zone so he can learn to speak up for himself. But, the thing is, it was not well established to begin with that Pai had any trouble speaking up for himself. The only time we see that is with his parents. He actually makes his boundaries very clear in most situations, in a way that’s impressively mature for his age. Like, when a guy he rejected asks to go to his dorm room, he's like, "When you only see me as a friend, I'll invite you in," and I was like, "Damn, good answer." The few times Pai and Itt fought in high school, it was always Pai reaching out to Itt and making every effort to explain himself and Itt ignoring him. Pai is not the one with communication issues, is what I'm saying. This whole thing feels like an excuse for Itt to harass Pai. And the fact that Itt continues to let Pai believe he hates him is just baffling. He has this “it has to be this way” attitude, but no, it absolutely does not, you’re just drama.

The most disappointing thing about it is that this is an unrequited love reversal, which is my FAVORITE romance plot trope, and they bungled it. They had the chance to do Flipped better than Theory of Love*, but instead we got whatever the fuck this is.

The two lead actors did fine for the most part, but seemed to struggle when it came to heavier emotional scenes. They’re kind of blown out of the water by Fiat and JJ, who play Itt’s best friend Pure and Pai’s best friend Waan, respectively. The two characters form a friendship with each other that seems more genuine than either of their friendships with the main characters. Waan dragging a depressed Pure to a clinic to get tested for STIs is peak best friend behavior.

TW for sexual assault. There is an attempted rape of one of the characters during the college portion of the series. It’s not the worst use of this trope I’ve seen. The perpetrator is not the love interest of the victim and it’s not used as a plot device to make a red flag love interest out to be a hero (See Tonhon Chonlatee below). The perpetrator is forgiven way too easily though. Is it so much to ask that BL shows treat rape like a crime?

*Just kidding, probably not.

Joke's on you, that only makes me want to do it more.

Tonhon Chonlatee - 2020

Chonlatee (Khaotung Thanawat) has had a secret crush on the older boy next door, Tonhon (Pod Suphakorn) since they were kids. He has vowed never to tell him, since Tonhon dates girls. But when Chonlatee gets into the same university, Tonhon insists on Chonlatee moving in with him, and his secret gets harder to keep.

There were things I liked about this show. The ongoing joke that it is very obvious to everyone but Tonhon that Chon is gay is funny for a while, as well as Tonhon being oblivious to the fact that his two roommates who he’s lived with for three years are in a relationship. I like pretty much all of their friends, especially Chon’s best friend Pong played by Ciize. Unfortunately, this show is badly written. I mean, like, REALLY bad.

Some spoilers beyond this point. And TW for sexual assault.

Pretty much every bad BL trope is in here. They made the rival love interest so much more likable than Tonhon. And this is a guy who congratulates people for meeting him, how is he more likable than your main love interest? Tonhon has to rescue Chon from being raped (by the same guy from Kiss Me Again, he should be concerned about how he’s being typecast). And of course, we have the queen of all lazy BL tropes: every villainous trait you can think of wrapped into one jealous ex-girlfriend, who is the source of literally every conflict. It’s so unnecessary, because there are already things in their lives that can cause drama without bringing in a queen bee villain, like Tonhon’s internalized homophobia or his homophobic dad. But, no, every catastrophic event is orchestrated by this one woman, including the attempted rape. In the end, everyone boos and throws garbage at her. Even the rapist tells her off, and also gets off with, like, no consequences. They magically solve the homophobic dad problem by promising to get a surrogate so Tonhon can produce an heir. Him constantly pressuring his kids to have babies is never seen as an issue, just the fact that he won’t let Tonhon date Chonlatee.

There’s a time skip scene at the end where all of the characters sit in a circle telling each other what is going on in their lives now. Just, like, telling each other things they should probably already know. "Tonhon's dad bought you a house because you agreed to carry their baby, so now you don't have to be a sex worker." What is even the point of a timeskip if we don’t even get to SEE them living their lives? And they’re already having a baby after THREE YEARS? Chon is still in school, are you fucking nuts?

And, really, Chon? Three years later, you still have that haircut, huh?

Soulmate - The One. Like he was created for me, specifically. Sugar Daddy - He may not have it all, but he knows how to spoil me. Friend With Benefits - Despite my better judgment, I went and caught feelings. Second Lead - All my friends love him, but I don’t feel the spark. Overeager Pursuer - Tries to be cute but just gets on my nerves. Vindictive Ex - It’s like he’s punishing me for knowing I could do better. Love Rival - Literally what did I do to deserve this? -

#janine's slow descent into madness #2gether the series #still 2gether #my gear and your gown #tonhon chonlatee #thai bl #gmmtv #sorry i can't stop doing the asterisk bit

5 notes · View notes

hustlecandy · 1 year ago

Text

And now the final part! Thanks for the nice comments on the last two posts, it rly means a lot!! ^ ^

Day (technically 19 but) 21: Berry

(I know I accidentally skipped this one in the last post I am sorry. Anyway this is the result of me watching too many JimmyHere YLYL streams while drawing)

Day 22: Fungal

"Ah... Our favorite. Fate has smiled upon us."

"The textures work so well together!"

"...A bit too savoury. We shoulda put honey in it!"

(Imma be honest. I didn't get this line on my first playthrough, so when I did on my second I about broke down crying. Fate has smiled upon them,,, ;v;)

Day 23: Flight

"We can fly as high as our hearts wish to! Soar to UNSEEN HEIGHTS!"

(The fact that Kabbu is terrified of heights but loves bounceshrooms is very underrated imo. I think he wants to overcome his fear someday and maybe learn how to fly on his own...)

Day 24: Plant Enchanter

(What did you guys name your Chompys? I named mine Amarylis, intentionally spelt wrong due to character limits. I just think it's a pretty word :>)

Day 25: Lost

"Everyone left on the rescue ferry...but I chose to stay. There's such a soothing beat… How could I leave this place behind? I've gotta find where it comes from...I've...gotta..."

(You ever wonder what happened to the bug who left that note on the Peacock Spider's island? I mean, they're obviously dead, but...I still wonder.)

Day 26: Alternate Universe

(You ever make an AU based on a single line of dialogue & some concept art that gets stuck in your brain and refuses to leave? Yeah, that's what this AU is. The placeholder title is 'The Upcoming Storm', and is an answer to two questions: What if the Roaches followed through with their plans for a Thunder cordyceps? And what if one of Leif's ancestors decided to look into their disappearance?

So this is Cerice, their ridiculously energetic lesbian daughter [who they don't know is their daughter yet; she doesn't remember that they're her parent either] and host of the Thunder cordyceps! Don't worry, Grandpa and Muze still exist - Grandpa's her son. However, Team Snakemouth is split into two teams - Team Snake and Team Mothden - but they still work together. I might make a separate post abt it if anyone wants me to ^^)

Day 27: Song

(Who's a better character for this prompt than the composer's self-insert, lol)

Day 28: Medal

(I am a very firm believer in Poisoned Leif supremacy. Sorry Poisoned Vi and Kabbu, smashing bosses over the head with glaciers is just so viscerally satisfying)

[I didn't have any ideas for Boss Rush, sorry]

Day 30: Bee

"You know...I was about her age when I came to my first festival. Everything was so much cooler than the boring Bee Kingdom! It really made me want to see the world!"

(I really wish they elaborated more on Vi deciding to become an explorer after her first festival! It's a very cute motivation & had a lotta story potential ;^;)

Day 31: Everlasting

"The Usurper, Grasping For Power..."

(Hoaxe is a fun final boss but god DAMN did he kick my ass a hundred times over. It's a good thing I decided to max my rank and stock up on Queen's Dinners, Berry Smoothies & Miracle Shakes the 5th time around)

#bug fables #bug fables spoilers #leif's request spoilers #chapter 7 spoilers #vi #leif #kabbu #chompy #peacock spider #(the ant is just a placeholder design)#cerice #(<- well an au/fan character version of her)#tristan #acolyte aria #div #the wasp king #the everlasting king #hoaxe #mk's sketches

14 notes · View notes

usergreenpixel · 2 years ago

Text

MALMAISON MEDIA SALON SOIRÉE 14: AT ABOUKIR AND ACRE (1898)

1. The Introduction

Hello, Dear Neighbors, and welcome back to Malmaison Media Salon. So, as I’ve said before, today we’re going to talk about a book by G. A. Henty, one of my archenemies!

Why archenemy?

That’s just how I label authors whose shit I reviewed before. Henty’s “wonderful” book about Frev left a bad taste in my mouth for a long time, so I was understandably mistrustful of any other piece of his.

However, after finding out he has one more Frev book AND several Napoleonic ones and this one (About the Egyptian Campaign, between the two eras), I had to make another review in spite of my lower than six feet expectations. So I went on Project Gutenberg to download the ebook for free. That’s where you can get it by the way.

But hey, maybe this book is better than the one I reviewed before. It’s always a possibility, right? The short answer is no. The long answer is not at all.

For an even longer answer, let us finally proceed with the review, which I dedicate to @koda-friedrich , @blackwidowmarshal123 and @aminoscribbles .

2. The Summary

As you might guess from the title, the book is set during the Egyptian campaign and, in classic Henty fashion, has a young English boy as the protagonist.

Edgar Blagrove, the boy in question, is a son of an English merchant who is left behind in Egypt during the war, so the book follows his adventures as he’s trying to survive, reunite with his family and have adventures along the way (as you do).

Even though Henty’s books are targeted at young boys, the premise sounds like something that I would actually enjoy, but I didn’t.

Let’s dissect this book to find out just how bad it gets, shall we?

3. The Story

The beginning isn’t so great. At first the opening scene promises some action, yet the immersion is broken like glass a couple of pages in with heaps upon heaps of Edgar’s backstory. Nice job, Henty…

Luckily, it’s the only time an extensive flashback like this is used, but the pacing can get about as fast as snail because often pieces of information get repeated in dialogues when nothing bad would’ve happened if the author avoided said repetition.

Moreover, while in the first half or so of the story the hero’s ways of getting out of problems stay realistic and justifiable, the second half has Edgar cross so far into Mary Sue territory that he may as well be called Gary Stu.

(Spoilers ahead)

This kid gets hired by SIDNEY FUCKING SMITH as a midshipman and interpreter. I’m not kidding, that’s an actual plot point!

Let me repeat: A kid who DID NOT previously serve in the navy is made midshipman and interpreter by SIDNEY SMITH, who meets said kid by pure coincidence! And only the interpreter part is justified, since Edgar was educated in several languages from a young age and learned the mother tongues of servants and citizens of Cairo too.

That, in all honesty, was the point where I just lost what little investment I had because it just became too apparent that everything will be fine and Edgar will have a happy ending.

4. The Characters

Before crossing the Gary Stu threshold, Edgar actually had potential to be a good character.

He is a reckless kid who was so bored with his monotonous life in Cairo that he wanted to see the English kick the French in the ass.

He cares about his friends, is kind and ready to help his loved ones and sometimes makes risky decisions.

But then he just becomes somebody who is always right and he gets too perfect. So all the potential goes down the drain like a dead goldfish. Hooray…

Sidi, an Arab boy Edgar rescues in the beginning of the story, is a bit more interesting, mainly due to his dynamic with Edgar as basically adopted brothers. He and his family provide Edgar with shelter in their oasis and help him out in a time of need too. Unfortunately, Sidi is a bit of a flat character for someone who gets a pretty major role in the story, but Henty isn’t too good with characters anyway.

Other characters are flat too. To various degrees. Unfortunately, that’s all I can say because there’s a ton of characters.

However, English officers like Nelson and Sidney Smith are whitewashed and glorified to no end. Henty loves sucking the dick of English nationalism, but I already saw that in my other review so no surprise there.

As for the French side of things… I was genuinely surprised that Napoleon was NOT portrayed as Devil Incarnate and it’s mentioned that he does care about his troops.

Many historical figures are name dropped but don’t appear in person, such as Kleber, Desaix, Junot, Menou, etc. Personally, I’m glad they don’t get a cameo in person for several reasons:

A) the book isn’t about them

B) it would be too unrealistic for Edgar to meet those people

C) after the atrocious portrayal of Montagnards, I DO NOT trust Henty with accuracy when it comes to French Republican generals

Eugene de Beauharnais is omitted once again, even though I’m pretty sure he participated in that campaign. Oh well, shout-out to Eugene from me!

5. The Setting

Henty is, once again, bad with settings and his descriptions are, at times, too minimalistic.

I didn’t feel the action in battle scenes, I couldn’t envision the oasis, the streets of Cairo or any other settings. There’s just not enough to achieve immersion.

6. The Writing

The writing is old fashioned, as it was a book written in the 19th century, but for people who are fluent in English there shouldn’t be a lot of issues with comprehending the vocabulary, except maybe all the naval terms that have no definitions given. Grrr…

I can’t necessarily call Henty’s writing awful, but it’s not for me so it didn’t help my overall impression of the book.

7. The Conclusion

Even though it’s not as bad as “In the Reign of Terror” was, it’s still not a book I would recommend and the improvements are insignificant.

Most characters are still flat, the annoying nationalism has still reared its head, the pacing is longer than the Amazon River and the protagonist becomes a Gary Stu in the end.

The verdict? Please find something else to read.

Anyway, the soirée is officially coming to an end. Please stay tuned because more updates are coming soon.

Love,

Citizen Green Pixel

#malmaison media salon #history #historical art #french history #napoleonic literature #napoleonic media #napoleonic art #g a henty #at aboukir and acre #book review #napoleon bonaparte #louis charles antoine desaix #jean baptiste kleber #general menou #eugène de beauharnais #sidney smith #horatio nelson #jean andoche junot

40 notes · View notes

airyairyaucontraire · 2 years ago

Text

Watching The Mandalorian S3EIforget, "The Pirate"

Okay, 44 minutes of a show that's rapidly losing my allegiance, not for being offensive or brutal, just for being kind of dumb and palpably losing interest in its title character. Let's go then.

If this show was going to go with pirates while also being addicted to re-introducing characters from the CG TV shows, I really feel they could've graced our screens with Hondo Ohnaka. But I fundamentally don't want them to keep bringing in characters from the CG shows. The only exception I would make is Rex, because Temuera Morrison, but I would rather still have more Boba, because also Temuera Morrison.

They haven't even tried to re-member the dismembered IG-11 statue.

shiny ass-kissing droid

and now there are pirates

and I just feel like a man in Greef's position -

actually speaking of Greef's position, I love how before skyping the mossy pirate captain, he squares up and puts his hands on his hips like Henry VIII posing for Holbein

- okay, a man in Greef's position, formerly deeply involved with the bounty hunters' guild, ought to have a staff of mercenaries on site in readiness for shit like this. Instead he's as unprepared for the possibility of bad guys with a big ship showing up wanting to take his stuff as Boba was on Tatooine. Presenting these middle-aged guys who have been involved in the underbelly of the galaxy for their whole adult lives as so naïve about the security challenges of running one's own fiefdom during a somewhat lawless period of regime change is such a bizarre choice. Why is everyone in this show so dumb about stuff they should be totally used to? They're not Luke Skywalker coming from the middle of nowhere with starry eyes and feathered hair. Like they should be smarter than me at this type of thing, and I'm a typist from Auckland.

there's a PIRATE NATION taking over the Mid Rim? THAT I ACTUALLY AM SEMI-INTERESTED IN so I bet they won't show it.

Retreat to the lava flats - a large, open area without shelter or cover. Super.

exsqueeze me, Disney+ subtitler, but PSYCHEDELIC ROCK MUSIC PLAYING?

well, the krill farmers are still pumping out the blue juice, I see. And here's a nice Korean Canadian dad - you know what? I feel like Captain Teva is here to provide the Papa Smurf beard that Rex is not onscreen to give us.

Okay, so just as apparently Ragnar just hung out in a dinosaur's crop totally uninjured for 12 hours minimum while a search party stopped to rest overnight on their way to him, Mr Kim has time to travel to Coruscant and try to get a meeting with his superiors while Nevarro is under active pirate attack. He doesn't say "screw it, time is of the essence, I'll render aid and take the consequences." This show's idea of time in rescue situations is bizarre.

Who else feels like this fucking boring New Republic plotline was supposed to be part of the Rangers show that presumably Cara Dune would have headed up if the actress hadn't insisted on being a douchebag on Twitter? And now they're just trying to fold it into The Mandalorian. I resent it.

You know, when I heard the name Tuttle I had a brief feverish flowering of hope that a M*A*S*H tribute about the insanity of military bureaucracy might be in the works, but then it withered.

I know this guy from somewhere, somewhere relatively recent, but I am unable to place him. I am not interested enough to look him up.

I'm so irritated by the lazy cynicism of "If the Rebellion got into power they'd be useless." They're not the Democrats.

so now everyone's just wandering around in the blazing sunlight on hot black lava flats. Sorry Greef, your planet sucks.

And now... is this Jurassic Planet? yep, so I hope he doesn't get eaten by a serpent while he's here. Dude. Sir. You're standing so close to the bay that the mosasaurs like to pop out of. You've got your back to it. Please.

please help me

why does Paz address Teva as "Blue Boy"? He is dressed from neck to ankle in the most garish orange. Paz's own armour is predominantly blue. Is he fucking colour-blind?

Why does the Disney+ subtitler still head up Din's dialogue as "THE MANDALORIAN" when we've known for actual years that his name is Din Djarin?

they pride themselves on their secrecy... and their idiocy.

You know, this would never have happened if you'd stuck with your plan of repairing IG-11. He was no snitch.

Din calls him "Blue" too! HE IS DRESSED IN ORANGE

I CANNOT RECALL THE COLOUR BLUE EVER BEING SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE REBELLION OR NEW REPUBLIC

HE HAS SOME BLUE STENCILS ON HIS HELMET BUT HE DELIBERATELY TOOK THAT OFF AND LEFT IT IN HIS SHIP WHEN HE GOT OUT TO PARLEY SO DIN AND PAZ CAN'T SEE IT

anyway BK's doing her swaggery walk again and while we're at it WHO ELSE PROMINENTLY WEARS BLUE?

and now we're going to have a long, leisurely meeting to discuss because what is time? what is urgency?

"and our children can feel what it is to play in the sunlight" - which we already let them do because we take absolutely no safety precautions about living right next to a bay where dinosaurs regularly pop out of the water or swoop from the sky to devour our young

"Does anyone else wish to speak?" No, because we are all just elaborately dressed extras. We know our place.

I'm... skipping stuff.

So the pirates are boozing it up in the school, like they wanted to. I'm happy that someone got what they wanted.

I like that one warthog pirate!

Did a Salacious B. Crumb monkey just tip off the Mandos?

I know they want me to be excited for the big battle, I know they do... I'm just too grumpy. I have a glass of wine, though, so that's good. Recognisable salmon pink in colour, The Ned Pinot Gris 2022 showcases classic aromas of quince, pear drop and vibrant stonefruit. The palate is lush with juicy nectarine and Braeburn flavours supported by an underlying hint of spice that leads to an unctuous ripe finish. A versatile wine when it comes to food matching with its notable fruitiness and gentle acidity. Try pairing this silky wine with succulent chicken thighs added to a creamy, lemon fettuccine pasta sauce.

you know, I don't usually tolerate words like unctuous and succulent being thrust at me by a mere product description, but I'll allow it

So... there wasn't much point to the mossy pirate at all, was there? Unless he bailed out with a parachute, he blowed up.

yes, the Anzellans are very cute. Always a pleasure to see them.

You know why I have a problem with this effort to do a whole thing about Bo-Katan and reuniting Mandalore and everything? It's the problem of trying to link up with the sequels, which were made before The Mandalorian was a consideration and gave absolutely no hint that the Mandalorians were a consideration either. Did they just "retake Mandalore" and then become totally isolationist, neither fighting the First Order nor supporting the Resistance? Did they get wiped out for keeps? Where were they when shit went down? You don't have to engage with that if you're prepared to just tell a small story of one dude and his kid, and a personal saga of family and faith, friendship and love, but once you commit to doing a big political historical story, you've gotta and it seems doomed to be unsatisfactory.

anyway if people are just whipping their helmets off now I reckon Din should pop back to Tatooine and show Cobb his smile

#The Mandalorian #the mandalorian spoilers #the mandalorian s3 #spoilers #mando critical

13 notes · View notes

jackalopes-pen · 1 year ago

Text

Chapter 2: Oddity

Summary: Fastpass begrudgingly goes to handle a call, and finds himself asking a few strange questions.

Characters: Jimmy Valmer | Fastpass , XXXXXXX | The Crow

Word Count: 1059 words

Previous: [Encounter]

A/N: One note, thanks. Oh well, still gonna do this.

Night is when the fun really starts in the city. It’s when your job lets you get off to go drink, it’s when the bars are populace and bustling, it’s when you can breathe and really let yourself relax. On nights like these where the wind is tempting people inside and the drinks are at a more modest price, normally Fastpass would take up the opportunity for an open mic night. That would be what he was doing if some idiot didn’t decide to ruin his night and break into a construction site. It’s probably rats or some homeless guy but sure, ruin his night for a false alarm. It’s not like he has a life too.

Fastpass arrived at the construction site, a new building for Mortengrad Corporation to run operations in the city more directly. In seriousness, Fastpass never liked the company, but it didn’t matter what he thought about the company itself or its actions. Be a paragon, do the right thing, save the day. He looked around, there was no sign of entry or struggle over the tarp of the fence. Someone experienced then?

He sped around the site, and was genuinely confused to what he was supposed to be looking for. No footprints but his own, nothing disturbed, not even a missing beam of steel. Just as he was about to call it a night, he felt it. The wind was blowing east, yet a gust blew north. Something was definitely here, something that would take an annoyingly long time to handle. He slowly looked around before sighing and deciding to use the age old technique of ‘made you flinch’.

Fastpass banged his metal crutch into the foundation of the building, setting off a chain echo of noisy metal. The skittish little thing popped out, gotcha. Fastpass rushed over to where it was hiding, whatever it was and was immediately struck with a scythe. Fuck, not them again.

“W-well well. If it isn’t the biggest p-p-pain in my ass since c-c-Cosby.” Fastpass quipped. Standing on the third row of beams up in the sky was a tall winged figure, with a scythe in hand.

“What a title.” The Crow’s face was completely masked by a caplet and half mask of a crow’s face. Even so, the sarcasm was palpable and the eyeroll may as well have been a whole broadcast.

“W-well don’t just loom up there. Come at me b-bitch.” Fastpass spoke, with all the tenacity he could muster. Crow seemed eager to take him up on the request.

Crow swooped down from above and swung at Fastpass, aiming for his crutches. The two did this a lot, Crow keeping to the air with his massive black wings and Fastpass zooming around the ground. Fastpass never understood why Human Kite couldn’t take calls regarding him. They could actually fight in the air instead of running around like a mouse.’

“You know something, Crow? You n-never seem to talk to me when we do this. Do you hate me?” Fastpass said, striking up a conversation. This back and forth was always so damn boring, the least they could do was talk.

“Maybe I prefer to talk to someone who has more tact.” The Crow replied, with venom in his voice. He landed, and switched to a more hand-to-hand approach, probably seeing that his flight strategy wasn;t panning out.

“Tact? I’m a fucking s-s-stand-up c-comdiean. I have tact.” Fastpass argued. This idiotic bird clearly doesn’t ideate. He sped over to the vigilante with a rope but the bird launched himself up with his wings in the nic of time. He swooped down to remove the rope from Fastpass’ grip and tossed it aside.

“If you’re such a comic, make better comebacks.” The Crow huffed. He dropped down to kick at Fastpass’ legs but the hero is far too fast for that. He sped out and the two rescued a more hand-to-hand combat.

“Wow, what a great audience.” Fastpass huffed under his breath, as the two traded blows. This was starting to drag longer than he wanted.. Oh fuck it. He spoke up. “Say bug guy, w-why are you messing with this site anyway?”

“A-are you serious?” The Crow stopped dead in his tracks, seemingly very confused.

“W-well yeah. W-what’s the big deal?” Fastpass also stopped. The two were just standing, facing each other with one much more confused than the other.

“Uh.. well, the position of the building would mean it runs on East District power, and would likely cause regular black-outs and shortgages. So.. we don’t want it completed.” Crow is choosing his words carefully, that’s obvious.

Fastpass thinks for a moment. The cause is decent, and even kinda noble to risk imprisonment to save the East District. It was almost too… human. These are villains, they shouldn;t have an actually decent cause for their wrongs but that’s valid. Especially if The Omens live in the East District, which is the poorest part of the city. Why they not defend their home?

“You w-what? I actually have something I want to do tonight, so go ahead. B-but if anyone asks, I did fight you.” Fastpass smirks, as The Crow seems even more baffled.

“Okay, yeah. You… definitely left a mark or two.” Crow is being hesitant, probably very on edge about the whole exchange.

“Cool, just d-don’t hurt anyone.” Fastpass shrugged and sped off before Crow could even respond. His work was done here, as far as he was concerned.

It was strange though, he’s more than willing to admit that. To see The Omens of all groups holding a noble cause to their chaos is.. weird. He didn’t have to worry much about that now though, the site would be largely destroyed and a token would be left at the scene. That’s what they do.

Tonight just became Jimmy’s night again, though, and that was absolutely wonderful. He sped down to Skeeter’s bar just as the back door was closing. He wooshed into the dressing room so he could get out of this costume and into some normal clothes that are actually comfortable. He looked in the mirror, as he smiled and took a breath to prepare for his act. He, of course, wrote it to utter perfection.

“Jimmy? You ready to go on?” the stage manager asked.

“Oh h-h-he-hell yes.” Jimmy stutterd out.

#south park #south park fanfic #south park fanfiction #sp fanfic #sp fanfiction #jimmy valmer #fastpass #sp fastpass #the fractured but whole #sp superhero au #no ocs #stand up comic jimmy #fanfic #tumblr fanfic #here we go again #this is a chapter two-ish\#so like #we'll see what happens

3 notes · View notes

cantfightmoonlight · 1 year ago

Text

"Pathetic toy? Theo, what on earth are you talking abou-" Meena began to say, only for a scoff to break from her lips as his follow up comment made it clear he was referring to Kadir, before he turned around and drove his fist directly through the wall causing Meena to flinch out of surprise. Her wall of her house that she had had designed and decorated right down to the smallest detail, but god forbid she could ever have anything nice. "Are you fucking kidding me?" She asked him forthright, speeding forwards so that she now stood an inch away from him. Her eyes bearing into him with nothing but distain. "You are going to get one thing straight, I am your fucking Clan Leader. Not a pretty prize to be won. Not some dainty wife who has no agency over herself. The fucking Mayor. And you will respect me as such or you will get the fuck out my goddamn house and, yes, Theodore, this is my house and I will gladly bring out the deed to show Sheriff Cavanaugh when she arrests your pitiful ass for trespassing if you'd so like to see it." Meena was not one to easily cuss and she never raised her voice. But, as her eyes bored into Theo's soul, her dark brown gaze was filled with nothing but pure and calculated rage.

"Now," Meena cocked her head ever so slightly to the side as a smile that could rival that of a Stepford Wife creeped across her lips. "I can understand your confusion. I clearly let you off the hook for too long, but no. Dearest Theodore, no, you poor simpleminded soul, this has nothing to do with anyone, but me. The me who put up with your ungrateful ass for over two centuries, because well, you managed to consistently hold some form of a title and I naively believed you to be my friend. My family. Only, you want to talk about my audacity? You, Theodore Moore, gifted me this piece of property back 1812 and you think you have some claim to it? Would you like the jewelry you gifted me back next? I can wrap some up for you as a parting gift if you'd like? You've undermined and talked down to me for over two hundred years. You went out of your way not to listen to me as your advisor and the second you came back to town you've referred to me as trash, as a liar, as unfit for either of my jobs- one of which you never seemed to be able to obtain yourself- and a number of other derogatory adjectives. Not to mention, you purposely ignored and avoided me for months. And you think you're the victim here? You think if you had even attempted to have a semblance of a friendship let alone a relationship with me since I, and yes Theo, I rescued you- seeing how I was the one who sent out a search party for you, found you and brought you back into town- you'd be given a month's eviction notice right now? A far more generous notice than two weeks I might add. No. You wouldn't have, because this, Theodore Moore, is your own doing and I chose to name this estate Moore Manor out of respect for the both of us, but what respect have you shown me?"

"You've never loved me. You enjoyed having someone by your side who would never leave you. Only if you recall, our entire relationship started with that of a contract. One that was to be mutually beneficial to the both of us and you have failed to uphold your end of the bargain. Having you in my life is no longer a benefit to me, Teddy, and, let's be honest? You stopped viewing me as your family the moment you came back and without that? We have nothing. You chose for me to be a stranger to you and, yet, you're surprised when I comply. I am civil. You're the barbarian punching holes in the wall. So, if you'd like to ask your question you still can, but if not, then we can call this what it is," Another scoff broke from her lips, only this one far more drained than before. "I am follow your lead. Rather than go back to how we were, you chose to cut me out of your life completely, so pot meet kettle. Now, you have been cut out back. And in terms of Kadir, not that its any of your business, but I don't really want anything to do with either of you at the moment. I'm tired of the two of you cutting me out of the conversation and making assumptions on my behalf," Taking a deep breath, Meena took a step back. "You have a month," She told him softly. "Be glad it's not less. And if you dare punch another hole in my wall, it will be your last."

Without even so much as a warning Theo was hit with news he was not expecting to hear. As if stating something so simple like checking things off a list, Theo was subjected to hearing that news from a woman who he thought had a morsel of decency and understanding. But how wrong he was. Of course there was shock, but anger was quick to take over, filling his mind and soul with “Is this the doing of that pathetic little toy of yours?” he asked, venom dripping with each letter, “The hunter should’ve died two hundred years ago.” And he could not hold it back anymore as he drove a fist through the wall behind him, imagining that to be Kadir’s face. “You declare me dead when I was still very much alive, go around town dragging my name through the mud and now have the fucking audacity to tell me to leave when you’ve only had a hand in decorating this house? Need I remind you that you’re residing in the Moore Manor. Drop my last name, you’ve gone around bragging that you’ve killed me anyway, but this is my estate.”

Nostrils flared as he spoke, bitterness cutting through all the memories of him presenting her with this house, of him giving her free reign into the design. These grand halls used to echo with soft bouts of laughter at times, there was love too but maybe that was only once upon a time that only existed in his imagination because now he only saw hate and betrayal. “Is this how the Mayor and Clan Leader behaves? The action of the woman I still continue to foolishly love? Steal a man’s house while he was tortured?” There was ample hurt in Theo’s tone, all the anger that was being displayed resulted from trust being broken. When he had no one, he had her, despite their differences and indifferences, he had no family except her. He hadn’t been faithful he would admit that, but neither had she, and it showed the most now, “Here I was thinking of asking your advice on something, hoping we’d be able to talk with civility if not personally, but you have shown your true colours yet again and I ask myself yet again why I keep trusting you when it’s a lost cause. You said once that you’d follow my lead, yet by the time I could gather on things that I had missed, you’ve run off to do your own thing. Has there been any word you kept?”

#theo ft. meena #c: meena #violence tw #sexism tw

6 notes · View notes

artemiseamoon · 3 years ago

Text

A Lighthouse in the Dark

Chapter one: The price of being a warrior

Words; 1,685

Ex special forces (Amara) OFC | TF boys

Warnings: if you know the film, general warnings are similar. Adult 18+ content. There will be violence, fighting, a crash, injury

Fic info || next

Relationships: Amara & TF boys like family | Amara x Santi bestie energy with …| Amara x Will (feels energy)

AN: What a week. I went from contemplating yet again taking all my writng down and publicly quitting to working on this a second night in a row. Oh life is choppy over here, like waves. 😩 But l’ll let the muse run with this and see where it takes me.*** I have an A03 with the same name. Here & there are the only places I post my work.

Amara preferred to stay busy and active. It was easier this way. In the quiet moments, she remembered too much, including the things she wished she could forget. The work they did took its toll on everyone, and everyone found a way to deal with it.

As tight-lipped as the guys were about their struggles, she was even quieter, the truths shoved down so deep that even if she wanted to face them, she wouldn’t know how. Special forces wasn’t for the weak; the men had to be tough, the women even tougher.

The title was officially in her rearview mirror these days, ex-special forces, ex-search and rescue. Despite only being in her late 30s, she is retired now. Amara split her time between training women in self-defense (weapons and without) plus whatever else called her attention.

Though she was controlled and calm on the surface, some days she felt like a volcano ready to blow. She had vices, ones that helped her forget the worst of her memories. Before her thoughts could take an undesired turn, her phone vibrates in her pocket.

The name on the screen causes her to pause. She tips her head to the side and whispers to herself, "well, look who it is.”

…

Classic rock plays from the speakers, loud but not enough to be deafening. Amara’s eyes travel the room, taking everything in as Santiago returns with drinks. He places the beer in front of him, and the glass of rum in front of her.

“Always watching.” He comments with a sideways smile. He settles into the chair opposite of her.

“Can’t help it. Thanks for the drink.” They bring their drinks together in cheers.

“About my text,” he takes a sip and lowers the bottle, “you in?”

“I don’t know Pope…I don’t do this kind of shit anymore,” she leans back in the back, eyes still on his.

“I know, I get that. But, I need the best on this, home team. That includes you.”

Amara sighs, shaking her head slowly, “I dunno. You could do it without me.”

“I could. But I don't want to. Besides, what the hell are we going to do if one of us gets injured?”

“Ah, shit, I see - “ she laughs, “the boys want a travel nurse. Then it’s definitely no.”

“I’m just fucking with you,” he chuckles, “with your skill-set, medical included, you’re a major asset. Plus, without you, if we run into trouble, who's gonna sweet talk us out of it?”

Amara grins, “ you’re an asshole, Pope.”

Santi shrugs before taking a swig of his beer, “not all the time.”

She drinks too, then sits up straight, “I thought your ass was dead. It's been over two years since we've seen you, man."

“Sorry.”

She huffs, clenching her jaw slightly. “I’m still fucking pissed at you Santiago. That disappearing act sucked.”

“I know, that's on me. But, I sent you a birthday gift. Two years in a row.”

She nods, “thank you for that. But, you are still not off the hook.”

“Fair. So, how have you been?”

“You know, the same old. Keeping busy.” She drops her gaze down to the glass.

“Come on, that’s all?” He lifts the cap off his head and readjusts it, “sounds pretty boring.”

Amara flips him off, “yeah that's it. Tomorrow, going to Bennys fight?”

“Hell yeah, I am.” Santi takes another swig. She can tell by the way he’s looking at her he’s not done prying yet. “No Mr.Right yet, no crazy one-night stand stories, or are you still doing that not-dating thing?”

Amara playfully kicks him under the table, “I hate you. No one else knows about those stories. I was drunk and said way too much that night.”

“You said a lot that night,” he crosses his arms. Amara shakes her head at him and knows what he’s going to ask next. Santi smirks, “you told him yet?”

“Oh my fucking god, we are not talking about that.” She knocks the rest of her drink back and puts the empty glass down,“change of topic. I’m not saying yes, to be clear, but I want to know more. So tell me, what exactly is this job?”

Santi chuckles, “really?”

“Yeah. Really.”

“Fine,” he uncrosses his arms and moves the drink aside, “Lorea…”

...

Night of the fight

Ah, the smells of the arena; men, sweat, booze, and testosterone.

As Amara nears the locker room, she can hear Benny and Santi having a conversation.

This shit is fucking depressing

C’mon, let your brother have some fun. Support him.

I’ve been supporting him since the day he was born…

Amara hears and feels someone approaching behind her. She glances back to see Frankie and Benny, Benny leading the way.

“There she is! Get over here!” He instantly pulls her into one of his warm hugs.

“Look at you, all chiseled. Looking good Ben.” She leans back a bit to get a look at him.

“Shit, I better. I’ve been training my ass off.” He steps back and flexes.

“I heard, and you, “ she glances behind him at Frankie who flashes a smile, “ get over here.”

Frankie was a damn good hugger too. Amara was a bit spoiled on that end. After the hug breaks, she tugs on his baseball cap.

“Oh, Danela said you two are having dinner tomorrow night.”

“Yeah, you’re not invited so - “ they follow Benny into the room, “maybe get some pizza with Benny. That’s what you get, ‘fish, for having a cool ass wife. We have to share.”

As they enter the room, her eyes meet Wills, those sea-blue eyes that touch the deepest parts of her, and soften her edges instantly. Then the feeling comes, nervousness.

“Hey,” Will greets her softly, his voice smooth, like music to her ears.

“Hey to you too. I’m one hug short, come on.” She walks over, and Will, smiling, comes to standing and guides her into his arms. Amara always loved the way she felt in his arms, so tiny, so safe. She glances up at him one time before stepping away.

Feeling eyes on her, she glances back to see amusement in Santi’s eyes. She quickly, and subtly wags a warning finger at him. Santi chuckles and then leans back against the lockers, his arms crossed.

Frankie joins Benny on one bench and looks down at his phone. Amara rests against the lockers in between Frankie and Will.

“You guys get my text? “Santi asks, directing it at Benny and Frankie.

The conversation shifts to the job. Wasting no time, Santi asks for what he wants, his guys on the team. Frankie is understandably hesitant. He had some personal shit going on, plus, he and Dani had a 4-month-old and 5-year-old at home.

Though Dani knew what she was getting into with Frankie, now with two kids, she was less than keen about him doing this. In fact, she preferred that he didn't do this kind of shit at all anymore.

The conversation only goes on a few seconds before Benny stands and takes a shirt out of his locker,

“Focus guys! It’s fight night!”

Will goes over to him, and they chat a little before everyone leaves the room and heads for the arena.

Benny and Will lead the way, followed by Santi and Frankie. Amara thinks about the offer again, still unsure of her answer. There was also the nagging feeling that something was missing. She trusted Santi, they all did, but something was off; her antennas were buzzing. The guys continue to talk as she thinks.

Well, what about you, what are you going to do?

I said if Redfly’s in, I’m in

Come on, stick with me here guys, and gal

Benny glances back over his shoulder with a wink. Amara dramatically rests her hand over her heart with a smile. Chucking, Benny faces forward again. The entryway is just ahead.

“Oh, I’m with you, Benny. But you and me,” Santi breaks away from Frankie’s side and joins Benny, “you in?”

Staying focused, Benny continues to look ahead, “you know I am,” Santi pats him on the back, “I go where you go.”

Santi grabs Benny’s shoulder. “That's what I thought! Benny stands strong.”

The announcer starts speaking over the PA as a bloody MMA fighter passes the group, shaking his head in disappointment.

Once inside, Will walks Benny to the ring. Santi, Frankie, and Amara are only standing for a few seconds when Tom appears, juggling three beers.

“LET’S GO BENNY!” He shouts toward the stage as he offers the beers. Santi takes one, Frankie the other. “You still hate beer?” Tom asks her.

“Yeah. Especially that beer,” Amara confirms. She makes a motion toward their cups, “drink up boys. Enjoy.”

Will returns with two cups; one is beer. He stands next to Amara, “it's shitty whiskey, but at least it’s not beer.” He grins and holds it out.

“Thanks.” They exchange a brief glance before she breaks eye contact and looks ahead at the stage.

They make their way to the front row and take their seats; Santi and Tom are talking about the job, Frankie is listening. To his right is Amara, followed by Will.

“Pope said you’re undecided.”

She turns her head, following Will's voice, “yeah, I am.”

Santi leans forward, catching her eyes with his own, then glancing at Frankie. He asks him again if he’s in. After guzzling a fair amount of beer, Frankie answers with a sigh, “okay.”

“That leaves just you, sweetheart. What do you say?” Santi smirks, putting on the charm.

Frankie leans in, gently pressing his elbow into Amara. He whispers, “Dani may forgive me someday if you’re there too.”

Amara curses under her breath, staring at the floor, “Shit, she’s gonna kill both of us.”

“That means you're in?”

“Jesus Santi, you’re fucking persistent, fine. Whatever. But it's on you when we get back and Dani kills us both.” She motions her finger between her and Frankie.

Saved by the start of the fight, the bell goes off, they all stand, cheering Benny’s name.

Next chapter ⬅️

Character bios

Ya know how tags work on this page now, no forms, no massive list, fic-by-fic basis. Just ask 💕

more Triple Frontier

#triple frontier #triple frontier fanfic #William miller #Benny miller #frankie morales #santiago garcia #ofc #ofc x triple frontier boys #fic: a lighthouse in the dark

81 notes · View notes

kushami-hime · 3 years ago

Text

The Cat Cafe (BN/HA)

Hello and happy april fools! No this isn’t a joke, I actually wrote a whole ass fic and decided to surprise snzblr with it! >:D This is based on a wav I got from @goodlucksnez which was when I first decided on making Todoroki’s cat allergy a headcanon of mine. It was a whiiiile ago, when I first joined snzblr so yeah...

Anyway I hope someone enjoys this rushed fic lol Title: The Cat Cafe Summary: Ochaco invites Deku and Todoroki out after work one day to a Cat Cafe. A shame that no one knows about Todoroki’s allergy...not even Todoroki.

"Um, Ochaco-Chan, where are we headed exactly...?" "You'll see! It's a surprise! Hehe..." "I'm not sure I like the sound of that...I'm a little nervous..." "Don't worry Deku, it'll be great, you'll see!" A trio of friends trotted down the sidewalk of a busy street, fresh out of work and ready to have some fun and much deserved relaxation. It was imperative to enjoy their time off now, because once the real hero work began rolling in, who knows how challenging it'll be to get ahold of some well deserved time off? Midoriya followed behind Ochaco, and trailing behind the both of them was Todoroki, the quietest of the group. He wasn't sure what Ochaco had in store, but it couldn't be as bad as Midoriya was expecting. She had her own way of enjoying time with her friends, without breaking the bank of course. "Just around this corner and...Ta daaa!" With a big bright smile and a delightfully happy pose, Uraraka waved her hands towards the two story building. Paw prints and feline themes covered the small structure from top to bottom, making it stand out even more from its bland and basic surroundings. The sign hung above its gigantic, double glass doors read "Feline Fancy" in big, sprawling, and colorful letters.

"Uh?" Deku tilted his head a little, as Todoroki's interest was certainly peaked. "Is this a...?" "Mm-hm! It's a cat cafe!" Ochaco smiled brightly, like a child visiting a candy store for the first time. Deku smiled and rubbed the back of his head, "Well its certainly the last thing I was expecting! A surprise to be sure but, a welcome one!" He admitted, before Todoroki spoke up, his eyes scanning the colorful building, "I've never visited a cat cafe before...What...happens exactly?" He asked with a slight tilt of his head. Uraraka grinned, "It's just like any old boring cafe, except here you get to hang out with cats, and play with them! They've even got cat themed treats and drinks, too!" She explained. The more she went on, the more intrigued Todoroki became. His eyes went a little wide, and his interest had peaked. Midoriya chuckled at his friends eagerness, "I guess we should head inside then!" Ochaco lit up with excitement as she nodded, "Alright! Let's do this! It's all on me, guys!" She proclaimed as she neared the entrance. Deku paused at this, a look of worry on his face, "W-wait, are you sure? These kinds of places can get pretty pricey..." He said. With a nod, Todoroki spoke up, "Yes. If need be, I can always use my father's credit card to-" "Nuh-uh! Not this time. Don't worry about it! I've been doing an awesome job when it comes to saving my cash!" Uraraka claimed. It wasn't a lie, she'd been doing pretty well for herself and working harder than ever as a rescue hero, so it was time that she rewarded herself, and her friends of course! Deku pouted a little as Uraraka rushed to open the front door, and he sighed, "Only if you're sure...!" He said. With that, the three entered the establishment. The inside was cozy and smelled absolutely delightful. Pastel colors lined the walls and floors, and the small bell above the entrance alerted one of the staff members to their arrival. A younger woman, probably in her late teens, greeted them with a wave before explaining the rules of the cafe, the menu, and showing them all a list of the many, many cats that called this place home. Ochaco was the most excited, cooing over the photos of the felines as Deku began to unwind and enjoy himself as well. Todoroki however was a bit...distracted. He wasn’t entirely sure why but, his nose had begun to itch. His nostrils gave the slightest sign of irritation, flaring up a bit before returning to their normal size, as if there was a smell in the air that bothered his sinuses. He didn't think much of it, things like this happen all the time when you're exposed to new smells and environments. He scrubbed the underside of his nose with the back of his hand, and the tickle dispersed quickly...for now at least. Once the trio had washed their hands and properly sanitized, it was time to head inside. The main sitting area was as cozy as the outside. There were about 6 or 7 other patrons currently present, with a few others enjoying the lovely weather out on the patio. Many seats were lower to the ground so as to be closer to the cats. Speaking of which...they were everywhere. 15 of them at least. The room was large enough for all of them to run around in without it feeling cramped, with many cat trees, toys, and hiding places. The group decided that it'd be best to enjoy their drink selections and snacks before playing with the felines, so they picked a table and sat down together. "Isn't this great? You can even feed them treats too!" Ochaco gushed. Deku nodded in response, noticing an orange tabby strutting his way over to the table. The cat stared up at him with curious yellow eyes, as if trying to introduce himself telepathically. Deku reached down to pat the animal on the head, hearing a satisfying purr in response. He chuckles, "Yeah, they all seem so friendly here!" Todoroki took in the sights and sounds of cats running in circles, playing with toys, and playing with each other. It was all so new to him, he'd never get permission from his father to come to a place like this. It was certainly an interesting place and- Snnff. "Hmn..." Shoto reached up to rub his nose. That tickle came back swiftly, and suddenly. It teased his sensitive nasal passages with a vengeance, and he started to worry that it may cause him to sneeze. He pressed his knuckle hard against his septum, sniffing once again as he frowned at the slightly wet sound. It wasn't enough to raise the alarm, but it did worry him a bit. He hadn't caught a cold, had he? Normally his quirk would alert him to such things, and temperature was fine, although he wasn't too sure. Another sniffle, and the tickle went away again, only this time, ever so slightly lingering in the depths of his nose, making his nostrils twitch and tremble against the back of his hand. Somehow, the others hadn't taken notice, and he supposed it was for the best. The snacks and drinks were absolutely to die for, even if they were a little on the pricey side. Deku once again offered to pick up the tab for his friend, but Ochaco refused and insisted that he simply focus on having a good time with the cats. Once they were through, it was time to do just that! "Aw, look at this little kitten...!" The three sat in a circle, offering treats to the felines nearby as a few gathered the courage to approach the strangers. The warm and fuzzy atmosphere was beginning to set in during this time, along with the warmth of the delicious drinks they'd had earlier. This was truly a new level of relaxation that both Deku and Todoroki weren't entirely aware of until today. The same orange tabby from before waltzed on over and planted himself into Deku's lap, like an explorer staking his claim on an undiscovered island. He purred loudly, waiting for another round of head scratches. Of course, Midoriya was quick to comply as he chuckled, "I think he likes me a lot...! I think this one's name is...Haru?" He said, recalling the folder they'd flipped through earlier. He'd never been around cats a lot but he got along with them just fine, especially Aizawa-Sensei's as well as Shinso's. Todoroki glanced around, and noticed that a small, white bobtailed had been staring at him. He stared right back, his expression unchanged as they both stared each other down rather awkwardly. It didn't take long for Ochaco to lean over, and offer her friend a handful of cat treats. "Go ahead, I think she wants to come over!" She said, before Todoroki took the treats and held them out in his right hand towards the white female. She hesitated, but quickly tiptoed over to take a bite. He pulled his hand back a little more to guide her closer to their group, before she was finally sitting next to him and nibbling away at whatever treats were left. "Aw, she's so cute..." Deku cooed, still eagerly petting the orange cat in his lap. Ochaco nodded, having a cat in her own lap, "She looks so tiny, too...!" Todoroki gave the white bobtail a pet on the back of the head, and the feline melted into his touch, rubbing her whiskers into his palm. His eyes lit up, as if he'd made an incredible discovery. However, before he could say anything, the feline found itself sitting in his lap and looking up at him with big bright blue eyes. "She's...so small..." He finally spoke up, as if holding a newborn baby for the first time. Ochaco grinned, and glanced at Midoriya, "She does seem on the smaller side, she might still be a kitten." She said, noticing how entranced Todoroki had become, "Weeeell...I think they have the option of adopting the cats. They're partnered with the animal shelter nearby, yknow!" She stated. Deku glanced up, having grabbed a toy for the cats to chase across the floor, "Wait, really? So...are ALL of them shelter cats?" Todoroki kept an ear out, but wasn't fully enraptured in their conversation. It would be nice to adopt a cat, so that his apartment wasn't so empty and lifeless. He'd never had a pet before, thanks to how strict Endeavor had been. Though it may have had something to do with Natsuo being allergic to certain animals? He never asked about it, so it was never made clear. But all he knew now was that nothing could stop him! What would he name this cat? It was a girl, so perhaps something cute? Or maybe something courageous? Perhaps short and simple was the way to go. Like Miku, or Yuki, or perhaps... "Hh-...?" Todoroki took a sharp gasp. That tickle, it was back again. Only this time, it hit much harder, and faster than the first two. His entire nose moved, wiggling in despair as the need to sneeze quickly rushed forth. From where the itch had started, all the way down his nose and into the very tip, he couldn't think of anything except the urge to scratch that itch. His head turned to the side and ducked into his elbow, and his nostrils flared as wide as they could manage. "Hh-HHh'KTT!! Uh..." With a dead silent stifle, Todoroki managed to keep from disrupting the cozy atmosphere of the cafe, and gave a small sniffle afterwards to see if the itch had disappeared...It most certainly did not. His nose visibly wiggled when he heard the feline in his lap meow up at him. He was surprised that he hadn't scared her off. But wow, she was adorable. With another small sniffle, he went back to petting her, before he finally caught the sound of someone calling his name. "Todoroki-Kun?" "Mm?" The quiet hero perked up as he noticed his two friends looking in his direction, now totally crawling with cats that had come looking for delicious treats. Ochaco giggled, "It almost like he's in a trance...!" Deku chuckled and glanced to his friend, "Are you...enjoying yourself?" He asked with a small chuckle. Todoroki nodded in response, still softly petting the animal in his lap. "I didn’t think you liked cats so much...!" Midoriya added. Shoto glanced towards his friend, still in a sort of peaceful daze, "I've...never been around this many before..." Despite the tickly nose situation, he was still thoroughly enjoying himself. Todoroki glanced back down to the white bobtail, "I was wondering...what it would be like to adopt h...-Hh..." His usual expression crumbled in exchange for a ticklish, desperate one. Todoroki's thin brows were tightly knit together, as wrinkles spread across the bridge of his nose while he rubbed at the thing furiously with a free hand; the one he'd been using to pet the cat. But even that seemed to make it worse. His lips parted to suck in much needed air, whilst his friends looked on with confused looks on their faces. "Hhh-! Hn'KKntt-chuu..." The stifling gave him a soft pounding in his skull, but it would subside after only a few seconds. With a sigh, he nodded and picked up where he left off, "I've never owned a pet before...but...I'd like to." He finally got out. Deku and Ochaco didn't think much of the sneezes, though it was rare to see Todoroki sneeze more than once at any given time. They paid it no mind, and Ochaco slowly got to her feet with stars gleaming in her big brown eyes, "I'll see if I can't ask around and get some paperwork for you! You two would be so cute together!" She cooed, gesturing towards the bobtail lounging in her friends lap before heading off towards where a group of employees were standing. Deku chuckled at Ochaco's excitement, before turning back to Shoto, "Ochaco-Chan seems to like this place a lot...I wonder how long she's been waiting to come here..." He asked. Todoroki nodded, "Judging by her excitement, quite a long time..." He glanced back down to the feline in his lap, in awe at her beauty and regal demeanor. Nothing was going to distract him from this moment of absolute euphoria. Not even...a runny nose? Snnff! Todoroki frowned a bit as he brought his hand up to his face yet again, and squished it against the underside of his nose. He could feel the slow and steady decent of some loose congestion running down his nasal passages, and immediately sniffled again to keep it contained. Now that he thought about it...he was becoming a little stuffed up. All of these symptoms hitting at once...it was a little worrying, but also, a bit of a nuisance. He perked up a bit when he heard Midoriya ask him a question. "So, if she already doesn't have a name, what are you gonna call her?" The young hero asked. His eyes were occupied by the two smaller Munchkins cats that had come over to say hello, and play with a ball of yarn Midoriya secured a few moments prior. Todoroki hesitated, feeling as if his nose was going to spill over with mess and, in the end, make a fool of himself. Not only that, but the slow trickle managed to spark up a new tickle deeper into his nose. This was starting to become a problem. With another sniffle, Todoroki managed to keep back whatever mess decided to ruin his day out, and finally managed to speak up. "I'm not sure...but I thought I'd go with something simple...like Yuki, or Miku-Uuh-Hh-" Mid sentence, that itch spiked to critical levels as he noticed Midoriya looking up from the kittens to stare at him for a moment or two with confused green eyes. He'd been able to stifle them so far, but this one...it snuck up on him. "Hh'DdT-SshuuU!" Todoroki sneezed into his elbow, still feeling the warm lump of fur cuddled into his lap despite the sudden outburst. He felt a wet spray coat the crook of his elbow, a sign that his stifling had been holding in whatever moistness had accumulated within his sinuses. A quick glance around the room would tell him that not many people noticed, nor cared about his sneeze, so that was a relief. "Todoroki-Kun, are you alright?" Midoriya finally asked. He hadn't paid much attention, but now that he was, he could see Todoroki's eyes becoming a little...puffy. His nostrils were wet with moisture and his cheeks were a little flushed. He frowned a little, "Ah, you're not coming down with something, are you?" He asked worriedly, much to his friends dismay. Shoto shook his head quickly, feeling his congestion shift just barely enough for his nose to start running all over again, teasing the sensitive parts of his nose as it dripped down to his flaring nostrils. The very air around him irritated his somewhat dripping nose enough to force another imminent sneeze out of him. He caught himself holding in the urge to whimper, before turning and squeezing his nostrils shut with his thumb and index finger. "Hh-dDdXxnnt-!! Chuhh..." The sound was muddled with congestion and Todoroki could feel his sinuses and head throbbing. If there were any more of those harsh stifles, he was sure to give himself a headache. Midoriya looked on with an increasingly concerned stare. "M-Maybe we shouldn't have come here...you're not looking too well, Todoroki-Kun...Are you sure you don't feel sick?" Deku asked. Damn, he hated it whenever Midoriya looked at him with THAT face...The overflowing sense of uneasiness from Deku was almost stifling, no pun intended. With another wet sniffle, Todoroki nodded his head and spoke. "Y-yes...I...I'm fine..." He blatantly lied. And oh yes, Deku could tell right away. The flaring nostrils, wiggling nose, teary eyes and pink cheeks said it all. Midoriya fidgeted where he sat, averting his eyes to avoid making Torodoki feel uncomfortable. The bobtail finally decided to take her leave, glancing up at the sneezy pro hero before lifting her bum and carelessly heading towards a water dish across the way. The sensation of that feline, as soft and cuddly as she may be, sent chills down Todoroki's spine. That was already a hard enough thing to do, but it also caused another miserable sniffle to ring out, and an insatiable itch began to make itself known. So far back in his nose, no amount of rubbing or nose blowing could possibly make it go away. The only option his sensitive nares gave him was to sneeze, and sneeze, and sneeze until this mystery irritant was finally flushed out of his system. Todoroki's head twitched back, his clenched fist hovering over his mouth and nose as his slick nostrils pulsed with disparity. All Deku could do was watch in awe, before his common sense took over and he began patting his pockets for something he could offer. Shoto’s breathing sped up rapidly, just before he snapped forward with a painfully stifled sneeze, "Hh-Hh-NnnXxt! Hh-!" Damn, he wasn't fully aware that another was hot on the heels of the first. A lump formed in his throat whilst his vision started to get cloudy from the tears forming in the corners of his eyes. He was...going to... "Eshh-SCHH!!” The second sneeze was the one met with awkward silence, and with even more people staring in Todoroki's direction, he felt heat rise into his face as even his new feline companion stared at him from afar, blinking those big innocent eyes towards the sneezy man. His red and white hair framed his face and hid his rosy cheeks from onlookers, so thank goodness for that. A hand outstretched towards him that he just managed to see through his teary eyes and tossed hair. "H-here...I think you might need these..." Deku muttered, offering a handful of clean tissues that he found in his pocket. He could tell that Shoto was radiating embarrassment and needed all the help he could get. Knuckles were still pressed firmly to the bottom of his leaking nose, and Todoroki was quick to take the tissues and press them to his flaring nostrils in a futile attempt to fight off another sneeze. He wouldn't be successful however, as a hazy gloss washed over his pupils and he pinched his nose shut through the soft tissues to stifle the coming fit. "OK, I've got the paperwork and everything you need toooooo....w-whoa..." Ochaco would return in that moment, but her look of bubbly excitement would be replaced with worry upon seeing Shoto's dilemma. "U-uh...T-Todoroki...?" She barely managed to squeak out. Shoto couldn't form a response, even if he wanted to. "HHhTXx-Nuuggh...-! Hhgg'GggXxt! Ht'kshhTTtt! Hhh-! Hih-Hnn'Gggtt-chuu! Nn'IssSHH!" The sneezes began to explode out of him with quickening speed, making his friends fret as Ochaco crouched down to get a closer look, "T-Todoroki-Kun...! Are you alright...?!" She said softly, eyes as wide as dinner plates. Todoroki, despite his haggard appearance, still nodded quickly and kept his watery eyes glued to the floor while pressing the soaked tissues to his nose. Of course, that wasn't very reassuring. His whole face was warm with a soft pink flush that only continued to darken in hue as time went on. Uraraka frowned, her eyebrows knit together, "Maybe we should leave...you don't look good at all." She suggested. Deku nodded quickly as he moved to get to his feet, "She's right, Todoroki-Kun. Let's get going. Maybe we can just come back some other time..." "N-No, I..." He wanted to stay! The cats were so friendly and soft and...he didn't want to leave, regardless of his nose and its issues. He looked like a sad child who didn't want to leave the amusement park at closing time, "...Mbidoriya...Look at themb...they're so smball and...I feel they're mbore thand just cats...I’ve ndever felt this way about an andimbal before..." He suddenly admitted, his voice muddled horribly by congestion, though that was his own fault due to the rapid stifles. "But, Todoroki...you look...-" Ochaco paused mid sentence, and somehow, her eyes got even wider then they had been before. She held in a small sharp gasp of realization before she put a hand on Shoto's shoulder. "Todoroki-Kun...are...are you allergic to cats?" She asked. Deku paused as she glance between the two of them, ignoring the awkward silence that feel over their small trio. Todoroki himself seemed confused...he'd never sneezed so much around cats before...then again, he'd never been this outnumbered by them. A thoughtful expression came over his face, before a frown soon followed. Uraraka tripped over her words, trying to get out an apology, "Oh my Gosh, I-I swear I didn't know! I'm so sorry, Todoroki!!" She quickly rushed to grab her bag, before glancing to Deku, "Cmon, we better get him out of here, Deku. Before he gets any worse...!" "My thoughts exactly...!" The two stood to their feet with a quickness, as Todoroki reluctantly stood up himself. He could feel the congestion in his head shift as he did so. It had come on so fast that he felt another irritating tickle make itself known. Ochaco made sure to take his hand, considering his vision was still a little muddled by the allergic tears in his eyes. They stung a bit as he walked along with them, "Wait...I have to say goodbye..." He managed to get out, glancing back behind him to see his bobtailed friend watching his departure, as if already saying goodbye herself. "You're in the middle of an allergy attack, Torodoki-Kun...!" Ochaco said, still walking along with him without halting her stride. His breath caught in his chest, as if just looking at the felines he passed by brought on the need for another rapid fit of half stifles. His pace slowed and both his steps and breathing became irregular. Finally, they managed to reach the front door, and get outside. The itch was unbearable, but now that he was outside, he didn't feel as pressured to stifle. Not that he even could, the sensation and desperate need for relief came on too fast for him to do so in the first place. "Hh-!" He wiggled his hand free from Ochaco's grasp, still holding the used wad of slightly wet tissues to cover his face. His head twitched towards the blue sky while his slim nostrils flared as wide as they could manage. His shoulders shook with every hitching breath before...

"ESHHhhuu! ISShhuu! Hh'DdsSSHHuuu! Hh..hah...!!" Todoroki gasped for air after the first three explosions, as Uraraka dug through her purse for more tissues. Luckily, she had a travel pack that hadn't been touched yet. Shoto lunged forward with a few more wet sneezes into cupped hands, "ISHHh! hh-! HH'iSSHHuuu! Hah- HAh-HASShhh-yuuu...Guhh..." Tears were streaming down his face as he felt the warm, wetness covering his hands and the used tissues, and he seems to almost whimpering at the sight, disgusted with himself and the fact that his friends had to see him in such a sorry state.

"Todoroki-Kun..." The travel pack of tissues was held out to him, and he could just manage to figure out what it was despite the tears in his eyes. He reached over to take them, careful not to touch Ochaco's hands with his own, before he began to clean himself up...to the best of his ability that is.

"I'm so sorry..." Uraraka muttered once again, while Todoroki did his best to blow his nose and free himself of whatever tickle was left. He could see how guilty Uraraka-San was...her body language said it all. He felt horrible for making her feel horrible, and tried to remedy the situation, "N-no...its...it's alright. Please...don't be...don't...

“hh...-” Damn it, this was starting to get a little irritating. His nose twitched visibly before he turned away, managing to just barely catch the sneeze with his tissues instead of his bare hands, "

Hh-Hh'AaSHhuu-uuu!!

Ah..." He sniffled, wiping at his red nostrils so catch the loose congestion that had snuck past them with his, hopefully, last sneeze. "Todoroki...Why didn't you tell us? About your allergy, I mean..." Deku finally spoke up, having only been able to stand and watch his good friend go through the first and only sneezing fit he'd ever witnessed from him. Todoroki stood with a puzzled look on his face, as if he were unsure if he'd sneeze again. In all honesty, he really didn't know. Sure, his eyes would itch whenever Hitoshi came around but...he never really thought much of it. "I...I've never spent enough time around cats to realize it, but..." He paused to sniffle wetly before continuing, "It would explain why my eyes would get watery and red whenever Shinso was covered in cat fur...same for Aizawa-Sensei..." He admitted. The looks of concern on his friends faces softened a bit as they glanced to one another. "Well...I'm glad we know now for the future, then." Ochaco sighed, looking a bit more relieved than before. "Yeah...I was worried something was really wrong...but I'm glad you're going to be OK, Todoroki-Kun." Midoriya smiled a bit. Although, it wasn't reciprocated. Shoto stared down at the pavement, like a guilty, misbehaved child, "I...apologize for...ruining our day out..." He mumbled behind his fistful of tissues. "Uh? N-no, hey, don't be so hard on yourself!” Deku said, waving his arms at the apology. "Deku's right, it's OK! There's still daylight and tons of stuff to do! Don't beat yourself up over it OK, Todo?" Uraraka chimed in. Her bright smile never wavered, "And besides, before your allergies kicked in, you seemed to be having an amazing time, right?" Todoroki nodded to this surprisingly fast. The cats were so cute and friendly, it's a memory he would cherish for quite some time. As the three started to walk away from the cafe, Ochaco threw out a few other ideas for places to visit with animal themes to them. She even started to scroll through her cellphone and looked at any places nearby. Deku had to steer her out of the way of any poles to prevent a collision.

"Maybe we could try the hedgehog cafe!” Ochaco excitedly said, “What do you think, Todoroki-Kun?” She asked, brushing a few strands of brown hair out of her eyes. Shoto nodded to the idea, “I’ve never seen them in person...though for some reason, Bakugo keeps calling Iida-Kun one...though I’m unsure as to why...” He stated, looking somewhat thoughtful. Deku chuckled at this a bit, before noticing a familiar expression on Shoto's face. The wiggling nose and closely knitted eyebrows, his lips parting ever so slightly and the change in is breathing pattern...yep, he was still fighting off the urge to sneeze. And who knows how many more he had saved up in that pink nose of his? Todoroki paused in his stride with a hand raised to his twitching, pink face. He turned away from his friends before pitching forward into his elbow, "

“Hhh-! AESSHH!”

Ah..." With a small sniffle, he glanced up to see his two friends staring at him, how embarrassing..."We may need to get you some medicine first..." Ochaco proposed, catching Shoto off guard, "Sound good, Todo?" She asked him. He was taken aback for a moment, before nodding, "I...um, alright. I guess I could use something...I’m not sure how long this will last, so..." He agreed. Deku smiled warmly at his response, before the three of them headed off."Dont worry." Ochaco smiled, "We've got all the time in the world!"

Todoroki smiled, and rubbed his nose with the back of his hand as the fondness of his friends seemed to distract him from his nose.

Was he terribly allergic to cats? Yes. Would he ever pass up the opportunity to pet one?

Absolutely not.

#snzfic #snzblr #snzfucker #bn/ha #m/ha #kushami writes #snz kink #sneeze fic #sneeze writing #sneeze kink #s/hoto #t/odoroki #t/odoroki snz fic

105 notes · View notes

system-threat-detected · 3 years ago

Text

Happy birthday @foibles-fables !!! Hope you enjoy these things Salty and I made for you :)

The below story was written by the wonderful @saltyseafuck as an accompanying piece to the art!

Aloy is comfortable enough in her own skin to make clambering out of her usual attire and into something else an easy affair. To her, it’s as easy as switching one style of arrow for another, or loading a different cartridge into her sling; the right tools, applied where they should be.

So while the noblewoman’s silks provided to her for the evening are not her standard choice of attire, and are… perhaps a bit more limiting than she might have liked, with their long, silken skirts and delicate, filigree jewelry, she adapts, fastening sashes and buckles, and squinting into the polished machine plating tacked to the wall as she applies the ceremonial markings to her forehead and eyes.

Stepping back and peering at her reflection, she nods to herself, picking up the matching headpiece, and holding it briefly to her brow, before finally discarding it on the bed.

She'll be more recognizable without it, anyway.

Easing the door to her quarters shut behind her as she steps onto the landing, she turns, raising a hand to knock on the door directly opposite hers.

“Done. Should we-”

Before her fist can make contact, the door jerks inward, slamming against the inner wall hard enough to make her jump. On the other side, tangled in the trailing silks of her dress, headpiece askew, Talanah glowers in her direction, resembling nothing so much as her title's namesake, complete with ruffled feathers and irate glare.

Pressing her already-raised knuckles to her lips, Aloy does her best to stifle her laughter.

“I’ve never seen you look this uncomfortable before, Talanah.”

Letting out a growl of annoyance, Talanah raises her arms in awkward protest, spreading them apart and letting the snarls of silk dangle.

“Not. A. Word.”

This time, Aloy fails to smother her laugh, nose wrinkling.

“You look like a Glinthawk. Here.”

Stepping forward and taking the scarf in both hands, she unwinds it from its snarl, threading its ends carefully through the loops of silk sewn into the dress's shoulders, and draping them artfully across her Hawk's upper arms.

As she reaches for the sash, smoothing the folded silk and cinching the ends around it, Talanah stiffens, pulling in a sharp breath. Pausing with the ends of the sash clutched in each hand, Aloy frowns.

“Too tight?”

Vehemently shaking her head, knocking her headdress even further askew, Talanah clears her throat, ducking her chin (and doing her best to try and hide the flush creeping across her cheeks and neck.)

“No! No, it’s ...fine. R... Remind me again why we're doing this?"

Tying off the sash and reaching up to adjust the headdress, Aloy raises a brow.

"Because, Marad asked us to. He thinks that having us there and visible will deter the elements he's tracking from acting tonight. We just have to be there, and be present... but that means we have to look the part."

Taking a step back to admire her handiwork, Aloy nods to herself, satisfied, before turning toward the stairs, and offering her arm to the Sunhawk, elbow crooked.

"All we have to do is survive a night at a high society party. Easy, compared to our usual exploits, right?"

With a shake of her head that sets the ornaments attached to the edges of her headdress dangling, Talanah takes the proffered arm, giving Aloy's bracer a sympathetic little pat.

"Ah, poor Thrush. You have no idea how wrong you are."

-----

Talanah has always done her utmost to avoid gatherings of Meridian's nobility. They've been an exercise in frustration for as long as she can remember; boring, stifling, and full of two-faced language, insults dealt from behind painted smiles, and barbed comments, tossed her way behind her back.

Tonight's gathering is no different; despite the quality of the musical entertainment and the refreshments, the people themselves have changed very little, and more than once, despite her attempts to keep to herself, she catches several muttered comments and judgements about her new position that she has to silence with a withering glare.

They're the same old infuriating bunch of bungheads, all right.

But perhaps the most frustrating part of the evening is watching the subtle snubs and digs that are being thrown Aloy's way.

Some of them pass over her head, whether through a lack of understanding or a lack of concern. But a few... a few land, and despite her attempts to shrug them off, or to play dumb... well...

Talanah has spent enough time around Aloy to know, by now, that the slight tightness in her shoulders and at the corner of her mouth, that the darts are finding their mark, worming their way into the cracks in her armor.

It's enough to make Talanah's blood boil, and her teeth grind together, rattling the arms of her headdress and setting the little ornaments dangling from their ends jittering.

She saves our asses from the Eclipse, rescues the Sun-King, and takes down Redmaw, and it still isn't enough for these chuffs. I have got to get her away from them. As soon as I can.

So as the musicians strike up an old, familiar tune, and her Thrush's conversational partners begin to drift away, seeking out new conversation or dancing companions, she seizes her chance to strike.

Downing the rest of her drink, she slams the flagon onto the nearest table with enough force to make the metal ring, stalking across the room to the edge of the dance floor, and extending her hand in Aloy's direction, elbow crooked, fingertips pointed toward the ceiling.

“May I have the honor, Aloy Despite the Nora?”

A light flush creeps onto Aloy's sun-weathered cheeks and, hesitantly, she reaches out to press her wrist against Talanah's.

“Umm… yeah. Yeah, of course.”

Even through two layers' worth of stiffened silk, she can hear Aloy's pulse quicken at the contact.

It quickly becomes apparent to Talanah that, despite her many talents, Aloy is not an experienced dancer. The tension in her movements, the rigidity of her stance, speak more of combat than of dance training.

And, judging by her persistent blush and the stricken look on her face, somewhere between panic and determination, Aloy knows it, too. Nodding as they circle in time to the rhythm, Talanah gives her an encouraging smile.

“Good. But loosen up a little. Now switch…”

Pivoting on her heel and glancing down at the placement of her steps, Aloy makes the transition more smoothly this time, pressing her lips together and frowning lightly in concentration. Again, Talanah favors her with a little nod.

“That’s right. You're doing great. Just keep your eyes on me.”

As they circle again, picking up the pace as the music begins to quicken, she leans in, conspiratorially, the ornaments on the edge of her headdress jingling lightly.

“Don’t listen to those bastards. They’ve always been like this. And they’re wrong, by the way; you’re fine.”

Once again, Aloy flushes, cheeks coloring as red as her hair.

“I… don't need their opinion-”

Talanah cuts her off with a sharp tap, rapping her knuckles twice against the silk of her sleeve to catch her attention.

“Hey. Listen. You’re fine. All right?”

Hopefully, hopefully, Aloy will pick up on her meaning.

Judging by the way the tension that’s been building in her Thrush’s shoulders all night drains, like the air hissing out of a punctured Longleg sac, she does, and Talanah is gratified to see the corners of her mouth ease into a smile, instead of a twitchy grimace.

“Yeah. ...thank you.”

This time, when they turn, pivoting around each other again and pressing their hands together, her fingertips twine briefly with Talanah’s, and she feels her own face heat at the touch.

Clearing her throat, as much to distract herself from the sensation of those calloused fingertips ghosting lightly over her knuckles as to change the subject, she leans in again, putting on a challenging little smirk.

“So, what do you think? Have you got a tie-down on it? Should we show them how it’s done?”

And this time, Aloy answers with an eager grin.

“Yeah. Yeah, I... think I’d like that.”

#I expect to hear your dying shrieks soon :)#aloy #talanah khane padish #hawk and thrush #mine #saltyseafuck #my art #hzd #horizon zero dawn

154 notes · View notes