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sharkbait77 · 3 years ago

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The Sun Sets With You

Chapter Four: The Foundation of Growth

Summary: A simple yet despondent farm life suddenly sparks with new hope when an unusual traveler makes your town his latest stop and brings with him intriguing and promising viewpoints and no one to share them with. Until he meets you.

Pairing: Ezra Prospect x f!Reader

Rating: M

Warnings: Silas is officially his own warning! Death of a parent, depressive undertones, grief, food, pls lmk if I missed any!

W/C: 3.3k

A/N: This one is loaded with feelings guys, I didn't mean for it to be so heavy handed in the grief area, but I hope the conversation Ezra has with Reader offsets that. I definitely got into my own feelings about loss with this one, so I'm really sorry in advance if it's too much to handle. Read at your own risk, I've said it before, this story is not for everyone, always take care of yourself first & foremost lovelies. I've got some fluff coming up to make up for this one! I'm still building the plot you guys, I hope you're still with me!

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Chapter Three || Chapter Five

~MAY THIRD OF EIGHTEEN SIXTY-SEVEN~

Two weeks have since passed; Pa and Ezra had tediously worked the fields, sowed the seeds with care, and the fruition of all their work thus far has resulted in the small sprouts now growing from the Earth. ‘One of Mother Nature’s greatest gifts’, Ezra had said once while you gazed upon the rows of leaflets. Rebirth, growth, new beginnings. You find yourself envying the fresh buds, wishing to crawl into the dirt and begin again as well.

The shop is quiet today. Since you chased away the older women looking to learn more about Ezra Prospect, you haven’t heard a peep since. Quite surprising, though you count your blessings and hope the silence will hold, if only for a moment longer. The children play in the road with the stray town dog and you catch yourself giggling as you watch them. Such innocence in their youth. You only hope life treats them kinder than it had to you.

The shop bell dinging pulls you out of your thoughts and you stand straighter to greet the customer. Lucille Jones enters, without the overbearing presence of her mother – a shock in and of itself. She walks with her hands entwined in front of her, her head lowered some, and blonde ringlets of hair fall forward to frame her face, but she still carries a gentle smile on her face as she looks up at you.

As much as you pitied the outcome of your own life, you could not help but pity Lucille’s tenfold. Her father had fought and perished in the war, the only person to have shown her love and caring, and she was now left with her mother, who was ready to practically pawn her off to the next richest man to come through town.

Were it not for her mother’s meddling, you know the two of you would be great friends. She may be the only other person in this town who can empathize with your despondency; her dreams, likely, have been ripped from her as well. Though, it makes the curiosity spark within you as you wonder why exactly she has shown up in the shop so suddenly and without her mother.

“Hello, Lucille. It’s nice to see you,” you say politely. She nods in return. Timid girl. “May I interest you in anything? I’ve concocted a new healing agent to help with the pesky bug bites during the summer,” you offer gently.

“I-I’ve…” She squeaks. You cock your head slightly at her.

“Lucille, what has your nerves so rattled?”

“I’ve come as a favor to my mother. And Mrs. Foster and Mrs. McKenna.”

She faces you head on now, her soft voice filled with determination to complete her mission, yet her eyes, filled with regret, betray her. You raise your eyebrows in contempt and sigh deeply, and upon seeing your reaction, Lucille’s desire to help her mother gossip dissipates. She quickly steps forward, the heels of her white boots clacking against the wooden floors and the skirts of her pink dress flowing behind her.

“I’m so sorry, I did not wish to come and gossip. It is not my desire. My mother… She would not rest until I agreed to come here,” she laments, the quiver in her voice proving to you that she truly meant no harm. “I will pass on the news that you will speak to no one. Forgive me,” she says, her head hanging lower now than at the start of this conversation as she turns to walk away.

“Wait,” you call out. She stops in her tracks, but does not turn to face you again. You walk around the counter to her position. “Lucille… Why do you follow what your mother commands of you?” You ask softly.

“I…” She looks up in your eyes, tears forming in her own and you swear you feel a string in your heart snap at the sight. “I have no choice.”

“Yes, you do. You can choose to leave all this behind, leave this town and its capability to drain the life from you. You do have a choice for how you desire to live your life.”

You hold her by her shoulders as you speak and you realize you are sharing advice with her that could very well be said to your own face. You know it is not a possibility for you, but if you were able to help Lucille leave town and save her from feeling the same hopelessness as you, a part of you would be freed as well, knowing she will have been able to move on to better things.

She stares at you, the tears in her eyes now dried up and you see a small spark of hope in them, but before you can speak more to nurture that spark into a larger flame, the shop bell dings again. Based on the dark figure in your peripheral, the stomp of large, gaudy boots walking in, the heady scent of cheap cologne filling your nostrils, you know exactly who it is.

Lucille looks at the man first and you remove your hands from her shoulders, taking a step back and inhaling a deep breath, nearly choking on the fragrance now overpowering the shop.

“Hello, Mr. Taylor,” Lucille greets, bowing her head slightly.

“Hiya sweetheart,” he responds in a predatory voice and you snap your head in his direction.

“How can I help you, Silas?” You ask quickly before he can intimidate poor Lucille.

“I heard you’ve got some queer working on the farm now,” he chuckles.

“Do not call him that,” you bite and Silas immediately stops laughing.

“Darlin’,” he takes a step toward you and Lucille backs away against the shop wall. “Don’t tell me you have befriended him. You’re too good for the likes of a freak.”

“You don’t know him,” you reply, keeping your head held high with determination, but you instinctually flinch when Silas barks out a laugh.

“And you do?!” He says, grinning wickedly. “For your sake, honey, I truly hope not.”

“What is your meaning, Silas? He works on my farm, it is only natural that I will, and have, come to know him.”

“Perhaps,” he says, his voice dropping to a lower, more aggressive, octave. “Just be aware of the consequences if you come to know him as more than the simple farmhand he is.”

You wish to spit in his face, to continue defending Ezra, yet the instincts within you beg for you to stop. Though you’ve never been one to cower at Silas and his schemes, you’ve also never seen him as he is before you. Crazed, animalistic, frightening. You’re unsure of what he truly is capable of and you would hate for now to be the time to learn.

Despite the resolute expression you attempt to hold, your eyes must shine with the light fear he managed to instill in you with his threat because he flashes a satisfied smirk, a laugh escaping his flared nostrils as he backs away from you. He turns on his heels and faces Lucille again, huffing a goodbye to her and glancing over his shoulder at you before walking out.

“Are you all right?” Lucille asks softly. You only nod in return. “That man is…” She scoffs, understanding how loathsome he is.

“Not a man. A beast.”

~MAY FIFTH OF EIGHTEEN SIXTY-SEVEN~

As you exit the house, ready to meet Ezra at the place you now share together, you reach up to grab an apple from the tree for yourself and throw it in your bag along with your book. You take a step away then halt just as quickly. You consider Ezra, and smile to yourself as you reach up again to grab another apple from the branch, setting it gently inside your bag.

As you approach the oak, you see Ezra standing near the edge of the river, his hands clasped behind his back and head held high. He seems to be enjoying the scenery and you try to lighten your steps so as to not draw him from his serene moment, but the grass crunches under your boots as you walk, regardless of how careful you are, and Ezra turns his head in the direction of the noise, smiling brightly once he sees you.

“Dear Sunflower, I was afraid you would not show today,” he says as he turns his whole body to face you.

“My apologies,” you catch your lip in between your teeth, hiding the amused grin forming on your face, your heart skipping a beat at the knowledge that he had been waiting for your arrival. You dig in your bag in search of the apple you plucked specially for him. “A gift for keeping you waiting,” you say and hold the bright, red fruit out to him.

“Sunflower,” he gasps softly, as though you had just handed him a precious gem. “Thank you. A sweet and kind gesture from someone as equally generous; it will not be forgotten.”

You nod once while you bite the inside of your cheeks. What has gotten you so giddy? He merely gave his thanks for your offering, but the smile on his face, his eyes searching yours to clue him in on what has you so affected, makes a schoolgirl-ish giggle escaping your throat.

You reach for your own apple and drop your bag down in the grass, closer to the tree, and you step closer to the river, kneeling down and carefully dipping the apple into the cool stream to wash the skin. Ezra kneels down beside you and follows your lead.

“These are from the tree by the house. The last tree I was able to plant with my mother before she-”

You pause, immediately feeling your throat constrict and halting any further words from falling from your lips. You’ve not spoken so carefree of your mother to anyone, and the suddenness of your desire to do so catches you off guard. Though you have gotten to know Ezra as more than an acquaintance, the truth of the matter was he is still a stranger to you.

You sense the energy shift around you, and you bite your tongue in penance for turning such a peaceful time into an unpleasant one. Ezra stops washing his apple and leans up straight again while you keep your hands under the cold water, scared to look into his eyes and see judgement.

“Sunflower,” he calls and you startle slightly. After a moment of silence, he speaks again. “If you were to wash that fruit any longer, I’m afraid it may lose its red complexion and turn into a shade of white.”

You cannot help the awkward chuckle that falls from your mouth and you lean up straight as well, still avoiding his gaze as you dry the apple with your apron. Aside from the running water next to you, the air is silent, neither of you speaking a word.

You continue drying the apple, turning it over and over in the cloth around your waist, even though you’re sure there are no water droplets remaining. Suddenly, a loud chomp is heard and your eyes snap up to the offending noise to see Ezra bringing the apple away from his lips, and the two of you break out into gentle laughter.

“Sunflower,” he begins after swallowing the piece of fruit in his mouth. “This is truly the sweetest apple I’ve ever bitten into, and I wholeheartedly believe it is because you and your dear mother were the ones to nurture the tree that grew it.”

The smile that remained on your face from your laughter slowly falls as you remember the day your mother suggested you plant the tree from a seed she accidentally bit into. You can recall her giggles as she grabbed you by the hand and pulled you outside, instructing you to grab the small shovel that was laid by the house while she held the seed in her closed fist.

Pa had said it would not take, chuckling and shaking his head as your mother shooed him away, reprimanding him for cursing the seedling before it had a chance to grow. And, with much love and dedication that your mother insisted on carrying out together, the small tree grew, and soon after, sprouted the shiny, red globes.

“I… I apologize for the sudden change of atmosphere, Ezra,” you say quietly, glancing up at him sheepishly and, to your surprise, are met with a gentle smile of understanding across his face.

“Please do not apologize for reminiscing upon your loved one. It is a hobby I frequently partake in. The memories… They are what keep them alive. No longer with us in the physical sense, yet they live in the grass, in the rivers. In the trees.”

“Like the Green?” You ask shyly as you pick at the stem of your apple.

“Yes. They are born again, just in a different form, but always here to remind you of life. Much like the apple tree is a reminder of your mother.”

You wonder to yourself if Ezra has been a victim of loss as well. The way he speaks of it seems as though he talks from experience, but you do not dare ask. As uncomfortable as it can be for you to speak about your mother, you’d hate to bring that discomfort to him as well. Yet… He speaks so openly, so calmly, that you feel yourself longing to open up.

“Perhaps if I dream of the Green, I would see my mother again,” you say under your breath, feeling the tears that have so long desired to flow build in your eyes with an unbearable pressure.

“You do not need to wait until your dreams, dear Sunflower. You only need to look around at the life surrounding you to know she is here. Close your eyes and she will appear.”

You only have the strength to nod, the lump stuck in your throat as thick as Pa’s dreadful grits he so enjoys making during the winter. A small laugh bubbles over as you remember the way your mother put up the facade of enjoying his grits only to empty them in a bucket to be fed to the cows at a later time.

You look back up at Ezra and he smiles, his eyes shining with compassion, no hint of judgement or scrutiny to be found, and the lump in your throat vanishes, comfort radiating from his person onto you like a warm, wool blanket.

“Would…” You hesitate, but an overwhelming urge to share with Ezra commands you to continue. “Would you like to see her?”

“I would love to,” he nods gently.

You smile softly, leaving your apple to rest in your lap while you carefully pull at the chain around your neck until the small locket emerges from underneath your blouse. You scoot closer to Ezra and he mimics your movement, leaning closer to you as well and you recognize that this is the first time he has been in such close proximity to you.

You shove the tip of your fingernail between the crevice of the locket until it pops open, revealing the black and white photograph of your mother that you yourself have not taken the opportunity to look at in far too long. The length of the chain is still too short for Ezra to get a proper look, so he leans in closer, your heads mere inches apart.

You feel your pulse thumping against your chest, the vein in your neck throbbing as you feel the heat emanating from him. He smells of cedarwood and the hay bed he sleeps on, a light scent of sweat from working the fields, and something almost sweet, a unique aroma to be found only on his person and no one else.

“She is very beautiful, Sunflower. It is as plain as the nose on my face that you are her daughter,” he compliments, backing away from you slowly and you giggle softly as you place the locket back into your blouse. “What is her name?”

“Emma,” you smile genuinely, for once feeling not one ounce of sadness as you say her name aloud.

“Emma. She is now the sun, moon, and stars that shine down on you, Sunflower.”

You smile once again and nod as you place your hand on your chest, feeling the cool metal press against the warm skin covering your sternum. You close your eyes and let the sun’s rays warm your cheeks as you take a deep breath, heeding Ezra’s thoughtful words and imagining that your mother is, indeed, the sun kissing your face.

“Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts, Ezra,” you say after a beat of prolonged silence. As you look over at him, you see his head lowering, too, as if he had mimicked your action and let the warmth of the sun fall on his face as well.

“You have no need to thank me, dear one. I am elated you deemed me worthy to share your thoughts with. If you ever desire to share again, please know I am here,” he says softly as he smiles.

“You are a very good friend, Ezra. I am happy to know you.”

“And I, you.”

You look down at your lap to your forgotten apple, raising it to your mouth to take a bite and Ezra resumes eating his as well. Once you’ve both bitten down to the core, you both toss them into the river and you stand up, allowing the blood to circulate through your legs again before heading over to the tree.

You bend over to collect your bag along the way and your book falls from the opening as you stand straight. Before you are able to bend down to grab it, Ezra is already there, lifting it in his hands while he reads the cover.

“‘Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland’?” He smiles quizzically.

“I understand it is for children, but I quite enjoy the adventure and wonder of it,” you say, smiling from embarrassment.

“I do not judge what a young lady chooses to read in her spare time, Sunflower,” he grins as he hands the book to you. “I have yet to read this one. Will you read it aloud for me?”

“Yes,” you nod. “If you’d like.”

You both sit down in the grass, leaning your backs against the trunk of the oak tree as you find the page you last left off. The scene of Alice’s trial has Ezra suddenly captivated as to what caused Alice to be put on trial, unfairly it seemed. You do your best to explain, which only produces more questions from Ezra.

You giggle at his frustration over the treatment of this poor girl and decide to start the book over for Ezra to follow along, a genuine happiness washing over you at the thought of reading this story to Ezra for the weeks to come. He leans in closer, as though the distance you had between you previously was too far for him to hear you and you stumble over your words slightly.

You still do not understand this feeling overcoming you; the only thing you do understand is that you do not feel the need to place a guard around yourself as you do with the others in town. You want to share with Ezra, you feel comfortable enough with him already, though he has only been here for two weeks.

Yet, you feel as though you know him better than most around you and you feel that he understands you better than even your Pa. It frightens you, yet you have no desire to run from it, but rather towards it. A new path you find yourself carving into your mind.

Chapter Three || Chapter Five

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frangipansi · 4 years ago

Note

Hi! If your inbox is open, I'd like to request a scenario with all (or any) of the demon brothers, + undatables reacting to a blind MC? Like, none of them expected to have a blind human and Devildom and they have to revamp everything to make it as safe for MC as possible. Can be she/her or they/them pronouns for MC. Bonus points if MC is extremely talkative and won't shut up lmao. Thank you!

OKAY! So, finally got this one out. I’m sooo sorry for the wait, but I wanted to try and do this right, not just some Daredevil nonsense, but I didn’t want to make the mistake of a ‘helpless blind MC’ either; because they’re not helpless.

I am also lucky enough to have a regular customer at my work that happens to be blind and she has been very happy to give me a helping hand to make this ask more real. She’s such a delight and her guide dog is beautiful and I could ramble on with our interactions, like one time she scolded us for moving the fixtures because she had just memorized the layout of the store then told her guide “you’ll earn that pay check today!”

SO! With her in mind, more so from her younger days that she reminisced with me; I have decided to work this piece around this customer’s condition specifically so I’m not just pulling shit out my arse.

To give you an idea, this MC suffers from Retinitis pigmentosa; their symptoms being tunnel vision and night blindness. So while they are legally blind, they can somewhat see. They use a cane when going out, use their hands and/or cane when inside a place knew to them – that happens to be in poor light (Devildom) – until they have the layout in their mind and move more confidently.

This also took a while because I couldn’t get a fic/scenario to work cohesively and hc was just not working either! But I’ve hopefully gotten it now, and I do hope you like it. I’ve also placed this under the cut because I’ve waffled on here.

Diavolo:

Interested. Anyone within the Devildom without eyesight, are generally the souls of the damned who aren’t permitted to move freely. Heck, he’s removed some of their eyes himself.

He wants to know instantly if there is anything he needs to change and improve to make sure MC’s stay is not only comfortable but enjoyable.

Absolutely loves how open MC is. He’s amazed at the resilience of humans; delighted to hear MC say how capable they are, though he does insist on one of the brother’s remaining her escort for the duration of their stay. Capable or not, he is well aware of how demons would use MC’s lack of sight to their advantage.

Really wants to ask how amplified their other senses are; disappointed to know most things depicted in movies are – for the most part – an over exaggeration.

Organises a tablet for them with all RAD textbooks uploaded so they have that ability to zoom in so they are able to read the text at their own comfort. Other systems such as braille, text to talk etc are also implemented if that is something MC prefers to learn by.

Lucifer:

Considers Cerberus as a guide dog? Impossible, the human would be eaten alive. Perhaps another smaller hellhound? Goodness no, they’d still be eaten.

Asks MC about their condition –on behalf of Lord Diavolo of course – so he is aware of anything that may help their stay in the Devildom.

Very pleased to see how receptive MC is, very talkative and informative about her condition; he’s surprised to learn the varying levels of visual impairment. Consults Diavolo on brighter lighting to improve her movements around RAD and already planning on improvements within his own home.

During MC’s first few nights in Lamentation, Lucifer appears on edge; always keeping an eye when they’re moving about on their own. Enjoys watching how they learn to memorize layouts, quietly telling themselves how many steps it takes from one room to another, touching hallway objects.

Ready to run to their side that one time MC walked into the wall; turning into the kitchen a little too soon; until he hear them chuckle to themselves and ran their hand along the wall until they found the doorway and walked through it. No damage done. He’s learning to leave them be, understanding that he doesn’t need to dote on them.

Mammon:

MC is blind? Ooh yeah! The things that boy could swipe to make some quick Grimm, and right under their nose. It was gonna be too easy!! Completely stunned when they still catch him out. “How’d ya know it was me?!”

Watches them narrow their eyes as if trying to spot him before coming up beside him and close the drawer he was just rummaging through. The nerve this human has to threaten The Great Mammon by saying they’ll use their cane to whack him.

Surprised at MC’s explanation on how they knew it was him. They recognised his scent; not only did he have his favourite cologne – which he didn’t think he wore that much of – they noted how he had a metallic smell, like the kind you get when touching coin constantly.

Likes to watch MC move around their room; at first using their hand to remember the layout and then moving as if they saw as well as he did. Considered rearranging things to see what would happen.

Okay, so MC isn’t helpless… but, other demons don’t know that. Considers using MC as bait; distract idiots so he can rob them and sell their things for a little Grimm. “I, The Mammon, am a genius!” “No, Mammon.”

Levi:

Couldn’t even imagine being in their position; all that manga he couldn’t read, anime they couldn’t watch… never knowing what Ruri-Chan looks like!!! Gasp! No way. Poor MC!

Really confused when he sees them one day, curled up on a chair in the common room, wearing a pair of glasses and a book in hand. Wanders over and looks over their shoulder before questioning what was going on; nodding when they told him that with reading glasses and preferably larger font, they could indulge in many a storybook.

As their relationship blossoms, he has a dedicated reading nook in his room for the two of them, including a lamp to brighten the area to help improve what sight they have. Likes that they’re happy to listen to him read to them his TSL series. He thinks about writing to the publishers for the next editions to have larger fonts; that way he could buy MC a set of their own.

He likes to sit and watch them bring things close to their face to inspect them better; his figurines which they – to his relief – handle with great care, or his manga comics to see which characters he’s fawning over.

He secretly loves that MC likes to chill by his fish tank wall. Why? They state that while there’s too much distortion for them to actually make anything out, they enjoy the ambient colouring and light; the two eventually just listen to music together like that as a means to relax.

Satan:

Of course he is utterly curious about MC’s condition and is glad to see how open they are to talking about it. He’ll look things up himself in his own time but nothing like hearing it from someone’s own experience.

Asks if those romance and crime novels are accurate; “so, do you touch people’s faces so you know what they look like?” finds it interesting that for the most part, this doesn’t happen; but it makes sense, he wouldn’t be too thrilled by someone he barely knows putting their hands onto him.

Writes down notes that he considers most important from the board during lessons and offers them to MC should they need them for their studies.

Another one who likes watching MC learn their way around Lamentation, like how they touch cupboard handles until they find the one they need while grumbling about how crappy the lights are.

Shared appreciation for just lying on the ground whenever a cat is near them, all responsibility out the window as number one priority is giving adorable little hellcats their undivided attention. Loves that MC is willing to con Lucifer into believing a cat makes a wonderful guide animal.

Asmo:

Oh poor MC, unable to see just how beautiful he is… Oh, they can kinda see? If he gets real close? Oh he can definitely do that! Bummed that MC promptly puts in some boundaries but once their relationship develops they do enjoy the closeness with him.

Learns – albeit slowly – that his looks aren’t going to win MC over, and instead begins to better understand the value of personality and getting to know a person. Should MC like Asmo, it’s because of who he is and not for all the fluffing he does with his looks.

Whenever he happens to be the brother escorting MC, just know he’ll always detour to the main hub; treating the two of them to manicures and pedicures, facials, all that fun stuff.

When shopping, he loves how MC feels the fabric of things he grabs for them and has an even bigger appreciation for how things feel on him. Absolutely enjoys offering explanations whenever MC would ask about colour or cuts if they can’t make them out should the lighting be too poor for them.

Will starting looking around for ‘fashionable’ canes. Yes, he knows it’s about practicality and he’s not going to take that away from MC, but what’s wrong with wanting to match their cane with that gorgeous outfit he’s picked out from them?

Beel:

Having no experience with a visually impaired human, he’ll ask MC if he should carry them places; it’s no big deal, they looked pretty light after all. Apologises if they happen to get a bit defensive so keeps close while they walk together, worried they may walk into or trip over something.

He’ll be curious about whether or not other senses are heightened due to the loss of another and is lowkey disappointed that they wouldn’t be able to hear someone in the kitchen stealing his food when they’re somewhere else in the house.

He loves cooking with them; the tastes of what he creates seem to be more balanced and they’re more than happy to sneak him a few snacks while Lucifer is occupied elsewhere. They’ll fool around, tasting things to see who can pick up more notes.

Things turn into a game between the two of them; if he spots MC in a room he’ll sneak up and try and get to them before they realise he’s there. “Too heavy on your feet,” or “you were giggling,” is something he hears a lot when trying.

Though MC can’t really see while he’s training or playing a game, he really appreciates that there still there to cheer him on; he’s taken to wearing a bright headband in hopes that they’ll be able to spot him out a bit better. They don’t half the heart to tell him they still can’t find him.

Belphie:

In the beginning, he’ll use MC’s lack of sight to their advantage; sly and manipulative to lure them in. Watches how they react to his voice, how their eyes or head move in the direction he’s in, learning how they work their other senses.

Tensions between the two would be tight after that moment and he’ll feel tremendous guilt for what he did to them; keeps himself at a distance, afraid they’ll recoil if they sense he’s too close and understands if they would.

Amazed that they find it in them to forgive him and help mend bonds between him and his brothers, and will spend whatever time he’s able building up trust with MC; whether that’s being their escort around Devildom or just being there for company.

He loves – when trust is established – that MC is just happy to lay with him while he star gazes and talks about what he sees, trying to paint a picture for them while they huddle up together in a fluffy blanket, sharing his cow print pillow.

Simeon/Luke:

They’re angels; their job is to look over and protect humans. So they are already well aware of how capable MC would be – Simeon more so than Luke since he’s younger and more interested in Michael – but they will still offer their assistance should MC need it.

They’re also the sort to take notes down during class that MC may not be able to see on the board; but they’ll ask before assuming.

Simeon has taken to writing a little bigger if it’s something he’d like MC’s opinion on his work; the two forming a bond through fiction and history. The two can be found losing track of time and just talking about any given thing.

Luke enjoys cooking with MC; asking them what they think of the taste of something he creates and asks how he can make it better. He’d love to be able to wow Michael upon his return to the Celestial Realm and MC will always critique his work rather than sugarcoat like Simeon would or just outright scare him like demons would. With a little push from MC, he takes lessons from Barbatos.

Solomon:

Quite unphased; he’s dealt with various impairments before seeing as he is still human despite being a very powerful sorcerer. He doesn’t offer assistance but will give it should MC ask him for help.

He has many a spell in his books that could quite possibly cure or ease symptoms of various impairments and is very tempted to bring this information to MC; but decides on holding back until he can figure out how to approach the subject. He’ll ask them how they feel about their situation and go from there.

Would also offer heightening other senses should MC want them; even temporarily if they’re just a little curious. “Let’s see what’s so crash hot about being Daredevil!” “My thoughts exactly MC.”

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me levi #obey me satan #obey me asmo #obey me beel #obey me belphie #obey me diavolo #obey me simeon #obey me solomon #obey me luke #obey me headcanons #obey me imagines #obey me gn!mc #obey me blind!mc

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queenbirbs · 5 years ago

Text

surrender | Edward Mortemer x f!MC

Pairing: Edward Mortemer x Elena McTavish

Word count: 7.5k+

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: N*FW

AN: In the words of Kacey Musgraves: I’m alright with a slow burn. But when you want to speed it up a little, that’s what fics are for, right? Takes place pre-chapter nine and also kind of skirts around the very end of chapter eight.

**Re-post due to my dumb ass trying to edit the original on mobile and it wiped the whole damn thing. Cool. Cool cool cool.

“Good evening, Miss McTavish?”

The words aren’t so much of a greeting as a question. It’s silly, then, that her breath catches a little. She hides it with a stretch, raising her arm above her head and letting out a throaty noise of content when her spine lengthens. Dropping back onto her heels, she watches Edward finish his ascent up to the crow’s nest where she stands watch.

“Nothing but sea and sky,” Elena replies.

“Aye, should be more of the same on through ‘til morning.”

He settles at his preferred spot, just a few feet from her. She wouldn’t be surprised if his boots have worn divots into the wood from the amount of time he spends up here.

“I’m no Al Roker, but I’d say the nice weather will continue. The sunset was as gorgeous as ever.” She tips her head to the side and bites down on her lip, trying to pull a script line from her memory. “What’s that saying, ‘red sky at night, sailor’s delight’?”

“Al Roker?” he repeats the name, his brow furrowed.

“He’s... a person who predicts the weather. Sort of.”

Edward’s gaze flickers from the sea to her, and then back again, huffing out a short laugh.

“It seems that you speak another language, sometimes.”

“Comes with the territory, I suppose.” Elena shrugs. “What with being a twenty-first century transplant and all.”

She doesn’t miss the quick search he does of the ship below, looking out for any wayward pirates with curious ears, but she knows, just as well as he does, that most everyone is tucked away in the galley below deck. The only other soul around is Maggie back at the helm, who makes a show of feigning interest towards the starboard to give them more privacy.

“I hope you don’t find me rude, that I still don’t know what to make of your… claims.”

“No offense taken,” she assures with a nonchalant wave of her hand. “I thought about what I would do if someone suddenly appeared in my house, claiming they were from your time.”

“And what would you do?”

“Call the cops and then threaten to sick my dog on them.”

“The dog wearing the life preserver?” he lifts a single eyebrow at her, the corners of his lips twitching upwards. “Aye, a truly terrifying sight to be sure.”

“Was that a joke?” she asks, her eyes wide as she makes a show of looking him over.

“You didn’t care for the one about falling in battle, so I thought I’d try out another.”

“Not bad. But I wouldn’t give up your day job quite yet.”

Edward hums his agreement and turns his sights on the ocean before them. Elena understands why he enjoys being up here -- she likens him to a king, high in his tower, or a lion, perched atop his rock; all the world is an oyster from such a height.

Tipping her head up, she takes in the night sky’s view. With little to no light pollution, especially this far out at sea, the stars come out in droves. The Milky Way is a cloudy, violet river that commandeers the horizon. It’s almost dizzying, the amount of stars visible, layers upon layers of them blooming across the sky. Elena’s never seen anything like it. Even when she and her sister would skip their Friday classes, drive up to the nearby state park, and spend the weekend up there, pretending they knew how to camp.

She thinks of the text on her phone from Gabby and the plans they were in the process of making for her to come visit Elena in Los Angeles. When she dropped out of college to follow her dream, the few family she remained in contact with ceased their feeble attempts at communication. When she made it to LA (or, rather, to the one-room hovel she could barely afford), Gabby was the only person on the other end of the line, trying her best to cheer her up. The pang of loss strikes her hard, somewhere behind her ribs. Other than her sudden departure from the set, Gabby might be one of the only people that notices her disappearance -- which is kind of sad, when Elena thinks about it, given that her sister still lives back in Austin.

That thought launches a thousand others. How long has she been gone? Is time moving at the same speed in the future? Is she even going to make it back home?

“Lovely, isn’t it?” Edward’s voice jolts her from her thoughts.

“Yeah,” she agrees, clearing her throat of the emotions that clog it. The railing is steady below her hands; she clings to it, trying to ground herself as best she can.

“Tis... not the same, where you’re from?”

“Where I live, it’s hard to see this many. I feel like if I could get a little bit higher, I could almost touch them.”

Edward looks back to the east, where the moon hangs low in the sky.

“I don’t see why not,” he murmurs, making a show of leaning close to continue, “if what you say about the moon is true.”

“The stars are a lot farther. And the moon isn’t exactly suitable to live on. At least, not right now. Or,” she pauses, her lips twisting into a grimace, “well, not in my time, it’s not.”

“I’m glad, then, that I’ve made the sea my home.”

If his words are tinged with melancholy, Elena doesn’t mention it. Though she could encourage him to elaborate, she doesn’t want to ruin this peaceful moment. The thought brings with it the memory of their afternoon swim: of his arm wrapped tight around her waist, of the hungry look in his eyes as he took his fill, of the ache in her chest when their moment was broken by the need to surface.

The crystal-clear, turquoise water of the cove brought its own reminder of the summer before her sophomore year of college. It was Gabby’s idea to use their open water diving certifications for something other than taking up space in their wallets. Having spent so much time after her gender affirming surgery entertaining herself with shipwreck documentaries, she booked the trip to the Florida Keys, flights and all, before informing Elena -- in typical Gabby fashion.

“I would never get tired of the views, that’s for sure,” Elena sighs. “Or the constant opportunity to explore whatever island I sailed upon. Like that tiny island we stopped at, I would love to dive there, spend some time exploring underwater.”

Glancing over, she spots Edward’s furrowed brow; she sifts through what little historical knowledge she has of diving. Have those weird, space-age looking suits even been invented yet?

“Sometimes, Miss McTavish, I wonder if I have not happened upon a selkie, with the things you claim.”

“Selkie?” she repeats, rolling the word around in her head, but recognition never comes.

“Aye, a creature of myth, though some people believe they do exist. My mother used to tell me stories when I was little, of the women who came from the sea. Once they reach dry land, they shed their seal skin and transform into a human.”

“So... kinda like a mermaid?”

Edward tips his head in consideration. “In a way. But selkies are usually considered to be gentler. Unless their seal skin is stolen, they favor their time spent among humans. And, when they tire of us, they return to their skin and resume their life under the sea.”

“That sounds sad, in a way. But I promise I went down in a diving suit, not a seal skin.”

“I’ve heard rumors coming out of England, of a man who salvaged sunken ships by trapping himself inside of a barrel. I assume that is not what ye mean, though.”

“No, not in a barrel,” she grins, pulling her phone from her pocket. “I can show you, though, if you’d like to see.”

“Ah, the black box of witchery.”

He moves closer as he speaks, though, clearly interested in taking another look at it. If he was truly frightened of it, she supposes, he could just lob it into the sea. Her grip tightens on the phone at the thought.

Navigating to her photos, she taps at the folder (embarrassingly titled we’re in miami bitch!!) and turns the phone so the images can expand into greater detail.

“Some of these I took with a disposable camera, so they aren’t the best,” she laments, swiping her thumb across the screen every few seconds. “But my sister -- she has this fancy underwater housing, so her pictures are nice and clear. I would message her for more, but I don’t think Verizon has that great of service.”

She can’t help but chuckle at her own bad joke. Edward, it seems, couldn’t care less -- entranced as he is by the colorful images of the coral reefs and the sponges sprouting from the USS Spiegel Grove’s rusted frame.

“These paintings are exquisite.”

“Pictures,” she corrects.

“You say that as if I’m to know what it means,” he counters.

She swipes to a selfie her sister had taken, the image capturing little else but their masks and the blue world around them. The next photo is better: a full-body shot of Elena in her wetsuit and gear, a cloud of bubbles floating above her head. “I suppose this explains you being such a strong swimmer, when you jumped in after Ginny.”

She shrugs at the veiled compliment and returns the phone to her pocket, avoiding his intense look that she can feel burning into the side of her head.

“Well, swimming in thirty-foot waves is a bit different from the calm waters of Key Largo, but thanks.”

Edward reaches down and skims two fingers under her chin. He tips her head up to meet his gaze, his dark eyes flashing with certainty.

“Make no mistake, though: I am to see that you do not perform such a stunt again.”

Elena knocks his hand away; irritation bubbles up inside her, heating her cheeks and neck.

“I wasn’t performing. I’m not the Wonder Twins. And I’d do it again, if Ginny or anyone else went overboard. Even for you.”

His expression sharpens, his mouth twisting into a frown. She crosses her arms across her chest and serves him a look right back. Whatever he’s about to say, she cuts off as she continues, “Just because I haven’t been sailing the high seas or… or crossed swords with some real buccaneers as long as you all have been doesn’t mean I’m not capable. I fought Robert and won -- I even got his fancy-schmancy sword -- and I sailed our ship through a storm, didn’t I? You need to learn to trust me and-- and… why are you smiling?”

The irritation fades from his face in one fell swoop, there and then gone, replaced by a soft smile that he seems to reserve only for her.

“Something you said, Miss McTavish.”

“I said a lot of things,” she points out. Despite the opening she leaves dangling for him, he doesn’t elaborate. She’s not sure why she expected him to; the man is stubborn to a fault. “Okay, fine. You can keep your charming and mysterious act. You certainly have it down pat.”

“As you do with your… turns of phrase.”

The tension between them cools, aided by the winds that blow towards them from the north. Elena settles at his side once more, the railing at her back. He gives a cursory glance over the horizon.

“You know,” she says, “I realized today that I never said thank you.”

“For what?” he returns his sights to her, curiosity warming his eyes.

“For getting me the hell off the Admiral’s ship. I knew he wasn’t a stand-up guy when he shot one of his own men, but knowing what I know now, I’m especially grateful.” She reaches out to touch his wrist, squeezing it for a long beat. Edward brings his other hand up and covers hers. “I know you took a risk, not knowing if I was a navy spy, but you brought me aboard anyway.”

“Even when we made you stand trial to prove such innocence?”

“Do you think I would’ve been given such a chance on his ship?” she asks, her tone thick with sarcasm.

“No, I do not.” Edward’s face darkens for a moment. “A man capable of such depravities would have treated you… terribly, no doubt.”

“Hey, like I said: white dude of high rank in the eighteenth century? He’s got about a two percent chance of not being an awful person.”

“You--” Edward pauses, lowering his voice as he continues, “are things… different, in your time?”

Elena bites at her lip, wondering how much she should divulge about the twenty-first century. Hope works much better if the outcome is still uncertain, and she doesn’t want to dash any he has for his own future.

“Different, sure, but also very much the same. There’s a famous expression: ‘those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.’ It’s -- let’s just say it’s been accurate more than once or twice.”

“I’ve never heard of such a phrase, but I understand its meaning rather well.”

“And, hey, that’s the second time now that you’ve referred to my ‘situation,’” she marks the term with air quotes. “Does that mean you believe me?”

Edward makes a show of heaving out a sigh. “I am making a valiant effort to do so. Your box certainly helps your case. It -- all of it -- ‘tis still rather wonderful and strange, though.”

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Edward, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

“You’ve read Hamlet?”

“I’m an actor by trade. Of course I’ve read it. And by read it, I mean that Shakespeare’s works were forced on me in every English class in school.”

That gets an exasperated chuckle out of him. She can’t help the smile that forms; she really enjoys the sound of his laughter. For as much as he tries to play up the stoic, unfeeling pirate captain, he seems to lose the battle whenever she’s around. “It’s all right, you know, if you don’t believe me. I know this is kinda crazy.”

The humor on his face is there one second and then gone the next.

“’Tis… not that.”

“Then what is it?”

No answer comes.

“Charlie was right,” she teases, knocking her elbow into his. “You’re really not great at changing the subject.”

That gets her a snort of amusement, but nothing more. Before she can prod, a cold gust of wind sings through the rigging, whipping up past them and sending her hair into disarray. Despite the residual heat of the sun-warmed railing, Elena can’t help but shiver, and hugs herself to conserve what little heat she can. Edward wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her close, his hand running up and down her back with gentle strokes. Her heartbeat quickens at the gesture, now familiar since he helped pull her up out of the raging waters.

“I apologize, Miss McTavish. I shouldn’t have kept you up here so long. You should go down to the galley -- you missed dinner, after all, while on watch. Can’t have you on a chameleon diet. And you’ll be much warmer down there.”

Elena shakes her head and reaches up, placing a hand on the warm plane of his chest where his shirt parts. His breath catches under her palm.

“No, I’m alright. I’m glad you were the next on lookout duty, actually. I wanted to ask you a question.”

“Ask away.”

“Do you really think the Admiral cares about getting his property back?” Edward’s body tenses under her touch; she shoves down the wiry ball of nerves in her stomach at the movement. “That lieutenant I ran into, he didn’t mention anything about--”

“Need I remind you of what I promised on our walk from the mayor’s estate?” he interrupts.

Confusion sweeps through her. Elena quirks her head to the side, trying to connect the dots between that conversation and her current fears. “You are no man’s property,” he spits, his voice gone rough from obvious fury. “And for as long as you are here, you are under my protection.”

The wave of realization hits her.

“I was, uh, talking about the compass.”

“Ah.” He sucks in a deep breath and lets it out. The hard line of his shoulders softens. “I… see.”

“But it was interesting, to say the least, to see you puff up like that. I’m sure it would make any other lass swoon. I mean,” she lifts her hand from his chest and holds her thumb and pointer finger inches apart, “I was this close.”

He rolls his eyes at her. “Aye, I’d pay top coin to see you swoon.”

“I can think of a few things you could do to make that happen,” she teases.

Edward takes her hand in his and drops a kiss to her knuckles. Before that familiar swell of longing in her chest can rise, though, he shakes his head.

“I will not risk it.”

“You would sail your ship into every storm across the Caribbean, but this,” Elena glances down to their entwined hands, “you won’t take a chance on?”

“That should tell you how serious I am.”

“I can’t follow your line of thinking, Edward. Do you think the Admiral will suddenly know? That he’s some omniscient god, overseeing all that goes on?”

“People are fond of gossip.”

“Who? What people? Because if it’s the crew, I trust them with my life, just like you do, and I don’t--”

“Not them. But anywhere we’d go, we’d have eyes on us -- eyes that could report back to the Admiral. And if we were -- there would be no world where I wouldn’t want to have you by my side.”

“But we--”

“Jealousy is a hideous trait to have, but I’m afraid I would not be able to stop it from affecting my actions. I’ve seen the people at port, the way they flirt with you.” Edward frowns at the dark sea ahead. “You don’t think I wouldn’t challenge anyone who tried to -- to woo you? I would not be able to stand idle while--”

Elena barks out the short laugh she’s been holding in. “What is so humorous?”

“Because you already do all that.”

Self-awareness rushes in like the tide, flooding his brain. His jaw goes slack, as does his hand in hers, before he collects himself. Elena feels pinned under those eyes of his. She watches them drop down to her lips before returning to her gaze.

“May I?”

“You really have to ask?”

“Aye, of course.”

He starts to say more -- probably a long-winded explanation about his gentlemanly values -- but she’s waited too long for this to be delayed another second. Elena leans up and silences him with a kiss. He doesn’t turn and flee, like she expects; when he breaks the kiss for air, she gets but a second to collect her own breath before his lips return to hers. She hums her encouragement when he lets go of her hand to sink his fingers into the loose wave of her hair.

His lips, cold from the ocean breeze, warm under hers. Elena finds that his kisses are exactly like him: brash, and quick, and intoxicating, with the slightest hint of steel. When she draws her tongue against him, she can taste spiced rum and saltwater. He growls from the deep well of his throat when she bites down on his heavy, bottom lip. His arm cinches tight around her waist and hauls her against him; their bodies meet in a delicious roll of pressure.

“Miss -- Miss McTavish--”

“Elena,” she corrects, her hand skating up his back, searching for purchase so she can drag him closer.

“Elena.”

His breath is hot against her skin where his lips trace the line of her jaw. The world dips and sways suddenly, the railing digging into her back. She clings to him when the sensation of weightlessness shoots up her spine.

It takes her a moment to register that it's only the ship underneath them, crossing over a rough wave. Concerned that she’ll end up pitching over to the deck eighty feet below, he picks her up and spins until her back meets the mast. Elena reaches for the lapels of his coat, but he’s faster, and snatches her hands in one of his and pins them above her head.

“I have dreamed of this,” he murmurs, skimming the pads of his callused fingers along her throat, his mouth trailing behind with fervent, open-mouthed kisses.

She swallows back the moan that wants to form. A shiver dances under her skin, now damp from his attention.

“I have too,” she admits with a sigh. “Except mine deserve an NC-17 rating.”

“You know I don’t understand what that--”

“I certainly fuckin’ can!” someone shouts from below.

The wonderful spell they’ve found themselves under shatters. The voice might as well have been a gunshot, with the way Edward leaps back from her. Elena mourns the loss of his mouth on her as she adjusts her waistcoat and smooths down her hair.

Flipping and tumbling their way across the deck, Ada and Ax continue their argument about who can reach the top of the main mast first. Charlie, Jonas, and Ginny trail behind them, wagering their bets. Maggie’s thick accent carries across the ship, telling them off for circusing about, and ordering them to stay away from the rigging.

It’s not as if their tryst could have continued much longer, Elena considers, given that the crow’s nest wasn’t exactly a secluded spot. The twins make a good show of pouting, but eventually head for their quarters, Ginny giggling as Ax twirls her round.

“Maggie deserves a raise,” Elena tells him.

“Because she knows how dangerous ‘tis for them to be climbing about with no light?”

“Because she knows they would’ve caught us up here, making out like a pair of horny teenagers.”

“Ah. You--” his hand lifts in an aborted move towards her before he redirects it through his tousled hair. “--you should get down to the galley. I’m sure Henry is waiting on you, by now.”

“Okay,” she says, because it’s the only thing to say. Swinging down onto the rope ladder, Elena starts to descend but pauses, peeking over the railing to catch his eye. “But don’t think this conversation between us is over.”

“Aye.” A wry grin flickers across his face. “I know much better than to assume that.”

Edward is right -- about the food, at least.

When she makes it down to the galley, Henry sits her down with a covered plate. Well, as covered as it can be with the dirty rag he’s thrown over it. She’s learned not to make a fuss, though, especially to the man cooking the food.

“Thanks for keeping it warm for me.”

“Took ye long enough,” Henry huffs, but makes a show of looking over his shoulder at her. His face, streaked with ash that he sifts with a makeshift poker, makes it easier to spot his sly grin. “Find somethin’ interestin’ up there, hmm?”

“I was distracted by the view.” Which is the truth, although she doesn’t include that Edward’s lips were part of said view.

“Nothin’ beats a clear night at sea, to be sure.” Swinging the stove door shut with a satisfied grunt, he jerks his chin towards a small barrel on the nearby shelf. “Charlie made some punch, if ye want more’n water to wash yer food down.”

She shakes her head; she’d made the mistake once of drinking their ‘punch.’ It put the jungle juice she drank back at college parties to shame. Charlie now called it Caribbean moonshine, thanks to Elena and her fiery round of swearing after taking a sip.

With the comforting noise of Henry’s humming as he cleans up, she takes a seat on the tin-lined floor and eats her dinner. Not for the first time, she notes Maggie’s touch in the confined space. Fitted across the shelves are iron bars to keep the contents from taking a tumble in rough waters. Tied round the necks of bottles with twine, scraps of parchment label each oil and spice in her spidery handwriting.

“I worked up a new dessert for ye to try, if ye’d like.” He produces a bowl of something that might come out the other end of her garbage disposal back home. Elena inspects the concoction with interest. “I boiled some hard tack in a little bit o’ rum and brown sugar, and then boiled mangoes with some sugar to mix in with it.”

“Ooh, like a compote?”

“Aye, sorta.”

In another world, three hundred some-odd years in the future, she could easily imagine Henry with a cafe or food truck, selling ‘deconstructed desserts’ and other kitschy items. Scooping up a sample, she’s surprised at the delicious flavor of it. The enjoyment on her face must be obvious, because a grin appears behind the ash. “Good, init?”

“Really good! Except, and this is going to sound weird, but maybe add a pinch of lime juice? I think it would really bring out the sweetness of the mango more.”

“Yer right, lass. That might do. And then maybe I can finally get the others to try it.”

“I’ll vouch for you,” she promises after sampling another portion. “Unless I die of food-poisoning tonight, and then you’re shit outta luck.”

Henry shakes his head and huffs out a laugh. “Edward’d have my head first.”

“Did he at least try it?”

“I doubt he would’ve, if he’d come down for dinner at all. Too busy broodin’ in his cabin, I suspect.”

Elena hands off her empty plate when he motions for it. Curiosity, instead of hunger, gnaws at her insides.

“Can I take this with me?” she gestures to the bowl in her hands.

“Aye, have the rest of it -- and see if ye can convince the cap’n to get in a few bites, hmm?”

She doesn’t bother asking him how he knows where she’s going; the rest of the crew isn’t as blind as Edward claims them to be. “But if ye break it, yer buyin’ me a new one.”

“Deal. Thanks, Henry!”

Elena climbs up to the deck carrying her pilfered bowl.

From where she’s manning the wheel, Charlie throws her a two-fingered salute from the bridge. High overhead, Jonas wishes her goodnight from his post in the crow’s nest. Grateful that she won’t have to try holding onto the bowl while climbing up the rope ladder, she continues on towards the stern.

“What can I do for you, Miss McTavish?” Edward asks before his door is fully open.

“How’d you know it was me?”

He shoots her a deadpan look. Moving aside to allow her entry, he shuts the door behind her.

“No one else would dare bother a captain’s sleep, lest there was an emergency.”

“Henry told me you skipped dinner, so I brought you something to eat.” Elena gestures to the bowl in her hand. Stepping close to give it a thorough once-over, Edward grimaces.

“I will take my chances with starvation.”

“Hey,” she scolds, “it isn’t that bad.”

He does a double-take between her and the food. “You ate it?”

“In college, I once ate stale Wheat Thins drizzled with an expired bottle of honey mustard. And before you say anything,” she holds up a hand to stop the statement she knows is coming, “I know you don’t know what either of those are, but trust me: it was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever eaten.”

“And this bowl of slop is better than that?”

“If it weren’t, would I be forcing you to eat it?”

He mutters something under his breath, too faint for her to catch, but seems to concede. After a brief hesitation, he takes the bowl and spoon she offers him and shovels in a mouthful of the mixture. His eyebrows pinch down at the initial taste, and then lift in bewilderment.

“Not bad, right?”

“Not… horrible, no.” He sounds just as surprised as he looks. “This is one dessert of Henry’s that I may live to tell the tale of.”

“Good. But that’s not the only reason I came.”

“Aye, would it have anything to do with continuing our conversation from earlier?”

“All that time, Robert was accusing me of being a witch, but here you are, able to read minds.”

Edward gives a soft snort at that, collapsing into his chair. The desk in front of him is littered with maps and parchments and various trinkets. Elena crosses the room and comes round the side of the desk, taking in the starry view from the windows. Out of the corner of her eye, she watches the spoon swirl round and round in the gruel as he assesses her.

“Ye would’ve been a good jester, Miss McTavish, in a previous life.”

“It’s just us,” she murmurs. “You can drop the surname.”

“No, I can’t.” The grief in his voice is as clear as a bell. “In another life, yes, but here--”

“--here,” she interrupts, turning at the waist to study him, “in your cabin, alone. Not even then?”

Edward sets the bowl down onto the desk and glares at the floorboards. “We can’t let our emotions cloud our judgement.”

Folding her arms across her chest, she lifts a single brow at his attempt to backtrack.

“Says the man hell-bent on playing cat-and-mouse with an enemy to exact revenge on him for something he clearly feels guilty about? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.”

His gaze shoots up to her, those dark eyes of his flashing in the candlelight. “That phrase I indeed do know.”

“Then you should know that you can’t kiss me like the world is ending, and then shoe-horn me back into a neat, little box, Captain Mortemer.” Elena doesn’t see it coming, she’ll admit that. She’s too busy ranting at the starry night, too pissed off with the man beside her, too afraid she’ll lose the runaway train of her thoughts if she focuses on him and sees all the emotions he claims to be above, all that longing and heartache and desire, painted across his face. “Since you’re so insistent on using surnames to avoid--”

In the second it takes her to draw a breath, Edward surges out of his chair and crosses to her. In the next, his lips are on hers. That passion she saw the mere beginnings of up in the crow’s nest roars with intensity. He cups her cheek and tilts her head just so, deepening the kiss; she can taste the mango’s sweetness on his tongue.

All at once, he pulls away. She mourns the loss of him with a quiet moan.

“My -- my apologies. I’m--”

Before he can worry himself into the ground with another fit of propriety, Elena holds up a finger to his lips.

“Stop being so polite and kiss me again.”

That familiar grin breaks free, lighting up his face with a naked delight that sends her heart racing.

“As you command.”

His mouth claims hers again. A muscled arm circles her waist, one hand splaying wide across her back to pull her close. She comes easily, readily into his embrace. His shirt twists in her hand where she holds on for dear life, parting for a quick breath of air, before diving back in. His other hand strokes a molten path up from her waist, brushing over the beaded point of her nipple. The moan she releases is louder this time, wanting more than anything for him to do it again.

For all his faults, he’s no fool. Sure, he takes his sweet time with it, dragging his fingertips along her collarbone and up into her hair to push the blonde curtain back, but he eventually makes his way back down. Cupping her breast, his thumb rubs circles against her -- even through the layers of lace and cotton, Elena’s breath catches at the immediate flare of pleasure.

Emboldened by her response, Edward backs her up against the cool, glass panes, his mouth leaving hers to suckle at her throat. Elena tips her head back, her lips parting as his stubble prickles against her skin. His thumb works steadily over her and she’s dizzy with the primal need to have him.

Braced by the window behind her, she hooks a leg up and around his ass. He needs no more encouragement to invade the space she’s created, his hips rocking tentatively against hers. Frustrated with the buffer of all her layers, Edward retreats to the buckle at her waist, his eyes searching hers.

“May I?”

Elena swallows to free the words from her throat, but they won’t come; instead, she nods her permission. The belt hits the floor with a thwack. Her waistcoat comes next, which she tosses off with a flourish. Edward captures her hands and tugs off her gloves. Spotting the gleam in his eye, Elena distracts him with a roll of her hips and frees her hands, chuckling when he mutters a curse at her.

“You’re a cunning lass.”

“I can’t wait around for you to strip me of my garments.” Her fingers making quick work of the corset’s laces. “Besides,” she drawls, “between the two of us, I’m probably the one with more experience taking off a lady’s corset.”

His eyebrow raises in response to her claim. The image of her and another tangled together plagues him; his jaw clenches tight at the thought.

“That may be so,” he growls, reaching down for his own shirt and tearing it off, “but it won’t be their names you’ll be calling soon enough.”

Her blood flash boils at the promise. She grabs the hem of her blouse and yanks it up over her head.

“Jealousy is a good look on you,” she teases, tracing the line of his jaw with her fingernail.

Seizing her hand, he laces their fingers together and presses a kiss to her wrist. Goosebumps raise across her skin as his mouth trails from the tendons in her forearm to the curve of her shoulder. Nudging her bra strap down, Edward continues his trek to the rosy flush blooming across her chest.

Not one to play the passive participant, Elena cards a hand through his shoulder-length locks and nudges him down. He takes the cue and moves further south; she whimpers at the wet heat of his mouth closing over the lace of her bra.

“God, stop teasing and--” her gasp echoes across the cabin at the sharp bite of his teeth closing around her nipple. His tongue darts out, soothing any hurt, and turns to lave at her other breast.

Once she regains motor control, Elena unlatches her bra and flings it to what might possibly be the furthest reaches of the universe -- she doesn’t care, as long as Edward will keep doing wondrous things to her with that mouth of his.

“Miss McTavish,” he rumbles, tilting his head to run his stubble along her naked flesh, enjoying the ragged, little noises she makes. “You are well on your way to looking thoroughly ravished.”

Her wandering hand smooths over the tight curve of his ass and grabs hold. She smirks as he bucks up into her.

“Then get on with it, Captain.”

Deft fingers pop the button on her pants and dip down below the waistband. Elena stretches up and rests her bare shoulders against the glass, tipping her hips up to encourage his exploration. She cries out when he slides two fingers inside of her. He gives her a moment to adjust to the intrusion, nuzzling the curve where her neck meets her shoulder.

“I’ve long wondered,” he murmurs, his tongue skimming across the salty sweat of her skin, “what you taste like.”

At the sudden loss of his hand, Elena opens her eyes to tell him off for his teasing -- but her throat goes dry when he brings his fingers to his mouth and sucks them clean. It’s a long moment before her world centers on its axis once more for her to ask.

“How do I taste?”

“Decadent,” he growls.

Crowding against her, he props himself up with one hand spread wide against the window above her head, while his other draws a wet trail down her belly. A short grunt of pleasure sounds from both of them when he slips back inside her.

Elena reaches a shaky hand up to hook around his arm, her nails digging into the muscles there. Arousal clogs her veins like molasses -- slow and syrupy and sinfully sweet. The movement of her hips turns clumsy and erratic. Sweat beads across her forehead as his fingers work her open, the heel of his hand circling her with delicious pressure.

“Edward -- fuck, I--” she cries out.

“Will you come for me?” he asks, his gaze snapping to hers. Desire clouds his eyes, the brown irises eclipsed by the black of his pupils.

“Please--” he cuts off her begging with a kiss.

“Will you?”

“Yes,” she answers with a gasp.

Covering his hand with her own to guide him exactly where she likes, she stretches up for another kiss and grinds down against his hand. The heat inside of her reaches its critical point, flaring to life and scorching through her bloodstream. Clenching tight around him, her hips convulse as she rides out the quake of her orgasm.

Edward slides his fingers out, dropping a kiss to the crown of her head when she whines with oversensitivity. He brings her into his arms, smoothing a hand over her hair as her body shudders with the last of its tremors.

“Fuck,” she sighs, a delirious sort of giggle bubbling up. “Well, how do I look now?”

“Exquisite.”

Leaning down, he captures her lips with a kiss. She blames the blush from her recent orgasm.

“I think it’s my turn, then, to ravish you.”

“We don’t have to--”

Elena silences his gallant protest with a heady kiss, raking one hand through his hair. Her other runs along his side, where she hooks two fingers into his waistband and yanks him closer. Continuing down, she runs the flat of her palm against the obvious sign of his arousal. Edward groans into her mouth; he ropes an arm around her waist and carries her to the desk. With a wide sweep of his arm, he knocks documents and equipment to the floor before depositing her atop it.

“Careful!”

He jerks back at her yelp, casting a worried eye over her form. “Have I harmed you?”

“No, no -- I promised Henry I wouldn’t break his bowl.”

Edward rolls his eyes and grabs the dinnerware before she can reach for it, then tosses it to the floor.

“I will buy him a new one when we stop at the next-- why are you laughing?”

Elena shakes her head at him, avoiding any explanation by dragging his mouth back onto hers. It’s a rather effective technique, as she’s finding out tonight. Their remaining clothes join the messy pile on the floor. Edward huffs a laugh at her threat of injury if he rips her underwear, but seems to heed her words and takes care to drop them onto the desk. Moving into the space between her thighs, he grabs two handfuls of her ass and drags her closer. The soft giggle that sounds from her delights him; he leans down and savors the taste of it on her lips.

Elena’s hand wanders over his stomach and down the trail of coarse hair to take hold of him. He thrusts into her touch with a grunt, choking on an inhale when she twists her wrist on the next upstroke.

“May I have you?” he manages to rasp.

“You may,” she purrs, and guides him to her entrance.

With a surge of his hips, he plunges into the slick heat of her. At her gasp of encouragement, he slips out and then back inside, grinding his teeth against the clench of her. Pleasure is a ripple on the surface, building into a wave that banks higher and higher as they move together. The world outside slips from its perch, losing what little control it has over the confines of the cabin. There is only the two of them, lost in the frantic rocking of their bodies.

A shameless staccato of moans falls from her lips as he fucks her. Edward wraps a fist around a length of hair and pulls her head back, exposing the long line of her throat; he nips at her pulse point and then at her bottom lip, swallowing her cries of pleasure.

“If you shout any louder, the whole ocean’ll hear you,” he playfully scolds.

Spotting her opening, Elena tightens her legs around his hips and digs her heels into his lower back. Retaliation sings its sweet tune as she jerks him forward on top of her, the both of them crashing back onto the desk.

“Don’t underestimate me.”

“Nay, I would never.”

Edward props himself up with one hand next to her head, his other clamped firmly around her thigh as he drives into her, the angle somehow that much sweeter. “God, but yer a pretty sight, spread underneath me.”

It’s impossible -- that she’s here, that the desk underneath her is scattered with papers that would be considered treasure in her time, would be framed in a museum and ogled by historians. A quill digs into her spine and she’s certain they’ve spilled a pot of ink, but Elena can’t find it in herself to care. If she’s lost in time, then at least she has Edward to guide her through it; her beacon of light, keeping her adrift, illuminating her way through the confusing, treacherous world she’s been transported to.

“Elena,” he gasps, his chest gleaming with sweat in the candlelight. “Elena.”

His hold slips from her thigh and down to where they’re joined, rubbing quick circles against her bundle of nerves. Whatever he’s asking of her, she gladly surrenders. The wave of her climax rushes over her, flooding her veins and drowning her with euphoria.

The sight of her lost in the throes of pleasure is an anchor; he sinks.

Edward curses with his release, collapsing beside her onto the desk. Their sweat-slick bodies heave as they catch their breath. Something catches flame in Elena’s chest and simmers there when he folds her into his embrace, his palm cradling her head against his chest. His heart thunders against her temple.

She sees no better time than now, lying naked in his arms.

“I have a question.”

He hums with what little strength he can gather for her to continue.

“When we were up in the crow’s nest, after discussing our love of Shakespeare--”

“--as I recall,” he interjects, “I am the only one who willingly read his works.”

Elena makes a waving motion with her hand, which would prove more effective if his fingers weren’t laced with hers.

“Whatever. What I want to know is, when I said that it was okay if you didn’t believe me, why that made you…?”

“Disquieted?” he finishes for her.

“Yeah.”

She can feel the weight of the sigh that empties out of him.

“Because I do believe you. Your mannerisms, your accent, your magic box with its…?”

“Pictures.”

“Pictures, aye. Everything about you should not fit here. But it does, you do. You’ve adapted remarkably well, given what’s happened to you. You are a strong woman, Elena.”

“I would blush, but I’m too tired from our activities.”

He brushes a kiss against the crown of her head and huffs out a laugh.

“Yet, despite how well you’ve adapted, I know that this is not your home. Your true home, that is. I promise you, once we stop the Admiral, I will do everything in my power to send you back home. But, I confess, I will be… terribly upset to see you go.”

Tears prickle at the corners of her eyes; she shuts them against the fading candlelight.

“Me too.”

His palm skims up and down the soft skin of her back, marred here and there by the cuts and scrapes from life aboard his ship.

“Stay.”

For a terrifying moment, Elena isn’t sure what he means -- and is terrified all the more that she isn’t sure if she wants to return home, at least not so soon. Realizing that he’s probably (hopefully) meaning for the night, she musters up a reply.

“The crew will talk.”

Edward scoffs. “They do little else.”

Her shoulders shake from her smothered laughter.

“Is this what passes for pillow talk in the eighteenth century?” she wonders aloud, making a show of stretching and enjoying the noise of interest he makes. “But yeah, okay, I’ll stay. I might even make it worth your while.”

“Of that, I have no doubt.”

References: an LMFAO song (it was between theirs or Will Smith’s “Miami,” but MC skews younger to me, so I went with the former), a line from Peter Pan, the ‘those who forget history are doomed to repeat it’ is actually a misquote, but I consider it enough of a ref to list it here. There’s a few slang terms from 17th/18th century and various pirate research sprinkled throughout. The USS Spiegel Grove is a real artificial reef, located off the shore of Key Largo. You can dive it with an OWD certification, though it’s recommended to have an AOWD to properly explore it. ~~the more you know~~

Thanks for reading!

#edward x mc #edward mortemer #distant shores #edward x f!mc #playchoices #f: surrender #Kaila writes things #choices

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fics-and-shits · 5 years ago

Text

Marvel Fic Recs

***smut

Tom Holland x Reader

Oneshots

The Interview (Actress!Reader) by @bigballofstress

You’re Tom Holland’s costar and girlfriend since the end of Civil War. Usually, you go on interviews together, but this time, you are requested alone on Ellen.

Cinderella (Actress!Reader) by @thewackywriter

Who knew that going to another boring award show and walking around barefoot would lead her right to her Prince Charming?

Drop the Mic by @young-and-bitchy

You’re in a rap battle with Tom Holland.

Vlogs by @spideyyeet

Being in the vlog squad was dope af but having David Dobrik run into Tom Holland and getting him to surprise you was a whole other thing. Now let’s see what’s it like to have Tom meet the vlogsquad and be with the girl that’s making him rethink some decisions.

Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Oneshots

Send to All Pranks (Actress!Reader) by @thrandybaby

You’re a British actress appearing on the Michael McIntyre Chat Show, but hilarity ensues at your expense when you accept the challenge to play the infamous ‘Send to All’ prank.

Morning After by @mindrunningfree

After a drunken night out, you wake up in a stranger’s bed, and on a scale of one to ten, your level of confusion is a fifteen.

Platonic!Avengers Cast x Reader

Oneshots

Beliefs (Teen!Reader) by @supersoldierfreak

A group press conference with the Avengers cast where you reveal your political views.

Sleeping Beauty by @chrixa

You didn’t know that the Avengers cast can also be called sneaky paparazzi. Also you love sleeping. Who doesn’t, right?

Handmade With Love by @capsicletho

Christmas is the time to give your loved one some gifts. What happens when you give your famous second family something handmade?

Clint Barton x Reader

Series

Agent 41 (Agent!Reader) by @nacho-bucky

An easily-distracted SHIELD agent with a sweet tooth and too many pairs of sneakers. Nothing ever quite works out the way she wants. But hey - it does work out! Usually

Peter Parker x Reader

Oneshots

Clingy Peter Parker by @spider-bih

A clingy Peter Parker and the reader loves it

Anything For You by @pparkerwrites

Introducing Peter Parker, dog whisperer by day, Spiderman and dog whisperer by night.

Series

Far From You Trilogy and Blurbs by @hey-marlie

Y/N Stark is really not here for this European school vacay because in this post-endgame world, she’s mourning the loss of her dad. But one (1) sticky boi Peter Parker is just trying to be the friend he once was while also trying not to flirt too much because if she rejects him (which she wouldn’t, not that he knows that) while they’re in Venice, holy hell he’ll just pitch himself off the gondola right then and there.

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Oneshots

Sparks (Enemies to Lovers AU) by @sunriserose1023

You and Bucky started off on the wrong foot and it’s just been downhill ever since, and the last time you gave him a chance, you ended up with five broken ribs. It’s just not meant to be.

Cheap Thrills by @avengerofyourheart

A bet within the Avengers becomes a battle of the sexes, with you at the center of it. Who will be victorious and could it somehow help you snag the man of your dreams?

Air B&E (Enemies to Lovers AU) by @avengerofyourheart

When a mission requires close proximity with your least favorite teammate, you try to make the best of it, but a change in plans adds new challenges and possibly a new opportunity.

Notebook (College AU) by @softlybarnes

Bucky and Y/N sit next to each other all semester. They never talk to each other, until one day they do.

The Florist // The Beekeeper // The Pumpkin Carver (Enhanced!Reader) by @softlybarnes

Bucky and Y/N make flower crowns together. Both reveal more than they plan to.

Freckles (Drunk!Reader) by @softlybarnes

The Reader likes Bucky’s freckles a whole lot.

The Regular by @brooklyn-boy

Bucky Barnes is a regular at your bar. He comes in, he makes sure trouble stays away, and then he leaves. This really wouldn’t be a problem if he weren’t so good looking and you weren’t totally in love with him.

Fourth Time’s the Charm by @brooklyn-boy

Bucky remembers the three times he meets a certain thief, and is blindsided by the fourth.

Trepidation by @brooklyn-boy

You’re rescued from HYDRA by the Avengers, only to be met with a ghost of the past in the form of Bucky Barnes. They tell you he was brainwashed, that it wasn’t him, but you aren’t so sure.

Blink Twice by @brooklyn-boy

Zemo kidnaps Bucky and injects him with some sort of drug that paralyzes him and takes away his ability to speak. He’s meant to die alone, in a ditch like he was supposed to back in 1944. But then someone finds him…

Uptown Boy (30s AU) by @brooklyn-boy

You’ve spent so long pretending to be a selfish, conceited, spoiled little rich girl that somewhere along the way, the line was blurred. Now faced with an ultimatum, you have to decide if your pride is worth the only person who’s ever truly loved you.

The Scoop (POC Journalist!Reader) by @brooklyn-boy

Bucky Barnes laments the fact that every single person he cares about is a dumbass when it comes to their own personal safety. He also hates every single journalist, newscaster or reporter he’s ever met until you.

Who Are You Trying to Fool by @notimetoblog

A perfect chance of messing with new recruits presents itself to Bucky. Can he pull it off or will you foil his plan?

We’re Gonna Need a Bigger House by @sunmoonandbucky

You find the courage to tell Bucky about your latest ultrasound.

But Here I Am (Agent!Reader) by @sunmoonandbucky

After years of being separated from the Avengers, Bucky finds you during a job.

Take it Easy, Romeo by @sunmoonandbucky

The Soldat remembers one person through it all.

***A+ (Dark!Professor Bucky x CollegeAged!Reader)by @chixkencxrry

You thought that all your credits had been complete, but a glitch in the system forces you to take a summary course in order for you to graduate. Insert Professor Barnes, your history professor who’s a total ass.

A Year of Firsts (College AU) by @whitewolfbumble

Part One // Part Two

It wasn’t supposed to be a year of firsts, but then you met Bucky and everything started to fall into place.

13 Cats and a Sorceress by @kentuckybarnes

Beings from another dimension start to invade New York City, and cats invade Avengers Tower.

Sounds Like a Personal Problem (Law Firm AU) by @kentuckybarnes

Part One // Part Two

“Remember that favor you owe me?” “Uh-oh”

Pulling Rank (Agent!Reader) by @kentuckybarnes

A mission has gone badly, and you have a reckoning.

Start With My Name (Medic!Reader) by @kentuckybarnes

Part One // Part Two

Things get out of hand at a strike mission against Hydra, and you’re responsible for cleaning up the mess.

It Doesn’t Mean Anything (Until it Does) (Agent!Reader) by @cordytriestowrite

The things that you and Bucky do don’t mean anything so just drop it okay?

Vulnerability (Modern AU) by @mareli-carter

“We’re both in small claims court and I got into a huge fight with the person suing me but you stepped in to hold me back before security got there.”

Important by @mareli-carter

“I did that annoying thing where I put loads of smaller boxes inside one big box, and you’re getting really mad, but I can’t wait to see your face when you open the smallest box.”

Two Punks In Love (40s AU) by @jaamesbbarnes

Years go by but the way you and Bucky care for each other doesn’t change. You’re still the punk who starts fights with anyone breathing in the wrong direction, he’s still a charming little fucker.

Bulletproof (Agent!Reader) by @jaamesbbarnes

You and Bucky are the most competitive little shits there ever was.

Fair Play (Agent!Reader) by @jaamesbbarnes

After a rough mission, you and the team go to Coney Island for some fun. Still injured, you can’t go on the rollercoaster with the others so Bucky decides to keep you company and to make your day as memorable as possible.

Saving the Day by @jaamesbbarnes

On your way back home, you are being followed by a couple of creeps. When your eyes fall on the most impressive and handsome Avengers, you don’t think twice and find yourself a fake boyfriend and savior.

I’m Not Going Anywhere by @jaamesbbarnes

Working for Stark isn’t always a walk in the park, it’s exhausting. But a certain super soldier and his constant flirting make it bearable.

Emergency Room (Doctor!Bucky) by @jaamesbbarnes

Who would have thought that going to the ER could made a bad night turn pretty nicely?

Series

Holiday Heist (Thief!Bucky, Modern AU) by @avengerofyourheart

When the art gallery you manage is robbed on Christmas Eve, you suspect the handsome stranger who flirted with you earlier in the day, but instead of involving the authorities, you take matters into your own hands with surprising consequences.

Flour Girl (Enemies to Lovers AU) by @avengerofyourheart

Discovering the cute guy you just flirted with is the heir of a rival bakery, you suddenly find yourself running into him all over the city. Can your small boutique bakery compete? And how do you deal with the guy who seems determined to make your life a living hell? Luckily you’re distracted by a secret admirer…But who is he?

Playing With Fire (Modern AU) by @sunriserose1023

Some things just do not mix. Oil and water. Fire and gasoline. You and Bucky Barnes. When it was good, it was great, but when it was bad, it destroyed everything in its path. You’d tried–both of you had–but some things just aren’t meant to be. A year after your break up, Bucky gives you a call, and you willingly dive headfirst back into his orbit. You set boundaries this time, put up walls, determined to keep yourself from being burned again. You’re not about to let him get too close. Only problem? Bucky didn’t get that memo.

***Incubus (Incubus!Bucky) by @after-avenging-hours

When some of the best sex of your life leads to the unveiling of a world you barely even knew existed, you know you’re in a heap of trouble. James Buchanan Barnes is the kind of man that fills your deepest and darkest fantasies, mainly because he is one. When emotions get involved in a relationship that’s been founded on sex, there’s no turning back. And honestly, you’re not even sure if you want to.

***Disney Corruption by @after-avenging-hours

Bucky joins you for your late-night Disney movie sessions. It’s difficult for him to get through them without finding the sexual innuendos

***Hunter!Bucky by @after-avenging-hours

Bucky is part of the hunting party for the village. One day, he catches you in the woods, long after you should be tucked away, safe in the village.

Heartbeat (Soulmate AU) by @after-avenging-hours

Soulmate AU where your heartbeat matches the beat of your soulmate’s; they speed up together, slow down together, skip at the same time, but that means they also stop together…

I’ll Be Seeing You by @brooklyn-boy

The Howling Commandos come across a tortured Italian woman in the winter of 1944. With only rudimentary means of communication, Sergeant Bucky Barnes still somehow finds himself falling in love.

Siren’s Song by @brooklyn-boy

The Avengers come across the profile of an enhanced individual, missing and presumed still under HYDRA’s control. With the power to bend anyone’s will with just a command, the team decides to prioritize freeing this individual. But trust is hard to earn from a former HYDRA asset. Nobody knows this more than Bucky.

Clan of Three (Mandalorian!Bucky) by @brooklyn-boy

Bucky Barnes is a Mandalorian bounty hunter. All he has to do is take this kid and her glorified babysitter back to the client and be done with it. That’s it. Simple?

Revival by @brooklyn-boy

Bucky returns to his childhood home only to discover its inheritor struggling to return it to its former glory. Luckily for you, Bucky’s memory isn’t that bad.

Compromised by @brooklyn-boy

As a Senator for New York, you’ve been fighting hard to have Sergeant James Barnes acquitted. An attempt on your life by a new terrorist sect brings you in contact with the Avengers themselves, and even closer to the man you’ve been working so hard to protect…

Uptown Girl (Millionaire!Bucky, Modern AU) by @brooklyn-boy

Epilogue

Bucky Barnes is a bit of an eccentric millionaire. He lives alone, aside from his housekeeper/personal assistant. When his mother tells him he needs to get married or be cut off, Bucky lies and tells his mother that his long-suffering assistant is his fiance.

Out of Time by @brooklyn-boy

On the run from HYDRA in 2023, you accidentally use your time-traveling technology to jump 80 years back in time. Safe for the time being and with Howard Stark vouching for the legitimacy of your time travel claims, you’re stuck in the SSR headquarters until you can fix your gear. Which wouldn’t be half as hard if a certain James ‘Bucky’ Barnes wasn’t so damn distracting…

Stereotypical (Model!Bucky, Modern AU) by @avasparks

As a PA/secretary, you are all too familiar with the fantasies nearly all men share: banging their hot assistant. Former jobs haven’t worked out for you for that exact reason, and now starting out at a new company, as the secretary for the CEO of the hottest modeling agency in the country, you’re hoping this one will be different. But after meeting your new boss, Mr. J.B. Barnes, you’re not so sure if it will be. Then again, maybe Mr. Barnes is not as stereotypical as you think he is.

Sugar (40s AU) by @softlybarnes

By a miracle of fate, Bucky Barnes does not fall off of the train. He does not spend decades as a brainwashed assassin. Instead, he goes home to Brooklyn to spend his life with a girl he adores, a snarky nurse that he met during the war.

Two Kingdoms (Royals AU) by @softlybarnes

Y/N, set to be a queen, is taken on her wedding day by King James, the ruler of another land. At first glance, James’ Kingdom seems to be thriving but Y/N soon realizes something darker and more sinister is at work in James’ land. And she seems to be at the center of it.

City Love (CEO!Bucky, Modern AU) by @chrevastan

You attend one of Natasha’s office parties against your will and end up meeting a charming stranger who turns out to be the person who runs the company.

Next to Me by @sgtjbuccky

After an attempt on you and your identical twin’s life, your father calls in the Avengers for protection. Bucky soon realizes your father’s goal is solely to keep you sister safe, and decides that the times of doing the bidding of others are long gone, and takes your protection into his own hands.

Most Wanted (Thief!Bucky, Modern AU) by @sgtjbuccky

The life you dreamed of wasn’t the one you lived. Day in and day out you tried to change the outcome, but somehow you always ended up right where you began. Fed up with it all, you wished upon a star and was granted with Bucky Barnes, and it wouldn’t take you long to realize that whatever mess you were about to get tangled up in, it would change your life entirely.

Merry and Married (Modern AU) by @sunriserose1023

It’s been almost a year since the most humiliating moment of your life. You’ve done your best to move on—by literally moving across the country, starting a new job, and you’re finally starting to feel settled. That, of course, is when your bubblehead cousin sends you the invitation to her wedding—which is exactly one year to the day that you were left at the altar. You have to go, but you don’t have to go alone.

Astrophile (Firefighter!Bucky, Single Dad AU) by @all1e23

Orion Rebecca Barnes’s favorite thing in the whole world (Besides her daddy of course) was spending hours after school in the bookstore by her house. Aunt Nattie takes her every time her dad has to work an overnight shift at the station and it’s her absolute favorite place. Plus, the owner GIVES her any book she wants because she’s the coolest girl Ori has ever met. It didn’t take long for Bucky to notice his daughter’s sudden interest in constellations and the large stack of astrology related books piling up in her room. He’s spent her entire life trying to teach her about the stars and where her name came from with little interest from his little comet and all of sudden she’s in love?

To Build a Home (Family AU) by @ussgallifreyfics

The glimpses into a life Bucky never thought was possible for himself. A world where he would find someone who he could love and be loved in return - a person he could start a family with. This is how an ex-assassin navigates the world of parenthood.

Not Happening (Modern AU) by @notimetoblog

An online dating site clearly makes a mistake when it matches you with the one person you cannot stand.

Hero For Hire by @delicatelyherdreams

Tired of constantly being sat on the sidelines for missions, Bucky Barnes decides that he’s going to do his own hero work and offer his services to the public as a freelance “hero for hire.” He expects to be asked to rescue cats from trees or help little old ladies cross the street, but he doesn’t expect to get tangled up in your life. He definitely doesn’t expect to fall for you either. But, when you’re a hero for hire, you’ve gotta see the mission through.

<<p>Stray by @jaamesbbarnes

When Bucky stumbles upon a stray cat near his building in Bucharest and takes him in, he doesn’t expect for his world to turn upside down.

Schlaflos (Rogers!Reader) by @mareli-carter

Steve’s younger sister, a nurse during the Second World War, finds herself in Hydra’s possession after trying to help the Howling Commandos save Bucky.

The White Wolf (Mobster!Bucky) by @captain-ariel-barnes

James “Bucky” Barnes is the most feared man in New York. What happens when a flower shop owner gets tangled up in his empire?

Sly as a Fox (Vigilante!Reader, SocialMedia AU) by @sunmoonandbucky

After the blip, the Avengers continue on with business as usual. But they soon find out that while they were away, someone took it upon themselves to do the job they left behind.

A Lesson in Love (College AU) by @buckyywiththegoodhair

In which you’re assigned to write a story about romance, a subject you know nothing about, and Bucky, a hopeless romantic, offers you his assistance.

***Artistic License (Sugar Daddy AU) by @cametobuyplums

Once upon a time in Paris, there was an aspiring creative down on her luck. What’s a beautiful young woman to do? Agree for the wealthy Bucky Barnes to be her Sugar Daddy, of course.

I’m With You (Modern AU) by @wkemeup

When two strangers meet on a layover in the Charlotte Airport, they are sent on a whirlwind weekend filled with cancelled flights, painful questions over giant checkers, an ex-boyfriend’s wedding, and a confrontational graduation. They find that a lifetime can sit in the span of three days and it doesn’t take very long at all to fall in love.

Flowers Bloom (Soulmate AU) by @revengingbarnes

Whenever someone is injured, flowers bloom on their soulmate at the area of the wound. You are born with flowers around your entire left shoulder.

Agent 28 (Agent!Reader) by @kentuckybarnes

He’s a Soviet-trained assassin. You’re a secret agent. He has a thing for thigh holsters. You have a thing for his behind (who doesn’t?) But it’s all hush-hush. What shenanigans will the two of you get into to keep your affair concealed from the rest of the Avengers, all while you’re trying to save the world?

Howler & The Black Cat (Vigilante!Bucky x Vigilante!Reader) by @kentuckybarnes

By day, you’re just another employee at Stark Tower. By night? A justice-seeker known as Black Cat. No one knows your secret, and certainly not your sometime partner in vigilante activity, sometime-pain in the butt Romeo, Howler. But no matter how hard he tries, you have no intention of giving in…

While You Were Sleeping (mentioned Steve Rogers x Reader) by @kentuckybarnes

Mistaken as Captain America’s girlfriend following a near-death experience, you keep up the pretense under the suspicious eyes of his best friend, Bucky Barnes. But soon you find out that Steve Rogers isn’t all he’s supposed to be, and somehow, Bucky is so, so much more.

Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree (40s!Bucky x OC) by @kentuckybarnes

In 1941 Brooklyn, a young woman spends her nights sneaking out of her parents’ house to play jazz piano at clubs. Although she disguises herself to keep out of trouble, it doesn’t fool everyone.

Sugar Daddy’s (Modern AU) cowritten by @kentuckybarnes and @nacho-bucky

Suave, confident, charming Bucky Barnes has a deep dark secret – and you, a small-town investigative journalist, are determined to get to the bottom of it. What lurks in his shadowed past, and how deeply will you be drawn in? Co-written with @caitfairwrites!

Seven-Thirty (Modern AU) by @nacho-bucky

You were planning on a productive — if lonely — weekend, but the little girl across the hall has different ideas about how you and Bucky Barnes should be spending your time.

Lemon Pie (40s AU) by @nacho-bucky

Moments measured in messy days and peaceful nights; in too-tart pies and slobbery toys. Bucky returns from war to find a life he never expected: a rich symphony of mishaps and mayhem and immeasurable love.

#fic recs #marvel #avengers fic #bucky barnes fic #clint barton fic #tom hiddleston fic #tom holland fic #peter parker fic #loki fic

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asgardianthot · 5 years ago

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A funeral chuckle (Sambucky AU) – Part 1

one / two / three

Summary: After the loss of a family member, Sam Wilson returns to his hometown, where an old crush awaits.

A/N: We keep tagging 'Sam Wilson is a good bro' but do we ever stop and wonder if Sam Wilson NEEDS a good bro? Wonder no more. Also, important note at the end.

Words: 3621

Warnings: grief, angst, closeted gay characters

Sam awaited for good news. Anything. There is something very cliché about sitting on your childhood bed, which every film director ever has had their take on; it is a place to reflect on your life, to question every decision you have made since you moved out, to long for lost memories of a simpler time, to feel small. That was certainly the case. Sam felt small. He used to believe the house wasn't big enough for both his and his father's ego, which was why the latter always occupied the bigger presence, but today, with his father gone, Sam stepped in as old and as successful as that room had ever seen him and still he felt smaller than ever.

Sitting on the bed, he fixed the hems of his jacket while waiting for good news. The tiniest information would do the trick. Even going online and finding out a dog had been rescued and adopted would be enough. Yet when he unlocked his phone, all that he found was grief and lament.

Messages including the phrases "my condolences", "your father was a great man", and "I am sorry for your loss" plagued his direct messages on every social media app. He couldn't get himself to reply to all of them. Most were just formalities, not truly heartfelt, so why should he dignify each and every single one of them with a response? Still, Sam Wilson was too polite not to, at least, stress about it.

Suddenly, a knock on his door made him stand up, and made the echo of distant voices hearable again.

"It's Steve." The man said from the other end of the door, "Can I come in?"

Sam opened the door instead, and welcomed his childhood friend with a tired expression.

"Hey." He made an effort to withstand a grateful grin.

"Hey, bud." The blonde dragged the words for as long as he hugged Sam, "How you holding up?"

"Good." He nodded, "Good."

Of course, they both knew there was an 'all things considered' hidden at the end of that. Steve gave him one last pat on the shoulder before they both stepped inside.

"Listen, take your time." Steve tried to appease him, "I just came to let you know everything’s ready. I think the entire town’s here already.”

Sam nodded again. Steve had showed up like an angel from heaven the second Paul Wilson died. He was Sam's closest friend and the only friend he kept from his hometown. Even though Steve had built a life just a few blocks away from the Wilson's, while Sam moved to Washington DC as soon as he graduated high school, they met as much as their distant living situations allowed them, and remained in touch on, at least, a monthly basis. He was like a son to Sam’s mother, and so naturally, he stepped into the grieving period and saved the day.

"Where's mom?" Sam asked.

"Downstairs. Bossing the caterers." Rogers replied as if they both were expecting that sort of behavior.

Disappointed but not surprised was a perfect way of describing Sam. He exhaled a tired scoff, thinking ‘that sounds like her’, for Darlene Wilson could be more than bossy; especially when it came to the art of culinary. But most importantly, she wanted to take care of things, even when she needed to. She would have cooked everything herself if Steve had allowed it. The latter had done ninety-nine percent of the work while Sam traveled from DC to his hometown, which meant handling the entire funeral, including the service, the catering, and all the energy-draining tasks.

"Thank you. For taking care of everything.” Sam said with honesty, and sounding as if he feared he could never repay his best friend, “I don't think I've thanked you properly."

However, the blonde shook his head, humbly.

"Don't worry about it, pal. That's why you got me.” He placed a hand on Sam’s shoulder, “All you gotta do is grieve and say hi to everyone. Leave the rest to me."

"Thanks." Sam took a deep breath, "I'm ready. Let's go."

As soon as the pair reached the bottom of the stairs, they noticed the amount of guests, all there to lament the death and celebrate the life of Minister Wilson. By how populated the house was, and how small the actual population of the town, one would think Steve was right when joking about the entire town attending. Hopefully, it didn’t take long to find the woman among the sea of tuxes and black dresses.

"Hi, mama." Sam approached her with a warm hug.

Darlene reciprocated tightly, then stepped back to hold her son’s face on her hands.

"Oh, my sweet boy.” She frowned with pity. “How'd you sleep?”

Unfortunately, she didn’t allow Sam to answer the question, for she was instantly distracted by a waiter carrying a tray of appetizers. Her loving expression quickly turned into one of extreme disapproval, probably judging every choice made by the people Steve had hired.

“No, that can't be right." The woman began.

"Mom." Sam glared, trying to stop her from going frantic.

"It's fine." Rogers backed Sam, using a tone that would hopefully tranquilize Mrs. Wilson.

Yet her eyes followed the waiter with concern, "No, they-"

"How 'bout we let them do their job?” Sam insisted, less lovingly now and more annoyed, “You know, cater? It's what we paid them to do."

"People are gonna think my food is that bad!" she protested.

Sam rolled his eyes, "You're a widow, no one cares about your food."

Steve stepped in as quickly as possible, in an attempt to cover-up his friend’s rudeness. If it hadn’t been for him, Darlene would have probably showed herself offended.

"He meant everyone knows your cooking is amazing.” He tilted his head to the side with a kind smile, “No one judges you for not doing the work yourself."

Eventually, the woman had to agree and stop worrying. She was merely freaking out as her way of grieving in such circumstances, after all, considering how many people expected things from the Minister’s widow. Allowing herself to leave the work to her boys, she placed a hand on her chest and nodded.

"Family's waiting to see you, Samuel." She said before moving to another group of people who wished to talk to her, although her expression remained rather distressed.

Sam did as told, in order to not upset his mother any further. He barely ever went back home. Usually, his parents flew to DC whenever they wanted to meet up, and so, the man would avoid every single person he grew up with –except for Steve and his close family– for a large amount of years, successfully.

He forced himself to receive a few family members’ condolences, plus engaging in small talk about his job, his life in the city and his lack of wife or girlfriend. When the townspeople began approaching him with their devoted speeches about Paul’s work at the local church and their religious beliefs on the dead man’s soul, Samuel had to escape.

He found his friend rather desperately, and placed a hand on his back to get his attention.

"What can I do?" he asked Steve when the latter turned to him.

"I have everything covered, don't worry." The blonde thought he had to calm Sam down.

Yet Sam knew for a fact that Steve had placed at least one person to do each task, almost professionally so. He had made sure to pay for the flowers’ people, gotten one of his friends to supervise them, sent his mom Sarah to check up on Darlene Wilson every ten minutes, etcetera. The service at the Wilson’s house was going according to plan like clockwork, and Sam was very much sure of it.

He just wanted to be busy. He wanted to escape the pitiful looks and the condescending words and the shoulder pats. He needed to get away, have something to focus on.

"No, I know, but what can I do?" he insisted.

Fortunately, Steve got the message. He nodded and thought for a second.

"Maybe help out in the kitchen?"

“Thanks.” Sam mumbled before heading for the kitchen.

Once in there, he saw the place practically deserted. A waiter walked out as soon as Sam stepped a foot inside, carrying a big tray of poured drinks, and left the room for one other person; he had his back to Sam, focused on the running water as he did the dishes, and wore tux pants along with a white dress shirt.

"Need a hand?" Sam offered to the man who was clearly a guest and not a part of the catering service, assuming by his clothing.

When the appellee turned around, it seemed like his chest heaved a painful breath that he didn’t allow himself to take. Sam, on his part, felt like all blood left his head. His heart skipped a beat as he processed the fact that the man in front of him was no other than his childhood crush, James Buchanan Barnes. No matter how obvious it had seemed to Samuel that he would be seeing old classmates and neighbors, he had absolutely blocked the existence of Bucky.

Perhaps because it reminded him too much of a time when he concealed his true identity from everyone; being a boy who’s attracted to boys in a small, conservative and mostly religious town was already hard, but being the minister’s son on top of that had always forced Sam to remain in the closet. That meant keeping all of his feelings for Bucky locked inside, especially around the crush himself. Unfortunately, both being Steve Rogers’ best friend never made it easy.

"Hey.” Bucky smiled minimally as he placed a dripping dish on the drying station, “Steve put me on dishes duty."

Sam nodded and approached him, still preferring to offer his help and stay in the kitchen with him than going back outside to the sea of chaos. So he grabbed a cloth from the top counter and began drying the wet dishes with it in order to make space for more plates and cups.

"James." He greeted the brunette, choosing to ignore the nickname Bucky, for it probably was just something left behind in his childhood, “Haven't seen you since High School."

"Yeah, I guess.” Bucky smiled, still focusing on his task, “So how've you been? I mean... I'm sorry. Sorry for your loss."

The immediate regret and embarrassment coming from Bucky after messing up his condolences and their reunion so royally made Sam smile.

"Thank you." He said in a tone that eased Bucky’s guilt and told him not to worry about it.

Still, he let out an awkward laugh, "I never know what to say in these things." He admitted.

The last sentence made a lot of sense to Samuel, not only because he himself didn’t know what to say about his father’s death –not even what to tell his own self–, but because he remembered that James’ father had died when he was only four years old. In fact, when Sam first met Bucky, the latter acted like he had never even had a dad. So it was only expected that Bucky felt weird about that kind of loss.

"I feel you.” Sam sighed, “All these people that haven't talked to me in years are... offering their help, their phone numbers, a shoulder to cry on. I don't know them, why would they ask me to stay in their house?"

Bucky cracked a chuckle, which was too joyful for the occasion, even coming from him.

“Small town brand.” He mocked the alleged grieving neighbors, “Everyone wants to cook you their best casserole."

Sam raised his eyebrows in agreement before engaging in a proper conversation, "You still live here?"

Although he felt the question sounded mean, like he was judging Bucky, he couldn’t really take it back or it would sound condescending (“I didn’t mean it like that, it’s fine if you still live in this shitty town.”) and that would be even worse.

"Yep. Well, I was in New York, but I came back last year. Moved into an apartment downtown... temporary roommate situation, and now I can't seem to move out.” James replied easily, as if he had prepared his ‘seeing your old crush after a decade’ speech with anticipation, “Where you at, these days?"

"DC. I work at Veteran's Affairs."

Barnes was about to ask more about that, having heard of Sam’s double tours in Afghanistan and desperately wanting to hear about his heroic job there, but was interrupted by Steve’s loud presence.

"I called it.” The blonde said as he approached his two best friends, “This place is turning into a high school reunion."

Both turned to face him, and suddenly their gut instinct of when they had to pretend not to be attracted to each other came back. They both checked to see if they were standing too close, or gazing into each other’s eyes, and put on an uninterested face for Rogers. Apparently, the body doesn’t forget.

"Who else came?" Sam asked out of impulse, for he didn’t truly care.

"Half of our senior class." Steve replied with a tone of disbelief and disappointment.

Bucky frowned, "What do they think this is, a casual gathering?"

Steve shook his head, the disgust towards insensitive townsfolk hitting too close to home, for the Wilsons had always been his family, and he despised whoever took the opportunity of Paul’s death to make an appearance. Samuel, however, wasn’t surprised, and had prepared himself for something like that; that didn’t mean he didn’t deeply appreciate Bucky standing up for the Wilson family. In fact, it brought a familiar flutter to Sam’s stomach.

"Anyway, Wanda's looking for you, Bucky." Steve informed the man.

As he heard the nickname, Sam felt bad for having called him James. It probably came off as distant, when he just wanted to be respectful and mature.

The man in question turned off the faucet and dried his hands on his black tux pants, before giving Sam a smile on his way out. The name Wanda echoed inside Sam’s brain; he wondered if she was his girlfriend, or maybe even his wife. As far as he could remember, Bucky never showed any romantic nor sexual interest towards women at all, but he also took in consideration that too many years had passed. He couldn’t pretend to actually know the man just because of what they shared during their teenage years. He could be an entirely different person for that matter.

As Bucky made his way to the front door, he saw Wanda standing outside through the side window. He opened up, making her smile exaggeratedly.

"I'm sorry, I locked myself out again." She cringed, hoping not to upset Bucky.

"You really need to stop losing your keys.” He said without much amusement.

"I know, I’m the worst roommate ever, I’m lucky you’re too lazy to move out.” The young woman recited the words she knew by heart, since Bucky enjoyed repeating them over and over again, “The keys?”

He sighed, reached for his back pocket, and handed the item to her, reluctantly.

“What time are you coming home?” Wanda asked while she safe-kept them inside her purse.

Bucky turned back to glance at the sea of guests.

“I don’t know, just leave them under the doormat.” He faced her again.

Wanda felt a little sad for his roommate, because he was helping out at some funeral, and that couldn’t be the most fun activity, but it also meant he probably wasn’t a stranger there. so, she switched to a kinder tone.

“Well, I’m ordering Chinese for two, you can reheat it whenever you get back. “ She offered with a small grin, earning a grateful nod from the man, “Can I ask who died?”

"Sam's dad.” He replied, only to raise the question ‘who’s Sam’ in Wanda’s face, “Just a high school classmate. Steve's best friend."

"I thought you were Steve's best friend.” She narrowed her eyes, but quickly opened them wide when she came to an impactful realization, “Oh my God, is it Sam, the guy you made out with?"

Bucky rolled his eyes, "Yeah, a billion years ago, just drop it."

"Okay.” She obliged with an amused frown, “Just don’t hit on a grieving man.”

“Bye, Wanda.” He shut the door on her face.

At the church, the attending townsfolk filled up every space inside. A large amount of black dresses and tuxes could be seen at the back of the venue, standing because they ran out of seats. As the priest recited his planned words on the wonderful man Paul Wilson had been, people nodded in agreement, with respect and enthusiasm. Some held worn tissues to their faces, drying practically unnoticeable tears in an attempt to never be seen not crying. Darlene Wilson allowed herself to tear up every other minute, but mostly remained calm and satisfied with the service.

But the pain in Sam’s chest was unbearable. He knew his mother wanted him to weep. She wanted him to be a good, sensitive man like his father taught him. But Sam always felt like he had to toughen up in front of Paul, as a way of overcompensating for his romantic attraction. It was a maneuver that made absolutely no sense, but it was wired onto his brain, therefore, he was having a hard time opening up his heart.

“Paul was, first and foremost, a father.” The priest continued with his praising words, “He was a loving parent to Samuel, and he was a father to us all.”

That was when Sam’s bottled up feelings came to a halt. His breathing became more hectic and his chest burned hotter.

“He loved each and every single one of us, and cared for our problems more than he cared for himself. Whether it be religious guidance, life advice or a supportive shoulder to cry on, we could always count on Paul. He didn’t judge, he didn’t punish, but instead he was a listener.”

Perhaps it was plain paranoia, but Samuel swore he could feel all hundreds of eyes burning a hole on the back of his head. He had ceased to even stare at the priest, and resigned to look at a random spot on the floor, fidgeting with his fingers and working on his breathing.

“He always made sure we knew he loved us unconditionally, and I believe he left us a very important legacy. Paul might be gone, but we must honor his life and what he stood for: we must do the best we can, each day, to be more caring. More supportive, more empathic, and maybe the hardest thing to do, we must be honest with out loved ones. That is what Paul Wilson believed in… compassion and honesty can heal a heart. And a healed heart can heal the world.”

Sam couldn’t hold himself in place. His body was running at four hundred percent. He stood up from his seat at the front and walked out, trying not to do a scene. He opened up the gates minimally, escaped through the creak and as soon as he shut them back, leaving the funeral behind, he allowed himself to freak out.

He had become overwhelmed, more than he prepared for, and didn’t feel like he could go back inside. He didn’t want to be at his father’s funeral, he realized. He wasn’t ready to accept his grief. As he paced around in circles, he took big breaths and slowly came down from his hectic state.

“Are you okay?” he heard.

Sam hadn’t even noticed that Bucky had walked outside as well. He took a deep breath and sat at the bottom of the stairs. He let his head rest on his palms and nodded into them to not worry Bucky.

“You don’t look okay.” Bucky said with a hint of pity, before sitting down next to the dead man’s son, “But… that’s how you’re supposed to look, I guess. Not okay.”

Sam raised his gaze and directed it to Bucky’s dressing shoes.

“I’m supposed to look like I’m mourning, then why does it feel like I’m not?”

After a long second of silence, Bucky shrugged, “Maybe you’re not ready to mourn yet.”

The statement settled extremely well on Sam’s head. It made sense. He didn’t want to let go just yet. He took another profound and painful breath before relaxing his muscles.

“I just want to get the hell away from this shit-show.” Sam spoke with very aggressive words, but his voice was soft and small.

“Don’t you have to get back?” Bucky asked, anticipating the sadness he would feel for Sam as soon as he walked back inside.

Wilson shut his eyes and ran a hand down his face.

“No one expects me to be there, that’s just something my mama tells me to make me feel special.”

Bucky felt a sparkle of hope and joy at the sound of that, for even the smallest hint of a joke, or self-deprecating humor, meant so much when it peaked through pain.

He couldn’t help but smile big, “In that case, mama’s boy, you wanna get away from this?”

For the first time during that entire interaction, Samuel locked eyes with the brunette. He wanted to scream ‘yes’ immediately, but he felt like, as the deceased person’s son, he shouldn’t show himself too excited to run away.

“I guess I could eat.” He nodded with a half-smile.

“I know just the right place.” Bucky gloated as he stood up and offered Sam a hand, “Hope you like hot coco.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Important: This is an AU. In no way, shape or form would I want to erase the original background story given to Sam Wilson in the comics; he grew up in a Harlem neighborhood that was filled with poverty and violence. His father (Minister Paul Wilson) was killed while trying to stop a gang fight in order to defend young boys. I feel like it is an incredibly important aspect of the character, especially considering the narrative given to the Falcon and in ‘All New Captain America’. However, this fanfic doesn’t follow the comics’ chronology nor the superhero aspects of Marvel, and instead retrieves part of the character’s stories and personalities. It is simply a romantic AU, and I set it in a small town that is rather suburban because it fit the plot better. Always respect Sam Wilson’s story xx

#sambucky au #sambucky #sam wilson #bucky barnes #marvel fanfiction #tw: gay closet #tw: grief #sam x bucky #sam wilson x bucky barnes #ftws #tftws #the falcon and the winter soldier #sambucky fanfiction #fluff #angst #marvel au #sam/bucky #sam wilson/bucky barnes #stackie

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creativeskullcreations · 5 years ago

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HTaHHQ Episode 1: First Meetings(part 1)

Stacy starts her punishment spending the Summer working at her step-mothers job as an Assistant. But she soon finds that things aren't what they seem to be, and must keep her wits about her to avoid getting caught.

First part of the first episode of my AU series! This will run alongside Outside, and serve as sort of... let's say reflection to the other fic. Part 2 will be soon!

Stacy laid her head against the car window, staring sightless at the passing buildings as Mary weaved through traffic. In the backseat, Danny sat reading a book on... the thirteen year old wasn't sure, actually. But it was probably something about cars or dinosaurs. That was usually what five year olds liked, right?

"Why am I even going again?" She asked. "This is more of a "you and Danny" kind of thing. I'm not needed for this, and I hate the show anyways."

"It's not a bonding exercise. It's a punishment." Mary told her sternly. "And it's also to keep you from just sitting around all Summer. Besides, it'll keep you away from your cousin, and I thought you'd like that."

"It's still going to be boring as hell either way." She said. "All I'm going to do is run around getting coffee for people."

"You'll be an assistant to the cast, not an intern." The older woman replied, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Trust me, there's a difference."

"Whatever." Stacy dismissed. "Just so long as I don't have to actually be on the show. My reputation would be ruined."

Mary snorted, but otherwise didn't say anything. Stacy wished she had music to listen to, but her dad had taken her IPod after the latest... incident. He'd told her she'd get it back when school started up again, but until then she was living a music less existence.

A tugging on her sleeve caught her attention, and she looked back to see that that Danny had put his book to the side and was staring at her expectantly. 'Ah, so it was dinosaurs.'

Stacy! Are you excited to meet Riley?

" He asked, an excited look on his face as his hands moved quickly. She nodded in reply, not able to turn around enough to answer properly. She wasn't actually excited about any of this, but didn't want to break his heart by saying so. "

She wants to meet you too! She has a big yellow dog, and sometimes she lets me play with him!

I've seen the show, Danny. I know about Rosco...

' She simply nodded again and turned back around, not wanting to see his excitement anymore. '

God, I want to go home. It's too early to be up with no school...

' She continued to ignore her brother as they pulled up to the building.

Stacy was out the door before Mary, using the advantage to catch Danny as he tried to run ahead of them. She held him by the back of his shirt as she grabbed her backpack out of the car, ignoring him as he bounced in place and lamenting the loss of the AC. Mary came around the front with a smile. "Are you two ready to head in." She asked both in sign and spoken language.

"No." Stacy deadpanned, finally letting her brother go. He ran to the front as they made their way across the lot to the large brick building. Mortimer's Handeemen was spelled out in huge letters on the front, with a large sculpture of Mortimer himself looming over it. The girl suppressed a shudder as she looked at it. '

So fucking creepy. I hate this place!

Inside the building, Danny made a beeline straight to an young woman with several other young kids around her. She high-fived him, then started signing to him which relieved Stacy. She almost followed, but was stopped by Mary placing a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, Stacy. We have some paperwork to take care of before you get started." Stacy grumbled, but let her step-mother guide her down a different hallway.

They passed by several doors before finally coming to one. Mortimer Handee was what the name card said, which made Stacy wrinkle her nose in slight disgust as the woman knocked on it. '

Does Mary think I'm a little kid? Why would she bring me to some fake office for a puppet to sign paperwork?

"Come in, come in!" Came a familiar voice from inside. It made Stacy jerk in surprise, but Mary simply opened the door and ushered her inside, where behind a rather large desk sat Mortimer Handee himself. Or at least, the puppet. There was no chair, so Stacy assumed the puppeteer was behind the desk.

I know this is supposed to be a punishment, but I didn't think she'd go this far with it.

' She clenched her teeth, and did her best to resist the childish urge to hide behind Mary. '

I hate thisI hatethisIhateths-

"Ah, Mrs. Stein, and your daughter, I presume. I had wondered when you'd enter this room." He greeted them, looking up from some paperwork he was "doing". He put his pen down and set the papers aside, neatly folding his hands on the desk and giving them his full attention.

"Mr. Handee." Mary gave her a subtle nudge, and Stacy nodded, not trusting herself to speak. "This is Stacy. She's very... eager, to be working here this Summer."

Liar.

' Stacy refused to even look at Mary. '

Are you seriously gonna pretend I actually

want

to be here?!

"Excellent!" The puppet at least sounded pleased and reached for a folder, setting it in front of them and opening it up. "Everything is all ready for you , my dear. All I ask is that you sign this page here." He tapped the paper, and then set a pen beside it while Stacy leaned in to look at it.

"Uh, no." She told him bluntly. He blinked, somehow managing to get across a confused expression despite his very wooden features. If this was anywhere else, Stacy might've wondered how that was possible.

"And why not?" He asked, sounding curious.

"Well, first of all I'm still a minor. Even if I did sign it, it wouldn't make it legal because I'm under eighteen." She told him. "Secondly, I don't want to sign it." She crossed her arms, hoping to hide her shaking hands. It was nerve-wracking enough to talk back to a teacher, much less a ... whatever the puppet was supposed to be. But Mortimer just chuckled, closing the folder and pulling it back towards him.

"Those are fair points that you make." He told her, putting it into a drawer while she and Mary stared in disbelief. "Very well then, yours is a name that I won't take." He moved his stack of papers back where it had been and picked back up his pen. "Mrs. Stein, Stacy's needed on set. Her work will begin as soon as everyone she has met."

"Of course, sir." Mary grabbed Stacy by the shoulder and almost dragged her out of the office. A quick glance showed that she had the "I didn't think things through" smile Stacy had seen on her many times before.

Maybe this means she'll let me stay home?

' The girl wasn't that hopeful about it, but it seemed at least a little likely now. She clung to that as Mary led her down several more halls and to a room where the woman from before was waiting. The walls were lined with lockers not unlike the ones Stacy's school, though they lacked the little vents. Each of them also had a name-plate, and some were even covered in bright stickers.

"Lydia!" Mary called out as the approached. "Here's Stacy, ready and able to work." The false cheer she was exuding was almost painful to hear, though Lydia didn't seem to mind, or even notice.

"Great!" The woman said, looking far too happy for Stacy's tastes. "My name is Lydia, and I'm the head assistant around here. Welcome to the team!" She held her hand out, but Stacy just stared blankly at it. The woman wasn't phased, though, and simply let it drop without losing her smile. Mary, seeing her work was now done, turned to the girl.

"I'll see you and your brother after work. Do what Lydia says. And," She looked Stacy in the eye, lowering her voice just a little bit. "I do not want to hear about any incidents. Understand?" Stacy nodded mutely, trying to keep her expression neutral, and Mary turned on her heel and left.

Bitch.

' Stacy stared after her, watching as she left the locker room, closing the door behind her. She was yanked from her thoughts when by a loud clap behind her. She turned to see Lydia motioning her over to one of the lockers.

"Alright, so this one right here will be your locker. You can keep anything you want in here." She indicated the name-plate, and Stacy noted that it already had her name there, written in a sparkly pink pen.

Yeah, I'm changing that as soon as I can

.' Stacy promised herself as Lydia pulled open the door, revealing nothing but an id card hanging from lanyard. She picked it up and handed to the girl.

"This is your ID, and very important, so don't lose it. It'll let the others know that you're supposed to be here and working." She explained, indicating her own ID. "Blue is for assistants, green for guests, yellow for the cast, and red for the others."

Stacy looked down at the card, noting that it, and the lanyard, were indeed a bright blue color. She also noticed that it already had her picture on it and frowned.

"Uh, how does this already have my picture on it?" She asked, trying to think back to when that could've happened. 'I think that's from the yearbook.' She realized.

"Oh, your mom brought one in so it'd be ready for you." The young woman smiled. "Now, put that on and I'll give you the grand tour!"

"She's not my mom." Stacy replied automatically. Still, she put on the ID and followed Lydia through the other door and onto the Set.

It was the most hectic place she'd ever been. And that included middle school.

People were everywhere, talking and moving and cleaning. A group of young kids, Danny included, were in the middle of a game of tag while another assistant tried to corral them. In the distance she could hear someone yelling, which only got louder as something broke

"Oh good lord." Stacy muttered faintly. Lydia just took a deep breath and gave the chaos a large smile.

'Looks like it's going to be a great day today!" She said. Stacy just gave her a worried look. "Come on! I'll introduce you to Riley first. She's probably the one you'll be helping out the most." She started off, and Stacy found herself having to jog to keep up.

"So," She started, "what are assistants supposed to do? Because Mary didn't exactly give me a job description-!" She yelped an apology as she dodged around a couple of guys carrying a piece of the set, which went ignored both by them and Lydia.

"Well, mostly we're just here to assist. We do things like corral the kids, fetch props, put up the sets, that sort of thing." They paused to let a group carrying more set pieces pass. "Sometimes we also clean, but we also have a team that does that on the weekends."

"Ah..." Stacy understood a little better now. '

So I am an intern, then? Great, this is exactly how I wanted to spend my Summer...

' She had to run when Lydia suddenly took off again, making straight for a door marked

Lab Set

. They went inside, where a couple of other assistants were trying desperately to put everything together.

"No! No no no! That is not right!" And there was Riley Ruckus, puppeteer already behind the counter. "I gave you the instruction, in plain black and white! These beakers go here, the scales go there! And the chalk board should hanging in the air!" The puppet threw it's hands up, obviously exasperated. A golden retriever barked from somewhere out of sight and she sighed. "Not now, Rosco!"

"Hellooo Doc~" Lydia leaned onto the counter, adopting a tone Stacy had only heard in Mary's shows. "Sounds like the minions are treating you rough."

"Ah, Lydia. Finally someone most excellent!" The puppet clapped her hands together, turning towards them. "And it looks as though you've brought the new assistant."

"Yep!" She clapped Stacy on the shoulder and brought her in closer. "This here is Stacy, Mary's oldest kid." She leaned in with a conspiratorial wink. "And I brought her to meet the best one first."

"Not my mom..." The girl growled out, pushing the woman's arm off of her. She drew back when Riley suddenly stuck a hand in her face.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Stacy. I'm sure our time together will be just peachy!" The puppet had an open expression and eager tone that put the girl on edge, not helped by the fact that she hadn't seen the actress yet. So Stacy glanced between the offered hand and Lydia, unsure what to do. She was saved from making a choice by Rosco jumping up between them, paws on the girl's chest. Stacy near shrieked in response, jumping back and letting the animal fall to the floor.

"Rosco no! Down boy!" Riley scolded as Stacy quickly backed away. She ducked behind Lydia as the puppet ordered her pet to heel, making him go back behind the counter and out of sight.

"My apologies, he can get quite excited when seeing someone new." Riley explained once she'd gotten him to sit and stay. "I assure you he meant only to greet and not harm you."

"Yeah." Stacy gasped out, blinking rapidly. "No... no problem." '

Don't cry don't cry don't cry-

She was sure she'd never be able to figure out how, but somehow she thought that Riley actually looked a little bit worried about her. Before it could go anywhere, however, there was a crash as the two assistants dropped the chalkboard.

"Idiots!" The puppet screeched, turning away from them. Lydia took the chance to grab Stacy's left arm and tug her away from the beginnings of a yell-fest.

"I'd better go introduce her to the others. I'll see ya later Doc!" She said with a wave, which the puppet ignored, too focused on scolding the guys. Stacy winced as as Lydia let the door close behind, which didn't go unnoticed.

"Oh, don't worry about those guys!" She reassured the girl. "They're great at lighting and stuff. Less so with set building, so this happened pretty often."

"Okay, so we've still got to introduce you to Nicky, and then Daisy, and then get everything set up for the "dress rehearsal"." Lydia told her as they walked. "You'll love them, don't worry."

"Mmm..." Stacy wasn't so sure. It was one thing to see the Puppets on TV, but another, scarier thing to see them in real live. What she'd thought was just tricks to make them move so realistically seemed less likely with each puppet she saw. It made her wonder what exactly was going on, and if she even wanted to know.

Would it be worse or better if they were robots?

' She thought as they approached the

Art Studio Set

. This time the door was already open, and peeking in Stacy could see both Daisy and Nick inside and behind a table.

Daisy was "leaning" back against the table in what was almost a pose. Her arms were crossed in front of her on the table, and she had an almost relaxed expression on her face. Nick was behind an easel, checking around it every now and then as he painted her. He was also muttering, though it was too indistinct for Stacy to understand.

"Well this will make things a bit easier." Lydia said as they entered the set, making both puppets turn to look at them. She gestured to Stacy. "This is Stacy. She'll be working with us for the Summer."

"Delighted to meet you." Nick Nack said in his clipped accent, already turning back to his work. "I'm sure you'll do an adequate job."

"It's a pleasure, honey." Daisy said, not dropping out of her pose. "Danny's told all of us so much about you."

"I'm not surprised." Stacy replied, tugging her right hand sleeve a little lower. "I've told him before he needs to talk about something other than me to people." '

I have my gloves on, it's fine. Danny knows better than to talk about it anyways. It's fine. It's

fine.'

"Oh, he's told us nothing but good things, sweetie." Daisy assured the girl. She sounded genuine, but Stacy couldn't help but doubt it and looked away, still tugging on her sleeve.

"That's not the point..." The girl muttered, but she was ignored as Lydia went around the table and whistled at the painting.

"Lookin' good Nicky!" She said, slapping him on the back. He just barely avoided smearing paint all over it as he was jolted forward, quickly yanking the brush back. He turned to the woman with a glare.

"Lydia, please don't do that again." He told her with the tone of someone who had said the same thing several times before. "And the name is Nick. Not,

Nicky

The woman just laughed. "Sure thing Nicky. Good luck on the painting." She started walking away, pausing just long enough to motion Stacy to follow her. "Come on kid! It's time we start getting everything set up!" A pause. "Which means we gotta go back to the lab, since that's where the recording's gonna be at first. Let's go!"

Back at the lab set, Stacy found herself having to help the other two assistants. The younger one, a boy only a few years older than her, was named Johnny and seemed nice enough. The other was an older man named Bill, who seemed perpetually grumpy and eager to start arguments with Riley. However, helping them meant being in the line of fire when something inevitably went wrong and Riley started yelling.

"No no no! These are the wrong kind! Go back and get the right ones before we run out of time!" She yelled at Johnny, pushing the beakers into his hands. Meekly, he ran off while Stacy did her best to seem unnoticeable. Still, listening to her berate the assistants was beginning to get on the girls nerves.

Her legs aren't broken! Just put the puppet down and do it yourself if everyone else keeps doing it wrong!' But she bit her tongue, knowing that any mouthing off would be reported to Mary, and she really didn't want a worse punishment than this.

Eventually, with a few more fumbles, they managed get everything set up in time for filming. Stacy, not knowing what to do, decided to stick near Lydia in case she was needed. The two of them, along with Bill, sat near the camera crew and watched as the segment started.

It started as though Riley was finishing up another lesson, followed by a child asking a question about a different topic. Riley then started to explain an answer, sometimes in song, sometimes not. Sometimes, the kids would be doing experiments alongside the puppet, but more often than not they were just there as an audience.

Danny, of course, was sitting right at the front. This segment was his favorite, of course, so it made sense that he'd want to be as close to her as possible. And, while he was wearing his hearing aids, Stacy couldn't help but be worried about him.

Still, everything seemed to be going well. So well, in fact, that it was inevitable that something would go wrong. During one song, one of the kids, a boy just a bit bigger than Danny knocked over a beaker which rolled under Riley's counter. While the beaker was, thankfully, an empty one, that didn't stop the kid from crying about it. As a result, the director shouted cut while Lydia went to comfort the kid.

Stacy, on the other hand, just sighed and ignored the kid, instead going for the beaker. Crouching down to the side of the counter, she spotted it quickly and reached for it, only to look up when the sound of squeaking wheels caught her attention.What she saw left her frozen in a fear she hadn't felt for months.

While she had her theories for what made the puppets move so realistically, they were mundane things. Camera tricks, that fancy computer stuff, even just multiple puppets used for different things. But all of those theories relied on on thing, that they were still just puppets with an actor controlling them. But what she could see now threw all of that out the window.

These weren't just puppets. And she knew this because Riley had no actress.

#hello puppets #fanfiction #htahhq #happy times at handeemen hq #scout #riley ruckus #mortimer handee #nick nack #daisy danger #stacy stein #mary stein #danny stein #lydia harris

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comicgeekscomicgeek · 5 years ago

Text

Their Hero Academia - Chapter 53: Aftermath Part 3

Presenting the next raw and unedited chapter of my on-going, next-gen, My Hero Academia fic, Their Hero Academia!

The portions of this installment featuring Endeavor was written by @msalliepants (with other acknowledgements to my friend Paul, who’s been vital in developing some backstory elements for Endeavor)

Earlier chapters can be found here

Eri was absolutely exhausted by the time she returned to U.A, the sun setting in the sky. A long morning of using both her Quirk and her medical training on the civilians and Heroes brought to Mustafar General, then making her way deeper into Tokyo to check the Heroes, friends, and students there, had left her with a weariness she hadn’t felt since cramming for her medical school exams. She’d spent the rest of the day there, pitching in where she could, even if she’d almost completely exhausted her Quirk.

She operated almost on autopilot as she entered the small on-campus apartment she shared with her husband, finding her way to the bedroom and collapsing on the bed in an instant. Blissful darkness started to overtake her almost immediately. The stresses of the day slowly began to ebb away.

She didn’t regret that she’d used up enough of her Quirk earlier, so that she couldn’t help Katsuki. Dad had taught her long ago that she could make herself crazy if she thought too much on those she couldn’t help. When she’d announced that she’d wanted to be a Medical Hero and help people, he’d been firm in helping her understand that she had limits and that she couldn’t let doing that consume every moment of her life.

But some part of her still wondered if she couldn’t be doing more. Every day out there, someone was getting injured, somewhere. She could heal that. And if she rested long enough…

No. Going down that route wasn’t rational. Going down that route lay madness. She should just lay here and let the darkness take her.

“You know, you should probably change out of that costume. Not that I don’t appreciate the way your ass looks in it…”

Eri’s eyes snapped open and she turned her head to see her husband standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe. He smiled in that charming, boyish way he had, like every time he was seeing her for the very first time. She stretched out and threw a pillow at him, but he caught it. “You are the worst,” she said, though she obviously didn’t mean it.

The smile quickly gave way to a more somber tone. “I heard about Bakugo and the kids. And we’ve been watching the news. How bad did it really get out there?” He crossed the room and sat down on the bed next to her, rubbing her back in slow, lazy circles.

“Bad,” she said, quietly. “We got lucky that as few people died as they did. As it is, a bunch of Heroes are going to be out of action for a while.”

“And the kids?” Kota asked.

“I didn’t see all of them… but I know Dad’s going to recommend sessions with Hound Dog for anyone who saw any kind of action. Especially Shota and Katsumi. And Monoma, too, for that matter.”

“Poor kids,” he said, still rubbing her back. “Trauma like that doesn’t fade easily.”

“It doesn’t,” she agreed. She’d lost track of the number of times she’d woken up in the middle of the night, screaming. When she was little, Dad and Mom would come running into her room, holding her, telling her everything was going to be all right. Dad had sometimes had to activate his Quirk, but she was never frightened of him.

When attending U.A., it had been her friends, like Rinko and Hanako, rushing into her room and coming to her rescue. They’d comforted her and brought her tea and done everything they could to make her feel safe again, reminding her of her own strength. They weren’t afraid of her Quirk, even though she’s absolutely positive she took a month off of Rinko once.

Now, it was her husband. He had his own terrors and his own nightmares. And when they needed to, they held each other. He was strong and kind and gentle and she was never a monster in her eyes. He reminded her so much of Mirio and Deku, her first heroes. Now, he was her hero, each and every day.

She rolled over, so that she was looking up at him. “Tell me something good,” she said.

His hand moved to stroking her hair. “After we got the okay to stand down, I managed to get Himari’s bed put together. Only took me three hours.”

Hard to believe they’d be bringing that sweet little girl home in just a few days. They were going to get to be parents. They both had a lot of love to give, but Eri… she’d been so worried about passing on her Quirk. She believed she had done a lot of good with it, but it was a frighteningly dangerous one, especially in the hands of a child. And a frighteningly tempting one for those looking to use it for evil.

Eri knew how to protect herself. And she lived in one of the safest places in Japan. But she would not expose a child to that kind of risk.

So adoption it was.

She gave her husband a smile. Her first one in many, many hours. “Only three hours? Were you following the directions this time?”

He stuck his tongue out at her. “I’m not that bad.”

“You’re not,” she agreed.

“I can follow directions.”

“Then follow this one and just hold me.”

***

Eventually, Kota had convinced her to get out of her costume and they’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long. Someone pounding on their door woke them with a jolt.

“Ugh…” Kota groaned. “What the hell?”

Eri tried to cover her head with a pillow. “Think they’ll just give up and go away?”

The pounding increased. “Doesn’t sound like it,” Kota told her.

She sighed. All she’d wanted was to sleep through to the next morning. The clock told her it was a little past midnight. Not quite the same thing. She’d been well taught, both by Dad and by her medical schooling, to catch sleep when she could, under some of the most stressful of circumstances. But that didn’t mean she lamented its loss any less.

“We’re coming!” she shouted in the general direction of the door as she tied on a bathrobe. If they were trying to wake her up in the middle of the night, it probably meant a medical emergency. She was the staff doctor after all. She really ought to ask about putting in for a nurse…

She opened the door and found Midnight standing outside the door. “Aunt Nemuri?” she asked. She looked tired, wearing an fluffy bathrobe and fuzzy slippers, which wasn’t surprising, given the time and the stress they’d all been under today. As much as the woman claimed to still be a party girl at heart, she also professed a great need for her beauty sleep. “What’s going on? Is one of the students hurt…?”

Midnight shook her head. “It’s Nezu,” she said. “He was exchanging messages with me about plans going forward after the attacks today and…”

She held up her phone, it showed what looked like a normal exchange of messages, until it descended into gibberish on Nezu’s end. It was less than five minutes ago. It was entirely possible he had dropped his phone or perhaps spilled tea on it, but then he would have let her know what was going on some other way.

Eri took a breath, then nodded. “Give me three minutes to get dressed and grab my medical bag.”

She managed it in one and a half.

***

The living arrangements of the teaching staff at U.A. varied. Mister Yagi lived off-campus, with Izuku’s mother. Dad had an on-campus residence in the teacher’s dorms, as did Battle Fist, but both also lived off campus with their spouses when time allowed (Battle Fist was, in fact, currently off campus with her husband and daughter.). Super Ball, Hawkeye, Skyline, Hopper, FireFox, and Figure Sk8 lived in the teachers’ dorms full time, as did many of the second and third year teachers. Rikido had an off-campus apartment and Power Loader had one off the main workshop. While Aunt Nemuri did have a place with Uncle Hizashi, she also spent the majority of the weak in the smaller subset of apartments offered to teachers. She had one, Principal Nezu had one, Hound Dog had one, since he… was not especially suited to long-term close cohabitation, Recovery Girl had the one next to theirs, and as a married couple, she and Kota had one.

Nezu’s door was only two down from their own. Kota and Aunt Nemuri behind her, she rapped heavily on it. “Principal Nezu! Principal Nezu!”

There was no answer and Eri felt a growing sense of dread. Fortunately, as the school physician, with the potential need to access any building or room, she had a key which could unlock any door on campus. She quickly stuck it in the keyhole in Nezu’s door and… it did not turn.

“Him and his paranoia,” Aunt Nemuri growled. She looked at Kota. “Can you break it down? Fire hose it or something?”

“Only if you want it to go flying off its hinges,” he replied. “I can get Hound Dog. He can probably kick it down.”

Eri just held out her hand. “Give me your hairpins, Aunt Nemuri.”

To her credit, Aunt Nemuri didn’t protest or complain. She pulled the hairpins holding her hair up out and handed them over, shaking her long, dark hair loose. Eri supposed there were some things she just couldn’t turn off. Regardless of the demonstration, it didn’t take long for Eri to defeat the lock. She hadn’t had to use that particular set of skills in a long while, but they were on the long list of things Dad had insisted she learn how to do and keep in practice on. It actually wasn’t a complicated lock.

Of course, knowing Nezu, she suspected that if anyone wanted undue access to his home, he’d already accounted for it and made plans accordingly. She wouldn’t be surprised if he’d always intended for her to get in this way. Carefully, she opened the door and they slipped inside. “Principal Nezu?” she called out again. “It’s me. I’m got Kota and Nemuri with me.”

No answer. That wasn’t good. Worry began to creep further into her brain, as Eri desperately tried to recall what she knew about Nezu’s biology. She’d reviewed his medical records before—all staff were required to submit to an annual physical, even if not administered by her—but she’d often suspected there was much those were leaving out. All she knew was that every year, the paperwork turned up. Whether he was fabricating them or had his own medical specialist, she did not know.

Nezu apartment was much like him, tidy and neat. The carpets were plush, the furniture a dark wood. Tasteful art decorated the walls and somewhere, Eri could hear a grandfather clock ticking away. There were several bookshelves, each of them filled with books. Many looked old and leatherbound, and many looked to be in foreign languages.

“Nezu!” Aunt Nemuri shouted. “Nezu! Where are you, you damn rodent?!”

Again, no answer followed.

Kota walked through a doorway into what looked like a small office. “Eri…”

She quickly followed. It was a miniature replica of his office at the school, with a big desk covered in paperwork. There was even a cup of tea, still slightly steaming. His desktop computer was still on. It looked like he’d been working. There was an oversized, leather chair, its padding thick. It had been pushed back from the desk awkwardly, up against the wall.

Carefully, she moved around the desk. There, on the ground, limbs spread out awkwardly, was Nezu, clad in pinstriped pajamas, a long cap on the ground near his head. His beady black eyes were still open, staring at nothing. Eri placed a hand on his neck, checking for a pulse.

Nothing.

Carefully, she opened her bag and slid the small mirror there from it, placing it in front of his face. If he was still breathing, it would fog.

Nothing.

Finally, she pulled the portable heart rate monitor from the bag, pulled up his tiny pajama top, and attached the leads. Switching on the device, a steady, high pitched tone filled the room.

She switched it off.

One of Eri’s hands went to her horn. It had grown a little since she’d slept. How much could she turn back? Maybe a ten minutes? How long did brain activity persist…?

No. She’d never used her power on someone who wasn’t still living. She didn’t want to think about what might happen if she tried.

“I’m sorry,” she said. She turned to look at Kota and Aunt Nemuri.

“He’s dead.”

***

A part of Eri wished she’d hadn’t sent Kimiko Ojiro home with her family. The girl’s Quirk would have been infinitely more useful and accurate than the limited imaging technology the medical building had. But Eri made do. She didn’t have the facilities to do an autopsy, but she could at least get an idea of what had happened.

Dad, Kota, and Midnight filled the waiting room. The other teachers had been roused and were patrolling campus, just in case this had been part of an invasion or attack. After the way today had gone, she wouldn’t have been surprised.

Still, she appreciated the presence of family. Nezu had meant quite a lot to her. He’d understood what it was like to be thought of an as nothing more than an object for experimentation. He’d known what it was like to be helpless and tortured, without anyone you could trust. He’d known what it was like to be offered hope, to thirst for kindness even if you didn’t understand the word.

Dad inclined his head slightly. “Eri?” he prompted, kindly.

“I can’t do an actual autopsy, of course,” she began, “but with the examination I was able to do, my opinion is natural causes, a heart attack. Probably brought upon by extreme stress and exasperated by his age.”

No one had ever actually been sure how old Nezu was, not even himself. And no one had been quite sure what his lifespan was. Most people hadn’t even been sure what he was. But he had had been at U.A. in some form or another for more than thirty-five years and had been a friend of Mister Yagi’s for even longer than that. Nezu had certainly begun to slow down more in recent years, his fur no longer quite so lustrous, dependent upon a cane to get around.

“He started working when the news broke about the Nomu attacks,” Aunt Nemuri said. “And was still working at midnight. I’m not sure he stopped. Every time I checked in on him, he was thinking and planning. I think he wanted to be sure we could weather whatever was to come.”

She clenched a fist. “Dammit. I should have known he was pushing himself too hard. I should have made him take a break.” Her shoulders started to shake tears began to roll down her face, forcing her to remove her glasses to wipe her eyes.

Dad gave her a look. Not completely unkind, as he gently patted her shoulder, but still within the realm of looks he usually handed out. “Were any of us ever able to get him to change his mind? He thinks—thought—in ways and circles us mere humans couldn’t possibly understand.”

She could tell by the way his eyes were twitching that he too, was fighting back tears.

“I know I always felt dumber just being in the same room with him,” Kota added.

Aunt Nemuri just shook her head. “Somehow, I always thought he’d be here forever. I don’t know what we’ll do without him.”

“We’ll need to think of something, at least in the short term,” Dad said. “Until we can get a new principal, you’ll have to be in charge, Nemui.”

She gave him a look like he’d just sworn at her or brought up her age. When he didn’t flinch, her gaze relaxed. “I suppose I should have expected that. Comes with the Vice-Principal job.”

“Think you’ll get put in charge permanently?” Kota asked.

“Over my dead body,” Aunt Nemuri said. “I’m good with people. It’s why I took the job when Nezu offered it to me. To help be a bridge between the teachers, administration, and students. I couldn’t possibly think big enough to do what he did.”

That and, Eri reflected, she’d confessed she’d been getting too old to continue to operate in her usual Hero attire.

“That can be settled another time,” Dad said. “We’ll all have enough on our plates. The students will be returning tonight. Many of them will need therapy sessions. The staff who are off campus will need to be briefed. And we’ll need to make funeral arrangements for Nezu.”

“Did he have any family we should contact?” Kota asked. “I know he was friends with All Might…”

“The school was his family,” Aunt Nemuri said. “It was his life.”

Eri looked at the time. No use going back to bed now. It was going to be a long day.

***

His morning had been off to a good start. His grandchildren were all sleeping under his roof, while his son stayed overnight with their mother in the hospital. His wife was still sleeping when he rose and he’d been reluctant to leave her warm embrace, but he had always been an early riser and continued to be so even now.

The ringing of his cell phone, his son’s voice announcing “I am here!” broke the silence of the kitchen. The news on the other end of the call had not been good.

“Yes, thank you for telling me, Aizawa. Please let me know if I can be of service.”

Toshinori Yagi was familiar with the concept of loss. As a very young and very Quirkless boy, he had lost what he had thought was his family. As an all-too young man, he had lost the closest thing to a mother he had ever had. As an adult, he had made peace with his own impending death. As an older man, he had stood by the boy who had become like a son to him, while he buried his father. And as an old man, he had said good bye to his own mentor.

Now, he could only stare dumbly at the phone in his hand, his mind still reeling from the news Aizawa had given him.

“Everything all right, Toshi?” asked a voice from the kitchen doorway. There, Inko stood, yawning.

Every time he saw her, Toshinori was aware of just how lucky a man he was. For almost all of his life, he’d thought the things of a normal man’s life were forever beyond him. He had so many blessings these days. A wife, a son, three beautiful grandchildren. There were so many reasons he should not have had them, so many reasons why he should never have made it to be an old man.

To say that all these years later, he was still head over heels in love was not an exaggeration.

“No,” he said, softly. “That was Aizawa. Nezu… Nezu passed away during the night. A heart attack, they said.”

Tears began to well up in his wife’s eyes. Like their son, she cried easily, felt others’ pain easily. “Oh… oh no…” She crossed the kitchen and put her arms around him. Had it not been so serious, the disparity in their sizes would have made it almost comical looking. “I’m so sorry, Toshi.”

He wrapped his arms around her. “I’d told him he needed to take it easier, but he always insisted he knew what he was doing! I should have tried harder, should have convinced him to take a break…”

Inko broke the hold, giving him a stern look. She jabbed a finger into his chest. “Now you listen to me, Toshi. None of this is your fault. Any choices Nezu made are on him, not you.”

“But..” he began.

“No buts,” she told him. “This is not your responsibility. You still carry enough on your shoulders as it is.”

“You know, you’re really quite forceful when you want to be. But no, you’re right… It’s just…”

Inko simply looked into his eyes, giving him time to gather his thoughts.

“There was a time when I did not have many friends. There was Naomasa, of course, but very few who I could let close to me. Nezu was one of those few. I think I’ve known him longer than anyone. It seemed like he’d always be with us.”

His mind raced back to the first time he had met Nezu, newly escaped from his tormentors, scavenging for scraps in a city park. He hadn’t believed his eyes at first, the strange creature seemingly beyond even the variations Quirks had wrought on the human form. But he’d offered him food and tried engaging him in conversation. Nezu had been distrustful and fearful, but had taken the food and spoken two simple words. “Thank you.”

Later, when Nezu had walked into a police station and applied for asylum, Toshinori had been his one phone call. How he had managed to associate a random stranger with the Number One Hero, he wasn’t sure, but he put little past his old friend’s intelligence. He had put all his political capital behind the petition for Nezu to gain rights and citizenship. Combined with Nezu’s own stunning legal arguments, it had been enough.

First working with the police and then with Heroes, Nezu’s intelligence and commitment to justice had proven itself time and time again. He proved himself to be a true friend and one of the few people to have earned Toshinori’s complete trust. When he’d entered the field of education, becoming first a teacher at and then the principal of U.A., Toshinori had been surprised, but he’d long learned by that point not to question his decisions. Nezu operated… had operated on a level few could understand or keep up with.

The world would be lesser for his loss.

She nodded, reaching up to stroke his cheek. He obligingly bent down so she wouldn’t have to stretch. “He was a good man. He’s going to be missed by a lot of people. Do they need you at the school?”

Toshinori shook his head. “No. Nemuri and Aizawa are taking charge for today.”

“Good. Then you’ll come with us when we go to see Ochaco today?”

He nodded. “I will. They’re supposed to be sending her home today, right?”

“They are. Izuku said she’d have to take it easy for a while, but she’s going to be fine.”

She took his hands in hers and gave them a squeeze. “You know I’m here for you, Toshi, no matter what. You lost a friend today. I know that hurts. But you can lean on me all you want.”

Toshinori allowed himself the smallest of smiles. The world was a little emptier, but there was still so much in it he was thankful for.

***

Enji Todoroki, the disgraced former Number One Hero known as Endeavor, walked into the hospital, doing his best to avoid coming into contact with anyone. He didn’t really go out much these days. Not since the horrible things that he’d done to his family back in his younger days had come to life, forcing him into retirement to avoid bringing further shame to his family.

In the end, Enji had seen it as the right thing to do. He had been horrible to his family, treating them more like a minor nuisance than being a proper husband and father. He’d driven Toya to become the villain Dabi, ignored Fuyumi and Natsuo and written them off as useless, pushed Shota to hate him, and laid hands on his wife, Rei, and pushed her over the edge. He had tried to be better once he became the Number One Hero officially, to be someone that his family could be proud of and make up for the horrible things he had done, but the damage had been done. When his crimes came to life, he stepped down. He might have not wanted to, but he knew it was the right thing to do.

He didn’t speak to his family much after that. Well, they didn’t really want much to do with him. Fuyumi was the only one who really talked him, though her husband, the former Ingenium, made it very clear that he absolutely detested his father-in-law. Enji took it. He didn’t blame his son-in-law for disliking him. Natsuo had told him very colorfully where he thought his father could go when Enji reached out to try and make amends with him. And as for Shoto….

After his mistakes with Toya, he should be thankful that Shoto didn’t end up the same. Yes, his youngest son had made quite the name for himself. As the Number Three Hero, Enji couldn’t help but feel overwhelming pride for his son. After everything he’d been through, after what Enji had put his son through, Shoto had succeeded and put his childhood behind him. Though he hadn’t spoken to him since his granddaughter, Izumi, was a toddler.

To Enji’s effort, he’d tried to repair his damaged relationship with Shoto. Shoto’s wife, Momo had been helpful in that. Then Izumi was born, after an extremely rough pregnancy. Izumi was born into the world frail and premature. No one was sure if she would make it past the first few weeks of infancy. In a misguided attempt to comfort his son, Enji had said that Shoto and Momo could try again.

Looking back, he knew that he did not take the most tactful approach, and fully deserved the punch in the face that Shoto had given him when he’d said that. In truth, Enji had been worried for his granddaughter’s life. He was often at the hospital, though he tried to take different shifts from Shoto. But Izumi pulled through, and her parents took her home.

Enji doted on his granddaughter, and she became the apple of his eye. He and Shoto started to repair things, slowly, for Izumi. He talked to Rei, and felt that he was making up for the horrible things that he did to her with each conversation that they had. His life was getting better. Slowly, he felt like he was earning forgiveness that he knew he truly didn’t deserve. He spent as much time with Izumi as his good, his face lighting up every time she beamed at him with her little smile and rushed towards his calling out “Grandpa!”

Then Izumi had gotten sick when she turned four , and she nearly died. It was Enji’s fault. There was no getting around that. The Villain who was responsible for getting her sick knew that he would do anything for his granddaughter. They offered him two things: the cure for his granddaughter if Endeavor came clean about his abuse and mistreatment of his family, or they would go public about the worse things he did with his Hero career. Though at the time, Enji had not seen himself ready to retire, he’d felt like he had no other choice. He came clean about his past, and retired.

The thing worse than retiring though, was losing his relationship with Izumi forever. His past misdeeds, beyond even what he had done to his family, had made his granddaughter a target, a bargaining chip of a desperate man. After he came out publically, Shoto snapped, and Enji had the worst argument with his son he could possibly ever have. And even though Enji didn’t want to lose his granddaughter, he was willing to respect his son, no matter how much it pained him.

Enji allowed himself to fade from public life after that. He cut all ties with almost everyone. Hawks occasionally stopped by to visit, but he always turned him away. He saw Fuyumi once in a while, and she had allowed him to see her daughter Kukio, but for the most part, he very rarely left his home. It was better for everyone that. It was better for his family. Enji was a shell of his former self, and truly a broken man. And he deserved every part of it.

He did try to keep up with Izumi where he could. When he heard that she had made it to UA, he watched the Sports Festival for the first time since Kukio had been a student. He couldn’t have been prouder when, despite all of her previous limitations, she made it as far in the Sports Festival as she did. His granddaughter, the apple of his eye, was going to make a fine Hero someday.

He caught word of the Nomu attack when he turned on the news. He watched footage of Shoto, Momo, and Izumi fighting in different areas. And then Enji did something he never did. Making sure to cover himself up so no one would recognize him, he left the house, heading for the hospital that his family had been admitted to.

Shoto was fine, but being checked for Quirk Exhaustion. His daiughter-in-law, Momo, had suffered some injuries, but would be fine. It was Izumi he was concerned about. Though she had not been injured, she had over extended herself, and was being treated for Quirk Exhaustion, as well.

Izumi was sleeping when Enji arrived at her room. That was good. He didn’t want her awake to see him. If she saw him, she’d have questions, and he would have to tell her not to tell Shoto. He didn’t want her keeping secrets from her father.

Enji hadn’t seen Izumi since she’d gotten sick as a child. She looked so much like Rei. He smiled softly. She truly was becoming a strong young woman, overcoming every obstacle set in front of her. He couldn’t be prouder. Enji gently reached down, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. He wished he could talk to her, but he knew he couldn’t.

Enji set down a stuffed rabbit down on the table next to her. He didn’t leave a card or anything. But he’d gotten her a very similar looking toy when she was younger, and it had been her favorite thing. Even though she was a teenager now, he hoped she still liked stuffed animals.

Izumi started to stir, and Enji knew it was his time to leave. He’d check on Shoto, and then leave. They wouldn’t know that he had been there, but just knowing that his family was safe, would give him some small comfort.

#my hero academia #their hero academia #fan fic #fan fiction #my writing #mha eri #kota izumi #mha midnight #nemuri kayama #mha aizawa #shouta aizawa #all might #inko midoriya #enji todoroki #mha endeavor

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fuyonggu · 6 years ago

Text

Chen Lin’s Proclamation to Wu (Long Version, Scholarly Commentary)

This is a proclamation which appears in the Wenxuan or Selections of Refined Literature, a collection of outstanding poetry and prose from the sixth century. Among the entries in the Proclamations chapter of that text are three Three Kingdoms-related proclamations, two by Chen Lin and one by Zhong Hui. The first Chen Lin entry is his famous denunciation of Cao Cao on behalf of Yuan Shao. This is the other, an attempt to overawe Sun Quan’s subjects and encourage them to defect to Cao Cao.

This proclamation appears to have been written at the beginning of 217, shortly before the second Ruxukou campaign, especially since it mentions events up until that time and mentions Xiahou Yuan as still being alive. Curiously, Chen Lin seems to have ghostwritten the proclamation on behalf of Xun Yu, who would have died five years earlier. Either that detail is mistaken or I am.

This post includes the original text and additional scholarly commentary. There is a duplicate post which just contains the actual translation.

檄吳將校部曲文

Proclamation to the Generals, Officers, and Subordinates of Wu

陳孔璋

By Chen Kongzhang (Chen Lin)

年月朔日，子尚書令彧，告江東諸將校部曲及孫權宗親中外：

On the first day of the year, the Prefect of the Masters of Writing, Xun Yu, distributed this proclamation to the various generals, officers, and subordinates of the Southland and to Sun Quan's friends and relatives, both near and far:

〈魏志曰：荀彧，字文若，潁川人也，太祖進彧為漢侍中，守尚書令。〉

(The Records of the Three Kingdoms states that Xun Yu, styled Wenruo, was a native of Yingchuan commandary. Cao Cao promoted him to be a Palace Attendant of the Han dynasty, as well as acting Prefect of the Masters of Writing.)

蓋聞禍福無門，惟人所召。夫見機而作，不處凶危，上聖之明也；臨事制變，困而能通，智者之慮也；漸漬荒沈，往而不反，下愚之蔽也。是以大雅君子，於安思危，以遠咎悔；小人臨禍懷佚，以待死亡。二者之量，不亦殊乎！

"It has been said, 'Happiness and misery have no gate by which they must enter, but each man calls the one or the other for himself'. For the man who 'sees his opportunity and acts', rather than remain amidst adversity and peril, has the wisdom of a great sage; he who, faced with danger and pressed by circumstances, heeds the new situation only in the end, deserves the concern of the knowledgeable; and he who only plunges deeper into the muck and mire, never turning aside from doom, merits the annihilation of the foolish. Thus does the refined and superior gentleman consider danger even while at peace, and contemplates future regrets even when they seem remote, while the inferior man is caught unawares by misfortune and laments his loss, and in the end meets with death and destruction. Is there not a great divide between them?

〈左氏傳閔子騫之辭。〉〈周易曰：君子見機而作，不俟終日。〉〈漢書曰：江充因變制宜。周易曰：困而不失其所亨，其唯君子乎！王弼曰：窮必通也。〉〈班固漢書贊曰：大雅卓爾不群，河間獻王近之矣。封禪書曰：興必慮衰，安必慮危。〉

(The first quote is from Min Zima, as mentioned in the Zuo Commentary to the Spring and Autumn Annals (Xiang 23.10).

The Book of Changes states, "The superior fellow sees his opportunity and acts, and does not wait until his ruin."

The Book of Han states, "Jiang Tong adapted according to the situation." The Book of Changes states, "Is it not only the superior gentlemen who does not lose his way even when pressed by adversity?" Wang Bi remarked, "One who is exhausted will turn."

Ban Gu's commentary in the Book of Han states, "The refined fellow stands head and shoulders above the rest; Prince Xian of Hejian was close to being such a fellow." And the Book of Fengshan states, "During prosperity, one must consider decline; at peace, one must contemplate danger.")

孫權小子，未辨菽麥，要領不足以膏齊斧，名字不足以洿簡墨。譬猶鷇卵，始生翰毛，而便陸梁放肆，顧行吠主。謂為舟楫足以距皇威，江湖可以逃靈誅，不知天網設張，以在綱目，爨鑊之魚，期於消爛也。若使水而可恃，則洞庭無三苗之墟，子陽無荊門之敗，朝鮮之壘不刊，南越之旍不拔。昔夫差承闔閭之遠跡，用申胥之訓兵，棲越會稽，可謂強矣。及其抗衡上國，與晉爭長，都城屠於勾踐，武卒散於黃池，終於覆滅，身罄越軍。及吳王濞驕恣屈強，猖猾始亂，自以兵強國��，勢陵京城。太尉帥師，甫下滎陽，則七國之軍，瓦解冰冸，濞之罵言未絕於口，而丹徒之刃以陷其胸。何則？天威不可當，而悖逆之罪重也。

"Now Sun Quan is a mere whelp, and 'unable to distinguish beans from wheat'; he has not worth enough to 'douse the axe' of authority, nor reputation enough to impress anyone. He is a mere hatchling, still growing his adult feathers. Yet he would seek to wander about and do as he pleases, like a dog who barks at his master; he claims that his boats and ships will let him oppose the imperial majesty, and his rivers and lacks shall save him from august punishment. But he does not recognize that Heaven casts its net wide, and he shall be caught in it; he is nothing but a fish in the pot, who will cook when its time has come.

"Has he his rivers to protect him? Yet by the waters of Lake Dongting there remains not a trace of the three ancient states of Miao. Ziyang (Gongsun Shu) had the Jing Gate to guard him, yet he was defeated; Chaoxian (northern Korea) had their ramparts, but they availed them not; Nanyue had their banners, yet they too perished.

“In ancient times, the King of Wu, Fuchai, inherited the legacy of his father Helü and the trained army provided by Shen Xu (Wu Zixu), and he stood astride the region of Kuaiji. Certainly he could have been called a mighty king. Yet when he sought to prove whose was the premier state and struggled with Jin for supremacy, his capital city was sacked by Goujian of Yue and his soldiers were put to flight at Huangchi, and in the end his state was toppled and destroyed and his corpse fell into the hands of the Yue army.

“During the Han dynasty, there was the Prince of Wu, Liu Bi, who was proud, arrogant, and overbearing. Out of his ferocity and cunning, he sought to start disorder, for he believed that he had a strong army and a rich territory, and that he was powerful enough to bully the capital. But when the Grand Commandant (Zhou Yafu) led his army down to Xingyang, the armies of the seven states cracked like tiles and melted like ice, and before Liu Bi could even say a word of condemnation, his throat had already been cut by the blade of Dantu.

“What to make of the fate of such men? Merely this: that the might of Heaven cannot be opposed, and those who rebel against its will are great criminals indeed.

〈左氏傳曰：晉周子有兄而無慧，不能辨菽麥。〉〈漢書音義，服虔注曰：易曰：喪其齊斧。未聞其說。張晏曰：斧，鉞也，以整齊天下。應劭曰：齊，利也。虞喜志林曰：齊，側皆切。凡師出必齊戒入廟受斧，故曰齊斧也。〉〈爾雅曰：生而自食曰雛，待哺曰鷇。郭璞曰：鳥子須母食。鄭玄尚書大傳注曰：翰毛，毛長大者。〉〈西京賦曰：怪獸陸梁。戰國策，刁勃謂田單曰：跖之狗吠堯，非其主也。〉〈尚書，帝曰：咨禹，惟時有苗弗率，汝徂征。三旬苗民逆命，帝乃誕敷文德，七旬有苗格。孔安國曰：三苗之國，左洞庭，右彭蠡。范曄後漢書曰：公孫述，字子陽，自立為蜀王，遣任滿據荊門。帝令征南大將軍岑彭攻之，滿大敗。〉〈史記曰：天子拜涉何為遼東部都尉。朝鮮襲殺何。天子遣左將軍荀彘擊朝鮮，朝鮮人殺其王右渠來降，定朝鮮為四郡。又曰：南越呂嘉反，以主爵都尉楊僕為樓舡將軍，下橫浦，咸會番禺，南越以平，遂為九郡。又曰：東越王餘善反，遣橫海將軍韓悅出句章。越建成侯敖殺餘善，以其衆降。〉〈史記曰：吳王闔閭死，立太子夫差。又樂毅遺燕惠王書曰：昔伍子胥說聽於闔閭，而吳王遠跡至郢。韋昭國語注曰：申胥，楚大夫伍奢之子子胥也。名員。員奔吳，吳與地，故曰申胥。史記曰：吳王夫差伐越，敗之，越王勾踐乃以甲兵五千人棲於會稽。〉〈毛萇詩注曰：抗，舉也。鄭玄周禮注曰：稱上曰衡。抗衡，謂對舉以爭輕重也。史記，陸賈曰：以區區之越，與天子抗衡為敵國。又曰：吳王夫差北會諸侯於黃池，欲霸中國。吳王與晉定公爭長，乃長晉定公。吳引兵歸國。又曰：吳與晉人相遇黃池之上，吳、晉爭強，晉人擊之，大敗吳師。越王聞之，襲吳。吳王聞之，去晉而歸，與越戰，不勝，城門不守，遂圍王宮而殺夫差。〉〈漢書曰：吳王濞，高帝兄仲之子也，立濞為吳王。孝景五年，起兵於廣陵。左氏傳曰：鄭子太叔卒，晉趙簡子曰：黃父之會，夫子語我九言，曰：無始亂，無怙富。〉〈漢書曰：七國反書聞，天子遣條侯周亞夫往擊楚，敗之。七國：吳王濞、楚王戊、趙王遂、膠西王卬、濟南王辟光、淄川王賢、膠東王渠。〉〈漢書曰：吳王敗，乃與戲下壯士千人夜亡，渡淮，走丹徒，保東越。漢使人以利啗東越，東越即紿吳王。吳王出勞軍，漢使人鏦殺吳王。漢書，賈誼上疏曰：適啟其口，匕首已陷其胸矣。〉

(Regarding the phrase "unable to distinguish beans from wheat", the Zuo Commentary to the Spring and Autumn Annals mentions that a certain brother of Zhouzi of Jin "was devoid of intelligence, so that he could not distinguish beans from wheat".

Regarding "douse his axe", in the pronunciation commentary to the Book of Han, Fu Qian notes, "The Book of Changes states that 'he mourned his axe'." But I (the commentator) have not heard of this. Zhang Yan remarked, "The axe in this case is the military battle-axe, with which one brings order to the realm." Ying Shao remarked, "The character 齊 in this case means 'beneficial'." Yi Xi's Zhilin states, "齊 here means 'corresponding'. A commander who is about to go out invariably enters the temple and received the battle-axe, thus this term."

The Erya dictionary states, "Among birds, those who are able to feed themselves upon being born are called 雛 'chicks', while those who wait to be fed are called 鷇 'hatchlings'." Guo Pu remarked, "Baby birds wait for their mothers to feed them." Zheng Xuan's commentary to the Book of Documents states, "Adult feathers are those feathers that have grown long and large."

Chen Lin uses the term 陸梁 "wander about"; this appears in a verse in the Rhapsody on the Western Capital: "strange beasts wander about".

In the Strategies of the Warring States, Diao Bo says to Tian Dan, "The reason that Robber Zhi's dog barked at Yao was because Yao was not the dog's master."

Regarding the Miao states, the Book of Documents states, "The Emperor said, 'Alas! O Yu, there is only the lord of Miao who refuses obedience; do you go and correct him.' For thirty days, the people of Miao continued rebellious against the commands. But the Emperor set about diffusing on a grand scale the virtuous influences of peace, and in seventy days, the lord of Miao came and made his submission." Kong Anguo remarked, "These were the three Miao states; to their left was Lake Dongting, and to their right was Lake Pengli (Lake Poyang)."

Fan Ye's Book of Later Han states, "Gongsun Shu, styled Ziyang, declared himself King of Shu. He sent Ren Man to occupy the Jing Gate. But Emperor Guangwu sent his Grand General Who Conquers The South, Cen Peng, to attack the Jing Gate, and Ren Man was greatly defeated."

Regarding Chaoxian, the Records of the Grand Historian states, "Emperor Wu of Han appointed She He as Commandant of Liaodong, but Chaoxian surprise attacked and killed She He. Emperor Wu then sent his General of the Left, Xun Zhi, to attack Chaoxian. The people of Chaoxian killed their king Ugeo and came to surrender, and Chaoxian was thus organized into four commandaries."

And regarding Nanyue, it states, "Lü Jia of Nanyue rebelled against the Han dynasty. Emperor Wu appointed his Commandant of Titles, Yang Pu, as General of Tower Ships, and Yang Pu sailed down to Hengpu and then rendezvoused at Panyu. Nanyue was pacified, and organized into nine commandaries." It also states, "The King of Dongyue (or Minyue), Yushan, rebelled. Emperor Wu sent his General Who Crests The Yangzi, Han Yue, out to Gouzhang. Dongyue's Marquis of Jiancheng killed Yushan and led his forces to surrender."

The Records of the Grand Historian mentions that when King Helü of Wu passed away, his Crown Prince, Fuchai, succeeded him. And the Yan general Yue Yi mentioned in a letter to King Hui of Yan that "Wu Zixu gained the ear of Helü, and thus the King of Wu was able to launch a distant campaign and capture the Chu capital at Ying." Wei Zhao's commentary on the Discourses of the States states, "Shen Xu was the son of the great Chu minister Wu She, named Wu Zixu; his given name was Yuan. When Wu Yuan fled Chu and sought refuge in Wu, Wu granted him a fief, thus he also became known as Shen Xu." The Records further states, "When King Fuchai of Wu campaigned against Yue and defeated them, King Goujian of Yue led five thousand armored soldiers to perch at Kuaiji."

The commentary to the Mao edition of the Book of Poetry states, "To oppose is to contend." Zheng Xuan's commentary to the Rites of Zhou states, "To claim supremacy is to oppose. By thus opposing, one sought to see whose side was strongest." In the Records of the Grand Historian, Lu Jia states, "This pathetic little region of Yue dares to contend with the Son of Heaven as an enemy."

The Records also states, "King Fuchai of Wu went north to the conference of feudal lords at Huangchi, where he sought to claim status as Hegemon of the Middle Kingdom. He contended with Duke Ding of Jin for supremacy, but Duke Ding proved the victor. Wu thus led its troops home again." It further states, "When Wu encountered the people of Jin above Huangchi, the two sides fought for dominance; the people of Jin attacked the Wu soldiers, and greatly defeated their army. When the King of Yue (Goujian) learned of this, he led a surprise attack against Wu. Upon hearing this, the King of Wu (Fuchai) left Jin and returned to attack Yue. But he was unsuccessful; the city gates could not hold, and the Yue army besieged the palace and killed Fuchai."

The Book of Han states, "The Prince of Wu, Liu Bi, was the son of Emperor Gaozu's (Liu Bang's) elder brother Liu Zhong, and he was appointed as the Prince of Wu. In the fifth year of Emperor Jing's reign (154 BC), Liu Bi rose up with troops at Guangling."

The Zuo Commentary states, "When Zitaishu of Zheng passed away, Zhao Jianzi of Jin said, 'At the meeting of Huangfu, he told me, "Do not begin disorder, do not trust in riches".'"

The Book of Han states, "When word reached the capital of the Rebellion of the Seven States, Emperor Jing sent the Marquis Xiao, Zhou Yafu, to attack the Prince of Chu, and Zhou Yafu defeated him." The Seven States were the Prince of Wu, Liu Bi, the Prince of Chu, Liu Wu, the Prince of Zhao, Liu Sui, the Prince of Jiaoxi, Liu Ang, the Prince of Jinan, Liu Piguang, the Prince of Zichuan, Liu Xian, and the Prince of Jiaodong, Liu Qu.

The Book of Han further states, "When the Prince of Wu was defeated, he fled through the night with a thousand strong fellows and crossed the Huai River to flee to Dantu, where he sought refuge in Dongyue. But Han sent envoys to persuade Dongyue, who surrendered the Prince of Wu to them. When the Prince of Wu was about to come out and rebuke the troops, an agent was sent to kill him with a short spear." Elsewhere in the Book of Han, Jia Yi mentions in a petition that "He was just about to open his mouth when his neck was suddenly pierced.")

且江湖之衆，不足恃也，自董卓作亂，以迄於今，將三十載。其間豪桀縱橫，熊據虎跱，強如二袁，勇如呂布，跨州連郡，有威有名，十有餘輩。其餘鋒捍特起，鸇視狼顧，爭為梟雄者，不可勝數。然皆伏鈇嬰鉞，首腰分離，雲散原燎，罔有孑遺。近者關中諸將，復相合聚，續為叛亂，阻二華，據河渭，驅率羌胡，齊鋒東向，氣高志遠，似若無敵。丞相秉鉞鷹揚，順風烈火，元戎啟行，未鼓而破。伏尸千萬，流血漂樐，此皆天下所共知也。是後大軍所以臨江而不濟者，以韓約馬超逋逸迸脫，走還涼州，復欲鳴吠。逆賊宋建，僭號河首，同惡相救，並為脣齒。又鎮南將軍張魯，負固不恭。皆我王誅所當先加。故且觀兵旋旆，復整六師，長驅西征，致天下誅。偏將涉隴，則建約梟夷，旍首萬里；軍入散關，則群氐率服，王侯豪帥，奔走前驅。進臨漢中，則陽平不守，十萬之師，土崩魚爛，張魯逋竄，走入巴中，懷恩悔過，委質還降；巴夷王朴胡賨邑侯杜濩，各帥種落，共舉巴郡，以奉王職。鉦鼓一動，二方俱定，利盡西海，兵不鈍鋒。若此之事，皆上天威明，社稷神武，非徒人力所能立也。

"Nor can Sun Quan be secure in the power of his army. After all, it has been nearly thirty years by now since Dong Zhuo first began the turmoil. And during that time, great heroes and talents roamed the length and breadth of the land, territorial as bears and implacable as tigers. The most powerful among them were those like the two Yuans (Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu), and the strongest were those like Lü Bu; for more than ten years, they stood astride several provinces, and they wielded power and commanded respect. Even beyond them, there were many remarkable heroes with passion and zeal, gazing like owls and glancing like wolves, and in this struggle for heroic supremacy there were too many people to count. Yet in the end, every one of them fell under the axe and parted with their heads; the clouds dispersed and the plains were scorched, and not a man remained among them.

"More recently, there were the generals of Guanzhong (Ma Chao and his allies), who banded together to rebel and cause chaos. They blocked the two Huas (Huayin and Huayang), occupied the Yellow and Wei Rivers, led the Qiang and other tribes to charge forward, and pushed their vanguard towards the east. They possessed towering zeal and lofty ambitions, and it seemed as though no one could stand against them. Yet the Prime Minister (Cao Cao) took up the military battle-axe and spread the word, and, sure as wind and blazing as fire, he 'led the way in front' and routed the foe before a roll of the drums. The result was 'a heap of corpses by the thousands and tens of thousands, of flowing blood and discarded shields'. These are things which all the realm well knows.

"Later, when the grand army had come to the banks of the Yangzi but had not yet crossed, Han Yue (Han Sui) and Ma Chao scampered off and fled back to Liangzhou, where they once again sought to caw and bark. The traitor and bandit Song Jian, who had declared himself King of the Source of the Yellow River, formed common cause with their evil; they helped each other as the lips support the teeth. It was the same way with the General Who Guards The South, Zhang Lu, who was confident in his defenses and so refused to respect royal authority. These enemies were all deserving of our royal punishment. Thus the Prime Minister merely reviewed the troops and made a demonstration at the Yangzi, then once again put the royal armies in order and charged to the west on campaign, to inflict the punishment of the realm against these foes.

"What were the results? No sooner had mere subordinate generals crossed the Long Mountains when Song Jian and Han Sui parted with their heads, and their heads and banners were sent ten thousand li to us. The moment that our army entered San Pass, the various Di tribes came to submit to us, and their kings, nobles, chiefs, and leaders all fled in the face of our advance. When we advanced to Hanzhong, Yangping Gate fell before us; Zhang Lu's army of a hundred thousand men was no more than fallen earth or rotting fish. Zhang Lu himself scurried away, fleeing into Bazhong, but then cherishing the kindness that he had been shown and repenting of his transgressions, he brought his whole family and returned to surrender. The King of the the tribes of Ba, Pu Hu, and the Marquis of the Cong tribes, Du Huo, each led their forces to come and submit, presenting up Ba commandary, and these leaders were employed in office. Thus with one blow of the horns and one roll of the drums, these two corners of the realm were all pacified; we reaped the full bounty of the western sea without even a clash of the vanguards.

"Such things as these only come about through the might and wisdom of Heaven above and the martial prowess of the very spirits of state; they are not something that the power of a mere mortal can accomplish.

〈二袁，袁紹、袁術也。魏志曰：呂布便弓馬，旅力過人，號為飛將。〉〈淮南子曰：鴟視虎顧。鹽鐵論曰：無鹿駭狼顧之憂。〉〈尚書曰：若火之燎于原。毛詩曰：周餘黎民，靡有孑遺。〉〈魏志，張魯據漢中，遣鍾繇討之。是時關中諸將，疑繇欲自襲馬超，遂與楊秋、李湛、宜成等反。遣曹仁討之。超等屯潼關，公敕諸將：關西兵精悍，堅壁勿與戰。〉〈魏志曰：公西征馬超。公自潼關北度，未濟，超赴船急戰。丁斐曰：放馬以餌賊。賊亂取馬，公乃得渡，循河為甬而南。賊追距渭口，公乃分兵結營於渭南。賊夜攻營，伏兵擊破之，進軍渡渭。超等數挑戰，不許，公乃與克日會戰。先以輕兵挑之，戰良久，乃縱彍騎夾擊，大破之，斬宜成、李湛等。漢書，元后詔曰：運獨見之明，奮無前之威。毛詩曰：武王載旆，有虔秉鉞，如火烈烈，則莫我敢遏。又曰：元戎十乘，以先啟行。〉〈戰國策，秦王謂唐且曰：天子之怒，伏尸百萬，流血千里。賈誼過秦曰：伏尸百萬，流血漂樐。〉〈魏志曰：曹公斬宜成，遂、超走涼州。典略曰：韓遂，字文約，在涼州阻兵為亂，積三十年，建安二十年乃死。〉〈魏志曰：初，隴西宋建自稱河首平漢王，聚衆枹罕。夏侯淵討之，屠枹罕，斬建涼州。〉〈魏志曰：張魯，字公旗，據漢中，以鬼道教人，自號師君。長雄巴漢，垂三十年，漢末力不能征，遂就寵魯為鎮民中郎將。漢寧，太祖征之。周禮曰：負固不服則攻之。〉〈魏志曰：建安十七年，公征孫權，攻破江西營，乃引軍還。史記曰：武王東觀兵至于孟津。諸侯皆曰：帝紂可伐。武王曰：未可。乃還師。〉〈魏志曰：建安二十年，公西征張魯。〉〈魏志曰：韓遂在顯親，夏侯淵欲襲取之，遂走。後淵大破遂軍，得其旍麾。斬建及遂死，已見上文。〉〈魏志曰：公西征張魯，自陳倉出散關至河池。氐王竇茂恃險不服，攻屠之。〉〈魏志曰：西征張魯，至陽平，魯使弟衛據陽平關，公乃遣高祚等乘險夜襲，大破之。〉〈魏志曰：魯弟衛夜遯。魯潰走巴中，遣人慰喻。魯盡家屬出降。土崩，已見上文。公羊傳曰：其言梁亡何？自亡也。奈何？魚爛而亡。何休曰：魚爛從內發。左氏傳，狐突曰：策名委質。〉〈魏志曰：建安二十年，七姓巴夷王朴胡、賨邑侯杜濩舉巴夷、賨民來附。於是分巴郡，以胡為巴東太守，濩巴西太守。孫盛曰：朴音浮。濩音護。〉〈戰國策，司馬錯曰：今伐蜀，利盡西海，而諸侯不以為貪。漢書，淮南王安上疏曰：不勞一卒，不頓一戟。又曰：不挫一兵之鋒。鈍與頓同。〉

(The "two Yuans" were Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu.

The Biography of Lü Bu in the Records of the Three Kingdoms states, "Lü Bu was skilled at archery and riding, and his strength surpassed that of others. People called him the Flying General."

The phrase "gazing like owls and glancing like wolves" comes from the Huainanzi. And the Discourses on Salt and Iron has a similar phrase: "There were be no cause for concern of 'the skittishness of a deer or the glancing of a wolf'."

The Book of Documents has the phrase, "like a fire that scorches the plains". And the Mao edition of the Book of Poetry has the verse, "Of the remnant of Zhou, among the black-haired people, there will not be half a man left".

The Records of the Three Kingdoms describes the uprising of the Guanzhong generals: "When Zhang Lu occupied Hanzhong, Cao Cao sent Zhong Yao to campaign against him. But at that time, the generals of Guanzhong suspected that Zhong Yao really intended to launch a surprise attack against Ma Chao. So Ma Chao banded together with Yang Qiu, Li Zhan, Yi Cheng, and others and rebelled. Cao Cao sent Cao Ren to campaign against them. Ma Chao and the others camped at Tong Gate. Cao Cao ordered his generals, 'The soldiers of Guanxi have keen zeal; keep fast to your defenses, and do not fight them.'"

The Records continues, "Cao Cao came west to campaign against Ma Chao. Cao Cao was going to cross the Yellow River north of Tong Gate, but before, Ma Chao's fleet arrived and brought on a fierce battle. Ding Fei advised him, 'Scatter your horses to entice the rebels.' So Cao Cao scattered his horses, and the rebels scrambled to take them, thus allowing Cao Cao to get across the river, then follow it to the south. The rebels pursued him and opposed him at Weikou, so Cao Cao divided his troops and arranged a camp at Weinan. The rebels attacked the camp during the night, but troops lying in ambush attacked and routed them. Cao Cao then advanced and crossed the Wei River as well. Ma Chao and the others repeatedly sought battle; Cao Cao kept putting them off, but eventually agreed, and on the arranged date the two sides met in battle. Cao Cao initially sent some light troops forward to skirmish with the enemy, but after the battle had dragged on for some time, he had his cavalry attack from the flanks, greatly routing the rebels. He took the heads of Yi Cheng, Li Kan, and others.

In the Book of Han, the edict of Empress Yuan has the phrase "zealous as though no one can stand before them". The Mao edition of the Book of Poetry has the verse, "The martial king displayed his banner, and with reverence grasped his axe. It was like a blazing fire, which no one can repress." And again, "Ten large war chariots led the way in front.”

In the Strategies of the Warring States, the King of Qin says to Tang Ju, "The anger of the Son of Heaven leads to a heap of corpses by the hundreds and tens of thousands, and flowing blood for a thousand li." Jia Yi's essay The Faults of Qin has a similar phrase: "a heap of corpses by the hundreds and tens of thousands, of flowing blood and discarded shields".

The Records of the Three Kingdoms states, "After Cao Cao beheaded Yi Cheng, Han Sui and Ma Chao fled to Liangzhou." The Dianlue states, "Han Sui, styled Wenyue, occupied Liangzhou and raised troops in rebellion for thirty years. He died in the twentieth year of Jian'an (215)."

The Records continue, "Earlier, Song Jian of Longxi had declared himself King of the Source of the Yellow River Who Pacifies the Han Dynasty, and he had gathered an army at Fuhan. Xiahou Yuan campaigned against him; he sacked Fuhan and took Song Jian's head."

The Records continue, "Zhang Lu, styled Gongqi, occupied Hanzhong. He instructed the people in mystic arts, calling himself Instructor and Master. He stood tall over the regions of Ba and Han for nearly thirty years. Since in the final years of the Han dynasty the court was not strong enough to campaign against him, they appeased Zhang Lu by appointing him as General of the Household Gentlemen Who Guards The People. But after Han had been settled, Cao Cao campaigned against him." The Rites of Zhou states, "Whomever relies upon their defenses and refuses to submit, attack them."

The Records continue, "In the seventeenth year of Jian'an (212), Cao Cao campaigned against Sun Quan. He attacked and routed Sun Quan's camps north of the Yangzi, then led his army back again." Chen Lin alludes to an account from the Records of the Grand Historian: "King Wu of Zhou reviewed his troops at Meng Crossing. The nobles all told him, 'Now is the time to campaign against King Zhou of Shang.' But King Wu told them, 'The moment is not right.' And he led his army back again."

The Records continue, "In the twentieth year of Jian'an (215), Cao Cao campaigned west against Zhang Lu."

The Records continue, "Han Sui was at Xianqin. Xiahou Yuan wished to launch a surprise attack and capture him, so Han Sui fled. Later, Xiahou Yuan greatly routed Han Sui's army and captured his banners and flags." This led to the deaths of Song Jian and Han Sui, as mentioned above.

The Records continue, "When Cao Cao campaigned against Zhang Lu, he marched from Chencang, came out through San Pass, and advanced to Hechi. The King of the Di, Dou Mao, was confident of his defenses and would not submit. Cao Cao attacked and slaughtered him."

The Records continue, "During the campaign against Zhang Lu, Cao Cao came to Yangping. Zhang Lu sent his younger brother Zhang Wei to occupy Yangping Gate. Cao Cao then sent Gao Zuo and others to slip through the terrain and launch a surprise night attack, and they greatly routed Zhang Wei. Zhang Wei fled through the night. Zhang Lu fled to hide in the Ba region, while sending envoys to smooth relations. He then brought his whole family out to surrender."

The simile of fallen earth has already been mentioned above. Regarding rotting fish, the Gongyang Commentary to the Spring and Autumn Annals states, "In what way did he say that Liang would fall? From self-destruction. What would that be like? Like a fish which rots before it dies." He Xiu remarked, "Fish rot from the inside out."

The Zuo Commentary states, "To demonstrate his loyalty, the new officer wrote his name on a plaque and presented a sacrifice."

The Records continue, "In the twentieth year of Jian'an (215), the King of the seven tribes of the Ba region, Pu Hu, and the Marquis of the Cong people, Du Huo, led the tribes of Ba and the Cong people to come and submit to Cao Cao. Cao Cao thus split Ba commandary in half; he appointed Pu Hu as Administrator of Badong, and Du Huo as Administrator of Baxi." Sun Sheng remarked, "Pu Hu's surname 朴 is pronounced 'fu', and Du Huo's given name 濩 is pronounced 'hu'."

In the Strategies of the Warring States, Sima Cuo states, "If you now campaign against Shu, you will reap all the bounty of the western sea, which the feudal lords have no greed for."

In the Book of Han, the Prince of Huainan, Liu An, has a petition which includes the phrases, "trouble not a single soldier, nor set a single spear", and "seek not a single clash of weapons".)

聖朝寬仁覆載，允信允文，大啟爵命，以示四方。魯及胡濩皆享萬戶之封，魯之五子，各受千室之邑，胡濩子弟部曲將校為列侯將軍已下千有餘人。百姓安堵，四民反業。而建約之屬，皆為鯨鯢；超之妻孥，焚首金城，父母嬰孩，覆尸許市。非國家鍾禍於彼，降福於此也，逆順之分，不得不然。夫鷙鳥之擊先高，攫鷙之勢也；牧野之威，孟津之退也。今者枳棘翦扞，戎夏以清，萬里肅齊，六師無事。故大舉天師百萬之衆，與匈奴南單于呼完廚及六郡烏桓丁令屠各，湟中羌僰，霆奮席卷，自壽春而南。又使征西將軍夏侯淵等，率精甲五萬，及武都氐羌，巴漢銳卒，南臨汶江，搤據庸蜀。江夏襄陽諸軍，橫截湘沅，以臨豫章，樓船橫海之師，直指吳會。萬里克期，五道並入，權之期命，於是至矣。

"And how generous and benevolent the court is; most impartial, fully civil and fully trustworthy, and greatly willing to grant titles as a display to all the realm. Having submitted to the dynasty, Zhang Lu, Pu Hu, and Du Huo were all granted fiefs of ten thousand households, Zhang Lu's five sons were all granted fiefs of a thousand households, and more than a thousand of the relatives and subordinates of Pu Hu and Du Huo were granted titles from minor marquises and generals on down. Thus were the people able to enjoy tranquility, and the Four Professions returned to their livelihoods. But as for those who rebelled, Song Jian and Han Yue (Han Sui) and their ilk were all 'buried under a mound', while Ma Chao's wife and children were beheaded at Jincheng and his parents and infants were executed in the Xu marketplace. These were not merely the whims of the state to inflict misfortune here and bestow blessings there; they were the just fruits of the submissive and the traitorous.

"Before it snatches its prey, a raptor will often first ascend in order to muster its full power. Likewise, before King Wu of Zhou's ultimate victory at Muye, he first withdrew from Meng Crossing. So too have we been clearing the brambles and cutting away the thorns, restoring peace among the tribes and the Xia (ethnic Han), such that now all the territory for ten thousand li around has become respectful and submissive, and there is no military trouble to be found.

"And now (~217) we have brought forth this heavenly army against you, one million strong, bolstered with the support of the Chanyu of the Xiongnu, Huwanchu (Huchuquan), the various tribes of the six commandaries, the Wuhuan, the Dingling, and the Chuge, and the Qiang and Bo tribes of Huangzhong. Like the rolling of thunder and the unfurling of a mat, we have swept south from Shouchun. At the same time, the General Who Conquers The West, Xiahou Yuan, and others are leading forth fifty thousand elite armored soldiers. The Di and Qiang tribes of Wudu and the zealous troops of the Ba and Han regions are marching south to the Wen River and the Yangzi to swiftly occupy the regions of Tang and Shu. The armies of Jiangxia and Xiangyang are also on the move, crossing the Xiang and Yuan Rivers and approaching Yuzhang. Lastly, our great fleet of tower ships is skirting the coast of the sea and heading straight for the regions of Wu and Kuaiji. All along this front of ten thousand li, we march as one, advancing along five routes against us. Sun Quan's fate is now at hand.

〈春秋考異郵曰：赤帝之精，寬仁大度。禮記曰：天無私覆，地無私載。毛詩曰：允文允武，昭假列祖。〉〈魏志曰：胡、濩者皆封列侯。又曰：封魯及五子皆為列侯。〉〈漢書曰：高祖入關，吏民皆安堵如故。管子曰：士農工商四民者，國之石民。〉〈左氏傳，楚子曰：古者明王伐不敬，取其鯨鯢而封，以為大戮。〉〈魏志曰：南安趙衢討超，梟其妻子。漢書有金城郡。〉〈范曄後漢書曰：建安元年，遷都于許。〉〈漢書，涓勳曰：甚誖逆順之理。〉〈此述往年未伐之意。尚書序曰：武王與受戰於牧野。又曰：惟十有一年，武王伐殷。孔安國曰：諸侯僉同，乃退以示弱。〉〈枳棘，以喻殘賊也。翦扞，翦除而防衛之也。〉〈魏志曰：建安二十一年治兵，遂征孫權也。〉〈魏志曰：建安二十一年，匈奴南單于呼廚泉將其名王來朝，待以客禮。漢書曰：諸羌言願得度湟水北。然湟水左右，羌之所居。丁令、屠各，已見上文。〉〈漢書，九江郡有壽春邑。〉〈魏志曰：夏侯淵，字妙才，惇族弟也，為征西將軍。〉〈魏志曰：建安二十一年，留夏侯淵屯漢中。〉〈漢書曰：東越反，上遣橫海將軍韓說、樓船將軍楊僕，入軍於越。〉〈大舉天師至壽春而南，一道也；使征西甲卒五萬，二道也；及武都至庸蜀，三道也；江夏至豫章，四道也；樓船至會稽，五道也。〉

(The Textual Analysis of the Spring and Autumn Annals states, "The essences of the Red Emperor were magnanimity, benevolence, and great capacity." The Book of Rites states, "Heaven overspreads all without partiality; Earth sustains and contains all without partiality." The Mao edition of the Book of Poetry has the verse, "With great qualities truly civil and martial, brilliantly he affects his meritorious ancestors."

The Records of the Three Kingdoms states, "The followers of Pu Hu and Du Huo were all appointed as minor marquises." It further states, "Zhang Lu and his five sons were all appointed as minor marquises."

The Book of Han states, "When Gaozu (Liu Bang) entered Guanzhong, the officials and the people all enjoyed their past tranquility again." The Guanzi states, "The Four Professions are the foundation of the state: they are the scholar-officials, the farmers, the artisans, and the merchants."

In the Zuo Commentary, the Viscount of Chu says, "In ancient times, when the intelligent kings punished disrespectful and disobedient states, they took the greatest criminals among them, and buried them under a mound as the greatest punishment."

The Records continue, "Zhao Qu of Nan'an commandary campaigned against Ma Chao, and beheaded his wife and children." The Book of Han lists a Jincheng commandary.

Fan Ye's Book of Later Han states, "In the first year of Jian'an (196), the capital was moved to Xu."

In the Book of Han, Juan Xun says, "Nothing can be more perverse than treason."

Beginning with the description of the raptor, Chen Lin is now describing the coming campaign against Wu. The Book of Documents states, "King Wu of Zhou did battle with King Zhou of Shang at Muye." It also states, "Not until the eleventh year did King Wu campaign against Yin (Shang)." Kong Anguo remarked, "The lords all agreed, and King Wu withdrew from Meng Crossing as a sign of weakness."

"Clearing the brambles" meant eliminating the various bandits and rebels, and "cutting away the thorns" mean nipping future threats in the bud and guarding against them.

The Records continue, "In the twenty-first year of Jian'an (216), Cao Cao prepared his troops, then led a campaign against Sun Quan."

The Records continue, "In the twenty-first year of Jian'an (216), the Chanyu of the Xiongnu, Huquchuan, led his famous nobles to come to court, and was treated as an honored guest." The Book of Han states, "The various Qiang tribes are said to have crossed over to the north of the Huang River." So the Qiang must have dwelled on either side of the river. The Dingling and Chuge people were mentioned above.

According to the Book of Han, the city of Shouchun was in Jiujiang commandary.

According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, "Xiahou Yuan, styled Miaocai, was the younger kinsman of Xiahou Dun, and was appointed as General Who Conquers The West."

The Records continue, "In the twenty-first year of Jian'an (216), Xiahou Yuan was left to guard Hanzhong."

The Book of Han states, "When the state of Dongyue (Minyue) rebelled, Emperor Wu of Han sent the General Who Crosses The Seas, Han Yue, and the General of Tower Ships, Yang Pu, to lead the army into Yue."

These were the five lines of advance: first, the main army gathered at Shouchun and then marching south; second, the fifty thousand armored troops under Xiahou Yuan; third, the tribes moving down from Wudu to Tang and Shu; fourth, the armies of Jiangxia and Xiangyang marching to Yuzhang; and fifth, the tower ships sailing to Kuaiji.")

丞相銜奉國威，為民除害，元惡大憝，必當梟夷。至於枝附葉從，皆非詔書所特禽疾。故每破滅強敵，未嘗不務在先降後誅，拔將取才，各盡其用。是以立功之士，莫不翹足引領，望風響應。昔袁術僭逆，王誅將加，則廬江太守劉勳先舉其郡，還歸國家。呂布作亂，師臨下邳，張遼侯成，率衆出降，還討眭固，薛洪樛尚，開城就化。官渡之役，則張郃高奐舉事立功。後討袁尚，則都督將軍馬延、故豫州刺史陰夔、射聲校尉郭昭臨陣來降。圍守鄴城，則將軍蘇游反為內應，審配兄子開門入兵。既誅袁譚，則幽州大將焦觸攻逐袁熙，舉事來服。凡此之輩數百人，皆忠壯果烈，有智有仁，悉與丞相參圖畫策，折衝討難，芟敵搴旗，靜安海內，豈輕舉措也哉！誠乃天啟其心，計深慮遠，審邪正之津，明可否之分，勇不虛死，節不苟立，屈伸變化，唯道所存，故乃建丘山之功，享不訾之祿，朝為仇虜，夕為上將，所謂臨難知變，轉禍為福者也。若夫說誘甘言，懷寶小惠，泥滯苟且，沒而不覺，隨波漂流，與熛俱滅者，亦甚衆多。吉凶得失，豈不哀哉！昔歲軍在漢中，東西懸隔，合肥遺守，不滿五千，權親以數萬之衆，破敗奔走，今乃欲當禦雷霆，難以冀矣。

"Now the Prime Minister, as the agent of the state's authority, is acting to remove threats to the people, and there can be no salvation for the abhorrent chief criminals; they shall surely part with their heads. But 'the branches attached and the leaves that follow' may yet be spared; though the leaders are doomed, their followers need not be condemned. The imperial edict does not decree that such people must die. On the contrary, every time that the Prime Minister has vanquished a powerful foe, he has never failed to first offer opportunities for surrender and only afterwards execute those who would not submit. He has recruited generals and obtained talents, and all such people found their full use in his service. And in all instances, there have been meritorious ministers who have 'stood on tiptoes and craned their necks', who have heeded the situation and responded to circumstances.

“For example, when Yuan Shu treasonously claimed imperial title and the court executed him and his generals, the Administrator of Lujiang, Liu Xun, offered up his commandary to the court and return to the fold of the state. When Lü Bu caused turmoil and the Prime Minister led the army to Xiapi, Zhang Liao and Hou Cheng led their troops out to surrender. When the Prime Minister returned to campaign against Sui Gu, Xue Hong and Jiu Shang opened the gates of his city and submitted. During the battle of Guandu, Zhang He and Gao Huan (Gao Lan) changed sides and performed great deeds. Later, during the campaign against Yuan Shang, the General-Commandant, Ma Yan, the former Inspector of Yuzhou, Yin Kui, and the Colonel of Archers Who Shoot At A Sound, Guo Zhao, came and surrendered during the fighting. When the Prime Minister surrounded Ye, the general Su You turned against Yuan Shang and supported the Prime Minister from the inside, and Shen Pei's nephew opened the gates of the city and let the army in. After Yuan Tan was executed, the great general of Youzhou, Jiao Chu, attacked Yuan Xi and drove him out, then heeded the situation and came to submit.

"There were hundreds of such people, all loyal, strong, stalwart, and zealous, all intelligent, all benevolent. They all joined with the Prime Minister to advise him and help develop his plans, to break and charge on campaigns against his foes, to root out his enemies and pull up their banners, and to restore peace and tranquility within the Four Seas. They did not take such actions lightly! It was truly an instance of 'Heaven displaying its heart', of them 'thinking deeply and considering the long-term'.

"Consider well the crossing-point between good and evil; understand the division between possible and impossible. Let the brave not die a pointless death; let the dutiful not maintain a meager charge. Bow to the reality of circumstances, for there is only one road by which you may preserve yourself. And if you do so, then you may establish a mountain of achievements and enjoy an incalculable salary. Those who in the morning were hated criminals may become the highest of generals by evening. This is what is meant by 'recognizing the situation in the midst of difficulties and exchanging bad fortune for good'.

"There are those who will say I am only enticing you with honeyed words and trying to win you over with trifling kindness. But such people are merely stuck in the mud; they are already lost, yet they do not realize it. How many people shall continue to go along with the flow and be snuffed out in the flames with all the others? Would it not be tragic to throw away a chance for good fortune?

"A few years ago, when the army was at Hanzhong, the eastern flank of the state was far away from the west, and the garrison remaining at Hefei was not even five thousand strong, while Sun Quan personally led tens of thousands of soldiers against it. Yet he was routed and driven off in defeat. Now he thinks to stand against the rolling thunder. He has little hope.

〈尚書，成王曰：元惡大憝。〉〈楊雄覈靈賦曰：枝附葉從，表立景隨。〉〈新序，趙良謂商君曰：君亡可翹足而待也。左氏傳，穆叔謂晉侯曰：引領西望，曰庶幾乎！尚書曰：惟影響。孔安國曰：若影之隨形，響之應聲。〉〈魏志曰：建安四年，袁術敗於陳。術病死，廬江太守劉勳率衆降，封為列侯。〉〈魏��曰：張遼，字文遠，鴈門人也，以兵屬呂布。太祖破呂布於下邳，遼將衆降，拜中郎將，爵為關內侯。〉〈魏志曰：眭固屬袁紹，屯射犬。公進軍臨河，使史渙、曹仁渡河擊之。固使張楊故長史薛洪、河內太守樛尚留守，自將兵以迎紹求救，與渙、仁遇，交戰，大破之，斬固。公遂濟河，圍射犬。洪、尚率衆降，封為列侯。樛音留。〉〈魏志曰：公擊淳于瓊，留曹洪守。紹使張郃、高覽攻曹洪。郃等聞瓊破，遂來降。魏志云高覽，此云奐，蓋有二名。〉〈魏志曰：公圍尚，營未合，尚懼，遣故豫州刺史陰夔及陳琳乞降，公不許，圍益急。尚夜遯，保岐山，追擊之，其將馬延等臨陣降，衆大潰。〉〈魏志曰：尚攻譚，留蘇由守鄴。公進軍到洹水，由降。游與由同。〉〈魏志曰：袁尚走中山，盡獲其輜重印綬節鉞，使尚降人示其家，城中崩沮。審配兄子榮夜開所守東城門內兵，配逆戰敗，生禽配，斬之。〉〈魏志曰：建安十年，袁熙大將焦觸叛，熙、尚奔三郡烏丸，觸等舉其縣來降。〉〈西京賦曰：天啟其心。司馬相如喻巴蜀文曰：計深慮遠，急國家之難。〉〈答客難曰：所欲必得，功若丘山。賈逵國語注曰：訾，言量也。〉〈說苑，孔子曰：聖人轉禍為福，報怨以德。〉〈毛詩曰：盜言孔甘。論語曰：好行小惠。〉〈魏志曰：太祖使張遼與樂進等將七千餘人屯合肥。太祖征張魯，俄而權率十萬衆圍合肥。於是遼夜募敢從之士，得八百人。明日大戰，平旦，遼被甲持戟，先登陷陣，殺千人，斬二將。權登高冢，以長戟自守。遼呼，權不敢動。權守合肥十餘日，城不可拔，乃引退。〉

(In the Book of Documents, King Cheng of Zhou says, "Such great criminals are greatly abhorred."

Chen Lin quotes from Yang Xiong's Rhapsody of Heling, which has the verse, "The branches attach and the leaves follow; what has been raised shall be joined by a shadow."

In the Records of the Grand Historian, Zhao Liang states to Shang Yang, "Sir, they are waiting on tiptoes to see your demise." In the Zuo Commentary, Mushu says to the Marquis of Jin, "They are craning their necks and looking to the west, saying that it is so!" The Book of Documents has the phrase, "Mere shadows and echoes." Kong Anguo remarked, "This means like a shadow which follows a thing, or an echo which follows a sound."

The Records of the Three Kingdoms states, "In the fourth year of Jian'an (199), Yuan Shu was defeated at Qin. He passed away from illness. The Administrator of Lujiang, Liu Xun, led his troops to surrender, and he was appointed as a minor marquis."

The Records continue, "Zhang Liao, styled Wenyuan, was a native of Yanmen commandary. He was an officer under Lü Bu. When Cao Cao routed Lü Bu at Xiapi, Zhang Liao led his troops to surrender. He was appointed as a General of the Household Gentlemen and a Marquis Within The Passes."

The Records continue, "Sui Gu served under Yuan Shao, and was camped at Shequan. Cao Cao advanced to the Yellow River, and sent Shi Huan and Cao Ren to cross the river and attack Sui Gu. Sui Gu had Zhang Yang's former Chief Clerk, Xue Hong, and the Administrator of Henei, Jiu Shang, remain behind the guard his camp while he himself led troops to meet Yuan Shao and ask him for aid. But he encountered Shi Huan and Cao Ren, became locked in battle, and was greatly routed; they took Sui Gu's head. Cao Cao then crossed the river and besieged Shequan. Xue Hong and Jiu Shang led their forces to surrender, and were appointed as minor marquises." Jiu Shang's surname 樛 is pronounced "liu".

The Records continue, "When Cao Cao attacked Chunyu Qiong (at Wuchao), he left Cao Hong to guard his camp. Yuan Shao sent Zhang He and Gao Lan to attack Cao Hong. But when Zhang He and the others heard that Chunyu Qiong had been routed, they came and surrendered." The Records states that this officer's name was Gao Lan, while this proclamation writes his name as Gao Huan; he must've had two different given names.

The Records continue, "When Cao Cao surrounded Yuan Shang, since Yuan Shang's camp was not yet finished, he was afraid. He sent the former Inspector of Yuzhou, Yin Kui, and Chen Lin to beg to be allowed to surrender, but Cao Cao refused, and only tightened his siege even more. Yuan Shang then broke out during the night and held out in the mountains. Cao Cao pursued and attacked Yuan Shang; his generals, Ma Yan and others, surrendered during the fighting, and Yuan Shang's forces greatly collapsed."

The Records continue, "When Yuan Shang attacked Yuan Tan, he left Su You to guard Ye. Cao Cao advanced his army to the Huan River, and Su You surrendered." The Records record Su You's given name as 由, while this proclamation has it as 游; both are pronounced "you".

The Records continue, "When Yuan Shang fled to Zhongshan, Cao Cao captured all his supplies, his seals and ribbons, and his tallys and axes of authority. He sent defectors from Yuan Shang's army to display these things to their families, and the city's defenses thus collapsed. Shen Pei's nephew Shen Rong opened the eastern gate of the city during the night and let in Cao Cao's soldiers. Shen Pei fought back, but was defeated; he was captured alive, then beheaded."

The Records continue, "In the tenth year of Jian'an (205), Yuan Xi's great general Jiao Chu rebelled against him. Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang fled to the Wuhuan of the three commandaries, while Jiao Chu and others led their counties to come and surrender to Cao Cao."

The Rhapsody on the Western Capital has the verse, "Heaven displays its heart". In the Proclamation to Ba and Shu, Sima Xiangru says, "Think deeply and consider the long-term, for the state has pressing difficulties."

The Response to the Difficulties of the Guests states, "Everything they wished, they were sure to obtain; their achievements were like mountains". Jia Kui's notes on the Discourses of the States states, "訾 'calculable' means measurable."

In the Garden of Discussion, Confucius states, "The wise man exchanges misfortune for blessings, repays anger with virtue."

The Mao edition of the Book of Poetry has the verse, "He trusts the rogues that lie and sneak". The Analects states, "They enjoy indulging in trifling kindnesses."

The Records of the Three Kingdoms states, "Cao Cao sent Zhang Liao, Yue Jin, and others to lead more than seven thousand soldiers to camp at Hefei. While Cao Cao was campaigning against Zhang Lu, Sun Quan suddenly led an army of a hundred thousand to besiege Hefei. During the night, Zhang Liao sought to recruit soldiers who would dare to follow him, and obtained eight hundred such men. The next day, they fought a great battle; at dawn, Zhang Liao put on his armor, grasped his halberd, and plunged forward into the enemy formation. He killed a thousand people and took the heads of two generals. Sun Quan stood atop a high tomb, wielding a long halberd to defend himself. Zhang Liao shouted at him, but Sun Quan did not dare to move. Sun Quan kept Hefei under siege for more than ten days, but he could not take the city, so he withdrew.")

夫天道助順，人道助信，事上之謂義，親親之謂仁。盛孝章，君也，而權誅之，孫輔，兄也，而權殺之。賊義殘仁，莫斯為甚。乃神靈之逋罪，下民所同讎。辜讎之人，謂之凶賊。是故伊摯去夏，不為傷德；飛廉死紂，不可謂賢。何者？去就之道，各有宜也。

"One must gain the assistance of Heaven through submission to its will, and the help of the people through the building of trust; to act properly is called righteousness, and to show kinship is called benevolence. Yet though Sheng Xiaozhang (Sheng Xian) was a superior fellow, Sun Quan still executed him, and though Sun Fu was his own brother, Sun Quan still killed him. No one is worse than him in being a robber against righteousness and a ruffian against benevolence. Thus the gods and the spirits judge him as guilty, and the people are united in hatred of him.

"Those who would associate with such a criminal are themselves considered wicked bandits. That is why when, in ancient times, Yi Zhi (Yi Yin) abandoned Xia, he did no injury to virtue, but when Fei Lian died for the sake of King Zhou of Shang, he was not considered a worthy man. Why? Because there are times when it is proper to remain, but also times when it is proper to leave.

〈周易曰：天之所助者順也，人之所助信也。〉〈吳志曰：權殺吳郡太守盛憲。會稽典錄曰：憲字孝章。〉〈典略曰：孫輔恐權不能守江東，因權出行東治，乃遣人齎書呼曹公。行人以告，權乃還，偽若不知，與張昭共見輔。權謂輔曰：兄厭樂耶？何為呼他人？輔云無是。權投書與昭以示輔，輔慚無辭，乃悉斬輔親近，徙輔置東吳。〉〈孟子，齊王曰：臣弒其君可乎？孟子曰：賊仁者謂之賊，賊義者謂之殘。殘賊之人，謂之一夫。聞誅一夫紂矣，未聞弒其君也。〉〈尚書曰：伊尹去亳適夏，既醜有夏，復歸于亳。孫子曰：殷之興也，伊摯在夏。魏武曰：伊摯，伊尹也。孟子曰：周公相武王，誅紂，驅飛廉於海隅而戮之。〉

(The Book of Changes states, "One whom Heaven would assist must be obedient; one whom the people would help must be trustworthy."

The Records of the Three Kingdoms states, "Sun Quan killed the Administrator of Shu commandary, Sheng Xian." The Records of Canons of Kuaiji adds, "Sheng Xian's style name was Xiaozhang."

The Dianlue states, "Sun Fu was afraid that Sun Quan would not be able to defend the Southland. So when Sun Quan went out on an eastern patrol, Sun Fu sent an agent to bring a letter calling Cao Cao. But the agent informed Sun Quan of the plot instead. When Sun Quan returned, he pretended that he did not know of the plot, and together with Zhang Zhao he went to see Sun Fu. Sun Quan said to Sun Fu, 'Brother, are you unsatisfied? Why are you calling someone else?' Sun Fu said he was not. Sun Quan then flung the letter down so that he and Zhang Zhao could look at it. Sun Fu, ashamed, said nothing further. Sun Quan executed Sun Fu's close associates, and he exiled Sun Fu to eastern Wu."

The Mengzi states, "The King of Qi said, 'May a minister then put his sovereign to death?' Mencius said, 'He who outrages the benevolence proper to his nature, is called a robber; he who outrages righteousness, is called a ruffian. The robber and ruffian we call a mere fellow. I have heard that the fellow Zhou (King Zhou of Shang) was executed, but I have not heard of a putting a sovereign to death, in his case.'

The Book of Documents states, "Yi Yin left Hao and went to Xia, but after being disgusted by Xia, he returned to Hao again." The Art of War states, "Of old, the rise of the Yin dynasty was due to Yi Zhi who had served under the Xia." Cao Cao's commentary on that passage adds, "Yi Zhi was Yi Yin."

The Mengzi states, "King Wu of Zhou destroyed King Zhou of Shang. He drove Fei Lian to a corner by the sea, and slew him."

丞相深惟江東舊德名臣，多在載籍。近魏叔英秀出高峙，著名海內；虞文繡砥礪清節，耽學好古；周泰明當世俊彥，德行脩明。皆宜膺受多福，保乂子孫。而周盛門戶無辜被戮，遺類流離，湮沒林莽，言之可為愴然，聞魏周榮虞仲翔各紹堂構，能負析薪。及吳諸顧陸舊族長者，世有高位，當報漢德，顯祖揚名。及諸將校孫權婚親，皆我國家良寶利器，而並見驅迮，雨絕於天，有斧無柯，何以自濟？相隨顛沒，不亦哀乎！

"Now the Prime Minister deeply cherishes the longstanding legacies and virtues of the old Southland clans, which have been known for many generations. It was not so long ago that the brilliance of Wei Shuying rose above the highest mountains and his reputation spread all throughout the seas, that the moral principles and indulgent love of learning of Yu Wenxiu were widely regarded, and that the peerless talents and cultivated virtue of Zhou Taiming were known by all. Thus their descendants should 'long enjoy much happiness', and their sons and grandsons should be protected and preserved. Yet Zhou Sheng and all his clan, though innocent, have been executed; the lineage has been scattered and lost, falling into oblivion among the trees and grass. Is that not regrettable? And we have heard that Wei Zhourong and Yu Zhongxiang (Yu Fan) have inherited the legacies of their ancestors, so that 'what the father planned, the son must build', 'the wood chopped by the father must be carried by the son'. So too should the old gentry clans of the Wu region, the Gu, the Lu, and all the rest that have enjoyed high status for generations, repay the virtues of the Han dynasty and glorify the good names of their ancestors.

"Indeed, all the generals and officers of Sun Quan, all his marital relations, are fine treasures and useful tools of our state. Yet they are all pressing one another forward, like rain tumbling from the heavens; they are like an axe-blade without a handle, and how can that be used? They are falling into ruin together. Is that not lamentable?

〈尚書曰：永膺多福。又曰：保乂王家。〉〈吳志曰：虞翻，字仲翔。尚書曰：若考作室，既厎法，厥子乃弗肯堂，矧肯構。左氏傳，鄭子產曰：古人有言曰，其父析薪，其子弗克負荷。〉〈尚書曰：所寶惟賢，則邇人安。聖主得賢臣頌曰：夫賢者，國家器用也。所任賢，則趨舍省而功施普；器用利，則用力少而就效衆也。〉〈陸賈新語曰：有斧無柯，何以治之？〉

(The Book of Documents has the phrases "long enjoy much happiness" and "maintain and regulate the royal House".

According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Yu Fan's style name was Zhongxiang.

The Book of Documents states, "When a deceased father, wishing to build a house, had laid out the plan, if his son be unwilling to raise up the hall, how much less will he be willing to complete the roof!" In the Zuo Commentary, the Zheng minister Zichan says, "People have the saying: 'The father split the firewood, and the son was not able to carry it.'"

The Book of Documents states, "When the ruler finds value only in that which is worthy, his own people near at hand will be in a state of repose." The Ode on the Sage Ruler Obtaining Worthy Subjects states, "Worthy people are the useful tools of the state. When one employs the worthy, they will hurry to come to you and achievements will become widespread; when one utilizes the useful, then with little effort one may tend well to the people."

Lu Jia's New Tales has the saying, "If an axe-blade has no handle, how can it be used?")

蓋鳳鳴高岡以遠罻羅，賢聖之德也。鸋鴃之鳥巢於葦苕，苕折子破，下愚之惑也。今江東之地，無異葦苕，諸賢處之，信亦危矣。聖朝開弘曠蕩，重惜民命，誅在一人，與衆無忌，故設非常之賞，以待非常之功。乃霸夫烈士奮命之良時也，可不勉乎！若能翻然大舉，建立元勳，以應顯祿，福之上也。如其未能，笇量大小，以存易亡，亦其次也。

"Among birds, the phoenix builds its nest high up on a lofty ridge, thus displaying the virtues of a worthy sage. But wrens and shrikes build their nests on reeds and twigs, and when the reeds snap the chicks are destroyed; this displays the delusions of the lowly and foolish. And currently, the Southland itself is no different from such a reed or twig, with many worthy people perched upon it. Truly, they are in great danger.

"The court is generous and magnanimous, tolerant and forgiving, and most sympathetic to the lives of the people. They seek the execution of one man alone, but have no suspicion towards anyone else. Thus they present uncommon rewards, in the expectation of uncommon achievements. Is there not some domineering fellow, some man of passion and drive, who will seize this moment to wrest control of their fate? If so, be diligent! For whosoever can arrange a grand undertaking and perform the greatest of achievements will earn great glory and riches; that would lead to the greatest fortune. Or if you cannot bring yourselves to do that, it would still be sufficient for you to analyze well the situation you face and consider how to exchange death for life.

〈毛詩曰：鳳皇鳴矣，于彼高岡；梧桐生矣，于彼朝陽。〉〈韓詩曰：鴟鴞：既取我子，無毀我室。鴟鴞，鸋鴃，鳥名也。鴟鴞所以愛養其子者，適以病之。愛憐養其子者，謂堅固其窠巢；病之者，謂不知託於大樹茂枝，反敷之葦䓟。風至，䓟折巢覆，有子則死，有卵則破，是其病也。字林曰：鸋鴃，鴞也，上乃丁切，下古穴切。廣雅曰：鸋鴃，工雀也。荀卿子曰：南方鳥名蒙鳩，為巢，編之以髮，繫之葦苕。苕折卵破。巢非不牢，所繫之弱也。說文曰：葦，大葭也。〉〈司馬長卿難蜀父老曰：有非常之事，然後有非常之功。〉〈未能如上之計。〉〈漢書，鄒陽上書曰：昔者鄭祭仲許宋人立公子突以活其君，非其義也。春秋記之，為其以生易死，以存易亡。〉

(The Mao edition of the Book of Poetry has the verse, "The male and female phoenix give out their notes, on that lofty ridge. The dryandras grow, on those eastern slopes."

The Han edition of the Book of Poetry has the verse, "O owl, O owl! You have taken my young ones; do not also destroy my nest."

Owl, wren, and shrike are the names of birds. Among such birds, there are those that tenderly care for their chicks, and those who soon have cause to mourn them. For the loving ones find a sturdy place to set their nests or burrows, while the mourning ones do not think to place their nests upon a large branch of some great tree, but only set it upon the reeds, and when a wind comes, the reeds snap and the nest falls. Thus any chicks are killed and any eggs are broken; this is the source of their grief.

The Forest of Characters states, "Shrikes and wrens are the same as owls. Above, they carve nests; below, they dig out burrows." The Guangya states, "Wrens and shrikes are industrious birds." The Xunzi states, "There is a bird in the south called the Meng Wren. When it builds its nest, it wraps it in hair and ties it to reeds. But when the reeds snap, the eggs are broken. It is not that the nest was not durable; the problem was that the ties were too weak." The Shuowen dictionary states, "A reed is a large bulrush."

Sima Xiangru's Refuting the Elders of Shu states, "When there are uncommon events, then there shall be uncommon achievements."

Chen Lin was saying those who could not carry out the greatest plan (of achieving "the greatest thing", perhaps by killing Sun Quan).

In the Book of Han, Zou Yang's petition states, "In ancient times, when Ji Zhong of the state of Zheng allowed the people of Song to make the late duke's son Tu the new ruler, it was not because of Tu's righteousness. Rather, as the Spring and Autumn Annals tell us, it was in order to save himself and exchange death for life.")

夫係蹄在足，則猛虎絕其蹯；蝮蛇在手，則壯士斷其節。何則？以其所全者重，以其所棄者輕。若乃樂禍懷寧，迷而忘復，闇大雅之所保，背先賢之去就，忽朝陽之安，甘折苕之末，日忘一日，以至覆沒，大兵一放，玉石俱碎，雖欲救之，亦無及已。故令往購募爵賞科條如左。檄到詳思至言。如詔律令。

"Even a tiger will gnaw off its own paw if it is bound by a rope, and even a strong fellow will chop off his own wrist if there is a viper on his hand. Why? Because of the danger posed to the whole body. They see the preservation of their whole body as more important than the loss of the limb. Will you then take delight in your misfortune and think you are at peace, continue your wandering and forget to turn back, be blind to the praises of the Daya poem and ignore the ways in which the past worthies exchanged sides, and turn away from a sure means of safety and prefer to remain on the snapping branch? Shall you live your life only one day to the next, until in the end you are lost? For when our great soldiers are flung against you, then the jade will be smashed along with the stone, and even if you sought to save yourself then, it would be too late.

"Thus I have sent forth these offers to recruit you, to offer titles and rewards and this opportunity to reform yourselves. When you receive this proclamation, carefully consider what I have said to you.

"This decree has the force of an imperial edict."

〈戰國策，魏魁謂建信君曰：人有置係蹄者而得虎，虎怒，跌蹯而去。虎之情匪不愛其蹯也，然而不以環寸之蹯，害七尺之軀，有權也。今國家者，非直七尺之軀也，而君之身於王非環寸之蹯也，願公早圖之也。延叔堅曰：係蹄，獸絆也。〉〈漢書曰：項梁使使趨齊兵擊章邯，田榮曰：楚殺田假，趙殺田角、田間，乃出兵。楚不殺假，趙亦不殺角、間。齊王曰：蝮蠚手則斬手，蠚足則斬足，何者？為害於身也。田假、田角、田間於楚、趙非手足之戚，何故不殺？〉〈周易曰：迷復之凶，反君道也。〉〈毛詩大雅曰：既明且哲，以保其身。〉〈尚書曰：火炎崑岡，玉石俱焚。〉〈史記，衛平謂宋王曰：後雖悔之，亦無及已。〉

(In the Strategies of the Warring States, Wei Kui says to Lord Jianxin, "If a person binds a tiger with a rope, the tiger will become so enraged that it will even gnaw its paw off to escape. Of course, it is not that the tiger does not love its paw, but when the paw is bound, it is willing to lose a few inches of flesh in order to get away. Now as for our state, though it is more than a few inches of flesh, yet the King also considers you more than a mere bound paw. I implore you to consider this at once." Yan Shujian remarked, "A rope is a tool for binding beasts."

The Book of Han states, "When Xiang Liang of the state of Chu sent envoys asking the soldiers of Qi to attack Zhao's city of Zhanghan, Tian Rong objected, 'It was because Chu killed Tian Jia that Zhao killed Tian Jiao and Tian Jian, then sent out troops. If Chu had not killed Tian Jia, then Zhao would not have killed Tian Jiao or Tian Jian.' But the King of Qi told him, 'If a viper stings one in the hand, one must cut it off, and it is the same way with the foot. Why? Because of the threat to the body. Now those gentlemen were not even as close to Chu and Zhao as hands and feet, so why would they not have killed them?'"

The Book of Rites states, "'The evil consequent on being all astray on the subject of returning' is because the course pursued is contrary to the proper course for a ruler."

The Daya poem in the Mao edition of the Book of Poetry has the verse, "Intelligent is he and wise, protecting his own person."

The Book of Documents states, "When the fire blazes over the ridge of Kun, gems and stones are burned together."

In the Records of the Grand Historian, Wei Ping says to the King of Song, "Even if you later regret it, it will be too late then.")

#Chen Lin #Three Kingdoms #Sanguo

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