#i purposely left that vague so w/e works for the reply!

[ashesrebirthed-a]

Every night had been like this. Sleep had ceased to come easy since the day Vocah invaded her mind, and tonight proved to be no exception. Cordelia didn't even realize she wasn't caught in anything more than a nightmare until she jolted awake with a gasp, phantom echoes of so much pain and anguish still throbbing through her head.

They weren't real. It was always hard to remember in those first few moments caught between the worlds of dreams and reality, but everything that haunted her now had - in one way or another - already come to pass. It had been real then, but it wasn't now. There was nothing she could do for those countless voices crying out to her; hadn't been then either, really, when all seeing them did was drive her to insanity.

That knowledge didn't stop the racing of her heart, though, nor the hitch in her breath as she sat up and slipped out of bed. Thankfully, there was one other thing here, at least, that could prove it - could shake away the last remnants of the notion that this was what really wasn't real, and any second now she'd come to strapped back down to that hospital bed.

"Angel?" Her voice was uncharacteristically small as she stepped out into her own living room, bare feet near-soundless against cold hardwood. (The bedroom door clicked softly shut behind her, the ever-lingering presence of her roommate fading behind it, and Cordelia made a mental note to thank Dennis later for the privacy.) Angel was right where Cordelia had expected to find him: exactly where she'd left him hours earlier, sprawled on her couch with some old, stuffy tome of a book in hand.

It was so incredibly boring. A mundane, boring relief. Angel had been the one to pull her out of that hell to begin with; he wouldn't be lounging in front of her, reading whatever monster-book-of-the-week he was fixated on now, if she was truly trapped back in it.

"You haven't just been sitting there and brooding all night, have you? You're practically quieter than Phantom Dennis, and when your competition is a ghost who can't talk back even if he wants to, you know that's really saying something." There was no real bite behind her bark tonight, though; it was just easier than falling apart at the seams right in front of him would be. So Cordelia wielded meaningless quips like a shield as she curled up on the couch, arms winding tight around her legs and chin perched on her knees, close enough to Angel to touch yet not quite daring to bridge the distance. // @crownedhopelesss | @weareheroes + plotted starter!

[mymelancholiesblues]

No, Mia isn’t  "low-tier" compared to Ada (morally speaking, or w/e) – a measured answer?/essay

So, a couple of Ada haters tried to put up a false symmetry between both of these characters there on twitter, and it inspired me to put my own thoughts down in a more articulate essay as to why that's (Ada's somehow being morally worse than Mia) not sustained by canon in Resident Evil.

standing there, killing time

can't commit to anything but a crime

all the good girls go to hell

'cause even God herself has enemies

and once the water starts to rise

and heaven's out of sight

she'll want the Devil on her team. ⁕

First things first: let us debunk the false symmetry that they tried to establish between these two characters with extremely distinct archetypes – and worse, the following replies to this false symmetry and its poor arguments trying to validate it, pointing out that, in fact, no, character B (that would be Ada, btw) – which is so evidently and ridiculously different from character A (and that would be Mia) – is, in fact, WAY WORSE than character A, and then proceeding to assert some unsupported propositions about misogyny in Resident Evil (which, tbh, definitely IS a recurring problem in the franchise, but that in this case particularly, little or does not apply AT ALL) and how Ada contributes to "the perpetration of a biological cold war".

Starting with what differentiates Mia from Ada grotesquely: we know NOTHING of Ada's true alliances in RE's world. Mia, however, canonically worked for a group that participated in the importation and exportation as well as the manufacturing, testing and marketing of biological weapons: "The Connections", a CRIMINAL SYNDICATE which, amongst other things, was also involved in money laundering, assassinations as well as weapons and drug trafficking. I don't care at all about Mia, so I don't intend to waste much of my time going on about her role in the plot, but people should've already realized by just that much how infinitely dishonest is to try to put these two characters as "similar" ones, or argue that Ada is somehow worse.

Another detail that shouldn't escape anyone's attention too, are the origins and nationalities of both – and yes, I intend to briefly bring up racism against eastern-Asian looking characters (a silent plague that takes form by each passing day in all fiction fandoms) and anti-China xenophobia, but for now, hold this tea there just before I drop it: Mia is canonically American, and previously a Texas-state resident; meanwhile, we have no confirmation of Ada's nationality except for her pretty evident Chinese ancestry. But, as I said, hold it there for a while.

i) espionage — the job

red so silent

wait a minute

or just a little while.

what are you looking for? ⁕

At all times that Ada's "job" was brought up in this franchise, in ALL of her cameos, she has NEVER been called a mercenary in the original Japanese. She's always referred to as a SPY. Even in RE2R, the most recent title in which she's featured in, the original text of the game makes a point of labelling her as a SPY (and not a mercenary) in the dialogue that transpires between Annette and Leon.

It's the North-American translation and correspondent localization that now and then falls for the equivocal use of this other term. This distinction is important since espionage NECESSARILY implies operating in an organized service for, perhaps a country, or a political cause, or a class/group, or a corporation, or whatever. While a mercenary is someone who's acting per their self financial interests, indiscriminately selling their specialized "labour" and skills to anyone who'll offer more.

Ada's not a mercenary, she's a spy. But Mia, in addition to being hired to a canonically criminal company, was also the handler personally assigned to Eveline. I don't care how exactly Mia got in that predicament but the fact is: Mia was canonically employed by a company that profited over illicit activities and directly watched as a family was destroyed and toyed with by this new killing machine (Eve). Yet, we can't state for sure that we know to whom or to what Ada is truly affiliated with.

ii) sources — check them

who's a heretic now?

am I making sense?

how can you make it stick?

and I'm on a trial

waiting 'til the beat comes out. ⁕

This fandom should put a little more thought into which translation and localization of the game texts, dialogues and files they are using to support their arguments. I know that in some cases the United States people have a bit of an inclination to think of themselves as the owners of the planet and deem English as the only language that matters in this world, but let's not forget that RE is a Japanese franchise (wow, insane, right?!). Therefore, the most valid script, with the greatest amount of details, and highest credibility, is the Japanese original. Throughout these years, there have been several errors in translation and localization of the Japanese original to North-American English. And, believe me, curiously enough, plenty of those concern Ada, since she's often mentioned or referred to in a very vague way – without the use of pronouns or adjectives or adverbs that could help in indicating gender. This ended up causing those details and mentions to her to get overlooked, even though in the Japanese text it was a clear reference to her character (per observation of context).

iii) the good guys — one of

head in the dust

feet in the fire

labour on that midnight wire

listening for that angel choir

you got nowhere to run

careful son, you got dreamers plans

but it gets hard to stand. ⁕

Yes, as much as haters try to minimize it, it is SIGNIFICANT that Ada saved so many important characters and stood for unquestionably heroic actions in so many moments - like stopping everything she was doing so she could help completely random Chinese civilians with the helicopter she managed to pilot in that chaos in China (yeah, I know you haters love to forget about this, but it happened, it's there in canon, and no, it wasn't her direct OR indirect responsibility what was going on in China: REPLAY RE6 and for the love of GOD, never again argue that what she did was somehow "the equivalent of evacuating a city after selling a WMD to destroy that same city". It's a case of pure intellectual dishonesty to say such a thing. It's canon that Carla was the one who caused what happens in China, PLEASE, PLAY RE6).

Furthermore, Ada shows compassion on some occasions even for characters who are directly putting her in harms ways, like Annette (in RE2 OG, right after - in order to defend herself - she slaps Annette leading her to lose balance and collapse over the sewers fences, Ada makes an effort in trying to pull Annette back and prevent her from falling) and Carla.

Replay RE4 and pay attention to it, pay attention to her solo campaign: getting involved with Leon's journey in Spain hasn't brought any real benefit to her mission or herself: Ada deviates from her main path several times due to worrying about him and trying to help him and almost ends up dead in several of these occasions over her insistence in doing so: by saving him from Bitores Mendez, by helping him and Ashley against Sadler, by confronting Krauser and stopping him.

It's so lazy to only read/listen to a file in which she says in English that "Leon might be useful to her plans" (this is way more nuanced in the Japanese original of Ada's Report), and ignore everything that was SHOWN in the game: every effort she made to ensure that Leon could rescue Ashley, remove the parasite from his and her bodies, and escape from that hell-island.

The jet-ski she left for their escape was ALREADY there before she was captured by Sadler (or you think she arranged it while she was caught?). Leon having to intervene and save her from Sadler WASN'T her plan. It WASN'T her plan to take the sample from Leon's hands. She wanted to help him get out of there with Ashley and she guaranteed he could do so, she wanted to get the sample by herself and escape too while sending that hell to kingdom's come. But, because she chose to help Leon rescue Ashley right in front of Sadler, she ends up captured.

On her end, Mia never did anything minimally compared to that, and all of her "selflessness" or self-sacrificing actions involved a much, MUCH smaller scope than Ada's: wanting to help her husband and HERSELF is not at all comparable to saving a few dozens of unknown Chinese civilians. So no, they aren't "cut from the same cloth". They don't come from the same place, nor do they share the same intentions or goals, and their contributions to the RE storyline are quite different.

iv) unknown true purpose (shades of grey)

lining up in the background

waiting for the crowd shot to be seen

in the shadow of the big screen

everybody begs to be redeemed. ⁕

In databooks, Ada is recurrently described as "a Chinese spy with extraordinary physical abilities, vigorous health and composed mind and spirit, capable of coping with grim situations and handling even the most difficult requests without losing composure". If we are paying attention to the storytelling ingame, however, we know that this isn't always the case: Ada did let her mask of unswerving emotional and physical strength fall and showed a very fragile side under strenuous circumstances a couple of times already.

Also, in these databooks, they often point out that "she has her own 'true purpose' and has FREQUENTLY betrayed organizations and clients to achieve it". Huh, we can AGAIN, by this only, see how completely different she's from Mia, who personally watched an entire family being driven to insanity by Eveline's hand.

Furthermore, in these databooks, it's often said that "this true purpose is still obscure and whether she truly cared for anyone or simply used her charms to manipulate people that crossed paths with her isn't ever clear". If people are willing to be open-minded and exercise their text comprehension skills, though, they'll see that in multiple occasions of emotional confrontation it has been established time and time again that yes, Ada DOES care. She wasn't capable of shooting Leon and there has been a couple of other times that failing to choose a cool, sociopathic calculation and pragmatical demeanour over empathy and humanity towards others has put her in harms ways: nonetheless she still chose it.

v) positive impact

I'm gonna break the cycle

I'm gonna shake up the system

I'm gonna destroy my ego. ⁕

To this point, RE's plot systematically leads us to believe that Ada has been covertly acting behind the scenes of multiple biological incidents COLLECTING INFORMATION (the job of a spy, who would've thought! lmao), that is valuable to numerous organizations, companies, groups and different contexts, but at the same time of allegedly offering to handle this knowledge for the right price to the big players involved with bioterrorism and clandestine trading of bioweapons, she's also working to sabotage said players.

This is evident throughout the franchise: she intended to hurt Umbrella's business. She outwitted and deceived Wesker multiple times. She even undermined Simmons, someone who was in a position of power in the US government and actively using that position to lead bioterrorist ventures on the parallel side.

There's no concrete evidence or hint as to what she does with the information she collects, and for all purposes and effects, I can presume that she's gathering this knowledge to assist in the discovery of countermeasures and vaccination studies. I might as well argue that she is a Chinese spy who is working against European and North-American capitalism and the imperialism that creates such monsters like the biochemical and bioweapons industry and that her real objective is to dismantle the market for bioweapons and bioterror supported mainly by the USA (see: Simmons and The Family).

That is, as long as it is unclear what her true purpose is, I have the freedom to surmise whatever the heck I want and that all of what she's been doing was for the sake of the greater "good" - and I'll even have canon moments to support this reasoning as it's clear that she regularly sabotages her customers (customers that are unquestionably established as playing for the "evil" side, with perverse intentions) - throughout the franchise. She did this on RE2, RE4, RE6 and Damnation. It's there, transparent in canon, people just choose to ignore it.

She laughs in the face of whoever she's talking to by the end of Damnation, saying she doesn't intend to deliver the Plaga; she scoffs at Simmons; she betrays Wesker and kills Krauser. She had been sabotaging Wesker for so long, that he sent Krauser to be the main agent in the mission in Spain, and Ada was just a "side effect" that he didn't have in control and had to keep an eye on, so he ordered Krauser to keep tabs on her. It's not a mutually beneficial dynamic. Ada doesn't want Wesker to succeed, she despises him; this is clear in the games in which they interact. There are even files that indicate that she was trying to double-cross and get in the way of his plans for at least 2 years before Spain, and he was constantly catching up with her. See here and here.

On her end, Mia was employed by and consciously working for a criminal syndicate.

vi) a (secretly) helping hand

oh, I'm a master pretender

just felt more alone

the further I'd go

but I'll stick around

I'll be your master defender

yeah, I'll stick around. ⁕

Ada approached characters such as John Clemens and Luis Sera, and both had a canonical intention to, in addition to putting an end to their connections with the criminal companies and organizations they've been working for, also expose and denounce them for their crimes. It's in this context that Ada comes into contact with them. And why is that?

Check John's background: he had made up his mind about disclosing Umbrella's crimes to the public. Check Luis' background: Ada went to Spain to assist in his extradition since he feared for his own life if he resolved to turn his back on the cult of Los Illuminados, and also dreaded the consequences of the liberation of Las Plagas on an international scale.

Keep in mind that Ada handed over to Wesker a USELESS Plaga sample. Wesker only got the sample currently circulating in the underground market because he went after Krauser's body. We don't know what Ada did with the master Plaga sample she obtained. We only know from Ada's Report and the Plaga Recovery file that she didn't deliver it to Wesker, and he needed to go out for a plan B to get it.

Even the G-Virus sample that fell into the hands of the clandestine business, it's possible to argue that Ada's involvement in it was flimsy, since Simmons CANONICALLY made over a thousand laboratory tests in Sherry, and, as we know, he was a leading figure in bioterrorism and bioweapons trading with the aid of his position in the US government.

But, guess what, Ada clearly is a non-white character with obvious Chinese heritage and Mia is white, so of course, OF COURSE, someone can so nonchalantly affirm that Ada, this "vile bitch", is somehow WORSE than Mia. The same Mia who watched the Bakers being destroyed. Right.

Also: trying to validate one's point by claiming anything related to the misogyny present in RE franchise, while IN THE SAME BREATH AND TWEET reducing Ada's entire character arc to that of "a sociopathic bitch cured by the magic dick of her love interest" is supposed to be a joke, right? No, really. Joke.

conclusion and a word against misogyny

we are waiting on a telegram to

give us news of the fall

I am sorry to report

dear Paris is burning after all

we have taken to the streets

in open rejoice, revolting

we are dancing a black waltz

fair Paris is burning after all. ⁕

To any Ada fan that has been reading this so far: PLEASE, I ask to consider refraining to use the "oh yes, Ada did some bad shit, bUT" take to defend the character because that isn't sustained by canon in RE, lmao. She didn't do anything evil that had an indisputable bad impact on the plot and other characters arcs. For one, I myself do love some villains, but that isn't the case with Ada.

She did do some unconventional shit yes, since she's a morally GRAY character and an anti-heroine, but by the end of the day, each and every action of hers had a positive impact on the journey of other characters and main plot. Just pay attention to it.

Like idk man, Black Widow, Elektra Natchios, Scarlet Witch and Black Cat from Marvel, Catwoman from DC, Yennefer from The Witcher (some pop culture examples that come to mind).

Saying that this is an "extremely selfish prototypal bad bitch except when it comes to the magical redeeming dick of her love interest" it's a grotesque reduction of a complex female character, and, in its attempt to critique the misogyny present in RE's franchise an expression of misogyny in itself.

Remember: Ada has actions and impact on the franchise ASIDE and IN ADDITION to her romantic involvement with Leon.

[takoyakitenchou]

You and I, a takumegu story

joy is meant to be fleeting. and yet.

Morning

“Takumi-kun,” Megumi yawned as she approached him bearing onigiri and a stainless steel HydroFlask filled to the brim with piping hot jujube tea.

The Italian greeted her with a steaming mug of coffee from his espresso machine in his kitchenette. “I wish I could say good morning, but I’m rather averse to the notion at this point.”

Megumi laughed. It was nearing 5 AM in Tokyo, and they’d been in Takumi’s office at Legislation with a veritable cityscape of the first and second seats’ paperwork organized by importance for the last ten hours. It was tragic that they had agreed to finish all their work a night early so they could enjoy each other’s presence, but this quality time had been relegated to the stupid office. 

“Shall we continue?” Megumi asked, her words lacking any and all traces of conviction.

Takumi heaved a sigh. “I’ve signed so many documents today I can’t tell if I’m writing in Japanese or Italian.”

“To be honest, I’ve probably not even been signing my own name,” she mused. Then she blanched. “O-oh no! W-what if I sent t-the—”

“Relax, Tadokoro-san,” Takumi said, sensing an impending panic attack. “I’m sure Arato-san reviewed the documents before we sent them to New York.”

“I was the one reviewing them!”

Takumi put his hand over hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze. His eyes widened slightly as he realized what he was doing, but he brushed the feeling aside. “It’ll be alright, Tadokoro-san. It won’t matter too much.”

It looked for a second as if she were about to implode, but then she sighed, “I don’t have enough energy to hyperventilate.”

“I understood that on so many different levels.” Takumi took one of the onigiri and felt rejuvenated with the first bite, reveling in the warmth of the honey dressed pork. “This is a masterpiece,” he told her. “I feel better than I’ve been the rest of the month collectively.”

She smiled, a faint blush rising to her cheeks. “I’m glad you think so.”

Takumi’s eyebrows drew together. “Tadokoro-san, now that we’re both functional, do you want to visit the noodle festival in Dotonbori?”

She dropped her onigiri. “T-that’s in Osaka, Takumi-kun.”

“Well, Nakiri Alice told me we’re free to take the jet whenever we want as long as it’s not in use.” Takumi lifted his hand. Dangling from his fingers was a lanyard with a small gold key. “Shall we?”

“It’s five in the morning…” But they both knew she was already more than convinced.

When they landed in Osaka, the festival was already underway. 

The sun was slipping past the horizon by the time they realized they’d been gone the entire day and probably caused pandemonium at Legislation — tragic, how they were the sole pillar keeping the Elite Ten from falling to pieces — but neither seemed to mind.

They were sitting on a bench, watching the passersby, content with all the noodles they’d consumed.

Takumi furrowed his brows. “Tadokoro-san?”

“Yes, Takumi-kun.”

“How would you feel if we called this a date?”

Megumi’s eyes widened. “E-ehh?”

Takumi’s face turned red as he attempted to contrive a respectable excuse, but his panic was cut short when Megumi took hold of his hand with an uncharacteristically calm air.

“I would love that, Takumi-kun,” she smiled, and with one look, Takumi figured that not even the urban atmosphere around them could compare to the cosmopolitan vibrancy in her gold eyes.

Sunset

There has always been some vague concept of balance. Everything comes with a counterpart; there is no exception to this, and there never will be. It is a universal truth, as constant as the laws of motion, as flexible as time. Balance is often unseen, and yet it is there. Joy is countered with anguish, laughter with tears; neither can exist without the other.

And yet, every time Takumi Aldini’s electric blue eyes fell upon that sweet cinnamon roll of a girl — one hell of a chef when she was provoked, though — he realized that no law was absolute, because he had never experienced anything but exhilaration when he was with her.

Love was fleeting; that was another supposed aphorism he’d learned from the wise.

But loving Tadokoro Megumi was something he could do once, twice, twice eternity.

“It says in Nakiri-san’s memo that we’re supposed to be providing a lunch service for the jury of the Bocuse d’Or,” Megumi frowned, reading the post-it note stuck on the inside cover of the manila folder Alice had provided for this particular task.

Takumi finished off his espresso. They were watching the sunset in Vienna, drinking Melange and sharing a slice of Sachertorte with the sun descending beyond the Wiener Musikverein in the gentle Saturday backdrop. “For a second there I was going to ask you which Nakiri you’re talking about. Isn’t the Bocuse d’Or in France?”

“Lyon,” Megumi confirmed. “I’m betting Nakiri-san sent us here on purpose. Bocuse d’Or won’t even happen this year. Ah, look. She left us a note on the back of the post-it.” Megumi cleared her throat before reading, “Happy one year, lovebirds. You have twelve hours before Erina goes berserk and calls NATO to send troops to find you guys, so enjoy them. Call me when you want the jet to come pick you up from VIE.”

“Well, Tadokoro-san, I guess we can relax for the rest of the task period. Happy one year, by the way.”

Megumi gave him a bright smile and replied, “Happy one year, Takumi-kun.” 

The sky was soft, an endless canvas streaked with muted shades of orange and pink, everything blending into a gorgeous view highlighted by the spectacular architecture — and yet Takumi couldn’t seem to register anything other than the remarkable girl blushing nervously across from him.

To think it had been a whole year. It was too good to be true. This was the type of love most men searched for their entire lives without once catching a glimpse of; this was the type of love in fantasy, romance novels — everything an illusion. And yet this was real, as real as the warmth of her heart beating against his when she pressed her nose to his neck.

Takumi knew even he, with all his virtues, didn’t deserve her. But maybe she’d be willing to take him along for the ride; wherever Tadokoro Megumi went, he would follow.

It was just then that Takumi’s phone rang, snapping both out of their shared reverie.

The Italian sighed as he read the caller ID: Nakiri Erina.

“Do I pick this up?” he mused aloud, but he already had his answer.

“Y-you have to, Takumi-kun! She’s the first seat!”

“What do you say we don’t go back to school?” Takumi said, turning his phone on silent and flipping it face down. 

Megumi gave him a horrified look. “You just ghosted Nakiri Erina!”

“I mean, she’s probably too busy dealing with Yukihira’s chaos to care, right?” 

“Chaos is a severe understatement,” Megumi admitted. “B-but what if she kicks us off the council?”

Takumi grinned. “It’ll be alright, Tadokoro-san. We have a whole week to ourselves.”

With a sigh, Megumi relented. “So… we’re in Vienna.”

“Right.”

“There’s this restaurant I really want to try… but there’s another place down the street that Ryo-kun said had really good rainbow trout. And while we’re in Europe… have you been to Budapest?”

Takumi clapped his hands together. “Say less. We’re taking a sabbatical for the rest of the month.”

Megumi gave a nervous chuckle. “For research purposes, right? Otherwise Nakiri-san is going to kick us over the Pacific Ocean when we get back.”

At this, Takumi burst out laughing. He managed to choke out, “You are truly one in a million, Tadokoro-san.”

And he meant it.

Dawn

To say Takumi Aldini was known for his elegant calisthenics would be a stretch, but when that chaotically graceful blessing was around him, swinging up onto the rooftop of the trattoria with a picnic basket perched precariously on his fingertips was most definitely not a problem. 

Megumi was waiting for him with a fleece blanket around her shoulders and a gentle smile that warmed her gold eyes brighter than the Italian sunrise. “Hi, honey,” she said sweetly, as if she hadn’t prodded him awake ten minutes ago and told him to bring breakfast up to the roof in five. He’d never be able to catch up to her hopping hare speed, but he figured he’d gotten the basics of Tadokoro Time down. To be early was to be on time and to be on time was to be late. Considering he was five minutes past the downbeat, his girlfriend had probably been waiting for him since before the dinosaurs.

“Good morning, amore,” he replied as he sat beside her and opened the basket. Takumi produced a loaf of brioche and began cutting with expert precision, trying to keep his pulse steady as he felt her eyes on him. The small velvet box in his pocket was doing nothing to help this endeavor.

Megumi regarded the two identical 1.8-centimeter slices in awe before thanking him and lifting the first bite to her lips. 

“This is delicious,” she said once the tranquil hum of the autumn pond had faded to the back of her mind. “The rosemary completes the ensemble really well.” He was truly amazing; they’d been cooking love confessions for each other for the last seven years and he could still make her heart skip beats. His love was unconditional, more pastel than anything.

“Grazie, amore,” he said. “It means the world coming from you.”

“I’m only telling you the truth,” she blushed. “If I have to, I’ll say it every day to make sure you know that.”

It was now or never.

“Listen, Megumi. There’s something you need to know.”

She gazed up at him curiously over her brioche.

Takumi took a deep breath. To hell with the speech he’d parsed out in his head last night — that kind of thing never worked anyhow.

Loving Tadokoro Megumi was about elements and worlds that weren’t in their dimension or maybe even in their universe; it was something beyond time and space that his mind couldn’t process, much less put into words, but maybe this dawn would help transmit this, somehow.

But it was highly probable that Takumi had been ready for this simple statement since the moment he first laid eyes on her. A night’s worth of drafting could not possibly hope to serve justice to everything he needed to say. It was the pinnacle of all his emotions that would do more than enough, right here, right now.

“If I said I knew exactly when I fell in love with you, I’d be lying, but if anyone asks I’ll tell them I love you now, and that is all that matters. Tadokoro Megumi, you are the most insanely talented, beautiful girl I have ever known, and I am the luckiest man in the world to stand by your side, so thank you for that. I know I’m far from perfect; I have my flaws, and you have yours, but you need to know that every little part of you is absolutely everything to me, and nothing in this universe could ever change that. With your hand in mine we will turn this wasteland into paradise. You and I, no… us. I promise that I will always be with you. Forever is finite. But my love for you is beyond that.”

At this point, Megumi closely resembled something similar to a red train — Takumi swore he could see the smoke venting from her ears — but he’d waded too far in to step back out. 

“I have one question for you.” Takumi got down on one knee, reached into his pocket, and pulled out the Verragio box. The ring was elegant to the point where it possessed an ethereal quality. Diamonds seamlessly fused with rose gold on a platinum band; it was definitely flashier than anything either had ever dreamt of before, much less purchased, and yet it was heartfelt and deliberate. And, perhaps most importantly, it spoke volumes — more words and confessions captured within the metal than Takumi could ever express. 

It was a promise of the unbridled love he had for her, the promise of a sterling future he wanted to build with her.

“It is a privilege and an honor to love you. Will you make me not only the luckiest, but also the happiest man in the world and marry me?”

She nodded, doing her utmost to fight back the tears. And as dawn broke in the sky above them, the girl that brought onigiri to his office at five in the morning, the girl that laughed at him over hiyamugi and squeaked whenever he wrapped his arms around her, the beautiful girl that always made him wonder what he had done to deserve her, said two words, and that was enough.

“I will.”

-

soooo um hi @taku-megu i was your secret santa this year! writing a takumegu fic is something i haven’t done before, so i’m really glad i was given the opportunity to write for you. i hope you have a safe and wonderful holiday with your loved ones! 

and of course, thanks to @shokugeki-secretsanta for organizing this event :)

- reina

[thestuckylibrary]

Group Ask 132

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Anon 1 said:

hey!!! ok so this is SUPER vague but it was a oneshot i read back in 2016/early 2017 and it was something like the avengers travelling through steves memories or something???? I'm not sure if the memories were bucky related because i remember at the end bucky is there????? sorry for how vague this is but it might be post cacw and vision might be involved but if u can't find this no worries!!!!!

orchidsrule sent in Mindstones and Other Malfunctions* by HunterPeverell (complete | 21,025 | E) *rape/noncon, heed the tags

Anon 2 said:

hey where’s that fic where ppl dig up bucky and think he’s steve?

Anon, abarbaricyalp, dragonflybeach and gwydions sent in Seven times Steve Rogers was not what everyone expected him to be (+1 time he really, really wasn't what everyone expected him to be) by StuckySituation (complete | 3,515 | T)

buckysxmetalxarm said:

Hi, sorry, I tried looking through ao3 tags searching a/b/o, omega!steve alpha!bucky, mpreg but I don't remember enough bout the fic to find it :/ I kno it’s a/b/o & Steve‘s an Omega and he’s pregnant, (was since before the ice but didn’t know it) & the Winter Soldier is really attracted to his scent & Steve doesn't know why cause other Alphas shouldn't like the smell of pregnant Omegas that aren't theirs but like it is Bucky's so he likes it? That's all I remember? Sorry & thank you in advance!

Anon 3 said:

Hey a few years ago I read a long ass stucky fic. The author used “real” events from the mcu but added much more detail. Eg they wrote missions w the howling commando etc. back then it wasn’t completed and somehow lost is. In a chapter where Steve was on his first (?) mission (the one where he was looking for buck) and Came back with Bucky. During that time they already made some experiments w Buck and he was starting to feel weird while staying in a tent w Cap?? I was wondering if you know which one I mean and if yes is it still up?? What’s it called??

Anon 4 said:

I'm having a hard time finding this fic- I think it was a pwp where Bucky like accidentally Pavlov'd Steve into getting hard every time he put his hair up? Does anyone know what I'm talking about asdfghjkl

getstucky and Anon sent in Classical Conditioning by johnboyegabombs (oneshot | 424 | M)

Anon sent in knee jerk by mcwho (oneshot | 530 | M)

deep-dark-purple said: (sex work)

Trying to find a College/Dom!Steve/Sub!Bucky/prostitute!Bucky/John!SteveAU that Ive lost & Ive had no luck Bucky is hustling through college(TJ era)and Steve(big/older)is going back & they meet in science class/go to group study sessions I think & then catch feelings Meanwhile theres a lot of rope tying(Steve took classes to do)& a scene I remember vividly is where Bucky comes but Steve purposely makes it so Bucky doesnt get the release of it though Bucky says something like You ruined it & sobs

Anon sent in Ain't No Rest for the Wicked* by Kellyscams (complete | 305,786 | E) */others, sex work, alcohol

Anon 5 said:

Could you help me with this particular fic that happened after Civil War it's basically Steve taking Bucky to an isolated place while getting rid of Bucky's winter soldier activation code-- Steve gets hurt a lot before he finally made it through the entire code without Bucky going violent. Thanks!

Anon sent in après nous le déluge by tomorrowsrain (complete | 9,257 | T )

Anon 6 said:

I’ve been looking for this fic for ages - modern times but canon compliant up until tws. I think the fic is post-tws. Bucky finds a pregnant cat (or cat with kittens?) and keeps it. He then later on gives each kitten to an avenger and, i believe, keeps momma cat. I’m not sure how stucky centric it is

sweet-nightingale-96 said:

Hi, I was wondering if you can help me find a fic. In this fic Bucky has escaped hydra before Steve wakes up. Bucky has no memories of his time in Hydra, but he is there when Steve becomes an Avenger. I believe the story was called The Red Star, or something like that. But I’m not sure. I do remember it retelling the movies from Avengers (2012) and onward with Bucky in it, if that helps?

Anon 7 said:

hi there was this one fix where Steve and Bucky were fwb in the 40s and Steve confessed to Bucky he shot Steve down thinking he was protecting him and fast forward to the present where Bucky doesn't remember what he did to Steve only that they were intimate

princessniitza sent in chapter 10 of Ain’t No Grave (Can Keep My Body Down)* by spitandvinegar  (restricted, complete | 107,076 | M) *past rape/noncon, heed the tags

Anon 8 said:

I'm looking for a fic where bucky moves in with Steve who's a retired captain and the entire fic they're learning how to be roomies while also pining and at one point bucky is in a bathtub full of kittens and i can't remember the title for the life of me. Any thoughts?

bennettmp339, teenagemutantninjamushroom and therandomravenclw sent in Critical Feline Mass by Kryptaria, rayvanfox (complete | 39,533 | T)

Anon 9 said:

Hi! Ive gone deep In my ao3 history and in your post caws tag and I just can’t seem to find this fic I’m looking for. I just can’t recall the fic description. What I remember from it is Bucky sneaking into the avengers tower & only Steve knows for a while and Bucky always gets high on Steve’s Tranquilizer lollipops. At the end Bucky confesses he’s loved Steve the whole time & Steve gets upset & beats up punching bags. This has been a week long search & I hope it’s findable!

bennettmp339, teenagemutantninjamushroom and ice-whisper sent in Sparked Up Like a Book of Matches by Sena (oneshot | 26,734 | M)

tygerblaze said:

It was Stucky, where Tony sees Bucky undergo the chair torture by General Ross. Decides, I’m gonnna break him out, cause no one deserves that. He calls Steve from the road while Bucky is recovering in the car, it becomes a slight road trip and Bucky becomes friends with Tony. Not sure if it’s post civil war or post tws.

Anon, itsagentromanoff, dragonflybeach and getstucky sent in i need a forest fire by tomorrowsrain (complete | 65,815 | T)

Anon 10 said: (sex work)

I'm dying- I can't find this fic and I don't remember a whole lot. I think Steve was a small dom and had Bucky as a client (I think?) and they were trying like binding (?) and Bucky safeworded and left in a panic and it led to Steve dropping. Bucky came back and was like "?? is this top drop are you dropping" and Steve was like "yeah" and I can't remember anything after that lmao I could've sworn one of the tags was topdrop but I couldn't find it and I... need help ty <3

time-lord-no-more, Anon, lesbianhozier and princessniitza sent in we are the things that we do for fun* by Nonymos (complete | 35,585 | E) *sex work

Anon 11 said: (rape/noncon)

Hi, I`m searching for a fic it was from Ao3. Bucky and Steve had a relationship before. The Winter Soldier is brought back to the tower. At some point he is in a room together with Steve. The other looking at them via cameras. The WS has manipulated the look at the door so Steve can´t get out of the room an the others can´t get in. The WS/Bucky forces himself on Steve, who doesn´t fight back, because Steve thinks when Bucky is totally himself again he would be terrified of his actions otherwise.

Anon sent in Even When I Had Nothing* by AnnaFugazzi (complete | 57,457 | unrated) *cw noncon ; extremely dark themes ; extreme angst ; abusive relationship

[bubblegum-switch]

yoooo halloweekend was fuckin l i t (this whole thing at least borders on vaguely-nsfw-ish)

~~Friday night~~

ok so i thought i was only gonna be seeing bf saturday night to sunday, but he got out of work friday night with nothing to do so we went to see the new blade runner movie (super good btw, i cried) and when he was driving me back home he was like “hey wanna grab your swimsuit and we can go back to my house and go in my hot tub” and i left my swimsuit in my dorm bc i forgot to grab it so i just grabbed gym shorts and a t-shirt bc why not and i had nothing else anyway

so we get back to his house, it’s like 1:30 in the goddamn morning (blade runner 2049 is almost 3 hours fair warning) and we get into the hot tub and for a little bit we just talk about normal stuff like school and friends and stories and the movie

and next thing i know we’re making out. I don’t know how it got to that point but i do know that he instigated it (!!!) and it gets a little blurry after that point but next thing i know his hands... start wandering... down my back and sides and i tense up. This motherfucker just chuckles and goes “what’s wrong?” and i could hear the smirk in his voice. I... didn’t even provoke him or hint that I wanted him to tickle me but gdi he knows. he k n o w s and i honestly wonder if he knows it’s a kink or not but more on that later.

So we’re in the hot tub and his hands are getting braver and he stops purposely doing the light/teasy tickling and then he squeezes my ass and I squeak becAUSE APPARENTLY I CANNOT CATCH A BREAK FROM BEING TICKLISH LITERALLY ANYWHERE OH MY FUCKING GOD.

He laughs again and k e e p s  a t  i t. holy fuck. so we’re making out and he’s tickling me and i’m in heaven but then he moves to my thighs and ok. I know i don’t know my worst spot but. Jesus. My thighs are really fucking bad ok. And now he definitely knows they’re really bad b/c they’re so far the only place that nearly sends me into a panic. 

So far they are the only place where I have grabbed his hands and actually pulled them away because it was almost too much.

Moving on usually I’m the one to say “I missed you” but he said it during a lull. He also said “I love you” out of the blue at one point and... I don’t think he’s ever said it before? Like he’s said “I love you too” a bunch but...? i d i e d . 

His hot tub also has colored lights in it that you can change and we started it on blue, then later on changed to green, then about halfway through set it to red and left it like that and JEFMSKEDAJKWEMD HE WAS TICKLING ME AND SAID “looks like your face is as red as the lights” and i just “...it’s not...” “oh really?” “...yeah it’s just the lights...” and god that killed me... (it wasn’t just the lights)

So yeah friday night was a movie and then an hour and a half of talking and splashing and making out w/tickles and comfortable silence in his hot tub and it? was amazing.

Also? As I was dying: “Just wait until tomorrow night when you’re in my bed.”

~~Saturday Night~~

Ok so this was the night i had been waiting for. This was the night of the party, where I was gonna sleep in his bed and we were gonna fall asleep in each other’s arms. Sound cheesy? Yeah. But I’m a hopeless romantic <3 I couldn’t wait.

So the party winds down, everyone who isn’t spending the night has left, and he and I join one of our friends in the hot tub for about half an hour. I go inside (in the same makeshift swimsuit from the night before) to dry off and get into pajamas. He comes in about ten minutes after me, and we climb into bed. Not much happens at first.

So this time, I instigate. I start playing with his hair as he’s wrapped around me. I start kissing him, and it takes off again. Now since we’re laying down it’s much easier for him to run his hand up my side and pull me into him. Again, he does this unprovoked, which I am still amazed at. So i tense up, he chuckles again, same routine. But it doesn’t last as long. But I’m not satisfied yet (of course) because he said it’d be even more than the previous night.

Well.

Me being a little shit mentions that. It gets a little blurry from there on until he slows down his hands and he stops kissing me and I manage to whisper “people are sleeping we have to be quiet,” he replies “that we do,” and I finish it by saying “then don’t make it so I *can’t* be quiet!”

he: “oh now you asked for it.”

and he began actually tickling me almost-fully while i tried as hard as i could not to laugh, opting for covering my mouth with my hand and basically letting out breathy (BUT QUIET!) laughs into it.

and a minute or two later after he stopped, you know what that fucker said, in the most amused yet teasy tone possible?

“Good job.”

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING MEEEEEE

JESUS I DIED THEN AND THERE I THINK

i tried tickling him back at one point and it didn’t work well bc he’s not as ticklish as i expected goddammit so he ended that attempt pretty quick

other things that were said include:

“someone really missed what we had going last night”

“you just keep directing me here” (referring to how i kept moving his head to my neck b/c jesus FUCK neck kisses make me weak and 8 times out of ten tickle really badly)

he said i was like a baby at some point friday night for whatever reason while we were making out and i was like “are you sure because you seem like the one who needs constant attention” and he was like “don’t pretend you’re not loving this” and i just couldn’t argue with that lol

“i thought you liked being touched!” at one point referring to how i, ya know, kept flinching every time he hit a sensitive spot and i don’t even remember how i responded

remember how i said "i honestly wonder if he knows it’s a kink or not but more on that later”? well it’s later.

ok so, like, most of the times he tickled me this weekend were unprovoked. Very few of those unprovoked ones were accidental, aka he knew exactly what he was doing. And the fact that most of times overall either led to or were during making out... also when he found out that it tickled when he squeezed my ass he kept going... a lot... it took a long time to get a break from that lmaooooo. Also the more he did so the more handsy he got... the more his hands wandered to my inner thighs... and that spot not only is an absolute death spot, i’ve also figured out that it’s a massive turn-on there. Now, earlier this evening he was teasing me a lot and it turned sexual and... like... he brought up tickling when he was trying to fluster me more and ...

shit. maybe he has a kink for it. That would make a lot of sense... anyway i think he’s either very close to figuring out i have one or he’s figuring out he has one for being a ‘ler or both 

god

i love halloween

[scriptxwitch]

(Fun fact: When boiling water is introduced to freezing temperatures, it instantly evaporates and turns into mist). 

“Whose bright idea was it to bring the girl who spews lava to a cave made of ice!?”

Read on AO3: Link

- Reflection

“Y-You did it again.”

At the abrupt (and rather vague accusation) Ava glanced aside at her companion as they meandered through the ice caves and frowned in response. “Did what?”

Odin briefly cast her a glance before returning his attention forward. “Y-You always look away… when you see your reflection in something.” They turned a corner and the pathway became narrower as they shifted to walking single-file with Odin in the lead.

Ava glared at the back of his head following the comment, deciding not to dignify it with a response as she instead attempted to focus on getting through this accursed underground labyrinth. The temperature was far below freezing and even though she was wearing several layers of gear and had molten lava flowing through her veins, each inhale sent an involuntary sharp chill into her burning lungs. 

She felt as if she was being slowly frozen internally.

They made it through the narrow portion of the cave and entered a wider area where the ceiling was hidden beneath rows of thick ice stalactites hanging down. Odin paused for a moment to look up at their glistening sharp points whilst she meanwhile strode past him and went ahead.

When he caught up with her, he persisted on.

“I br-brought it up because… I've noticed you’ve only done that s-since you transformed.” He stepped into pace beside her as he observed her face without subtlety in trying to read her expression.

“Now who’s the pervert spying on other people?” The floor beneath her feet sizzled with each footstep.

He scoffed. “D-Don’t flatter yourself… and you’re avoiding t-the subject.”

“It’s none of your business.” Her skin shone brighter, ice within close proximity melting away.

“I-Is it because you look more like her?”

She spun on her feet and glowered at him. “I said butt out!”

He actually looked startled by her outburst, raising his hands in front of him in a placating manner. He spoke but she didn't catch sight of his words, attention snatched away by the sight of her reflection in the wall behind him. Red lips were pulled back to display pointed teeth, slit pupils burning with animosity and drowning in a sea of red as her scleras changed colour. Her skin glowed like the sun, with pointed ears and sharp horns completing the terrifying appearance staring back at her.

She looked the spitting image of Wrathia.

Ava jerked back so abruptly her back slammed against the wall, steam rising as the surface of the cave sizzled and burnt away to liquid upon coming into contact with her. Her eyes dropped down to the floor to avoid sight of herself, vaguely noting the fact they were now standing in a puddle of water as she grabbed at her head and tried to control her breathing.

She wasn’t her.

She wasn’t Wrathia.

She wasn’t her tormentor.

She was Ava.

Ava Ire.

-and she was NOT a demon!

“H-Hey-!” Odin appeared in her vision as he stepped towards her with alarm, hands outstretched. She flinched away from him, pushing herself further into the wall which gave way like butter beneath the heat she gave off.

“A-Ava!” He grabbed at her wrists only to wince when the heat from her skin could be felt even through the thick gloves he wore. She snapped her head up at the sound of pain but before she could open her mouth to yell at him she noted his expression. He looked...

...terrified.

"Y-Y-You.... you n-need.... t-t-to calm down!" he forced out, words more jumbled than usual as his grip on her wrists tightened until she was the one wincing in pain. "O-O-Otherwise w-we're both going to be t-t-taking a s-swim...!"

It was then she became aware of the water now level with their ankles as the ice on the walls and ceiling continued to rapidly melt due to the spike in temperature emitting from her. The water bubbled around her feet as it boiled from her proximity, but even with that evaporating the water level was still rising as the cave submitted to the high temperature. The stalactites that had been hanging from the ceiling were either melting or falling down as one fell into the water a few feet from them and sent a splash of water against their legs. Odin flinched at the contact, body trembling and fingers squeezing her wrists hard enough to bruise even though she had long since eaten through his gloves and was now burning his skin.

If it had been any other situation she wouldn't have calmed down. She would have worked herself into a frenzy or run off. But when he was looking at her like that and holding onto her as if she was the only thing tethering him down, Ava found herself cooling down all too quickly. She knew she'd succeeded when the water ceased sizzling upon meeting her skin, and the boiling water at her feet released a plume of mist upon being introduced to below freezing temperatures so suddenly. Ava would have fanned it away had both her hands not been restrained by the older boy before her. She felt him tense as their vision was briefly obstructed from one another.

"I'm here."

The words left her lips automatically to reassure him since she feared he'd otherwise have his own panic attack. Ava recalled him telling her on one occasion before that he disliked water - she'd never realised just how serious his fear was.

"Come on." She managed to move one hand and slide it into his own as the mist finally faded around them, allowing them to see the exit once again. Pulling him along, she headed down the pathway which was on a raised incline and after a while they left the pool of water behind them. As they entered another area which wasn't affected by her outburst, Ava looked back to find him staring at his feet as he breathed heavily in an attempt to compose himself.

He was still gripping her hand.

"...Are you okay?" she asked and when he jerked his head up to stare at her with a hard gaze she knew that was pretty stupid question to ask. He noted their joined hands and yanked his own back as if she'd burnt him - which technically, she had.

"D-D-Don't..." He was still shaking, and he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment as he grit his teeth together to collect his words. "Don't.... e-ever do that again."

Her temper flared at that, a look on indignation passing her face. "You think I did that on purpose? It would have never been an issue if you hadn't been pushing your nose in!"

His eyes shot open at her sharp retort and he looked over to her in surprise before his eyes narrowed and his lips pressed together. "...I-I w-w-w.... w-was...." He stopped and his nostrils flared in frustration at the fact he was unable to get more than a few words out. Ava's anger dampened once again upon noting how effected he was, which wasn't fair god dammit! She wanted to be angry at him - he deserved it! It was his fault! She had every right to be mad at him and lash out!

...So why did she feel so guilty?

"...Do you want me to treat your hands?" 

He gave her a confused look. "M-My.... m-my h-h-hands?" Odin looked down at them only to blink in surprise at the damage down to the palms of his hands. It looked like second-degree burns. He made the unwise decision of touching one only to hiss in pain, and then as if he had opened the floodgates and the pain had all come at once, the older boy swore colorfully.

"I can patch them up," she offered, taking a step forward.

"No." His reply was instant, not looking in her direction as he sat down on a ledge of ice and attempted to dig out some bandages from his backpack. Clearly rebuffed, Ava settled for sitting down as well although several feet away from him.

The silence was uncomfortable. She sat and chewed the inside of her mouth and picked at her fingernails for something to do, meanwhile Odin did the best he could to bandage his burnt hands until they returned to the ship with a proper first aid kit.

The atmosphere between them was as cold as the temperature of the cave itself. 

The both of them stewed in their own thoughts for a long time before Odin eventually spoke up again. His lips were pulled into a slight grimace, reluctance clear in his face as the words left his mouth. “I... I-I shouldn’t have asked about your issue… I won’t ask about it a-again so…” 

Ava look towards him but his attention was still on his hands. She knew he wasn't the type to apologise so this was the nearest to one she'd ever get. She swallowed and returned her gaze to her knees.

“…You were right.” 

Odin blinked at the barely audible response. “W-What?”

She avoided his gaze, hugging herself. “You were right... I don’t like looking at myself. I try to avoid it if I can since.... since I look too much like her. I don’t even look human anymore, I look like a m-" She cut herself off, clamping her lips together.

“A monster?”

Ava snapped her head around to stare at him in utter devastation. Odin flinched, holding his bandaged hands out with a look of alarm. “A-Ah, I didn’t mean- I-I don’t think that-! I was j-just… finishing what you were going to say…! Honest.” He lowered his hands somewhat. "I-I don't think you're a monster..."

She continued to eye him for an extended amount of time, visible beads of sweat lining his forehead at her intense scrutinisation. Until, eventually, she turned her head with a snort. He relaxed in relief.

“…Do you mean that?” she mumbled softly without looking back at him, using her hair to her advantage to conceal her face, “you don’t think I’m monstrous?” 

“Heh… I-I saw you have five wipeouts i-in one day. You don’t scare me.”

She looked across to him with pursed lips. “…I can’t keep believe you kept count. Now who’s the sad one?”

“You, b-because you had five wipeouts in one day.”

She glared at him. He smirked smugly. The atmosphere was warmer.

“…Anyway, sh-should we move on? My s-socks are wet and it’s really despairing.” More so than the burnt hands apparently, but she felt he was avoiding mention of them for her sake - it wouldn't stop her from guilt-tripping herself over the injury of his for weeks though.

“Fine. Though honestly, whose bright idea was it to bring the girl who spews lava to a cave made of ice!?” She resumed hugging herself as they stood and trod onwards through the tunnels.

“I-I’d offer you my jacket again… but I d-don’t need another one being burnt up.”

“That was one time!”

“You j-just ruined my gloves as well. You’re going to owe m-me an entire wardrobe soon… o-or is this your way of trying to get me out of my clothes?”

She smacked him around the shoulder.

"Ow!"

[wulfiestired]

💎 (anyone you want (or IM me to plot))

                                                   Glorfindel & Maeglin | @ardaismsThis place was too bright, too crowded. He was used to the peaceful dark of Nan Elmoth, his quiet home lived in by eight friends and servants of Eol. Excitement was when one of the dwarves or avarin elves came to visit Eol. They were like him- tattooed on their faces and their beaded shirts glittering. They enjoyed the shade and the twilit sky. There was nobody like his mother though. She had always been original, a clue to this secret heritage he knew nothing about.Now it surrounded him like a sea. Her funeral had been particularly telling. Words had been said, he was sure, about him not attending. He had watched from the shadow for where they had displayed her had been too bright and the crowd of elves were more than he could recon with. In his culture they would mix their loved one’s ash in mud and would wear it on their skin for weeks until it had worn with their grief. He never did get to wear her ashes.It was well for he never got over his grief either.Perhaps it was that his uncle noticed that he was wasting away. He stayed in the room they had given him- his mother’s old room. The curtains were always shut and he rarely left her bed. It still smelled faintly of her and that was a mild comfort in a strange reality. He felt lonely and tired and too different. He didn’t look up anymore when his uncle and cousin came in to check on him. He was only vaguely aware of his uncle’s voice, of someone turning him to his back and fumbling around for his hand.  “What if he is fading?” Idril had asked and Maeglin wanted to argue but he hadn’t known what the term meant.“Let him rest,” Turgon had replied. “He has lost everything...” He had, he had. What was he supposed to gain now? Whoever held his hand gently tucked it over his stomach and he heard foodsteps move away before the door opened again. “I have an idea... it might give him some purpose.” Maeglin only vaguely wondered about it but he soon forgot. It was days later that Idril was in his room, opening curtains and pulling him to sit up in his bed. He blinked weakly at this before lowering his ears in disdain as two servants pulled in a copper tub. It was soon full of steaming water and his cousin was helping him to his feet, humming lightly. “I would take you to the bath house but you seem too tired. You need to get clean. Father is holding a feast tonight and he is to announce something important for you.”  “Important...?” Maeglin asked with little real interest as he was manhandled out of his night shirt and forced into the bath. He cringed at the heat and tried to climb back out at first but she placed her hands on his shoulders and forced him back down. “Too hot-” he mumbled instead. He had only had a hot bath a few times when the winter had chilled him too. This seemed too much of a luxury but as it worked into his body he found himself becoming more and more boneless. “That is better,” Idril smiled and grabbed a cloth to start washing his back and shoulders. “Yes important. Father means to give you a new home within this place. How old are you, Lomion?”He thought for a moment, his immediate response was to say 52 laiquas but that wasn’t correct. In the Noldorian calendar he would be.... “I think eighty years?” He answered, brown furrowed.  “You are still a child then,” she said in a displeased  tone and  Maeglin didn’t know why. “I am not,” he argued, face heated. “I have been an adult for ten fingers.” He glared at her over his shoulder and she smiled, amusement in her eyes.“Ten fingers? It would be twenty more before you are legally an adult in our land.” She made to pour water over his hair and he winced lightly in surprise. “I don’t mean to offend you Lomion. It simply means you can now own land or title yet. It has some bearing in what is to be announced tonight.”“And what is to be announced tonight?” He asked wearily as she scrubbed his hair. He had a dreadful feeling in his chest and it only worsened as she shook her head.“You’ll see, Lomion.” He didn’t see though. He failed to respond to anymore of her chatting as she finished helping him bathe and then showed him how to dress in the strange noldorin clothing. She had given him a satchel then, telling him not to open it but to take it with him to the feast. He hadn’t listened. Inside was a silver ring and he could not ponder what it was for. However he obeyed further and kept it with him when a servant came and helped him walk to the feast room.The room was too full and too loud. His uncle sat at the head of a long table and Maeglin was guided to sit at his side. Idril sat across from hit at Turgon’s other side and not too long later most of the other guest sat down including a tall golden haired elf at Maeglin’s side.The elf tried to chat with him a bit but Maeglin could not focus on his words. There was simply too much noise and so he gave the man an apologetic look instead. He did not know how so many people could carry conversations at once. Instead he sat in his personal silence and ate a little of what was familiar on his plate. He drank more than he ate. Whatever they had given him was sweet and it made him pleasantly warm and fuzzy. It was some time before his uncle stood and asked everyone to quiet. Maeglin closed his eyes, happy to finally be able to hear himself breath. He opened them again when Turgon began to speak.  “I thank all of you for coming this night. I have made a proposal to the house of the Golden Flower.” The golden haired man stood and Maeglin could see a pouch similar to his in his hand. He frowned slightly and eyed the man critically until he heard his name and looked at his uncle wide-eyed. “I would like to announce Glorfindel’s engagement to my nephew Lomion.” Idril gestured for him to stand and Maeglin did so, albeit clumsily. He looked from his cousin to the man beside him and pinned his ears back in confusion. “In a years time,” Turgon continued. “You two may decide whether to carry on your engagement and pursue marriage or to return your rings and break it. For a year however, you two will be engaged and will live under one roof.” The man- Glorfindel- pulled the silver ring out of the little satchel he carried and Maeglin stared at it numbly for a moment before he remembered his in his pocket. He pulled the silver ring free and stared at it with confusion before offering it to Glorfindel. What did any of this mean? Engagement? Rings? He frowned, his nerves starting to wear down and his hands trembling. Was he being married off so his uncle would not have to deal with him?

[thelostboyfoundsequenceone-blog]

Chapter I Graduation Day

“ Without a doubt, the life we face post graduating high school will be one of great obscurity.  We’ll face our fair share of ups and downs, just as we did over the course of our four years while here, at Airborne Public High.  I hope you all have gotten to this point in your academic career with the intent to create a better future for both yourselves and those around you. I’d love to grow old and witness you all become the product of your work ethic. As a citizen of the United States, the task of bettering our communities is…somewhat…our obligation. I strongly believe that a world without hard workers is one bound to squander” Rhode administered this sentence to his listeners almost matter-of-factly. ” Looking at you all here today, I see the faces of potential U.S Marines, Child Pediatricians, Restaurateurs or even the next big pop-star. Now remember, potential is nothing but a mere state of energy and realizing you possess potential is the first step towards achieving. It is important that you remember one cannot achieve their goals without dedication. A wise young man, Trevor Road, from the class of 2017, once told me that growth cannot be stimulated without productivity. Now, with that being said, we’re all only human. It is important for you to learn your personal strengths and weaknesses and use that as the barometer that guides your punctuality for accomplishing your set goals . The amount of time it takes people to accomplish tasks vary. I believe this to be true simply due to the fact that we all have different strengths and weaknesses.  So, you should never compare your ability to achieve success with someone else’s. This invites unnecessary negative energy to your psyche. Now, If you ever begin to feel you’re losing it, rustle up the courage  to stand your ground from your soul. I stand before you all on this day with hopes that you all find the energy within yourselves to remain persistent towards your goals. Our success’ will seem to thrive us higher than those of the past. These triumphs, without a doubt will help us acquire a broadened sense of who we are, as individuals.  Now, this isn’t a feat that just any normal person can tackle. It takes a person who exerts extraordinary characteristics. A patient person is best suited for this task, simply because it takes patience to become extraordinary. So yeah, coming to terms with one’s self should be deemed a boastful accomplishment in my opinion. My great grandfather always told me ‘those who don’t understand the importance of patience, will inevitably become failures.’ ” Rhode took a short pause from  his dialogue and offered the audience of faculty, students and family members a confident look. He believed in every word he was saying. The word failures lingered distinctively amongst my thoughts.

"I’m one to believe that we have control over our ability to thrive throughout the course of our lives. As time occurs, our fate shifts ever so unorthodoxly. Once again, we’re all only human…It’s only natural that there be times which we’re buoyant with energy, while others we feel flat. But, I personally believe when possessing an optimistic out-look on life, we create that buoyancy. We feel unstoppable.” He took another pause. This time it was a dramatic one. Then continued “Almost super-human ! We cherish these periods of our lives. They fill us to the brim with energy and usher us a sense of living for purpose. So do not fear what lies on the other end of the spectrum. As I mentioned before, we’ll often find ourselves falling short of our pursuits in many instances. These are the times we land in the trenches of our failures. But Class of 2019..I ask that you do not dwell there for long! We must rustle up the energy to overcome these instances! ” Rhode issued these last two lines in a triumphant tone of voice.  It was as if he was assuring us we are all capable of something 

g r e a t.

I sat halfway through a row of about 30 seats, all occupied by what seemed to be proud students. Students on the verge of graduating high school. I surveyed the facial expressions of those whom I shared a row with. For the most part, these faces portrayed the feeling of excitement for what was ahead. I wondered what story my facial expression was vending to others.

The sudden urge to pee jolted my senses. I took a stand and with body now erect, squirmed my way past the the row of students whom I sat amongst. They all seemed to be in a trance. I had thought nothing of it and continued my way to the aisle. As I neared the end of my row, a familiar voice was picked up vaguely. It came from the end of the bleachers where families were sitting. ” Where are you going?!” the familiar voice asked in a dull-like tone attempting to be as silent as possible. “This sounds like it’s about to get good.” I shifted the direction of my focus towards Rita and greeted her mellow eye contact with mine. “I’ve got to go pee. I’ll be back shortly.” I whispered delicately.

Rita and I had been together on and off since the middle of our junior year. She was the first official girlfriend I’d ever had. Throughout the course of the relationship, we had many ups and downs. Despite the fluctuation of our love tendencies, It was for certain that she cared about me. However, I wasn’t certain she loved me as deeply as i did her. Maybe that feeling of uncertainty stemmed from my insecurities. She was physically magnificent and this was no secret. With her 5’5 stature, Spanish-American ethnicity and blonde hair with black roots, she she radiated a unique beauty.  Every time I gazed into her opaquely light-brown eyes, a sensation of safety filled my heart. I wondered what she sees when she gazes into mine.

I proceeded out of the auditorium and into the school’s main hallway, which ran for about fourty-five feet. I observed photos and certificates mounted on the walls both to the left and right of me. Thee documents showcased students academic accomplishments. My mood turned a tone of dull. I made a right turn about twenty feet down the hallway and entered the corridor that lead to the male facilities.

The bathroom was empty. I took a brief glance at myself via the bathroom mirror, entering a stall. I proceeded to urinate and felt immediately relieved. After zipping my flyer up and exiting the stall, I made my way over to the mirror. I issued it a blank stare for about two minutes. This short duration felt like an eternity. “We must overcome these instances!”. Rhode’s words of enthusiastic wisdom intruded my thoughts. I stood before the mirror idly. I was lost in what felt to be a trance of thought, yet my mind had run so empty. How did everyone seem to have their live’s goals in order while I felt so lost?

My daydream was interjected by the entrance of two young men coming into the bathroom. Their faces were unfamiliar. Both of them vocal about how pretty they believed a young woman to be. I listened passively as they described the contents of what she was wearing. The description matched Rita’s outfit. She was wearing a peach sundress that effectively showcased her body’s voluptuous shape. It’s color suited her tanned skin well.

I issued a forced smile at them through the reflection of the mirror in an attempt to be friendly but it had gone unnoticed. They were too consumed by the contents of their conversation. I proceeded to lather my hands with soap.

” Yeah I’d do all sorts of nasty things with her ! “ the stout one of the two stammered. ” Yeah right, if she’d even give you the time of day “ replied the tall handsome one. He continued ” Man her dress is so f*cking tight, I bet you she’s a freaky b*tch.“I proceeded to dry my hands, not sure whether I should feel disrespected or accomplished. 

As i tossed the paper towel into the waste bin, the sound of 12 loud gun shots began ringing through the air. A knot grew in my stomach. Screeches of men women and children filled the main hallway.  I looked towards the other two to confirm what I was hearing to be true. Their frightened facial expressions thrusted me into a state of panic.