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youwerenevermeanttofeelalone · 4 years

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Of Freckles and War | Fred Weasley

✦ pairing — Fred Weasley x Mexican American Plus Size Reader (she/her)

✦ word count — 4k

✦ summary — you were only supposed to provide security for Bill and Fleur’s wedding.

✦ warnings — angst, mentions of war, some violence, fluff

✦ a/n — this was requested by a lovely reader who showed me a receipt of her donation (based off this post). Thank you so much, @5pantherpride, first of all for donating and of course for trusting me with this.

❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎

Weddings — you were neutral to them. You even were glad for people who fulfilled their goal to marry, but you found the timing of Bill’s and Fleur’s less than ideal.

The Order had a lot of things to worry about. Short on members and with the infiltration in The Ministry at its peak, you surely wished you could help in better ways.

Security duty wasn’t new to you, but it was the first time you were to fulfill it without Moody. His death was another reason why you wished you could be somewhere else. He had been the closest thing you had to a mentor.

At least the dress fit you nicely, way better than you had imagined it would. Finding one in such times hadn’t been the easiest task, much less with your schedule.

Offering to help with the guests so you could watch them closely, you introduced yourself to Bill’s twin brothers.

You had seen them before from afar, but that was it. Mrs. Weasley constantly said they were too young to be part of The Order so you assumed staying away to avoid problems would be better.

Smiling at the first arriving guests, you consulted the seating plan and guided them to their seats.

“Shut your mouth,” George snickered, pushing Fred’s chin so his mouth would clamp closed.

Fred shook his head, realizing he hadn’t stopped staring at the spot you had been standing in.

The marquee filled with voices and laughs rather soon. Your nerves increased as people continued arriving, unable to shake the bad feeling simmering in your stomach.

The more you thought about it, the more sense having a wedding in such unprecedented times made. Bill and Fleur just as their families, could very well be captured or killed at any moment. A gathering like this, though, was beyond your logical understanding.

He was sure you liked his brother, although he didn’t understand why when he had always been slightly more handsome, but that didn’t stop Fred from approaching you.

“Would you like to dance?”

You turned around to acknowledge him. “I would.”

He offered his hand staring intently at you as you placed your palm on top of his. He took a shaky breath in and guided you to the dancing area.

“I’m Fred, by the way,” he felt the need to let you know.

“I am aware.”

Tilting his head, he halted his steps on a spot away from his mom.

You explained, “You have a scar on your left eyebrow.”

Impressed, Fred placed a hand on your waist to lead you. In answer you rested your other hand on his shoulder, looking just past it.

Harry seemed to be annoyed by something —or someone— which made you believe he had seen or heard something suspicious.

“Is there someone you would rather be dancing with behind me?”

You shook your head, dragging your eyes back to Fred. “Of course not. I’m just being— oh, Merlin, what’s that word? Worried? No, no. Cuidadosa... cautelosa podría ser... Madre de Dios, ¿cómo se dice en inglés?”

[Careful... it could be cautious... Mother of God, how do you say it in English?]

The couple closest to you stared in confusion as you kept going. “¿Meticulosa? No, eso no tiene sentido... cuidadosa, sí. Lo cual es lo mismo que cautelosa pero cómo se dice...”

[Meticulous? No, that doesn’t make sense. Careful, yes. Which is the same as cautious but how do you say it...]

Fred pursed his lips at your language switch. Your accents were different in each one which caught his attention. He wanted to know why, if you had learned them both at the same time, or which one was your native language.

Entertaining the sad idea that you might have been trying to ditch him, he suddenly frowned. “You’re looking for an excuse to leave?”

“No, no!” You whined, sure you had said the word in the past few days. “How is it called when someone is being careful because they are worried? It starts with a W.”

“...wary?”

You could’ve kissed him. “Yes, that one!”

With a lingering laugh in his voice, he tried to reason with you, “Well, Bill and Fleur didn’t invite many people.”

“No, but polyjuice exists. I could be a Death Eater disguised as me and you wouldn’t have noticed.”

“That accent wouldn’t be easy to mimic, don’t worry.”

“It’s easier to understand than some I’ve heard around here,” you defended yourself, not offended at all by his comment.

A light irrupted into the marquee and you immediately knew whose Patronus it was.

Kingsley’s message proved you right and triggered panic as mayhem all over the place ensued. You pulled your wand out, looking around to see how many people were left.

Leaving would have been a good idea, but too many invitees had fled already and it would bring more trouble to The Weasley Family.

Not unfamiliar with their scare tactics, you did your best to remain calm as the Death Eaters questioned the family.

You admired how unfazed they tried to appear as their house was inspected. They must’ve been expecting the visit for days now.

“I’ll prepare tea,” Mrs. Weasley shakily said.

“Let me do it,” you mumbled, waving your wand as Bill helped his mother to sit down.

Mr. Weasley leaned over, reminding you to drop a splash of firewhiskey in his wife’s tea through a whisper. Nodding, you did as you were told and carried the cup toward the living room.

“You are staying, right, (Y/N)?” Mr. Weasley asked as you waved your wand to pour a cup of tea for Fleur’s mom.

“I don’t want to impose,” you assured them, “I can manage on my own — it would be safer for everyone.”

“I would feel better if you stayed,” Mr. Weasley sighed, “Everyone here would.”

“Kingsley said—“

“I’ll talk to him,” he interrupted.

You turned to look at everyone else, but no one added any other comment.

You couldn’t sleep. The room wasn’t the problem, nor the accommodations The Weasleys had given you — everything else was. People were disappearing at a worryingly exponential rate, and you couldn’t shake off the guilt of not being out there helping in some way.

❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎

The Weasleys would surely be watched carefully and suddenly leaving The Burrow in the middle of the night would put a bigger target on them.

You leaned onto the doorframe, watching the rain as it slowly fell down the garden. Grown used to the unruly weather such times had brought, you were trying to find pleasant parts in it like its smell and soothing sound.

“Can’t sleep either?”

You craned your neck to look at Fred. He rubbed his eye with his right hand as he held a glass of water in his left.

“The weather is nice.”

Humming, he chugged the water down. Instead of going back to sleep, he pulled a chair out and then another. Fred sat down on the second one, waiting for you to take the other.

You did so, thanking him in a nod. The kitchen, only illuminated by the fading light the lamps outside gave, felt bigger than it was.

“Is Ginny giving you trouble?”

“No,” you answered immediately. His sister was lovely, she kept mostly to herself which you understood but on occasions, she would ask about which other jobs you had done for The Order.

You learned she wanted to join The Order more than anything. She would also talk highly of her siblings, even teasing you when you asked more about Fred.

Your dance had been cut off, so had the conversation. You had enjoyed yourself for once, of course you would want to know more about him.

After watching him from afar for an entire summer, you had imagined that not stuttering around him was progress. But you were at war, and war didn’t give time for getting to know people you’ve been crushing on for a while.

He took you out of your self-absorption, “You said it would be safer if you didn’t stay here. Why?”

Ah, that. “I have history with... them.”

You didn’t explain yourself further on and Fred sensed he shouldn’t press on it for now.

He opened his mouth to make a joke and lighten up the mood, but you spoke first, “Do you think muggles will have enough help?”

No, he didn’t think so. However, Fred didn’t have the heart to tell you that. “There are a handful of good witches and wizards out there still.”

You nodded. Good witches and wizards' existence wouldn’t make a difference if they didn’t act on it, but for some reason, you didn’t have the heart to tell him that.

He would surely be able to take it, he probably knew it already — but you didn’t want to say it out loud either way.

Fred placed a hand on top of yours, squeezing it. You must’ve looked like you needed comfort. Lifting your fingers so his own would fit between them, you gripped his.

The Kitchen started appearing clearer as the blue light of the early morning entered through the door and windows.

Under the blue tones, Fred’s eyebrow scar looked clearer. You could’ve counted his freckles if you had enough time. But you couldn’t, Mrs. Weasley would need help around the house at any minute.

Deciding it was better to go get ready for the day, you begrudgingly withdrew your hand. Fred’s eyes danced over your face, trying to assess what you would do next.

“Thank you for the company,” you whispered, not taking your eyes off his face either.

His eyes dropped to your lips only to go back to your eyes. Clearing his throat, he nodded, “No problem.”

❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎

More people were reported as disappeared as the weeks progressed. Your worries only increased as news from members of The Order got more sporadic — it was safer that way, and detrimental to your mental wellbeing.

You had the bedroom for yourself now. Ginny had taken The Hogwarts’ Express a couple of weeks ago. She had been upset, but not more than her family with the number of changes the school seemingly had made.

You wondered how Ilvermorny was doing.

Although you were living with four people, you didn’t talk much to them. Mr. Weasley was overwhelmed with work constantly, Mrs. Weasley tried to keep herself busy around the house, Fred and George had a shop to attend and sporadically helped their friend Lee with Potterwatch.

As for yourself, you were able to help The Order here and there. Nothing too extreme so you wouldn’t gain unnecessary attention and put The Weasleys in more danger. That was why you hadn’t wanted to stay there.

“I would use Ginny’s bed if I were you,” Fred said from the doorway, surprised to see you hadn’t locked yourself that afternoon.

You put the clothes you had been folding to the side and looked up at him. “That would be invasive.”

“And funny. May I?”

You nodded. It was his house after all.

Fred did sit on Ginny’s bed, amused by what he was seeing. You supposed he wasn’t granted entrance that often.

He and George had an unspoken pact with their little sister, she didn’t try to sneak into their room and they wouldn’t threaten her privacy. It was great, but Fred had always been curious.

More curious he was as to what was going on with you. Mrs. Weasley had sent George to ask you if you needed anything and not him, probably because everyone considered his brother as the sensitive one.

“Mum’s worried.”

“I’m fine.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “When did I say she was worried about you?”

“Why else would you tell me?”

“To chat.”

You tilted your head. He was funny, but not a very good liar.

“You look really sad.”

“I feel useless,” you confessed, smoothing the sleeves of an old t-shirt. “I was supposed to become an Auror this year.” Sighing, you shook your head, “God, I sound entitled...”

“Aurors aren’t particularly safe at the moment.”

“Much less if there isn’t enough of them.”

Fred leaned over, resting his elbows on his thighs. “Why do you want to be one? It sounds like too much work.”

You shrugged, not sure anymore. You liked the idea of doing the right thing, being able to ensure people were safe and evil was kept in check... but doing it for a ministry didn’t sound like something you could do.

“It’s different in America,” you explained, pulling a pair of socks from the freshly done laundry. “Not better, I’ll admit that, just different. MACUSA didn’t stop taking on aurors, for example.”

“That doesn’t answer the question.”

The socks in your grasp fell to your lap. “I wanted to be ready for the moment when I had to fight them again.”

Silence fell between you. Fred’s eyes were on you like they seemed to always be since you arrived. There was no pity in his gaze, only understanding.

“I believe you’re still ready.”

“I hope you’re right.”

Fred smirked, “I’m always right.” He made a pause, slanting his head to the side. “Almost always.”

You chuckled. “Who said that?”

“I did.”

You had expected him to answer just that and yet you were still amused by the comment. Oh, you were falling quite fast.

And he knew it. There was no doubt in Fred’s mind that you actually liked him and not George. You didn’t stare at George as much as you stared at him nor smiled so brightly when you greeted his brother — you were nice to everyone but you were more comfortable with him and Fred really liked that.

He took your hands, making you stand up as he did the same. You liked the difference in size and how his hands didn’t feel soft like most people expected their crushes’ hands to be but warmer than any other hand you had taken.

Someone cleared their throat from the doorway. George stuck his head into the room. “Dinner.”

Fred nodded, “We’ll be there in a minute.”

George pursed his lips, lifting both eyebrows. He still left you alone, reminding both of you to not take too long.

This was his best chance. Fred leaned over, capturing your lips in a short kiss. You slid one of your hands off his grasp to place it on the back of his head, pulling him into another kiss. His free hand rested on your hip as you tilted your head to kiss him more comfortably.

“I can’t take you out right now...” he sighed, lips still brushing yours as your eyes barely fluttered open, “but maybe we could have a picnic when everybody is asleep?”

You smiled at him. “I’d like that.”

George shook you and Ginny awake. “Get up, we don’t have much time!”

You were up in a second. “What’s wrong? Where’s Fred?”

“Packing.” George pointed his wand at Ginny’s trunk.

“Where are we going?” Ginny asked, rubbing her eyes as you made George turn around so you could get changed.

“Somewhere safer. Death Eaters know we’ve been helping Harry.”

“I can’t go with y—“

“Just shut up and hurry,” George interrupted you, voice softer than one would expect those words to come out of anyone’s mouth.

Ginny and you would be the first ones to be gotten out of The Burrow. The others could take hours to join you or days, whichever was safer.

“We’ll need you and your training more than ever, (Y/N),” Mr. Weasley reminded you.

You cast a glance towards Ginny who was blinking furiously while bouncing her leg.

You nodded at Fred, silently assuring him you would protect his sister. He nodded back, not doubting it for a second.

Aunt Muriel was a weird woman. Clearly not a bad person, but perhaps an entitled one. Ginny had already told you to not take anything she said personally, but you hadn’t understood the warning until she made a comment about the color of your pajamas.

It didn’t take many days for the family to be as complete as it could. From what you knew, Charlie was still in Romania and no one had news of Percy. You had never met the latter but Fred had lengthily complained about him.

Speaking about Fred, he and George had packed more than Ginny and you for some reason. There were five trunks in their provisional room instead of two.

You asked for permission to enter which Fred granted with an enthusiastic nod. Closing the door behind you as he sat down on the bed, you then approached him.

“Are you okay?”

He nodded, eyes not meeting yours. “Can you... talk to me in Spanish or something?” Seeing your confusion, he abashedly explained, “It calms me.”

In the five months you had been together, Fred had never really reacted to your babbling in Spanish. You had assumed he was just unfazed, but his explanation made more sense.

You sat down next to him, placing a hand on his upper back. “Do you want a story?”

He nodded, “Anything.”

Fred laid down, curled up as his head rested on your lap. He listened attentively, wishing he could understand everything you were saying.

Maybe when the war was over you could teach him Spanish.

❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎

Oh fuck. Turns out wounds not only hurt but stung — you had forgotten the last time you had been injured, probably that time Moody made you sneak into that shop in Knockturn Alley to look for an artifact.

“What were you thinking?!” Fred screeched, pushing Percy, who had been the one to move you to a safer spot, to the side to kneel beside you.

You looked at Mrs. Weasley who was battling Yaxley a few meters away from you, visibly desperate to approach her sons. “No mother should lose her child. My family is already dea—“

He shushed you, “Don’t.”

You tried to move, uncomfortable by the rubble digging into your back. Palming the ground in search of your wand, you whined.

“Do you need a bandage?”

You gritted your teeth. The pain in your lower stomach was unbearable and Ferula wouldn’t fix it.

“Can you cast healing spells?”

Fred shook his head, applying pressure to your wound.

“You would be a shit Auror.”

He knew you were making light of it, but he didn’t find it in him to laugh. “Tell me what to do.”

“Poke it and—“ you groaned. The hand he had on your stomach was shaking, making the pressure waver.

Your skin was losing color. He looked at Percy, desperate — his know-it-all brother had always been good at every class. He had to know.

Percy approached you, looking at you with sadness before looking at Fred. He was about to say he didn’t know what to do when Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived to make sure all of you were safe on their way to The Shrieking Shack.

Harry only saw the blood on Fred’s hand and the desperation in his eyes. He had seen the same desperation in yours when you cast a spell that sent Fred flying out.

“I’ve seen Snape doing some type of magic... it puts the blood back in...”

You grunted, trying to nod.

“Is that the one?” Fred asked you.

You could only hum.

Thankfully, Mrs. Weasley was the one who did the spell. As amazing as Harry was, the part of his face you could still see looked terrified. He had enough on his plate already.

She slid her wand under your back, making the rock hurting you disappear. Closing your eyes, you gifted yourself a moment to breathe in and out.

“How come you didn’t know how to do it, Perce?”

You answered instead of Percy, “It’s not part of any school’s curriculum. It should, clearly, but it isn’t.”

“You would know that if you had finished school,” Mrs. Weasley said. You could’ve sworn she did so teasingly.

Innocently, you had thought saving Fred would be enough. As if loss would’ve disappeared from the world because he was safe. It was a nice concept, one you wished could be real for multiple reasons.

People you had considered the closest you had to a family like Nymphadora and Remus being the casualties of the war hadn’t crossed your mind.

It was over. At a high cost like every other war in history, yet you couldn’t believe it.

Fred, who was sat between you and George in The Great Hall, gave you a sideways glance.

He had properly known you for less than a year and you had already made him fear in ways he hadn’t only felt two times before — when Ginny was taken by Riddle to The Chamber of Secrets in his fifth year and when his dad had been attacked in his seventh year.

Dropping his hand on top of yours, he asked, “Do you want to take a walk?”

George turned to surprisedly look at his brother at the same time that you lifted your eyebrows. Your eyes crossed George’s who snickered before going back to his conversation with Lee.

“Sure,” you agreed, standing up.

Fred took your hand, walking aimlessly through the semi-destroyed halls. You could tell it affected him to watch his former school in such estate.

“You scared me.”

“I really didn’t want your mother to go through the loss of a child.”

He stopped the stroll quite abruptly. “So you wanted me to go through the loss of my girlfriend?”

“Fred...”

He shook his head, sliding his hand off yours to pass it through his hair. You didn’t know how it felt like, you hadn’t been the one watching their loved one bleed out in the middle of a battle.

He would’ve lost everything he had always wanted to have in a partner. Never had he imagined you would be so supportive of him, yet you had put up with his and George’s stupid plan of sending products by mail while the family had to hide at aunt Muriel’s and even helped them to package everything.

Everyone in the family liked you. He wouldn’t have cared if they didn’t, but it was nice to know that his partner was appreciated by the other people he loved so dearly.

Seeing a familiar frown on his brow, you warned him, “I’m not apologizing for doing it.”

Fred exploded. “What would have I done if something had happened to you?!” He yelled, using his hands to make emphasis.

You stood straighter, yelling back at him. “And what would have I done if that wall had collapsed on you?! Did you want me to stand there and watch?!”

Fred stayed silent which prompted you to add, in a softer tone, “It’s done, and it turned out okay.”

“It almost didn’t.”

“But it did,” you insisted.

His shoulders dropped. You were right, and bruised — but safe. The worst part was over already, he should have been focusing on that.

“You need to work on your anger issues,” you pointed out.

“And you need to stop throwing yourself into danger.”

You held your hands out for him to take. Fred opted for pulling you into a tight hug. The dust on his top itched your nose, but you didn’t have it in you to complain and instead hugged him back.

“I don’t want to live without you.”

”You’re everything I have left,” you mumbled on his chest, grimacing at the flavor of the dust clinging to your lips. “I mean, that includes your family and The Order, but you get what I mean.”

Humming, Fred rested his chin on the top of your head.

“My family really likes you. I think I’ll get disowned if I don’t marry you.”

��Is this your way of proposing?”

“Depends.”

“On?”

“Your answer, honestly. Don’t wanna look like a moron.”

Pushing him off to both look at him and have a break from the dust and grime on his clothes, you held him by the waist. Fred was serious, there was no mischief in his eyes as he waited for your answer.

“Well... I don’t want you to get disowned,” you joked, more nervous than you should have been. It was just him!

“And how else would I outdo Bill if it isn’t by marrying you?” he joked back.

Caressing his cheek, you nodded in agreement as a smile crept into your face. You were sure you would beam the same way Fleur had.

#fred weasley x reader #fred weasley x plus size reader #plus size reader #plus size fanfiction #harry potter x reader #harry potter x plus size reader #fred weasley #wizarding world #wizarding world x reader #wizarding world x plus size reader

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raggedyhive · 4 years

Text

Before

Now that the prequel is finished, I’m actually going to acknowledge its existence through Tumblr in a li’l masterpost. Chapter summaries here differ from the fic.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23759617/chapters/57067543

Chapter One: Grif - Thunder burned across him, arced up his body in a single, rapid movement.

For a second, everything felt like it was crushing him, the weight of gravity carrying against him in the voices of those around him, in his own voice yelling in his sister’s defense.

Chapter Two: Kai - On instinct, she threw out her arms, palms parallel to her body. Her neck drew back, hair flying behind her like a halo.

The milliseconds stretched.

She could feel every muscle working, feel her heart rest from one pump to the next.Flames burned within her. The ash from her lungs ignited. Electricity zapped across her veins, and she felt alive, and--

And the blasts exploded from her palms.All she saw was light -- a pure, radiant white engulfing the whole of her vision.

Then, she heard it. The tumultuous BOOM! deafened her, shattering everything around her. It was an atom bomb, an epicenter, everything so wrong and right in one moment.

Chapter Three: Bullshot - He needed to talk to someone, someone who didn't look at him and automatically saw a villain. Someone who could be stable when he wasn’t.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“The hell does--”

“Please,” he added.

His leg pulled out slightly. Bullshot suspected she’d planted her feet against the building. “Carolina.”

“Carolina. Let me go, or I’ll kill you just like I killed Mayer.”

Chapter Four: Sarge - This was going better than Sarge would’ve ever thought possible.

He couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth. “You’ll be able to survive anything, woncha Lopez?”

Lopez idly drummed his fingers on his other arm. The motion was smooth, humanoid. “... Déjame adivinar: tienes TEPT y estás tratando de ignorar tu traumática historia de fondo al crearme, algo que no se puede matar, como si eso compensara toda la muerte que has visto en tu vida demasiado larga.” [Let me guess: you have PTSD and are trying to ignore your traumatic backstory by creating me, a thing that can't be killed, as though that would make up for all the death you've seen in your too-long life.]

That was quite a bit of content there! Poor thing must not have realized Sarge didn't understand him. Still, he may as well reward the effort. “Nicely put, Lopez!”

“¿Dónde está la autodestrucción?” [Where is self-destruct?]

Chapter Five: Richard - He locked Mike’s armor.

Then he pooled toward the mainframe, more careless than before.

He slipped into it entirely, grasped at everything, hurled it into himself. The data swam around him, too much too fast to make sense at the moment, but it was all coming for him.

He created a direct line to his father’s own system. Just in case.

This was ugly. It was messy.

Too much too fast. He was panicking. He wasn’t supposed to panic. This was easy for him why was he panicking what the hell was going on--

Names and faces ran past him. Mission reports, private documents, numbers and orders and lists and--

His body was struggling to keep up.

Richard tried to pull back, but the floodgates were open.

Chapter Six: Tucker - “Two percent.”

Pop!

He blinked. Huh. It went through. That was… really unexpected. But seeing as his odds were so low--

Pure energy thrummed through him in a beat, emerging around the entirety of his body as though it had been waiting. Tucker was buzzing, everything feeling like static and out of reach.

It occurred to him that he was probably in shock.

“What the fuck?” he said, but it came out twisted and warped, sounding more like the faint, high-pitched buzz that idled behind old televisions.

He looked at his hand.

It.

Was not.

A hand.

Chapter Seven: Alpha - He wasn’t annoyed at the interruption, exactly. Vaguely exasperated, perhaps; but he could understand on a technical level what was happening to Alpha. It made logical sense, such as logic as applied to emotion could make sense, which was a tenuous matter but nonetheless predictable. “You know this already, Alpha. You are the current host alter. An unusual manifestation for a host, but you will do quite fine, I am sure.” Best not to be specific with this alter. “Would you like to remember any events leading to now?”

Alpha was finally settling down in the recesses of their brain, now taken to prodding cautiously at Delta’s thoughts. He allowed this. Why do I have the feeling that has a price?

No longer yelling. That was an improvement. “It does. I can predict the consequences, but I don’t house our all of the memories either. I can share my findings, if you’d like.”

Findings from what? Your, like, ten seconds of existence?

Delta hummed. “It has been much longer than that.”

Chapter Eight: Michael - Marie’s seven-year-old frame was riding on Michael’s shoulders. She kept pulling his hair in the directions she wanted him to go. It was fun. She was laughing. He was laughing.

He always let his sisters win. Michael never captured the flag, but he did get captured a lot. This made his sisters happy, and they’d smile and giggle and crawl over him in triumph. This made him happy, too.

They stayed outdoors most of the time. Michael made sure of this. Going inside was dangerous, so when the respective flags were collected, he was the one to bring them in for a wash that wouldn’t quite rid the muddy stains.

Order of reading these chapters isn’t technically important, but I put them in the way I believe makes the most sense (though they’re largely independent from one another at this point). This fic does contain death and graphic depictions of violence. It is preceding a much, much larger fic that will eventually emphasize these details even further, so please be careful.

#rvb #my rvb fic #rvb grif #rvb kai #rvb donut #rvb sarge #rvb lopez #rvb tucker #rvb church #rvb caboose #rvb carolina #red vs blue #shit will get wild #but everything is comparatively a slow build in the fic this precedes #things gonna get mildly fukt

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faveficarchive · 5 years

Text

...But We're Not the Same

By Atara

Pairing: Xena/Gabrielle

Rating: PG-13

Synopsis: Xena and Gabrielle come clean, and in doing so realize how they feel for one another.

A/N: This story takes place very shortly after "The Debt." While it may quickly be superceded by "Bitter Suite," consider it my own version of a reconciliation of the rift between Xena and Gabrielle.

On their boat trip back from the kingdom of Chin, Xena and Gabrielle both felt awkward and uncomfortable, deliberately avoiding conversation. Xena perused the book of Lao Ma's wisdom, her forehead creased in thought, occasionally shaking her head. Gabrielle was too absorbed in coping with her usual seasickness to pay much attention to what Xena was doing.

Once they docked, much to Gabrielle's relief, and Xena had retrieved Argo from the stable she had hired, they began the journey home. Their first night camping out, they sat silently by the fire. Periodically, Gabrielle would glance at Xena then look back quickly at the fire; in between, Xena would glance at Gabrielle, then look back quickly at the fire. Finally, they both glanced at each other at the same time and spoke simultaneously.

"Xena, I have something..."

"Gabrielle, I have..."

They laughed slightly, and Xena said, "You first."

"No, you go ahead."

Bemused, Xena said, "Gabrielle, this could go on all night."

"OK, I was saying that I have something to tell you."

"That's just what I was going to say to you," mused Xena. "Anyway, you go ahead."

Gabrielle took a deep breath, while nervously shredding blades of grass with her fingers, and spoke.

"My baby, Hope...I didn't kill her...I couldn't."

"I know," replied Xena gently.

"You know!" exclaimed Gabrielle. "How?"

"I think I know you pretty well by now," answered Xena with that affectionate and somewhat indulgent smile from one side of her mouth that Gabrielle so often provoked. "I hope what you did won't come back to harm you, Gabrielle. You know I think it was a mistake. But we'll deal with it when it happens. What did you do anyway?"

Gabrielle felt a small wave of relief wash over her. "I put her in a basket and sent her down the stream, hoping someone would take care of her. I just couldn't- "

"I know," nodded Xena.

"Um..." interjected Gabrielle, "what did you want to tell me?"

"I..." Xena's frowned, struggling with her admission. "I killed Ming Tien."

"I know," replied Gabrielle with a sigh.

"You know!" exclaimed Xena. "How?"

"I guess I know you pretty well too," said Gabrielle sadly. "You were so determined."

"I had to. Lao Ma left me the weapon, a sharp hair ornament that I had given her before as a gift. It was an unmistakable message. I had to obey her last wish. She tried so hard to achieve peace, but she couldn't harm her own son. But she knew what had to be done, and she counted on me to do it. I couldn't let her down."

Gabrielle was sitting with her arms wrapped around her knees and shaking her head vigorously. She hadn't listened very closely to Xena's explanation. She burst out,"Why, Xena, why?"

Xena looked puzzled, then begin to explain, "He had amassed too much power, he was ruthlessly cruel..."

"No, not that! Why do we do this?"

"Do what?"

"Lie to each other and pretend we believe the lies. I thought we trusted each other completely. And I nearly had you killed...That dungeon, those boards... " Gabrielle burst into tears.

Xena moved closer to Gabrielle, putting an arm around her shoulders. Despite her sobs, Gabrielle felt a comforting warmth from the muscled arm around her. While in Chin, she had been convinced that she would never again feel Xena's touch, the gentleness belying the awesome strength. Xena spoke.

"I forgave you for that Gabrielle, but" she added wryly, "I'll agree it wasn't one of your wisest decisions." Gabrielle sobbed more violently, and Xena realized this was a situation dry humor wouldn't fix. Patiently, she pulled Gabrielle closer and explained, "We do what we do because we care about each other. I don't want you to think less of me, and I expect it's the same with you." She paused, groping for the best way to explain what she meant. "And when you care about someone very, very deeply, you build a picture of that person in your mind. Maybe we pretended to believe the lies, and maybe you prevented me from murdering Ming Tien because we want to keep those pictures as flawless as we can." Gabrielle's sobs began subsiding, and Xena reached over to rummage in a nearby pack and draw out a scrap of cloth. She gently wiped at the tears, then let Gabrielle snuggle closer.

"And in many ways we're different people," Xena continued. She hated talks like this, but Gabrielle had to understand. "We're not always going to agree on the right course of action, especially when all the possibilities are ugly ones and there isn't a single right answer. You saved Hope, and you tried to save me from killing Ming Tien because deep down inside you were sure they were the right things to do. I killed Ming Tien for the same reason. What's right isn't always going to look like the same thing to both of us."

"I know," murmured Gabrielle miserably, new tears leaking from her eyes. "Sometimes I don't understand you at all, how you think, what you do, why you do it. It scares me."

"It's going to happen," sighed Xena, removing her arm from Gabrielle, "more and more. The longer you travel with me, the more you'll learn of my past. Who I was then didn't just disappear when I started doing good. She's still with me, always a part of me, a part that can't be denied, no matter how much you don't want to see or acknowledge her. And I know you don't, and I don't blame you. And sometimes my past actions will have consequences that I need to deal with *now*. *I* was responsible for Ming Tien becoming the monster he was; I was on my way to becoming such a monster myself. There are times I'm going to have to clean up the messes I've made, and it's not always going to be pretty.

"I can't just put my past self behind me; I have to live with the knowledge of everything I did, and I have to live with the consequences, and sometimes I have to pay...and pay...and pay. And however much I pay it will never be enough." Xena's voice grew harder and more remote as she spoke. But she refused to give in to self-pity; as far as she was concerned, she certainly didn't deserve it. "And that's how it should be," she continued. "There's no ultimate absolution in this life. All I can hope is that I do enough good to begin to balance out the evil. But there's no magic finish line to cross; I'll never be done dealing with who I was."

"Oh, Xena," gasped Gabrielle sympathetically, fighting back further tears. While she certainly had had inklings of the full implications of what Xena was saying now, she had avoided facing them head on. Her love and admiration for Xena were so great, it was almost impossible for her to see *her* Xena and the past Xena as the same person. She wrestled with it frequently in her mind, but usually dismissed the problem as unsolvable. All that mattered was what Xena did *now*. But that wasn't *all* that mattered, it wasn't enough, and Gabrielle had to force herself to face the truth.

"You and I live in different worlds, Gabrielle." said Xena flatly, fighting to keep emotion out of her voice. We can never see things in exactly the same way; our experiences are too different. I love you, and I hope you still love me, but we're not the same. And look what I've done to you! If it wasn't for me, Callisto wouldn't have killed Perdicus, and you'd be living peacefully and happily with your...husband." The last word was hard to get out; Xena had to force it past an obstruction that seemed suddenly to lodge itself in her throat.

"Xena!" exclaimed Gabrielle, trying to push away a nagging thought that intruded at the mention of Perdicus as well as a renewed upwelling of grief. "You're not responsible for Callisto's actions or her mental state. Callisto is mad, deeply, deeply mad. Other people survive the deaths of their families without turning into homicidal lunatics."

"I know," said Xena patiently, struggling with the guilt that always threatened to swamp her when she thought about Callisto and particularly about Perdicus' murder. And she thought about them pretty regularly, punishing herself relentlessly. "I know she's mad. But I gave that madness a direction, a channel."

"She's going to be back, isn't she?" asked Gabrielle, shuddering.

"Yes, probably."

"She's so powerful now. I worry she might...kill you."

"Callisto?" snapped Xena. "Kill *me*? Not likely. What would she have to live for if she killed me? Hating me gives her the only real purpose her life has. No, she'll never kill me. She'll just do her best to destroy everything I love, killing me a little bit at a time. But not entirely. She'd like nothing better than to make me immortal too, and spend eternity forcing me to face myself."

Xena sighed. She knew equally well that she needed Callisto, with that lethally malevolent childishness and that baby voice, as if her development had been arrested as a young girl, festering there instead of ripening into adulthood. Yes, she needed Callisto, her scourge, her reminder. It was easy to see herself reflected in Gabrielle's eyes, even as that reflection grew more flawed, less ideal. She needed Callisto to stop her from getting complacent or self-congratulatory.

Gabrielle's question broke into her thoughts. "How do you deal with it? All of it, not just Callisto. Doesn't it hurt?"

"Of course it hurts," returned Xena snappishly. Her own pain was not a subject that interested her very much. It was something to be bludgeoned away if it couldn't be ignored, just the way she could repair a dislocated shoulder by ramming it into the hardest available object. Her voice grew gentler, as she turned to Gabrielle. "I deal with it, in large part, because of *you*. You help me see that what I was then is not *all* I am. I couldn't do that without you. I *need* you. But if not for me, if not for the hate I sparked in Callisto, you'd be happy..."

"Xena!" interrupted Gabrielle. "Please don't. It hurts...and I feel so guilty."

"Guilty, why?" asked Xena, surprised.

Gabrielle sighed, staring straight ahead of her, "Because I *am* happy. With you. That's why the past couple months have been so hard for me. And I feel so guilty because I know I couldn't have stayed happy with Perdicus."

*I could have told you that!* retorted Xena mentally, then reminded herself of all the reasons why she couldn't have told Gabrielle that.

"I thought that's what I wanted," continued Gabrielle. "I didn't know who I was; I thought I was just imitating you, not being myself. And Perdicus was so gentle; I knew I'd be comfortable with him, and he wouldn't push me around the way some men do. But I was wrong. I belong with you -- your partner. I couldn't have been happy living that life."

"I know," said Xena quietly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" demanded Gabrielle. "If he'd lived I'd be there now. He didn't deserve what happened, and he didn't deserve a wife who could only love him as a brother or friend, not a husband. How can I buy my happiness with his death? Why didn't you stop me?"

Xena turned to look directly at Gabrielle. "Gabrielle, you're an adult. Besides, your love life is none of my business."

Gabrielle muttered, "I wish it was."

Xena remarked, very quietly, "That makes two of us."

Gabrielle laid a hand on Xena's arm, gripping hard. "Tell me the truth, Xena. I'm not a child. Do you really want me...that way?"

"Yes, I do."

"How much?"

"So much," said Xena, "that I couldn't abuse my position by taking advantage of you. So you see, that puts me in kind of an awkward position when it comes to advising you about your love life."

"Oh, Xena," sighed Gabrielle.

"It's not been easy," growled Xena roughly. "I could have seduced you any time--like that!" She snapped her fingers. "I usually get what I want in that area, and you looked up to me so much...but I didn't want you that way...And I'm not very good at dealing with what I want when I get it -- I don't do relationships very well. I didn't want to hurt you; I still don't. I didn't want you in a position where you had no choice. So when you decided to marry Perdicus...I couldn't stand in your way."

Tears began to trickle from Gabrielle's eyes again.

Xena said, much more softly, "And if I failed you by not speaking, I'm so sorry. It wouldn't be the first time I failed someone I care about."

"No, Xena, you did the right thing," declared Gabrielle. "You're right. I was an adult then, and I am an adult now. And I still look up to you, but I hardly think you're perfect."

Xena suddenly grinned. "A good thing too."

Gabrielle laughed. "*And*, Xena, I'm in a position where I can make a choice. I've seen you at your best, and I know a whole lot about your worst...and I love you."

Xena took both of Gabrielle's hands in her own, lightly stroking the backs with her long fingers. "I love you, too. But is this what you really want?"

"Yes," said Gabrielle stoutly. "But I admit it scares me."

"It should," returned Xena. "You have to be strong, Gabrielle, strong enough not to let me swallow you up. And you have to be able to promise me that no matter what happens, you'll always be a part of my life--I can't lose that."

"I promise. That's the most important to me too. Now will you just kiss me, Xena? I'd rather do it without Autolycus' mustache in the way!"

Xena laughed, and Gabrielle joined her, like two friends together laughing at a shared joke, before their lips embraced.

The End

#xena #xena warrior princess #xena/gabrielle #xena/gabrielle fanfiction #pg-13 #author: atara #femslash #fanfiction

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duhragonball · 5 years

Text

Dragon Ball Z 175

It’s tiime for the Cell Games! Goku’s ready to rock, but Chi-Chi asks him to promise that Gohan won’t fight, and he just sort of looks at her and runs away. Yikes.

He teleports to meet the others on the Lookout, but there’s a problem. When Dende reactivated the Dragon Balls, he didn’t change the thing where they can’t revive anyone who’s been revived before. It’s not clear if Dende just couldn’t do that and didn’t think to mention it until now, or if he could have done it but he forgot and now it’s too late to change it. Goku isn’t worried because they just have to make sure none of them get killed in the battle. Ominous.

So, I just now thought of this, but is that how Shenron works? What I mean is, Tien has been wished back to life once, but it was by the Namekian Dragon Balls. So I think I sort of assumed that Shenron could still revive him if necessary, because it would be the first time Shenron had done it personally. But maybe it’s more about whether you’ve been revived before, regardless of the circumstances. All I know is if I’m Tien, I’d probably want a clear answer on that.

Unlike most big DBZ battles, this one is being broadcast live to the whole world, because Cell told everyone when and where the Cell Games would be held. If he’s noticed Jimmy Firecracker and Larry the Camera Guy filming him, he doesn’t seem to mind.

And the first guy to arrive is WORLD CHAMPION OF MARTIAL ARTS, MISTERRRRRRR SAAAAAAAAAAAAATAN!

HUGE POP for Mr. Satan. Satanmania is running wild!

Then he points at Cell, as if you say “YOU”

“ARE GOING DOWN!”

Jimmy’s on commentary just flipping the fuck out and the matches haven’t even started yet.

While Cell takes one look at Satan and wonders what he’s even doing here. Well, next time don’t announce your tournament on television, then. Fewer people will show up.

Satan calls Jimmy down to ringside and cuts a promo on Cell, basically repeating his previous claims that Cell’s super powered feats are all hokey special effects and tricks. He further interprets Cell’s silence as terror.

Jimmy is so reassured by Mr. Satan’s speech that he flips Cell off. Jimmy Firecracker is awesome.

Then Mr. Satan starts smacking his own butt, indicating the spanking he plans to give Cell for all his evil deeds. This is WILD.

So, I mentioned this before, but the weird thing about Mr. Satan is that he seems to completely acknowledge that the results of Cell’s rampage are real. All the death and destruction Cell has caused definitely happened. Satan is just quibbling over how Cell accomplished this. It looks like super powers, Satan calls it a trick, but either way, Cell has blown up a lot of shit, and he’s killed a lot of people. And yet, Mr. Satan seems certain that Cell has done all of this just so he can stand in an ordinary ring and have a fair fight with anyone who’s interested. Isn’t Satan even a little worried that Cell will play a “trick” on him? The kind of trick you don’t get up from?

I guess not.

The Z-Fighters meet Tien and Yamcha on their way to the Cell Games. They explain that they’re joining the group for this event, but they don’t plan to fight. Probably. These boys know how this stuff works. It’s tough to be a spectator in these kinds of things, but they can’t just sit at home and wait for the all clear, either. If there’s even a tiny chance that Yamcha can help win this thing, he’s going, sweatdrops and all.

As they fly together to Cell’s ring, Goku’s got this big smile on his face like he’s thinking about how proud he is to run with such a standup crew of guys. Squad goals achieved.

Meanwhile, Mr. Satan is still making faces at Cell. Devastating. You know, Cell can act like this isn’t bothering him, but he still has to take it. That’s pretty cool.

Then Vegeta shows up, and Cell finally reacts a little more, since he recognizes Vegeta as genuine competition. The others have no idea who he is, so Jimmy tries to talk to him, and Vegeta literally tells him to never talk to him again.

So they write Vegeta off as a crazy person, and Mr. Satan clicks his tongue about how these types always get in the way. IRONY.

Then Android 16 shows up, and Cell is surprised that he’s even still functional.

One thing that really bugs me about 16 here is how Bulma went to all the trouble to repair him, and then she just sort of haphazardly slapped a Capsule Corp. sticker over his Red Ribbon label. I mean, could they not find a bigger sticker to cover it up?

Then Goku’s group arrives, and the audience is all like “What are these dorks doing here?” It’s awesome. I love everything about this.

Chi-Chi doesn’t, because this confirms that Gohan is actually going to fight in this thing. She gets so mad that she picks up the whole TV and swings it around.

Then they make a hole in the floor somehow. Does Gou’s house have a basement?

What bugs Jimmy and Mr. Satan is that all of these guys flew to the ring. Satan figures it must be a popular trick. See, this is what I’m talking about. Okay, its a trick, fine. They still got here. They were still up in the air somehow, which means they could probably pick you up and drop you from a great height. What difference does it make if it’s a trick or not?

Goku introduces himself to 16, and it’s kind of weird how 16′s the only one who really got to meet Goku. 18 wouldn’t meet him until the Buu Saga, and 17 didn’t resurface until Dragon Ball Super. Or GT if you count that, which I don’t.

Anyway, 16 coldly reminds Goku that he was designed to kill him, like he’s still planning to do that one of these days. This is awkward for Krillin, since he’s trying to be friends with both of these guys.

So Goku volunteers to fight first. Vegeta doesn’t mind, since he expects to be the one who finishes Cell off, so it doesn’t matter what order they go in. But Mr. Satan objects, because he’s the champ here.

In spite of Satan’s immense ego, there is something pretty noble about this. He truly believes that Goku and the others have no idea what they’re dealing with, and that they’d be throwing their lives away if they tried to fight Cell. The irony is that Goku and Satan are each trying to save the other from the same fate. We expect that from Goku, especially here, because, well, he’s right. But it says a lot that Satan is so upset about this. He came here to save everybody, and that includes yokels in orange costumes who haven’t heard of him.

Just to prove his point, Satan grabs a rock on the ground and pulls it out with one hand. Turns out that it’s a very big rock, and it was buried in the ground like a potato or something.

Then he breaks the whole thing on his head. YEAH! Mr. Satan is nothin’ to fuck with. What I love about this is that he’s clearly very, very powerful in his own right. You could do these same kinds of gags with Yajirobe and they’d still work. But when Yajirobe first appeared, he was about as strong as Goku. Satan isn’t weak, he’s just way, way behind everyone else, and he doesn’t know it.

Finally, Krillin’s just like “Look, let him go first, who cares?” I mean, they can revive him with the Dragon Balls, so they might as well. I’m just sort of wondering why they didn’t try knocking him out to shut him up. It seems like the more humane way to go.

But Cell doesn’t care. It’s time for the Cell Games to start, so he just wants someone to get in here and throw down.

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feelingsdusk-writes · 6 years

Text

Runes and all kinds of things

Chapter 2

Stiles is exhausted, which is really messed up because he's been doing nothing but sleep for the past few days. Normally he would be climbing the walls in frustration by now, but to do that he has to actually manage to stay awake consistently, and he just can't. He's awake one instant and the next thing he knows he's peeling his eyes open ten minutes slash two hours later. To make matters worse, while his mind is a little foggy due to all the pain medication they're feeding him through the I.V. tube, when he's properly awake, it's jumping from one place to another too fast to keep track because he can't have his Adderall. Again, this is really frustrating because Stiles just wants to hide his head in the sand and avoid the Scott issue for a while but his mind won't let him. He's even started learning Spanish through the novelas on the TV (and, boy, wasn't his dad's face priceless when the man saw him doing exactly that, muttering an oh, Marco Enrique, no me dejes in a tone half dramatic, half drowsy, one hand feebly in the air and the other clutching his heart) but to no avail.

If he’s completely honest with himself, part of him wants to forgive Scott for everything and go back to the status quo because being at odds with him right now (anyone, really) is exhausting and well beyond his current capabilities. Whenever that thought comes by, though, he reminds himself of all the shit that has happened lately. He forces himself to remember how ever since Scott got bitten and a position on the team and the girl and popularity and options, Stiles has gradually come to be redundant, a last resort for when everything else fails but also so taken for granted that it's insulting and demeaning. And that’s not okay because for Stiles up until now Scott was on The List, with his father, Lydia and before her death, his mom.

His always first choices, always loyal to, for whom he would sacrifice anything and everything.

And doesn’t that list say anything about him? Because there hasn’t been an equal exchange between Stiles and the people on it for a while now… if ever. It hurts to think about it without lying to himself about how Lydia would always choose Jackson, Scott his mom and Allison, and his father, for quite a while, the liquor and his job over him. And he doesn’t even want to think about thinking about his mom’s last year. That way leads to madness.

(Why? Why can't he be anyone's first choice? If he's able to have more than one important person and care for them all, why do others seem to be incapable of doing the same? Or is it just about Stiles? What is it about him that makes him-?)

He stops himself ruthlessly from going down that road and forces himself to focus on the positive side. It takes him a bit, but he finally focusses on remembering how it used to be way worse and on how his father seems to have gotten his shit together over the years and now he’s at worst a highly functional alcoholic and a workaholic; On how maybe, just maybe, this thing about his dad being in the know isn’t that bad and Stiles can finally stop lying on nearly every conversation they have; Also, macabre or not, on how Gerard’s brain matter splattering on the wall means that the man won’t be able to ever touch him again. Some would actually beg for a reassurance like that and Stiles made it happen with his own two hands. Even hurt and debilitated, he did it.

The puny and weak human came out on top and beat the odds!

Isn't that exhilarating?

He clenches his fists and takes a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds before letting it go. Then he shakes his head trying to clear it and immediately groans dizzily. Damn the medication. He hates having to take it because it muddles his mind and normally (like in this case) he has to stop with the Adderall while being treated, which he hates even more than having to take the Adderall in the first place.

His mind right now is again in that state when it is a little lethargic and sluggish but at the same time trying to be all over the place, which he blames for the impromptu deep thoughts that he normally tends to avoid… and for not noticing when Allison has somehow made herself at home on one of the uncomfortable chairs beside his hospital bed, where she seems to be waiting for him to acknowledge her with her bag still in her lap, as if she's waiting for Stiles to decide whether he will allow her to remain or not.

Stiles blinks and tries to make his brain reboot because the situation does not compute. What is she doing here? Don’t get him wrong, he is grateful that she got her shit together in time to help keep him alive, but they aren’t friends, never have been. At best, they have been positive acquaintances for the sake of Scott and nothing more, and that was before her descent to the dark pit that is rage and helplessness and the quest for revenge, when it was her against everything and everyone, and God help whoever got in her path. And don't get him wrong, Stiles gets it, he really does. He probably would have done the same when his mom died if there hadn't been other things more pressing to care about. But understanding doesn't mean he wouldn't have put a bullet in her too if she had gotten in the way of his own or his loved ones' survival.

“I talked with Derek Hale,” she breaks the silence finally, after a few minutes of bearing Stiles' suspicious scrutiny with admirable grace. Even when his dark thoughts probably showed in his face.

“With? You actually got him to talk back?” he snorts skeptically, eyes a little narrowed and brows high. He isn’t proud of the almost drugged slur in his voice but his response earns him a twitch of her lips. “Impressive. Didn’t think he was actually capable of any type of conversation… besides eyebrow signing or drum communication.“

“Drums," she states flatly, but her lips twitch again. The grip she has on her bag has relaxed minutely, but she at least knows how Stiles operates because she hasn't made any move to make herself more comfortable on the chair and she's still sitting on the very edge.

“Without actual drums, you know? Like, with people? Yeah, he does that a lot. Being slammed into the wheel of my Roscoe wasn’t fun, I tell you.“ He pauses, considering it carefully and then hums as if enlightened. “But it got the message across real quick, I’ll give him that,” he finishes blithely, his smile with a nasty sharp edge that doesn't escape her notice.

“Well, there were a lot of glowers and threats… and growls and flashes of red eyes… Lots of posturing, really,” she says loftily and with enough nonchalance to make him wonder how she got him to stay put and avoided getting attacked (ah, to be a fly on that wall), before she sobers, all traces of humor gone from her face and voice. “He told me what happened. He... explained everything that he did... And that she did.”

He doesn’t answer beyond a noncommittal sound but he doesn’t have to. She isn’t stupid, after all, no matter how she is undoubtedly feeling because she let herself be manipulated, first by her aunt and then Gerard. Also his blank face right now probably says it all, because something along the lines of was it that difficult to ask and listen? is clearly depicted on it despite the lack of facial expression. He doesn’t say anything because even he knows that yes, it is that difficult, because something like what happened can mess with a person’s mind, and that’s without outside interference added on top of it. May Gerard's soul (if he actually had one of those) be in the darkest, deepest pit of hell right now being sodomized by the Devil's pointy tail.

On the TV Lucía Paola is breaking the news to Pablo Antonio (who has cancer and doesn't know it yet, but will soon because the doctor has just received the result of the tests and is about to call him) about being pregnant but she's keeping to herself, as her internal monologue tells, that the baby is in reality Marco Enrique's (dramatic music ensues), with whom she's planning to elope (more dramatic music) as soon as night comes because Pablo Antonio is a beast that doesn't treat her right. She was forced to marry him by her mother, Mariana Estrella, whom is watching with narrowed eyes from outside the room, through the cracked door. The woman is pursing her lips dangerously as her internal monologue reveals that she knows that the baby isn't Pablo Antonio's (even more dramatic music) with a derisive and downright mean voice. After that revelation, she's now looking dangerously through the window, and Marco Enrique is seen tending to the horses and laughing with another man about how mares have to be treated with gentle hands.

"¡Oh, no, Marco Enrique, cuidado!" Stiles mutters softly, voice purposely a little high, as the silence drags, earning himself an incredulous look from Allison that he studiously ignores as he inserts more dramatic music and a thunderous clap for good measure. "¡La mamá va a intentar acabar contigo seguro! ¡Y Lucía Paola no dejará a Pablo Antonio si sabe que tiene cáncer!"

So he stays silent about the matter because he understands, even if it’s very frustrating to think that a lot of problems could have been avoided that easily. Also, it’s not like her actions were a betrayal to him, because, well… positive acquaintances, duh. Where Stiles is concerned, to betray him you have to have his trust in the first place and Allison didn't. Scott did, and he betrayed Stiles by going behind his back and actively lying to him. Erica and Boyd did too, if only because he trusted them to help him after he helped them (quid pro quo at the very least) and they left him behind when Geriatric Gerard came back and things went south (more than they already had, that is). And that’s it when it comes down to it. Which reminds him…

He scowls and Allison blinks, now openly baffled, because this probably isn't what she expected when she planned to come see Stiles. He pays her no mind as his scowl deepens.

The thing is that as far as he’s concerned, at this point he doesn’t owe anything to Scott, much less Erica and Boyd. If anything it's the other way around by now, even if he will never cash it in. With Allison, they are even. He’s had to help her quite a few times and she has also helped Stiles, in both cases because of Scott. He does think Gerard was going to shoot to get her out of the way, granddaughter or not, so he saved her life... but she saved his too. So she helped him, he helped her and that's the end of it. But…

“Fuck.” Allison looks at him and arches her brow in a very Lydia reminiscent expression. He rubs his face frustrated for a moment. “I owe Peter one.”

After a second of silence she snorts, which earns her a glare that she dutifully ignores in favor of rummaging through her bag. She then proceeds to pass him a fully charged PSP and he stares at it as if it's an alien for a long minute. He arches a brow back at her lack of sympathy but turns it on nonetheless with a grumble, silently acknowledging her also silent petition for a truce/impasse/tentative friendship overture/whatever the hell you want to call it. He doesn't know why he accepts it, when he normally would have no qualms about kicking people he doesn't want around him out, but he's always trusted his gut and this time is not different, so he allows her to stay. The game starts automatically and he snorts amusedly at the screen. She not-so-quite hides a smile with her book.

“Seriously?”

Infected’s logo is on the opening screen. He rolls his eyes.

On the TV Pablo Antonio has already found out that he has cancer and Lucía Paola knows. She's crying, her mascara not budging even a bit, as she tells Marco Enrique that she can't elope with him (dramatic music) because she can't abandon her husband in that situation. When she leaves after one final kiss, Marco Enrique falls to his knees on the hay (more dramatic music) and starts crying as he softly begs her retreating back to stay. At the same time, Mariana Estrella is spying on them and has a very cruel and self-satisfied internal monologue about the whole thing after Lucía Paola has finally left, deeply enjoying the defeated and devastated look of Marco Enrique.

"Te lo dije," Stiles singsongs as he blasts a zombie in the game. "Y probablemente lo del cáncer será un error del doctor," he adds, happily blasting another one. He catches Allison's eyes at the edge of his vision and shrugs, earning an amused snort from her. "What. I was bored."

He's still confused about why she has come to him, of all people, to speak to, even if she hasn't actually talked much about it. Time will tell, he supposes, and he has it to spare right now so... Besides if she keeps bringing her PSP he's not going to kick her out, because he's already tried to convince his dad to hook up his console to the hospital's TV and been refused.

"Do you have any Mario?"

She smiles in victory, as if she did expect that outcome and Stiles rolls his eyes, lips twitching involuntarily.

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#runes and all kinds of things #teen wolf fics #my writing #teen wolf #steter

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thebrochtuarachs · 7 years

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Recap on 3x09: The Doldrums

I loved this transition episode and this might be my favorite episode so far the entire season!!! (Yes, probably more over the reunion episode)

P.S. I’ve stopped reading the “Voyager” so that I don’t really know what to expect in the coming episodes. I’ll re-read once the season is over. This is exciting.

1. INTRO CHANGES ARE AMAZING!!! That African remix in the theme song plus the new footages are just adds so much more intrigue on what’s going to happen in the next half of the season! I mean, The greenery, the sea, the shipwreck, Jamaica, Turtle Soup? I can’t even already and it’s just the start of the episode.

2. I honestly had no idea what “doldrums” mean.

3. Oh, they didn’t show the passage to France,well, we need to run the story fast so I’m fine with it. It so nice to see Jared again. I wonder how much richer he’s gotten since his main rival in the business is gone.

4. Young Ian can be sold as long as he doesn’t get into trouble…well, let’s cross our fingers for this one.

5. Tension still there between Jamie and Claire. Despite the fact, he still allows himself to be vulnerable to Claire, even confessing that God maybe punishing him for wanting it all too much. I love this character development. Moreover, I actually love this tension more than when they getting to know each other in S1. Sam and Cait have nailed being an “older, married” couple without losing their sexiness and chemistry.

6. James Fraser is totally unreal and we shall all swoon about it. Here’s a man confessing his love but still willing to let his woman go (will even escort her back personally!) if it’s what she wants. Claire, on her end, knows she won’t leave Jamie but doesn’t want to tell him yet (cheeky! get the men on their heels, joke!). But with her coming with Jamie, I assume she accepts the man he is now for the man she knew once before? ;) I mean, I understand why parting this time maybe more okay cause at least they both know that each other lives but they both know that it ain’t going to happen no matter how crazy their situation is.

7. Claire trying to comfort Jamie with her hand in his arm and back. I’ve been waiting for this Claire Fraser to come back and here she is. Also, the Frasers handholding gives me much life. I need more pure scenes like these.

8. Jamie asking Claire to touch the horseshoe because of superstition but she only touches it because it’ll make him happy. I honestly can’t. My bbys are coming back.

9. When Jamie just said women and red heads are both bad luck but Claire only acknowledges Jamie’s. HAHAHAHA married.

10. Wow, I didn’t expect Jamie and Claire PDA but I am loving this. I love how automatic their hands are with each other in this hug. All these banana talk is too telling. I love cuddly Frasers.

11. Besides Fergus, yet again, interrupting a sweet moment…FERSALI HAS ARRIVED (and married)!!

12. I love Jamie’s sarcastic face talking to Fergus and Marsali. “You hardly know each other” - JAMES, JAMES, have you forgotten your own wedding? ;)

13. Marsali’s annoyance with Claire is seeping. She just calls her names even when Jamie and Fergus asks her not to. Also, I kinda liked that she defended her mother because she’s her family first despite what she’s done. I remember Lauren Lyle’s tweet that Marsali not being the “meek and obedient” type and she was right. Well, girl, you’re just like Claire more that you like. Plus, I love that Claire doesn’t hide the fact that, she too, doesn’t like Marsali all that much.

14. Marsali will not be bug down. Jamie is surrounded by fierce, outspoken women in his life. His mother, sister, wife, daughters…

15. “We’ve been parted for 20 years and you want me to room with her?” I think we all know what Claire’s plans were ;) HAHAHA Plus, I love that even in their rocky start, Claire still knows her hold over Jamie and I love it. I miss this dynamic.

16. Jamie Fraser, the king of all men, cannot sing, cannot wink and cannot stand being in the sea. I know that somewhere deep down Claire is temporarily enjoying Jamie’s state of disposition.

17. Claire and Jamie talking about Fergus like the family conversations they missed the past 20 years. These two, no matter how awkward their situation is, they will always choose to say what they need to and actually have a decent conversation.

18. Claire and Jamie talking about their wedding like it was three (and not twenty) years ago gives me the feels. I love that they remember it still so much.

19. Our things? Love that she was surprised it’s BOTH their stuff. Love that Claire didn’t think someone would save something of hers the past 20 years. Love that the first thing she thought was being practical and that she would’ve been fine with it being gone. Love that Jamie but in so quickly that he couldn’t bear losing memories of her. Love that Claire recognized her cloak and didn’t like Marseli wearing it. Love that Claire finally has some change of clothes. Love that Jamie says that there’s still more clothes saved back home. PS. Can someone make a FF where Jamie is just reminiscing through the clothes please? :) Also, there’s some debate on whether it was right that Jamie kept and not sold them for money as Lallybroch was struggling (See @OutlanderCostum tweets). Honestly, for me, sentimental things as such are priceless. If it were the not the really, really, really, last resort, I wouldn’t let them go either.

20. Humorous Frasers are my favorite. I love their inside jokes. Ahhh, seriously, this couple destroys me with feels.

21. Of course, something goes awry and who’s fault is it? Our favorite duo. Seriously, can’t they catch a break, at least once? BTW, I love seeing Dr. C.E.B.R Fraser in action!

22. Father-Son moment with Jamie and Fergus. “If you were forced to marry milady, then I’m forced to breath, my heart, it is forced to beat” THIS IS HONESTLY ONE OF THE BEST AND MOST ROMANTIC LINES. Fergus sees and knows how true their love is, no matter how much each downplays it. I love that Fergus remembers their brief time together all those years and how that feelings never changed. Jamie is still not making good arguments. So far, everything is biting him back in the behind. (Is their a FF where Fergus tells Marseli memories of Jamie and Claire and shares how pure they truly were?)

23. I may have rolled my eyes when Jamie imposed Fergus to be TOTALLY HONEST with Marseli about his rendezvous past. I mean, come on.

24. I thought Claire, being a woman of the 20th century, would probably have knowledge and amenable to superstitions and how much it wouldn’t bother following them if without harm. After all, she grew up with an archaeologist and was married to a historian, so for sure, she knows many cultures and traditions. And here she is, dining with the captain, questioning why she should follow the ridiculous ideas of the seas. But still, I love that Claire shares her insight still, and thank goodness, the captain is a little bit more open-minded about this. Just a thought.

25. MR. WILLOUGHBY/YI TIEN CHO IS HERE!!! His threat to Jamie’s manhood is very convincing.

26. Claire and Marseli in each other throats and no one is backing down. Love that Claire, assuming as she was, doesn’t back down to Marseli nor does try to explain herself.

27. Caitriona Balfe just looks gorgeous in that blue outfit. I love the added belt and bag. I love that it doesn’t go all the way down to the floor and shows her gorgeous shoes. This is, so far, probably my favorite Claire look! The sun is so good on their skins too. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE HER HAIR. I love tan Jamie and Claire!

28. I wonder how Jamie and Claire survived weeks with Jamie’s vomiting and I wonder where their conversation would have gone hadn’t Marseli and Fergus interrupted them.

29. I love how they both turn around as Marseli and Fergus approach them. Like what’s that about? :D

30. I must give so much credit to Fergus and Marseli for fighting for their relationship. I must give credit to Claire for trying to help them out. Marsalis face when Claire defended them was priceless. Jamie acting like the “stoic dad” and Claire as the “convincer mom” and this indirect parenting scene gives me so much joy.

31. Yi Tien Cho and Claire friendship is marvelous. I love that Claire has genuine interest in getting to know him. “A story told is a life lived” line is so powerful, at least to me.

32. Claire VO scene. I love that she’s smiling making the medicines. The script had a deleted scene where Claire was actually singing and humming but at least, one can see that Claire is actually enjoying the voyage….SO FAR. ;)

33. I love that she go grabs Jamie to listen to some songs :D

34. I love the acupuncture scene. My favorite of the episode. I love how shocked Jamie and Mr. Willoughby was, being caught on act. And enter Claire, who bears the look more of surprised amusement rather than the fury they were expecting. I love that we see just how deep Jamie’s fears of losing Claire is - that something as simple as offending her ginger tea will make her run away. We see him bracing himself for another round of arguments of why she needs to stay with him because up until this point in the episode, Claire hadn’t really committed herself back to him - she gave direct statements on the cliff, hadn’t really answered about staying with him, when he offered her return to the 20th century, she reasoned Young Ian. Not their relationship. Then Claire, bless her soul, finally said the answer we’re all eager to hear with all the love and it was the perfect. (I currently have Claire’s response as my phone wallpaper for good vibes and feels).

35. She makes him ginger tea twice a day for three weeks and she’ll make them still hadn’t she caught them - if that isn’t love, I don’t know what is.

36. With that argument out of the way, the relief on their faces that immediately changes to that look of love we all know and miss from these two. I mean just look at Claire - like there’s no issue anymore, nothing that she holds against him, doesn’t ask him to explain further, doesn’t ask him for conditions - and neither does he. Because they know that going forward and being together is the most important thing. And then they joke and intimacy resumes without shyness.

37. Jamie and Claire kissing while laughing may have destroyed my feels. I love them so much and this moment is what they deserve for all time. Also, ESKIMO KISSES.

38. Jamie has forgotten about his acupuncture face and Captain Raines, hilariously, calls him out. HAHAHAHA! Mr. Willoughby trying so hard to explain the treatment, the crews horror looks, and Jamie trying to distract them.

39. We are just blessed with so many Claire and Jamie moments this episode! I just love this. A rare private moment for our twosome. Love how Claire approaches him after he’s done with his prayers, Jamie unmoving in her presence. Love how she approaches him first and initiates the intimacy because Jamie is still unsure where his boundaries lie. Love how she kisses him on the cheek and grabs him by the arms. Love how their foreheads touch. Love how they only have love eyes for each other. Love the hugging and kissing. Love that it is soft and tender like the still of the night. Like they’re part of the night. Love how perfect they fit together in the embrace. Like it was always meant to be that way. Love that they have a moment to reflect about Brianna. Love how he hugged her closer to assure her of her decision. Love how they stay that way until the end of the frame. I would have loved though if they included the part where they look at Bree’s pictures again but nonetheless, this scene was beautiful, heartbreaking and perfect. Sam and Cait just nailed this especially the last 10 seconds of this scene.

40. It’s moments like these where I wish Bree could have a way to know and see that her mom is okay and is with her dad and that they both love each other and her very much. I honestly can’t wait for Brianna to meet Jamie next season.

41. Bad luck after bad luck after bad luck… of course, our bbys are to blame. What’s new? :P

42. They are lucky Captain Raines is an open-minded person or else, they’ll be thrown out by now.

43. Jamie is an honorable man but I don’t know how he can make promises of not running out of water and evade a mob of angry sailors so fervently. Also, I love how frequent he refers to Claire as his “wife”. Like he missed calling her that so now he repeats it, over and over.

44. Claire taking charge as well is my favorite aesthetic.

45. YI TIEN CHO TO THE RESCUE. I love his monologue. I love hearing his story and back story. Love his quick thinking about superstitions and how he can make himself a picture of good luck by bringing wind and rain. Completely forgetting about the horseshoe incident. His timing is impeccable. Love how Claire and Jamie asks him after how he knew and appreciated him saving the day and everyone on the ship. And not just for the rain but personally, for helping them heal in some way.

46. Jamie and Claire’s mischievous look when Yi Tien Cho was depicting body parts. These guys have waited weeks and we know what’s coming.

47. Fergus and Marsali kissing behind Jamie and Claire’s backs is the ultimate family moment.

48. Hallway swinging, INTENTIONALLY falling to each other, “The Wedding” soundtrack starts to play in the background, laughing, breathing heavily, the electricity in their look. Claire and Jamie enter the first door they find. Weeks of abstinence, this intensely hot make-up follows.

49. OMG we get the bang this episode. I love these kisses more than in 306. More urgent, hungry, and loving. Cait’s jaw line is gorgeous. Claire asking him to hurry up. Pants must be harder to navigate than kilts. Claire complaining about the heat in the room - girl, i don’t think it’s just the room. LEGS. FUNNY BANTERS ABOUT GETTING CAUGHT I AM DEAD. CLAIRE/CAIT’S LAUGH IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ACTION. THIS IS LOVE. She holding his face to hers. They don’t care who hears them, they waited weeks for this. This is too hot for words. They don’t seem like 50-year old people to me, then again, what do I know? This is just beautiful because they come together just out of pure love for each other with abandon and nothing else weighing on them.

50. Whoever is in charge of cinematography this episode, I love you. These scenes are precious. I love how they’re sprawled together on the floor and love how her skirt beautifully covers them. I love their positioning. I love their content smiles. I love how their locked away in their own little bubble. I love how they fit together. I love how Jamie loves the grey. KING OF ALL MEN line- writers, I see what you did there. I love this love reaffirming scene between them because now, they brace for…

51. TROUBLE AHEAD. I should’ve known we won’t last in our happy bubble forever - or at least until the end of the episode. The British just can’t leave Claire and Jamie alone.

52. Claire’s pained face at the thought of being separated with Jamie again broke me. Shockingly, she didn’t protest to his plan this time and gave her promise immediately. Wow, they are older and wiser. I hate seeing them apart. These two just can’t get away from…adventure, can they?

53. TOM LENNON - I SEE YOU AND DON’T LIKE YOU.

54. Dr. CEBR Fraser is back and I love when she takes command. Jamie’s face when she talks medically is half proud and half scared. Claire’s horror face when Jamie refuses to let her see patients.

55. Props to Jamie for trying to talk Claire out of it. Props to them for talking about it like the mature married couple they should be. Props to Claire trying to explain to typhoid fever to comfort Jamie with the idea that she can’t catch a disease not yet known in 1768. I love that Claire takes so much pride and honor in her oath as a doctor just as equally the same as Jamie’s oath as a soldier. They both live dangerous lives and both respects and loves each other for pursuing it. I love that they kiss in agreement and that sexy look Claire gives Jamie after he agreed is just enough to leave him wanting more of her and them. Goodness, the chemistry between these two is electric.

56. RING TOUCHING. I NEED MORE FRASER HOLDING HANDS MOMENTS.

57. I love how Jamie will literally not take his eyes off the ship.

58. FEMALE SHIP SURGEONS IN 1768 PEOPLE!

59. THIS SHIP IS REEKING I CAN SMELL IT FROM THE TV. I almost gagged myself.

60. Dr. Claire giving instructions these men don’t want to be bothered with so Tom Lennon KIDNAPS her. WHAT THE HELL

61. CLAIRE’S PAINED LOOK AT BEING SEPARATED WITH JAMIE AGAIN. I JUST CANT.

Final thoughts:

Since I stopped reading Voyager, I go on watching the episodes with no expectations at all so this episode was freaking fantastic! Probably my favorite of season 3 yet. They gave us many Claire and Jamie moments because we’ll not see them together in a little while - AGAIN - but damn, those were precious scenes. It had a little bit of everything from drama, romance, comedy, action and of course, the ever effective, CLIFFHANGER that we have to wait out until the next episode comes. Can’t wait for more Fergus and Marseli. Can’t wait to see how the last 4 episode plays out. I love this show so much.

#outlander #3x09 #309 #the doldrums #jamie fraser #claire fraser #recap #review #sam heughan #caitriona balfe #starz #outlander starz #sorry if this is long #its what i had in mind while watching #personal

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tigerlover16-uk · 7 years

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If you’re open. For one, japanese polls show fans wanted Yamcha for the tournament. Super had filler mocking Yamcha as a loser who Gohan & Co try to prevent from learning of the tournament. The latest Herms translation on a Q&A for the Anime on why Yamcha wasn’t at the tournament, gave Goku's reason as he(Goku) thought little of Yamcha. I'd call that a dig, personally. If I was writing Super's I wouldn't do stuff things like that as they further divide, anger, or alienate the fandom for Super.

Hmm, okay I see your points there, and it’s understandable that Yamcha fans are upset.

Okay, for one thing though… how do you know the stuff with Yamcha in the saga isn’t Toriyama’s idea? The whole thing with him just expecting to be recruited and going home to wait seems more like an excuse to keep him out of the plot than a dig at the fans. And while I get taking issue with that idea… let’s think about it from a creative standpoint.

The tournament only has ten spots available. Extending the rosters to include more members would put a lot more work on Toriyama, Toyotaro and any other character designers at Toei to come up with that many more characters from other universes, of which this saga basically has close to a hundred new ones.

Each character is there for a reason. Goku and Vegeta can’t not be on the roster. Gohan’s been set up for his comeback for a while, and Piccolo can’t be passed up. Krillin is Goku’s best friend and the strongest earthling, so he has to be there. Android 18 is the only high tier action girl in the Z fighters, and Android 17 was brought back because he’s underdeveloped and hasn’t been seen since his cameo at the end of the Buu saga. So this was the perfect opportunity to use him, since this whole tournament setting benefits from teamwork between the warriors. Majin Buu was initially chosen to fill out a spot because he’s the most powerful non-saiyan. Master Roshi is on the roster because a running theme of this saga seems to involve experience and skill at fighting being often more valuable than raw power, and master Roshi is the wise old master character. He fits with that better than anyone else.

Tien is really the only one without a clearly definited role or reason for being here other than that he’s strong and fans love him. His role from what we’ve seen and the synopsis for the next episode seems to mainly be about supporting the other characters. A role Yamcha could have easily filled too, but then you’d have Tien fans angry that he was being excluded to service Yamcha, so either character gets the short end of the stick however that played out.

Frieza taking up Majin Buu’s spot seems to be a major plot point for the saga, because Toriyama wouldn’t bring him back again unless he has a good reason. But of course, Toei needed an excuse for why any other character couldn’t have been brought up by the Z fighters when Majin Buu started hibernating, because seriously, that’s a huge risk that’s not worth taking if there’s a better option.

Goten and Trunks were explained away because they’re too young, inexperienced and uncoordinated for this kind of tournament. Not unfounded, given how they handled fighting Majin Buu as Gotenks.

Yamcha though, he was an obvious back up choice for if one of the other characters couldn’t compete, and obviously viewers were going to notice that. And even if he wasn’t written as wanting to get back into fighting, he would never refuse such an offer knowing the universe was at stake.

So an excuse had to be made, since Toriyama wanted Frieza for some yet to be reached plot reason (Notice that character’s like Jaco weren’t even acknowledged and they skipped out on the chance to canonize Pikkon aswell, like some fans wanted).

And there was a way around it. Yamcha had already retired from fighting back at the Cell saga, Goku knows this by now and so wouldn’t expect Yamcha to still be in fighting shape by this time. Keep in mind, back in the Champa saga he initially turned down Vegeta’s suggestion to recruit Gohan, not because he thought he was a bad choice, but because he knew Gohan was rusty and not really a fighter anymore, and they needed someone who could already fight at their best for the tournament. As soon as Goku learned that Gohan had been training with Piccolo and he asked Goku if he could compete, Goku was more than okay with it until the conference thing came up.

Same thing probably would apply to Yamcha in this tournament. Goku didn’t even know who he wanted for the tenth member until Oolong told him Roshi was with Tien. He had no real reason to assume Yamcha would have wanted to join the roster, since he’d been out of fighting so long. And the only chance he would have got to recruit Yamcha was at Bulma’s place, and as soon as the tournament came up Yamcha was all like “Hey, I wanna join too!! But wait, maybe I should wait for them to ask me? Yeah, that’s it, I’ll go home and wait, then turn em down, and then make a grand entrance at the last minute”

It was silly and a bit weird since Yamcha’s not one for showboating usually (Though not necessarily above doing silly things), but it got him out of the way long enough for Goku to recruit a full team and then Frieza. It’s not clear if this whole situation was Toriyama’s or Toei’s idea, but Toriyama was definitely the one to decide the roster and who was going to do what in this saga. So he would have been responsible for Yamcha not competing anyway, so I wouldn’t put the situation above him. Heck, it feels like something he probably thought up on the spot while he was writing the outline, wrote it down real quick and didn’t too hard about it before handing it off to Toei and Toyotaro, who were stuck with it at that point. We’ll know for sure what exactly the situation is when the manga’s a bit further ahead and we see what Toyotaro’s excuse is. If it’s more or less exactly the same, then we can safely say it was Toriyama’s idea and thus not filler by Toei.

Also, where did Gohan or anyone try to hide that the tournament was happening from Yamcha or demean him over it. Goku and co mentioned the tournament was happening right in front of him, that’s what caused him to suddenly run off the way he did. No one ever said he couldn’t be in the tournament, nor did they mock him over it. They just didn’t think to ask him, because again, Goku and the others knew he was supposedly retired and thus didn’t immediately think of him as a candidate any more than they did Videl. Everyone acted pretty normally around him, the only exception being Vegeta showing annoyance when Bulla started crying, but the same thing had just happened when Mr Satan tried to make her laugh so that wasn’t anything against Yamcha. Just a throw away gag.

Oolong is the only character who tried to dance around the subject, and that was when Yamcha directly asked him if the others might recruit him after the roster had already been filled, and Oolong didn’t want to disappoint him. Otherwise, there’s no implication anybody would have turned him down or derided his fighting ability if he had just openly asked about the tournament when he had the chance. They didn’t think twice about having Yamcha play baseball with them, because they all knew he was great at that and he would have been the most useful person to help out.

It’s sad that Yamcha ended up screwing himself out of a place on the team, but that was more due to his own ego, not because any of the other characters thought badly about him. Nothing about his scenes really paints him as pathetic or a loser, just that he had gotten ahead of himself and made a silly mistake.

I don’t think this running gag was meant to deride or attack the character. Otherwise the writers would have had the characters openly mock him a lot more, turn him down when he asked, and have him end up feeling dejected. But he wasn’t especially upset at all when the others left to fight in the tournament. He was sheepish and embarrassed with himself when Puar expressed sympathy for him being left out, and he looked rightfully suspicious about Frieza, but he ultimately laughed it off as one of those things, and when everybody did leave he got serious for a moment and wished them luck, saying that they had to win. Which goes to show that Yamcha has his priorities straight and that the fate of the universe matters more than him getting a chance to strut his stuff.

This entire situation could have definitely been handled better and wasn’t a funny joke, but honestly I don’t get the feeling that Yamcha was being intentionally derided or mocked by the writers. If anything, the joke seems to be that he could have probably avoided the situation he made for himself and got what he wanted if he stopped being silly and just asked Goku directly if he could be on the team. Which, again, dumb joke. Not necessarily an attack at the character, or his fans.

The thing with the Q & A sounds suspicious, I agree, and I can’t really say too much without knowing the full context. It could be just the one person doing the interview giving it his own two cents and not really talking for Toriyama or the writing staff, in which case shame on him. Or maybe the intention was lost, and he’s just meaning that in the sense that Goku didn’t think of Yamcha because he’s been out of the game so long that he’s probably very out of shape, similar to his reasoning with Gohan for the U6 tournament. Which, that’s not too bad, though not exactly fair on Yamcha either. I dunno, feel free to be annoyed with that one.

I get being upset with how Yamcha’s been treated. I’m not really happy with it either, I’d love to see more done with Yamcha because I do love his character, I’m just not offended or angry because I don’t think there’s any intentional disrespect towards him. Just that the writers aren’t sure what to do with his character, since Toriyama clearly isn’t giving them anything for him to do in the main stories. Which, yeah that’s not a good excuse, but it’s one I can live with, and it’s what feels like the case rather than them having it out for the guy.

It’s good to hear that Japanese fans wanted more of Yamcha. Maybe that’ll encourage Toei to push Toriyama to do something with him in the future, or maybe give him his own story’s or character arc in a breather episode or two after this saga wraps up. Maybe finally give him a girlfriend that doesn’t treat him like Bulma did. For all we know, Toei and Toriyama might just not have considered that he had so much support while planning the saga.

Although, a lot of Western fans wanted Cell on the roster instead of Frieza, and that wouldn’t necessarily have been for the better in terms of the story. Sometimes what fans want isn’t always going to be in the best interests of the story. We already had two characters, Krillin and Gohan, who’s had to have character arcs developed about them wanting to pick up martial arts again and get stronger leading into and during the current saga, three if you count Master Roshi given his interaction with Ganos in today’s episode and the “secret training” he’s apparently been doing for a while for years now to be able to fight fairly in the tournament of power.

Having the last remaining character besides Videl who had given up being a martial artist and more active member of the Z fighters, and that might start feeling redundant or pushing things too far, having so many characters suddenly getting stronger again so soon to the level that they can seriously compete with the warriors from the other universes. I mean, look around at how many people are outright angry for some reason that Krillin was able to put up any kind of fight against people at all.

And none of this is to say that leaving Yamcha out and have him play so little a role in Super so far is justified or that you can’t be disappointed and annoyed over it as a fan of the character, or how it’s been handled. Feel free to do so. And you have a point being concerned that this might make the divides in the fandom even worse, though that’s more down to the idiots in the fandom being stupid and fueling their own confirmation biases than anything. Same reason I don’t truly hate TFS for the problems they’ve caused, because at least several members like Kaiserneko acknowledge their bad influence and they never meant to create such levels of toxicity in the fandom. Careless fans who can’t understand that something is a parody are responsible for that.

you have a right to be mad. But personally, I don’t think any of these things are intentionally digs at fans so much as they are ignorance on Toei’s part. Who knows, maybe Toriyama actually has a plan and this thing with Yamcha this saga is actually leading to something down the line, won’t know until we’re a lot further into Super. Things could improve, but it is frustrating the way things are going so far and I don’t blame you for being in a bad mood.

I don’t think the situation’s as bad as you do, but then again maybe I’m just not as passionate about Yamcha as you are and I see things from a different perspective. This is all I can really say on the subject, I’m sure I can’t really do much to change your mind and you do have some good points and reasons to feel the way you do.

Let’s both just hope that things start looking up for Yamcha in the future, and that Toyotaro doesn’t actually have the characters directly insult Yamcha for wanting to compete or something like that when he gets further ahead in the manga. Because honestly with his writing, I wouldn’t put it past him to do exactly what you think the anime is doing.

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