#i mention mae but she'll come in later

[trashwithvariety]

nosce te ipsum (7327 words) by trashwithvariety Summary: 1940s Minrathous. Francesca Ingellvar and her daughter have sought refuge with her old friend Dorian, who graciously offers them shelter as they weather the aftermath of the War of the Banners. Meanwhile, Neve Gallus is investigating a string of gruesome murders, and Francesca lends her expertise to the case. When the trail leads to more questions than answers, they turn to a familiar corpse whisperer for help, unearthing secrets that may prove more dangerous than they imagined.

new story drop! sort of an au but not! this one is about my rook francesca! who i am currently obsessed with. anyways please check it out! I would love the feedback!

[cryinglittlepeople]

SPECIAL INTEREST : ENGAGED

I have many ocs, but most are atmospheric filler for my shinigami!Karin AU fic. I do have a number that are actually fleshed out;

I believe I mentioned Yuutsu earlier? Buff goth with the zanpakutou that gores folks. She has a mean streak but has a soft spot for femmes, courtesy of her wife. I feel like she'd end up very quietly listening to Olive talk about music & just walk off if Olive's moody.

Kokona Honda is Yuutsu's manic pixie wife from gobantai. She wants to be everyone's friend. I think Kokona be wounded if Olive snapped at her because she's a gentle soul, but she's dogged in her attempts to befriend people whether they like it or not. Kokona is also interested in fashion, so I think they'd at least have something to talk about.

Mae Izumi is a very intelligent botanist from juuniibantai. I don't think she's mean, but she is very creepy since her motif is based on carnivorous flowers. She's very... monotonous. I don't think she'd dislike Olive, but she wouldn't go out of her way to talk to or interact with Olive in any meaningful fashion because they have nothing in common.

Ryuuji Kawashima is a seated officer in nanabantai. He's very principled but ends up being the butt of many jokes since he's kinda dumb. He likes everyone as long as they're not like... entirely malevolent. I assume Olive is some kinda queer & wouldn't be interested in him, but he wouldn't mind going dancing with her if she wanted to go as friends.

Nakei Yokinada is an officer in kyuubantai (later promoted to a seated position in gobantai) who's just... really tired. All the time. But, like, refuses to take a break or take care of himself in any meaningful fashion because he's paranoid that something will happen if he steps away from doing Literally Everyone's Job (& usually ends up being right.) I think he would dislike Olive because she'd be... so much. & he's so tired.

Chousuke Watanabe is an officer in niibantai, & a retainer of the Shihouin clan (the way the Feng family is). He's got the Sympathetic Backstory, but it doesn't matter because he's a raging jackass. I imagine Olive would eviscerate him without a second thought & honestly, it's the Least Olive deserves for having to breathe the same air as him!

YEH you've talked abt Yuutsu! Olive would be a total brat to her which is funny bc Yuutsu could pick her up and dunk her like a basketball I'm sure.

Kokona sounds so sweet!! I think Olive would generally like her bc she has a protective streak when it comes to the more quiet, shy girls. She'd probably enjoy dressing Kokona up, to a point where Kokona would want to go home but Olive wouldn't let her get a word in edgewise.

OH, OLIVE WOULD ADORE MAE. She'd find Mae's love of carnivorous plants soooooo cute and quaint. Show her again how it eats a fly! Again!! And Mae being quiet is perfect, leaves plenty of room for Olive to literally never stop talking.

FIRST OF ALL, yes Olive is incredibly queer. And i'm sorry to say she'd severely take advantage of Ryuuji. Get him to do her chores for her, and other tasks. And she'll only go anywhere with him as long as he's paying, of course.

OH, a GUY who think he's BETTER THAN HER?? SET PHASERS TO KILL. She will blow smoke right into his face every time he comes near. Just regular smoke, not her shikai, but still. Very disrespectful. She also steps on his feet every time she passes him.

[tinderbox210]

Always late as usual, but this is all super interesting and made me I think about it again.

It's still so flabbergasting to me that there was no hint at Noa and Soona having feelings for each other beyond a close, sibling-like relationship for most of the movie, which made the stuff that comes later and supposed to hint/confirm their romantic feelings and future relationship feel so surprising and coming out of nowhere, like someone just pulled a switch on them without the build-up.

The scenes in the beginning with the trio doesn’t portray Noa’s and Soona's relationship any different than their relationship with Anaya and the scene that could be seen aa hinting at more was cut (though it could as easily be seen as nothing but friends/sibling banter).

Even more so Soona was completely wiped from Noa’s and the audience's mind when him, Raka and Mae went on their journey, not even mentioned once even though it would have made sense for her getting mentioned with how important she's supposed to be for Noa. He talked and mourned his father, he thought about his mother by holding onto her blanket so fiercely, and since Noa learned about Raka's mate, he could have easily confined in him about his feelings for Soona, amplifying the angst of him never getting to see her again, but that didn’t happen and for a large part of the movie Noa's relationship with Mae gets the entire focus and a lot more development than his relationship with Soona.

An interesting little detail I thought about is how Soona tells Noa he's different now at Proximus' camp (which is also interesting because Mae also tells him he's different in one of the deleted scene), and that could turn out the turning point in their relationship, with Noa having changed through his journey so much that also their feelings for each other won't be the same (aka he's not the ape she fell in love with and she might not be enough or what he really wants anymore).

Despite Noa showing Soona the telescope at the end reminiscing the scene with Mae, I'm not sure she'll develope the same curiosity and desire for progress after what she's been through at the camp as Noa that he seems to wish for and their different views could easily lead to them drifting apart instead of becoming an item further down the road, and Noa does turn away from Soona to look up at the sky and think of Mae (or think of coexistence with humans, which is basically one and the same) so prominently in the final scene, showing that Soona's not able to hold his attention like before and that a part of him will never be hers and feel drawn to Mae instead.

Sure, I wouldn't put it past them for going for a simplistic back/white story arc from here, with Soona = good/true love and Mae = bad/evil deceiver and doing a time jump so that the next movie will start with Noa and Soona already a pair with kids, but we already had that with Ceasar, so I hope they won't do that again.

I'm so disappointed that Nao ended up Soona at the end. Like, they're not interesting together! I thought Soona was like a best friend/considerate sister and would stay with Anaya.

I never saw that it was explicitly stated Soona and Noa were an item.

When Mae asked Noa if he liked Soona, he didn’t say yes. He said they were both born close together.

Soona had very little time on screen, overall. When it came down to a choice to save the either Soona or Mae, Noa couldn’t make the choice - and Soona had a knife to her throat.

Just because Soona and Noa ended up the observatory together at the end doesn’t imply anything. Noa had already been there before with Mae, and he was looking up at the sky at the same time Mae was while Soona faded into the background.

Yes, Noa puts his forehead to Soona’s when they reunite, but he also does this with his mother.

I would love someone to provide a moment or scene that states Noa and Soona are an item, but unfortunately there isn’t one. Until we get that in the sequel, it’s not clear Noa is with anyone at all up to this point. We just see his chemistry with Mae.

Personally, I believe Soona will be utilized as a plot device to drive up tensions between Mae and Noa in the sequel. What he should do based on his village’s expectations (mate with Soona) vs what he wants to do (be with Mae).

Thanks for asking!

[postmortem-bookworm]

Bright - Bucky Barnes - Part One

Fandom: Avengers

Type: Series

Word Count: 1,753

Character(s): Bucky Barnes, Natasha Romanoff, Steve Rogers, Shuri, T'Challa

Warning(s): Cussing, Mentions of attempted suicide (but shouldn't be anything triggering), smut (maybe), mentions of X-Men, Steve is crushing

A/N: This picks up almost right after Black Panther, but before Bucky is awake, there is no Thanos, and everyone is alive.

My first series! Please enjoy!

Shifting nervously in her seat, she watches though the window as Steve and Natasha talk to the King and Princess of Wakanda in privacy. Steve seems to notice her watching as he looks over at her, giving a small smile, which Natasha seems to notice, because she turns to look at her with a unconvincing mirror of the Captain's, and her blood runs cold. Steve hasn't smiled much, since the battle of team Iron Man verses team Captain America at the airstrip. Natasha does smile much, period. This can't be good. She twirls a lock of burgundy hair around a finger, her nail is painted with chipped black varnish, something she'll miss from now on, unless someone in this almost alternate dimension, has any.

"-hut all ready for her stay." The King says as the door to the room opens, the four of them exit as she shifts in her seat once again, gnawing at her bottom lip as Steve nods to the King, before walking over to her, grabbing the suitcase resting at her feet.

"Good news, you can stay. They even have a semi secluded area where they've prepared your hut." She narrows her eyes at the Captain, his baggy eyes and mussed up hair, like he's ran his fingers though it a thousand and one times, doesn't help convince her much that this is for her safety, and not their own. His emotions are chaotic as they practically slap her in the face. "Maeve?"

"You should shave." She says as he reaches up to rub the beard that isn't quite stubble anymore, but isn't a full on beard yet, the apples of his cheeks are red, and the Princess giggles.

"I am princess Shuri, I will help deliver you to your new home, and help explain our culture to you, as best as I can." She says in a friendly manner as she steps up to Maeve, holding out a hand to the American. "Welcome to Wakanda, Ms. Smithe."

"Hello, Princess Shuri. I am pleased to meet you. Please, i-if you don't mind, please just call me Maeve, or Mae." She smiles, shaking the princess's hand, and Shuri drops her hand, smiling.

"Only if you call me Shuri." She says. "Come along. Brother, are you coming?" She asks, looking at the King. T'Challa nods and smiles, everyone following the Princess. The King is close to the Princess, Mae falls behind to talk to Steve and Natasha.

"We will be at your call, anytime you need us, Mae." Steve says as he puts his free arm around her shoulder. Regret and thankfulness emit from the Super Soldier, her exhaustion at everything lately makes her unable to shield against the emotions, though she's grateful she still can fight back against his thoughts.

"You know we won't be able to be here right away, but we'll be here as soon as you need, Mae. This isn't us abandoning you." Natasha says, draping her arm over Mae's other shoulder.

"I'm used to it." She says, ducking out of their hold, moving to follow the King and Princess closer. Natasha and Steve exchange looks with sadness radiating from the duo, as the burgundy haired mutant reflects the emotion back.

The hut sits in a grassy meadow, it's a medium size made out of wood, with a pergola off to the side, and stream in the back behind the small forest. Another hut sits not far away, but other than that, there isn't another in sight. The hut has modern equipment in it, a TV, fridge, stock and oven, running shower, and toilet, with a small bedroom tucked into the back, with a queen-size pillow top mattress. The floor of the hut is wood, with a nice rug every few feet, and plush couch in the living room. A modern house with an un-modern appearance. Outside the pergola is white, with ivy and flowers twining up the posts, a bench sits on the inside, and a foldable art easel is tucked in it, to the side.

"This is nice." Steve says after he sets her suitcase on the end of the bed. "It's remote, so you won't have to feel all of those emotions, of a bunch of strangers. You won't hear their thoughts." He smiles at her as she touches the drapes over one of the windows, before looking over at him.

"It'll do." She says simply, causing Natasha to give him an almost patronizing look, and Mae turns to her. "It's not just his fault." She looks at Mae in confusion, like she's not feeling what Mae knows that she knows Mae can feel. "I can feel your irritation." Natasha sighs as she walks over to rest a hand on Mae's shoulder. The air is tense, making her grateful that the King and Shuri decided to stay outside, to let the three of them have their time.

"This isn't like your parents, Maeve! We're not abandoning you, but we need to do this, for everyone's safety. Not just our's, but for your's as well." Natasha says in anger.

"Bullshit!" Mae snaps, jerking away from the two of them. "You can lie to me, and to yourselves, but your emotions betray you! You think that I'm too dangerous after what happened at the airstrip!" She clenches her fists, before wrapping her arms around herself. "Ju-Just leave! You did what you set out to do, so just go!" She turns away from them, fighting back tears as Natasha looks at Steve, who nods as he leaves the hut.

"I'm not leaving, Maeve." Natasha wraps her arms around the young woman, who is curling into a ball. "Not while you're like this." Natasha pets her hair, holding Mae close. "You're my sister, Maeve. You're my sister and I love you, and I would NEVER abandon you." Her whispers are soothing, her emotions just solidifying the affection she has for Mae.

"I'm sorry, Nat." She sobs, curling up against the assassin, who caresses her hair, silently crying as well. "I just can't forget about how it felt, when my parents left me at the School." Natasha shushes her, and pets Mae's hair.

"It's alright, Mae. I'm not going to hold it against you. We have to protect ourselves, but you too. Your emotions affect your abilities, and we can't have that happen when we're on the run." Natasha explains, and Mae wipes her face, and nods.

"I understand. It's okay." She takes a deep breath, and Natasha smiles at her as the two of them stand up. "Promise me, you'll be safe." She says as she hugs Natasha, who hugs Maeve back in return.

"We'll try, but we can't promise that." She points out, causing Mae to nod sadly as they part. "Now, go tell Steve goodbye." Mae smiles as she walks outside, Natasha is right one her heels. Steve smiles as Maeve smiles sadly at him, leaning up to kiss his cheek with a hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry." She murmurs, causing him to shake his head, his cheeks taking on a ruddy color as he cups her cheek with a free hand.

"No, doll. It's not your fault. I'm just sorry we can't stay." She smiles up at him, leaning up on her tiptoes to throw her arms around him.

"Please be safe, try and protect each other." She whispers in his ear as he places his hands on her waist, hugging her back.

"Of course, doll. And, don't forget that we're here for you, no matter what." He murmurs as she nods, leaning back on her heels. She ignores the rush of warmth in her chest, knowing that it doesn't belong to her. "You take care of Bucky for me, when he wakes up, okay?"

"Of course, Steve. You can count on me." She promises, causing him to smile, and scratch his scruffy cheek.

"I know, doll. I'll... give you two a minute to say goodbye." He says, gesturing between Natasha and Maeve. He walks a bit away as she turns to Natasha, who is smirking at her.

"What?" Natasha shakes her head and laughs, yanking Maeve by the wrist into her arms.

"You couldn't be more oblivious, even with your powers." Natasha says, hugging Maeve.

"No, I know how he feels. But, it's just a crush for him. He feels warmth when he's near me, but elation at the mere mention of Peggy's name." She steps away from Natasha. "And, I don't feel that way about him. I don't feel that way, after..."

"Logan, I know." She grinds out his name, before kissing her forehead. "Rat bastard." Her snarl has Maeve throwing her head back, laughing as Natasha blinks, before smiling. "Good to see you laughing. I love you, sis."

"Love you too, sis." She hugs the assassin again. "I'll see you soon, yeah?" She grins.

"It'll be fun." Natasha promises.

"Bye, Nat." She says, and the assassin nods as she starts to walk away, the King nods the Maeve, before walking towards the other two, walking them back toward the castle as one of the women warriors comes into view, standing on the hill with her spear in hand, waiting as Shuri rolls her eyes.

"Mae, these are you Kimoyo beads." She hands the to Maeve, who slides them on her wrist. "I've personally designed them, they will allow you to make calls, and purchases. Brother has taken care of funds, so you need not worry about it." Shuri explains, causing Maeve to nod as she studies the beads. "There are many other things they can be used for, but you can learn about them later."

"Thank you, Shuri." Maeve says as she slides the bracelet up and down, looking at them before, looking up at the Princess. "Would you- I mean... Could you- I feel..." Shuri was her stumble over her words, before nodding as she gestures towards the door.

"I will stay, until you are settled." She says with a smile, the two of them duck inside the hut, the lights coming on as the sun starts to set outside. The two young women talk for a few hours, about the world outside the Wakandan boarders, and Maeve's history with the Avengers and her life before. Shuri talks about the culture of Wakanda, her shenanigans with her brother, and his wife Nakia, and even life inside the castle. It turns out, they're just two lonely girls, craving a friendship. This might work out for the two of them, after all.